The rooftop of the building I stood on was high in the air and I looked over a vast city. Walls of concrete, glass, and steel spread out in sprawling interconnections. Weirdly, I couldn’t smell any pollution, and I could see far off in the distance a slightly glowing barrier. A scraping sound drew my gaze to the right of the roof.

  Rebar jutted out of the concrete sections that served as the creature’s hands. It looked like a chimpanzee made entirely of concrete and steel bits, moving as though living flesh.

  Chimpcrete Rapscallion. Level 10. These constructs hunt either solo or in small groups, seeking to extinguish all organic life. Highest Stat: Agility.

  The beast picked up a chunk of the rooftop and threw it at my face faster than I could dodge. Pain erupted as concrete broke on the tough hide of my face. If I had been in my original state that would have killed me instantly. I balled my fists and charged as the blades extended. I slashed down, but the chimp had rolled to the side and struck at my midsection. I cut out to my left and right, and heard the cry as I connected.

  The chimp skittered back and I turned to face it. A new gash was evident on the chimp’s chest and it heaved in frustrated rage. With another leap, it soared over me and landed behind, lashing out with its rebar deep into my back. I grunted as I spun, ripping out the rebar and catching the chimp by the leg as it tried to get away. Grabbing it with all four hands, I swung and slammed it into the rooftop again and again until it stopped moving, only taking a few more minor scrapes from the flailing chimp. Breathing heavily, I sat hard on the roof, staring at the corpse. Fighting made me hungry, so I gently picked up a piece of the chimpcrete rapscallion. My teeth shifted automatically to ones more suited for chewing stone and metals. It wasn’t bad, but didn’t taste nearly as good as Guides. Kinda chalky.

  And, of course, as it was equal to my level, I got nothing from it but sustenance. I did feel my health recover faster from the consumption, so that was nice. I checked and my health was steadily increasing from 60 percent. Not bad at all. I used my lower arms to push myself up as I grabbed the next piece and walked to the edge of the rooftop. Suddenly, several beams of light that were different colors began to appear around the city. Two System notifications appeared.

  Welcome to this instance of the Tutorial for the 42nd Multiverse! The city in which you find yourself is vast and contains within it numerous control spheres. If you control the most by the end, your group wins! Conditions of this tutorial may change at any time.

  Time Remaining: 59 days, 23 hours, 42 minutes.

  Survivors: 1978/2000.

  Quest: Concrete Jungle.

  Objective: Band together and take over the city. Control the most spheres. Each sphere is marked with a beacon.

  Control Spheres: 0/200.

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  So, the instance I was in had 2000 people in it. And in 18 minutes 23 people had already died. I was so distracted by the weight of that that I nearly missed the shout coming from an adjacent building.

  “Stay away from me!” a familiar voice screamed. I saw a flash of dark green through one of the glass windows and ran back to the other edge of the roof, giving myself a running start. With all my strength I launched myself off the roof, reaching the other building only a few floors too low. My claws dug into the concrete as I slammed into the building, nearly losing my grip. I dug in and climbed, reaching the floor of the screams a few moments later. I easily shattered the glass as I pushed my way inside. The stomping sound was distant, but easy to track.

  The inside of the building was empty. No furniture, pictures, or amenities. White walls. Now was as good a time as any. I watched my hands as I activated Guerilla Cloak. The multihued hide quickly faded to white. Corner after corner I ran, the voice getting louder, this time accompanied by a new, also familiar voice.

  “Leave us alone!” this voice was deeper than I remembered.

  “Don't kill us!”

  I pulled against the wall as movement entered the hallway. A catgirl with dark-green fur, a multicolored set of metallic armor, and an enormous hammer ran past, followed closely by a minotaur in loose fitting leathers carrying a spiked shield and a flail. Both had scared looks across their faces as the loud noises rounded the corner.

  Five chimpcrete rapscallions charged into sight and were ripping chunks off the walls to throw at the two. They were all only level 5 and I could always eat, so I grabbed the last one as they ran past, my blades easily piercing through the chimp’s chest. I bit down on the head at the same time and the body fell limp in my lower hands. The next to last one noticed and screamed. The others turned and four large pieces of concrete flew in my direction. They barely stung as I walked toward them.

  The rapscallions all leapt on me, punching at my back and shoulders. Rebar fists don’t feel particularly nice and I tried to get them to stop by smashing them together, which took longer than I would have liked. Bits of concrete scattered across the carpeted floor. The remaining two chimpcrete rapscallions ran away from me.

  My health hadn’t dropped by much, and I was chewing the last bit of chimp when the catgirl and minotaur peeked around the corner.

  “Hey, don’t worry. I took care of those constructs,” I said.

  “Where did you come from?” the catgirl said. I swear she sounded so familiar.

  “I was on the rooftop across the way there. I heard screaming and figured I could help.” As I watched them, I received some information on the two of them.

  Mau. Level 3. Catfolk most commonly found on Artan of the 16th Multiverse, Mau often serve as thieves and assassins because of their naturally high Agility. Highest Stat: Strength.

  Minotaur. Level 2. Rare throughout the multiverse, the minotaur can occasionally be found guarding high end dungeons created by deities for various purposes. Highest Stat: Endurance.

  “So, you just jumped from one building to another?” the Minotaur asked.

  “Yep,” it finally clicked who these people were when I heard the Minotaur’s voice.

  “Does this seem too… insane for you?” the Mau said.

  “I don’t know, do you think we’ll find any little stoner buddies?” I asked. Realization dawned on Jenny as she looked me up and down.

  “Dan?”

  “Hey, Jenny. Tim.”

  “Holy shit! Dan, you have four arms now!” Tim said, his nostrils flaring and eyes wide.

  “Let me guess, you only picked the Minotaur because of its huge-”

  “You bet your ass I did!”

  “And you?” I asked Jenny.

  “Well, I couldn’t choose Human for some reason, and you know I always wanted to be a catgirl! So, that’s what I picked.”

  “Did you know it was more Chamber of Secrets Hermione and less Catgirl Cuties?”

  She smiled. “I did! Cat Hermione was adorable!”