New System, Who Dis?

Tutorial Day 9

I woke up today before Claude left his room. I desperately had to pee but didn't want to sit in my own wet pants waiting for him to trigger the self-cleaning spell.

My status screen was open in the hopes that I would be able to do something—anything. Instead, I just found myself looking at my dwindling Tutorial Points total. In truth, it was at a minimum, nine hundred points lower—for the room and board and eight more hours of training.

My anger, which had been simmering through the night, surged. I felt that Claude may be behind that door just waiting to come out. After his antics yesterday, I wouldn't put it past him. I assumed he was doing it all to get me upset, but honestly, leaving a man that needed to relieve himself seemed like it was pushing it.

"Claude!" I shouted for the tenth or hundredth time. I hadn't started counting. No sound came from behind the door—and I tried to recall if I'd somehow woken up to him leaving.

But I couldn't recall anything. I'd gone to bed totally exhausted after attempting to use the red fog, along with my Qi. It didn't work, but I had figured out how to channel my Qi through 'intention.'

Well, that wasn't exactly true. I'd learned to channel it through forced anger. Essentially, choosing to be angry about something that my brain, likely thanks to Mental Fortitude, didn't think I should be. It was an infuriating dichotomy, or perhaps a tightrope, to walk.

The other possibility that might be keeping Claude behind that door, was that he was waiting for me to try again. I clearly had full Qi. So, was he waiting for me to fail—before coming in and restarting his special type of torture?

I closed my eyes and returned to the red Mental Universe. Then, I mentally clicked over to my far larger and more interesting one with all the Planets and complete suns. Shaking my head, the only part of my body I could move easily, I let my thoughts wander.

To my surprise I felt something else—something new but also familiar. It felt so much like the Red Smoke Universe, with that same familiarity, that I wasn't shocked to find myself suddenly in a new Mental Space with a Black Sun and blue fog. Again, the Sun was venting the fog, but there was a major difference. This fog was far less thick.

This Black Sun suddenly beat, and I blinked. I moved my concentration closer, trying to discover if I was seeing something. Breath held, this time I felt the beat coincide with my heart. I only had one Skill that this could be.

Dragon Heart!

Still, I'd never seen this Skill in this way before. It was the single Skill I'd Awoken with, but had never seen. So, why did it feel so familiar?

I moved to poke at it, and felt a bell chime. Smiling, I flicked it and felt the same sensation. Was it that my Mental Universe was inside of this Sun? Was it even a Sun at all?

A mental nudge brought me back to my Mental Universe, and I scanned around it. It didn't seem like this was a space inside the Dragon Heart Sun…

Then again, it had definable limits, unlike a real Universe. I pushed on them, and felt what I always had. They were elastic. As I pushed on one side, I could feel the other side of the space conform and shift to mirror what I was doing. The Skills shifted too, making me shrug. It was the same as it always had been.

Still, how could my Mana be associated with the Dark Sun with the Blue fog and my Qi associated with the Red fog. Could I use that to connect them? To supply Reptilian Body with Mana? Or should I just continue to feed Mana into Demonic Vault to eventually buy something?

I moved to the Blue-fog Sun and sucked on my tongue as I considered what could be done. I of course tried to make a conduit, but this Skill and the Fog wouldn't travel through it. I couldn't puncture the Sun like it was a KapiSun, and I couldn't create pressure zones to transfer something from low to high.

Still, there was the spot the Skill Planet or I guess the 'Sun' had formed inside my Mental Universe before vanishing. I could vividly recall where it was. I moved my awareness through the spot several times. I tried poking, flicking and even mentally hammering the spot.

Finally, I opened my eyes, in hopes to find my 'teacher,' but when he wasn't there my anger flared, red hot.

This mother-husking—

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My awareness wasn't fully in the room, and as I grew angry, I noticed something happening in my Mental Universe. Conflict immediately arose as my insatiable curiosity tried to override the rage.

I white-knuckled the thoughts of how much I hated Claude, but I could feel whatever had happened in my Mental Universe vanish just before I returned. Sighing, and wanting to cry or rip Claude limb from limb, I let the control of my bladder go.

Surprisingly, that did it.

Even as I felt the warm wet sensation on my leg, a hole in my Mental Universe slowly grew. Through it I could see a hint of Red. Hopefully it was Fog.

Part of me wanted to poke and prod at the hole, but I only had so much time. So, instead, I created my StarShip imagery inside my Mana Pool and sent it toward the hole. I could feel my reservoir drying up, even as the hole reached its largest diameter and slowly began to close again as my anger got once again pushed aside by interest and curiosity.

The StarShip was going to be close. I urged it to go faster. Shoving, Mana into the conduit behind it in hopes of propelling it onwards or to create the Synapse faster. Either it worked, or my lingering distaste of my current circumstance held the hole open for a full second longer than I needed—because the StarShip plunged into the hole.

A sigh began to escape my lungs, but was transformed into an ejection of air—hard enough that I felt it ricochet off the floor and up my nose. I had to close my eyes against the sudden gust.

Then I felt it.

My body was on fire—well not literally, but it felt like I'd taken too much pre-workout before Muay-Thai. A burning itch ran up my arms, neck and shoulders, followed by an intense need to move and release the strangely mounting, fiery fuel.

It felt like premium adrenaline was pouring through my body, and it was wholly different from the feeling I got when the Qi-like honeyed Nectar was working.

I placed my hands, still in the gauntlets, below my shoulders and began to push. It was almost easy, as my body started to inch upwards. Then, like I was somehow angry—though I was clearly just stunned and excited—Qi, in addition to the Premium Epinephrine, engaged.

Like a loaded spring, or small explosion, I shot to my feet. I even gained a modicum of 'air' under my chest, allowing me to flip my feet under me. Standing up, I marveled at the feeling of herculean strength, cat-like quickness and unending endurance that coursed through me.

I felt like I could do anything—

Claude's door swung open and he exited, chugging from a bottle of liquor. I saw his eyes widen as he found me standing—and I didn't even think about it.

My fist shot forward to punch him in the nose.

There was a single moment of satisfaction, as his eyes grew larger. His hand on the bottle let go, even as his other tried to come up and defend, but I'd caught him off guard.

My fist connected with his chin, as he attempted to lean back and away from my strike. I watched his eyes roll up, before he tipped backwards and his legs locked up.

As if in slow motion I watched him teeter from a full stand to seventy degrees, and continue to fall back. I had enough time to think about his head hitting the floor before he fell and I didn't have time to react to his limp body.

He hit the floor inside of his bedroom rather hard, and I winced.

Swallowing, I moved forward to try to Heal him. Almost as soon as I touched him—the Heal Skill activated. I managed two seconds before my Mana Pool went dry and I realized my mistake.

I fell from my kneel right on top of Claude's chest—which woke him up.

"What the hell?!" Claude shouted, as he easily bench pressed me and the armor off of himself. I got air once again, but not in a good way. When I came back down, I was on my back, and luckily hadn't knocked myself out.

"How did you do that?" Claude said, I was pretty sure he was yelling, but the translator did a poor job of it. I was even more sure when his voice, thick with his accent, shouted. "There is no way you managed this with your Stats."

I blinked up at the ceiling feeling too physically exhausted to even lift my head to look at Claude. 'Thankfully,' he stuck his head into my field of vision even as he wiped away the blood that had run over his mouth and chin.

"If… you don't learn something for yourself," I gasped. "Then it isn't your knowledge." I spoke as my face broke into a grin, and I saw Claude blink in surprise.

Then, quite possibly the most terrifying thing I'd ever seen happened. Claude smiled back.

The Translator in my ear, made me shiver as it said, "Okay, I think it's time to up the challenge."

He tapped the armor with his hand, and said something that the translator didn't pick up.

I instantly knew what had happened, even though I felt no change. The floorboards under me creaking was a pretty good hint, though. I tried lifting an arm and discovered that even performing a bicep curl was difficult.

"Oh come on!" I complained. "You deserved that punch in the face! I've had to defecate and pee in my pants, asshole!"

"Don't worry," Claude replied. Turning around, he began to walk away. "I'll make sure you get cleaned up when I get back." He stopped, seeming to brighten. When he turned around he had another signature smile pasted on his infuriating face. "Oh right, Training Fees and Room and Board."

Claude touched my exposed elbow. The screen told me he had just claimed another thousand Tp. This husking Greed in a Selfless cloak!

I growled even as I heard him walking away. I turned my head in time to see him walk out the door.

Part of me was livid with the turn of events, and another part of me questioned why I'd chosen to punch him in the face. Still, it was something else entirely that made me attempt to sit up in shock.

A red box hovered in front of my face.

* * *

Maelstrom looked at the Leaderboard, and smiled. The newcomer had fallen off, which relieved some of his suspicions. While it was still strange for someone to start with such a high number of Tutorial Points–it wasn't unheard of.

His lord who he served had claimed to have started with fifty thousand–hadn't he?

After sixty years stories started to blur. Either way, he knew of at least sixteen others who'd left the Tutorial, and had tried to use it for their own power since. Maelstrom, was sure that some people found their way in here naturally still, but to come in with two Gathering Skills, spoke to a level of preparedness that he didn't often see.

I wonder which one of those factions that have completed the Tutorial you are from, Brodie…

His banded door opened, and he spun to find his daughter Jacky entering again. His face morphed first into a smile, seeing her. Then a sneer. "Aren't you supposed to be getting me more spies within the Spider's organization?"

"That's why I've come father," Jacky answered. "The newcomer has left, but the group picked up a few tricks from him–so they're currently staying afloat, as it were."

"What do you need from me?" Maelstrom asked.

"Simply ask a few of the larger Maelstrom groups to farm in the Northeastern Forest. The one with the Boars. It should only take about a week or so to make them desperate again."

"And what about this Newcomer, Brodie," Maelstrom asked. "Won't he just bail them out again?"

"Maybe, but then he'll at least be nearby again, so I can keep watching him."

"I'll get it done. Still, I'm disappointed that you need more of my help for this task, Jacky."

She wrinkled her nose in distaste, but eventually ducked her head.

Maelstrom shrugged. She'd learn. She's always been smart like her moth–

Maelstrom screamed as the memory of his wife burned him. This wasn't Jacky–but a doll made to look like her. His Lord hadn't sent in anyone in quite some time. At least none that found him once they entered, like they were supposed to.

"Does this newcomer upset you so much?" Jacky asked.

Maelstrom could only nod, not wanting to tell this doll his problems.