Markus was puffing with great difficult to breathe. His face was red and his left eye were swollen. The complicated look in his eyes were really pitiful. A sorry figure was flat on the ground. He didn't even had strength to get up. Suddenly, a foot came with lightning speed, and a powerful kick was thrown on in his left ribs , making his body roll for at least 3 meters away.
The one that had just kicked him, was a strong looking man. His name was Vralkar. His well developed body looked like one of these Demigods from the Greek mythology. Scars could be seen all around his body. A diagonal scar on his face that came from the right to left completed the intimidating gaze.
The man then walked slowly towards Markus , that had his mouth open breathing heavily. He shocked his head and with no mercy, stomped in his head while saying:
"YOU LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT, DO YOU REALLY THINK IT WOULD BE EASY?!?! YOU WEREN'T EVEN TRYING HARD BEFORE. GET UP ALREADY, THIS IS JUST THE WARM UP!!!"
The man then walked off, going to a group of youngsters by the other side. Markus was just there, like his body had no soul, looking towards the sky. Then, a screen, like these of a PC system flashed trough his vision:
Ding!
(Because of your determination, 2 points were added to resilience)
He then grinned , and with clenched fists, started to slowly get up.
It had been at least four days of his arrive in this fucking place, and from the first day to now he had been beaten up, and trained more hardly than anyone else. All his muscles were sore; there wasn't any place in his whole body that weren't aching, swollen or with purple-green bruises. Looking back now, Lucius indeed had a gloating look in his eyes.
- That day in Lucius Office -
"Sooooo, should we begin the tutorial?"
Lucius smiled, and then walked toward a shelf, and took a black jet globe from it. With a expectant look, he walked calmly and stoped in front of Markus. He then put the black globe in front of him and said: "This is the Memametron, it is a old relic of ancient times. Legend say that this artifact can unleash the potential of the person that hold it. Well this is really truth. Every new challenger have to try it's luck. I don't need to say, but you and your friends are not the only ones that are going to participate in the Purgatory Game. When you hold this globe, it will open your soul and attach the Law's that are required to enter the Tower of Purgatory."
Markus looked to the object in front of him with a apprehensive look. The inside of the globe was black, but if you looked with caution, you could see that the darkness inside of it, seemed to be moving, twirling and swirling like a wild animal in a cage.
Lucius smiled and put his hand on Markus shoulder.
Markus then slowly stretched his hand towards the object, and when the palm of his hand touched the globe, the 'darkness' inside of it moved crazily.
A azure flame then appeared in the middle of the globe, and looked alive. A powerful surge of energy was emitted like a wave.
Markus was startled , and dropped from the chair, his back hitting the floor.
Lucius maliciously laughed out loud. By then the globe came back to normal. Lucius snapped his fingers and the Memametron flashed back to it's original place.
Markus got up and then, something incredible happened: a light flashed in front of him , and a setup screen opened in front of his eyes.
(Generating stats based on users body)
(Status Generated)
(Downloading the 'Skills System')
(Downloading Completed)
(Downloading the 'Perk System')
(Downloading Completed)
Numerous screen flashed and Markus could feel the changes in his head and heart. It was like his body had been scanned from head to toe.
Lucius smiled. He got a pleasing look on in his face as he thought. ' So he did got the 'Gamer System' ; but it's the first time I had seen a system this profound and complex. Looks like this brat is destined to great deeds...'
"Well boy, what do you think? It is incredible ain't it? So now you should get the hang of it and try some things. If you want to see more detailed information, just think about 'Stats', and you should be able."
Markus then done as he was instructed. By thinking about his stats, a long window flashed with detailed information:
Diiing!
[ Stats ]
Name: Markus Anderson
Level: 1
HP: 30/30 MP:50/50
Exp: 0/100
Job: None
----------------------------------------------
( Attributes )
Strength: 4
Vitality: 4
Resilience: 7
Agility: 5
Dexterity:4
Intelligence: 9
Wisdom: 6
Perception: 7
---------------------------------------------
( Skills )
Appraisal
--------------------------------------------
( Perks )
Player Mind: A strong mind that is capable of staying calm even in the most dangerous situations.
Player Heart: A resilient heart that is always ready for a challenge and never surrender.
Protagonist Body: You are the protagonist of you own story. The Protagonist will always be pressed. Trials may bring he down, but he will always get up again and grown stronger.
----------------------------------------------
Markus face was full of expectations as he read the Stats screen that appeared in front of him. It looked like the RPG games that he played everyday!
Lucius sighed and started to talk:"Listen carefully. Like I said before, this place, this dimension, is different from your world. The laws of time, and even physics are different. This system is called Gamer System. It was created by superiors begins to help those that were chosen by the Tower to become stronger.
May it be by training, or by defeating foes, you will become more and more stronger. This is a system that every challenger have so don't think you are special..."
Markus shrug as if all of his thoughts could easily be see trough by Lucius. Lucius then cleared his throat and continued on : "Every time you accumulate enough Experience, you will level up. With every level up, you will become stronger. You are rewarded with 10 points per level. These points are used to develop you. You can distribute it on your stats window. There is a Threshold in every attribute. Every avarege human have at least 13 or even 20 points in every attribute. The first Threshold is at 10 points, then at 100 and 200 and so on. By then, it will become really difficult to go higher. The 10.000 Threshold is a legendary stage. At every Threshold you will be able to gain a new perk associated to the attribute in question. This perk is special and unique to everyone. The higher the Threshold Level, the stronger the perk and its effect. "
Markus was with wide eyes. This system looked simple but , it was very complex. But what made him feel very depressed, was that his attributes were even less than the average person next door. If he really was so weak, how could him be able to survive and find his friends?
'With this shit stats, I will not be able to survive... I need to get stronger...'. Then he voiced out his concerns
"Lucius, you said that there were ways to get stronger beyond leveling up; what can I do?"
"Oh, you don't worry, we have already prepared everything. You will be going to our training camp, and after you are ready, will take the way to reach the Tower of Purgatory. You just have to go through this door by your left. There you will learn everything you need to survive in this world. So if you excuse me, there are others matter I must attend to." said Lucius with visible ill intent.
Markus looked to his left and saw a stranger door there. He then looked back to Lucius, and made his way towards the door.
"Oh, and say hello to Mr. Vralkar for me. He is a old friend of mine , and will gladly help you! "
Before opening the door, Markus looked to Luscious and could see the gloat at his eyes. This sure wasn't something that he should be concerned with. Right?
He opened the door and passed trough it.
-After Markus passed trough the door-
Lucius then sit at his chair, took the Ambrose and drinked softy. His eyes paused at the black globe, the Memametron. There were visible cracks on it.
With a smile, he drinked with amused eyes.