***
"Transferring data to designate files."
***
Those were the last words I heard. Instantly, I felt my body falling apart, like a beautifully constructed lego piece under the care of a four years old, disastrous.
Every cell in my body was picked apart, yet, there was no excruciating pain. Soon, everything faded to black. At first, everything blinked by quickly. Seconds ticked while my mind wandered. However, that moment was drawn out to what seemed like an eternity.
Each passing second felt like hours, if not days. There was nothing. Only my consciousness floating in an empty space.
Imagine yourself, being able to do nothing else but stare at a black and endless void. You cannot turn. You cannot blink. There was not a single imperfection for you to relieve your boredom. That was all that you could do. For an eternity.
Yet, even more astonishingly, the next moment, everything snapped back into reality, there I was as if nothing had happened.
Like the years and decades, I had experienced in that empty void was nothing more than my imagination. And that impression only deepened when I saw Thea still clasping tightly to my shoulders.
"What was that?" I mumbled to myself.
Thea, on the other hand, seemed oblivious to what had just happened. Instead, her eyes already dancing from left to right, taking in everything from the surrounding. As for me, I was staring at my own hands, only to be baffled beyond belief seeing how they, as well as my body, shone under the sunlight.
"Are you seeing this?" I waved my hands in front of Thea, trying to capture her attention, "Hey, look, you are shining as well."
"What do you mean... What are you shining? WHY AM I SHINING?" Thea screamed upon seeing how her body was shimmering like it was covered in clear wrap. The terror in her eyes was as clear as daylight. Even her brave front could not hide how her fist clenched and her knuckles whitened.
"You know, it not really shining, rather, it's a slight shimmer." I could not stop myself from mumbling.
The moment I stopped mumbling, I watched as her hands rose to the sky. Under the blinding light, which blinded me, her hand came down with might and vigor. Tried as I did, but her fist seemed to have a homing beacon. No matter where I tried to dodge, it still reached me with great precision.
"Hey..." I whined, as my head already aching.
But it mattered not as a voice boom.
"Welcome to the tutorial."
The moment we heard that bone-tingling voice, I felt my whole body trembling with fear, and my back already soaked with sweats. Even my shaking hand reached for Thea's clenched fist, where, unbeknownst to us, ours hands jointed.
Why? isn't it obvious? Something was going down.
"This is the last stage of your beginning. A glorious and magnificent beginning, nevertheless, for many of you, this will be the end of your very life." The bone-chilling voice let out an unnerving laugh, like cute a toddler laughing at their own burp, the contrast was enough to send my skin tingled.
"So, let me introduce a few things before the fun starts. To put it bluntly, there are too many of you and the system could crash, so, we divided you into one hundred million simulations, and just so happened that you are the very last one. HOW. FORTUNATE." Its mockery seeped within each and every one of its words.
"Unlike those before you, who could simply sleep and cry through the tutorial. The last one is a bit more special," The voice yelled with great enthusiasm, "After this, you are going to gain great and unimaginable power. You will achieve the height you would never think of. And most importantly, you are going to live a life you only dreamt of."
The prideful enthusiasm was oozing out, "It is wonderful, isn't it?"
I stood there, in the center of an empty forest, with nothing but greenery around me, feeling nothing but contempt and worry. Its pitiful attempt of being encouraging was laughable, but nevertheless, it was something un-settling within the consequences.
"To get this, it is quite simple, it is only two simple steps. The first. Select your class."
The moment the voice end, a transparent panel appeared in front of my eyes, like those manhwas I read.
*Conrad Graham.*
*Available class:*
*Soldier. Physical melee class.*
*Ranged. Physical ranged class.*
*Apprentice. Magical ranged class.*
*Trainee. Magical melee class.*
Staring at the four options, which displayed before me, I felt stifled at the limited options and the bare minimum description. Even more frustrating was how desperately crave any sort of hint, but what I get in return was a worrisome heart.
When I glanced over, I already saw her finger dancing around, while the crest on her eyebrow deepened. Unconsciously, my eyes danced downward, and saw our hand intertwined. A feat, which I thought was impossible.
Even with everything that happened in a span of a few hours, this moment right there, with our hands clasping each other, was the most surreal moment for me.
"Do you think I should choose apprentice?" Thea interrupted my daydreaming moment.
"Are you sure you don't want to use that violent fist of yours?" I unconsciously asked, however, the moment I blabbered, my whole body reeled back in shock.
Before I knew it, her hand left mine, and like that, it came hammering down.
"See!" I cried. "This is what I am talking about, you are one violent individual."
"So?"
Staring at the four floating hints, my mind raced at the options, "If you like magic and stuff, you can try out Trainee. Though, I don't really know what the class entailed. But considering you, I am sure you are going to be fine with it."
I said, rubbing my aching head, but for my sincere advice, I continued to receive her deathly glare and how her fist loomed dangerously over my head.
"What? You heard what I said." I stated and met her murderous glare with all the bravado I had.
"You better watched your mouth." Thea mouthed and tapped on that invisible pannel.
Instantly, her body glowed with blinding light. Once that blinding light receded, a plate of steel hugged her shirt while a mace and shield were placed in her hands. In an instant, Thea burst out with joy as she swung her mace and shield and valor and enthusiasm.
However, what I saw was her bright and dazzling smile, and the childlike cackles she let out.
In those brief moments, I saw what I thought impossible. On top of her head.
*Thea Rayen*
*Class: Trainee*
Seeing so, I let out a smile, while my mind wandered, Thea interrupted my fantasy with her mace swing dangerously close to my face with her eyes shining brightly, "Come on, you have to experience this."
Hearing her my heart pounded slightly faster, but a flustered me wished I knew what I wanted. But my lack of coordination, my nearsightedness, and my already developing dad-bod further worsened my indecisiveness.
Thus, there was I could only do it the only way possible, covering my eyes and letting my slightly trembling finger decide my fate.
*Ding*
It was the sound that woke me up from my stupor. But that mattered not. All I could think about was the mysterious sensation burning within my body. It traveled across every inch of my body, setting every cell of my being up in flame. Like that, from within me, a part of myself, which I had no knowledge of burst forth.
Once my senses came back to me, my body was covered with a robe, with an old worn-out staff in my hand.
*Old staff*
*Good for hitting.*
*Old robe
*Not so fancy.*
I swore those descriptions could anger a person to death, thankfully, I was a rational individual. However, Thea was not so much since I saw her raging out of the corner of my eyes, which brought a little smile onto my face. But all of it paled in comparison to what I saw when I turned my gaze upward.
A new world had opened up for me, floating steam of colors painted the sky. A current of deep ocean blue drifted across the sky, dotted with bright orange. The luscious forest oozed green, further enhanced by the cluster of red prancing their way around the forest, and the sea of yellow bopped up and down around my feet.
Instinctively, I reached my hand outward, reaching for the cluster of red, which was heading toward me. Yet, like a proud kitten, the cluster of red stopped in front of me, almost staring at my hand with disgust, and true to my description, it pranced away.
On the other hand, the yellow beneath my feet was a dog meeting its owner again. They reached for my hand and they danced within my palm with great happiness. Even more astonishingly, the ground itself slowly protruded upward.
At an agonizing pace of one inch every five seconds.
Even at that snail speed, there was only incredulity. Even Thea, who was happily swinging her mace with fervor, joined me as we stared at the mound of earth.
"How did you do it?"
"I don't know," I said, "The yellow thingies just listen to my command, I guess."
"Yellow thingies?"
At that point, I finally glance at the transparent panel out of the corner of my, and my doubt was solved.
*Conrad Graham*
*Class: Apprentice*
*Skill: Elements Perception (Basic)*
*Level: 0*
"What are you talking about?" Thea poked at my face, her face filled with curiosity.
"I think it is my skill, 'Elements Perception'." After which, I tried my best to use my lack lustered vocabulary to describe the masterpiece before me. Their vibrant color, the way they flowed through the air and most of all their personality.
"See, I told you I like to be an Apprentice." Her earlier glare was only intensified.
"What about you? What is your skill?"
"It's 'Elements Enhancement', but I felt nothing. A bit more energetic, but nothing else," Thea sighed dejectedly.
"Wait... enhancement..." I muttered under my breath, as the gears in my head spun like a whirlwind sweeping through a farm. Chaotic.
But when the gear click inside my head, I burst forth with joy, "Okay, I am going to point you to a few places. Stand there and tell me how you feel."
With her nod, I guided Thea toward the colorful elemental flows. Meanwhile, I cranked my eyes fully opened staring to take in everything.
The yellow scattered like a bunch of scared children.
The green crawled back into the tree, shameful as it might be, but exactly like me during a horror movie. Too scared to watch, yet, too curious not to.
But the red. Oh boy, they were naughty. they floated there, dancing around, Thea, barely out of reach. You could compare them to a maiden, shy and nervous upon seeing 'The One'.
But Thea, she only stood there with a confused and blank expression. A scene, which I could barely contain myself from smiling.
Unable to bear her adorableness, I had to step and guide her hand.
The moment it touched the red, they swarmed toward Thea and encased her whole body.
"How do you feel?"
"Amazing, I can briefly saw those light flowing within my veins." Like that, Thea's eyes glowed and her mace swung out with excitement. When her mace whooshing over my head, I felt the air grew hotter.
"Hey," I said.
She stuck her tongue at me before swinging her mace with even more vigor.
But under my watchful eyes, with every few swings, and a few marks of destruction, the red light around her gradually dimmed.
"If you swing anymore, you will run out of red, which right now I think is fire," I rubbed my still warm hair.
"That was exciting," Thea exclaimed.
"I am glad that you enjoyed it." Seeing her bright and dazzling smile, her energy was so infectious. I could not help but feel bubbling inside.
But the longer I stared at her infectious smile and saw the glimmers of light something clicked within my mind.
What followed was me, trying my best to guide those cheerful yellow to encase my body. Expecting to feel something extraordinary, but I only saw the earth crawling up my legs.
Slightly faster it might be, but it was still at an unbearable pace.
Nevertheless, the moment my legs were covered with earth, something strange happened. The tough earth was surprisingly flexible. They bent along with my knees, and the weight I dreaded was not there.
However, the joy I felt was dosed by a cup of cold water, when the sadistic echoed out, "Welcome everyone. How have you enjoyed your power so far?"
"To become stronger. To be an invincible being. To reach the unimaginable height.
"All you need is one thing. Acquire them... From the dead body of other."
"Exciting, isn't it?" The voice let out a maniacal laugh.
"Sadly, only from those of your class. I know, I know, it is quite sad, nevertheless, it is the rule, and I can't really change that."
"But hey, fight on, after all, only ten percent of you are going to survive this."
"I will~ be watching~~~."