The night was lost between Tetsu taking quick naps, checking his system, and praying to every god from Earth. Thanks to a certain Indian mom, he learned about way too many gods, and if you thought Tetsu left things for his luck and slept. You are dumber than a rock.
Early in the morning, Tetsu found himself underneath a completely different tree. From a normal Earth tree with a brown trunk and green leaves, now it shone a crimson black with pale blond leaves. The tree Tetsu took shelter under didn't just change in color but also grew taller and wider than what he remembered. The deep scar left by the Blade-grass was gone, while its other half sticking out had shrunken to a spec.
Roots which were supposed to be underneath the tree, now sprung up and surrounded Tetsu, almost forming a coffin.
Tetsu swore on his life he hadn't moved an inch. Hell! He couldn't move an inch. The only logical explanation for this situation was Tetsu being dumb as a rock and trusting a tree when the grass itself tried doing him in.
"Fuck. I remembered it again." He cursed himself for not forgetting his first hunt.
With all his might, Tetsu pushed himself onto his knees. He checks his fatigue to be above seventy.
"I need more time to recover." He spoke internally, not wanting the tree to hear. Remembering the lure of home, he immediately suspected the tree to have some weird magical properties. "Fake comfort by luring others by their memories of home. Try something original." He mocks the tree, hoping for it to react or confirm his suspicion somehow. Yet the tree stood its ground, closely guarding its secrets.
Tetsu mustered his entire strength and crawled backward until he crossed paths with a huge bolder. "You better not try to kill me, too." He warns the boulder before crawling behind.
Good ten feet away from the magical tree and tall enough to hide Tetsu if he were on his knees, this bolder became Tetsu's next safe house. With abrupt breaks, his fatigue crossing ninety, and him almost losing the will to live, Tetsu dug himself into a small pit.
Once he caught his breath, he sat inside the pit and covered his entire body with rocks and mud. "Only I get to make my coffin." He joked to himself, leaving a small hole to breathe.
Perhaps a trained eye or wild beast can easily find him. It was the world's crappiest cover. Tetsu recognized that much. That is why he gave himself one star for the effort. But at the same time, maybe that's why no one would suspect a thing. In hopes he would survive the day, Tetsu took a semi-conscious nap until his fatigue levels dropped below forty.
Even during his semi-conscious naps, Tetsu was completely agitated. He didn't like the idea of surviving on pure dumb luck. Unlike others, he noticed he had very short amounts of dumb luck before the system somehow measured and confirmed his suspicion.
"Enough delegating," Tetsu said, as he opened his screen, overthinking the crap out of every single notification, situation, and experience he had gone through thus far.
[Tutorial will end in 394210 minutes. Reach Warrior status for successful integration.]
The first half of the message hasn't changed. This meant the tutorial hadn't started, or the timer didn't show Earth minutes.
"Warrior." Tetsu considered the strange warrior within, but dismissed the idea. Next, he wondered about the "Initiate." Status beside his level.
"That must be it…" He nods to himself. "When will I become a warrior?" Tetsu imagines fighting grass, trees, and boulders. "I'd be one weird warrior.
He skips this part, as he imagined warrior status to be around level ten or higher, and reaching level two at this point was a stretch. "Next." He slides to check all his stats at four points. "Did they improve?"
[STATUS]
Health Pool: 06/84
Mana Pool: 40/140
Fatigue: -20
-*--*----*--*--
"Either my body took time to adjust or I increased the numbers somehow?" Tetsu gathered data for a later date.
Let's start from the top. The health pool and his current status didn't match. Based on his earlier experience, he threw the health pool under vitality, or his lifeline. "When it reaches zero, it's game over." He shudders.
Mana pool confused Tetsu more than Mana. Taking pool in its literal sense, he must have some amount of mana.
Fatigue, Tetsu understood way too well. All of his exercises, either it be physical, mental, or mana-based, built up a residue. With a similar concept as stamina, fatigue gathered all the negative backlash. The higher its number, the less you can function.
This theory of Tetsu was backed up by his next stats.
[INDIVIDUAL STAT'S]
Dex: 02 :: Flex: 02 :: Flash: 02
Stamina: 02 :: Rex: 02 :: Fort: 02
-*--*----*--*--
A clear bump from where he started. "Now, with motivation like this, who wouldn't become the best version of themselves?" Tetsu cheered.
Two theories fought in Tetsu's mind. Either his stats took time to show as his body developed, or these stats can be trained and improved. Tetsu's heart flared with excitement. Except for stamina, the rest of the stats made no sense. But if stamina meant what he thought it meant, he could train himself for more points.
Tetsu wanted to burst out and scream in excitement. Too bad his legs and voice didn't share the same enthusiasm. "Gotta test this theory." He pleaded to his fatigue to reduce.
-*--*----*--*--
Senses: 7 :: Regen: 6 :: Tork: 4
-*--*----*--*--
Will power: 27 :: Perception: 16 :: Intellect: 18
Luck: 10
Free Points: 04
-*--*----*--*--
Rest of his stats remained the same. Senses might mention his seven senses, while Regen and Tork made no sense. Pun intended.
Will power should refer to his determination, while perception and intellect should be earth terms likewise.
"Oh… My luck has increased." Tetsu lets out a little squeak.
His body pains and common sense soon shut him up, reminding him of his surroundings.
"Free points?" asks Tetsu.
[Bonus points are given to the accomplished players for their achievements. Free to use over any stat, class, equipment, bond, or skill, one uses their bonus to either enhance their strongest attribute or cover their weakest essence. Some players wait to use their free points over skills, upgrading them to the next level without any effort, while others concentrate on their shells, bonds, or equipment. Hack your way to the top by using your free points wisely. But keep in mind, even though a hack, once spent, they stay invested. Careless spending leads to broken status, while wise spending leads to godhood.]
"Fuck me! I could do that all along?" cursed Tetsu. "Health pool? Mana pool? Fatigue? Dex...?" Tetsu questioned everything and anything. "Weird magical tree. Grass with vengeance. Boulder above, can crush?"
To his delight, the system answered a few and left out the rest. "You get what you get." Tetsu shrugs, accepting the information he received.
Bonus points or free points were hacks. So, he decided to use them wisely only after proper research. Godhood was in the description and Tetsu would not squander his chance. The health pool and the Mana pool revealed nothing. Fatigue confirmed his theory of it being the reverse of stamina, where it calculated the exhaustion, backlash, and negative energy built up in the user.
The below stats respectively were Dex, which boiled down to durability. Flex for control. Flash for agility. Stamina for stamina. Rex for defensive ability. Fort for strength.
Senses indicated his seven senses. Regen for the speed to regain resources. Tork was the speed to use his abilities.
Will power, perception, intellect, and luck meant literally will power, perception, intellect, and luck.
Results for the Tree, grass, boulder, and warrior status came out blank. Questions about how to reach the next level or general doubts about his new reality also yielded no results.
Amongst the various notifications and information he received thus far, these last three knocked his breath away.
Titles--: Solitary Vanguard ;; Fanatic Rever.
-*--*----*--*--
[Solitary Vanguard: Exploration beyond the unknown comes with certain risks. While others gamble with their lives for valuable knowledge. They also combine their skills, luck, knowledge, and wisdom to survive. Very few brave souls embark on this journey solo. Other races might call it stupidity, the journey ahead proving their point, and more, yet still, every story only has one hero. The system has recognized your crazy solo mission and has granted you the title of "Solitary Vanguard," which increases your overall stats by one percent. Face your enemies and conquer your challenges with a bit more help.]
"I gladly accept all the help I can get," said Tetsu, imagining shaking the system's hand. "God knows I need every bit."
[Fanatic Rever: Dreams are the common ground that every species shares. While even amongst myriad races, only a handful ever achieve their dreams. Dreams are for the fanatics who can hunt without mercy, dream without fear, accept without hesitation, and acquire without help. One step closer to your dreams, the "Fanatic Rever," title will keep you grounded and focused until you achieve your dreams. A percentage booster of one percent has been added to all your stats. Face your enemies and conquer your challenges with a bit more help.]
"Is this an insult or a compliment?" It baffled Tetsu. "Either way, I gladly accept." He shakes the system's imaginary hand one more time.
Last but not least. The welcome note.
[Welcome to the tutorial grounds. These grounds are designed specifically for the races and individuals incapable of surviving the integration. Here, new bonds are formed, classes are gained, knowledge is earned, affinities are conquered, and shells are modified to withstand the integration of the new universe. Under Eternal Slumber, with three lifelines, and a tutorial ground to understand your new reality, you get to try, and retry your choices with zero consequences.]
[Re-do left: 03/03.]
[Warning! Once lost, life cannot be formed. This gift of Re-do is a one-time offer only available under special tutorial grounds.]
"Damn!" Tetsu whistled. "Get fucked and unfuck yourself." He surmises. "Three lives." Tetsu gets his overthinking mind to work. "Eternal slumber." He places these words side by side. "Yup! I'm never testing this theory out." He concludes.
Only one pressing question bothered Tetsu. He had to get to warrior status under time unknown. Even if the time was in Earth minutes. Three hundred ninety-four thousand two hundred ten minutes meant two hundred and seventy-three days and seven hours.
"Why is the time so specific? Or is it a coincidence?" Tetsu skipped yet another pressing issue as he checked his timer. "Nine months? Birth cycle… Or re-birth? Questions for the creator." Tetsu makes another list.
Regaining movements in his limbs, Tetsu checked his fatigue levels. "Below forty." He acknowledges.
Not wanting to risk any incident by being lazy, he dug himself out. To his suspicions, the boulder behind him just began to roll, squash, and dissolve a weirder insect. Like a kid caught eating cake in the middle of the night, the boulder stood still, gawking. Tetsu returned the gawk with a much more human-like expression.
Tetsu stunned the Boulder by rising from the ground, while Tetsu himself was getting used to unusual stuff.
"Good catch." Tetsu gave the Boulder a thumbs-up.
The Boulder still tried to comprehend food rising from the ground and from where it was moments ago, nonetheless. Was it a predator or prey? Huh! Who cared? The Boulder made a rumbling sound and rolled away.
"Ghosted by a boulder… I hate the system."
═─┈─{═E═}─┈─═