Data's voice continued to sound...
"Congratulations to player Lion for being the first player to reach level 2 in the tutorial"
"Congratulations to player Lion for being the only one to reach level 2 in the coliseum phase of the tutorial."
"Congratulations to the player Lion for completing the 100 stages of the tutorial coliseum"
"Performance evaluation will begin now, and rewards will be assigned."
"1%…2%…12%…"
The bleeding stopped. I could even feel like my body was healing as it went, and it's not an easy feeling. The torn flesh was coming together, the cuts and wounds were sealing, and the skin was growing where it had been torn off... The crushed bones and tendons grew or were relocated. It was a complicated process, let's say... I became nauseous and vomited on the sand... I lost consciousness.
When I woke up, I was in another blue room like the first, my body whole and immaculate, the spear and shield intact again, and at my side...
I sighed, I laughed like a madman, and I released the stress accumulated from killing more than 1000 giant rats and their king...
I was not a warrior; I had not fought nobly, nor skillfully, or honorably. I did what was necessary to live according to what I had always done, making the most of what I had at hand...
How has Elsine done on the Coliseum?... An arched Will had an easy time with the first rats, but when the arrows were finished, she had only a dagger... Closer combat with rats may be a bad situation.
I hope she was doing It Well...
I really don't care about this funy, nervous and explosive girl, seriously, but she IS the unique other player that I meet on the game...
I opened the stats window...
CHARACTER: Lion
Strength: 14 *substats unlockable after stat +16
Dexterity: 14 *substats unlockable after stat +16
Constitution: 14 *substats unlockable after stat +16
Intelligence: 14 *substats unlockable after stat +16
Wisdom: 14 *substats unlockable after stat +16
Charisma: 12 *substats unlockable after stat +16
Perception: 14 *substats unlockable after stat +16
Luck: 12 *substats unlockable after stat +16
Life: 36/36
Mana: locked
Spirit: locked
Ki: blocked
Skills: Accurate Throw 507/1000*Combat
Level: 2; Exp: 1201/4000
Job: locked up to level 10
"Title: The persistent * effect: when the character is fighting for more than 1 hour, he ignores fatigue and enters a state of special lucidity, giving a critical chance of + 25%"
"Title: pest exterminator *effect: When the character kills more than 100 monsters of the same species, he will get 50% additional damage against the beings; when he kills more than 1000 monsters, he will get 100% damage; and when he kills more than 10,000 monsters, he will get 200% damage against the species. At the moment:
100% damage against giant rats
"Title: The One Who Grows Fast *effect: The character will receive double experience up to level 10.
"Title: King of the Colosseum *effect: You can equip the gladiator armor. The item will be retained after the completion of the tutorial.
Inventory: Essence of the Rat King
Data's voice echoed:
Combat potential evaluation completed; player evaluation A+++. Three common skills will be assigned to the character's choice. The choice of an additional weapon will be allowed before the start of the next phase of the tutorial.
The first thing I did was check the gladiator equipment: a hardened leather cuirass, defense +3 without penalties, leather Greaves defense +3 without penalties, leather forearms +2 without penalties, and shin guards +2 without penalties. Since I didn't even have a stat before, this was new...
Dressed in the armor, everything was starting to look a little more like a game. The armor was comfortable even with the rigidity of wearing it; it would not protect me from all the blows, but if I had worn it during the test in the coliseum, it would have prevented me from many injuries, especially to my arms and legs.
A bad wound to your arm could make you drop your weapon, and a bad wound to your leg could leave you in a life or death situation from which you couldn't escape.
Next was the essence of the Rat King. When I opened it, another blue light came out of the essence, invading my body. The effect was not spectacular, but it gave me a magnificent +1 to dexterity. This added up to a total of 15... It wasn't a spectacular change... I didn't feel like I was flying, but there was something in my body... a little better... a little faster... everything a little easier... it had happened in hours from a clumsy guy with a body that did not respond to his commands to an agile, very agile person...
I was not a novice and although I was surprised by the variety of skills available, none of them were combat, just "common" skills. I quickly searched through all of them to see if there was something like tracking; indeed, it existed, so I chose it... Knowing how to read footprints can warn you of the number of enemies, but more importantly, it can lead you to hidden pieces that you would not otherwise discover, and that was one way to start making a difference.
However, for the second skill, I allowed myself to be a little more creative. The future was written with simple letters: detect magic. The search for loot or treasure always had something difficult: how would you detect a common and fragile sword from a powerful sword? Because of its simple appearance, no, that was just a way to waste time... How would you avoid that curse or that trap that is not mechanical? Or, how would you discover that magic door if all you see are normal walls?
The doubt arose with the third, first aid or dim vision. The first would allow me to stop bleeding and mend a cut; the second would allow me slight vision even in the dark... For my survival, I found the second more useful...
I had always wondered what a character should do in a game when he needed a torch to see in the dark, leave his weapon in the holster, or leave his shield behind; none of these options are practical or convenient. Being blind, the feeling of not being able to distinguish not the enemies, but the simple obstacles in front of you, was a way of walking towards death.
With the second, I didn't know what it did or if it was useful, and my level was low, but it stated one thing: magic existed in this new world, and I had a door to that world.
The choice of weapon was even easier... I had a medium-range weapon, a spear, and given my reluctance to choose a sword, the option was easy: either a blunt weapon or a hand axe... I opted for the latter. Since a hand axe was based on simple and heavy blows, but with the possibility of cutting and therefore penetrating the enemy.
Dressed in the gladiator armor, my shield, my Spear and the hand Axe, I was no longer a poor human waiting for death.
Many times, my first experience with a Game Will Mark my whole time playing It... Certainly, I had survived Coliseum; even I can say that I have been the BEST one, if it's true what Data said, but... Being injured and almost eaten by a rat wasn't a pleasant experience...not a good one.
Thinking about other players, It has to be a difficult time. Rats may not be the hardest enemies one by one, but in groups....
How would the injured players end up being eaten alive by a pack of rats? Surely they would be traumatized... I don't think the human mind is prepared to overcome the sensation of one's own death so easily.
The pain... I think in this game, they had not calculated the impact that the pain would have on the players' minds; it was perhaps too realistic.
No one was used to fighting until death with beast, not constantly, not with 5 rats, less with 10 or 20...
Luck IS a real factor in the game... If pulpits weren't there, I was sure that most probably die in the fight as soon as later.
If it had not been for the choice of the spear at the beginning, I would have died trying to wield a sword or any other weapon among a crowd of rabid rats...
I know that this may seem like a lot of reflections for a simple game, no matter how realistic it was; however, it was important to take perspective and stop to think. Surely the following tests would be worse, and these would try to push the players to the limit of their experience. It was impossible for a cheater to grow and improve without stopping for a second to think about everything.
I can survive... This IS the real reward for this first phase...
"Data, let's move on to the next phase."