As the tutorial period entered its final week, panic began to set in—not among the general population preparing for their transition to Eldoria, but specifically in Max, who had just learned exactly when his precious collection would disappear.
```
SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT:
Final Transportation to Eldoria: 3 Days
All tutorial items will be reset upon transfer
Please prepare accordingly
```
"This is fine," Max muttered, pacing between his now five carts of collected items. "Everything's fine. There has to be a way to keep at least some of it. There's always a secret method. Maybe if I store things in the right order, or if I find the right combination of items, or—"
"You're talking to your rock collection again," Elara observed, approaching with a bowl of stew from the communal cooking area. She'd long since given up trying to convince Max to attend the actual cooking tutorials, especially after he'd succeeded in making a surprisingly tasty soup using only items he'd foraged. Nobody had asked exactly what was in it, primarily out of fear he'd actually tell them.
"They're not just rocks," Max protested, cradling a particularly lumpy specimen. "This one looks exactly like a legendary crafting material. See the sparkly bits?"
"That's mud, Max. You dropped it earlier."
"Sparkly mud! That has to mean something!"
Griffin appeared, twirling his now expertly wielded daggers. "Still in denial about the great inventory purge, I see." He peered into cart four, which Max had labeled 'Emergency Supplies (Absolutely Critical) (Do Not Touch) (This Means You, Griffin)'. "Is that... is that a collection of different-sized twigs arranged by potential magical properties?"
"The system can't just delete items of such obvious importance," Max insisted, reorganizing his twig collection by what he called their 'mystical resonance' but what was actually just how nice they looked lined up together. "That would be terrible game design."
A small crowd had gathered nearby, watching Max's increasingly frantic attempts to merge different items together in hopes of creating something the system would deem worthy of keeping. So far, he had managed to create:
- Three piles of unusually colored dirt
- A stick bundle that vaguely resembled a sword if you squinted
- Something he insisted was a "prototype magical catalyst" but was actually just rocks tied together with vines
- A hat made entirely of leaves that he claimed improved intelligence stats but mostly just dropped foliage everywhere
"Max," Elara said gently, "maybe it's time to accept that—"
"Wait!" Max suddenly straightened up. "The achievement system! There's always special rewards for achievements!" He pulled up his status window:
```
Achievements Earned:
- "Resource Hoarder Supreme" (Multiple Times)
- "Creative Combat Specialist"
- "Squirrel Whisperer"
- "Master of Inventory Management"
- "Why Do You Have So Many Rocks?"
- "No Really, That's Too Many Rocks"
- "Please Stop Collecting Rocks"
- "Tutorial Speedrunner"
- "Unconventional Problem Solver"
- "Cart Construction Expert"
```
"See?" he said triumphantly. "All these achievements must count for something! Maybe they'll convert into special items in Eldoria, or unlock special storage abilities, or—"
"ATTENTION ALL TUTORIAL PARTICIPANTS," the familiar announcement voice boomed. "FINAL PREPARATION PHASE BEGINNING. ALL PARTICIPANTS PLEASE REPORT TO THE CENTRAL CRYSTAL FOR TRANSPORTATION BRIEFING."
"Finally," Griffin sighed. "Real weapons, real adventures, and most importantly, no more watching Max talk to his pebble collection."
"They're not just pebbles," Max mumbled, but he followed his friends toward the crystal, casting worried glances back at his convoy. He'd stationed several newly-befriended squirrels as guards, paying them in nuts he'd collected during his first week. He was pretty sure squirrels could be trusted with security duty. Almost sure. Somewhat sure.
At the central crystal, a massive crowd had gathered. The ghostly instructor appeared, its form more solid than usual for this important briefing. Max immediately began tapping the crystal, trying to skip through what he assumed would be a long dialogue sequence.
Nothing happened.
He tapped harder.
Still nothing.
"This is a mandatory briefing," the instructor announced, giving Max a pointed look. "No skipping allowed."
Max's horror must have shown on his face, because Griffin actually patted him sympathetically on the shoulder. "Look on the bright side," he whispered. "At least you'll finally learn what's actually going on."
"When you arrive in Eldoria," the instructor began what promised to be a very lengthy explanation, "you will find yourself in a world where your actions have real consequences. Your achievements here in the tutorial zone have been monitored, and you will be granted abilities and opportunities based on your demonstrated preferences and skills."
Max perked up slightly at this, hope returning to his eyes. Maybe all his collecting hadn't been in vain after all.
"However," the instructor continued, "to ensure a fair start for all, any physical items gathered during the tutorial period will not transfer. This includes ALL items, regardless of their perceived magical properties, historical significance, or quote 'critical importance to the future of crafting as we know it' unquote."
Several people in the crowd turned to look at Max, who was trying very hard to become invisible behind Griffin.
"The transfer will begin in exactly seventy-two hours. Please use this time to—"
A commotion from the direction of Max's convoy interrupted the briefing. Several squirrels were enthusiastically rearranging his carefully organized rock collection, apparently having decided that payment in nuts entitled them to interior decorating privileges.
Max broke into a run, leaving the mandatory briefing behind. "No, no, no! The shiny ones go in the third cart! And those are my premium dirt samples!"
As he disappeared into the distance, Elara and Griffin exchanged glances.
"Should we..." Elara began.
"Help him stop the squirrels from redecorating his soon-to-be-deleted collection?" Griffin finished. "Absolutely. This is going to be hilarious."
They followed their friend, leaving behind the important briefing about their future fate to help him argue with squirrels about the proper organizational system for rocks that would cease to exist in three days.
Some things, after all, were more important than preparing for a new life in a magical realm.
Like making sure the twigs were arranged by mystical resonance, obviously.