And then, there was Beatrice. She was dressed in her white robe, made of a material that resembled silk, and held a smaller white wand. She was the only healer in the group, and although she was silent, I could see the concern in her eyes, especially due to Noah's absence among us.
The conversation naturally turned to the abilities we had received. As I had expected, we all got the Identify skill and the translation ability that came with the title Precursor of the New World, allowing us to communicate with other races. The class abilities, however, were another story.
The light warriors, like the guy in chainmail and the others, had a skill called Dual Wielding, which gave a boost to those using two weapons at the same time. They also had a throwing skill and a common ability called Quickstep, which was a sort of "speed burst." On paper, it sounded promising, but in practice, I realized that Quickstep was nothing more than a slight increase in speed when taking a step, something I would personally consider quite disappointing. For a warrior, it didn't seem like a big advantage.
The medium warrior had five abilities, though all were ranked as Inferior. They had a one-handed skill, a two-handed skill, a sword and shield skill, a weapon throwing skill, and an ability called Balanced Approach, which gave a small bonus to all stat effects when wielding any weapon. It was so small that neither of the two medium warriors could even notice the difference.
The heavy warrior had the same sword and shield skill, a two-handed weapon skill, and an ability called Toughen Up, which allowed the warrior to temporarily increase their resistance. This was also incredibly disappointing, as there was no visual indication of the effect. Moreover, Xavier said he still felt pain when Lucas hit him, which made even the effect questionable.
My skills as an archer, I already knew, were quite familiar.
The spellcasters also had three abilities. The first, called proficiency with magical tools, allowed them to use their wands and other magical items. The second was an attack skill, Mana Bolt, and the third was a defensive ability called Mana Barrier. The barrier was terrible, so weak that a casual sword strike could break it, but Mana Bolt seemed quite powerful.
It seems there were 10 individuals on the other platform as well, and when I looked around, I saw they were also present on all the other platforms around me. I could still see some bursts of light on some of the other platforms, but after a minute or two, everything went silent, and the tutorial truly began.
"Tutorial Starting"
[Tutorial Panel]
Duration: 63 days and 21:47:11
Tutorial Type: Survival
Completion Criteria: Survive the duration of the tutorial
Tutorial Rules: Collect Tutorial Points (TP).
Tutorial Information: The Great Forest below is filled with dangers and opportunities for the new initiates to experience. Beasts roam the forest, hunting prey. Kill the beasts to acquire TP while gaining strength. Perhaps even a chance to hunt the Beast Lords will present itself…
Tutorial Points Rules: Earn TP by killing beasts, which will be divided among the contributors. If you kill another initiate, half of their TP will be divided among the contributors.
The final rewards will be based on the TP collected and the number of survivors.
Total survivors remaining: 1200/1200
TP collected: 0
As I was reading the information, I suddenly felt the pillar beneath me tremble slightly, and I began to be lowered slowly. I quickly composed myself and checked to make sure all my equipment was properly in place. As I did this, I wondered how I could be so calm in this situation and noticed that everyone else was strangely calm as well, although this varied from person to person. Maybe it had something to do with willpower, or more likely, with reliance on a specific person.
Throughout the entire conversation, Lucas had been the guiding light for all of us. He made sure one person spoke at a time, that useful information was extracted, and that everyone had their chance. It was an unspoken rule that he was the leader of the group, a rule that, of course, I had absolutely no intention of contesting.
The group calmly discussed our course of action during the descent, with Lucas immediately taking the lead once again, as always.
Our focus was on the first aspect of all this: survival. We all had weapons and potions; the warriors and archers had 3 health potions and 3 stamina potions each, while the spellcasters and Beatrice had 3 health potions and 3 mana potions.
Additionally, we only had the clothes we were wearing. The rest of the discussion mainly revolved around the strange details of the tutorial, such as the duration, which seemed completely random. We also reached a consensus that hunting beasts would be necessary. None of us were excited about it, but we had to eat somehow. Based on the tutorial rules, it seemed impossible to escape violence. And everyone collectively agreed that they wouldn't antagonize any other survivor unless they had no other choice.
I didn't agree with everything, but I didn't want to play the devil's advocate or start unnecessary fights. I had already realized before that I might be a bit atypical. I really didn't understand the lack of desire to hunt. I was actually quite excited about the idea.
"First, we need to locate water, food, and shelter. The flora here doesn't seem to be the same as Earth's, so we can't rely on our current knowledge of what is safe to eat and what isn't. We should try to see if the Identify skill can help us distinguish edible plants from poisonous ones.
The system also mentioned beasts, so hunting will probably be an option, if not a necessity, to secure a food source," Lucas said. "But we also need to be careful with the other survivors.
We shouldn't be aggressive, but we also can't appear weak. The most likely scenario is that we will need to hunt the beasts, as the system said, to get stronger and survive. If we work together and do our best, I'm sure we can all make it home safely."
The short speech was a bit redundant, considering we had already covered these points, but it seemed to help refocus everyone. Once again, I was reminded why Lucas was the youngest department head our company had ever had. He had made it there relying solely on his competence and charisma, with a bit of nepotism thrown in, but that was almost expected in the job market these days... or well, before these days.
The only thing that bothered me a little was seeing Beatrice staring at Lucas with stars in her eyes. Not that this was the time or place for such silly thoughts. The pillar was getting closer and closer to the ground.
When we finally descended below the treetops, I was able to spot several bird-like creatures hidden among the branches, though I couldn't distinguish any details. Two months... I would have to survive two months in this forest.
As we were just a few meters from the ground, I prepared myself for what was to come.
The pillar finally touched the ground, and we found ourselves in a clearing. The pillar below us strangely seemed to pass through the earth, leaving only grass beneath our feet, with no trace that such a massive pillar had ever been there.
Taking a deep breath of the fresh air, I clenched my fist around my bow. I felt a little nervous. But more than that, a strange sensation began to bubble up inside me. Excitement.
My monotonous world had changed, and I had no intention of making this damn forest my tomb.
...
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