Another bright flash of light erupted from Vox, blinding him again. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a thick forest surrounded by mountains.
[Tutorial Initialization Complete.]
[Welcome to Eden the Forest of Beginnings.]
[Tutorial timer started: 90 days remaining.]
[Tutorial Participants Remaining: 1/1.]
[The Pantheon Observes.]
“So I am in a forest, at least that feels like a home field advantage, but 90 days by myself?”
He frowned. “How am I supposed to play healer if I have no one to heal, this doesn’t make any sense.”
The forest though was unlike anything he had ever seen. Trees so tall it made the redwood forests of California look small. Looking into the distance, light from the sun blocked his vision, but he could just make out mountains that passed through the cloud line towering on the horizon. Hector just stood in awe, this was either the strangest day of his life, or he was dead and this is what the afterlife looked like. Suddenly, a sharp sting tore across his body.
“Shit!”
He spun toward his attacker and found himself face to face with a feline creature.
“What was that?!”
It looked like something pulled straight from folklore, a mountain lion twisted into something wrong. Six clawed limbs, and a body the size of a small car. Warmth spread down his arm, Hector glanced over and felt his stomach drop. Three deep claw marks ran down his right arm, clean and precise, cut all the way to the bone.
[Severe Laceration Detected.]
[Status Condition Gained: Blood Loss.]
[Health Loss: 1 HP Per 10 Seconds.]
He forced his focus back to the creature and withdrew his knife, his grip slicked with blood. His eyes locked onto the beast.
[Analyze: Creature]
Name: Wampus Cat (F)
Threat Level: Medium
Condition: Hungry
Notable Traits:
- High mobility
- Sharp natural weapons
Wampus Cats are creatures of myths and legends. They use 6 clawed paws to incapacitate foes before consumption.
“Great,” Hector muttered. “A hungry kitty. Just what I needed.”
The creature began circling him slowly; muscles coiled and ready. Hector instinctively raised his injured arm in a defensive stance and immediately hissed as pain flared.
[Pain Suppression Activated]
The skill triggered before he consciously thought to use it. The pain dulled, retreating into a distant throb. He could move the arm again it hurt but it was functional. His body had reacted on its own, the same way it had during fires, when thinking came second to acting. As he tried to steady his breathing, the Wampus Cat crouched low, then it lunged. All Hector could see was a furry, brown, cat-shaped mass lunging toward him at terrifying speed.
He raised his knife, barely having time to prepare. The Wampus Cat came so fast it practically threw itself onto the blade. He saw the small knife puncture the creature’s chest, blood splashing across his arm. A sharp snap echoed through the forest as the beast screamed in pain. The force of the impact sent Hector flying. He rolled across the forest floor before slamming hard into a tree.
The tree groaned in protest, as if annoyed by the collision. Pain flared for a moment, then faded just as quickly. Hector groaned and pushed himself upright, using the tree for support. Looking down, his stomach sank, the knife had snapped cleanly in half; the broken blade still lodged in the creature’s chest.
“Shit… now what?”
The Wampus Cats scream faded as it retreated roughly thirty feet away, crouching low and watching him. Hector forced himself to breathe, then a thought struck him.
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“Emergency Heal!” He shouted as if he was the protagonist of an anime.
His left hand glowed with a dull green light. It felt warm and comfortable, he focused, imagining the energy entering his injured right arm. His use of the skill felt clumsy but he began to see the deepest gash sealed first as the others followed in unison, he watched in awe as the skill took over. Relief surged through him, but it faltered almost immediately. Blood was still dripping, and smaller cuts along his forearm continued to seep, thin lines of red tracing paths over newly healed skin. The damage was uneven and messy unlike the clean result he had expected.
“It’s not done,” he muttered.
He had no frame of reference, no sense for how precise the healing was supposed to be. The spell had worked, just not completely. Instinct took over, if some of the damage remained, the answer was obvious. He forced additional healing energy into his arm, trying to correct the gaps, to smooth over what the first wave had missed. The glow intensified, spreading as it flooded past the original injury. That was when something shifted. The warmth sharpened as pressure built inside himself. His skin pulled tight, veins standing out as the energy continued to pour in with nowhere left to go. Only then did he realize he had pushed too far.
[Warning: Overheal Detected.]
[Structural Damage Imminent.]
His arm began to feel wrong, a sensation that he could only describe as internal carbonation spread throughout his body, intensifying quickly. He shook his arm trying to alleviate the sensation. Tiny explosions of pain rippled beneath his skin, and he gasped as his health dropped.
[Warning: Health at 75%.]
[Warning: Mana at 75%.]
He kept going but the pain intensified.
[Warning: Health at 50%.]
[Warning: Mana at 50%.]
“What the hell is going on?!”
[Pain Suppression (F) increased to Level 2]
The pain surged anyway, far worse than before, suddenly, his arm went limp. He cried out as he dropped to one knee, vision blurring. Then he heard a terrifying scream that snapped him back to reality. Hector looked up just as the Wampus Cat launched itself at him again. He struggled to stand, bracing himself against the tree. Pain suppression was gone, and every movement felt heavy, deliberate, and earned. He was injured and was pretty sure he was seconds from death. On instinct, he focused as a scream exited his mouth. His left hand erupted in brilliant green light as he swung wildly, delivering a desperate haymaker. He watched the energy poured from his arm and into the creature as he unknowingly forced every last drop of mana into the strike.
The punch connected.
The Wampus Cat was knocked violently off course, crashing to the ground beside him. Hector collapsed face first into the dirt, struggling to lift his head, he forced his eyes open. The creature was writhing on the forest floor, as blood poured from its eyes and mouth as it screamed, then twitched, before going completely still.
[Wampus Cat Defeated.]
[500 Experience Gained.]
[Level Up.]
[Level Up.]
[You Are Now Level 3.]
[Combat Assessment (F) Increased to Level 2.]
Hector stared at the unmoving body, his heart pounding.
“What… just happened?”
Hector lay on his back, staring up through the canopy, his chest rising and falling in ragged breaths.
“That was insane,” he muttered. “I almost died. And what the hell is overheal?”
He let out a shaky laugh that faded quickly. “Never thought a skill meant for healing could do that. I really am out of my element.”
Too much had happened too fast. He had just been on death’s door once before arriving in this "Tutorial", then immediately returned to it again. Pain pulsed through his arm, sharp enough to drag him back to the present. Hector groaned and cradled it against his chest as he slowly pushed himself upright. His legs wobbled, but he stayed standing. When he looked up, his eyes settled on the dead Wampus Cat lying a short distance away. A red exclamation point blinked insistently in the corner of his vision, but he ignored it. Instead, he stared at the body, forcing himself to really look at it.
[Analyze: Wampus Cat.]
Classification: Beast
Tier: F
Level: 5
Hector exhaled slowly.
“No wonder that was so hard,” he muttered. “You had four levels on me.”
His gaze dropped to his hand, the same hand he had just punched a monster with. It suddenly hit him that he had just killed something with a punch fueled by a healing spell. There is no way that should have worked, he thought, unease settling deep in his gut.
[Would you like to loot?]
He blinked, surprised. “Uh… yeah.”
[Wampus Cat Claw x4 (F) Added to Inventory.]
[Wampus Cat Pelt x1 (F) Added to Inventory.]
A sudden spike of pain shot through his arm, stealing his breath.
“Okay,” he hissed. “First things first.”
He scanned the forest, forcing himself to think past the pain. “I need shelter, somewhere I can sit down and figure out what the hell is going on.”
Nearby, the tree he had been slammed into earlier caught his eye. At its base, partially hidden by roots and brush, was a hollow that opened into a shallow, cave-like space. It wasn’t ideal, but it was better than staying out in the open, vulnerable to more attacks. Hector stumbled inside, moving as far back as he could before lowering himself to the ground. He leaned against the rough bark and let out a slow breath.
“Well,” he said quietly, “I’m not sure how safe this is, but it’s the best I’ve got.”
A red exclamation point blinked in his vision, he focused on it and words began to appear.
[Combat Evaluation Complete.]
[Class Growth Applied.]
Spirit +2
Intellect +2
Endurance +2
[Unassigned Stat Points Available: 6]
Hector frowned.
“So… I got stronger,” he said slowly. “I think. Not sure what that actually means yet.”
He rubbed his face with his good hand. “This feels like a video game or something if that is the case then there should be a stat screen. Right?”
The moment the thought crossed his mind, a translucent screen appeared in front of him.
[Status Sheet – Hector Renegade]
Core Tier: Mortal Core
Level: 3
Class: Field Medic
Unassigned Stat Points: 6
Stats
Strength: 4
Agility: 7
Endurance: 10
Vitality: 8
Intellect: 7
Spirit: 12
Perception: 2
Condition:
Severe fatigue
Minor Core instability (unidentified)
Hector stared at the last line longer than the rest.
“Core instability?”
He leaned his head back against the tree and closed his eyes. He wasn't sure exactly what was going on, but it was clear that Eden was not safe, nor were his healing skills. He had a lot to learn if he didn't want to experience a quick death.