Ryan sighed. Figures. Still, he already knew what he wanted from the start. "Archer," he said, confirming the choice.
You have chosen the Archer class. Confirm?
Ryan smirked. Even the almighty system uses security prompts. He hit confirm.
You have obtained the Archer class.
A tingling sensation spread across his head—strange, not painful, not pleasant either. Before he could focus on it, items appeared on the table before him. He barely glanced at them when new messages popped up:
Gained Skill: [Basic Archery (Inferior)] – An Archer's best friend is the bow in his hand and the arrow in his foe's heart. Unlocks basic proficiency with bows and crossbows. Slightly improves the effect of Agility and Strength when using ranged weapons.
Gained Skill: [Basic One-Handed Weapon (Inferior)] – An Archer may not excel at close combat, but he's not defenseless. Grants basic proficiency with most one-handed weapons, with a small bonus from Agility and Strength.
Gained Skill: [Archer's Eye (Common)] – An Archer's eyes are trained to spot weaknesses in prey. Makes it easier to locate targets. Passively boosts the effect of Perception on vision.
As Ryan skimmed through the three system messages, his earlier suspicions were all but confirmed—this entire setup felt eerily close to a video game, or maybe even a tabletop RPG. The first two skills practically shouted "beginner mode," both carrying the word basic in their names, and tagged as inferior quality to boot. The third, however—[Archer's Eye]—seemed more useful. At least it had a "common" rarity, which sounded less pathetic.
Curious, he tested it out. The moment he focused, his vision sharpened. What once felt like looking through a smudged lens slowly shifted into high definition over the span of a few seconds. Every edge, every line, every detail popped out with startling clarity. "Okay," he muttered to himself, "this is pretty damn cool." When he deactivated it, his sight dulled back to normal, and his Stamina dropped from 70 to 68, while Health and Mana remained untouched.
Closing the window, Ryan turned his attention to the items neatly arranged on the table. The faceless figure sat unnervingly still, but he asked anyway, "I'm guessing these are for me?"
"Yes," it replied. "They are basic starting equipment for your chosen class. Now, on to the final step of the introduction. All new initiates are also granted several universal necessities."
Almost on cue, another screen appeared before him:
Gained Skill: [Identify (Inferior)] – A simple identification ability, commonly known by all but the youngest children of the myriad races. Allows the user to attempt to identify any object or creature in focus.
Ryan perked up. Finally—something actually practical. Maybe this will give me answers instead of more questions for once. So far, this whole "introduction" had been little more than one mystery piled on another.
The entity's voice interrupted his thoughts: "The time allotted for this introduction is ending in ten minutes. You will soon be transferred to the tutorial. It is recommended you claim your equipment before that happens, or the items will be lost."
"Lost? Yeah, no thanks." Ryan scrambled to his feet and began collecting the gear before him.
The set included a wooden bow, a quiver, a coarse brown cloak, a plain knife, and a small satchel strapped to a belt. Everything screamed medieval simplicity. The bow, while well-crafted, was nothing like the sleek aluminum compound bows he was used to back on Earth. Its string looked like silk—or something close to it—but he couldn't be sure. The cloak was thick and scratchy, burlap-like, though it seemed sturdy enough. The quiver was a blend of wood and leather, fitted with a harness to sling across his back.
The knife was as plain as they came: a steel blade fixed into a wooden handle. Functional, if not fancy. To Ryan's surprise, all of the items seemed decently made—no shoddy starter gear here.
Finally, he opened the satchel. Inside, nestled carefully, were a few small bottles.
As Ryan stared at the small bottles, curiosity got the better of him. Then it hit him—duh, use Identify. He focused on one of the red-tinged vials, and after a few seconds, a screen popped up:
[Health Potion (Inferior)] – Restores health when consumed.
"Figures," Ryan muttered. About as straightforward as it could get.
He ran [Identify] across the rest of the satchel's contents. Three turned out to be health potions, while the other three were stamina potions—essentially the same deal, just for stamina instead of health. Nothing surprising there.
The rest of his gear was less exciting. The bow? Just a bow. The cloak? Just a cloak. The knife? Nothing special either. But when he tried the quiver, he finally got something worthwhile:
[Enchanted Quiver (Common)] – A quiver enchanted to generate common-rarity arrows when infused with mana.
"Now that is useful," Ryan thought, feeling a flicker of relief.
Before he could dwell on it, the monotone voice reminded him, "Two minutes until the start of the tutorial."
Panic kicked in. Ryan quickly swung the coarse brown cloak over his shoulders, fastened the belt around his waist, and secured the satchel to it. The sheath hanging from the belt was the perfect fit for the knife, which he slid in and buckled tight. He slung the quiver across his back, thankfully, it was already stocked with dozens of arrows, and grabbed the bow. After fumbling for a way to carry it, he settled on strapping it over his shoulder. Not perfect, but it would do.
"Ten seconds to the start of the tutorial," the figure announced.
Ryan gave it a half-smile and a wave. "Well, nice meeting you… whatever you are." Fear lingered at the edges of his mind, but underneath it was something else—an unexpected, bubbling excitement.
Introduction sequence completed. Transporting to tutorial…
It felt like Ryan had only blinked—and suddenly, he was somewhere else. No swirling portal, no gut-wrenching lurch through time and space. One instant he was in the white room, and the next… here.
Calling it a room didn't do it justice. This place was colossal. Though he could still see a ceiling high above, the curved wall in the distance was so far away it was little more than a hazy outline. Overhead, a vast circular light blazed like an artificial sun, illuminating everything in a soft golden glow. The whole place was structured like a massive dome, impossibly large, impossibly seamless.
Ryan stood on top of a towering stone pillar, one of countless others that stretched across the expanse in every direction. Below, where a floor should have been, spread an endless forest. The trees were massive, some easily a hundred meters tall yet none of them reached even close to the top of his pillar. That was how high he stood above it all. The scale made his stomach twist.
Just as he began to wonder if the system had forgotten about him, the familiar translucent window appeared.
Welcome to the tutorial.
Warmth rippled through his body, like a gentle current of energy settling into his bones. Another notification followed.
Title earned: [Forerunner of the New World].
"A title?" Ryan muttered. "Guessing everyone gets this one." He opened it up immediately:
[Forerunner of the New World] – Awarded for completing the introduction and entering the tutorial as a forerunner of a newly initiated world. Grants +3 to all stats. Unlocks skill: [Endless Tongues of the Myriad Races (Unique)].
A sudden boost of +3 to every stat was definitely welcome, probably the cause of that warm glow. Still, he wasn't sure what the numbers meant in practice. The skill, though, was more concrete:
[Endless Tongues of the Myriad Races (Unique)] – Grants the ability to communicate with the countless races of the multiverse. A unique skill given only to the forerunners of a new world.
So he'd be able to talk with aliens or whatever counted as "other races." Did it work for writing as well? Reading? As usual, focusing on the description yielded no more details, and even [Identify] came up empty.
Another question for the ever-growing pile.
A sound behind him jolted him out of his thoughts. Heart spiking, Ryan spun around, hand going straight to the hilt of his knife.
Another figure had appeared on the platform. Relief flooded him as recognition set in.
"Jabuc?" he breathed, almost laughing at how surreal it felt.
His colleague looked different—gone was the sleek suit. In its place was a set of chainmail and gauntlets, paired with rugged leather pants and a pair of sturdy boots. He looked like he had just walked off the set of a medieval epic.
Jabuc looked just as stunned as Ryan felt. He blinked, took a moment to steady himself, then broke into a wide grin when his eyes landed on him.
"Ryan!? Oh, man, it's so damn good to see you! Have you seen any of the others?" His voice carried its usual spark of energy, tinged with relief.
Ryan shook his head. "Nah, I'm just as surprised as you. After the elevator… did you also—"
Before he could finish, a flash of light cut him off. Then another. And another. In the span of seconds, the platform filled with more figures until ten people in total stood there.
Ryan recognized every one of them. Five had been crammed into the elevator with him, while the other four were coworkers from his company. Relief washed through him when he spotted Caroline among the new arrivals. She looked unharmed—though now she wore a flowing white robe, a slender wand dangling from her hip.
"What happen—"
"Hey, where—"
"You seen Mike!?"
"Where is—"