The table dig into my thighs as I stumble from the stop.
Going from a full run to slamming into a table is not an experience I'll recommend anyone, really, I'll never do it.
Especially if you're currently in the middle of an existential crisis after you just killed someone in cold blood for the first time, this, I'll recommend even less.
Well unless you're speedruning doing a mental breakdown, in that case it's acceptable.
Falling down into a heap above the table, my shoulder slam against the ground as the furniture go fly at my right.
The sound of it's support scratching against the ground is loud. And it's being continued by the sound of a human trying to catch his fall, and a table accompying him like it's his best friend.
Fucking hell that hurt.
Removing the table from my feet after I manage to scramble on my knees I propulse myself upward!
Well at least that's what I think I did, in my head.
In reality I more or less looked like a grandpa who had two knees surgery and a century of lower back pain that's trying to get up after falling from his wheelchair.
Yep, grandpa mode. With the whole spell, two hands on my thighs and all.
Said hands pushing me upward despite the burning exhaustion in my legs and arms, they are useful, even if they are staining my pants in the blood I didn't had the time to remove completly with the help of Twitchy body's.
Twitchy...body.
Don't think about it, look around.
Looking around, my eyes lands on the figure of a man...woman? I'm not totally sure they have pretty andregous features, it's as if....as if.....as if a woman and a man had a baby but like, like litterally?
Pretty long brown hair, framing a pretty head, with no blemishes, are their skin glowling? Or wait, is that sweat? Why they looking at me like that, what did the system said already? System consultant right?
A quick thought make me aware that my jokes are getting better. Good. Good.
Pushing into my thighs again, my body raise itself fully upward, all while Ignoring the second glance this system consultant gives to my bloody hands.
I swear I tried hard to wipe them, but...wasn't in the best of mood during that time.
Lifting my left hand, the bloodiest of the two, I see that blood still seeps out of it.
Ah that explain things indeed.
Pressing my right palm above my second knuckle, where my skin is tender and blood flow, I try to reduce the damage.
My finger feel loose.
In that state, still staring down at the system consultant, I decide to speak first since they don't seem ready to do it for some reason.
"So...you're my system consultant?"
The boy, girl? Almost jerk out of their seat, do I look scary?
I'll take it as a compliment, shame Twitchy....Twitchy. It's hard to say the name. Shame he wasn't scared enough for him to just go away without trying to prove something...
Jerking me out of my own thought the consultant answer me "Y-yes, that's me"
A gentle tremble permenate their voice. The conversation now engaged, I walk toward the empty chair in front of them, for a second I glance toward the fallen table, and cradle my hand harder, craddling like Twitchy cradled himself....
STOP THINKING ABOUT IT
Look at the table instead, good, great table. I'm not picking it up.
Sitting down on the, frankly, quite comfortable chair, I lean backward and relax for a bit, I feel like I could fall asleep at any moment.
Fuuuuuuck I really want to sleep.
Just ignore all this shit and sleep.
but even if I want too, the desire not to do anything stupid again.
Like CALLING TWITCHY, TWITCHY, OUT LOUD. is stronger.
So I just decide to stare at my consultant and wait.
A mix of wanna do the smart thing. And I'm tired let me sleep.
He's not gonna talk will he?
Should have expected it.
"So, what's a consultant?" Remembering that message talking about how they need to answer my questions or something, I decide to take advantage and treat this consultant like a machine that spout out answers since he seems so unable to make conversation.
"A-ah" the consultant stare at me with the widest eyes I ever seen....that's actually way to wide, like alien level of wide, kinda creepy.
"That's" without saying anything more the consultant suddenly sit straighter in their chair.
They raise their hands and try to rest them on the table.
Then they remember that the table is not here anymore, so they put them inside their thighs, trying to hide the akward way they move their hands around.
"Yes! I am your consultant"
Their voice is way more enthusiastic as they said those words, ah they are probably building up their confidence again.
"Your personal consultant actually, it's a pleasure to meet you Sir Ludger"
Following said words they tend one of their hands toward me, in a strange imitation of a handshake.
I stare at their hand, they stare at my hands.
I lift them up and shake them a bit, to bring attention to them, still craddling them "I'm injured"
Then they look at their hand, and they rettract it "I-I'm truly sorry"
Ah, their builded confidence crashed again.
This is truly awkward, I don't want to talk, I want to cry myself to sleep today, I don't have time to deal with this ridiculous situation.
A lull settle in the room.
An older voice resonate in my head.
Right right.
My lessons.
Pain, exhaustion, fucking straight up murder.
Can't let that affect me when a source of information is right here, yes, yes.
Even when I got, and I cite:
-got robbed, almost died, had a fight to the death, killed someone, did the biggest sprint of my life, slammed into a table after being teleported, and probably need to accustomate myself in a new life with some kind of system.
All in the last 5 minutes, can't let that affect me...too much.
What a great starter pack.
I try to reign those feelings in, but some bleed out as I lean forward and speak my mind.
"Listen to me very fucking well consultant" the consultant twitch in their seat
"Right now, I'm really, but like really fucking-!"
Pissed? Sad? Confused? Annoyed? Horrible soup of feelings I swear, waiting for half a second I decide to pick out the first word that came to my mind and continue.
"pissed off." the word make them move their legs against the ground nervously, as if they were ready to run away
"So you see, I'm not feeling patient. At all. I swear if I need to hear again one more time the silence while you dwiddle your thumbs and decide not to do your fucking job for a reason, something really fucking bad will happen"
The humanoid stare at me in their best imitation of a deer staring straight at a running car, and finally start to speak. "Y-yes, yes, sorry, I'm really sorry, so sorry, so I'm a consultant, I...."
They freeze for a second struggling with a word.
"advise, newly integrated races and species like them, get them up to speed you see, tell them about the system"
I stop them "the floaty annoying messages that take up a half of my vision In the middle of a fight?"
They blink, three times no less before continuing "yes, the floaty messages, I-I'm really sorry but because of...." their head whiplash to look at the table before coming back to me "this...we, we, we're kinda running out of time"
What a super news.
I TOLD YOU ALL, A GREAT FUCKING DAY!
Seeing the way my jaw tighten, the baby born from a woman and a man, gulp pretty loudly "really sorry, that's totally my fault, but please before all the time run out, could you just say, or think status?"
Status? Don't really know what I expected when this blue screen appeared right in front of me, following my sight as if branded into my retina.
[Ludger Emellini
-body: 10
-mind: 10
-magic: 0
Essence: 50/100
____
Titles: [ONE PENDING, PLEASE ENTER THE TUTORIAL TO RECEIVE IT!]
________
Skills:]
I should have excepted this, I have an INVENTORY for fuck sake, I got teleported, I should have expected this...wait inventory?
Why isn't it written on the status?
"Ah, did you do it? Congratulation Sir ludger, you will soon be transported once again to start the tutorial, please be ready to be here for quite a long time, it's usually pretty long for newly integrated species"
Reading something in the air my consultant speak again biting their lips for a second "it sounds like we only have some seconds left, I'm really sorry agai-!"
Seconds!? As if woken up from sleep with a bucket of ice cold water, I get back into attention interupting his sentence to ask a question.
"What's the tutorial?" I need information.
"A-ah, it's a test for new species in the multiverse to prove their worth, and smoothly help them to integrate without directly getting genocided, or enslaved by more established organizations in the multiverse"
A lot of information, we're protected? A test too? What happen if we don't pass it? Not now "what's the system?"
"I'm afraid I don't have the clearence to answer your question Si-!" At least I know they can't answer allll questions now, cutting them again I keep it up "what happen if we fail that test? We die? Get enslaved?"
"The whole species cannot fail." the hell does that mean now, they speaking in riddles or what? Whatever another question, should I ask about the inventory? Or what happen during the test? Information to help me during this? "What happen during the test?"
"I canno-!" useless. "Is there any hidden functions in the system"
We never know this inventory thing is special or whatever, be vague.
Wasn't expecting a great answer but at my surprise, my consultant nod and answer "a lot, I advise you to say settings and search for them, some are unique to some clans or specific people however."
Suddenly as if realizing something, they smile, a smile that just scream I'M EAGER TO HELP!
"Ah! Right, the annoying big system messages you talked about can be changed here!" good to know.
I lift my hands, and hoping there are more supernatural powers existing, I ask "how do I heal that?"
Without waiting for anything they start speaking faster than they usually did, trying to cram as much information as possible.
"invest your stats in body for regeneration, when you c-[You will now be transported to the tutorial area, please stay still for a smooth transportation!]-an invest in the regeneration subs-!" That's all they can say as they dissapear from my view.
Did they say substats?