Supreme Swordfiend

Within the chest lay a thick slab of iron, coarse and rough to the touch. Even within the current colourless state of the world Leon could identify the weapon's colour- pitch black, as though someone had covered the weapon's body in coal dust. As wide as Leon and taller than him too, he grasped the upright handle of the monstrous weapon, just barely managing to heft it over his shoulder with one hand, grunting in exertion as he did so.

Its full length now revealed, Leon noticed the tip of the weapon was different- it grew slightly wider and was sharpened to a fine edge. His observations prompted [Inspect] into action, displaying the weapon's info.

"Bladeless- Designed when one foolish smith asked the question- what if I made an ultra greatsword that was also a shield? Declared a tasteless abomination by all who beheld it, this blade's true worth lies not in its ability to serve as a bulwark in times of need, but in its huge size, allowing its wielder to mow down hordes of enemies with a single swing. Carries a standard Self-Repair enchantment.

Restrictions: 15 Power."

Chuckling as he read the description, Leon joked to the still world.

"Called it, another incredibly restrictive sword! At least this one doesn't require a manual to use."

Keeping his new toy hefted across his shoulders Leon examined the remaining items in the chest. This time he received far less armour- only another belt and a light bronze helmet. The helmet was a major boon, light enough to retain vision and hearing, bulky enough to keep his head safe.

Slinging the belt over his shoulder, Leon used its handy clasps to fasten his new sword to his back. Once he'd made sure it was secure he placed his new helmet on, the armour subtly shifting to fit his skull.

Beneath the helmet lay a book in a familiar style. A bright yellow cover and a derogatory title. "Using Mana- For Dummies!". While Leon resented the book's casual assumption that he was a dummy he wouldn't turn it down purely on that basis. If it didn't help him use mana, he was going to take no small amount of pleasure from dicing it apart.

Pocketing the book led to him brushing his working arm against his immobile one, sending a shooting pain up the limb. Leon had held off on healing it, he had felt his body begin the repairs while atop the carnotaurus and had willed it to stop. Burning through all his energy could leave him unable to swim back in the worst case. He'd merely willed the healing to stop and the order had been obeyed, which Leon chalked up to more System bullshit.

Once the book was secure in his pocket a blue portal winked into existence, just past the chest. Stepping through, Leon once again felt his perception bubble out before it was slammed back into his head. He'd returned to the crescent moon lake, beneath the starless sky. The portal behind him still there, though [Inspect] fired up to tell him a crucial fact.

"Scenario Dungeon- Level 2-10, Reptilian Arena. Daily challenge attempts exhausted for [Leon Knox]"

Not inspecting the dungeon beforehand was a slight screw-up, one that hadn't effected him in retrospect, but it was a poor habit to form- he'd inspect all dungeons going forward, no exceptions.

Leon sat down, choosing to rest for a moment, as he stared into the black abyss above him.

"Wonder if its staring back.."

While Leon took a slight reprieve on that small island, back at the camp a different, tenser scene was playing itself out.

Those who had run off at Leon's threat had returned, their flight from the fire having been one made in haste that they soon regretted once they realised Leon had actually left. The six survivors were now united again, Mike having opted to take the first watch, while the others lay their heads down, taking whatever sleep they could get.

His prior listlessness was nowhere to be seen as he tended to the fire, eyes roving between the flames and the treeline with no discernible pattern.

He heard the footsteps before anything else. Soft, but discernible through the thick silence of the night, they carried over the crackling fire and reached him, the sound of plastic sole against dry dirt enough to force Mike's posture ramrod straight, his sword in his hand as he waited for the source of the noise to reveal itself.

When Selena emerged from the treeline, shaken and shivering, Mike lowered his weapon. Her role as the 'traitor' must have run its course- hopefully she had extracted as much information from that psycho as possible.

Mike had recognised him as a problem when he'd first met Leon's eyes, back on the beach after the European had swum to his death. He'd been a fool, but a necessary fool. Nothing like a tragedy to unite a group. Leon though- his eyes had been cold, distant- unaffected by the death they had witnessed.

Beneath that detachment there had been a flicker of emotion. Curiosity. The dominant force that drove that man was curiosity, his personable façade just that- a façade, a guise to cover just how little he cared for anyone but himself.

His decision to abandon the group had given Mike an opportunity- to paint the long haired man as a reckless bastard who'd run off to find trouble- an outsider they could unite against. Things had been alright for a few minutes- Bill had manged to spear a few fish out of the river and Francis had collected firewood from some fallen tree he'd seen on their short walk through the woods.

Then that monster had dropped from a tree mere minutes after they'd gotten the fire started, landing on poor Megan's exposed leg.

Her death was regrettable, he'd managed to coax Bill into doing it. The schlorp he'd heard as the man's spear had penetrated her eyeball was one that revolted him, his mood carefully constructed afterwards- anger at Leon and pity for Megan. The group began to truly rely on him, he was a beacon of rationale and normalcy in this nightmarish world they'd awoken in. He'd re-assured them while Bill had hauled away the poor girl's corpse.

Then Leon had returned, clad in armour and exuding an bloodthirsty pressure. Terrible. That was the only word to describe how the man's presence had felt- he'd strode in, the sun at his back and demanded food, sword drawn, arrogant as all hell.

The less said about Mike's failure to guilt trip him the better. He'd expected the man to fall in line, only for him to cut himself off from the group. His group of survivors had no intention of fighting or doing dungeons of any kind, survival was what mattered meaning his information about the slimes held value to Mike- if they could avoid the monsters thanks to him he was willing to forgive and forget.

Selena had volunteered and since then she'd been at his side- the appearance of a ranking board and the black skinned monster were more nonsense as far as Mike was concerned. They had to work on surviving, building shelters and hunting for food. All this videogame-esque nonsense could take a backseat until they were secure and safe.

Leon's threat to harm them after he'd emerged from his pop-up house had succeeded in scaring Mike- he'd seen it in the man's eyes from his fireside seat. If they kept pushing him he'd snap. So, he'd let him leave. Now things had come full circle.

"Selena, any updates about our mutual friend?"

She joined him by the fire, still shaking as she pulled her jacket tighter around her body. She was a far cry from the joking woman who had parted ways with Leon, uncontrollably shaking and rubbing her hands together as she attempted to get warm by the fire.

"He was on the trail of another dungeon, the devil in the house told him where to go. He was excited, Mike, said there'd be dinosaurs roaming the woods come tomorrow and I swear he looked like a kid who'd been told Christmas was coming early. He figured me out after he reached the place, a portal in the middle of a lake. If that dungeon hadn't have been there I'm pretty sure he'd have come right back across the water just to kill me. Eyes like ice blocks, cold, so cold."

"So he's coming back stronger?"

"Either that or not at all, I pray he does, honestly. Guy's scary but I'd rather have and not need than need and not have y'know?"

The dinosaurs were a concern- he'd drill down on that.

"Thank you for all this Selena- I know being near Leon is...difficult. Did he give you any idea what kind of dinosaurs Selena? Anything at all?

"Nope, he was certain we were all gonna die to the dinos if we didn't 'get stronger', whatever that means."

Leon's decisions so far had all seemed illogical to Mike. Him eschewing group co-operation and pursuing some vague ideal of personal power was foolish, bigger muscles wouldn't help him survive exposure or starvation. Seemed was the operative word however- if Leon was so sure of things he must be privy to information the rest of them weren't.

The source must have been the devil in the house- if the devil was informing Leon of how best to maximise his survival odds, then wasn't mimicking Leon the correct thing to do?

"I believe he's right- I had assumed these idiotic videogame overlays were some sick group hallucination, a trick of the mind or twisted joke of some sort. If they're as important as Leon believes they are, then I've been approaching this situation incorrectly- we need to grow stronger. I'll wake the others."

Selena looked confusedly up at Mike, the man having risen to his feet as he spoke.

"What for?"

"We're heading for that dungeon he kept pointing us towards- it seems we can't sit by passively if we all want to live."

Leon meanwhile was dealing with a much more mundane issue- his new sword and the principle of buoyancy. He knew he'd sink like a stone were he to wade in with his new absurdly heavy weapon strapped to his back. He'd already made the costly decision to heal his arm, his energy levels dwindling, as hunger crept back in. The miracle healing energy tax aside, he'd needed use of his arm to execute a truly genius plan.

Hefting Bladeless over his shoulder, Leon attempted to eyeball the distance to the opposite bank, quickly giving up. There were only two outcomes- success or failure. Taking a running start, Leon lobbed Bladeless through the air, the massive beat stick managing to reach the other side, embedded bladed tip first in the dirt.

"Another thing I wish I'd videoed...shame."

Taking the plunge into the cold water Leon, luxuriated in the icy currents for a minute. Washing the blood and sand out as best he could, making sure his armour was as clean as he could get it. Pulling himself onto the opposite shore was easier than before, thanks to his increased stats, water dripping from him where there had once been blood.

Pulling Bladeless back onto his back, Leon made his way back to the campsite. He'd achieved a lot today, exhaustion beginning to set in as he walked. Despite his aching muscles and tired mind he maintained his excitement. This Tutorial was heaven, an endless array of challenges laid out to for him to conquer. His thoughts briefly turned to his family and his few friends.

It was an unpleasant train of thought- he could only hope his parents and sister hadn't chosen to enter the Tutorial. He knew they wouldn't have the same hunger for challenges he had.

Jin on the other hand...he'd have entered, no doubt. He was the type to adapt rapidly when thrust into new situations and his knowledge of videogame systems would serve him well in adapting to the System. He'd probably be in a similar state to Leon- enjoying this new reality and seeking out the most optimal ways to level up.

Leon wasn't particularly close with many others, he did hope his co-workers survived, even though he didn't much care for them.

By the time he had reached the campsite Leon had dried off. He was surprised to find the once roaring fire reduced to cinders, every other human gone. He hoped they'd left for the dungeon, though more realistically they'd probably just relocated somewhere far away from his little house.

Entering, Leon spotted Zerasos, still sprawled out on a beanbag, the devil seeming not to have moved at all while Leon had been gone. The plate in the devil's lap gave away the game, he'd clearly partaken of the holy fridge's sacred offerings.

"Enjoy your meal Zerasos?"

He received mere grunts in reply while Zerasos rolled over in the beanbag, the cleaned plate clattering to the floor, while the devil muttered an explanation.

"I'm drifting into a food coma kid, drake steaks'll do that to a devil- get some rest, I'll get you outta bed once it all kicks off out there."

Leon stripped out of his armour, laying each piece against the wall, placing his weapons side by side. Next, the fridge for an early breakfast meal. A second hamburger, identical to the first, accompanied by a tall glass of lemonade. It was heavenly- the fridge god's grace and majesty humbled Leon as he ate of its divine gift.

Downing the meal as quickly as possible Leon then remembered- his status, he needed to check it before he fell asleep.

Name- Leon Knox

Race- [Human]

Grade- [H]

Class- [Common-Swordsman]- Level 4/25

Job-None!

Stat Block:

HP-140/140

MP-0/60

Power-15

Speed-15

Constitution-14

Intelligence-6

Wisdom-5

Fame-2

Infamy-0

Skills:

[Swordsman's Eye]-Level 2/10

Quests:

Wide Base- Attain a baseline competency with many classifications of sword

Progress:

Straight Swords- 1/1

Curved Swords- 1/1

Thrusting Swords- 0/1

Greatswords- 0/1

Curved Greatswords- 0/1

Ultra Greatswords- 0/1

Reward-Class Skill

Pile 'Em Up- Sharpen your skills on living flesh

Progress- 53/100

Reward- Class Skill

The changes to his status were minimal- a few stat increases, his new skill seemed to have absorbed [Inspect]. He could still pull up info boxes, so nothing to worry about there. Still just, in case, he focused on the new skill to call up its info.

"[Swordsman's Eye]- An upgraded perception skill, retains all of [Inspect]'s abilities while offering enhanced insight into opponents wielding bladed weaponry and weaponry itself. Further insights are provided when used against hostile swordsmen and swords. Level 2/10."

His proficiency with Wavecutter allowed him to cross another sword classification off the list, while all the kills in the arena put him just over the halfway mark on his second quest.

Status check complete, made his way over to the hot tub, fetching one of the many towels it supplied to dry himself off properly.

Properly dried, Leon fell onto the four poster bed, falling asleep nearly as soon as his head hit the pillow, drifting into a dream unlike any other he'd experienced.