The Enlightened Blade

Raj came to a fully white room that was really messing with his mind. Am I dead? He wondered. Wait, no, that's too cliche. It said that the System was initializing or something, which sounds exactly like the books that I read. So going off of that logic... this is a tutorial? And what were those messages at the end? What does welcome to the Fight mean?

"Hello, human," A monotonous voice responded somewhere behind Raj.

"Jesus!" Raj jumped as he all but felt his soul leave his body. He turned around, revealing an absolutely gorgeous red-haired woman, who seemed to be somewhere in her twenties. "Who are you?" He probed. "And why is this room eerily similar to things that I have read in my books? And is your appearance your real one?"

"Those books of yours, among other things, were formulated based on the thoughts and ideas we fed down to your literary crafters. As for my identity, you may think of me as your tutorial guide. I am here to get you prepared for the coming tutorial, but I cannot help you once you enter it. As for my appearance, it is currently tailored to a form that I found to be appealing to you based on your thoughts,” She responded, her facial expressions and posture not moving an inch. Raj thought for a minute. Literary crafters were probably authors, but since authors wrote about a very wide variety of things, they must have only fed a small genre. Or maybe human nature prevented LitRPG from taking over.

Despite having many more questions, Raj decided to satiate his curiosity later in favor of information necessary to his immediate survival. “Alright, that makes sense,” he said. “Is there anything you can tell me about the tutorial, or how to survive it? Is there anything you can give me?”

“Yes, there is. All members of The Greater Collective are given the same options and information. To begin with, you will need to select your class. To do so, please mentally concentrate on the word Status.” Raj mentally focused for a moment, and was shocked to find his vision cluttered with words only a second later.

Status

Name: Rajeev Narayanan

Race: Human(H)

Class: None

Profession: None

Titles: None

HP: 100/100

MP: 80/80

SP: 90/90

Stats

Strength: 8

Agility: 9

Vitality: 10

Endurance: 9

Intelligence: 8

Wisdom: 7

Free Points: 0

Class Skills: None

Profession Skills: None

General Skills: None

Raj took a moment to process the information that had been dumped onto him. Most of it seemed pretty standard, with 10 in any stat probably being around the average. That meant that Raj was either average or below average in every stat. I guess that makes sense all things considered. I am just a normal college kid after all, but I wasn’t terribly inactive either.

Raj also concluded that his HP was his VIT times 10, with the same going for his SP and END, and his MP and INT. END was also probably a metric for how many hits he could take, and his WIS was probably either MP regen and/or mental defenses. STR and AGI were self-explanatory. Then, just after he processed his Status, another prompt popped up in his view.

Class Selection:

Warrior(Common-H): A warrior does not shy away from combat, using their weapon of choice to strike fear into the hearts of their opponents. As a warrior, you will gain 2 STR, 1 AGI, 2 VIT, 1 END, and 2 Free Points per level. You will gain 1 class skill upon selection of this class.

Archer(Common-H): Hunt down your enemies, never letting them know where and when you will strike. Your arrow will always find its mark. As an archer, you will gain 1 STR, 2 AGI, 1 VIT, 1 END, 1 INT, and 2 Free Points per level. You will gain 1 class skill upon selection of this class.

Mage(Common-H): Mana is your weapon. Obliterate your enemies with spells, control the battlefield, and crush all who stand against you. As a mage, you will gain 1 AGI, 1 VIT, 2 INT, 2 WIS, and 2 Free Points per level. You will gain 1 class skill upon selection of this class.

Raj looked at his choices, noting down the benefits of each. Warrior sounds perfect for me, considering the fact that I love the sword, and it's the only weapon I have any experience with. That being said, the Archer class gives the most well-balanced stats, and allows for stealth and distance kills, so less danger. The mage class is more of the same, but more diverse with the spells. But…

Raj stopped hesitating, and picked Warrior, deciding to trust his gut. He instantly felt a rush coursing through his body, akin to adrenaline. And then, as quickly as it came, it left his body. Another prompt flooded his vision.

Skill Gained: Mana Slash(Common): Imbue your weapon with your mana, allowing you to create a slash of energy that deals damage to objects and enemies in its path. Cost: 10 MP

Skill Gained: Identify(Common): Focus on any object or being and basic information will be provided to you. This is a basic skill given to users upon class selection.

Cost: N/A

Raj opened his Status once more to see the changes.

Status

Name: Rajeev Narayanan

Race: Human(H)

Class: Warrior[(Common-H) lvl 1]

Profession: None

Titles: None

HP: 100/100

MP: 80/80

SP: 90/90

Stats

Strength: 8

Agility: 9

Vitality: 10

Endurance: 9

Intelligence: 8

Wisdom: 7

Free Points: 0

Class Skills: Mana Slash(Common)

Profession Skills: None

General Skills: Identify(Common)

His Identify(Common) skill seemed pretty basic and simple, yet Raj was grateful that he got it. His Mana Slash(Common) skill was also pretty easy to understand, and Raj could not wait to try it out.

Raj glanced back up at the tutorial lady, and she took the cue to continue her speech. “Now that you have seen your status and selected your class, the next thing to discuss is the tutorial itself. Essentially, you will be thrust into a wilderness of sorts, with some open areas and resources. You and 99 others will be together in this iteration of the tutorial, with the rest of your planet being broken up into similar tutorials. Aside from you humans, there will be other non-sapients to contend with, or monsters, as you may refer to them as. There is also the issue of Tutorial Contribution, or TC. It is basically a points system, but you will not directly see the points. Rest assured, however, as actions such as slaying monsters or even your fellow humans will earn you tutorial contribution. Any Quests completed will also earn you TC. You can see Quests the same way as your Status,” she finished, with not even a hint of exhaustion apparent on her face. “Were you able to understand that?”

“Um, yeah, thanks. That was really detailed,” Raj stammered, pleasantly surprised by the depth of the information provided to him.

“Very well. The final item for us to discuss is the weapon you would like to choose to take with you to the tutorial. They will be basic weapons, and you are likely to find better in the tutorial. Here are your options.” Once she finished talking, a light shone, and then 3 weapons suddenly appeared on the ground in front of him.

Spear(Common-H): A basic spear that is capable of fending off attackers and keeping them at bay.

Sword(Common-H): A basic sword with a sharp edge, capable of quick movements and dealing heavy damage.

Axe(Common-H): A basic axe that is heavy and provides destructive force behind each swing.

Raj looked through the options for a moment. It seemed as though the weapons provided were based on his class choice, which made sense. He picked the sword after only a moment’s hesitation, causing the other two weapons to vanish.

“Excellent choice. Now that you have selected your weapon, our time here has come to an end. I wish you luck in the tutorial.” With that final note the tutorial lady disappeared.

“Wait!” Raj shouted at the now empty room. “Well, I guess I am on my own now. Now, how do I even get to the tutorial in the first place?” As if reading his mind, the system filled his vision up with a prompt.

Transporting to Tutorial…

And with that last prompt, Raj felt himself start to freefall once again.

“Really! Come on, at least give me a warningggg!”

Tutorial Commencing…