The platform had gone so silent you could've heard a pen drop. All eyes were on the trio who stared right back. After several long moments, the first dwarf continued. "Welcome, to the Multiverse, or as the Network likes to call it. The Tutorial. We are here to make sure that your baby planet can integrate properly. Right now there are hundreds of thousands of tutorial instances. Each one is devoted to your development. I know that you all have questions and we will get right to them. For now, I need you all to take a seat."

  As soon as he said that a mat appeared at Maximilian's feet. Based on the shocked exclamations he assumed everyone else had the same. The mat reminded him of something you would see at a yoga studio. His was light blue with strange symbols stitched into the edges. The mat was much larger than a yoga mat was made out of materials he didn't recognize. He knelt down and placed the palm of his hand against it. When he confirmed that it wouldn't hurt him he decided to take a seat. He glanced at the dwarf trio who had similar mats though theirs were brown instead of blue. They sat in a lotus-like position so Maximilian copied them. As soon as he did a wave of calm washed over him. His fear, anxiety and worry disappeared. It was as if he had gotten the world's greatest massage. He hated it. It wasn't hard to figure out that the mat had caused the changes which meant that not only could whatever the Network was crush them like insects, it could control their moods.

  He couldn't tell if the effect was exclusive to the mat or if it was drugs in the air. Though he leaned toward the former. Which only made him more concerned. He couldn't feel anything with the mat. There were no vibrations, no smells nothing that would indicate it had done anything but the effect was there. Even when he tried to work himself up the mat worked against him. He could tell if he really wanted to get angry he could but he would have to fight against the natural calm. He looked around at the people near him and found they were in a similar boat. People who had just been enraged were relaxed. People were still concerned and some fidgeted with the mat but did not look ready to run away. Maximilian was brought out of his thoughts when the lead dwarf spoke up.

  "You may call me Thrawn and I am the head instructor for this instance. It falls on me to get you lot ready to take your world back from the monsters that now infest it. " That declaration earned a wave of hushed murmurs and calls for explanation. Calls that died down as Thrawn started up again. "Fear not mortals you all are the elites, the chosen few who are destined to lead your people to greatness. "

  Maximilian was reminded of something the voice had said. That the worlds had been combined and that fauna had been improved. Was that literal? Were there now monsters spread across the Earth that we had to fight? The thought made him uncomfortable. He did his best to scan the crowd for familiar faces but he couldn't find anyone.

  "What about other people?" Someone called out before Thrawn could continue.

  "What about my family?" Another voice this one masculine spoke up. It was like a dam broke as soon as the second voice finished. Several people shouted out this time from amongst all the races. He didn't need to understand the language to figure out what they had asked. The shouts continued for a few more minutes before the pressure descended on us. This time it wasn't as overbearing and it stopped as soon as silence returned.

  "Rest assured the Network took the talented and placed them in the tutorial."

  Maximilian's blood ran cold when he processed what Thrawn had said or rather what he hadn't said. His use of the word talented implied that some weren't chosen. Some weren't picked. Sure enough, another person asked the question and Thrawn clarified.

  "Why are you worried about trash?" Thrawn replied.

  The coldness in his voice sent a chill down Maximilian's spine. If he hadn't known it would've been hard to tell he referred to humans, to people like that. It took a few moments for the meaning of his words to spread through the crowd. When it did the mats were no match for their fury. Countless people got to their feet their voices raised as if they could challenge the heavens above or rather the voice. Maximilian stayed seated. It wasn't that he didn't share their anger but he understood the situation they were in. He caught sight of a few people doing the same and was thankful. The mob mentality hadn't completely taken over. He waited for the voice to return or the invisible pressure but neither did. Instead, it was Thrawn who silenced everyone. He held his hand up to the sky palm side up the next moment a spike of solid grey stone appeared. The spike was the size of a baseball bat and was terrifying.

  The crowd that had been moments away from storming the trio was silent once again. The dwarf's spike felt like the sword of Damocles and was arguably more present than the voice and pressure. They could all see the spike. Further, there was no indication of where he got it from. Magic The thought blossomed in the back of Maximilian's mind like a taboo. As if someone would scold him for his abandonment of rationality. Despite this, he couldn't come up with a better explanation. The stone had not been there which should violate everything he knew about the laws of physics.

  "Alright, now that's done it's time we got to work. We have a tight schedule to keep. First, we need to get you associated with the Network." Thrawn continued. His stone spike floated in the silent challenge next to him. For the first time, Maximilian wondered if his assumption was correct. Could Thrawn kill them? If there were thousands of other groups what did one matter?

  Thrawn looked to the smaller dwarf who stepped forward. "It's time for you to form your connection with the Network. The most common way is to think 'Status Screen' though nearly any other variant works. Heaven's screen is another common verbiage. If you are unable to do it through thought you may attempt it vocally."

  Maximilian stared at the dwarf for a moment. Part of him still expected for this to be a joke or a prank of some kind but the quieter dwarf didn't flinch. He took a breath and did as he was told. It took him three tries but when it did what he saw nearly made him fall over. It was a real status screen, like what you would see in a video game only it was for him.

  He wasn't sure what the stats represented and there were no health or stamina bars so it was hard to get excited about what he saw. If five represented average then he was in a great position. If ten represented the average he was fucked. He leaned toward the former, he took care of himself but he was by no means the most agile human on earth. Likewise, he was definitely not at the bottom. The strangest attribute was Luck. He wasn't sure how that worked nor could he rank it. He tried a few more commands but nothing happened. There were no descriptions for the attributes or the credits. Thankfully the dwarves offered a round of explanations. It was close to what he thought. Agility represented flexibility, speed, dexterity, and everything else that could fit within that umbrella. Constitution was your physical healthiness. It included resistance to poison and disease as well as hair growth which was odd. Intelligence didn't actually refer to what you knew. Instead, it was wizard power. It was how magical effects dealt or endured damage. In addition, it helps you calculate numbers and process information faster.

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  Maximilian didn't have to listen to the rest of the explanations to know that would be his primary. It was tied for highest already and he had always played wizards or mages when he had time to game. The utility magic provided was—he shook his head and returned to the moment. Now wasn't the time to go off on a tangent. The rest of the explanations were mostly obvious. Strength was physical power, Endurance was your ability to withstand damage, and Wisdom was mental defense. Luck was the strangest. It improved the chances good things happened to you but you could never be sure it did anything. You couldn't test it so it was very ephemeral. Further, it was the only one he couldn't put attributes into. It had to be improved in other ways.

  "That brings me to the subject of Titles." All eyes returned to Thrawn as he picked up the explanation. "Titles are opportunities that can help develop your attributes, your power without levels. The Network has awarded you your first title."

  Sure enough, as soon as he finished a notification window appeared. The translucent screen was the most surreal part of this whole thing. He pinched himself just to be sure that he wasn't asleep.

  Chosen: Be Selected For the Tutorial Reward: +5 points to all Attributes

  Maximilian couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. He pulled up his status screen again to confirm he had just taken a massive step forward. In the next moment, a surge of power flooded into him. It was as if he had been injected with the purest caffeine mixed with adrenaline. For a moment he felt like he could jump up and rip a mountain in two. The sensation only lasted a moment and then it faded. I could certainly get used to that. He thought to himself as he closed the window.

  "Now that you can access your status screen, you should've noticed a line devoted to 'manuals'. That is for your cultivation manual or spiritual energy absorption method. We will now show you how to connect with your dantian and cultivate." This time it was the third dwarf who spoke. Their voice was a bit dryer than the others. It was reminiscent of an older teacher or an employee half a day away from retirement. Sit in the appropriate position and close your eyes. Spiritual energy is all around you. All you need to do is feel it.

  The rational part of him wanted to ignore the advice but he silenced it. Everything he had seen so far made it clear that this was real. So he closed his eyes and did his best to meditate. Only this time he felt something. It felt like air as it passed across his skin. He sat in the sensation for a moment before he opened his eyes and gave his attention back to the dwarves. The other two sat in silent meditation while Thrawn passed his gaze over the crowd. Maximilian did the same and watched everyone's progress. From what he could tell no race or rather ancestry had an advantage. All five groups had people who struggled and people who could do it naturally. He tried to piece together why for a few moments but with the limited information it was impossible to know.

  "Now that you've all had a chance to familiarize yourself with spiritual energy it's time for you to learn how to pull it into your body. Over the last several epochs cultivator factions have created techniques for this purpose. One such technique has been provided." As soon as he finished a crystalline slip appeared in front of Maximilian. The slip was as long as a ruler and was made out of translucent crystal that reminded him of a prism. Only it didn't reflect light in the same way. He held the slip to the light for a moment but it made no difference. "You need to send a small amount of energy into the slip to activate. For now, try to focus on the sigil at the bottom. It may take you a few tries to get it but you will get there." Thrawn added.

  Maximilian looked at the slip again and found the spot. He didn't understand how the slip would hold anything let alone some sort of technique but he decided not to question it. He closed his eyes and focused on it as if he wanted to Jedi mind trick it. After several seconds of nothing he was ready to give up. An exclamation from his right caused him to open his eyes.

  "I did it!" A woman who looked like she was in her early twenties called out. "It's like a flash drive or memory card."

  Before he could react to the first woman three more people followed suit. It was then that he noticed something strange. Everyone here was young or rather under thirty or so. It was difficult to tell someone's age based on appearance so he couldn't be sure but there were no children nor were there elderly. Was there an age limit? He wondered for a moment before he pushed the thought to the back of his mind and closed his eyes. The group had proven that it was possible which meant he needed to do it as soon as possible. He returned his focus to the crystal and tried to form a connection. He tried everything from thinking to it to squeezing it. It took him nearly twenty minutes to form the connection. As soon as he did his mind was flooded with information.

  "I guess that's what my computer feels like." He grimaced and sat there for a few moments. His head felt like someone had used it for field goal practice. Despite the pain, the crystal slip was amazing. It held an incredible amount of information. The slip contained a technique called Rank-1 Cultivation Technique it was the standard for the tutorial and wasn't very good. The technique would help a cultivator develop their channels which were the pathways spiritual energy would follow. The channels were a type of nervous system that would let him use the energy for skills. The majority of the slip's information was the actual technique. The concept behind it made sense at least in theory. He simply had to pull the energy around him into a spot just behind his navel. A spot the manual called his dantian. The technique wanted him to pull the energy in and slowly rotate it.

  That rotation would spread through his channels which would pull more energy into his dantian. After that, the energy would pour in until he reached his limit. At its core spiritual energy was the equivalent to both magic points and experience points. He took another moment to go over the information to make sure he hadn't missed anything. Excitement surged inside him as he took several deep breaths. He calmed himself down to not mess the process up and then he reached for the spiritual energy around him. When he was ready he tried to pull it inside. He wanted to pull a small thread of energy into his body. Instead, it was like his body was a desert and the energy was the first rain in millennia. His vision was pulled inward until he looked down at an empty ravine. The space was dark and the walls were made of a ebon black stone like material. It looked closer to obsidian than any stone he knew of. The space was illuminated as spiritual energy poured in. The energy looked like a cross between a gas and a liquid. It poured down into the ravine and it filled with visible speed. The scene had an ethereal beauty to it that made him want nothing more than to stay there forever.

  Unfortunately, that wasn't to be. A hand on his shoulder pulled him back to his body and to a pair of dark brown eyes. He flinched back and placed both hands down to catch himself. "Well look at that this fledgling has got claws. It's been at least a century since I've seen someone gobble up spiritual energy like that." Thrawn chuckled. He had started back to the center podium before Maximilian caught up. Before he could ask a follow-up question the dwarf sunk into the metal and disappeared.

  "What!?" Maximilian exclaimed as the dwarf reappeared next to the other two.

  "I didn't tell you a lot to stop now did I? How will you retake your planet if something like that is enough to distract you?"

  The smaller dwarf took that moment to clear his throat and got to his feet. "I believe that is enough for now. It's time that we led them to their living arrangements. For the next thirty days, you all will be educated and trained as warriors. Elite warriors that will push back the chaos and bring forth order." The other two join him. A metal staircase and walkway formed from nothing in front of them. Liquid metal spread forward into the horizon and then solidified. Before the path had finished the dwarves began to walk. No one moved as we all looked at each other, no one wanted to be the first to move. The weight of the situation settled on Maximilian's shoulders again. The fun video game-like interface was one thing but this was real. There would be monsters or beasts or whatever else out there and they would have to fight. He wasn't sure who it was that took the first step and it wasn't important. What was important was that each and every person did move. Each of us is united in purpose.