Leo’s senses returned all at once in a wave of nausea. A corner of his vision lit up with, what he assumed were, his health, mana, and stamina bars. He doubled over with hands on his knees, trying not to throw up.

  The air hit his lungs. It was clean and crisp. Completely lacking the pollution of Earth.

  After a few deep breaths, he straightened and opened his eyes.

  Wherever he was now… it was a far cry from the sterile system room or the pavement next to a restaurant.

  The sun hung high in a cloudless sky, glaring down on a ruined townscape. Large, square buildings stood in varying states of decay around him. Their stone walls were smooth, too smooth. No visible bricks or mortar. As if shaped by magic rather than built by hand.

  None of the structures seemed to have second floors, yet the buildings were tall. Their wooden shutters were either rotting or missing, and most doors had been battered down or destroyed.

  Nature had taken back the streets. Grass and mud pushed up through cracked stone paths and what either looked like weeds or herbs tried to blossom through it. The place felt ancient and abandoned. An eerie stillness to it that had him constantly looking around.

  A chime echoed in Leo's mind, and a system notification appeared.

  Welcome to the Tutorial!

  Quest Received:

  You have found yourself within a city lost in time and overrun by a foe unknown.

  Will you survive where others did not?

  Explore the city to uncover hidden rewards and challenges.

  Objective: Survive until the end of the tutorial

  Reward: Dependent on completion

  Time Remaining: 60 days

  Current Survivors: 1500/1500

  Current Store Credits: 0

  Quest Received:

  You have been thrust into a dangerous new environment.

  Can you survive the first 24 hours?

  Objective: Survive 24 hours

  Reward: Essence Crystal (F)

  Apparently quests were a thing too.

  Leo had suspected this would feel like a game, but now it was getting a little too real. The vividness, the air, the sounds, the way his muscles responded. It wasn’t a dream.

  And what did “foe unknown” mean? Monsters? Bandits? A twinge of excitement couldn't help worming its way into his mind, pushing down the despair that should perhaps be surfacing.

  Over a thousand people… was that a lot for a city? He had no way of knowing until he was able to see further than the street he currently resided in. But based on the fact there was no one in sight he suspected it wasn't a lot.

  He looked down at his gear. It fit like a second skin, comfortable and tailored. He shadowboxed a few quick strikes. No restriction at all, nor weight imbalance. The clothes, his armour rather, he supposed, moved with him.

  As he focused, he felt a tingle in the back of his mind when he looked at the fabric. On instinct, he pulled at that feeling.

  You have learned the Race skill: Identify (Common)

  Identify (Common)

  A foundational skill of all sentient beings in the multiverse. Use it to examine items, creatures, or entities. May your eyes reveal what is hidden.

  He tested it immediately of course. The entirety of his torso and trousers consisted of one item.

  Basic Pugilist Armor (Basic)

  Basic starting gear for the pugilist class given at class selection

  No effects

  Boots next.

  Basic Pugilist Boots (Basic)

  Basic starting gear for the pugilist class given at class selection

  No effects

  So it really was just basic gear. Still, the “no effects” line intrigued him. That implied that other gear could have effects.

  He glanced down and noticed a satchel at his hip. In his awe and amazement at the scenery around him, he hadn’t even realised it was there. Another Identify:

  Small leather Satchel (Basic)

  Issued to all new initiates upon entering the tutorial.

  Contains starter items.

  Ooh, starter items!

  He excitedly opened the satchel.

  Inside was a canteen, seven dense bricks of something wrapped in foil, and three small vials in red, green, and blue.

  He identified each in turn.

  Water Canteen (Common)

  Canteen enchanted to purify any water placed within.

  Nutrient Block (Basic)

  A compressed food block. One block equals one full day of nutrition.

  Weak Health Potion (Basic)

  Restores 50 HP

  Weak Mana Potion (Basic)

  Restores 50 MP

  Weak Stamina Potion (Basic)

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Restores 50 SP

  Leo sighed in relief. These would keep him alive, at least for now. The food and water should last him at least a week. The potions? Emergency use only. No telling how rare they were.

  Leo’s mind instantly went to how to get more of the precious commodity. Other people. He crushed the thought before it could take root. That wasn’t who he was, or who he wanted to be.

  Only a few minutes had passed when he heard a sharp skittering behind him that seemed to echo off the alleyways, surrounding him in noise.

  He turned, and froze.

  An ant the size of a very large dog—more like a tiger—emerged between the buildings. Its shell shimmered a dull red, its mandibles clicking in front of its creepy, glassy eyes.

  What in the bug’s life is that?!

  Leo didn’t move. Maybe if he stayed perfectly still, it would just walk past him. A wistfully naive thought as ants didn't seem to share the senses of a T-rex.

  It shrieked in an unholy pitch, loud and piercing as it echoed off the broken landscape.

  Then it charged.

  Leo’s heart hammered in his chest, the pounding rising into his skull. Run? Hide?

  No. It was too fast. He couldn’t outrun it. And if he did then where would he go? He had no idea where he was.

  He clenched his fists and swallowed down the fear. “Come on then!” he shouted, voice shaking as he took a fighting stance. He’d prepared for this. In his dreams perhaps, but it had to count for something.

  The ant lunged straight for his throat, mandibles wide. They looked sharp enough to cut him clean in half, and wide enough to reach.

  Leo slid aside on instinct, footwork drilled into him at the dojo. The ant flew past, and he countered with a punch to its side.

  It felt like he was hitting a wall as Leo shook his hand out. Its carapace absorbed a lot of the blow, but he still sent it skidding across the stone before it came to a stop, its feet finding traction.

  It wasn’t unharmed, but it wasn’t done either. If anything, it looked pissed. If ants could look pissed.

  “Oh boy,” Leo muttered to himself. “Maybe we can talk about this?” Leo tried to reason with the monster in front of him.

  The ant skittered again, clearly not open to negotiation. It snapped at his legs. Leo dodged, backing up. He needed an opening to hit it again but harder this time. It leapt for his throat once more. Leo saw his opening.

  Leo stepped aside once again and readied another strike, but this time the ant adjusted mid-air. Its head tilted towards him.

  Before he could pull back fully, a jagged mandible caught him, ripping through his flimsy armour and biting deep into his side.

  “Agh, shit!”

  The pain was instant and blinding. He punched it hard across the head, then grabbed and shoved it off him, the mandibles taking a chunk of flesh as he did.

  He looked at his health.

  HP: 110/200

  That was bad. Without his bloodline title bonus, that might have killed him outright, or at least severely incapacitated him. Like a candle in the wind, his life could have been snuffed out before it began. One more misstep and it would be over.

  His heart thumped in his chest. His breathing became erratic. Adrenaline made his head feel like it was pressed in a vice grip as he struggled to keep calm.

  The ant backed up again, sizing him up. Blood dripped from Leo’s wound and onto the ground below him. He could feel the warm blood running down his legs as his rapidly pumping heart swiftened the loss.

  The ant was ready to charge again.

  A storm of emotion built up inside him, begging for release. Leo had enough of this shit. No way was he dying to the first thing in the damn Tutorial. A strange calm washed over him, sharpened by the edge of bloodlust.

  He rushed the ant. Trying to channel something otherworldly, power, energy, anything.

  Nothing happened.

  No time to curse his ineptitude. He feinted left, the ant followed. He moved right, and it leapt at empty air.

  He met it mid-flight.

  Leo spun, lifted his leg, and kicked hard towards its face, the act causing him to wince in pain. He tried once again to will power into the strike.

  Only this time, something responded.

  His foot glowed faintly, humming with energy as it connected. The power surging through his body down into his foot was intense and enervating.

  The ant’s head twisted from the impact. One of its mandibles cracked and broke as it smashed into the ground. Green ichor-like blood splashed over him and the ground around it.

  It wasn't quite enough, it began rising once more, eyes locked on him.

  Leo didn’t let it.

  He pounced, pinning the insect and slamming his fists down in a flurry of glowing strikes. Unleashing any and all frustration he'd been accumulating.

  “I wish—” *Smack*

  “I had—” *Smack*

  “A sword!” *Smack*

  The ant lay unmoving, Leo’s fists dripping with the green ichor the creature's body contained and a bit of blood from his own skin ripping. The ant was done. And the system agreed.

  You have slain: Lesser Antling – Level 2

  Bonus experience for defeating a higher-level enemy.

  +2 Store Credits

  Your Pugilist class has reached Level 2

  Stat points distributed

  +1 Free Point

  Title Acquired: First Blood

  You are the first initiate to slay a foe in your tutorial.

  May your violence carve a path in this new reality.

  +1 to all stats

  The energy from the level up coursed through his body. His wound even mended somewhat, thanks to the boost in Vitality.

  Leo’s heart still pounded, riding the adrenaline high. Sweat dripped down his face. His arms trembled. Not from fear, but from the sheer effort and exhaustion.

  What a rush.

  The fight, the level-up, it all felt surreal.

  Apart from the pain, of course. That still hurt like a bitch.

  He checked his side through the tear in his clothes. The bleeding had stopped, and the gash looked shallower. Still quite ugly, but at least healing. Infection would be what got him—if he could even get infected.

  HP: 132/220

  MP: 94/130

  SP: 90/130

  His mana and stamina had dropped noticeably. No surprise there. Mana Strikes probably drained him more than he realised, not to mention the constant dodging and stress.

  He made a mental note: Keep an eye on both bars. Running low mid-fight would be a quick way to die if running out meant being immobile or collapsing. Not something he could easily experiment with.

  He pulled out his canteen and took a long drink. The water was crisp, cold, and so refreshing he could almost believe it healed him.

  He checked, just in case. No change in HP.

  Damn. It just felt that good then.

  Still, the sensation helped him focus.

  Looking around, he briefly appreciated the quiet. Leo had always enjoyed solitude when he could get it. A rare thing, if you wanted social skills—or money.

  He’d spent most of his life finding moments he could isolate himself, whether from classmates, coworkers, or even the world around him. But this… this was something different.

  This was true isolation.

  Not peaceful or quiet.

  Just empty.

  He suddenly felt a desperate need to find something. Another survivor. A landmark. Anything but these killer insects.

  He took a breath and shook off the despair that had finally reared its ugly head and tried to process what the hell just happened. He’d used one of his new skills to kill a massive monster ant with his bare hands. Mana Strikes was incredibly cool and was basically a superpower. Why the hell was he so focused on the negatives? He’d even received a bonus for killing something first!

  Snap out of it man, you need to get out of here. Leo scolded himself.

  A sound to his left snapped his attention around.

  Leo was about to greet the person that the sound belonged to with a cautious but welcome smile. Patting his armour down to try and look less bloody. It didn’t really work.

  What met the smile instead was another antling. Skittering around the corner and into the street he occupied.

  “Of course it wasn’t a person,” Leo muttered. “Alright. Let’s do this again.”

  He prepped himself into a fighting stance. His resolve hardened as blood started to pump through his body faster, adrenaline already returning.

  He wouldn’t run, he wouldn’t hide. He’d fight!

  Then, as if sensing his mental challenge another antling appeared. And another.

  Three against one, eh?

  Leo used the adrenaline pumping through his veins in the best way he knew how.

  Running full speed in the opposite direction.