It was the fourth day of the tutorial, and Drake had looked like he had gone mad. In his journey to improve himself enough so that he could cast while moving, Drake had begun to talk more than he had ever in his entire life. While he walked, while he ate, while he looked around at the surroundings for monsters, while he was fighting monsters, while he was looting, while he even did his… business, he talked. To anyone else he must have looked like a deranged lunatic, constantly mumbling. But it was something he needed to do, so he didn’t care.
Drake wanted to constantly keep his mouth moving so that he could train his speech enough that he didn’t have a problem speaking while he fought and ran around, so that he could always be ready to cast his spell at a moment’s notice no matter the situation. He had actually taken the practice so far that his voice went hoarse and his throat so dry it cracked and damaged him. Forcing him to stop for a small time as he ran around trying to find the river, cursing that he still hadn’t found anything to put the water into.
It was difficult for him, since he hadn’t really been an extrovert most of his life. The most he spoke was during online games when he would curse at his teammates through voice communications, or hung out with some friends in online apps. And those experiences couldn't compare to him constantly being exhausted, his mind hazy with overexertion and overdosing on the constant stream of adrenaline from fighting.
So he had forced himself to talk, and as fast as he could, repeat his spell. At first he had constantly bitten his tongue and cheeks while jogging, then he had trouble enunciating the words while running. Having to learn to breathe in between words correctly was harder than anything he had done before, surprisingly. It was almost like he was learning to sing or recite a long speech, all while trying not to get winded and be understandable.
And that was just while running. When he had tried to do it while fighting, he wanted to cry tears of blood. The amount he had to split his attention already while he was fighting was hellish, add in trying to manually control his mana and cast his spell and he fell apart every time so far. Having to resort back to using his staff and being stationary.
Drake had an idea of what would help him along with his practice though, as he looked at his Wisdom stat.
[Wisdom] 82
He needed to gain his last level, to hit the 100 stat threshold. And also getting his upgraded class would help too. Drake had noticed when he passed 100 in his other stats something had changed, with his Intelligence he hit slightly harder than just the incremental difference he had previously. And with his Vitality, he had seen a bigger percentage increase with his regeneration. He was hoping that doing the same to his Wisdom would help him with his concentration and perception of mana. And finally allowing him to confidently move while casting in battle.
Drake looked at his almost completed quest.
[8 of 10 Warrior Vampiric Apes Subjugated]
Just two more to go. And I'm on the cusp of reaching level 10. Drake thought. Finally feeling like he was catching up. He hoped that when he got his class upgrade he would be able to finally hit his stride.
Now he just had to find the last two Warriors.
Drake had again slept in a tree during the night but thankfully didn’t have another rude awakening, allowing him to do his business and clean up a little in the river.
Drake stretched his cramped neck out ready to go find the last two monsters for his quest. He started traveling back into the forest, continuing his practice of speaking as he ran.
“My name is Drake, I like to eat cake, I wish I had steak, my lord does my body ache.” He rhymed, doing his best to keep his breath even while he ran at a steady pace.
“Two more to go, then I’m ganna show, even that hoe? That one didn’t make sense, the construct wasn’t even a real person, she can't be promiscuous…. Or.. can she…? Ayo!?” He rambled, but lastly shouted as finally spotted a pair of Warrior Vampiric Apes, walking in tandem in front of him.
The Apes of course heard him rambling and turned at the noise, a look of animalistic ferocity in their eyes. They had begun charging at Drake just like all monsters had done before, but not before Drake had rapidly fired off 5 Mana Bolts at the first. Showing his improvement to his chanting speed over the last day of practice.
The barrage of Mana Bolts pelted the Ape, two finding their way to its head, stopping it dead in its tracks, forcing the second one to jump over the corpse.
Drake sent another three Mana Bolts right at the flying Warrior Ape, becoming an easy target as it jumped. Taking the second ape down in quick succession.
“And that’s a wrap everyone! Thank you, thank you. Wow these life and death struggles really do cut your learning curve.” Drake cheered, as he bowed to an imaginative audience for a standing ovation.
As Drake began to jokingly hold an Oscar and thank countless people, who may or may not have just been anime characters, he opened his notifications expectant of what would be there.
[You have defeated Warrior Vampiric Ape Level 8] [4,000 Experience and 400 Tutorial Points rewarded]
[You have defeated Warrior Vampiric Ape Level 9] [5,000 Experience and 500 Tutorial Points rewarded]
[10 out of 10 Warrior Vampiric Apes Subjugated. Quest complete]
[You have been awarded 50,000 Experience points]
[Congratulations! You have increased to Mage Level 10] [14 Free Points have been awarded]
[You have reached Mage Level 10. Quest Complete]
[Quest Complete! Would you like to accept rewards?]
[Congratulations! You have increased to Mage Level 11] [14 Free Points have been awarded]
[Quest Complete! Would you like to accept rewards?]
Drake pumped his arms up and down excitedly, happy he had finally reached his milestone, and thanks to the quest reward being an absurd amount he jumped right to level 11. The jubilant feeling of seeing his hard work pay off rose like a flood inside him.
The two Quest reward prompts hovered in front of him, and it was hard to decide which one to choose first. Drake kept going back and forth between the two, really trying to work out which of them he really wanted to see the most. Like a kid on Chrysler's Day trying to figure out which present to open first as if it was the most momentous event in their lives, like it would change the course of history and diverge the timeline to either the good or bad ending.
Finally, Drake decided to go with the save the best for last decision. He was going to accept the Warrior Ape Quest Reward first.
With that decided, Drake began to walk away from the fight, mumbling to himself as his training had made constant talking into a quickly forming habit. He picked the direction of the river as he had finished what he had aimed for today, and wanted to clean himself off before night fell.
He stopped briefly once he was far enough away from the previous fight and sat down with a thump. Accepting the prompt for the quest.
[10 of 10 Warrior Vampiric Apes Subjugated. Quest Complete]
[Quest Complete. Would you like to accept rewards?]
[Yes] [No]
Drake mentally accepted the prompt excited to see what would be in his gift from the Big Fat Bearded System Santa.
[Reward Accepted. Please roll for Rarity of item]
He was prompted again to roll once he accepted just like it had done with the Vampiric Ape Quest.
This again huh, I guess because it’s a random Stone so it’s sticking with making it a type of Gacha? Is this going to be a thing forever? I’ll just have to use my ultimate secret ability technique then! Drake shouted internally.
Drake pulled out the black die from his inventory, and warmed it in his hands. But before he threw it out he changed his seating position. Sweeping his legs under himself so he was in a bowing position, he over dramatically heaved forward into an over done bow, slamming his head into the ground enough to break the skin on his forehead.
“Oh Gacha Gods! Please bestow on this one the luck of the legendary Kennyphoonmiester! May this poor unworthy soul be given but a shred of their RNG prowess and high-roll!!” He shouted into the ground, his head still on the forest floor.
Drake had no way to accurately tell time here, and since this was reality he had no ‘patch’ day to wait for lucky rolls. So he invoked his secret technique, his trump card, his RNG trap card. He asked for help from the sole player he knew for being the luckiest SOB he had ever met in the entirety of his online gaming career, Kennyphoonmiester.
Drake remembered him hitting top rolls in almost every game he ever touched with some sort of RNG mechanic. Loot boxes, wheels of fortune, Russian roulette, you name it. Drake even remembered he had joined a mobile game Drake was playing just to use the new player free rolls, to hit triple SSR rated meta characters, and then quit right after.
If anything was going to work this would. And Drake knew it, as he threw the die across the ground, knowing he would hit a Nat 20.
The die rolled and tumbled, finally coming to a stop.
17.
“IT'S A LIE!! IT”S ALL A LIE!!!” Drake cried, slamming his fists into the ground. A moment later a soft thud hit the back of his head, falling to the ground in front of him. Still wailing in pain from his missed high roll, Drake reached out his hand to retrieve the stone, identifying it.
[Skill Stone: Transcendence] [Rare]
[Unlocks a random Skill from the Transcendence tree.]
[Requirement: Open Skill Slot and have at least 1 Mage based Main Tree or Sub-tree Branch Unlocked.]
Drake sat back up, straight as a pole, his tears suddenly dry. “Well it isn’t a max roll, but it’s our first Rare skill!” He said, passably. “It’s alright, we were just saving the big one for the grand finale!” He shouted, looking at the final reward prompt.
[You have reached Mage Level 10. You may now upgrade your class]
[Quest Complete! Would you like to accept rewards?]
[Yes] [No]
Drake again mentally accepted. Another familiar prompt replaced the acceptance screen, but there was something different in the roll out of text.
[Please roll twice for Rarity of reward items.]
[Primary Roll for Main Class-tree Skill Stone]
[Secondary Roll for Class Specific, Skill Stone]
[Tertiary Roll. Please Roll thrice for Class Advancement Selection.]
[Once you have rolled you will be presented with a list of classes based off each individual roll]
Wow, so I have to roll a total of five times? That means I have some pretty good odds of getting a decent class and items then. He thought.
First things first, Drake thought as he picked up the die to roll for the items. Dropping it to the ground from in his sitting position, it again bounced and tumbled until it finally came to a stop, a 20 facing back at Drake.
“Hell yeah!!” Drake shouted, immediately jumping up and throwing his fist into the air.
A stone winking into existence in front of him and dropping next to the die. This stone was different from the others, it was not clear but held an almost tan porcelain color, much like the color of the bones Drake thought. He bent down and picked it up.
[Main Class-tree Stone: Necromancer of the End] [Legendary]
[Unlocks the Necromancer of the End Main Class-tree.]
[Requirement: Open Main Class-tree slot. Mage Base Class level of 10 or more]
[Legendary Side-effect: May cause personality and Race changes]
“Holy mother of RNG, we struck gold! I think… Race changes? Does that mean it turns you into a Lich or something?” Drake said, excitedly but then came to a hushed tone as he finished reading the description.
“I’m happy I finally got a legendary stone but can I even use it? And I’m not exactly sure I want to change into something associated with Necromancy, pretty sure those would all be like undead things.” Drake wondered, turning the stone over in his hand.
After a few seconds of thinking it over he decided to wait on the stone until after he was done rolling, no use in rushing it when he had more rolls still.
Drake picked up the die again and tossed it to the ground with trepidation, still slightly shaking from the adrenaline from receiving a legendary. The die bounced and finally turned slowly, from 2, to 4, then 14, and finally coming to a stop on 20.
Drake coughed up blood. But quickly recovered when the stone materialized next to the die. His hand shakily moved to pick up both the stone and die.
[Skill Stone: Necromancy] [Legendary]
[Unlocks a random Skill from the Necromancy tree.]
[Requirement: Open Skill Slot and have a Mage based Main Tree or Sub-tree Branch Unlocked.]
Drake was speechless. He had rolled two nat 20’s in a row netting him two legendary Stones. Making his choice obvious as to what to do with them.
Drake began trying to, through trial and error, use the stone. Eventually he was able to trigger it by focusing on the stone and mentally willing it to be consumed. But he was hit with a striking headache when he did, a new notification popping up.
[Unable to consume Main Class-tree Stone. You are already on a Main Class-tree related quest within the tutorial.]
“Well isn’t that just a bitch.” Drake squinted disappointed. He had finally gotten something really really good from this god forsaken system and he wasn’t even allowed to use it. What a scam, an injustice to the highest degree, he fumed.
After a few minutes of cursing into the air as he had no place to direct his complaints to. He eventually calmed down and tried to look on the bright side. He still had three chances to score a good class upgrade.
Pocketing the stones, he dropped the die with dead eyes, void of emotion.
The die clattered on the ground, rolling around, a 13, then turned to 19. Drake’s eyes filled back with life. Then it shifted with a twang, bouncing off the ground, 15. Drake’s eyes now nervously shaking, sweat beginning to bead on his face. And it finally ceased moving, a 1 facing the sky.
Drake's eyes turned to hazed glass spheres once again, mechanically picking up the die and dropping it again. It was alright, he had to look on the bright side, he still had two chances to score a good class upgrade, he thought.
The die again sang with the sound of it hitting the ground, dancing along the bare dirt, teasing Drake. 18, then turning to 15, and back to 18, finally rolling to a stop. Another 1 stared back at Drake.
Drake moved like a broken doll for the die, almost like you could hear him creaking when he shifted his body to pick the cursed thing up. Dropping it to the ground one final time, Drake looked ahead not having the heart to look down at the result.
He spotted a new notification in his vision and opened it up.
[You have rolled, 1, 1, and…1. Generating Class List.]
It was the fourth day of the tutorial, and Drake had looked like he had gone mad. In his journey to improve himself enough so that he could cast while moving, Drake had begun to talk more than he had ever in his entire life. While he walked, while he ate, while he looked around at the surroundings for monsters, while he was fighting monsters, while he was looting, while he even did his… business, he talked. To anyone else he must have looked like a deranged lunatic, constantly mumbling. But it was something he needed to do, so he didn’t care.
Drake wanted to constantly keep his mouth moving so that he could train his speech enough that he didn’t have a problem speaking while he fought and ran around, so that he could always be ready to cast his spell at a moment’s notice no matter the situation. He had actually taken the practice so far that his voice went hoarse and his throat so dry it cracked and damaged him. Forcing him to stop for a small time as he ran around trying to find the river, cursing that he still hadn’t found anything to put the water into.
It was difficult for him, since he hadn’t really been an extrovert most of his life. The most he spoke was during online games when he would curse at his teammates through voice communications, or hung out with some friends in online apps. And those experiences couldn't compare to him constantly being exhausted, his mind hazy with overexertion and overdosing on the constant stream of adrenaline from fighting.
So he had forced himself to talk, and as fast as he could, repeat his spell. At first he had constantly bitten his tongue and cheeks while jogging, then he had trouble enunciating the words while running. Having to learn to breathe in between words correctly was harder than anything he had done before, surprisingly. It was almost like he was learning to sing or recite a long speech, all while trying not to get winded and be understandable.
And that was just while running. When he had tried to do it while fighting, he wanted to cry tears of blood. The amount he had to split his attention already while he was fighting was hellish, add in trying to manually control his mana and cast his spell and he fell apart every time so far. Having to resort back to using his staff and being stationary.
Drake had an idea of what would help him along with his practice though, as he looked at his Wisdom stat.
[Wisdom] 82
He needed to gain his last level, to hit the 100 stat threshold. And also getting his upgraded class would help too. Drake had noticed when he passed 100 in his other stats something had changed, with his Intelligence he hit slightly harder than just the incremental difference he had previously. And with his Vitality, he had seen a bigger percentage increase with his regeneration. He was hoping that doing the same to his Wisdom would help him with his concentration and perception of mana. And finally allowing him to confidently move while casting in battle.
Drake looked at his almost completed quest.
[8 of 10 Warrior Vampiric Apes Subjugated]
Just two more to go. And I'm on the cusp of reaching level 10. Drake thought. Finally feeling like he was catching up. He hoped that when he got his class upgrade he would be able to finally hit his stride.
Now he just had to find the last two Warriors.
Drake had again slept in a tree during the night but thankfully didn’t have another rude awakening, allowing him to do his business and clean up a little in the river.
Drake stretched his cramped neck out ready to go find the last two monsters for his quest. He started traveling back into the forest, continuing his practice of speaking as he ran.
“My name is Drake, I like to eat cake, I wish I had steak, my lord does my body ache.” He rhymed, doing his best to keep his breath even while he ran at a steady pace.
“Two more to go, then I’m ganna show, even that hoe? That one didn’t make sense, the construct wasn’t even a real person, she can't be promiscuous…. Or.. can she…? Ayo!?” He rambled, but lastly shouted as finally spotted a pair of Warrior Vampiric Apes, walking in tandem in front of him.
The Apes of course heard him rambling and turned at the noise, a look of animalistic ferocity in their eyes. They had begun charging at Drake just like all monsters had done before, but not before Drake had rapidly fired off 5 Mana Bolts at the first. Showing his improvement to his chanting speed over the last day of practice.
The barrage of Mana Bolts pelted the Ape, two finding their way to its head, stopping it dead in its tracks, forcing the second one to jump over the corpse.
Drake sent another three Mana Bolts right at the flying Warrior Ape, becoming an easy target as it jumped. Taking the second ape down in quick succession.
“And that’s a wrap everyone! Thank you, thank you. Wow these life and death struggles really do cut your learning curve.” Drake cheered, as he bowed to an imaginative audience for a standing ovation.
As Drake began to jokingly hold an Oscar and thank countless people, who may or may not have just been anime characters, he opened his notifications expectant of what would be there.
[You have defeated Warrior Vampiric Ape Level 8] [4,000 Experience and 400 Tutorial Points rewarded]
[You have defeated Warrior Vampiric Ape Level 9] [5,000 Experience and 500 Tutorial Points rewarded]
[10 out of 10 Warrior Vampiric Apes Subjugated. Quest complete]
[You have been awarded 50,000 Experience points]
[Congratulations! You have increased to Mage Level 10] [14 Free Points have been awarded]
[You have reached Mage Level 10. Quest Complete]
[Quest Complete! Would you like to accept rewards?]
[Congratulations! You have increased to Mage Level 11] [14 Free Points have been awarded]
[Quest Complete! Would you like to accept rewards?]
Drake pumped his arms up and down excitedly, happy he had finally reached his milestone, and thanks to the quest reward being an absurd amount he jumped right to level 11. The jubilant feeling of seeing his hard work pay off rose like a flood inside him.
The two Quest reward prompts hovered in front of him, and it was hard to decide which one to choose first. Drake kept going back and forth between the two, really trying to work out which of them he really wanted to see the most. Like a kid on Chrysler's Day trying to figure out which present to open first as if it was the most momentous event in their lives, like it would change the course of history and diverge the timeline to either the good or bad ending.
Finally, Drake decided to go with the save the best for last decision. He was going to accept the Warrior Ape Quest Reward first.
With that decided, Drake began to walk away from the fight, mumbling to himself as his training had made constant talking into a quickly forming habit. He picked the direction of the river as he had finished what he had aimed for today, and wanted to clean himself off before night fell.
He stopped briefly once he was far enough away from the previous fight and sat down with a thump. Accepting the prompt for the quest.
[10 of 10 Warrior Vampiric Apes Subjugated. Quest Complete]
[Quest Complete. Would you like to accept rewards?]
[Yes] [No]
Drake mentally accepted the prompt excited to see what would be in his gift from the Big Fat Bearded System Santa.
[Reward Accepted. Please roll for Rarity of item]
He was prompted again to roll once he accepted just like it had done with the Vampiric Ape Quest.
This again huh, I guess because it’s a random Stone so it’s sticking with making it a type of Gacha? Is this going to be a thing forever? I’ll just have to use my ultimate secret ability technique then! Drake shouted internally.
Drake pulled out the black die from his inventory, and warmed it in his hands. But before he threw it out he changed his seating position. Sweeping his legs under himself so he was in a bowing position, he over dramatically heaved forward into an over done bow, slamming his head into the ground enough to break the skin on his forehead.
“Oh Gacha Gods! Please bestow on this one the luck of the legendary Kennyphoonmiester! May this poor unworthy soul be given but a shred of their RNG prowess and high-roll!!” He shouted into the ground, his head still on the forest floor.
Drake had no way to accurately tell time here, and since this was reality he had no ‘patch’ day to wait for lucky rolls. So he invoked his secret technique, his trump card, his RNG trap card. He asked for help from the sole player he knew for being the luckiest SOB he had ever met in the entirety of his online gaming career, Kennyphoonmiester.
Drake remembered him hitting top rolls in almost every game he ever touched with some sort of RNG mechanic. Loot boxes, wheels of fortune, Russian roulette, you name it. Drake even remembered he had joined a mobile game Drake was playing just to use the new player free rolls, to hit triple SSR rated meta characters, and then quit right after.
If anything was going to work this would. And Drake knew it, as he threw the die across the ground, knowing he would hit a Nat 20.
The die rolled and tumbled, finally coming to a stop.
17.
“IT'S A LIE!! IT”S ALL A LIE!!!” Drake cried, slamming his fists into the ground. A moment later a soft thud hit the back of his head, falling to the ground in front of him. Still wailing in pain from his missed high roll, Drake reached out his hand to retrieve the stone, identifying it.
[Skill Stone: Transcendence] [Rare]
[Unlocks a random Skill from the Transcendence tree.]
[Requirement: Open Skill Slot and have at least 1 Mage based Main Tree or Sub-tree Branch Unlocked.]
Drake sat back up, straight as a pole, his tears suddenly dry. “Well it isn’t a max roll, but it’s our first Rare skill!” He said, passably. “It’s alright, we were just saving the big one for the grand finale!” He shouted, looking at the final reward prompt.
[You have reached Mage Level 10. You may now upgrade your class]
[Quest Complete! Would you like to accept rewards?]
[Yes] [No]
Drake again mentally accepted. Another familiar prompt replaced the acceptance screen, but there was something different in the roll out of text.
[Please roll twice for Rarity of reward items.]
[Primary Roll for Main Class-tree Skill Stone]
[Secondary Roll for Class Specific, Skill Stone]
[Tertiary Roll. Please Roll thrice for Class Advancement Selection.]
[Once you have rolled you will be presented with a list of classes based off each individual roll]
Wow, so I have to roll a total of five times? That means I have some pretty good odds of getting a decent class and items then. He thought.
First things first, Drake thought as he picked up the die to roll for the items. Dropping it to the ground from in his sitting position, it again bounced and tumbled until it finally came to a stop, a 20 facing back at Drake.
“Hell yeah!!” Drake shouted, immediately jumping up and throwing his fist into the air.
A stone winking into existence in front of him and dropping next to the die. This stone was different from the others, it was not clear but held an almost tan porcelain color, much like the color of the bones Drake thought. He bent down and picked it up.
[Main Class-tree Stone: Necromancer of the End] [Legendary]
[Unlocks the Necromancer of the End Main Class-tree.]
[Requirement: Open Main Class-tree slot. Mage Base Class level of 10 or more]
[Legendary Side-effect: May cause personality and Race changes]
“Holy mother of RNG, we struck gold! I think… Race changes? Does that mean it turns you into a Lich or something?” Drake said, excitedly but then came to a hushed tone as he finished reading the description.
“I’m happy I finally got a legendary stone but can I even use it? And I’m not exactly sure I want to change into something associated with Necromancy, pretty sure those would all be like undead things.” Drake wondered, turning the stone over in his hand.
After a few seconds of thinking it over he decided to wait on the stone until after he was done rolling, no use in rushing it when he had more rolls still.
Drake picked up the die again and tossed it to the ground with trepidation, still slightly shaking from the adrenaline from receiving a legendary. The die bounced and finally turned slowly, from 2, to 4, then 14, and finally coming to a stop on 20.
Drake coughed up blood. But quickly recovered when the stone materialized next to the die. His hand shakily moved to pick up both the stone and die.
[Skill Stone: Necromancy] [Legendary]
[Unlocks a random Skill from the Necromancy tree.]
[Requirement: Open Skill Slot and have a Mage based Main Tree or Sub-tree Branch Unlocked.]
Drake was speechless. He had rolled two nat 20’s in a row netting him two legendary Stones. Making his choice obvious as to what to do with them.
Drake began trying to, through trial and error, use the stone. Eventually he was able to trigger it by focusing on the stone and mentally willing it to be consumed. But he was hit with a striking headache when he did, a new notification popping up.
[Unable to consume Main Class-tree Stone. You are already on a Main Class-tree related quest within the tutorial.]
“Well isn’t that just a bitch.” Drake squinted disappointed. He had finally gotten something really really good from this god forsaken system and he wasn’t even allowed to use it. What a scam, an injustice to the highest degree, he fumed.
After a few minutes of cursing into the air as he had no place to direct his complaints to. He eventually calmed down and tried to look on the bright side. He still had three chances to score a good class upgrade.
Pocketing the stones, he dropped the die with dead eyes, void of emotion.
The die clattered on the ground, rolling around, a 13, then turned to 19. Drake’s eyes filled back with life. Then it shifted with a twang, bouncing off the ground, 15. Drake’s eyes now nervously shaking, sweat beginning to bead on his face. And it finally ceased moving, a 1 facing the sky.
Drake's eyes turned to hazed glass spheres once again, mechanically picking up the die and dropping it again. It was alright, he had to look on the bright side, he still had two chances to score a good class upgrade, he thought.
The die again sang with the sound of it hitting the ground, dancing along the bare dirt, teasing Drake. 18, then turning to 15, and back to 18, finally rolling to a stop. Another 1 stared back at Drake.
Drake moved like a broken doll for the die, almost like you could hear him creaking when he shifted his body to pick the cursed thing up. Dropping it to the ground one final time, Drake looked ahead not having the heart to look down at the result.
He spotted a new notification in his vision and opened it up.
[You have rolled, 1, 1, and…1. Generating Class List.]
