Dark grey clouds lit by the crescent moon drifted melancholic in the sky, staring through the windshield of the humming car slipped it's timing belt causing a rhythmic 'thunk' sound that would have alarmed its occupant if he hadn't recognized the noise. Holding his face with both hands while exhaling a frustrated grunt the man twisted the key in the ignition bringing a much needed silence to the cab of the vehicle.
Greed, a word that brought many conflicted thoughts to Typhus as he stared down at the check he received from his newest job he hoped to hold onto. Hardly enough to feed his younger brother, which meant he would need to forfeit another night of eating to cover the rent for the month. He chided himself for letting things get to this point between them but he also knew realistically there wasn't much he could do about their circumstance.
Inside his almost 20 year old beat down car he stared deeply into the paper that held his future in front him. A future determined by what value he brought to the larger 'vision' of whoever employed him, his left eye twitched as it always had when fighting back his inner tempest of displeasure towards their object poverty. Sighing, he opened the car door with loud metallic clanks from the latches decaying with oxidizing rust in real time. Reminding him of how badly he needed a new form of transportation since the newest mechanic gig he found was well beyond 20 kilometers away. Turning wrenches was never a preference but of the skills he had, that was the one he could prove without the much needed credentials and degrees that would be required.
Walking up to the apartment he shared, he momentarily stopped at the sun dyed red paint stripped door to check on his small windowed garden, housing herbs for Typhus and his brothers meals. Rosemary, chives, and green onion, his favorites to complement most of his meals, grew in small orderly rows. Spring had arrived in December, at least that's how the unnaturally temperate climate made it seem. Normally, winter meant their meals were much more bland due to not being able to grow his own vegetables, herbs, peppers, or spices. Typhus's mind wandered from exhaustion due to the 12 hour shift making his focus become much more attention driven, slapping himself on the cheek to wake up he ripped some leaves from the rosemary and entered the apartment.
Hearing the shower running meant he would have to wait to tell his brother about the day but he didn't mind, he needed the time to decompress mentally before the probing. Gathering himself he put some calming music on and walked to the kitchen that was a shared space to the living room to prepare dinner for the both of them. Once he deposited the newest paycheck he could send his brother to go shopping for better food but tonight he would do the 'unemployed classic', gathering the flour, salt, and yeast he got to work kneading the ingredients together in a bowl making a ball of dough and letting it rest while moving to the meats in the fridge. Opening the door showed how much his brother had ravaged their stocks while he had been at work. Part of him was glad that his brother didn't know how dire their fiances were, part of him wanted to be upset at having to work so often without reaping benefits, but keeping the peace since their parents' accident was part of the job description.
Spinning the knife between his knuckles like a pencil he began cutting long slits into the meat which he then filled with butter and crushed rosemary before suturing the slashes back together with edible wire to make the meat more tender and have a tinge of taste outside of the cheap plastic tasting base complexion. Finalizing the prep work for dinner, Typhus placed the meal in the oven and sat on the leather couch. His pride reignited as he slumped down with the nicest piece of furniture they owned finding a way to relax him deeply onto the cushions. Turning on the television he watched as it showed familiar celebrities smiling and laughing in whatever party or celebration they dwelled at as the world waited for the clock to hit midnight. He still could hardly believe he was called in to work on the owners personal cars during the holidays but he needed all the money he could get in order to pay for his brothers school sports teams Sylas had barked about for months.
Groaning with the weight of too much responsibility and too little free time, Typhus rose from the couch at the same time Sylas was getting out of the bathroom. "Welcome back! Are you still going to take me out to a bar like you promised yesterday?" Sylas stood in the doorframe wearing a classic deep green towel, Typhus still regretted letting him choose his own colors when they went back to school shopping for amenities.
"Shit, I'm so tired man, do you mind if-" Typhus's words were cut off by Sylas crossing his arms with a disappointed face. Typhus steeled his resolve to excuse himself from partying, "You need friends your own age, and what would mom think if she saw me taking you to a bar at 15?" Seeing the devious smile crossing Sylas's lips, they both knew their mother would have been the one to concoct the idea before restricting the activity.
"Fine." Typhus said, causing Sylas to nearly run into his bedroom to change before going out, on New Years. Slamming the door behind him with excited bravado Typhus also went to change grumbling like an old man at the realization that between traffic, people, and alcohol this was going to be an exceptionally longer night than he intended.
Changed, and refreshed Typhus and Sylas both drove to a run down bar that Typhus knew wouldn't ask for his young brother's ID. Not exactly the nicest place he had ever been to, even the less notorious recreational places on the Army base's Typhus had spent time at would have out-shined this particular den of debauchery. "Wow…" Sylas said after listening to Typhus talk to the bouncer about his mortgage and life plans for all of 2 minutes. "I see you're still cursed with people telling you a bit too much in way too little amount of time?" he continued once out of ear shot of the bouncer. Scoffing at his brother's antics, Typhus just pressed forward into the dark smoke filled interior of the run down building. Sylas stifled coughs from the cigar smoke replacing the smell of fresh air, trying to seem either stronger or cooler than he really was.
This place was bad but Typhus planned for it to be, he wanted Sylas to see exactly what awaited the young when they thought drinking, partying, or just playing fell face first into hedonism with time. Astonishingly, the place was packed with youthful, beautiful people chatting and gossiping wall to wall. The sound levels indiscernible from outside but within it was as if they were at a concert from the conversations growing in volume to keep up the the groups around them doing the same. Looking around Typhus brought them to an opening near the DJ table that had space for them, upon arriving he glanced at his brother to read what he thought and to Typhus's dismay Sylas was enamoured by the scene. Or so he thought until following the direction of his brother's line of sight he noticed it rested on a group of college girls from Typhus's guess at their ages. Causing an awkward situation when he noticed they all stared directly back at him causing all participants to disengage eye contact with a rapid shift of their pupils towards their drinks. "So, so, soooo far from the reason we are here." Typhus grabbed his brother's shoulder with a startled teenager being torn back to reality.
"I wasn't even, no, what it looked like-" acting like he just got his browser history read through by Typhus, Sylas shelled up like he always did when he was embarrassed. "It's okay kid, that's kind of the point of bars, not entirely but often enough… The issue is this." Typhus said as he pointed at one of the girls in the group and motioned for her to approach the two of them. Unwilling to walk over without the group of friends with her, which was fair enough in Typhus's mind he watched as his brother's eyes went wide with fear and a deep look of 'what the fuck are you thinking?' causing a slight smirk to appear on his face.
"Hi, did you want something?" the young woman who he motioned for said after approaching both of them. "Oh, no, my younger brother here is just shy and wanted to say you are beautiful, are you guys visiting? Or are you from around here?" Typhus responded, his voice dropping a few octaves making him almost cringe inwardly at having to commit to this 'deeper voice' for the night if these girls stuck around.
Sylas had widening eyes of terror as the girls looked whimsically towards him after the declaration of his attraction. "We are on holiday from school for now and came here to spend some time with our friend, she didn't have anyone back home so we all came out to surprise her… " the spokeswoman of the group looked back towards the bar thoughtfully. "Is she not out with you guys?" Sylas asked with an anxious cadence to his voice displaying his uncomfortability talking with older girls, patience will always get you further was Typhus's philosophy with women after growing in age and maturity.
No one wants to talk about random subjects more than they want to discuss themselves and that is genderless so have the patience and attention to listen. Sylas was too young to hold his interest at bay, like going to a business meeting and just saying 'this is how it works and this is the price', the kid needed to learn a bit of 'showmanship'.
"No, she um… Wasn't up for it" pushing her blonde hair behind her ear with a nervous expression as the other two both began to shift their weight while staring blankly around the bar. "Well, that's unfortunate because I plan to have an amazing night, would you three be up for a game?" Typhus said, interjecting the painful feeling question his brother asked. The three didn't exactly pop up with interest from his inquiry but Typhus knew he had their attention, "what kind of game?" The girl with darker brown hair asked, visibly more excited than the other two.
"I was thinking something like…" keeping the conversation unpredictable while simultaneously distracting the group from the previous misstep in relational harmony from his brother's intentions. Typhus spoke in a quickened pace, "Let's have Sylas here serve as judge, whoever dances with me the best gets their drinks paid for tonight, deal?" making the girls look amongst each other with a renewed vigor of interest before collectively agreeing with their eyes. "But!" Typhus said before the leader of the group could respond, "I get to choose the music, deal?" he extended a hand out as the rays of lights on the ceiling hovered over his opened palm displaying the small scars from years of harsh living.
Enthusiastically, each shook his hand, Sylas held a look of absolute disbelief, clearly expecting the girls to respond negatively to the 'no stoicism = no interest' mindset many young men held. Walking to the DJ table Typhus schemed for 'electric swing jazz', thinking it felt like the New Years Eve environment of the bar. Multiple inhabitants groaned with some annoyed "what is this?" coming from the crowd.
Typhus smirked as he took the girl's hand who held the excitement towards the mention of the game and led her towards the dance floor, spinning her around before relaxing himself enough to loosen his hips and shoulders. Mixing in his body control and balance from MMA dancing was just the more intentional expression of the same or similar movements. He saw his brother's open jaw dangling as he danced with the more excited of the girls, he found nonchalant boring anyways. His partner had a wide and expanding smile as they ebbed and flowed to the beat of the almost off putting music he asked for the DJ to play. Spinning with his knees in a 'guillotine' choke formation Typhus sat down in a criss cross within the circle of occupants before doing a capybara kick back to his feet resembling break dancing. His first partner's eyes went wide as he closed in to swing dance with her, taking the lead of the dance he made sure to make the woman follow easily. To his surprise this girl was ready and able to meet him at his level, sending her skirt spiraling in a mesmerizing circular pattern the multicolored lights over head turned the twist into a spectacle, before sliding into Typhus's arms in a practiced fashion, her face showing she expected him to be surprised. And he certainly was.
Continuing the dance with her Typhus got lost in the heat of motion smiling now along with his dance partner in a display that slowly granted them an expanding space on the dance floor even with the overly packed bar. Flourishing at the finale of the song he held her in the air before she swung her legs behind his neck rotating in a full circle before landing gracefully on her feet half a meter away from where Typhus stood with heaving breaths between them he now noticed that the whole bar was staring at them. "Well, she wins…" the blonde woman said through an open mouth.
Sweating a good amount after the 'performance' Typhus looked towards Sylas who was wordless as he looked at the girls faces trying to study their reactions to such a radical divergence from what a young man thinks that the opposite sex would be impressed by. "That was SO fun!" his partner said with a small squeal, "It's been forever since I danced like that just for the fun of it!" she held a face of ecstasy, Typhus knew the feeling of needing a release of expression, his preferred form of body expression was a bit more… Violent, but the art of body movement was the correlation not what was 'painted' by the motions. "I'm glad you had a good time, I think we cleaned house out there!" Typhus said loudly over the hip hop music that now blared loudly, "Would you want to come to an afterparty once the ball drops tonight?" she asked with stars in her eyes towards Typhus.
"Yes we do!" Sylas answered immediately, prompting the woman to put an address in Typhus's phone. He could have refused but his brother seemed to be having a night he would never forget and who was he to take that away from the kid. Sylas wasn't the type to open up or socialize much, and maybe this was good for him. "My name is Delilah, by the way, what is yours?" she asked, with a look of regret for not asking sooner. "I'm Typhus, and this is my brother Sylas, our parents clearly wanted us to be unique even with our names." earning a giggle from the girl before she rejoined her friends who slowly went back to their places at the bar. "Well, I hope to see you both there later, I'm going to spend some more time with my friends since the ball drops soon, see you!" She said with a wave goodbye retreating to the bar.
"What. The. Fuck?" Sylas said when she was out of hearing range. "What?" Typhus knowingly looked to his brother. "Since when could, no. Since when do you dance? And you haven't brought a girl home once, I thought you sucked at talking to women?!" making Typhus burst out laughing, "Dancing is a lot like fighting young one," Typhus adopted his best sage impression before continuing, "talking to girls is a myth, I was talking to another human, that mindset will instantly set you apart from 90% of other guys she has interacted with, seriously." Giving his words a moment to sink in, Typhus pressed on with the explanation, "and humans like to have fun, so keep things focused on fun or unique circumstances, yeah a lot of girls won't like or want to do what you find fun, but that's just an incompatible human… To a point" He added the last part since he doubted he could say 'hey want to spar' to those girls and expect the same amount of reception.
"Hey! Handsome! The queen of dance would like a drink!" Delilah spoke loudly across the bar making multiple heads turn towards Typhus and Sylas, while also reminding Typhus he made that agreement while exceedingly short on cash. "Shit." he said under his breath before walking to the bar. Ordering her a drink he got two beers as well deciding to make this a good night for his brother, they needed at least one night of enjoyment over fiscal discipline. "You got two? Who are you? I've never seen my real brother drink or dance before." Sylas said as Typhus approached, wordlessly he pushed the beer to Sylas's chest, realization hit his eyes as he snagged the beer like a bear with a pot of honey. "How much have you eaten today?" Typhus asked as Sylas stared at the reflective brown glass like it was ancient texts of a forgotten people. "I definitely forgot to eat the dinner you made so I haven't eaten since noon" making Typhus groan aloud knowing what comes next when someone drinks on an empty stomach. "It's fine but that is all you drink tonight." clinking his own beer to Sylas's they both took the opening sips with Sylas making a puckered face and shaking his head sporadically.
"Hey… Thank you by the way." Sylas said with a look of earnest appreciation, while two handed holding his drink. "Don't mention it, but don't make it a habit, this is a one time thing, at least until you are older okay?" Typhus brought his brother's head to his chest before pushing him back, messing up his meticulously styled hair causing a small panic attack from Sylas.
On the TV behind the bar everyone gathered to see the main event of the evening making the brothers approach the bar standing next to Delilah and her group, knowing what is expected when New Years is declared he tried to be next to the girls for his brother, who started to fidget in anticipation of a possible kiss with one of the older girls.
"10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1… HAPPY NEW-"
*Ding*
It was as if reality… shifted? My hands stayed hovering just below my nose, missing my drink from the bar. Anger burnt within me from not being able to locate Sylas before taking a closer look at my surroundings. Grey walls in a spacious room surrounded me. Startled to action I stood up sending a metal chair skidding on the white tile floor with a sickening screech. As soon as the chair stopped moving a stainless steel metal table phased into existence a meter in front of me. On the opposite end was a large tv with a black silhouette in a box on the screen.
"Welcome, Typhus and good luck, today marks the 13 billionth year for your universe, meaning multiversal integration is required for all residents. You will be happily accepted with all other universes"
"What does that..? Who are..? Taking an excruciatingly long breath Typhus composed himself before continuing, "where is my brother?"
Without missing a beat the screen responded in it's androgynous bland voice, "You and all other denizens of the newly integrated universe will be given access to the system with a delayed entry to the wider multiverse, to expedite the time between introduction and tutorial this interaction was designed to lessen the traumatic experiences of the newly integrated, time for questions is allotted for afterward, are you ready to begin the lecture?"
Staring at the screen for a moment with narrowed distrusting eyes Typhus answered, "...Sure"
"The multiverse's origins are debated and no faction seems to be able to agree with any amount of certainty as to how the system came into being, while all things interact with the system it does not have sentience. Meaning the system cannot be influenced or persuaded, within the confines of the system all things are at least attemptable. Stats are an estimation of certain attributes accrued either from genetic predisposition or from earned gains. In summation some species start further ahead then others but any can become equal given time and effort regardless of how wide a margin between the two. Take care however, stats are not a perfect representation of the capabilities of any given denizen of the multiverse, instead they are used as a baseline"
"Strength is how much physical force can be exerted onto the world most often from one's skeletal and muscular composition, which does not take into account bonuses from skills or other forms of alterations"
"Agility is how quickly one's body will react to the decisions being made by the controlling force of the body along with flexibility and body control"
"Perception is more than just perceiving one's surroundings. Perception is primarily for looking past the larger composition of what is in front of one, to seeing the components that comprise the larger composition"
"Control is in regards of the metaphysical, whether that be concepts or mana"
"Prowess is the raw power behind most spells and skills, the more prowess one posses the more each point of mana will produce"
"Do you have any questions up to this point?"
To say he was stunned would have been an understatement. Stats? Mana? Metaphysical? In his own summation Typhus had basically no idea the implications of what the screen was saying to him. He had played video games and understood what was being said, but this wasn't a video game?! Maybe he had fallen asleep while playing a virtual reality game? But when he knocked over the chair he could feel the metal bounce off the back of his legs.
"What would you say is the most important stat?"
"Unfortunately that is an unanswerable question as each denizen would likely answer with a combination of stats that best suit themselves."
It was worth a shot,
"What is a tutorial?"
"A tutorial by definition is an account or explanation of a-"
"No, I mean, the tutorial you spoke of, what is that?"
"That question will be answered at the end of our interaction, may I continue?"
Almost weirded out by the screen asking 'may I', "yes please continue"
"Under normal circumstances a class would be bestowed upon a denizen once unlocking it either by meeting conditions or growing in power to warrant being able to select their own, due to the interest of time and to assist with some of the trauma from integrating while you are here you will be given a class and starting item of your choosing"
Instantly, as in the moment the final syllable was uttered, the metal table filled with clothes and weapons, even jewelry. Above each a small blue text box hovered above any item he let his eyes focus on. [iron spear-common- an item gifted by the system for newly integrated tutorials], not so impressed Typhus knew he could always just make a normal spear, dagger, or sword. Wood and metal working had long been a pastime of his, "have the processes of smithing weapons, or leather tanning changed?"
"Not so much changed as evolved, a profession for each craft exists that will empower the resulting creation to such a degree that trying to create anything above common that is outside your profession would result in a waste of resources comparatively"
Hm… Crossing his arms over his chest he inspected more items, a pile of black cloth strips were folded neatly next to a pair of… sweatpants?! [robe of the dark mage-common- an item gifted by the system for newly integrated tutorials +2 to control +5 to prowess].
"Can I see my own stats?" As he asked the question his vision filled with a character sheet reminding him of many popular choice based board games he played with his friends. He had a head, body, hand, and foot slots to fill with armor or clothing. Two slots for rings and a slot for a necklace or talisman, but no slot for a weapon like he expected. "Why is there no place for a weapon?"
"Not all denizens are able to use and control external sources damage, some use mana to create weapons, others don't use a weapon at all, an example for that would be a monk class"
That checks out and was what he figured but he pressed on half expecting someone to say this is a prank. "Can I choose my class first?"
"You may choose to forgo the option to choose an item but you will lose many options due to your class choice that you would otherwise be able to use even if your class would normally be restrictive"
So the trade off for knowing what class to use is the 'restrictive' nature of the class, but, "what do you mean restrictive?"
As the screen responded the black unmoving figure was replaced by a red horned slender face, a deep voice that carried a shocking amount of intensity answered "WE DON'T HAVE CENTURIES, YOU ARE ONE OF AN UNCOUNTABLE NUMBER INTEGRATING, MORTAL MAKE YOUR DECISIONS EVERYTHING WILL BE EXPLAINED IN THE TUTORIAL "
"I feel as though you are projecting… Get it? Because the screen is a projection…"
After a few seconds of silence the room caught fire and slowly crept closer towards the center where the screen and I were talking, a time limit appeared in a red text bubble with an ungodly amount of profanities and insults beneath it.
Well if I wasn't convinced before, staying strangely calm given the situation. I redoubled my efforts on deciding, committing to focus on 'control and prowess' which seemed like the path to magic and unknowing if everyone could use magic or if it was an innate ability. I would roll the dice and start with magic as a focus. Not without merit, Typhus was one of the best fighters he knew.
Making me confident in the worst case I could survive with my fists or improvised weapon for a time if need be. Besides anything could be used as a weapon, and if he was faced with something he couldn't handle with his fists odds are a weapon wouldn't be all that helpful either. In fairness to weaponry he also hadn't heard of t-shirts that could help you reach enlightenment. Choosing the [Dark Robes] the table was cleared of all the miscellaneous items.
In their place four blue screens of text hovered,
[warrior] [rogue] [mage] [healer]
What was new was that no additional text was displayed, "why can't I see what they would do?"
"93% of denizens who accumulate levels and power change from their starting class to such a degree it is more of a hindrance to progression to be shown further details until the class is chosen, choose what calls, if none do perhaps your path is beyond such measly classifications"
'Fair enough' I thought, given the same reasoning as the item causing me to pick [Mage], after my choice everything shifted once again…
Every journey of a thousand miles begins with multiple dimension shifting events, or something of the like