Alex was a bit irritated, but it couldn’t really be helped. If he understood things correctly, he shouldn’t choose magic. But he really wanted magic.
It’s okay. It seems like you can learn it if you want to, Alex. Now, focus. What do you want to use first?
He had a brief fantasy of a flamethrower, but it had the same ammunition issues as guns and early magic.
A bow would be a bit better.
Arrows were reasonably easy to make or find… in theory. There were at least fewer types of arrows than there were types of bullets. He knew at least that much.
He was pretty sure.
He sighed.
The very fact that he wasn’t absolutely sure, meant that he probably shouldn’t pick a bow and arrows.
“Wait… I was expecting to somehow know magic, but not how to make arrows?” He shook his head. “I might be an idiot. Excuse me, System? What will this selection actually mean? Will it just be equipment or will I somehow… be taught?”
You will gain a basic proficiency in the Skill or Skills required to enable whatever you select.
If required, you will also be granted basic equipment for use with the provided Skill(s).
You will not be granted understanding in supporting Skills such as any variation on ammunition creation.
“Once again, that is very helpful. Thank you.”
So, he’d know how to use a bow, receive a bow and likely some arrows, but he’d not know how to make a bow or arrows.
Arrows—or bolts for that matter—could be recovered and used more than once, unlike bullets, but there would still be an inherent shortage of ammunition.
“What about a sci-fi gun? A blaster or the like? A plasma sword?”
Such weaponry is not considered entry level equipment, and therefore not provided as an option for your ‘Initial Means of Damage.’
Alex grunted. “Understood. Thank you.”
Then he hesitated.
“Wait… that means they exist.” He grinned broadly. “I’m very much going to try to find a plasma sword. And a gun that can blast massive holes into things.” He nodded to himself. “This will be.”
If that was going to be a goal of his, he should pick a sword to start, especially since guns had already been ruled out.
That wasn’t a bad idea, actually… except most swords were designed to kill through soft-tissue or organ damage. That was easy and effective on an unarmored human, but a zombie?
Soft-tissue damage would likely be virtually useless.
That meant knives were out, too. Knives were just swords with a shorter range. He also remembered something from his martial arts days. ‘In a knife fight, everyone gets cut.’
In a knife fight against zombies, that would translate to being bit.
“No, thank you.”
He could use a club or warhammer of some kind. That would be effective.
“Hey, that might actually be… good?” But any idiot could use a blunt object effectively. He would be magically learning how to do something that any idiot could do.
He sighed.
So, he wanted a weapon that was effective, essentially unlimited in use, not so exotic that it would be impossible to replace if it broke, and something that was enough based on skill that it was worth using a magical impartment of knowledge in order to get.
That was a heavy burden. Weapons that fulfilled those requirements would make a very short list.
Poisons were out, they were definitionally limited in quantity, and he could just see himself running through gardens, hunting for esoteric herbs to make anti-zombie poisons.
He’d die.
He’d die while pulling weeds.
He didn’t need to imagine it to know it was true.
A halberd would be great for keeping distance, but in a tangle of bodies it would be hard to keep control and remain effective.
A katana could work, but while they were iconic weapons, they suffered from the same issue as most other swords.
They were primarily designed to do soft-tissue damage.
True, they could cut bone, but they weren’t specifically designed for it. Additionally, they were mainly a pull-cutting weapon, which limited their use in crowd scenarios… he thought… probably?
He continued to oscillate back and forth between blade and bludgeoning. Then, he glanced down at his hands.
Nothing would ever be as close to him as his own body. He could never drop his limbs, and if they tangled up with an opponent, he’d have amazing leverage to work them free.
…but that would be putting him very up close and personal with zombies. That seemed like a very, very bad plan.
Finally, he remembered a weapon he’d always been fascinated with but never learned how to use. When he’d asked his instructor about it, he was told that it wasn’t a useful self-defense weapon, because it was designed as an infantry weapon for heavy duty, hacking and slashing.
The dadao.
It was essentially a large machete that had been redesigned for war, and it could be used in one or two hands.
He looked around at the remaining options, the dadao was not among them.
“Excuse me, but would a dadao be an acceptable choice?”
Analyzing…
Analyzing…
Analyzing…
Yes. The dadao is included within the Skill: Great Blade Basics, Common
Analyzing…
Analyzing…
Analyzing…
As an exotic variant, a more limited Skill would be granted for its use at the starting level:
Great-Blades Basics - Dadao, Common
To offset the limited nature of the specialized Skill—and in keeping with the original use of the weapon—a second Skill would be granted at the starting level:
Advanced Kinesthetics, Common
Is this acceptable?
Alex frowned.
It sounded like he’d be getting a highly specialized weapons Skill, and a secondary, broadly useful but not explicitly combat Skill.
…and he had no idea what that actually meant. It sounded like an amazing plan, but would he be crippling himself in some way that he didn't understand?
“I appreciate this offer, but… I don’t know enough. You said that I’d get basic equipment, but would a weapon such as this be provided, or will I have to find one? How fragile will it be? Will there be ways to upgrade, repair, or replace a blade like this?”
Analyzing inquiry…
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Analyzing…
Analyzing…
Potential influencing information detected.
Escalating request.
Please hold, and you will be assisted by the next available Watcher.
Your inquiry is important to us, and we appreciate your patience.
Alex couldn’t help himself, he huffed a laugh. “That’s comfortingly familiar, in an alien sort of way.”
A moment later, another System box appeared.”
Alex, rewards are granted with a fair degree of regularity within the Apology Tutorial in one form or another.
Those rewards are tailored to the needs of the recipient or the recipient may select them directly.
Our goal is not your death specifically; though many do die, and some even choose death outright.
If you are due a reward, and there is a reward that will help you, it will generally be granted.
No more can be said at this time.
Thank you for your inquiry.
“Thank you,” he said genuinely.
The… Watcher had just given him a lot of information.
He almost reconsidered the firearms, as it seemed like these rewards might be often enough to keep him topped up on ammo, but…no.
He shook his head.
Even if he could count on his equipment being updated or replaced with some regularity, anything with as limited a usage as ammo would be in short supply or—in the best case scenario—he’d be stuck carrying a massive amount of it around.
He chuckled. “That would be a great problem to have, if I had a gun.”
He lifted his hands, waving them about and pretending to be horrified.
“Oh, no! What will I do with hundreds of bricks of ammunition!”
…did ammunition come in bricks?
Cases?
Boxes?
Crates?
He wasn’t actually sure. He’d definitely shot guns before, but for some reason he couldn’t recall the proper vernacular. Regardless, it hardly mattered.
“I choose the dadao.”
Acknowledged.
Choose Your Apocalypse: Apology Tutorial
‘Initial Means of Damage’ set to ‘Dadao’
Decision Rating: Shaky reasoning, based mostly upon childhood desires and guess work.
Next stage to be queued.
“Oh… well, that’s not encouraging…” His decision was based on shaky reasoning?
The black void vanished from around him, and he was suddenly standing at the deadend of a long hallway.
Some hundred feet away was a simple door to exit the odd passage.
He felt an instinctive need to pass through the door.
Unfortunately, halfway between him and that door stood a zombie, clearly long dead, hunched with decay, looking the other way.
He felt a weight suddenly pull against his right hand, but before he could look down, another System box appeared.
Quest [The Hallway]:
Please exit the hallway in whatever method you see fit.
Reward:
Your Race Rank will be determined and level 1 will be granted.
Your starter Skills will be granted.
Prepayment:
Your starting weapon has been granted.
Apology Tutorial Addendum:
Good luck.
Alex glanced down at the dadao in his hand and almost laughed.
I’m glad I didn’t select something like magic. He could only imagine what he’d do if he had been ‘granted’ magic, without any Skill with which to use it.
…no, he actually couldn’t imagine that. He didn’t have the first clue about how magic actually worked in the System.
Alex took a moment to look around the odd, dead end hallway.
It was five feet wide with a smooth—not slick—surface. There was no ceiling that he could see, the walls just continuing up to the point that he couldn’t perceive them any longer.
I bet I could brace off the walls and climb if I had to…
At the far end was the door out, his goal.
He let out a long sigh. He needed to focus on the moment.
His eyes instantly widened, and he squeaked involuntarily in fright. His sigh had apparently been loud enough for the zombie to hear it.
The thing was now looking over its shoulder at him with one undead eye.
And, apparently, Alex had been allowed to feel fear once again.
That was just excellent.
“Well, Alex, pull yourself together. We’re in it now.”
Alex stared back, meeting the gaze of the one undead eye.
Well… he assumed that he was. There wasn’t actually a pupil, so Alex was guessing.
The zombie head was continuing to twist toward him, seeming to be turning both horizontally and vertically at the same time to get a look at him.
It was an utterly inhuman movement.
Alex glanced down at the dadao in his hand and almost laughed. He was so hopped up on nervousness and fear that he could hardly think.
His entire body trembled.
The suppressive effects of the System were just gone all of a sudden, and it felt like all the stress and terror he should have been feeling up to that point were crashing down on him all at once.
The zombie let out what could have been a grunt, but it also sounded like a hungry wheeze. It fell down, twisting at the waist so it landed on its chest, while its backside hit the ground as well. Its spine gave out a series of cracks and pops that would make any chiropractor proud.
Alex did bark a laugh, then. That was what he had been afraid of?
It just fell over.
Then… it started to scrabble toward him.
The hands were clawing at the ground, dragging it forward, even as the legs bent and kicked, trying to drive it at him.
Alex squealed in horror once again.
Even starting some fifty feet away, the undead thing began to cover the distance between them with terrifying speed.
Alex took a step back and bumped into a solid wall behind him. Something deep within him rebelled at that.
If he fought boxed in, he’d have no options.
He needed to go forth and meet it. That way, if things went badly, he could retreat. Before he could talk himself out of it, he stumbled forward.
His gait firmed, and his steps became more solid after the first couple foot falls.
He was committed.
He knew what he had to do.
Alex sprinted down the hallway.
At the last moment, he juked to the side, stepping around the questing arms, planting one foot before stamping down his other on the creature’s back.
His stomp-kick slammed the monster to the floor with an audible crunch.
Then, with a powerful, two-handed, downward blow, he drove his dadao into the back of the creature’s head, ending its life just like that.
He braced his shoe on the skull beside the blade and pulled it free before turning and striding casually to his goal.
“Where’s my button?” When one didn’t appear, he smiled and slapped the wall regardless, “That was easy.”
And it had been.
If this is what it took to succeed in the tutorial, he was going to be just fine.
Alex smiled to himself as he took the last step before his attack.
Just as he’d imagined, he juked to the side around the grasping fingers, planting his left foot firmly on the floor before stomping down with his right.
As it turned out, however, rotting corpses did not make great footing.
He sucked in a startled breath as the flesh on the thing’s back shifted and moved like a rug on an oiled floor. Alex’s foot went out from under him, forcing him into a partial split even as he slammed down onto the undead creature.
Fortunately, his weight was enough that he still broke many of the bones in its upper torso.
Unfortunately, that didn’t seem to affect the thing overmuch.
Its arms reached back, ignoring the common movement restrictions that had undoubtedly affected its shoulders in life, and it grabbed onto him even as the head bobbled around, mouth opening to bite him.
NOT LIKE THIS!
Alex flailed, striking out blindly and unskillfully with his weapon. Still he had enough thought and control that his dadao slammed between the zombie’s teeth, driving the head back against the ground.
What? Worthless blade, why won’t it cut?
He looked at his weapon and… He’d hit the thing with the back of the blade.
Son of a motherless goat…
The zombie scrambled at him with its arms, trying to pull him toward its face, or at least hurt him.
Oddly, he saw a red bar appear in the upper right corner of his vision. There are health bars, here?
That was… convenient?
Concerning?
A bit of both, actually. Yet, it was hardly the time to be contemplating that.
The little health tracker had ticked down about ten percent already, and there almost seemed to be an odd discoloration growing within it.
He frantically pushed back with his left arm while keeping his right firmly pressing down on the hilt of his sword.
He managed to overpower the corpse, which—now that he thought about it—should have been easier. I am in really awful shape…
As he stood back up, he ripped his sword free—even popping out a few undead teeth—and then struck down with both hands on the hilt and the blade facing the right way.
It was just like his imagining then, except the spatter… The splatter that went straight into his mouth.
“Gah!”
He spat repeatedly, trying to banish the horrific taste.
It wouldn’t leave.
He ignored the System panes that tried to enter his vision.
He noticed, but ignored his health bar seemingly beginning to turn a necrotic gray-black even faster than before, the odd coloration he thought that he’d noticed earlier filling in over the previously healthy red.
There was a second System notice that was green, which was almost enough to garner his attention, but the taste just wouldn’t go away, and that was surely more important… right?
In fact, the taste seemed to be spreading through his mouth and even down his throat.
It also felt like his arms and back could taste it too… where the zombie had scratched and damaged him.
He groaned, stumbling backward before turning to face the doorway.
Then, he collapsed, unable to move, unable to even think.