I fidgeted with the small hatchet given to me; the elves would blunt the edge for the combatant match, so I would have to fight the beast first. I looked down at the ground and saw the number 20 painted white. My father never liked watching sports; he told me it was a waste of time when we could train. I always wanted to see the Cowboys play, but I knew I shouldn't push his patience if I pressed too hard; I didn't want to see what he would do. I wondered if he had survived; he had a lot of stories from before he settled down. If anyone was made for the apocalypse, it was him. My father, Daniel, was mean, rugged, and always prepared. He spent his entire youth on a ranch raising cattle with my grandfather. He never spoke fondly of his time before us and shut down when I asked him the everyday things na?ve children want to know about the service. I remember the glazed-over look he got when my friends asked him if he killed anyone. Most of the gaps I knew were told to me by my mother before she left. He went into the military after he turned 18 and cut all ties with his family. He would often wake up screaming in the middle of the night. I would go to my sister Rebecca's room and ensure she was okay.

  Daniel POV

  "Welcome to the tutorial of the 7th Universe."

  Daniel had gone to sleep last night drunk. He would wait for his kids to be in bed first. And break out his favorite bottle of apple-flavored whiskey. He looked around and saw hundreds of other people around him.

  Dan wasn't someone who enjoyed his life; he had always felt alive while deployed. Sarah told him that it was her and the kids or his career in the military, so after he finished his last contract, he was done. The couple's therapist had told Dan that he needed to work through his resentment if they stood a chance of salvaging his marriage. Too bad Sarah had already moved on before the papers had been served. When Dan caught that other man with his wife in his bed, he lost it, and he tried to punch the other guy who was still trying to cover up his unmentionables. Sarah must have loved him because she got in front of her husband and took the punch for him. Daniel spent the entire night with his brother, crying and drinking. The cops came shortly after 3 am to take him to jail. He spoke with his lawyer, thinking he would have to fight tooth and nail for his children. Sarah wanted a clean slate and gave him everything. Sarah was an orphan and had no other family. It hurt Dan to his soul that she didn't even love his kids enough to try to fight for them. After he was awarded custody, Sarah twisted the knife even more, sending him a DNA test showing that Rebecca was not his child. That night, he gathered every item in his house that reminded him of Sarah and had a fire.

  "Where am I?"

  "You are in the Tutorial."

  "What is a tutorial?"

  "The tutorial is where a select few from your planet will prepare for what is to come."

  "What is to come?"

  "War and Monsters."

  ...

  "How long will I be stuck here?"

  "The Tutorial has time dilation at a rate of 5:1; you will only be absent from your world for five solar cycles."

  Race: Human

  Rank: F

  Name: Daniel McAllister

  Exp: 0/100

  Level: 1

  Strength: 8

  Dexterity: 8

  Constitution: 9

  Charisma: 7

  Stamina: 9

  Intelligence: 9

  Willpower: 10

  Unassigned Points: 0

  Skills

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  (Common)

  Unarmed Combat LVL 20/25

  Ranged Weapons LVL 20/25

  Small weapons LVL 20/25

  LVL 1/100

  HP 18/18

  Stamina 16/16

  "Please select a class and occupation."

  Dane POV

  "Number 605, come to the stand to begin your match."

  I walked to the middle of the field and saw a stone platform 20 feet from an iron cage. As I went to the disk's center, it started to glow blue. I looked into the cage and only saw yellow eyes with a line for a pupil reminiscent of a feral cat that wouldn't go near humans. The eyes moved left to right in the cage, pacing in anticipation. The gate clicked, and the crowded stands began to roar. My hand tightened its grip on the faux leather handle of my ax. A bead of sweat rolled down the bridge of my nose. My heart began to race as I stilled my breath. The iron bars fell with an audible clang of metal on metal. The shadows started to roll out of the cage, shrouding me in darkness.

  I couldn't see the eyes any longer. The shadows weren't just messing with my vision but also my hearing. I heard footsteps behind me but felt the scratch of the beast on my chest. It was like being submerged in water, and the audio reverberated around me. Another swipe to my back sent me down to one knee. I needed to get up. When you gave a monster your neck, it always went for the kill. This monster had to be a shadow cat. I knew that until level 5, they would only be able to keep the shadow field active for 10 minutes. This was more than long enough for me to be shredded to mincemeat. I had to keep moving. I felt the hairs on my neck stand up and swung my ax hard to the left. I heard a roaring yowl as my ax found purchase in the shadow cat's hide. The shadows receded into the monster for a split second, giving me a glimpse of the creature. My ax was in its left back leg; it looked at me with malice. The shadows erupted back out of the cat as it roared again. I began to run, and the feeling of being hunted intensified.

  "Great job Dane, you just pissed it off!" I self-admonished.

  My hair bristled again, this time on my left arm. I stopped and shuffled to the right as I saw a blur whiz past me.

  New passive skill unlocked danger sense echoed in my head.

  "Hey, system, can you please explain the skill? I can't stop to read its description at the moment."

  "No."

  "What the fuck do mean no?"

  "My name isn't System anymore."

  "Fine, Babysitter, can you please read me any descriptions of newly acquired skills while I am in combat?"

  "Sure thing, Dane."

  “…”

  "Are you going to tell me what Danger Sense does?"

  "Danger sense does not meet the criteria of new skill as it was acquired before the command was initiated."

  "Babysitter, just tell me what danger sense does."

  "Danger sense (rare) is a passive skill that scales with dexterity and willpower. Your hair will begin to bristle in an area in imminent danger. Please note this skill only works on physical attacks that you can react to until further upgrades have been made."

  "Thanks."

  With this new skill, I had a fucking spidey sense. However, the key phrase in the description is that you have to be able to react to it. The shadow cat stopped choreographing and initiated attacks while it was closer; I didn't have enough time to move, and my neck began to feel wet and hot. I reached back with my unencumbered hand and touched the slick substance only realizing that the cat took a chunk out of my neck.

  "What is my HP at babysitter?" I said in my head

  "You are at 2/10"

  That means the attacks are doing massive damage. If I take another hit, I am done. Just as the hair on the back of my head started to bristle, the shadows began to dissipate, revealing that the shadow cat was only two times the size of a regular tabby. I turned around and saw the helpless cat lunging at me with a smooth sidestep and uppercut Esque strike. I cleaved the Black cat at the waist. The torso and hind legs landed on either side of me with a thud. My body began to feel as light as a feather. The crowd went wild as I fell to the ground face-first. My world went black.

  ...

  I woke feeling sore everywhere that the feline scratched me. I looked down at my arms and didn't even see a mark where I had been attacked. I began to sit, only to be pushed back down by a beautiful elf medic. She hovered her yellow glowing hands over my arms and continued chanting in mage language. This tongue was only taught to spellcasters once they had been given the system and proved they had mana.

  "Can I sit up now?" I asked

  "No, you will open up the wound in your stomach. I had to suture it closed until I finished your more life-threatening wounds." The enchanting elf said

  "What is your name I would like to know who I owe my life too," I said

  "My name is Marjorie, and you don't owe me your life. I was doing my job. Why else do you think that I would waste my time on a casteless earthbound like you." Marjorie said with venom in her tone.

  "Not the angel I thought I had woken up to," I whispered under my breath

  "What was that?" Marjorie said, elevating her tone to a promised threat.

  "I just said that without your help, I wouldn't have woken up. And I would still like to thank you, " I said quickly as I began to stand up again.

  "I told you that you will open your wounds if you try to get up again," Marjorie said in a matter-of-fact tone.

  "I'll take my chances," I said coldly, exiting the med bay and looking for the pack I had left next to the entrance of the coliseum.

  I found my bag trampled, and the health potion destroyed glass shattered in the bag. I rang out as much liquid as possible into my mouth. The tonic burnt every inch of the way down my esophagus.

  Babysitter message HP restored 8/10.

  "Babysitter, can I have a permanent visual of my resource pools in my vision."

  "Of course, Dane."

  As my health, mana, and stamina took place in the top right corner of my vision, I wondered what other features I would have to implement.

  "I should probably ask other people how they had their displays when I get a chance," I told myself.