"I repeat, please choose your starting class before the tutorial commences."

  Nicholas remained unconscious. The undead plague coursed through his veins, bringing him closer to death with every passing moment.

  "Last chance to pick your starting class, or one will be chosen for you."

  The prompt fell on deaf ears. In his current state, Nicholas was in no position to make a choice.

  "Choosing class... Scanning target... High levels of death attunement detected. Eligible for rare starting class: Necromancer. Necromancer has been forcefully assigned. Commencing tutorial. Transporting the recipient to the Tutorial Tower."

  Some time passed.

  Nicholas stirred, his eyes fluttering open. The first thing he saw was a concrete ceiling.

  "Where am I? Shouldn't I be dead?" Questions raced through his mind as he slowly sat up, pressing a hand to his forehead in an attempt to suppress the pounding headache.

  As he clumsily got to his feet, he took in his surroundings. The room was completely bare—four stone walls, a cobblestone floor, and nothing else except for an ordinary wooden door with a brass knob set into one of the walls.

  As he surveyed his surroundings, a blinking light in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He focused on it, and suddenly, a menu appeared in his vision:

  Notifications

  Status

  Skills

  Spells

  Achievements

  Quests

  Nicholas waved a hand in front of his face, confusion settling in.

  "What is this!? Surely I must be going mad."

  As soon as he thought about making it disappear, the menu vanished.

  Nicholas pinched his arm, wincing at the pain. "What is going on around here!?" he shouted before charging toward the door.

  The moment he touched the doorknob, another window popped up in his vision.

  Introduction.

  There was only one option.

  "Okay... so what do I do here?"

  As his thoughts drifted toward selecting it, a flash of white blinded him.

  When his vision cleared, he found himself in an identical-looking room—except for a few key differences. A table now occupied the space, with two chairs set at opposite ends. Seated in one was a masked figure, facing him.

  Stunned, Nicholas opened his mouth to speak, but before he could utter a word, the figure interrupted him.

  “Sit down,” they said, not bothering to look up from their papers.

  “But what is—”

  “Sit down!” they repeated, their voice sharper this time. Only then did Nicholas notice that it was a woman speaking.

  He blinked at her in silence for a moment before slowly walking over and reluctantly pulling out the chair. With a hesitant sigh, he sat down.

  A long pause followed. Nicholas studied the woman as she continued sorting through her papers. She had green hair unlike anything he had ever seen, with the tips of pointed ears peeking through. Her face was concealed by a plain white mask with no visible eye holes—he couldn't help but wonder how she could see. Aside from that, her clothes were unremarkable: a simple tunic and pants.

  Just as he was about to ask another question, she finally spoke, still focused on the pages in front of her, not even acknowledging him.

  “Alright… Welcome to the system. Congratulations. You’re now part of… whatever this is.” She waved a hand vaguely.

  She glanced at him briefly, then back at her papers. “You’re probably confused. Everyone is. Doesn’t matter. You’ll figure it out.”

  Leaning back slightly, she tilted her head as if debating whether she cared enough to explain properly. “You’ve been ‘granted’ access to the system. Lucky you. Status menu, skills, spells—blah, blah, blah—you get the idea.”

  She tapped the papers against the table to straighten them. “You can bring up your menu by thinking about it. If you die, you probably stay dead. Probably. Try not to test that.”

  Gesturing lazily toward the door, she continued, “The tutorial is mandatory. No, you don’t get a choice. No, I don’t care if you don’t want to do it.” She paused, finally meeting his eyes. “Questions? Actually—” she waved a hand dismissively, “never mind. I don’t feel like answering them. Go. Be gone. You’re the first to arrive, and I’m sure I’ve got a lot more people from your world to get through.”

  Nicholas was stunned.

  He quickly stood up, slamming his palms onto the table. “What in the goddamn hell is going on!?” he shouted, glaring at her mask where her eyes should have been.

  She held his gaze for a moment, then let out a massive sigh and leaned back.

  “Look, basically, your planet is now part of the system. Every single sentient creature from your world has already been integrated, just like you. Once you complete the tutorial, you’ll be transported back home, where you and all your friends and family can live happily ever after together…”

  She paused before adding, almost too quietly to hear, “If you survive.”

  This brought hope to Nicholas.

  "So you saved everyone else, right? Where are they?"

  The woman scoffed under her mask. "I... didn’t do anything. The system did. And no, the system doesn't bring back the dead—it only transports the living to the tutorial tower upon integration."

  "Then how am I alive?!" Nicholas was starting to get angry again, growing tired of this woman's attitude.

  "I was dying from the undead’s poison! Why am I alive?!" he exclaimed again.

  "I don't know!" she snapped, then paused, considering Nicholas's words.

  "What do you mean, undead poison?" she asked inquisitively.

  "The things that eat flesh. If you get infected by their poison, you turn into one of them. I should be one of them by now, but I feel fine," he answered simply.

  "That's... not possible." Her head lowered in thought.

  "Well, I assure you it is." He stood straight, crossing his arms.

  Suddenly, her head snapped back up. "Quickly, check your notifications!"

  "And how do I do that?"

  She scoffed again. "Like I said earlier—just think about bringing up your notifications."

  Nicholas sighed deeply and did as she instructed. A screen popped up in his vision.

  Notifications:

  Congratulations! You have been integrated into the system.

  Warning: You are poisoned.

  New quest added: Complete the tutorial tower.

  Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

  New quest added: Choose a starting class.

  Warning: Please choose a starting class.

  Due to failure to choose a class, one has been assigned to you.

  Class chosen: Necromancer.

  Poison cured: Due to the death attunement of your class, you are now resistant to death-attunement mana.

  Achievement gained: Endangered – Due to being the last sentient alive on your planet, you have been awarded +10% modifier to all stats.

  Achievement gained: Head Start – Due to killing an F-ranked monster before integration, you have been awarded +20 to all stats, +5% modifier to all stats..

  Achievement gained: Hardy – Due to recovering from critical condition without the help of healing magic or potions, you have been granted the skill Regeneration and +10 to vitality.

  As he read the list aloud, the strange woman remained silent until he finished.

  “What the fuck!” she exclaimed. “You are one unlucky—but still very lucky—bastard!”

  Nicholas’s face twisted in torment as he processed what he had just read.

  “So... I’m the last one alive from my world?” he asked, looking at her expectantly.

  “Yes, yes, boo-hoo. Who cares about that? Will you look at those titles? Even I don’t have achievements like that, and I’ve been alive for over four hundred years!”

  Nicholas could no longer contain his fury.

  “What use are these—these achievements —if I’ve lost everyone and everything?! I’ve lost my kingdom! I’ve lost all the men who laid down their lives just so I could be here, listening to YOU! I have nothing! NOTHING!”

  Nicholas glares at the woman, baring his teeth. She pauses, then places her mask on the table and meets his gaze with her emerald-green eyes. His temper eases slightly as he admires how beautiful she is.

  “Look… I’m sorry,” she says. “My name is Tiana. This was meant to be a routine introduction, but by the sounds of it, you’re the only one coming into this instance of the tutorial, so I’ve got time. Firstly—” she raises a finger, “what happened on your world should not have happened.”

  “What do you mean?” Nicholas asks.

  “Well… the undead are a common species in the system. They live on mana. They eat flesh to grow, but they need mana to survive. And you’re a necromancer, so you’re going to figure that out for yourself.”

  “What is mana? And how did this happen?”

  “I don’t know how it happened, but it shouldn’t have. It sounds like some powerful people got involved, trying to tip the scales. You need a lot of juice to pull off something like that. It sounds like someone flooded your world with death mana before you were integrated. Your world was doomed from the start.”

  “I just… don’t understand.” Nicholas sighs heavily and looks downward.

  “You won’t. Not yet, anyway. But that’s all you need to know about that for now. Secondly—titles that affect a percentage of your stats are really rare, and you already have two. Actually—before that, why don’t you check out your stats? Just think about them, or your status.”

  Nicholas does as instructed, and a menu appears before his eyes.

  Status

  Name:Nicholas Valthorne

  Race:Human

  Age:19

  Level:1

  Class:Necromancer (Rare)

  Occupation:None

  Faction:None

  Aura:None

  Attunements:Death

  Strength:27

  Dexterity:26

  Vitality:38

  Intelligence:26

  Wisdom:25

  Charisma:29

  Willpower:30

  Modifier:+15% to all stats.

  Nicholas reads the page aloud for Tiana to hear.

  “See? You had okay stats before integration, and with your titles, you’ve got a good head start. But I still don’t think you’ll survive the tutorial. It’s a shame, really.”

  “Who’s going to kill me? I’ll have you know, I’m no stranger to a fight,” Nicholas retorts.

  “You don’t understand anything. This tutorial was set up for your entire planet. I’m not allowed to tell you exactly what you’ll be facing, but some of it is meant to be fought in massive groups—teams formed by the system from your home world. But you’re alone. You’re the only one here. You have to complete the tutorial solo, and you can’t leave unless you finish it… or die.”

  Nicholas takes in Tiana’s words, then sits back down, his expression neutral.

  “So… what can I do?” he asks, defeated in his voice.

  Tiana settles into the seat across from him.

  “Well… nothing except try. You can’t stay in the tower forever. You have one week between stages before the system kicks you into the next stage automatically. But…” She leans forward slightly. “I can give you all the info I’m allowed to share—and wish you good luck.”

  “Okay, I’m listening.” Nicholas sits back in his chair.

  “Right, well, I don’t have much time left, so I’ll be quick.” She leans forward in her chair.

  “An occupation is, well… an occupation. It gives you skills, but it doesn’t affect your overall level. People usually get occupations to complement their class—like an archer might become a fletcher or a bowyer to supply themselves. You can have multiple occupations, but you don’t need to worry about that yet.”

  “So how do I get one?” Nicholas asks.

  “You’ll figure it out later. They’re usually offered for completing certain feats. But again, not your priority right now.”

  Nicholas sighs. “Okay.”

  “Aura,” she continues, “I’m not allowed to talk about it.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I’m not,” she replies flatly. “It’s something you have to figure out on your own. The system regulates what I can tell you right now.”

  “Okay. Anything else?”

  “Well, your attunement… I’m guessing since you lived in a world filled with death mana and the undead, you got that early. Congrats. That’ll be quite useful to you—being a necromancer and all—but as for what exactly you can do with it…” She pauses to smile.

  Nicholas just rolls his eyes. “I have to figure it out on my own?”

  “Exactly!” She beams at him with exaggerated happiness.

  “Can you please tell me something useful?!” he snaps, irritation creeping into his voice.

  “Hmmm… well.” She taps a finger against her lips in thought.

  “You learn spells and skills by spending points, which you earn as rewards from certain quests or at set levels predetermined by the system. You can also upgrade or even create skills and spells through certain actions… and that’s all I’m allowed to say on that topic.”

  “You get a certain number of points to allocate to your stats each level, depending on your class. And the stat modifier acts as a silent boost to your stats. For example—your strength is 27, right?”

  Nicholas nods.

  “Well, if you get into a test of strength against someone else with 27 strength but no modifier, you’ll be 15% stronger than them.”

  “So that’s why I feel stronger than I did before?”

  “Exactly. In simple terms—Strength is muscle mass. Dexterity is how fast you can move those muscles. Vitality is bone density, longevity, and overall how hard you are to kill. Intelligence is how fast your brain works and how much mana your core can store. Wisdom is how fast your mana regenerates, Charisma is how attractive you appear to anyone and also how others perceive your words. And Willpower… helps you shrug off certain spells and also boosts aur—oh. Not allowed to say that.” She smirks.

  “Everything else, you’ll have to figure out on your own. So, go play around with your spells before you head off to the first stage.”

  Nicholas remains silent in thought before looking back at her.

  “This is… a lot to take in. I mean… yesterday, I was ruling the last remnants of humanity, and now—this.”

  “Oh, you were a king?” She stands up and gives a mocking curtsey. “How noble of you.”

  Nicholas laughs at her antics but then pauses, wondering why her words make him feel so calm.

  She must have a high Charisma stat for her words to soothe me this much, Nicholas muses before being interrupted by Tiana.

  “Anyway, last thing I’ll say—you gain levels by killing things, if I haven’t already mentioned that. Also, after you leave this introduction, more places will be unlocked at your door. The options are all pretty self-explanatory, or you can just check them out yourself.”

  “Who do I have to kill?” Nicholas asks, a note of worry in his voice.

  Tiana smiles viciously. “You can kill whoever you want—and in most cases, you have to. Kill or be killed. That is the path to power.”

  Then, with a wave of her hand, Nicholas’s vision goes white. When it clears, he finds himself back in the same room where he first woke up.