Chapter 9 - A New Skill?

I didn't need any type of description to know what a Skillbook was. Immediately, I pull up my Inventory. The max it could hold was 15 items, and items didn't stack. Staring me in the face were three red books. They weren't especially well-maintained, but the contents were exciting.

[* Note: Learning Analyze may have certain side effects for the tutorial. Does the user still wish to learn?*]

Something about how the tutorial's message seemed oddly normal tugs at the back of my brain, but I nod. "The tutorial is a tutorial, which means it's going to end at some point. I'll potentially be able to use this skill for the rest of my life."

[* Good answer. *]

Brushing off the weird answers, I grab at the screen with the worst looking book. If I can find a town or something with people in it, I can potentially sell the other ones. As it stood now, I had simply woken up with the clothes on my back and a dagger that had broken in a single hit.

I glance at the fourth item, the original reward for killing the goblin. It was just a poorly made dagger, yet I feel a slight connection to it. The horrible luck of that goblin reminded me of how I had been not even two days ago.

Someone who would slip and fall on his ass on a banana peel.

I vow silently to never sell the dagger, as a reminder to how far I had already come after just arriving in this new world.

Shaking my head clear of such depressing thoughts, I inspect the book in my hands.

[* Is the user sure they want to learn Analyze?*]

"Yes."

I go to open the book, but it flies open by itself. The pages begin to glow, flipping rapidly end over end. With each page, I feel a piece of the skill being ingrained into my soul, until it reaches the end, and as the last page turns the whole book flashes a bright red, causing me to cover my eyes. As I lower my hand, I see the book is gone, and I know instinctively I can use the skill.

Still, I wanted to test it, so I pull out the new dagger I had gotten and stare at it. 'Analyze.'

[Crude Dagger]
[Rank: Common]
[Description: A goblin's sword that was roughly made from steel ore.]

Atk: +6
Def: +2
Spe: +9
Dur: 16/16

[Attention. The user's Skill Analyze has been confirmed. Tutorial will now end.]

So this was the side effect it meant.

[* Congratulations! The user has completed the tutorial. :D Earn, Learn, and Create the user's growth as the user makes their way through this new world.
P.S. You haven't seen the last of Me! *]

"…"

I was silent for a minute as I look at the message. After a few long seconds, a single tear falls from one of my eyes.

[* It would seem the user will miss the tutorial! The tutorial assures the user,— *]

I couldn't hold it in anymore, and my lips part grandly, as if prepared to cite a poem.

"Finally, some peace and quiet," I say, a small smile spreading upon my face. 'Took long enough, honestly.'

[*…*]

Suddenly, a hundred messages pop up all at once, causing me to fall backwards as I yelp from the shock. My ears ring wildly from the loud 'ding!' sound 100 times over.

"Oh for fuck's sake!" I yell, commanding all the messages to clear at once in my head. With a blink of my eyes, all but two disappear. They were layered over one another, so I read the first one before moving it to look at the second.

[*Goodbye, user.*]

[Tutorial has ended.]

After clearing the last two messages, I stare intensely at the ground, half expecting the tutorial to pop back up, telling me it's actually here to stay.

But… nothing.

Finally, I heave a sigh, one that carries my mixed emotions in it. It was an odd mixture of relief, sadness, slight worry, and a hint of nostalgia, for a reason I couldn't explain.

"It makes sense, though," I mutter to myself. "I mean, Analyze kind of makes the tutorial seem obsolete and redundant."

Still, I couldn't exactly shake the feeling that the tutorial had done more than I gave it credit for. "Oh, well," I sigh again, before reorienting myself to head south again. I wasn't sure how far away civilization was, but it couldn't be too far, right?

- - -

One and a half days later…

"Good riddance to that damn lying tutorial! I'll never find anything but trees out here! I bet it sent me in the wrong direction on purpose!" I bellow angrily.

I hadn't realized it then, but having the tutorial as something to make me feel as if I wasn't alone had kept me from going mad, and I was quickly descending into delirium without it.

"Fuck you, you heartless tutorialllll!"

* * *

[Name: Klum]
[Age: 17]
[Lv: 2]
[EXP: 24/50]
[Health: 32/35]
[Mana: 32/38]
[Stamina: 34/35]

STR: 6 MAG:4
AGI: 8 DEX: 5
VIT: 5 INT: 8

ACC: 6
DEF: 5
POW: 6

[Skills: Klum's Reincarnation (Unfound), Critical Eye (Rare), Slash (Common)]

[Slash (Common Active Skill): The user gains 150% atk power with melee weapons only. The effect ends after one attack lands or duration ends.
Duration: 30 seconds — Cost: 6 Mana, 2 Stamina — Cooldown: 30 seconds]

[Klum's Reincarnation (Unfound Autoskill)]
[Cooldown remaining: 1 day, 17 hours…]