Tutorial: START!

I've been thrown into a world that was only fiction in my last life. Living in a village chock full of ninjas who, if I were remembering things right, can raise the dead and destroy cities with hand-mouths. And to top it all off: I am a baby.

Yeah, I think playing through the tutorial is a good move. I reach out with my tiny, chubby hands and press the "Yes" button beneath the prompt.

The golden letters promptly disappear, leaving me with only the sight of the inside of my eyelids for moments before I drop deep into proper sleep.

The next morning, I wake to find myself no longer being cradled by Mom. Instead, I'm in a crib. It's quite the crib honestly; the bars are painted to look like swords and the headboard is painted with some kind of mural that I have to imagine is impressive. But it's still a crib. A tiny baby jail. I want out of this thing.

But there's nothing I can do to get out- fuck, rolling over is as truggle for my undeveloped limbs. Grasping the bars is easy but doing anything else is impossible. So with no other option, I take a deep breath and let out a mighty wail-

Only to stop as tiny bars appear in the corner of my vision. Lots of tiny bars. Frankly, an insane amount of tiny bars. I can't count how many there are. 'The hell?'. As if in answer to my question, large letters begin to scroll in front of me once more.

[ WELCOME TO 'Elemental', THE GAME OF SHINOBI. ]

[ SHINOBI IS AN OPEN WORLD RPG WHERE YOUR ONLY LIMITS ARE YOUR IMAGINATION. BUT EVEN A MIGHTY SHINOBI, WARRIOR, OR SPICE MERCHANT MUST START SOMEWHERE- WELCOME TO THAT SOMEWHERE.YOU ARE CURRENTLY A BABY AGED 'Seven Months'. FOR NOW, YOUR OPTIONS ARE LIMITED. YOUR OPTIONS WILL GREATLY EXPAND WHEN YOU REACH THE END OF THIS TUTORIAL.

FOR NOW, LET US INTRODUCE SOME BASIC FEATURES. ]

[ YOU WILL HAVE NOTICED THAT IN THE BOTTOM RIGHT OF YOUR VISION, YOU HAVE GAINED ACCESS TO YOUR MOTIVES BAR. MOTIVES ARE YOUR BASIC PHYSICAL AND MENTAL NEEDS. THEY RANGE FROM HUNGER-

One of the bars flash. It's a tiny blue one that's dropping as I look at it. At the rate it's going, it won't be long until it vanishes completely.

-TO ENERGY-Another, larger bar pulses. This one is dropping much slower.

-TO MANY MORE. PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR MOTIVES. SOME MAY BE EXPENDED WITHOUT PENALTY, BUT SHOULD ANY OF THE MAJOR ONES EMPTY FOR A PROLONGED PERIOD OF TIME, THE CONSEQUENCES ON YOUR HEALTH CAN PROVE DIRE.FOR NOW, LET US DEAL WITH YOUR HUNGER MOTIVE. HUNGER MAY BE SATIATED BY-

"I know how to eat!" I try to yell. And though only gurgles and gaa's escape my mouth, the tutorial seems to get my meaning. The scrawl hurries through it's explanation on what food is and how to consume it in a fraction of a second.

NOW, IT IS TIME TO FULFILL THAT MOTIVE.]

The scrawl vanishes, and in it's place appears what looks like a small paper scroll. It's only in my mind though; a quick flail through the space it appears to be occupying reveals nothing but air. But touching it has a side-effect. As my fingers pass through it, the scroll unfurls with a small jangling noise. I read the revealed text quickly.

*Quest Acquired! Hungry Like The Wolf! Your hunger motive is getting dangerously low. You should get that taken care of as soon as possible.

Success Condition: Hunger Motive = 100%On Success: You will have learned how to eat!

On Failure: You will be dead.

The scroll vanishes as soon as I'm done reading it. A small chime sounds in my ear and a new tab warps into existence in the corner of my vision opposite to my motives. I move to touch it, but before I do, the text scrawl begins again.

[ YOU HAVE JUST RECEIVED YOUR FIRST QUEST! QUESTS ARE THE PRIMARY WAY OF GAINING PROGRESSING IN 'Elemental'. THEY MAY BE ACQUIRED WHEN YOUR MOTIVES REACH CERTAIN THRESHOLDS, FROM VARIOUS CHARACTERS AROUND YOU, OR IN ANY NUMBER OF OTHER WAYS.QUESTS MAY REWARD YOU WITH SEVERAL BENEFITS. THE FIRST IS EXPERIENCE, WHICH WE'LL TALK ABOUT IN A FEW MOMENTS. THEY MAY ALSO REWARD YOU WITH CURRENCY, RARE ITEMS, NEW ABILITIES, AND THE MOST CHALLENGING QUESTS MAY EVEN AWARD YOU ACHIEVEMENTS THAT WILL UNLOCK SPECIAL BENEFITS. EACH OF THESE REWARDS WILL BE EXPLAINED AS YOU ATTAIN THEM. ]

[ FOR NOW, ATTEMPT TO COMPLETE YOUR FIRST QUEST. ]

… did the universe just give me a quest to fucking eat? The hell even is this game?!.

Once I get over my surprise at the hell is happening, the quest is easy enough to complete. A loud wail alerts Mom that I'm awake, and she bustles in with a jar full of something that smells kind of like peaches. It only takes half the jar for my stomach to stop it's annoying growling and my hunger motive to climb to it's ceiling.

There's a sound like a chorus of trumpets in my ear as I down the last mouthful.

[ YOU HAVE COMPLETED A QUEST! ]The new tab is glowing. I tap it, revealing the scroll for the eating quest. Only now it's marked ^'COMPLETE'.

[ QUESTS OF ALL STATUSES (ACTIVE, COMPLETED, FAILED) MAY BE REVIEWED BY ACCESSING YOUR JOURNAL. ]

… I have a journal?

As it turns out, yes, I do have a journal, one that appears if I think 'journal' really loudly. It has a whole variety of things, ranging from my stats (all terrible right now) to my quests to brief summations of important events. But the discovery of the journal isn't the biggest thing to me; no, it's the discovery that thinking things loudly can bring up different screens.

My favorite so far is the 'settings' screen, which I immediately use to shift my motives from 'always appear' to 'only negative appear', reducing the amount of dancing light in the corner of my eye. Prompts are turned from visual to verbal, so I don't have to read giant text blocks anymore, instead hearing them whispered in my ear. And 'interface' is shifted from 'touch' to 'thought'- no more pressing invisible buttons for me anymore!

The next screen I try to pull up is 'pause'. When I activate that one, a menu pops up in front of me, listing each of the other major screens I can bring up. But to my surprise, the world doesn't freeze around me. Which seems odd. Isn't the point of a pause screen to, you know, pause the game?

"'Elemental' is an open-world RPG," the tutorial whispers, "that functions in real time to prevent interruption."

I try to ask it for more information, but it only repeats the same sentence over and over again. In the end, I have no choice but to accept it. No time freezing for me.

Experimenting with the game's functions is tiring work. I do it until dusk, when Mom puts me down to sleep again, and then again the next day. Days pass as I become more accustomed to living in this world and dealing with my body. Days turn into weeks, which turn into a month. Over the course of the month, I'm not idle. I can't seem to walk but crawling is no big deal, and I use my tiny legs to motor around my hours like a swaddled dynamo. It really lets me get a feel for my new home. It's a large place; definitely larger than my old apartment. It has two floors, large rooms, and feels entirely too big for just the three of us living there. Maybe it will feel more comfortable as I grow into it.

My explorations also take me into the path of the house's third occupant. I got my first good look at him a few weeks after my game start, as my eyes have finally started to focus. He's a burly man, short and squat with his arms thick with muscle. His eyebrows are heavy and dominate his face, merging into one monstrosity that make him look like some kind of simpleton. But I had guess from the watchful ways his eyes dart around the house at all times and the way he speaks with Mom that that impression couldn't be further from the truth.

It's during one of those conversations with Mom that I finally learn his name: Tokei. I am not sure if that's his first name or family name; from the way Mom growls it when he's not around, it could be either.

He and Mom don't exactly seem to get along. It's an impression that's verified by another one of my screens: relationships. Pulling that one up produces a large open screen with a tiny web chart in the middle of it. His arrow towards Mom is 'watchful disdain'. Mom's toward him is 'scorn'.

I can also pull up another tab on my relationships screen: people's feelings towards məˈself. Mom is 'loving devotion'. Reading that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Meanwhile, Tokei's is 'watchful disdain', same as his towards my Mom's. What's his deal?

After my discoveries in the relationship screen, I am eager to explore more and learn more about what I can do. But I'm cut off the next morning. Instead of the usual peace and quiet I have on waking, I'm interrupted by a trio of scroll appearing in my vision. They all unfurl into new quests.

*Quest Acquired! These Feet are Made for Walking!

I've had enough of this whole crawling thing. I have two feet, I have two legs. It's time to use them as nature intended and get to walking!

∆Success Condition: Mastery of the Walking Skill

On Success: You will have learned to walk and will no longer have to crawl everywhere. Physical stats may be upgraded!

On Failure: This quest cannot be failed.

Bonus: Bonuses to physical stats! Relationship gain with Tokei! (may only be acquired by fulfilling this Quest before Silence is Golden but Talking is Priceless and The Art of the Word)

*Quest Acquired! Silence is Golden but Talking is Priceless!

I can grunt and command people with goos and gaas, but Mom can get way more meaning across with a lot less effort. Talking… yeah, I've gotta get some of that!

Success Condition: Mastery of the Talking Skill

On Success: You will have learned how to talk! Gain language: Elemental (childish)

On Failure: This quest cannot be failed.

Bonus: Bonuses to social stats! Relationship gain with Satomura Manami! (may only be acquired by fulfilling this Quest before These Feet are Made for Walking and The Art of the Word)

*Quest Acquired! The Art of the Word!

Mom stares at paper and learns something from it. Tokei stares at paper and learns something from it. Even I can get something from scrolls- in my head. But if I want to read in real life, I'll need to put in some work.

Success Condition: Mastery of the Reading Skill (Language: Elemental)

On Success: You will have learned how to read!

On Failure: This quest cannot be failed.

Bonus: Bonuses to intelligence stats! Reputation gain with the Konoha Public Library!(may only be acquired by fulfilling this Quest before These Feet are Made for Walking and Silence is Golden but Talking is Priceless.)

… huh.

Well, I am going to do all of these quests. Not being able to talk, read, or walk would be hell. But it looks like there are bonuses for each of them that I only get if I do them first. Which means I should probably focus on one for now.

It only takes me a few moments to make up my mind. Talking is wonderful and I'm going to have to get on that soon, but it can wait. I am only… seven months old, according to my journal. Same with reading. Reading without talking would be a little strange honestly. But walking? There's a whole bunch of stuff I can do once I remaster the art of walking. I can get to things on higher shelves. I can move without scraping through my comfortable footie pajamas. I can finally climb the stairs!Yeah, walking can't wait. I decide to put all my time and focus behind relearning how to walk. It is… not as easy as I expected.

For one thing, there's standing upright. my tiny body isn't used to the routine move, and at first every attempt I make to force myself up on my legs winds with me falling over on my ass- hilariously, if Mom's stifled giggles and Tokei's twitching mouth are anything to go by. But that doesn't stop me. I force myself to my feet over and over, using walls to keep me upright when I can. Within days of receiving my quests, I'm able to stand proudly on my own two feet.

But even after I am able to stand my trials aren't over quite yet. Standing up on its own is useless; I actually have to figure out how to take a step. Again, it's harder than it should be. I know how to do it in theory- I even have increasingly vague memories of doing it before- but putting that knowledge into practice is a bumpy process. I fall over time and time again as I struggle to put one foot in front of the other.

Compounding the difficulty is my own tiny baby stamina. I can't be awake for more than a couple of hours without feeling drowsy and needing a nap, or getting cranky and needing something to eat. Multiple time I've stopped from taking that next big leap in walking by the urge to curl up in Mom's lap and let myself drowse.