1 The Tutorial

Ryan was walking to his bedroom. Ever since his company realized that it was easier to just have people work from home, they have been getting people to do so at all times. Of course, Ryan was all over it, but he kind of missed the old office. And the fact that he had to stay indoors so much.

'Damn, work is so annoying. Can't believe I agreed to the extra hours...'

He reaches the door to his bedroom, and opens it. But weirdly, instead of a bedroom, there is only an inky void beyond the door. It looked solid, as if the darkness itself would stop him from entering. Ryan wanted to back away, but as if in some sort of trance, his body moved without his order. He slowly walked into the darkness, and he was engulfed, before the door closed on its own. That day, another disappearance was recorded by the police and the missing person, Kyle Aguilar, was never found.

"What the.. where am I?! Is this some kind of sick prank!"

In shock, he talks out loud, but after a few seconds he realizes something. This place was eerily quiet. And there was a strange feeling inside him, but most importantly, that sense of vertigo wasn't normal. And, out of thin air, a small pixie appeared.

"Why, hello there~ My name is Rosalina, but you can call me Rose. Now then, I know you must have a lot of questions since you are one of the Chosen, but you can ask any questions after I finish explaining what this is."

Ryan was about to speak out when Rose waved her right arm and Ryan found he couldn't speak.

'What the hell?! This looks like magic! Wait, could it be-'

"Anyway~, I may be small, but I am in no way weak. You see, I am an administrator, admin for short. We look over the tower, and thus have special privileges, such as the magic I just used. We also have a power to stop any player who may go overboard or cause damage to the trial. Ah, right! I got ahead of myself. The Tower, commonly known as the Tower of Wishes, is where you're at right now! According to legend, there is a mysterious egg at the top of the tower, one made of pure light and energy! It holds a great power that, when freed, will grant any wish. As such, many have climbed the tower for this great reward, though the skills are quite nice as well."

"You see, the Tower acts like a video game from your world! Skills, items, levels, etc. However, they can only be earned through your own work, either by creating them yourself or clearing a trial. Each floor has its own trial, and each gives a reward based on your performance. There's even a System that we work under which keeps the Tower in check and provides handy services like allowing you to check your level and skills! Now then, that wraps up the tutorial! After all, we can't just feed you all the information. To put it simply, you still have to play. Now then, questions?"

She waved her hand once more, and Ryan found he could speak again. However, he was still processing everything.

'A game? A game?! This is just way too unbelievable! But, the things that have happened are way too unnatural to be fake. This is just so weird... I wanna just go back home... Wait, if it's like a video game, then can't I just exit?'

Having found hope once again, he looks to the pixie and asks that very question.

"Am I allowed to ask to leave?"

However, the pixie flashed a wide smile before saying the words that would crush Ryan's expectations.

"Sorry, but that's not how the Tower works. Whether you seek it out or it summons you, there is no going back. I'm quite surprised it summoned an ordinary person like you, but you are a Chosen, so we can't go against the rules. Speaking of being a Chosen, I forgot to talk about that! You see, the Tower can be sook out or it can summon players itself. The ones that are summoned are known as the Chosen, and have the ability to get one of two benefits. So far, though, only one has chosen the first benefit. So, now that that's out of the way, what will you choose? Will you choose a reward of hundreds of thousands of gold? Or will you choose a special talent that may fix all your problems?"

Ryan wasn't quite prepared for this. Not only had he banked his hopes on being able to leave, but in the first place, he was supposed to be working on his computer, inside his bedroom. Suddenly, he missed that feeling of monotony. But he realized that, if this was real, his life was on the line. If this place had the power to bring him here and possibly even take over his mind, then they can probably kill him just as easily. In that case, he would need to follow along, even if only for a while.

'So, I have two choices. I can gain the gold, or I can gain some sort of special benefit. If this is like a game, then gold should be the currency and the special talent is probably something exclusive, like a special skill or maybe something that boosts my stats. Wait, do we even have stats? Never mind. Normally, I might go with the gold since I can just buy items to make up for my lack of knowledge or skill, but this might not be a normal game. There might not be shops or anything, not to mention that I don't know if this can be stolen. And if I take these kinds of risks, then I gamble with my own life, not the life of a respawn able video game character. In this case, the second benefit seems like the better choice. Even if the talent turns out to be bad, it's still better than possibly painting a target on my back.'

The pixie looked at Ryan, seemingly sensing that he made a decision.

"Well, what'll it be?"

"I'll take the talent."

The pixie smiled, saying something about how everyone chooses that. Then, Ryan felt that weird feeling in his stomach disappear for a second, before it grew. However, as the feeling grew, Ryan felt more and more rejuvenated. He felt better than ever! As the feeling settled, he wondered how to open the status that the fairy mentioned. And as soon as he thought about it, the window opened.

[Name: Ryan Aguilar

Talent: Traveler

Level: 0

HP: 100%

MP: 100%

Skills: None

Gold: 0

Affiliation: None]

Ryan marveled at this slightly transparent window with his information. And, as he tapped on his talent, he got to know more about what it did.

[Talent: Traveler]

[The Traveler was an ancient being who roamed the land. He was a neutral party that took part in any and every event on his own side. He was not an evil person nor was he good, though he did partake in many mischievous pranks. Along his travels, he created many skills and could take any ordinary skill and turn it into one acknowledged by the [REDACTED]. He had a tendency to not use any equipment, preferring ordinary clothes. However, after the [REDACTED], he stopped being active and was never seen again. His blessing allows you to create your own skills faster, giving you insight on how to create and improve any skill. This talent grows with its user. In return, you are unable to equip any item besides those that conceal your identity.]

Ryan had a frown on his face.

'So, I can get tons of skills as long as I try, and can even improve them, but I'm unable to use items? Depending on how skills and items work here, this could be a dream or a nightmare.'

Suddenly, the pixie reappeared and began to speak, scaring Ryan out of his mind.

"WHAT THE FU-"

"The tutorial begins in ten minutes! The quest will tell you everything you need to know!"

[Quest Accepted: Tutorial]

[The Tutorial throws all newcomers into a series of four trials. If you pass them, then you are allowed access to the Tower. Each challenge can be done solo or with a team, and each grants different rewards. Complete each challenge in succession to continue this quest. Failure will result in being sent back to your world after a full memory wipe.]

Ryan was mortified at the end sentence. Sure, it was a way out, but at what cost? Was the memory wipe permanent? Because if it was, then was it any different from death? After all, memories are what makes up a part of a person. Even if he makes new ones, that just means that it's a different 'him.' Regardless of whether he technically lives, the 'him' now will be gone, possibly for good.

'Then, I have to survive. But, since this is a real world, there are probably no restraint on attacking someone. Actually, it's possible that the quest may even revolve around killing people to move on.'

Ryan took a deep breath. He'll cross that bridge when it comes. He got up, and found a small timer in front of him. It was similar to the window that had his stats on it, and showed that there were eight minutes remaining. Looking around a bit more, Ryan found a small stone. Next to it was a small letter.

'Everyone gets a skill to make it through the test! Good luck! - Rosalina'

Ryan frowned, but held the small stone. It then lit up and a small panel showed up.

[Enhanced Eyesight]

[The user gathers mana into their eyes, granting them enhanced eyesight. When pushed to the limit, it's possible to see the invisible. However, using it excessively or beyond its limits can cause both temporary and permanent damage in the user's eyes.]

[Would you like to learn this skill?]

Ryan thought of his answer, and for him, it was a no brainer. The stone broke into small particles of light, which floated like dust for a second before rapidly flowing into Ryan's chest, near his heart. Once it finished, another window showed up.

[You have learned the skill 'Enhanced Eyesight.' Talent 'Traveler' activating. Experience is gained at double the usual rate. Occasionally, you may gain insight into how you can improve the skill, experiencing a massive experience boost.]

Ryan was confused at the mention of experience, but gathered that it must be used to either level himself up or level up his skills. However, he quickly dropped that train of thought as new information filled his head. He had a small headache, but his eyes were shining as he activated his skill. Glowing slightly blue, Ryan found that he could see the world extremely clearly. The thin hairs on his arm looked clear to him, as well as the dust on the floor. And, he had a weird feeling, as if he could see something else once he pushed it further. But, remembering what the description said, he decided to hold off. Turning off the skill, his eyes returned to normal. And, after a little while, the countdown was over.

Suddenly, Ryan felt the same vertigo as before and he reappeared in a new location. It was a dense, jungle-like area. Once he regained his senses, a a new window holding the information for this part of the quest was opened.

[Quest: Tutorial 1/4]

[Every player has a token on their bodies. There are also tokens hidden across the area. Collect at least five tokens to move on. In order to gain better rewards, you must gather more tokens than the minimum. Those at first, second, and third place in the leaderboard will be granted special rewards. As long as you have at least five tokens, regardless of whether you kept your original token, you will be considered to have passed the test.]

'Dammit, it's only the first tutorial and yet we have to kill?'

Ryan was having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that he might have to kill another person But then, he looked at the words closely.

'No, wait. all I would have to do is grab the token. Whether it be by stealing or just knocking the holder out, as long as I can take the token, I don't necessarily need to kill them. But how the hell do I do it? I can't steal, they'd be able to notice me and it's not like I've been practicing. Then, my only option is to knockout or otherwise disable them. But how do I knock them out? Blunt force only works if I have enough power, and who knows if they gained a skill that is pure offense or boosts their strength. Then maybe... my skill! It might give me some sort of insight on how to do this! Or maybe my talent can also be of help...'

So, before starting anything, Kyle turned on his skill. Once again, he could see everything so clearly that it felt like a dream. But Kyle wanted something. The ability to take people down without killing them. And to survive. And these desires activated his talent, 'Traveler.'

[Talent 'Traveler' has activated. You have gained insight on to how you can improve this skill.]

Something seemed to click in Kyle's mind. By making the mana flow in a different pattern, he could see the weak points of living things. However, he lost any of the original clarity that the skill gave him. But, with this skill, he might just be able to take people down without putting them six feet under. As he turned off the skill once more, he realized that he seemed to have grown a little more proficient at using it. He got up slowly, looking around for anything that might help. He found a small knife at his feet. He grabbed it, and suppressed his nervousness.

'I have to survive. Even if it means cutting down other people's chances.'

So Kyle began to move forward, looking for both people and any other danger that might lurk in this new world.