Chương 2: Getting my bearings

Crust breaks from my eyes as I dance the line between sleeping and awake. Dreams dance deliriously. Why is it so cold? I reach for my covers, but they aren't there. My brow furrows in annoyance. Reaching up to adjust my pillow, my fingernails scrape against damp stone. The world snaps into view as my eyes slam open. I rocket upright. My hand zips to my neck, feeling for the injury, but finding nothing there. The slamming in my chest goes from zero to a hundred, and my breath quickens.

My hand moves from my collarbone to my chin, right, left, up and down, searching. Still nothing. Dried blood decorates half of my shirt, leading down to my pants. For several minutes, I keep rubbing my neck, checking all the way around several times as I gasp for air.

"FUCK!" I slap my face.

"Get it together Kevin! Stop panicking already!" In the blink of an eye, my panic vanishes. My heart rate cuts in half. My lungs pull in twice the amount of air. The suddenness of it almost makes me panic again. At the very least, it makes me extremely concerned.

"Ooookayyyy? That was weird." I stand up in sudden calmness and slight confusion, looking around. Cobblestone walls, cobblestone floor, and cobblestone ceiling. About fifteen feet long and wide. Stretching my arms, I reach towards the ceiling. About 10 feet high. Yup, this is a dungeon. Turning around, there's a single prison cell door. It's humid, and all the stones are glistening with a thin layer of moss practically everywhere. Huh, is this part that integration thing?

Responding to my thoughts, a holographic blue screen expands in front of me in an instant, scaring the crap out of me and making me jump backwards. I watch the screen grow with text, eventually a white scroll bar appears on the side and shrinks second by second. Sighing, I massage my temple. Looks like I have some catching up to do. I walk up to the blue pane and begin reading. [30 seconds remaining to Transportation] [15 seconds remaining to Transportation] [10 seconds remaining to Transportation] [Warning!] [Please select a class before Transportation, or one will be randomly selected] [5 seconds remaining to Transportation] [Transportation in progress] [Status replenished] [Replenished: 132 (Health), 2 (Stamina)] Is 132 a lot? It feels like a lot. [Title gained: Survivor] Yeah, probably a lot. [Title gained: Inductee of the 11893rd Galaxy] This one's self-explanatory. The white scroll wheel gives off that strange, magnetic feeling from before. My finger pulls down the white line frictionlessly.

[Randomly selecting Class from given options] Crap! I forgot to choose a class! I clasp my hands together.

"Please, please, please be a mage subtype." pleading to the mysterious blue screen, I shake my hands.

"Please, any of them will do! I'll even be a support!" [Class selected: Tamer]"FUCK!"

"Gosh damn! WHY!" My future as an archmage. Gone. Flushed down the toilet. If only I had chosen a class while bleeding to death via chihuahua. I slump down with sadness on my face, but look up to continue reading. [Applying class bonuses] [You have slain Vicious Chihuahua (Princess Buttercup) lv. 0] The message tugs at the guilt in my heart. That doesn't make me feel any better. The poor dog wasn't trained well, but that doesn't mean it deserved to die. [Full experience awarded] Okay, slightly less guilty now.

What kind of life does a dog need to live to have the word 'Vicious' tacked onto its entire identity? Not fearful, frightened, or territorial. Vicious. It feels like I should be sorry, but the thing got supernatural powers and its very first decision was to kill me. [Error!] [Unable to fully apply class bonuses] [Tamed being not found] [Searching…] [Searching…] [Searching…] That's not good. I hope I didn't upset the system or disrupt my future by killing my own tamed being as I became a tamer.

My nerves start to fray. [Searching…] [Searching…] [Unable to find tamed being] [Searching for replacements…] [Searching for replacements…] [Searching for replacements…] [Unable to find replacement] [Attempting fix…] [No traditional fixes on record] [Devising a workaround…] […] […] […] [Workaround created] [Workaround applied] [Reapplying Class bonuses] [Class bonuses applied] Alright, now I'm curious and confused. How did it successfully make me a tamer with no tamed beasts?

[Welcome Kevin Shoeman, to the Induction of the 11893rd Galaxy] [During Planetary Reconstruction, all intelligent species have been placed in an isolated dimension to help them understand and use the system to the best of their ability as mana naturally transforms their bodies and minds] That's a little worrying. [Animals and other unintelligent life will be left on the planet to instinctually learn to use mana to their benefit] Left on the planet? Wasn't it tearing apart at the seams?

How does anything survive that? [The training zone you are currently in will consist of four phases in the following order] [Solo phase, Party phase, Collaboration phase, Raid phase] A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. [Each phase will last exactly 10 universal cycles or 27. 56 earth days] Alright then, I guess I've been needing a little vacation. My parents push to the front of my mind. Crap, I hope they're alright.

All things considered, my parents are good people, and even though I don't see them more than once every two months since I moved out, I still really hope they're okay. The thought saddens me, but I continue reading. I can't help them right now. [Welcome Kevin, to the beginning of the solo phase] [As a Tamer in this phase, you will learn how to fight by commanding one or more beings in small-scale skirmishes against large targets and small groups of enemies.] I scoff.

"Yeah, seems a little unlikely, but alright." Unless there's a surprise tame that's being hidden from me. Which now that I think about it, is entirely possible. [Your dungeon type is: Dungeon] … Really? I look at the pane with a tired expression and read the last couple of messages. [To monitor your progress as a Tamer, say or think the word 'Status'] [Good luck, Kevin Shoeman]"Finally!" At last, I get to the good stuff.

"Status!" I say with a big smile, rubbing my hands in anticipation. [Status] [Name: Kevin Shoeman] [Class: Tamer lv. 0] [Species: Human] [Titles: Survivor, Inductee of the 11893rd Galaxy] [Health: 135] [Mana: Unawakened] [Stamina: 125] Firstly, I look at a previous system message. [Replenished: 132 (Health), 2 (Stamina)] Dang, I really was close to death!

"Hey, why does my mana say unawakened?" I ask the system. A few seconds pass, but my question goes unanswered. I frown. After thinking for a few seconds, I try tapping the word 'Unawakened' on the screen. Sure enough, a definition pops up. [Unawakened mana: Mana awakens when the user allows ambient mana to slowly diffuse into their body. Mana can also be awakened by forcefully controlling mana within the user's body and awakening their current.] Ah, I see. I don't understand in the slightest.

Does this mean I can still cast spells? Even though I'm not a mage of some sort? I'll ignore that for now since it doesn't look like something I can change soon. A small smile creeps onto my face as I tap 'Titles'. Time to get to the exciting stuff! [Titles are special awards given by the system due to the user's outstanding accomplishments and come with unique benefits which are difficult to find in other aspects of the system.] My hands rub together as I stretch my neck.

Let's see the boring one given to everyone first. [Inductee of the 11893rd Galaxy] [Awarded to users who resided in the 11893rd Galaxy during its integration] [Grants the skill: Intelligent Universal Translator] [Grants the skill: Identify] [Intelligent Universal Translator] [Automatically translates another intelligent user's language into the user's primary language] [Identify] [The most basic form of this skill. Allows for simple identification of objects and people.]"Hee hee hee."

My hands clap together like an excited toddler as I giggle upon learning of my first-ever magic skill. Turning serious, I point at the cell door.

"Identify!" [Metal cell door] My smile lowers. I guess it did push that it was simple and basic. Turning, I point at the wall.

"Identify." [Mossy cobblestone wall] My smile returns. Even though the skill does absolutely nothing beneficial for me and only tells me things I already know, I still smile.

"I can do magic." Giggles bubble from my throat. It's not actual magic, and just the blue box telling me that a wall is a wall, but it still feels so cool. Rubbing my jaw, I try to be serious.

"Alright, time for the cool one." [Survivor] [Awarded to those who have received a single attack dealing at least 97% of max health and survived] [Grants the skill: One-Shot Protection] So the magical system saved me from death, then rewarded me for not dying? A little strange, but I would be a fool not to accept a free skill.

[One-Shot Protection] [If the user is above 50% health and receives damage from a single attack that would leave them below 5% max health, instead, cap health from going below 5% for 3 seconds.] [Dissolves on use or on ascent to Tier 3] Oh my God. If I'm reading this right, it's incredibly powerful. So If I'm at 50% alive… ness, then I get damage immunity if the next attack is strong enough? The more I think about it, the more powerful it seems in my mind. Doesn't this make me immune to being assassinated?

If a dragon stepped on me, would that overpower it? Or would my body become as tough as diamonds? My smile fades soon after. Logically, if I were to receive an attack that would reduce my health below 5%, then that same attack would also hurt like hell. My body shudders and shakes as my hand reaches towards my neck, touching the artery.

Even if I felt little pain because of the metric ton of adrenaline and the fact that I was bleeding to death, feeling my existence leave me in a river running down my neck did not feel good. My breath quickens, and my heartrate picks up as I remember deliriously lying in the dirt, dying slowly of blood loss. Shit, I'm having another panic attack. Despite the thought, it does nothing to stop the quickening hyperventilation. Crouching, I put my hands on my knees to steady myself.

The obliviousness I felt when I found a part of my neck missing races through my mind on repeat. I slap my face with both hands.

"God! Snap out of it, Kevin!" Like before, my heart rate cuts to a fraction of what it was. At the same time, a deep breath enters my lungs and my mind clears itself of the painful memory. A pang of fear shoots down my spine. That's not normal. Is mana changing my thoughts? Can it really be so powerful already? The system thing is a lot less appealing if it's capable of controlling me to such a fine degree. I try to brush it off, but the thought sticks with me. I must continue on.

"Status." [Vitality: 9] [Strength: 8] [Agility: 11] [Endurance: 7] [Fortitude: 9] [Intelligence: 12] [Wisdom: 10] [Perception: 13]"Hmm." Damn, a perfect stat spread for a mage. Still, it's pretty much what I expected. My physical stats are low because I don't exercise, and my awareness of my surroundings has always been pretty good… I guess? But I've had glasses since I was twelve. Something isn't adding up here. No clue why my agility and intelligence are high, though.

Are these numbers a representation of my body right now? What are the averages? What's the highest a person can have without the system? Just how long has this 'system' been around? I skip to the last part of my status page. [General skills: Intelligent Universal Translator, Identify, One-Shot Protection] [Class skills: Control Tamed Being(lv. 0)] Bingo! My only fighting skill!. [Control Tamed Being] [Control your tamed being(s) using the user's voice or hand gestures that the tamed being(s) can see. Control diversity and depth scales with skill level and bond level.] Well, this would be quite useful for making a tamed being fight for me.

"IF I HAD ONE!" my voice echoes around the room. Sadly, I look at the very last message on my status page. [Taming Menu: 1 / 3 slots filled] Wait, what? I tap it, hoping for more information [Taming Menu] [Slot 1: Kevin Shoeman (Bond: 100%)] [Slot 2: Unassigned] [Slot 3: Unassigned]"Huh?" My brow furrows in confusion. Why am I in the taming menu? It's kinda weird for a tamer to take up a slot, right? Is this for some future function of the taming class? I tap my name in the taming menu.

[Tamed Being Slot 1] [Name: Kevin Shoeman] [Species: Human lv. 0] [Bond level: 100%] [Vitality: 9] [Strength: 8] [Agility: 11] [Endurance: 7] [Fortitude: 9] [Intelligence: 12] [Wisdom: 10] [Perception: 13] [Tamed Being Skills: none] Nope, none of my questions were even close to right. The system was powerful enough to rip apart the planet I was living on for my entire life, and its most glorious solution to my problem was to make me my own tamed being?

For a fraction of a second, I thought I actually had something useful in combat, but it was just me. All of the other classes had starting skills as well. If I were a warrior, I could swing harder for massive damage. If I were a mage, I could probably throw fireballs and not have to get close at all. But I'm stuck with a dud. A metaphorical leash for a beast that doesn't exist. My shoulders slump. Well, I guess I am my biggest strength at the moment. I don't even get any skills as a tamed being. Why?

I'll even take something like bite or charge. But no. Nothing. I think back to Buttercup. She must have gotten a skill. That's the only thing I've seen so far, besides maybe a title, that could let her do what she did. That's the only way a chihuahua could somehow perform a fucking six-foot vertical. Sadly, I'm not nearly as lucky as to get an early skill. I sigh and sluggishly tap Bond on the status screen. [Bond Level: This represents the level of trust a tamed being has in their tamer. Bond level significantly impacts many skills that a tamer owns, which affect their tamed being.] Nice, it looks like there's at least one benefit to all of this. It makes sense for me to completely trust myself. I wonder what a normal tamer's bond looks like. I remember having a 3% inclination towards the class in the beginning. Although that makes sense, as my initial tamed being was supposed to be Buttercup.

She hated my guts, so I wouldn't be surprised if my bond level would have been in the single digits or even zero with her. I hear another beautiful chime in my ear and flip around in an instant. No one's there.

"Damn system", I mutter. That's going to take some getting used to. The second I think of what the system might have for me, the same blue, holographic screen appears in front of me, only making me flinch this time. [Congratulations!] [You have completely explored your status page and have earned 1 Starter Tamer Crate as part of the introductory process] [Accept / Bank] A smile worms onto my face as I greedily rub my hands together.

"Finally! Something useful!" I guess I can keep these things until later, but I slam my finger down on 'Accept' without thinking about it. Please give me a dagger, no, I'll even take a staff! Or even a heavy stick will do! My excitement grows as I imagine myself beating slimes to death with a sword instead of my bare hands. Without further input from the system, a black, spiked collar appears out of thin air and falls to the ground with a clink.