"How come you have four skills Carla?" Isaac asked, his interest piqued.
Getting up from off the floor and patting the dust off her leggings she explained, "The Envoy said that due to my high aptitude and affinity to wind I was granted an extra skill. Cool huh?"
Marcus nodded, still a bit surprised, "Very, that would make it really annoying to get to you, exactly the type of skill you would want as a Ranger."
The group talked about a few things with the system, Carla revealed she had an A-rank aptitude - which she was not afraid to flaunt given her display.
He knew now what rank was required to receive an extra skill, which would be helpful if he ever encountered another group of humans. He also now knew it wasn't just Magician's that could cast magic, but all classes, it just takes a different form. They also seemed to actually ask questions about the system and Tutorial to the Envoy, unlike Olek who was too caught up in the space around him, decision making, and fawning over his skills and aptitude.
Apparently, there are four segments comprising this Tutorial, each segment hosts a newly integrated race going through the exact same process as the humans, in the center is a final circular segment. For the next 200 days, the racial segments will be isolated from one another during a 'preparation' phase, during this time zero interaction can occur between the four races as they grow in strength. After 200 days, the walls will disperse, and for the next 100 days the races will meet for the first time, the outcome of such a meeting will be determined by the races - war, trade, alliances, all is possible.
After that 100 day period is over the central barrier will fall. Revealing a Beast King and an army of beasts at his beckoning. Repel or submit to the Beast King, it is a battle of supremacy and oppression, the winner will rule.
Other than that they also discussed the identification feature of the system and how for some reason it didn't work on each other, yet they could do it fine with their items.
Olek thought deeply, "Ah, that fills in a lot of gaps. The basic tutorial sequence didn't really explain much, I'm glad you guys asked the important stuff."
"What did you ask him about that overshadowed the core point of us coming here?" Carla looked at Olek with a sideways glance.
"Uh... Nothing important, forget about it." He brushed it aside and looked away.
Carla looked at him funny, "Okay then..."
Olek coughed, "Anyway! With that in mind, I'd bet that somewhere, there's a larger group forming. Not to mention our rations won't last forever. So what do we do?" He wanted to know everyone else's standpoint before offering his own.
They discussed what they should be doing, there were four of them, but three had never been in a fight in their lives - with Marcus being the only one from a military background.
After a while, Marcus gave his piece. "Honestly. I think we should do what the System wants us to do."
"You mean..." Carla frowned.
"Yeah. Grow stronger, get credits, kill beasts, level up. If there is a large group out there, we'll find it or they'll find us in due time. But what's the point in aimlessly wandering around this Tutorial? At the very least, we should do what we can to best equip ourselves." Marcus proposed.
Carla looked unsure, "I don't know... I like my skills and all but I'm a bit apprehensive to fight anything for real."
"I agree with Carla, I'm a healer, and I have no idea how to use these properly." Said Isaac, holding up his mace and shield.
Marcus waved his hand, "Bah! Carla your skills make you tough to hit and feared from a distance, Isaac, be a man and just hit em with the bulky end of the stick!" He argued.
"That's a pretty meat-headed way to put it." Carla said.
"But it's true!" Marcus said...
Olek had stayed quiet while they discussed things. Well, more bickered than discussed. This went on for a minute or two as he listened.
Isaac and Carla were scared to fight, whilst Marcus was all for it. He didn't really care, he was game for either way, in fact he was quite eager to level up. But one train of thought kept popping into his mind.
His dream had been to get rich in the old world, and that still hasn't really changed, only it's a different reality. His aptitude and affinity meant he could become someone formidable in this new life he was granted.
He needed to decide who he was going to be. A follower who seeks comfort in numbers and lets powerful figureheads lead the way? Or a leader who leads the way for those who followed? He didn't like the sound of either of those.
To be under someone in this situation is to be prey, they're all strangers, he can't trust them with his life, besides - the last thing he wants is another government or company deciding what he can or can't do, that's the bottom line. But to be a leader? A leader in this situation is a burdensome role with heavy responsibility of hundreds of lives waiting on your every word. So who did he want to be?
Well, what he always wanted to be - an entrepreneur. Someone who pioneers their own path, taking on the risks and profits associated with it. Now that? That excited him.
They were just chucked into a new reality with plenty of those two things, risk and profit. He wanted to see what was out there, and capitalize on the opportunity laid before him. He wanted to be a third-party that was indispensable to the economy, for that he needed power.
With his mind made, he chipped his own part, "Let's go out and get stronger."
They all quietened and looked at him. Before it was just Marcus saying it, he'd been deployed before, it was more natural for him to want to get out there and fight. But Olek? Carla knew damn well he hadn't been in a fight before, or ever gotten seriously hurt, yet here he was, wanting to go instigate one.
"Why Olek? Why now?" She asked, her expression a bit down.
"You should think about it. It's the obvious move, the larger group will form in time, but we shouldn't rely on it to save our hides. I want to be independent. And for that, I need to be strong enough to stand my own ground and well supplied so I don't die. That's my train of thought." He explained.
"We shouldn't be reactive, but proactive, I like it Olek. You're letting your fears control the both of you." Marcus nodded, looking down at Carla and Issac.
They stood and thought about it for a moment, before Carla sighed, "Fine! We'll play the System's stupid game." She pouted.
Isaac looked at her before dropping his shoulders in defeat, "If she's in agreement, I'm left with no choice."
Olek smiled, "Good. I'm not standing here like a stoic philosopher who shows no fear either, but my excitement and eagerness far outweighs my nervousness."
It was the truth, even he was apprehensive about getting into a fight, of course he didn't want to get hurt! But he doubted he could avoid conflict in the coming times, and it was better to adapt than to falter.
"Right, whatever..." Carla grumbled, clearly unhappy with Olek's newfound initiative.
With their plan settled, they finally left the ruined warehouse. Looking up at the sky Olek noticed it was midday with the sun just passed it's peak - which unfortunately meant the temperature was it's peak also.
They looked around and discussed where they should move first, they agreed on a few things, the first necessities were food and water and with that in mind the most reasonable place to go was the forest they saw off into the distance.
Why? Well because that was where they imagined most 'beasts' would stay, which also meant food and EXP, and if they could find beasts, there would most certainly be a water source nearby.
Besides that the forest practically surrounded the open yellow plains they currently resided, the road was the only real clearing through past the forest, yet even that was overgrown and broken to pieces.
They moved closer to the edge of the forest, it didn't seem too tight and wild, it was certainly a woodland, but not an Amazonian jungle, there was space to move.
Before entering, Isaac wanted to suggest something, "When night comes, it's going to be pitch black inside this forest, there's no light pollution at all here and the trees are going to block any and all moonlight." He said, pulling out his compass from the satchel.
"One of our priorities should be having a place to return to, and I think it would be best if we made our home in the same warehouse we were just in, it would block out the rain, it's relatively safe, and it's better than camping outside. Because I for one have never even went camping in the old world." He suggested.
Olek and Carla shared that same sentiment, Olek never really had the money to buy camping equipment and Carla just was never interested, so they too had never went camping.
Marcus looked at them and shook his head, "Seriously. Not even stayed a night outside before..."
Isaac coughed, "So, I say we choose a direction on the compass to follow, so that to find our way back all we need to do is follow the opposite direction." He turned toward the warehouse they had just left and looked at the compass. "Looks like the warehouse is bang on west, in that case let's move directly opposite following an eastward path into the forest."
They nodded, turning was more to move into the forest, passing the edge and moving firmly into the forest. Internally they were relieved it wasn't too cramped, Marcus especially due to his large sword.
And so their search began for food and water, they noticed that the sun was still slightly visible, which would give them a good idea of the time, ideally they wanted to be back at the warehouse for sundown to avoid getting lost in the forest.
As they started to move further into the forest, their tensions started to become more apparent, to be more specific, namely Carla and Isaac. Olek stayed in the back took in the environment, now he was somewhere with a bit more foliage than the plains, he started to admire the uniqueness of the plants.
There wasn't a hint of green in the entire forest, more like a tarnished copper, with yellows, and silver. One flower stood out like a sore thumb, its stem was that copper color, fading into the leaves tipped with silver, the bulb and petals this striking blue-ish silver. It seemed to be producing a small cold mist.
Suspecting it of a magical nature he activated his Mana Sense, his vision filled with hazy shallow colors, he looked closer at the plant and noticed the icy blue mana radiating off of the plant.
He turned to look at his party who were slightly ahead of him now, seeing no harm checking it out, Olek crouched down over the flower, focusing his gaze and trying to see if the System would tell him anything. Lone behold, a screen appeared before his eyes.
Silverice Flower (Apprentice) - An uncommon mana-reactive herb found only in old woodlands with high ambient mana. The Silverice Flower draws in ambient mana and converts it into stable ice mana essence. Its petals maintain a temperature below freezing while the stem remains warm, creating the signature mist that surrounds it. Sought after by alchemists for ice aspected concoctions and often used to treat severe burns.
Olek read the description with interest, he used to take a lot of walks through forests and parks in the old world, he used to have a habit of having a journal about cool plants he saw, he'd look them up and jot them down. You wouldn't believe the history behind everyday plants people would just walk by.
It always felt like he was connecting with something most humans had lost in the modern day, so he used this hobby to ground him in the past.
"Sought after by alchemists and healers? That seems pretty damn valuable... I wonder what it's worth?" He wondered.
Looking over his shoulder he noticed his party had moved quite a bit ahead of him now, wouldn't take a minute before they notice he's fallen behind.
He looked at the plant and deliberated for a second, "Screw it."
Holding his palm over the flower, he focused on the idea of opening his Spatial Pocket, he felt his mana flow through his arm and into his hand, leaking out into the air surrounding the flower.
The air seemed to ripple - like a haze from heat - the ripples shimmered with a faint transparent blue glow before collapsing in around the plant. In the back of his mind he felt a weight, a presence like a wallet in his pocket.
"I don't know what it was supposed to feel like but I didn't expect it to literally feel like a pocket." He chuckled quietly.
[ Spatial Pocket: -20MP ]
[ Storage: ]
- 1x Silverice Flower (Apprentice)
He looked at the storage screen, appearing to him like a folder within the file explorer of a PC. 'Neat.' He thought.
"Olek!" He heard Carla's voice call for him. "Hurry up!"
"Right! Coming." He stood up before jogging to catch up to the group. "Sorry about that."
Carla looked at him at an angle, "What were you doing?"
Putting on a blasé front, "Oh, nothing, I just thought the plants were weird and wanted a closer look."
She looked around and as if only noticing for the first time. "I... guess you're right, how did I not notice? I've been so on guard I neglected to see that this place is really pretty."
"Pretty? I would say disturbing, not a fan of unknown environments." Marcus commented.
"Didn't ask." Carla said, getting a bump on the arm from Olek.
"Be nice, you almost kicked him over earlier." He said, chuckling a little.
Marcus shrugged, "Was just saying..."