Jas searched the entire flying island and could confidently say—and with quite a bit of relief—that there were no serial killers looking to violate his masculinity. No body parts, blackmarket, choppers. And no vans, black garbage bags, or whatever else soone needed to accomplish that goal.
He shivered again at the thought of being tied down. A monster cutting him up and stuffing him in said black bags.
It made him feel lucky to be… well, where this flying island was supposed to be exactly. The more he explored, the more confused he beca. No evidence of this place having been lived in existed other than an untouched campfire, untouched and oddly stacked firewood, the dilapidated hut, and a few miscellaneous items.
No other buildings, three trees similar to the first one, and the river. No fish or critters. No farm or source of food other than a single, small bag of rice. Brown rice that looked like sothing people would be eaten in the B.C. years.
The rest was nothing more than stretches of grass surrounded by a sheer drop on all sides. Blue skies.
Jas wasn’t sure what would have been worse. If there was hope in the form of solid ground below him—though impossible to reach—or the imdiate crushing of any hope or idea he would be able to escape this place.
Either he jumped and smacked headfirst into solid stone and earth or keep falling across endless skies.
Don’t people die at certain velocities?
He wasn’t sure. Jas could have sworn he had read sowhere that jumping from a ledge high enough would lead to his death before hitting the ground. Would that be more peaceful than smashing into solid ground? Or was it painful…?
What am I doing?
Why was he even contemplating ways to die? Hadn’t he been isekai-ed? A new world with new possibilities? A better, more improved chance at life with superpowers and a system?
Jas wanted to be sothing more. Wouldn’t he get an opportunity to be more than just a mundane clerk in a more mundane grocery store. No boss to breath over his shoulder. He would be in a world with magic and an equally important opportunity to chance upon a beauty in so remote village to love and dote on him! He couldn’t help but imagine having a supermodel wife without a supermodel complex.
Just a humble girl that fed him grapes when he was lying down. He could already imagine the…
He let out a deep breath.
Not now! An ancient being might be watching !
Getting caught with his pants down was not part of his plan. The sheer embarrassnt and mortifying situation made jumping off the edge like a good choice. He would definitely do it if that ever happened.
Or!
Maybe he would beco a machiavellian ruler! Won would throw themselves at him and he would get to…
Control!
He shivered. Hands covering his face. Body shaking.
Don’t die of embarrassnt! Just long enough till we are isekai-ed to a new world! Princesses and humble peasants wait just for you! Or… Or fit adventurer ladies! Just until the tutorial is over!
So Jas waited. And waited… then waited so more. At so point, his stomach began to announce its presence by rumbling like a thunderstorm. Jas found it odd. Was he supposed to get hungry in a magical tutorial dream? That seed counterintuitive if they asked him. Then again, nobody showed up for him to complain to.
Where was the welco sign? Even a welco mat would have been fine. Wasn’t there a world that needed saving? Jas could only feel despondent the long this took. Even his raining hard-on passed as he found himself alone in a picturesque landscape.
No one to talk to. No one to bother him.
His stomach rumbled again. He blad the depressed thoughts on it, being too hungry to think straight. Not to ntion he never had a chance to eat breakfast yesterday due to a certain talkative granny. The plan had been to munch on cookies. Maybe even a bag of chips at work. So hot coffee would have been perfect.
Add that to the ti to get knocked out and be transported to the island. Wake up tucked perfectly in bed. Then finally all the ti wasted searching the entirety of the island.
Fuck it.
He got up intending to make himself a bowl of rice. No salt, spices, or any extra ingredients like at or vegetables. It would still be calorie dense and help sustain him, but it would taste terrible.
As he gathered water and carefully plucked one tied bunch of firewood for the campfire, Jas had an epiphany! This had to be a test! There was no way he would have been teleported into God knows where without sothing or soone being part of the process. They were watching! Judging him on his actions and accomplishnts!
Jas was determined to pass it. The tonnes of survival reels and videos he watched in utter boredom at work had finally co through for him! A real chance at justifying all the hours he wasted!
He could imagine it already. Rebuilding the hut, if he recalled how! Growing more rice! Different types of rice cooked! Jas was sure he could accomplish them all. After all, he had watched videos of dainty girls going off grid and doing it. He should be able to, right?
Probably… Maybe.
Probably not, but it should count for sothing!
Extra stats! Experience points in his construction skill or even a special skill and class he would unlock. Eventually he would beco a master architect! Or should he practice with a branch? Beco a sword master. The possibilities were endless!
Jas hurried to start a fire. He grabbed a smaller stick and began to spin it between his palms like all the videos did. He spun and spun and spun the stick so more. At so point his arms had begun to burn with lactic acid as he struggled to get any spark or ember to appear.
It took nearly ten minutes of grueling arm workout to finally see the first spark…
Only for him to sputter and vanish an instant later. Unable to start a fire with it. It took three more punishing attempts, that left him exhausted, to get it right. But he eventually had a roaring fire blazing within the camp. He then used long sticks with enough girth to hold up his bowl. Filled with water and ancient brown rice.
Jas gulped as he watched it cook with an unpracticed eye. Rice cookers were not that expensive and instant als were even easier to make. He had never needed to cook properly for himself or anyone that visited him. But again, he had watched a tonne of cooking videos. Enough that he had a general idea of what to do and what to look out for.
It took so ti and urgent rushing back to the fire before he finally had a bowl of slightly burnt rice. And a steaming hot bowl he was too afraid to touch. He could already imagine the pain if he burned himself like an idiot. There were no ointnts or drugstores on the island in an ergency.
A burn wound could get infected, leading to his death by attempted rice cooking.
Jas killed the fire and then let his bowl just sit there to cool down. He stared at it for a few seconds before growing bored. Exploring, washing his hands, and even throwing a few punches. Jas was starving by the ti it was edible cool.
Even unsalted and bland rice tasted like heaven to his taste buds at this point.
Congratulations on accomplishing a task!
Reward 12 exp
Reward 2 bronze coins
Congratulations! Level up!
Reward Rusty sword
Reward Broken shield
2 attribute points available
Two bronze coins, the size of a nickel each, appeared in front of his eyes in the form of light. They harmlessly clinked on the ground. A rusty sword appeared next with its jagged point facing down. Jas had to jump out of the way. Barely dodging the sharp edge.
Half his rice spilled onto the ground.
“No! My rice!” Jas scrambled to pick up the clean parts.
Not even noticing the broken wood shield that appeared behind him. It fell on the rusty sword, snapping it in half.
Jas resolved himself to stuffing his face before any new items appeared directly in front of him. Enough rice had been sacrificed on this day already. No more rice blood needed to be spilled! Not when it could have been devoured. Sustaining him for more ti. Who knows how long he’d be here or if he had enough food to last the entire ti.
Dying of starvation was not a good way to go.
He shook his head. There were more important things to deal with!
First and foremost. This was a tutorial!
“Yes! I was right!” Jas felt joy bubble in his chest as he cuddled the rice bag to his chest. His most precious item.
His theory had been proven correct. In no good system or tutorial would he be sent to the new world at level zero. How could a twenty so year old be at the level of newborn babies? It would be imdiately obvious to anyone with a lick of intelligence that he was otherworldly. Especially if he started blasting enemies at much higher levels.
Dunce villagers would be quick enough to figure it out.
Jas laid on his back. Staring at the clouds above. He could already imagine a million ways he could optimize his growth while stuffing his mouth with rice the entire ti. Beco an unbreakable tank? A glass canon nuke launcher? Or sothing in between?
Would he get better rewards for doing greater tasks? Exercising? Accomplishing not so easy goals?
He hoped there was magic. But he understood that a magical world ant magical fights and magical monsters. There would be a need for weapons skills. Swordsmanship. Spearmanship. Everything he could think of. Would those types of skills appear?
And most importantly, would it co with a proper guide? If he swung a blade ten thousand tis all wrong, he wouldn’t suddenly beco a master. He’d still be at point zero. aning he would be stuck as a novice with no way or no one to teach him.
What about unlocking purely magical attacks. Fireballs and launching tornadoes at his enemies. Eventually even fire tornados!
Jas got up from his seat. Done with his food, he made sure to clean the bowl and utensils. He put the small bag away inside one corner of the hut inside of the bowel.
Clean room, clean mind!
He had attribute points to allocate. Any and all advantages would be used.
Decades of gaming. Reading. Playing DnD. And a hundred different imagined scenarios would co to his aid at this mont. Yes, the chanics may turn out different, but his vast experience should ease the burning curve.
That didn’t an he didn’t feel the pressure. There was no save scumming here. Real life had real consequences. If his build was weak or had a glaring weakness, then he would be royally cursed to getting bodied by everyone and anyone that figured it out.
Glass cannons, the ones he had been so hype about a few monts ago, shouldn’t exist in a world if they kept dying to stray arrows at level one hundred. Simple natural selection demanded it. Basic survival skills would prevail over the extre in basic circumstances.
It narrowed down his path forward.
Either survive and tank larger and larger attacks, healing afterwards. Or to never get hit and deal enormous amounts of damage in return.
The second option appealed to him. But after serious thought, wouldn’t he still be relatively susceptible to the proverbial stray arrow? He couldn’t outrun what he never saw coming. Perception and intuition could only do so much before he just got unlucky.
Especially area of effect attacks. And other more powerful things he couldn’t hope to escape.
Then again, a slow tank would end up in a similar conundrum. If Jas couldn’t dodge the attacks he couldn’t tank, then he’d die in the sa way. Or constantly be wracked with torturous pain he would need to heal.
Jas resolved himself to create so form of hybrid class. The main point was survivability. Magic only made all situations more extre.
He shook his head.
It’s ti!
“Status!” Jas shouted. An expectant smile on his face. He couldn’t hide the excitent that oozed out of his being.
“Status?”
“System...?”
“Attributes?!”
Shit! My attribute points!
“Stats?” He whispered. Hope diminishing with every word.
“Statistics?”
“My Character!”
Jas Anderson did nothing but scream out random words and synonyms he could think of for the next hour. Then did nothing else but attempt to ntally think them instead of verbally saying the words for another hour. Doing his best to focus on the status screen appearing before his eyes.
Nothing happened.
He could feel the migraine and ntal strain set in at so point—
Congratulations on exceeding your limits!
ntal limits exceeded! First ntal limit exceeded!
1 attribute point to ntal attributes available
Reward 7 exp
Reward 1 copper coin
An insulting copper coin clinked onto the pile of items in front of him. Chipping the already rusted sword, adding insult to injury.
What the FU—
Jas closed his eyes. He took deep breaths. Hoping it would calm him down. He had been cussing too much ever since he got here. Jas needed to slow down. He let the air out slowly.
What the hell am I supposed to do with attribute points I can’t allocate?! Who made this bullshit tutorial?! Dumbass! Motherf—
Jas got up and ran to the river. He dunked his head into the cold water. Coming up only after he couldn’t hold his breath any longer. Then he dunked his head under again. He could feel his lungs burn and chest felt like it was going to explode.
But he needed to clear his head sohow—
Congratulations on exceeding your limits!
Reward 1 exp
Congratulations! Level up!
Reward tattered robe
Reward stinky socks
Reward 10 copper coins
2 attribute points available
Stinky socks and ripped up clothes dropped onto his soaked head. The coins bounced off his skull leaving dull pain behind.
Sigh…
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