Oliver found himself in a semi-transparent bubble over hard-packed earth. He was alone in the ring except for Barton and Trinket, the ancient figure that had tormented him with questions was gone.

“Geez, what happened to you?” the ring asked. “The quiz isn’t that bad, it’s just some simple questions.”

Oliver ran both hands over his face and through his hair. “I don’t ever want to do that again. That was...” his voice trailed off as he shook his head in his hands.

“That’s- no, this is different. Why?” The ring sounded slightly panicked. “What’s different with this one? Why is this different!?”

The man wearing the ring did not answer, he just sat and held his head in his hands. Barton snuggled up close to his master and rested his head on Oliver’s shoulder. Trinket looked back and forth between man and dog before walking up to Oliver’s other side and resting a stony appendage on his other shoulder.

After a few minutes of relative silence, since only Oliver could hear the ring softly muttering to itself, Oliver gave both of his companions a pat and stood up.

“Okay, ring. What’s up with this stage?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. This is Stage 5. Every fifth stage is a battle royale. Every human being remaining in the tutorial is in another bubble like this one.”

Oliver tried to gaze through the frosted-glass-like bubble, but could only make out the shapes of other bubbles surrounding him, not their contents.

The ring continued, “When the battle starts, all the bubbles disappear. The Stage continues until a certain percentage of humanity is eliminated from the tutorial. This one’s not too bad, only fifty percent.”

Oliver’s head whipped down, staring at the ring incredulously. “Half? Half of humanity killed?”

“Well, half of what remains. We’re probably down to about four billion, so only about two billion continue. Plus, they don’t die, remember? They just get booted out of the tutorial, so don’t feel bad about them. There’s even a title for eliminating the most people!”

“I’m... not doing that,” Oliver stated.

“Hmm? Really? Oh, okay. Well, there are several titles available, we’ll get a good one. First, though, you need to deal with your prompts and upgrades.”

The ring gave Oliver a list of choices to make, and he made them dutifully. He looked at his stats and gear once it was finished.

Oliver S. Grant

Level 4

Human Male; Age - 27

Class:

None

Strength:

10

Agility:

8

Dexterity:

6

Constitution:

8

Intelligence:

8

Perception:

7

Available Stat Points:

0

Simple Spear

[Unerring Throw 1]

Thrown Entity is less impacted by external factors like wind, gravity, and aerodynamics until it travels [Strength] X 1 meters.

[Powerful Throw 1]

When this Entity is thrown, the throw is calculated using [Strength] X 120%.

[Sniper’s Throw 1]

When throwing this Entity, magnify your vision by up to 20%.

[Return to Sender]

Unlocked by having 3 Throwing Perks. Summon this entity back to your hand from up to [Strength] X 2 meters.

Linen Tunic

[Cut Resistance 1]

This entity is 20% more resistant to being cut.

[Crushing Resistance 1]

Entity transfers 20% less impact force.

[Thermal Resistance 1]

Entity transfers 20% less thermal energy because of external changes in temperature.

[Resist-All]

Unlocked by having 3 Resistance Perks. Wearing this Entity adds 20% to your [Constitution]

Satchel

[Weight Reduction 1]

Items carried in this entity have their weight reduced by 20%.

[Preservation 1]

Items carried in this entity degrade 20% slower.

[It’s Bigger on the Inside 1]

This entity has its internal dimensions doubled.

Boots

[Quick Step 1]

Maximum movement speed on land increased by 20%.

[Sure Footed 1]

You are less likely to lose your footing on surfaces.

Congratulations! You have passed Stage 4. You may choose one piece of Bindable clothing.

Oliver looked himself over. The tunic he had gotten from the first stage was now made of a fairly comfortable material in a smoky grey color. It also now had a dark grey belt at the waist. His satchel hung across his back over one shoulder. It too was the same dark grey as his belt. The matching boots came halfway up his calves, and were getting surprisingly comfortable to walk in.

“Pants,” he announced.

“Sure,” the ring commented. “Pants are fine.”

Would you like to claim your reward for [Pants]?

Oliver grunted. Not simple pants or linen pants, just... pants. “Yes,” he confirmed.

The pants materialized on his body, under the tunic and tucked into the boots. They matched the tunic perfectly.

“Now, your companions,” the ring instructed. It gave instructions that Oliver again obeyed.

Barton (English Setter)

[Deepened Bond 1]

Allows the Bond companion to better sense and understand its master.

[Cry of Strength]

Entity makes a loud cry, increasing [Strength] of allies by 20%. Duration: 300s

[Hunter’s Senses]

Gains bonus perception equal to 20% of its master’s perception.

[Fleet Footed]

Entity howls, increasing [Agility] of allies by 20%. Duration: 300s

Trinket (Lesser Earth Elemental)

[Stone’s Body]

Calculations involving [Strength] also add [Constitution] X 20%.

Calculations involving [Constitution] also add [Strength] X 20%.

*These effects do not stack with each other.

[Magic: Beginner Earth]

Allows use of [Stone Armor] and [Stone Shot].

[Stone Armor] Coats the user in shards of stone.

[Stone Shot] Conjures a stone projectile and launches it at a target.

[Avalanche Strikes]

Physical blows from this entity are calculated using [Strength] X 120%.

Oliver carefully examined his new interface before asking questions. “So, if I throw the spear-”

“You can call it back, yes. That’s why I had you take those three Perks first, there are hidden options in the Perk menu that only appear when the criteria are met. That’s one of them. Go ahead, try it out.”

Oliver hefted the spear back and threw it at the dome. The spear stuck into the hazy dome like it had hit a tree. Still holding his hand out, Oliver willed the spear back to him. It popped out of the barrier, then somersaulted back to him, smacking back into his palm with a thwack.

“Awesome,” he breathed.

“The tunic is going to make you very hard to damage at this point, which is great in case you get mobbed, and the boots should help prevent that.”

“What about that boot perk? ‘Lose your footing’ is a little vague in such a numerical system.”

“It basically helps you stick to the ground when you want. You’ll be harder to trip or slip on slick surfaces, and it will help you out a bit on precarious things like narrow tree branches. Upgrade it enough and you can stick to any surface with your feet.”

“Huh, neat.”

“I know that the bag is useless now, but, trust me, it won’t be for long. I’m pretty pleased with the dog and the elemental. Those buffs should just make this easier. Now I’ll tell you what to expect when the domes drop. First, everyone who passed Stage 4 got the clothing gift, so everyone now has something that can be Bound, but they won’t have a Perk for it yet.

“They will have access to a weapon. You don’t because you already have one. You won’t be the only one to have found things to Bind, though I doubt anybody else has found everything that’s available so far.

“The stage will end as soon as the required number of people are defeated. After this, stages aren’t solo any more, so you’ll see these people around. That means not to leave an enemy behind, just take ‘em out. Also, we’re a solo act, don’t pick up any strays. Got it?”

Oliver nodded.

“I mean it,” the ring warned. “You’ve got a weird look in your eye. I don’t like it. I mean it, don’t pick up any dead weight.”

“Sure, no dead weight.”

“Okay. Just so we’re clear. Message should be popping in at any time.”

And right on cue, it did.

Congratulations on reaching Stage 5!

Stage 5 is the first competition between tutorial takers. There are currently 4,194,372,846 humans left in the tutorial. This Stage will be a free-for-all battle until that number is reduced by half. Any human still standing at that point will be moved to the next Stage.

Go forward and grow in strength!

The bubbles vanished and Oliver found himself under a grey sky, surrounded by people as far as the eye could see. Every person was about ten meters from the next, so there was plenty of room to move around, but the rest of the Stage was just flat and empty. No buildings, plants, rocks... anything. Just an endless sea of humanity. The other people stood more or less where they had been before the bubbles came down. Oliver saw only confusion, panic, and fear on the faces around him.

Distant screams began to filter in from multiple directions. The people that Oliver could see started looking at the faces around them, suddenly very aware that every person around them was a potential enemy. Several faces began to lock onto Oliver, noticing the man what seemed awfully well-equipped with not one, but two creatures at his heels in their midst.

Suddenly, a voice nearby shouted out above the din. “Anybody doesn’t want to fight, you come to Cora! Ain't no defensible position here, so I figure I’ll make one. Huddle up!”

The woman’s shout snapped several people out of their stupor, and they cautiously made their way to the sound. Oliver had no intention of seeking out people to hunt, so he followed along out of curiosity.

“Wait! What are you doing?” the ring shouted in his mind. “I said no dead weight!”

“I’m just checking it out, what’s the harm?” Oliver assured it.

“Sure. Uh huh. Right,” The ring grumped.

Oliver found the woman who had shouted. She was older. Old enough to be retired, but not old enough for the retirement home. Her hair was streaked with grey, pulled back into a high ponytail. Her face had laugh lines around her eyes, but the grey eyes themselves were sharp as a knife. She stood with a straight, proud posture that made Oliver straighten his own back a little to match. She wore a tunic similar to his was a couple of stages ago, only hers was a deep red. She had one other item with her, a tower shield taller than her waist made of wooden planks that rested on the ground in front of her that she then rested her hands on top of.

The woman, Cora, noticed Oliver and her face lit up in a smile. “Well don’t you have quite the collection!” She looked down at Barton, who wagged his tail at her. “Hi, there, pup. Is your daddy a nice guy, or is he gonna start trouble?” At the last few words, her gaze moved to Oliver, but the smile never waivered.

Oliver leaned his spear over his shoulder and held his other hand up in a peaceful gesture. “Nope, no trouble. Just came to see what was going on.”

During their conversation, a group of nearly a dozen people had begun to clump up behind Cora while others moved off, away from the pair.

Cora’s smile widened even further at Oliver’s answer, and she pointed over his shoulder at something behind him.

“Good,” she said. “Then make yourself useful, ‘cause trouble comes anyway.”

Oliver looked over his shoulder and found a group of about five people slowly advancing towards them, cautiously eying Oliver while throwing side glances at each other on the way.

“Oh, good!” the ring cheered. “We get to fight anyway!”