Michael stepped through the doorway into the first Phase of the Tutorial, and ...

...

...

...

... and stepped through the doorway into another white, featureless room.

"AI person? You there?"

The Sphere of the AI dinged into existence two meters in front of Michael, making him jump a little.

"Welcome to the Second Phase of the Tutorial, Michael. In this Phase you will get to choose skills to learn based on the results in the first phase."

"What do you mean, Second Phase? I thought this was the First Phase?"

"Ah, I must once again apologise. You see, for the sake of expediency, and to get the most accurate results, you were put under hypnosis."

"Wait, What?" Michael physically couldn't quite be incredulous right now, the emotional dampener was still very much active. He knew he normally would be though, so he still acted like he was incredulous. It was nice, but it missed something. Doing it without the emotion just felt hollow. He idly wondered if this was what wrestlers felt like.

"The point of the first phase was to identify what skills you currently had and at what level. To get the most accurate, and the most honest, results Gaia decided to have each human put under a form of hypnosis that would allow them to perform to the best of their abilities without hesitation."

"Oh, Okay" Michael shrugged. No worse than applying an emotional dampener without consent. He'd probably be furious once he got out but for right now, he was only mildly annoyed. "So what's next? And how do I find out what skills I got? Oh wait, Status!" Like a wizard casting a magic spell, and definitely not looking silly, the Status appeared in front of Michael's eyes.

Status

Name Michael Volker Age 32 Level 1 Experience 0 / 100 Combat Class None Utility Class None Path Boundless Adventure Race Human Health 80 / 80 Mana 70 / 70 Health Regen 4 per min Mana Regen 3.5 per min

Attributes

Unassigned Attribute points : 0

Strength 8 Agility 8 Vitality 8 Dexterity 8 Perception 8 Magic 7 Skills General Novice Archery lvl 7 Basic Camping lvl 5 Beginner Cleaning lvl 2 Beginner Climbing lvl 2 Basic Construction lvl 2 Basic Cooking lvl 3 Novice Dodge lvl 2 Beginner Exploring lvl 6 Basic Farming lvl 1 Basic Fishing lvl 2 First Aid lvl 4 Hide lvl 4 Basic Leatherworking lvl 2

Basic Skinning lvl 5

System Languages lvl MAX Novice Throwing Weapons lvl 2

Basic Trap Making lvl 3 Beginner Tracking lvl 6 Beginner Trading lvl 3 Novice Unarmed Combat lvl 4 Basic Woodworking lvl 5 Class Profession Affinities Nature 47% Water 28% Light 23% Earth 19% Fire 11% Metal 9% You have pending notifications.

After a few moments of perusal Michael had some questions. There was a lot to unpack here, apparently he had been hypnotised for a while. Whilst he was still unsure of how he felt vis-a-vis being hypnotised, he did like getting all the results without having to go through the tests. He didn't even want to think about the pending notifications message, that didn't really go that well last time. Maybe after he sorted out his questions about the skills.

"Okay, first of all, hypnotising people is not okay. I get why you did it, but that doesn't mean I agree with it. Secondly, What is up with the skills? I mean, Novice Archery? I'm a little more advanced than that! Also, what's the difference between Novice and Beginner Skills?"

"Let me run through the explanation for skills, and then you can ask for further clarification. Each skill has a total of 10 levels. Once a skill reaches level 10 you will have an opportunity to evolve the skill, increasing it's tier. Skills, much like nearly everything in existence, are split into 7 tiers. The higher Tier skills are generally locked until you yourself have reached that Tier, though in rare cases you might somehow gain access to a higher skill. You may also think that your Skill levels should be higher, but the System has a far higher standard. Level 10 of the Basic Tier is the highest one can achieve without the use of Mana or an alternative."

"The different prefixes are indicative of the different type of skills. Novice for Combat, Basic for Production and Beginner for Utility. These skills likely will not be changing their name as they increase in tier, just their prefix. For instance, the Basic Blacksmithing Skill may change to the Journeyman Blacksmithing Skill at the Intermediate Tier."

"At current, your species is only considered to be a tier 1 civilisation since you lack high levelled people as well as towns and cities. Due to this skill rarities above common are currently locked."

"Wait wait wait! What?! Several Whats! A whole bucket of Whats!? The heck happened to our towns and cities? Are you seriously telling me monsters have destroyed ALL of them?!" Michael was shocked at the possibility.

"No, of course not. That was Gaia."

...

"Wha?" The events of the last few seconds had broken Michael. Finding out that the universe was far crazier than he had imagined was one thing, but to find out that the being who had apparently created the planet, or was the planet, he still wasn't sure, had apparently wiped out every town and city on the planet was a bit too much. "Why would she do that? Wait, is it a she? No, not important. Seriously, why did she wipe out everything mankind had ever built? I'm assuming she wiped out everything, not just the towns and cities, 'cause why not right? If your gonna wipe out the towns and cities anyways, might as well go all the way!" Even with the emotional dampener, Michael was really working himself up. Today had just been a bit too much.

"Please calm down. The buildings that you had created were completely unable to withstand anything but the lowest level monsters. If, when you had returned, you had attempted to use them as cover, then they would have been your tombs. Besides, even if they were left, the system didn't recognize them as buildings anyways. As such, they wouldn't have done anything to increase your civilisation's tier. And yes. After question's from many humans, Gaia decided that she will accept the designation 'female'. Gaia also wanted to point out that as the consciousness of a planet she does not actually have a gender, but you humans seem oddly concerned about what pronoun to use when addressing her."

Ignoring the whole gender issue, Michael asked "Well then how are we 'supposed' to build things?" Despite his anger, Michael was curious. Then again, he was always curious. Curiosity was as natural as breathing to Michael, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

"There are System tools available for such things. I won't tell you what they are though, I will give you the information needed for survival but no more than that. The rest you must discover for yourself. Does that answer your question?"

"Not even close." He was somewhat mollified though. the whole 'buildings will be your tomb' thing was a real eye-opener.

"Good enough for me. Now, as for the levels of your skills, level is not actually a low level. Skills are arranged from levels 1 to 10. Level 1 is attained either through the System or by manually creating the skill. Level 1 is the most basic version of the skill and merely shows that you have the ability to use the skill. Level 2 requires proficiency in the skill and can be attained through practice. Level 3 requires Do you have any more questions, or can we move on?"

"Actually yes, I do have another question. I apparently have more pending notifications, why don't they just pop up like normal notifications? Is it just how the System is set up? Oh, now that I think about it, is there any way to just look at my skills without the rest of it also appearing? Also, would it be okay if I had a look at the notifications now?"

"They are pending because you were unable to pay attention when they first appeared so the System saved them, No, By focusing on a specific section of the Status when having it appear and yes you can but please remember my advice about Attributes."

Suppressing a shiver that had somehow managed to get past the emotional dampener, Michael responded "Don't worry, I don't think I'll ever forget." With a deep breath he pulled up his notifications.

Step Achieved!

By Gaining 10 general skills you have taken another step on your Path

Reward:

+1 unassigned Attribute points.

Huh, well that was underwhelming. Sure, it was welcome but after last time he was expecting something a little more ... well, more. Oh well, at least this wouldn't drop him in a heap of agony.

"Okay, no need to be alarmed. Apparently I achieved a 'Step' on my Path? I only got one Attribute point this time. Guess a Step is smaller than a Milestone. Which, now that I'm saying that out loud, is kinda obvious. I think I'll add it to Magic, get all my Attributes even with each other." Bracing himself for pain, He did so and confirmed the change.

The rippling, searing agony, agony that would have crippled a lesser man ... did not happen. Instead, Michael felt as if something unidentifiable inside himself was being stretched to just beyond its limits. Whilst very weird and incredibly uncomfortable, it wasn't nearly as bad as he thought it would be.

"Huh, that wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it'd be. Guess one point really isn't so bad."

"Indeed. Now, unless you have anything else, we'll move on."

Michael pointedly kept his mouth shut. No need to annoy the person in charge too much.

"Good. Then we shall move on. The point of the Second Phase of the Tutorial is to allow you to gain Skills that you don't currently have. Gaia felt this was needed as, by this point, a civilisation would normally have had at least some experience with Mana and therefore already have Mana related skills. Since humans have not had a chance to do so, Gaia has decided to give you this chance. Normally each person has 5 Skill choices but, since you currently have over 20 Skills, you have been awarded two extra choices. Please choose your skills wisely, you may never get an opportunity like this again."

And with that, a list appeared in front of Michael.

Skills:

- Beginner Mana Manipulation

- Imbue Mana

- Identify

- Magic Missile

- Novice Heal

- Basic Enchanting

- Basic Herbalism

- Basic Alchemy

- Beginner Taming

- Basic Tailoring

- Beginner Acrobatics

- Novice Bladed Weapons

- Noice Long Weapons

- Novice Blunt Weapons

- Novice Shieldwork

- Beginner Administration

- Beginner Teaching

Michael frowned as he read the list. Even with seven choices, this was still difficult. Mana Manipulation was a must, as was Novice Heal and Magic Missile. Michael was definitely looking forward to Magic. Identify seemed useful but he could live without it. Imbue Mana sounded simple, it imbued Mana into stuff, but was that useful? Besides, Mana Manipulation might help him figure that one out anyways. Enchanting seemed like a good option and would likely work with his other crafting skills. Herbalism and Alchemy went together as far as he could remember. Alchemy was used to make potions out of herbs. He might even be able to make poisons out of it. He didn't exactly like using poison in his hunts but when the choice is that or a fight with a bear, it was an easy choice to make. Taming, Taming spoke to Michael. It also growled at him but he chose to ignore that. The idea of taming a Monster and having it fight for him made him happy in an almost creepy way. Tailoring was probably a useful skill but again, he could probably figure it out on his own. Acrobatics ... Nah. Not really for him. It would probably be useful in some way but he'd rather not. None of the weapon or shield options were particularly enticing. Why stab something when you can hit it with an arrow. Or better yet, a Magic Missile. Then again, better to have it and not need it than the alternative. As for the rest, Nope. Many Nopes. He was not going to be sticking around in some town or city doing admin or teaching. He'd rather be out fighting Monsters and exploring.

So that left his choices at; Mana Manipulation, Magic Missile, Novice Heal, Herbalism, Alchemy and Taming. He still had one choice left. Looking over his choices he was torn. Identify would be useful, as would bladed weapons. Enchanting once again drew his eye but it likely wouldn't help him in the short run.

After a few more minutes of deliberation, Michael chose to go with Identify. Information would always be useful. Choices made, he informed the AI.

"Good. Now, let us begin with Mana Manipulation." The AI might have been calm but Michael was the furthest thing from it, even with the emotional dampener. The idea that he was about to learn some actual magic made him near frantic with excitement.

New Skill Learned!

Beginner Mana Manipulation

Tier 1, Level 1, Utility

1 meter per level Range

Able to weakly manipulate Mana outside the body. Passively increases spell casting speed 1% per level.

Activating the Skill simply required Michael's intent and, once he did so, he could feel an energy spreading through his body. The energy felt like a mix of electricity and warmth and was currently resting within the natural boundary of his skin. With a mental push the energy started billowing out from his body, stopping a meter from his body. Michael spent a couple of minutes playing around with the Mana, moving it around and forming shapes and such. The Skill was fun, and he could definitely see himself messing around with it when he was bored, but other than the passive effect, which was admittedly quite decent, he didn't see much use in it.

After he was done experimenting with Mana Manipulation the AI gave him the next skill.

New Skill Learned!

Magic Missile

Tier 1, Level 1, Spell

20 Meter Range, Instant Cast, 10 Mana Cost, 1 Damage per Level

A Small Missile made of pure Mana that actively seeks out the target.

Michael looked at the new skills description, his face deadpanned. 1 Damage, Really? He may not have been expecting mini-nukes but at least something better than this.He looked at the AI, the question clear on his face.

"The Magic Missile is the most basic of spells and is wholly suitable for your current level. That being said, at higher tiers this Spell can evolve into something quite destructive. Therefore, if you wish for a more powerful spell, I suggest you train."

Righteous indignation completely squashed, Michael decided to try out the spell. Pointing his hand at the nearby wall he activated the spell, Mana rushing from his core, down his arm, and out through his hand. The Magic Missile took the form of a glowing blue ball, about the size of a marble, that immediately shot off to strike the wall. Despite his reservations about the damage, Michael really liked the spell. Activating the Skill was effortless and didn't even require aiming, a perfect 'fire and forget' skill. He would have liked to keep using the skill and level it up more, but he only had 80 Mana, and there was still more skills to learn. Turning to the AI, he nodded to indicate he was ready for the next skill.

New Skill Learned!

Novice Heal

Tier 1, Level 1, Spell

Touch Range, Instant Cast, 10 Mana Cost, 1 Health Restored per Level.

The most basic of healing skills, capable of healing Minor to Moderate injuries.

The Novice Heal skill was another somewhat lackluster skillbut Michael assumed that, similar to Magic Missile, it would evolve into better skills down the line. Since he had full Health Michael couldn't try out the skill, so he moved on to the next skill instead.

New Skill Learned!

Beginner Herbalism

Tier 1, Level 1, Utility

Able to identify information on Tier 1 Herbs. Amount of information increases per level.

Useful, very useful. Michael hadn't played many video games but he knew that herbs were supposed to have useful properties like healing or increasing a person's resistance. Now he would be able to figure out which is which. The next notification, arriving on the heels of the last one, was a nice little bonus.

Minor Milestone Achieved!

Man of Many Skills

You have gained 25 skills skillfully. To quote a certain superhero's uncle : With great skill, comes great rewards. Pretty sure that was the quote, right?

Milestone rewards:

Skilled adventurer : gain and raise skills 5% faster

Excited, Michael continued with the skill learning.

New Skill Learned!

Basic Alchemy

Tier 1, Level 1, Production

Can produce Tier 1 Potions, passively increases production speed by 5% per level.

Looking over the skill information, Michael couldn't help but be excited to start producing potions. Upon gaining the skill his mind had suddenly been filled with recipes for various potions. Well, filled was a bit of an exaggeration, there was only three. Health and Mana potions, entirely too useful, and a Mild Poison. Finding information in his mind that he hadn't actually learnt was nice but a bit unnerving, like finding an extra hundred bucks in your bank account and having no idea where it came from. Still, Michael had never been one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

New Skill Learned!

Identify

Tier 1, Level 1, Utility

Obtain information on anything within sight, success increased by 10% per level. Less effective on higher level targets. If Identify fails, target cannot be identified again for 10 seconds.

Identify seemed to be a corkshoot, even on targets of a lower level. He'd need to get several skill levels just for it to be usable. Especially with the cooldown on failures. Fortunately, he would have plenty of targets to practice on.

New Skill Learned!

Beginner Taming

Tier 1, Level 1, Utility

Form a soul bond with another being, increased Communication per level.