Bon revived within the circle of golden light in the swamp. That Mangrove Giant sure packed a punch. Being revived felt like touching a 700kV power line. He couldn’t stop shaking even after the process had ended. Dying was too painful! His clothes had been restored along with his body, brand new. He took a deep breath and nearly choked. The swamp stank of rotten eggs. There was probably a lot of methane and hydrogen sulfide in the air. If only he had a flame thrower. He could burn that damn tree to the ground. Even if he died in the process it would be worth it.

There were birds in the swamp, singing their songs. There were rabbits scurrying in the dry areas. There were squirrels climbing up trees. Bon had not noticed these little details earlier. Would he get experience points if he killed them? What were his stats like anyway?

“Status Screen.”

Status screen is locked until you complete the Introduction Quest

Great! Just great! This was such fucking bull shit! How was he supposed to complete the Introduction Quest? Thanks to some glitch in the system he had been dropped head first into a boss room.

“Skill Tree.”

Skill tree is locked until you complete the Trainer’s Quest

“Of course it is.” Bon had been expecting that. The only way forward was to kill the boss. “What screen can you show me?”

Hunger/Satiety: 100%

He could get hungry in the Tutorial Tower? Was this Tower trying to torture him? Bon didn’t much care for dying of hunger. He would much rather have a quick death, even if it meant being smashed into paste by a giant tree. He picked up a sturdy wooden branch from the ground to beat away the swamp’s overgrowth. It was no machete, but it would do. He ventured out of the safety zone once again. This time he would be careful.

Bon crept through the swampy land. His boots squelched as he walked, that couldn’t be helped. Hopefully, the sounds of the birds would drown out the noise his boots were making. He walked on for half a mile and came across an area full of bushes with nice big purple berries. At least his hunger problem was solved. How big was this boss room? There didn't seem to be an end in sight.

Bon plucked a berry and bit into it and savored the taste as the juice went down his throat. The berry was sweet. Then, all of a sudden, the sweetness disappeared and his throat and stomach began to burn. It felt like his insides were on fire.

You have been poisoned by a Class 3 Super Toxin

What the fuck!

Poison Resistance has leveled up to LVL 1 You have died

When Bon revived he was pissed off. Was everything in this swamp trying to kill him? Would the rabbits suddenly reveal that they were vampire rabbits and bite him to death? Were those cute squirrels actually rolling bombs disguised as acorns, which they would hurl at him as soon as he came near?

Bon sat down in the safe zone as he tried to calm himself down. It took him a few hours before he was ready to venture out again. His hunger/satiety level had fallen to 80%. At least it was not falling too quickly. He set off in a different direction from the previous times, towards the little hill he could see in the distance.

Bon made it a mile without encountering any hostiles. He had almost reached the hill when a thorny bush ripped through his shirt as he passed by it. He should have been watching where he was going. He pulled out the thorns from his arm, drawing blood. The smell of blood must have attracted something, for he heard a loud roar soon afterwards. He felt the ground shake underneath his boots. Something was coming. It was the Mangrove Giant.

Bon ran as fast as his legs could carry him, while the huge tree chased after him. Its roots would shoot out at him, trying to pierce his body. Bon dodged each time, as though he had eyes in the back of his head. He relied fully on his reflexes. He saw a small cave in the distance and ran towards it. The entrance was too small for the Mangrove Giant to make it through. He reached the cave without a second to spare. The Mangrove Giant’s roots swept into the cave after him as far as they could go, but Bon jumped aside and went in even deeper.

Bon waited in the cave for some time, hoping the Mangrove Giant would get bored and go away. He could hear the big tree stomping outside restlessly. He sat in the darkness patiently, getting up to peek outside every once in a while. After an hour, Bon realized that this wasn’t going to work. The Mangrove Giant was just too persistent. It hadn’t moved from the cave’s entrance. Maybe there was another exit. He decided to explore the rest of the cave.

Bon went deeper in and saw luminescent paintings on the wall. They all had the outline of a human body. The paintings showed the flow of something within the body. There were five paintings in all. What was this? Breathing techniques? Bon decided to give them a try. He went to the painting marked with a 1, and tried to force his breath into that pattern shown on the painting. Nothing happened, apart from Bon becoming breathless. This was a waste of time.

Bon walked further in and saw a crystal necklace on top of a stone. It was reflecting the light of the wall paintings, shining like a rainbow. He examined the necklace closely. Was this some OP game item that would help save him?

“Identify.”

Skill cannot be used at this time

Maybe he had to level up the skill first. He didn’t even know what basic skills he had been given by the Tutorial Tower.

Bon put on the necklace and walked to the wall paintings once more. White smoke suddenly issued forth from the necklace, startling Bon. It smelt of incense. The smoke took the form of an old man. He had a long beard. He was wearing the traditional clothes of a Daoist priest and looked very elegant.

The old man laughed, “Free at last. I, the great Tian Bu Ru have finally escaped my confinement.” He stretched his arms and then did a little dance.

When Bon listened closely he realized that the man was not speaking English. The system must be auto-translating everything he said.

“Hello Tian Bu Ru,” Bon said.

“Eh? Oh, my benefactor. Are you one of the Admins? It’s about time you showed up. Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting?”

Admin? Who were the admins? Were they gods?

“No, I’m Bon, a regular human. I got trapped in this part of the Tutorial Tower because of some glitch.”

“A player,” Tian Bu Ru groaned. “It looks like we’ll be stuck here for a while. You’re still too weak to clear the Alpha Test.”

“Don’t say that! I’ll find a way to kill that Mangrove Giant—somehow.” Bon clenched his fists in determination. He wasn’t going to rot here for the rest of his life, dying over and over again.

“Mangrove Giant,” Tian Bu Ru laughed. “If only it were that simple. There are hundreds of thousands of bosses in the Alpha Test. The Mangrove Giant is the easiest.”

That was an easy boss? Bon shuddered. Did he even stand a chance of winning?

“Don’t fret,” the Tian Bu Ru continued. “I’m here now. I can teach you the Way of Cultivation.”

“What’s cultivation? And who are you? Are you a ghost?”

“My soul got trapped here in this necklace when I was adding some material to the Alpha Test,” Tian Bu Ru sighed as he looked at the paintings on the wall. “I’m the one who drew all of these. This is the first level of Cultivation—Qi Condensation. I thought it would be nice to add Cultivation to the Tutorial Tower, but all the others were against it. I did it anyway. I could have gotten a promotion if I proved it was useful during the Alpha Test.”

“What exactly is the Tutorial Tower? Is the whole thing just a game? Can it be some highly advanced form of VR?”

“I can’t tell you that,” said Tian Bu Ru. “It’s against the rules. If I reveal anything more I’ll be in even worse trouble than this. Just know that all this is real. The power you gain here will stay with you forever.”

“Can you kill the Mangrove Giant in your spirit form?” It didn’t look like Tian Bu Ru could even lift a stone.

“No. I cannot affect this reality without possessing someone, and if I do possess someone I will be stuck in their body until that body reaches the Nascent Soul Stage. My own body is waiting for me outside the Tutorial, and I can’t wait around until you form a Nascent Soul. So don’t worry. I won’t possess you.” Tian Bu Ru floated around, as though pacing up and down. “Can he even learn? He looks too weak,” he mumbled to himself and shook his head. “Maybe.” Tian Bu Ru stopped and studied Bon’s face for some time. “I’ll teach you everything I can. All I want in return is for you take this necklace out with you when you exit the Alpha Test Server.”

“How do I exit the Server?”

“By completing the game. Kill every boss monster within the test and you will be ejected from the server automatically. Let’s go to the safe zone. It will be easier to teach you there. We must complete this stage as soon as possible.” Tian Bu Ru began to float towards the cave’s entrance.

“About that,” Bon sighed, “The Mangrove Giant is waiting for me outside the cave. We can’t go back that way.”

“Why did you bring it here?” Tian Bu Ru groaned as he rubbed his forehead.

“It wasn’t my intention. The Boss sensed my blood when I cut myself on some thorns.”

“We must kill this Boss quickly. The fifth zone is the best place for learning Qi Condensation.” Tian Bu Ru floated in front of the cave paintings, gazing at them intently. “I’ll teach you the basics now. It might help you escape to the safe zone. After that, we’ll think of a way to slay the monster.”

“Okay,” Bon said brightly. Tian Bu Ru must have been very knowledgeable to fly around in spirit form. With Tian Bu Ru’s help he would get stronger in no time.

Tian Bu Ru pressed his finger to Bon’s head and Bon could feel the sensation of energy flowing through him.

“What you are sensing is qi,” said Tian Bu Ru. “You will be able to sense it now. Move it in the pattern of the first wall painting. It should flow through your meridians in exactly that pattern. If you make a single mistake your body will explode.”

Bon tried it. He was nearly half way through making a complete circuit when he felt something go wrong. He quickly retracted his qi and tried again.

Tian Bu Ru hit him with an illusory fly whisk that went through his face without hurting him. “You were too eager. You must control your emotions.”

This time Bon was able to make it three quarters of the way before he had to retract his qi. He was sweating so much that there was a little puddle underneath him. His whole body was hurting and he was shaking from the exhaustion.

“Again,” said Tian Bu Ru.

Bon completed the circuit this time, but something felt wrong.

“Your dantian supplied too much qi for your yin meridians to handle,” Tian Bu Ru scowled. “Prepare yourself.”

“For what?” Bon started to feel scared.

“Three, two, one.”

Bon felt his body explode. It was not so painful this time. Maybe he was getting used to the feeling.

You have died