Dante exhaled a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. He stood up and turned to face his mom and dad still sitting stunned on the couch. "Dad, can you read text in your vision?"

His father shook himself from the shock, "Yes. Can both of you?" Dante's father asked. Dante and his mother both looked at each other then back at his father nodding.

"So what now?" His question was immediately answered when a blue text box appeared before each of them.

Welcome! You will now choose the difficulty of your System Tutorial.

Normal

Intermediate

Hard

Very Hard

Near Certain Death

Rewards are given to those who reach higher. With each increase in difficulty comes increased opportunity.

Dante blinked several times as his parents' jaws dropped. Then his parents looked to him hoping for an explanation. Dante was suddenly very happy his college friends had gotten him into anime and manga. Now at least he knew a bit about what was happening. Dante was suddenly worried about his friends. 'I know at least one of those dumbasses is going to try the higher difficulty settings.'

Dante shook his head and rubbed his face, trying to decide what to say, how to explain things to them, then it hit him.

"System are you there?" Dante spoke to the air. Something in the air changed as he felt something within him stir, and a second later he felt that something leave him. A small smooth golden sphere apperated in the air before him, it was only the size of a golf ball. The same androgynous voice he had heard a moment ago from the figure on the tv came from the small floating, golden, sphere.

"I am here, Dante. I know what you would ask of me and i shall oblige you." Dante watched as his parents faces flashed with fear and then went slack as their bodies relaxed. Their eyes seemed to glaze over, though they still blinked every few seconds.

"You are the first to invoke me for that I have a prize for you." Dante's eye's darted between his parents and the sphere. Then a text box appeared.

Your rewards have arrived!

You are awarded: 1 inventory slot of 1 cubic meter

You are awarded: 100 gold coins

Dante's expression shifted to one of admiration, "Not too bad." Dante said aloud.

"I am glad that you like your prize. Now here is some additional information." Spoke the small sphere.

"Your gold is not stored in your inventory, it is instead stored in a sort of side inventory where only your currency is stored." The sphere pausing for a moment as if awaiting questions. "So it's like the coin collection system in a vending machine. Put money in and if you’re the right person you can take it back out?" If a sphere could smile.

"Correct!" The androgynous voice returning this time sounding almost happy. "Now on to your inventory, while you only have one inventory slot that doesn't mean only a single item can fit into it." The sphere paused once more, Dante could not think of a question in those few seconds it paused. "I see you have played Dungeons and Dragons with your friends. So this might be the easiest way to explain it." said the sphere.

A blank blue screen appeared before him. "I assume i don't need to teach you how to use it?" Dante simply waved his hand to indicate no, "Alright then. In simple terms this inventory slot is much like a bag of holding in that it has a size limit, but does not share the problem of a weight limit." Said the sphere.

The blue screen became parallel with the ground before the screen seemed to fall into itself. A second later the screen had become a 1 cubic meter box with translucent blue walls. Well when you looked at it from above, from below it was still the same blue text box. "Pocket dimensions?" Dante asked, "You could say that I suppose." Responded to the sphere.

Dante watched as the large bowl of apples from the kitchen table floated over toward them. Dante watched with eager eyes as the bowl of apple stopped above the box and then descended into it. All at once the box along with the bowl of apples disappeared. "You know the word."

"Inventory." Dante stated, a second later the blue box returned. This time however it remained vertical as it fell into itself. When it was done there in the small space was the bowl of apples. "So this inventory can open up from any side of the cube?" "Correct again."

Dante caught motion behind the sphere. His parents were blinking rapidly and their eyes seemed to have returned to normal. His father raised his hand and then his index finger looking as if he was ready to say something. However, he placed his hand back down, apparently thinking better of whatever he had been about to say.

Dante dismissed the box with a thought, surprised and happy that it had worked. Once more the sphere spoke, "It is time for you all to make your choices."

His father looked at his mother who simply nodded and selected Normal. A second later she said, "Confirm." in a flash of light she was gone.

He turned to his son and stated, "I'm going to go with the intermediate, Dante..." He hesitated for a moment, "One of us needs to be strong for your mother. I will reach as high as I feel comfortable. I cannot ask you to choose a higher difficulty." He said after a moment, his face paling as he spoke.

Dante looked to the tutorial screen still hovering to his left. Then faced his father for hopefully not the last time, "Select Hard."