Chapter 004

Tutorial

[[[ Welcome to Dark Realms ]]]

Lily stared at the words hanging just in front of her face. She had no idea how long she had been staring, but she refused to take her eyes off them. She was terrified, because the words were the only thing that existed. Lily was floating in an empty void.

Earlier she had made the mistake of turning her head and when she lost sight of the words she felt swallowed by the emptiness. Pure panic caused her to thrash in terror until she reacquired them.

After some time, she managed to get her fear under control and collect herself. She studied the words for quite awhile, until out of ideas, she slowly reached her hand out and the words shifted.

[[[

Would you like to enter the tutorial?

Yes / No

]]]

What the fuck?

With each passing moment, Lily could feel the weight of the emptiness starting to push in on her, so with a shaky hand she reached out again and touched Yes.

The words disappeared, but before Lily could panic, a point of light appeared in the distance. As she focused on it, it began to grow, rushing towards her. Within seconds it reached her and she felt immense vertigo, everything spun, shifted sideways and then exploded.

In the void there was nothing, no sound, no feeling, no breathing or beating heart. She hadn’t even noticed, but now it all came back at once. She sucked in a lungful of air only to immediately cough and gag as she was overwhelmed with a rank smell. Everything stank of rot and garbage.

Falling to her hands and knees, it was several moments before Lilith could open her eyes and …

Wait? Lilith? My name is not Lilith? My name is… it is …

It was impossible to think of her real name. Suddenly thoughts, memories and knowledge flooded into her brain. Lilith’s head started to pound and vertigo took over, causing her to fall to the side in the muck.

Her thoughts seemed to expand and collapse over and over again. Images flashing behind her eyes. Images of two mothers, of sleeping in the gutter then a nice bed, of church in a Sunday dress and hiding while her mother(?) was beaten by a guardsman wearing chainmail.

Overwhelmed, she couldn’t seem to catch her breath, darkness began closing in and after several moments she collapsed

…

She woke to the feeling of hard ground beneath her and cold water soaking into her clothes. The smell was still there, rank and cloying. Eyes tightly closed, she carefully tried to think of her name.

Lilith

She knew her real name but she could not form it in her mind for some reason. Pulling on the mental thread of the real her, she could feel her way through her memories; birthdays, a sister, school and her art. It was all there, but fragmented, muted somehow?

And then there was Lilith. Those memories were sharper, but there were only a few of them. Each memory was clear, but felt compacted and measured somehow. They played out in her mind like short videos, one right after the other.

Her leg began to cramp.

Slowly she opened her eyes.

Lilith was at the end of a dark, dead end alley. She was laying in a puddle of rainwater, surrounded by refuse and garbage. At her back was a rough stone wall. On either side the rough wooden walls of different structures obscured the morning sun, casting deep shadows. The alley ran forward about 60 feet before it was blocked by several wooden crates.

[[[

Welcome to the Dark Realms Tutorial.

Select OK to start

]]]

Lilith ignored the floating prompt and stood up. Her body felt strange. She looked down and gasped. She was thin! Her skin was pale and hairless, streaked with dirt, but otherwise very smooth.

She took a handful of her hair and pulled it forward, pitch black and shoulder length. Staring at her hands, she noticed how delicate they were, the fingers longer than her own short stubby ones. The palms had a small ridge of callus that seemed out of place.

She was her character Lilith! She was in the Game! Was she crazy? Was she dead? She had to get out of here, she had to go home!

Lilith braced herself against the wall and started walking forward towards the crates blocking the alley. The floating prompt flashed once, then Lilith felt a familiar vertigo, her vision blurred and suddenly she was back where she had originally woken up.

[[[

Welcome to the Dark Realms Tutorial.

Select OK to start

]]]

When her vision cleared, she looked around, somewhat tearfully. She stumbled forward again, moving down the alley. Another wrenching sensation and she was back where she started. She slumped down, overwhelmed.

After a moment, Lilith mentally chided herself. I can’t just sit here forever. Dreaming, dead or crazy, I have to do something! At least this isn’t the empty void. Standing up she reach out and tentatively touched OK.

[[[ Please take a moment to move around to familiarize yourself with your new body ]]]

Lilith looked around and spun in place. She bent down and touched her toes (which were uncovered and filthy) and performed a couple of stretches she had seen on a yoga tape she owned (one she spent many nights watching alone in her room). She was amazed at how flexible and limber her body was.

On reflex she tried a quick leap. Astonishingly she leapt much farther than she intended and almost lost her balance. Immediately her new reflexes kicked in and she gasped in delight as she gracefully spun in place. Apparently the system decided she had practiced enough and a new prompt appeared.

[[[

Excellent!

Let’s take a moment to learn how to control the user interface. Your user interface will mirror your growth, providing new functionality as you advance in the game.

To open the user interface simply clear your mind and think UI or User Interface.

]]]

She was actually in the game, she couldn’t believe this was happening to her. She knew she should be more afraid, but her amazement had pushed the fear aside. It took several tries, but eventually Lilith was able to calm down enough to focus on ‘UI’ and get a menu to appear.

Character Inventory Spells Skills

[[[ Please take a minute and familiarize yourself with each area ]]]

Lilith focused on the Character option but before she could raise her hand, the system read her mind and the menu item selected itself. The menu was replaced with a floating window showing a lifelike 3D image of her character. Lilith stared at the image of the beautiful woman on the screen. This is what I look like now!

She was wearing a long grey skirt, paired with a sleeveless brown tunic. Both were made out of a rough spun linen, threadbare and sweat stained. Underneath, a wrapped cloth bound her breasts while another one looped around her hips and between her legs. Her feet were mostly bare, with cloth wrapped around the pads and wound halfway up her calves.

The window had a table showing her statistics and seemed to match what she saw on the character creator. She took a moment to read through them.

Name:

Lilith

Race/Class:

Half-Elf Mage

Subclass:

None

Level:

1

Health:

4 (4)

Mana:

60

Attributes

Strength:

6

Agility:

13

Constitution:

7

Intelligence:

16

Will:

18

Charisma:

16

Equipment

Head:

Chest:

Peasant Tunic (poor)

Arms:

Hands:

Legs:

Peasant Skirt (poor)

Feet:

Peasant Foot Wraps (poor)

Amulet:

Ring:

Ring:

[[[ The Character screen allows you to monitor your appearance, statistics and any equipped items]]]

With a thought, she closed the Character screen and opened the Inventory menu. A new window loaded but was completely blank.

[[[

The Inventory screen will show all your containers and the items inside them. This screen will be blank until you equip a container!

Note: Dark Realms does not provide a ‘quick slot’ feature. To access items in your inventory you will need to place your hand in the container and concentrate on the item in order to withdraw it.

]]]

She switched over to Spells,

Spells

Lvl

Name

Description

1

Read Magic

Read magical scrolls and spellbooks.

1

Light

Causes an object to glow.

1

Mend

Makes minor repairs on an object.

[[[

The Spells screen allows you view all your accumulated spells. As a new Mage you will have 1 or more spells based on your background.

Note: In Dark Realms a Mage's spells must be learned. Unlike Skills, your level determines which spells you can learn. A level 1 Mage must wait until they level up before learning a level 2 spell.

]]]

Mend? She concentrated on the spells name.

[[[

Mend

Level 1

Cost: 10 mana

Effect: Repairs minor damage of the selected object. Will fix most tears, splits, chips and dents on common objects. Will not replace lost material.

]]]

Looking down at her clothes, she could see they were dirty and of poor quality, but they had no obvious rips or patches. Think of how useful that would have been back home and here it's a free spell. Oh well.

With a thought she opened the final option; Skills

[[[

The Skills screen allows you view all your accumulated skills and their progress.

Note: In Dark Realms your level affects your relative power (health and mana), but skills are only gained through use or special training.

]]]

Now that is interesting, Lilith thought. She remembered her sister Amy talking about a game article reporting that Dark Realms claimed to have 1000s of possible skills. They ranged from traditional combat skills, to utility and even useless roleplaying ones.

Additionally the game supported a very integrated and complex artisan and crafting systems. From blacksmiths to painters the game developers had promised to build a rich and interactive world.

[[[

Skills in Dark Realms are gained via discovery and grow through continued use. Skills are measured in ranks of 1-100. Rank 1 is considered known but untrained and Rank 100 is considered mastered.

Imagine a person picks up a sword for the first time and swings it at someone. They will gain Rank 1 in swords. Now imagine that same person with years of training and multiple experiences in battle. They would have a rank around 75.

Early skill ranks are easy to obtain and provide few bonuses. As the skill ranks up, it becomes more and more difficult to advance, but the advantages grow exponentially. True masters of a skill are rare and masters of multiple skills are unique individuals indeed.

]]]

After reviewing all the options, the only thing left to do was select the OK option and proceed with the tutorial.

[[[

New Quest: Run for your life!

Trapped in a blind alley with no weapons, you are attacked by a rabid beast and must run for your life.

Reward for Success:

New Skill

Penalty for Failure:

Restart Tutorial Section

]]]

Lilith stared at the prompt in confusion. What the hell? Rabid Beast? Hearing a sudden sound behind her, she slowly turned around to see a previously unnoticed pile of garbage start to shift. A large canine pushed itself out from the trash pile. Its fur was dirty and matted but all Lilith could see were the large teeth inside its froth filled mouth.

Lilith never considered herself a woman of action, she always imagined herself as the sort of person who would freeze when confronted by a dangerous situation. So she was surprised when she somehow managed to assess the situation in a split second; no weapons, rabid dog, quest prompt; and immediately spun around to sprint away before the dog had fully emerged.

Maybe this is my Will of 18?, she thought. She knew the Agility of 13 made her more dexterous, so maybe her high Will and Intelligence was helping her out as well? It was scary to think that this place was messing with her head. Was she even herself anymore?

The sound of claws scrabbling on the hard packed ground drove those thoughts aside. She covered the 60 feet to the crates at the end of the alley in a few seconds. Lilith was amazed at how well her body performed, how smooth and graceful she was. Unfortunately the crates were stacked 3 high and blocked the entire alley, she was trapped.

Hearing a menacing growl she spun around. The dog had stopped 10 feet away from her and looked ready to attack.

[[[

Congratulations! You have completed the Quest: Run for your life!

You have gained the skill Sprint (Rank 1/100). This skill will grow with continued use. Increased skill ranks will allow you to run longer and faster.

]]]

As soon as Lilith closed that prompt a new one appeared.

[[[

New Quest: Fight for your life!

Dark Realms can be a dangerous place. Sometimes you will be left with no options other than violence!

A rusty dagger has be left stuck in the side of one of the crates. Pick it up to equip it and prepare to defend yourself!

Reward for Success:

New Skill

Penalty for Failure:

Restart Tutorial Section

]]]

While Lilith was reading the prompts, the dog seemed content to just growl and threaten her. However, when she dismissed the quest window it began stalking forward menacingly. The dog looked like a large, dirty, half starved pitbull. Up close she could see how much skinnier it was than she originally thought. She could see its ribs clearly defined on its sides as it moved into the light.

Lilith looked at the crates and spotted the dagger sticking conveniently in the side of the one next to her. She shifted over to the dagger and tried to remove it while watching the slowly approaching dog.

The dagger was firmly buried in the wood of the crate and she had to slowly wiggle it loose. Like her other stats, Strength apparently played a big role in the game. She had a bad feeling she was going to really regret the low score of 6.

As soon as the dagger came free, the dog attacked. On instinct she leapt sideways and avoided the attack. The dog smashed into the side of the crate and seemed to stun itself.

[[[

Congratulations! You have gained the skill Dodge (Rank 1/100). Timed correctly, you have a chance to completely avoid a single attack. This skill grows with continued use. Increased skill ranks will increase the chances of successfully dodging.

]]]

Seeing the dog stunned after ramming its head against one of the crates, Lilith stepped forward and slashed it with the blade of her new dagger. A gash appeared on the dogs shoulder as the blade slashed the stunned animal.

[[[ You hit the Street Mutt for 2 points of damage. ]]]

[[[

Congratulations! You have gained the skill Small Blades (Rank 1/100). Your understanding of daggers, knives and other small bladed weapons has increased. This skill grows with continued use or training. Increased skill ranks will allow you do more damage.

]]]

The dog shook its head then glared at her. Lilith stepped in to stab the beast again, but this time it was ready for her. Its mouth latched onto her wrist with a sickening crunch. Lilith dropped her dagger in shock and then screamed as the pain hit her.

[[[

The Street Mutt hits you for 3 points of damage. Critical Hit! You are disarmed! Your main hand is crippled and you are unable to wield a weapon in that hand. (You must use a special potion or see a healer to remove this debuff)

]]]

She could feel the bones grinding in her wrist. What kind of game was this? How could it hurt so bad? As her vision dimmed around the edges she slumped down onto her knees. With a vicious shake, the dog let go of her wrist. A sudden lunge and his powerful jaws latched onto the side of her face. Lilith felt a terrible pain and a sickening tearing sensation.

[[[

The Street Mutt hits you for 5 points of damage. Critical Hit! You are blinded! You are disfigured and suffer a -10 penalty to your charisma! (You must use a special potion or see a healer to remove this debuff)

]]]

[[[You have died! ]]]