Teresa was staring at a new screen in front of her that she had not seen before.

System Bank

Teresa

$58,000

Transaction History

Bounty: +1,000

Bounty: +1,000

…

Tutorial Rewards: +50,000

"Well shit, I've got more money than I've ever made in my life." Teresa said, surprised.

"Really? I've only got a couple grand from some bounties." Sarah said, looking at her screen. "Was it because of the Tutorial?"

"Yeah."

"Alright that makes sense. What's a bounty though? Like, in the context of the System. I obviously know the basic concept of a bounty, but I can't think of anything that would be considered a bounty aside from maybe those bandits." Sarah frowned, thinking. "Does that mean killing people gives you money, or just bad people? Evidently monsters don't give you anything."

"I don't know and I don't really want to find out." Teresa replied. "Why is it in dollars though? Does the multiverse take USD? Wait, don't answer that. Let me guess, the symbol is different for everyone."

"Yeah, probably. I guess all currencies are considered equal now." Jake said.

"Anyways, about hunting together. I was thinking of taking on a Portal in the twenties, how does that sound?" Teresa asked, gauging her party members' reactions.

"What do you mean in the twenties? None of us are even level 13 yet." Preston asked, an eyebrow raised.

"The low twenties, it'll be fine. The whole point of this is to take risks you otherwise wouldn't be able to so that you can level up faster." Teresa told them. "You guys won't have the same titles as me and you probably won't get a legendary class, but regardless each of you are entirely capable of surpassing me in at least one attribute. I'm level 37 now, and my lowest stats are all at 39. If you guys gain 2 points per level for any of those attributes you'll have me beat in something by level 20. Of course, I'll outclass you in everything else, but with all of us working together all that will matter is ensuring we each use our own individual strengths."

"Huh, when you put it like that, I guess it kinda makes sense." Sarah said, scratching her head. "So if I'm gaining 2 Agility per level and I'm at 30 right now, how many more levels do I need to catch up?"

"I've got 46, so 13 levels. This is all assuming I don't level up at all though, and that you don't put your unallocated points into Agility." Teresa said. "It's also not accounting for your new class you'll get at level 15, you're level 11 right now so you're not far from that."

"Hang on, I'm already beating you in Agility." Preston said, surprised. "I've got 47."

"Bullshit, there's no way you have more Agility than me already." Teresa replied.

"Yeah, I get 3 per level. Sarah, you're probably better off focusing on Perception for your bow." Preston said.

"Sure, but I also want to be quick. I got hit during the Tutorial because I hesitated and was too slow, but I don't want that to happen again. I've been putting my unallocated into a mix of Agility, Perception, Fortitude, and a little bit of Intelligence for faster reaction speed." Sarah explained. "My Perception is 35, so it's not doing too bad."

"Damn, I've been dumping most of my points into Agility and I'm only at 14." Jake said. "I've got 42 Fortitude though, am I beating you there at least?"

"Yep, my Fortitude is 39 so you've got me with Fortitude. Why are you putting so many points into Agility?" Teresa asked.

"Well we've got to travel everywhere on foot, I don't want to be the reason we're going so slow. It also helps with repositioning fast enough to keep enemies on me, though I've been also thinking of improving my Intelligence to make my <Taunt> stronger. I'm not sure that's how it works, but Agility is just disproportionately good right now compared to the other attributes." Jake explained.

"Well, you guys are already pretty close to me in some stats, not all of them but if you focus on what you're good at we'll be fine. I'll fill whatever role is needed, if someone gets hurt I won't have any problem healing them. I'll do my best to make sure nobody gets really hurt, but I won't interfere unless absolutely necessary." Teresa said.

"Why not? You've got to get levels too." Sarah asked.

"Yeah, but I won't get much from low level enemies. I'll take the time to practice new things with my spells and skills while you guys are in combat. Plus, I have a theory about how the System works, or at least part of it. Classes have rarities apparently, even if they don't show up. When I got offered my classes, they all gave a different amount of total points per level, making them uneven. However, they all had to do with stuff I had experience in, so I think what you do before you get your class change affects the classes you get offered, same with skills." Teresa elaborated.

"Oh, that makes sense." Preston replied. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but what you're getting at is your actions might affect the rarity of your offered classes, and thus the quality of your classes. If you carry us, it might make our class selection worse."

"Yeah, exactly. So I'll only help if absolutely needed, and it'll mostly just be healing in between fights and staying out of your way. Oh, I have another question by the way that I figured you would know Preston. Those letters next to our class and race and stuff, I take it those are grades or something?" Teresa asked.

"Probably. Rank, grade, quality, whatever. You know those tier lists that go from F up to A or S rank? I think it's like that. I'm surprised you didn't know, haven't you played an RPG before?" Preston replied.

"I mean I figured it was something like that from context clues. Plus I've mostly just played Skyrim. I also tried DnD once, but everyone was a bunch of murderhobos so I never went back for another session. Kinda ruined the whole vibe, completely clashed with the character I made."

"Ugh, yeah, that would ruin it if you're not in on it ahead of time." Preston said, shaking his head. "So when are you thinking of heading out?"

"Well, there's some things I've got to do here first. I got to empty out my <Inventory>, go talk to Saylee about finding some Portals, then I was thinking of starting a settlement council. I keep hearing about things from other people, everyone seems to be relying on communicating via rumors. I'm not planning on leading this place, but at the very least we could have some sort of governmental structure set up for now. Get Saylee, those military guys, Simon, some of the construction workers, and maybe even William since he's been helping with the kids. Nothing too serious for now, just setting things up. Boring stuff, just telling them we should meet tomorrow morning."

"Oh, good luck with that." Preston said. "Come grab us when you're ready to head out. It's kind of late, so make sure the Portal isn't too far away."

"Got it." Teresa acknowledged. "I'll try to get it over with quickly, I promise. Really, it's just boring chores."

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They all exchanged temporary goodbyes as Teresa parted ways. Really, it was going to be boring. She kind of wished she didn't have to deal with these kinds of chores, but at least it would be quick. Teresa wouldn't mind skipping this, but sometimes everyone had to do boring things like scheduling meetings. How lame.

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When George was a little kid, he wanted to be an astronaut rockstar. He studied hard in school, got good grades, practiced the guitar a lot, and actually put the work in. A lot of kids say they want to be an astronaut or a rockstar, or some other outlandishly extraordinary job. George however, was serious. He actually wanted to be an astronaut rockstar.

One day, he would go up out of the atmosphere, play Ode To Joy on his guitar in a space shuttle for the world to hear, and simply enjoy the experience. It was the first song he ever learned to play, it was only fitting that he would play it in space. Of course he could follow it up with some bangers, play Free Bird, Hotel California, shit maybe even a song of his own.

Unfortunately, paraplegics couldn't become astronauts. Additionally, sound didn't travel in a vacuum. By all means, his dreams should have been destroyed before they even started. Multiple Sclerosis, an autoimmune disease that targeted myelin, the protective sheaths that covered his nerve fibers. He lost the ability to walk in his teens, experiencing symptoms of his condition early.

Pediatric-Onset Multiple Sclerosis was already rare, it was even rarer that it eventually led to permanent paralysis in the lower body. POMS was supposed to be relapsing-remitting, meaning his symptoms would flare and then gradually improve. That didn't happen.

George was convinced he had been misdiagnosed, but he didn't have access to great healthcare. It would cost his family too much money to fly him out of the country to seek a second opinion, money that was already being spent on his condition. It was ridiculous, cruel, but George wasn't weak. It didn't matter if his legs didn't work, so long as he could breathe he could still fight.

He kept studying, kept playing the guitar, tried every bit of advice he could find online, but willpower could only do so much for the young man. Regardless, he didn't stop. He was going to be an astronaut rockstar damn it. Fuck medical restrictions, fuck bad luck, fuck the universe, it would take the end of the world to keep him from his dreams.

FWOOMP

There it was. The end of the world, because of course. Paraplegia and a misdiagnosis from some sketchy doctors wasn't enough, there just had to be an apocalypse. Go figure.

Fire coursed through his veins, shocking him. What the hell was that all about? Geez, apocalypse, George had already been through enough-

His leg twitched. He held his breath, caught off guard by the brief sensation. He tried to move them, but it was the same as always. Still, he definitely didn't imagine that. Soon, he was granted a choice. He was exempt from something called "The Tutorial Process," and was able to choose between waiving his exemption to participate and becoming some sort of caretaker, or entering this "Tutorial," anyways.

Was it because of his disability? Fuck that, he knew damn well what he just felt. He chose the Tutorial, and soon he was surrounded by four others in a similar situation. They all introduced themselves, none of them were in good physical condition. There were five glowing orbs that looked like they contained supernovas, and they discovered they were able to pick a class. After looking over them, George didn't need to think twice. He chose tank, and soon he was covered in metal armor exposing only his head. The healer option had looked interesting, but one of his party members had chosen it. The magic he had gotten wasn't enough to fix any of their problems, but George would find a way to walk again.

George vowed he was never going to feel weak again, and damn it, who cares about the apocalypse? He might not be fit for it, he might not even do well in whatever this Tutorial thing was, but he was going to do his best.

After all, George was going to be an astronaut rockstar.

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A red wave of energy shot out, hitting multiple Earth Elementals and drawing their attention to Jake. He spammed the skill frequently, and whenever an elemental tried to turn away, he used <Light Shield> to block their path. A golden tether shot out from his body towards an elemental that was just refusing to target him, keeping the monster locked within a set radius around Jake due to his <Golden Anchor>.

A white slash shot through an elemental's chest from Preston's <Air Slash>. He got close to the elemental being contained by Jake, and stabbed his sword through the monster's head. They were all humanoid creatures of mud, and it seemed a headshot wasn't enough to kill it off.

The elemental swung a muddy fist at Preston, making him jump over the monster. Another shot out a stream of mud at him while he was mid-flight, but he was able to dodge again by hardening the air underneath his foot with <Second Step>. It was something Teresa had recommended, dodging by jumping wasn't a great way to dodge, pre-System, but everything was different now.

It was important to put yourself in situations where your skills became useful, it gave experience to your skill, your class, and it got you used to using a skill during combat. Fighting was all about utilizing every tool available to you. Preston jumped off the tiny platform of air, landing awkwardly and stumbling as he avoided the attack.

An arrow penetrated the elemental that had tried to attack Preston in the air, as it was the only one that had truly slipped past Jake. The arrow went straight into the monster's head and out the other side, then changed course into another elemental due to Sarah's <Collateral>. The first elemental tumbled and took cover behind a tree, but that didn't mean it was safe.

Another arrow shot out and hit the ground next to the tree, and bounced up into the elemental with <Ricochet>. Both of these skills drastically reduced the impact of the arrow after its first bounce, but they were both incredibly useful. More arrows struck the elemental no matter where it tried to take cover, though it was a slow process to kill these monsters.

Teresa was monitoring the battle while she was working on <Sturdy Outer Shell>. On another note, she actually knew everyone's last name now, so there was no chance of any problems sprouting up from that anymore. She had come up with an idea that was helping her drastically, but it unfortunately limited her movement speed even more. If her party needed help, she could cancel it and intervene in an instant, but for the sake of using the skill later it was a hindrance.

<Sturdy Outer Shell> could take either Stamina or Mana, and Teresa had wondered what would happen if she used both? Turns out, she totally could. Using Stamina to power the skill made it incredibly difficult to move though. Energy was emitted from every cell in her body, energy that she assumed was Stamina. It automatically went to cover her skin, and made a weak protective barrier around her.

When she added Mana into the mix, it was able to increase the durability by what she assumed was about 25-33%, somewhere between a quarter and a third more durable. Not great considering it took twice as many resources, but in a battle that was looking to be short lived it could be very useful.

The more interesting part was she found she could manipulate her Mana better when the skill was already active with Stamina. She could guide the Mana to specific parts of her body, though it still condensed across a large surface area. For example, if she tried to cover just her fist, Mana would condense around her entire arm. It was far more durable than what the skill could normally do, but using <Sturdy Outer Shell> with two power sources made her incredibly immobile.

She was still faster than any pre-System human, but not by much. It also made using other skills way harder, to the point where she couldn't even use <Healing Touch> or <Facilitated Restoration> at all while double powering the defensive skill. It already took a lot of her focus to direct Mana to just her arm, how was she supposed to also direct more Mana to just her palm for a simpler skill?

It was totally doable when just using Mana spread evenly across her body, she wasn't really controlling the current from her Soul to maintain that. She just added a second or even third stream of Mana that led to her hands, allowing her to use other skills simultaneously.

It would take some practice, that's all. Speaking of practice, her party had actually managed to take out the level 22 Portal on their own, giving them a lot of experience in the process.

"Holy shit, how did we actually pull that off?" Jake asked as he pulled his axe from a pile of mud.

"We were willing to play it risky, that's why." Preston replied. "All three of us were up close and heavily involved in the fighting, we were ignoring pre-System logic to focus on leveling up our skills and it wound up being incredibly beneficial. Teresa was right, skills are the make-or-break in a fight."

"Most of the monsters don't have skills, or if they do they're pretty insignificant. There's a few with really powerful skills to watch out for, though they are normally attuned." Teresa explained. "Once I got my first attack skill in the Tutorial, everything changed from borderline impossible to relatively easy. I still almost died multiple times, but skills really make a lot of difference."

"My arrows move really slow after the initial impact for both of my skills, but I was forcing myself into situations where I needed them and I got a shitload of experience from it." Sarah said, beaming.

"Oh fuck guys, I'm level 15!" Jake exclaimed as he looked at his stats now that the battle was over. Teresa smiled, knowing what was coming next.

It was time for Jake to decide what his new class would be.

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