When Victor hazily opened his eyes, he found himself within the familiar comfort of the sim-pod. Victor habitually glanced at the time display and was surprised to find out it was 12:00 noon. Typically his classes would have already started four hours ago.
Victor panicked and hurriedly exited his sim-pod, determined not to be later to class than he already was. The communicator on his wrist then buzzed, signaling a school-wide announcement.
"Attention all students. Today's classes will start at 1:30pm. Attendance is strongly encouraged. We will be giving a general introduction to abilities, the system, and the wider universe. Before then, you are encouraged to experiment with the unlocked system functions or test out your abilities in the gyms or training rooms across campus. Please note it is extremely dangerous to test out your abilities outside of the designated areas."
Victor exhaled with a sense of relief, sitting down at his desk remembering all that had transpired the day before. At least now he had time to think.
Victor had never experienced a dream so vivid. The surreal imagery made him suspect that it was related to the awakening of his abilities. Victor had so many questions: What were those stars? Were they potential abilities he could have gotten? If so, what did they have to do with that strange metal sphere? Why did it shatter and become a black hole? Most importantly, what was that spirit of light?
Many ideas swirled in Victor's head, but none of them were conclusive. His eyes settled on the simulation pod, prompting one final question: What was the purpose of that silver liquid he saw?
Since Victor felt safe and sound after waking up, he guessed that it was related to his ability awakening. However, something in his mind suggested there was more he didn't know about it. With many questions and no clear answers, Victor decided to move on.
Victor then took the time to carefully inspect his body. He was curious as to what changes happened to his body.
'Hmmm, I don't look any different, but what is this strange new feeling?'
As if hearing his thoughts, some words appeared in his vision.
[System Initializing: Tutorial Functions Activated]
[System Function Unlocked: Ability]
[System Function Unlocked: Join Game]
[System Function Unlocked: Mentor]
[System Notification: Welcome to the Promotion Star Games, where everyone can compete and realize their wildest dreams. As long as there are rules and competition, any challenge is welcome. As a Human entering the Promotion Star Games for the first time, you have the right to use the ability analysis function of system as a well as the possibility to speak to a mentor to help you get acclimated to the nuances of the System throughout the duration of the tutorial.]
Victor sat up straighter in his chair as he observed the strange notifications with a curious expression. When the notification appeared, he felt a strange sensation, almost as if he reflexively used an unfamiliar organ. Victor experimentally flexed his new capability and watched as the notification window disappeared from his vision. A second "squeeze" and the notification reappeared before his eyes.
After satisfying his curiosity, he read the notification seriously this time.
Upon learning of the different functions available to him, he called upon his connection to the system once more. He discovered that his new "invisible limb" had three additional appendages after a brief period of experimentation.
Without sparing a thought, Victor decided to use them to find out their purpose. Notifications flashed before his eyes as the first one pulsed.
[Ability Function: Online]
[System tutorial: Upon awakening, abilities contain two or more components, each of which can manifest and activate independently. The Ability function is provided to help newcomers learn about their abilities more effectively.]
[System Notification: Two components detected]
[Activate First Component?]
[Activate Second Component?]
Victor contemplated the words in front of him and eventually decided against activating right now. Who knew how dangerous they could be? He thought back on the warning from yesterday and this morning. 'I'd rather not try them out just yet.' Victor intended to go to a training room first before experimenting with his abilities.
Victor quickly dismissed the notifications and activated the next system function. He briefly imagined something being sent far into the sky but being met with silence. Victor frowned and activated it a few more times, feeling a little confused. The same sensation filled him, yet he remained awkwardly waiting. After a minute of nothing, Victor decided to move on, and right when he reached out to the final function, a notification appeared before his eyes.
[Mentor link established]
Before he could read the words before him, he heard a gruff voice echo in his mind. "You're quite impatient, aren't you? Weren't you taught it's rude to call someone 7 times in a row? Especially someone you don't know?"
Victor was taken completely by surprise, yet he recovered quickly. "You are my mentor?"
The voice let out a small chuckle before responding. "Isn't that obvious? My time is precious, and you are going to start by asking stupid questions? No proper greeting? Kids these days..." There was a slight sigh as the mysterious voice conveniently ignored the fact he didn't greet Victor either.
There was a slight pause before the voice spoke again "Yes, I signed up to be your mentor, so let's just skip to the important part. Quickly explain your ability to me."
Victor found himself in an awkward position, hesitating slightly before deciding to answer honestly. "Uhhh, I don't know yet."
"What are you talking about? Your parents should have been able to figure out your abilities by now, unless you were sent to a nursery in one of those trashy, backwater lesser star nations where all their children grow up ignorant of the Star Games until they come of age."
"Parents?" Victor asked in confusion. Victor had heard of the idea in various shows and stories growing up, but it seemed like such a foreign concept that he dismissed it as fantasy. "I mean, I had a caretaker, but she's gone now, and I only awakened my ability last night..."
This time it was his mentor's turn to fall silent. Victor could almost imagine his mouth hanging open in disbelief. "...Wait, how old are you this year?"
"I'm 17 this year." Victor answered honestly.
"...Ohhh. Well, lesser states aren't actually that awful. In fact, they are actually vital to humanity's expansion across the stars..."
Victor's eyes narrowed as he quickly made some connections. Unable to take anymore of the voice's lame justification, he decided to ask a question that had been on his mind.
"What's your name? It's a bit strange to be talking to a mysterious disembodied voice."
A sense of authority filled the voice of his mentor for the first time in the conversation, unexpectedly denying Victor's request. "You are not worthy yet. Only those strong and talented enough earn the right to learn my name."
Victor's annoyance grew stronger at those words. In the end, it all came down to strength.
The voice continued. "I will still mentor you for the duration of this tutorial, as it is my responsibility. However, anything beyond that depends on your performance. Quickly, tell me what planet you are on so I can monitor your progress."
After another embarrassed pause, Victor sheepishly answered. "Uhhh, I don't know."
"They really don't teach anything in these schools nowadays." Despite his snide remarks, his mentor quickly offered an alternate solution. "Activate your Join Game function and accept the Global game. There should be an ID number in the corner. Read it out to me."
Victor followed the instructions and activated his last system function. Instantly a menu appeared in his vision with multiple tabs and icons littered across the page. Victor quickly found the tab reading [Global]. After selecting it, the majority of the pages and icons that were filtered out, leaving one that read [89th Graduating Class] as the sole exception. Seeing there were no other options, Victor chose it without hesitation.
Instantly an elaborate menu opened up before him. With a quick skim, he realized it was a significantly more detailed explanation of their graduating assignment. But before he could start reading, his mentor interrupted him, somehow knowing exactly what he was doing. "The Game ID remember? You can read the description after."
Victor quickly complied and read out a long string of characters. After verifying the string of characters, his strange mentor spoke without even so much as a thank you.
"Alright, that should be enough for today. Call me again when you learn more about your ability and how the system works. I'm not going to waste my time explaining to you things you can easily find out by yourself."
[Mentor link disconnected]
Victor sat in his chair, left to his own humiliation. This random voice came into his life, insulted him and looked down on him, and disappeared in a flash before he could ask any questions. And yet he still had the audacity to call himself a mentor?
'What an jerk!'