Chapter 3: Be the Toad

  Jack suddenly found himself, for the second time, in a new area. This time it was in the middle of an open grassy field surrounded by trees. He could feel the dirt underneath him and the grass surrounding him. Looking up, he could see blue sky and clouds above him, and he was still completely naked.

  He looked around at what was his new planet. The first thing he noticed was how normal everything appeared. The knee-high grass and surrounding trees all looked like fauna he would expect to see on Earth. It was a little disappointing. The best thing about going to a completely new planet, in Jack’s opinion, was seeing strange alien-like atmospheres and life forms. This was more of the same. In fact, if it wasn’t for the fact that Jack was standing completely naked and in the middle of a field, he would have thought he had dreamt all of it. Even so, he wasn’t ruling that out at this point. As Jack looked around the field, he noticed that besides the grass, there was a large number of wildflowers as well. Then another screen appeared in front of him.

  *Welcome to the Tutorial*

  Please find your System Instructor to continue.

  “Earthling is it?” came a throaty old voice from behind him.

  Jack turned around but didn’t see anyone there. “Another voice from the sky?” Jack asked out loud. “That’s getting old,” He turned to face the direction that the voice came from. “Hello, yes, I am from Earth. Are there species from other places that were brought here for the first time as well?”

  “There are always new planets and species being integrated. I’m down here,” the voice came again from his feet. But all Jack saw when he looked down was a small toad staring up at him.

  “Er… Hello?” Jack said to the toad. “Did you just speak?”

  “Earthling. Hmph, and by the look of you that would make you a human then,” The toad said. “Go ahead and ask your questions. Humans always have so many.”

  “Umm… Alright,” Jack said trying not to let the strangeness of the situation overwhelm him. “How can you speak? How do you know English, but not know I’m from Earth? Where am I? What is this? Is this real?” The questions came out in a rush, and he had to force himself to stop, giving the toad a chance to respond. The toad, on the other hand, watched Jack with a bored expression the whole time, patiently waiting for him to finish.

  “Anymore?” the toad asked. “I was expecting more. There is usually more.”

  “Yes, but I think I need a sec to calm down first,” Jack said.

  “Easy lad, you’ve got time,” the toad sighed. “Who was your onboarder? The one that you met when you went through the gateway?”

  “It said its name was P.A.T.C.H.,” Jack said. “Why am I naked? You can teleport me through a portal to a whole new world, but I can’t have clothes?”

  “P.A.T.C.H. again,” the toad mumbled softly. “Sorry about all that, P.A.T.C.H. is a new addition to the System. I’ll log a complaint for you. To answer your questions starting with the first; I speak the same way you do. Why shouldn’t I be able to speak.”

  “Toads can’t talk on Earth,” Jack said.

  “Perhaps, they don’t have anything to say to you,” the toad responded back. “My name is Jasper, by the way. Thank you for asking.” The toad, Jasper, added the last part sarcastically. “Also, I am not a toad, I am a Familiar.”

  “What’s that?” Jack asked.

  “Right now, I am a temporary guide,” Jasper said. “I can be more, but only to those who know.”

  “Those who know?” Jack repeated.

  “Those who know, know. Those who don’t, don’t,” Jasper said cryptically.

  “I thought you said you were a guide,” Jack said.

  “I am a guide for the System,” Jasper responded. “But I can only provide guidance for the basics. Discovery is an important part of growth, and the System does not like us handing out things for free. Challenge what you know, search for what you don’t, and don’t be afraid to experiment. Too much hand holding only results in many of the same and if that same is on a dead-end path of cultivation, then the only result would be that. Understood?”

  “I understand that you don’t want to explain what a Familiar is,” Jack muttered. “Fine.”

  “Continuing,” Jasper said. “I am not speaking English. The System is currently translating. Once you leave this tutorial space, you will have to learn to communicate with other species if you wish to talk with them.”

  “Okay, I’m following. I think,” Jack said.

  “Next,” Jasper said. “You are in a temporary space. A safe space for now. Once you leave, you will not be able to come back here again. This space was created to teach you the basics at your request for a tutorial, and yes, this is all real. Though that last one was a stupid question.”

  “How was that a stupid question?” Jack demanded.

  “If you are having doubts about all this being real. What, are you suddenly going to believe it is because the talking ‘Toad’ told you it was?”

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  “That’s a good point,” Jack said thinking it over. “Though I doubt I would imagine a toad as rude as you. Then how do I know for sure all this is real, and that I am not dead or in some kind of coma?”

  “You didn’t believe,” Jasper sighed, muttering under his breath. “And now you believe even less. Stupid question indeed. Figure it out for yourself.”

  Jasper said the last part directly to Jack. “If you are unable to get past this part then it is unlikely you will make it far into the Game. The only advice I can give is to be like the toad.”

  “Be like the toad?” Jack repeated.

  “Yes, be like the toad,” Jasper said again.

  “I thought you said you weren’t a toad,” Jack said.

  “I’m not,” Jasper said. “Resemblance is coincidental. But as we’ve been speaking, I have looked into your world and the creature you call toads, and I must say, I approve.”

  “Ah…. Right,” Jack said. “And how should I be more like a toad?”

  “Listen,” Jasper continued. “Toads go from reality to reality throughout their lifespan. From the pond where they are basically tiny fish, to growing limbs and learning how to use them, to the land which, as you might imagine, must seem like a whole new world the first time they crawl out of the water. But it doesn’t matter to them. They accept whatever reality they are currently in with only one thought in mind- ‘survive’. This is you right now. But not just you, it is your whole species and world. Your species and namely you right now, are crawling out of the pond with which you have become familiar and are seeing the land for the first time. You can let it overwhelm and crush you, or you can do the only thing that truly matters… and learn how to survive in it.”

  “It survives,” Jack repeated.

  “It survives,” Jasper said. “The System is not forgiving. It can’t be. Its purpose is to create powerful cultivators in order to ensure the balance is maintained. Unfortunately, that is all I can say on the nature of the System at this time.”

  Jack gulped. “How many humans have died so far?”

  “I am not privy to the exact count,” Jasper said. “But I believe the majority of those who have come through have already failed. So, you need to pay attention to this next part.”

  “Alright,” Jack said sitting down in front of the toad. “I’m listening.”

  Hours passed as Jasper explained how the System windows worked and how Jack could interact with them. It was vastly different from what Jack understood as what was possible, but it was not unfamiliar. In fact, it reminded Jack of some video game Systems he used to play. With Jasper’s instructions, Jack learned how to access his System information, pull up specific information using only his thoughts, and set and filter System Notifications.

  The first screen he was taught to open was a generic status screen, which broke down aspects of Jack’s body into numerical values and categories.

  “You look disappointed,” Jasper said.

  “Well,” Jack continued hesitantly, “I know I may not have been the smartest or an Olympic athletic, but I thought my stats would have been higher than this, and what is with my intelligence?”

  Name: Jack Masters  Level: 1     Experience: 0%

  Class: ?  Path: ?

  Health: 130   Stamina: 140  Mana: 147

  Strength (Str): 2

  Dexterity (Dex): 3

  Constitution (Con): 3

  Intelligence (Int): 4

  Wisdom (Wis): 2

  Charisma (Char): 3

  Perception (Perc): 5

  Luck: 0

  “It’s a new body,” Jasper said. “It only looks like your old one.”

  “Wait, it’s not my original body?” Jack asked.

  “No, too much corruption. It would have stunted your potential before you ever began. That is also why you were sent here with nothing as well. Too much corruption. Well, that and to test your species’ true ability as opposed to the abilities of your equipment and technology.”

  “That is disturbing on a different level,” Jack said.

  “Too human,” Jasper sighed.

  “I’m trying, alright,” Jack said. “And I am human.”

  “Your statistics will increase as you use them and level up,” Jasper continued ignoring Jack’s comment. “You will find that the once familiar limitations of your mind and body will no longer apply.

  “Wait,” Jack stopped. “Level up?”

  “It is not called the Great Game for nothing,” Jasper said. “And before you ask, no it wasn’t originally designed like this, but over the eras it has changed and learned. It found that this was the most effective way of teaching and developing powerful cultivators. Leveling will be one of several ways to increase your strength. Not only for your personal level, but you will also gain skills and will need to increase those as well. The combination of your skills, bodily stats, titles, and personal level will unlock new classes to choose from, and your class levels combined with all the others will help you find your Cultivation Path. There are other paths and ways to increase strength as well, like Body, Spirit, or Mana Cultivations but you will need to discover more about those yourself… or don’t.”

  “Which would you say is more important?” Jack asked.

  “Your personal level will help in your overall strength, but your skills and how you develop those skills will have a further-reaching impact on your overall ability and understanding. However, developing your skills will require much more work and practice than increasing your personal level. You will need to find a balance, and constantly work to improve both.”

  “So, it’s like a Role-Playing game,” Jack said breaking it down to something he understood. “Or I suppose a Massive Multiplayer Role-Playing game.”

  Jasper went silent for a moment before responding. He was clearly looking something up like he had about toads. “Yes,” he said eventually. “Very similar. The last thing I need to explain is the task system, or as from your Role-Playing games you might see it as a quest system. The System will generate tasks, or quests, and you will see these come up in your System Notifications. You will be able to reference them afterwards as well. These quests will be to either teach, or more often challenge you. Completing these quests will result in rewards created by the System, and they can be anything determined by the System. I suggest you attempt to complete each one. In fact, you should immediately get at least one upon leaving this space.”

  “Not sure I like the idea of the eye in the sky watching everything I do,” Jack said. “But at least this is something I am a little familiar with.”

  “I doubt you will notice it at all,” Jasper said. “The System likes to stay hands off. That is unless you…Hzzt!”

  “What?” Jack said. It looks as though Jasper had gotten an electrical shock at the end.

  “Never mind,” Jasper said. “You are now ready to begin your journey. Though I must say you certainly picked an interesting place to start. The Jungle of the Four Lords is not where I would have expected a newly integrated to choose.”

  “I just asked P.A.T.C.H. for someplace safe to start,” Jack said.

  Jasper was quiet for a second before suddenly letting out a loud croaky laugh. It was the first time Jasper had given such a response, and he thrown off momentarily by the sudden reaction.

  “I suppose the immediate area is just that,” Jasper said, getting himself under control. “When you are ready, make your way to the tree line to begin your journey. The space will close automatically in twenty-four hours if you don’t leave first. And remember, be the toad.” With that last statement, Jasper disappeared.

  “Wait,” Jack called out after him. “I don’t even have any clothes.”

  There was no response. “Well, fuck.”