“Even though it said that it still put me in the tutorial directly afterward.” sighed an exasperated Hecate. As she said that, a worn man wearing an eyepatch approached her. “Here, grab a weapon and hit that training dummy fifty times in the chest, do that and I’ll let you leave,” he spoke firmly not leaving any room for negotiation.

  ‘It gives you the option to decline? That's odd, I was under the impression that this was a forced quest. Though, on the other hand, I should do it, Gotta make sure I ‘aint rusty.’

  “I understand, I'll try my best.”

  Hecate quickly turned and walked towards the weapon rack that was situated behind her. “There are so many options!” Swords, Shields, Staffs, Rifles, Wands, and many other types of armaments were hanging flush against the wall.

  “What should I use, I'm sure most would grab a sword- that's why I won't, Don't need a shield nor do I need a staff… Ah! How about I just use my hands!” It was an odd conclusion for sure but… it could work, right?

  Bam! Pow! Shamwow!

  Slam! Smack! Crash!

  (23/50)

  Crack!

  (38/50)

  Ow!

  (49/50)

  “Aaaaaaand Pow!”

  Hecate thrust her fist forward and managed a clean blow directly onto the Training dummies chest, She quickly checked her progress.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  “Huh? That's rather odd, isn't it? I'm sure I only hit the training dummy once that time, and what’s this about 51/50? Is it some type of bug?”

  Just as she mumbled those words a small Ding! Sound permeated through her ears indicating a new notification

  [Notice: Strength +1 Through rigorous training your strength has increased!]

  A wide grin slowly crept across her face, and so- she pummeled the training dummy into oblivion.

  (61/50)

  …

  (78/50)

  ...

  (102/50)

  [Your strength has increased by 1!]

  (189/50)

  ...

  (200/50)

  …

  “Oh?” she took heavy breaths between her words. “200 seems to be the maximum.” her breaths were labored and her body was heavy.

  Thud!

  Suddenly Hecate was on her back- [Notice: exhaustion has reached 80, rest to regain stamina.]

  “At least I didn’t pass out, that was rather annoying when it happened in the embassy.”

  The time she was unable to move was short because Hecate heard the same ding! the sound effect that gave notice of a new notification.

  “That's rather convenient, isn't it? Of course! I'll gladly take it.”

  After relishing the moment, Hecate took notice of the familiar man walking towards her.

  “I see that you’ve struck this training dummy 200 times, why is that? I only told you to do 50.” stated the Instructor.

  “Uh- I guess I just got caught up in it and ended up punching much longer than I was supposed to.” replied a nervous Hecate.

  “If it was any other NPC they might reward you for this, unfortunately for you, I'm not just any NPC. You need to learn to listen, so pick up a new weapon and strike it again.” stated the Instructor.

  [Notice: Your quest has been updated]

  “...”

  “Are you kidding?”

  “Why would I be kidding.”

  A look of pure and unadulterated annoyance crossed Hecate's face before she quickly grabbed the weapon which would take the least amount of time; two pistols connected via a small chain.

  It didn't take long for her to start shooting sporadically at the dummy not caring about whether she hit it or not, with this rather unusual firing strategy it only took a few short minutes before she hit her quota.

  “I finished. Can I leave now?” questioned Hecate sarcastically.

  The instructor looked at the girl before releasing a heavy sigh. “Fine, as long as you don't make so much trouble for the other NPC’s.”

  “...”

  “...I'm sick of this already.”

  [Tutorial completed, Please Choose a Starting Country]

  “Hmm, now this an important choice, let's start by eliminating the ones that I definitely don't wanna’ spawn at.”

  [Desolate Wasteland, selected. Are you sure this is where you want to spawn?]

  “Huh? No! Why would I want to spawn there?!?”

  [t???o???o??? ???b???a???d???.??? ???l???o??????]

  “What the hell!?”

  [You’ve selected; Desolate Wasteland. Commencing teleportation.]

  Suddenly a beam of light struck Hecate in the chest; piercing her heart in the process. “This game… really is-” before she could finish her sentence, her body disappeared completely.