A Tutorial on Isekai Powers

The tutorial? You mean to tell me that the last 16 years of my life was just a tutorial? Words could not adequately describe the feelings that swelled as I read that.

A tutorial for what? All that blood, sweat, tears, and even more blood for just getting out of the tutorial?! I was punched down a volcano for a tutorial?!

I felt my dad’s hand releasing my head. He probably thought I calmed down and was letting me up. When I didn’t move, he crouched down to get closer to me.

“What, is it that ‘screen’ again?” he asked. While my dad didn’t completely get it, he did know the existence of this ‘screen’. When I was younger and it first popped up, I asked him about it. I thought it was a normal thing everyone got in this world.

As it turns out, not the case. It’s a secret only six people in this world knew, and four of them were on this volcano peak.

“Yeah. It’s telling me something,” I admitted. A second of silence passed before my dad motioned at me.

“And what it’s tellin’ ya?”

“It says I… uh…,” I paused, trying to think of the best way to explain this. There were no video games in this world after all. “I just finished basic training,” I settled on.

“Ha! Shows what that thing knows,” my dad slapped me on the back as he laughed. “C’mon, let’s go home,”

“Yeah, sounds good. I’m starvin’,” I admitted as I moved to stand up.

“You two doin’ okay over there?” The older cowboy, Colt’s dad, called out.

“Yeah. That ‘screen’ thing just told Rubel that his basic training’s done,” My dad called back.

The two began to laugh heartily. Their laughs echoed throughout the mountaintops, an ode to mockery of the screen. I simply rolled my eyes as I dusted myself off.

“Okay, the point’s taken,” I said. “Can we go home now?”

“Yeah, I’m on it,” Without another word, Colt began to whistle. It was a lively, playful tune that echoed merrily throughout the mountain range.

I could hear the sounds of a creature climbing up the volcano’s side excitedly in response to the whistling. A large lizard with scales the color of ash scrambled over the side of the volcano and charged right for Colt. It forced itself to come to a stop right next to the cowboy, looking at him expectantly.

The ashen lizard was around the size of a horse, with strong muscular forearms much larger than its hindlegs. Its forearms were an unusual golden color, and had large flaps that would certainly unfold into wings. Its powerful tail wagged behind it as it waited for Colt. On its back was a saddle made for two people, and in its mouth was a bit attached to a pair of reins.

Instead of a horse, Colt’s mount of choice was a mountain wyvern. While that might sound weird, mountain wyverns were actually very loyal creatures. Not only that, but they were better built for running on the mountainous terrains, the dusty plains, and even the dense forest. Their ‘wings’ weren’t well developed for flight, instead being used to glide from place to place.

Usually, they were raised by onis, who would trade wyverns for supplies like eggs and milk from the cowboys. A very beneficial trade for the two groups.

Not Colt though. Colt raised and tamed this mountain wyvern all on his own. I couldn’t help but feel a little jealous, but honestly, the training my dad put me through made it almost impossible for me to raise an animal.

“Good girl, Mountain Peak,” Colt was quick to pet its head and rub its jaw at the same time. Mountain Peak obviously enjoyed the affection, letting its tongue hang out as Colt rubbed it. When he was done with that, Colt climbed on the wyvern’s back, getting comfortable.

He motioned for me to get on, something I was not going to argue over. I was not walking home after all that. I climbed on, getting comfortable as well.

Looking over, I could see Colt’s dad climbing onto his own mountain wyvern, a large and proud looking black one. My dad didn’t climb on. Frankly, he didn’t need to, seeing as he did nothing but punch me into a volcano.

Okay, I’m nursing that grudge a little too much.

Colt clicked his tongue as he gently used the reins to direct Mountain Peak towards my village. With a satisfied growl, the mountain wyvern took off. Its powerful legs allowed it to climb down the volcano side easily.

As we scaled down the mountain, I decided to focus on this status screen in front of me. Due to the unusual nature of this system I was ‘blessed’ with, I knew I had to have unlocked something for completing the tutorial.

When I first unlocked this system as a kid, I assumed it was something like an RPG. Reasonable guess, right? Get some EXP for killing monsters or some other miscellaneous task, level up, and get stronger.

That was not the case.

This ‘system’ was merit based. What do I mean by merit based? Well, let’s put it this way. The very first time I even realized I had this system was when I made friends with Colt.

Achievement unlocked! Starting a bromance!

+1 skill point!

And from that day, I unlocked a skill tree. It was pretty small, having only one class and a few options. But that’s how I got my ability to parry. The skill point to unlock my ability to do EX moves came from an achievement I unlocked when befriending a girl.

It’s such a strange system. I had no idea what counted as significant enough to count as an achievement. Like, making two friends? That was two skill points. Learning how to control ki? Not worth the achievement.

I didn’t even have an achievement list, so I didn’t know what to aim for. I just had to keep doing things and hope I unlocked one. But this… this had to be worth an achievement, right?

I closed the congratulatory window, seeing a new window flash open in front of me.

Achievement unlocked! Completing the tutorial!

+1 skill point!

That was pretty good! So I could get a new ability! My excitement only soared as I noticed there was actually more written below.

Full Skill Tree unlocked! Class System unlocked!

With that, the window closed itself, revealing a new window underneath. My original skill tree, a single line that slightly branched off at points, had expanded greatly. Now from the original base, it split into four distinct branches.

Looking closely at each branch, there was a node at the very start of the split. Each one had a different name. The one in the very center was labeled “Shoto Class”. That was the one currently activated.

To its left were two more nodes. “Zoner Class” and “Rushdown Class”. And to the Shoto Class’s right was the final node “Grappler Class”.

Okay, that was pretty self explanatory. But what wasn’t obvious was the class I should choose. Was it irreversible? Was choosing a class going to lock me out of the other classes instantly? Or would it just take forever to be able to switch them?

Thankfully, a help screen popped up for me.

Activating Demo Mode! In Demo Mode, you may freely switch between all four base classes! However, any modifiers you have unlocked will not apply during this time. To exit Demo Mode, simply spend your points to unlock a class!

Okay, that was nice. Being able to sample any of them was cool. That led to yet another question. Which one should I do first?

“You’re awfully quiet back there, partner,” Colt said as he looked over his shoulder.

“Ah, sorry. I’m just looking over the options the screen is giving me,” I explained, not even looking up.

“What kinda options are you talking about?” My dad chimed in as he jogged alongside the black mountain wyvern Colt’s dad rode.

“Oh, it’s uh… I think it’s offering me four different fighting styles. Not sure which to pick,”

“Oh? And what might those be?”

“Zoner, Rushdown, Shoto, and Grappler,” I paused before rushing to clarify. “Shoto’s the one I’m currently on,”

“Ya don’t say,” My dad scratched his neck as he listened to me. “Well, if I were you, I’d pick Grappler! That’s probably involving grappling, right? Lemme tell ya, there ain’t no better feeling than picking up someone and slamming them in the ground!”

“Ya don’t say?” I muttered, feigning interest. Well, I knew what I was trying last. Call it a bit of teenage rebellion, but there was no way it was good as he was making it out to be, right?

I felt Mountain Peak come to a stop suddenly, causing me to look up.

“We’re gonna start gliding the rest of the way,” Colt told me as Mountain Peak began to back up. I nodded, mentally closing the window as I braced myself. For a second, the mountain wyvern remained still, as if it was building tension.

And then boom! The wyvern took off, rushing full speed towards the edge of the ledge. With a cheerful sounding cry, the wyvern leapt into the air, spreading its forearms wide. The wings caught the air beneath them, allowing it to smoothly glide down.

A sense of weightlessness overtook my body as Mountain Peak glided. I imagined this was similar to being on a rollercoaster from my old world. Not that I ever rode one before.

The view was just as beautiful on the back of the wyvern as it was on the mountaintop. I could feel the wind in my hair. The fresh air filled my lungs, and the rising sun warmed my skin. I had to admit, it was great being alive.

The wyverns began to lean to the left. Looking over, I could see my village. What would likely be several hours of climbing was changed to a few minutes of riding and gliding. Really, mountain wyverns were awesome!

I saw my dad leaping from mountain to mountain to keep up with the gliding wyverns. Honestly, I was jealous of how far he could jump. He turned to look at yes, flashing a grin before jumping even faster. His intent was clear.

He was challenging us to a race home.

“We’re gonna go in for a landing!” Colt suddenly called out, a competitive tone to his voice.

“Wait, what?” I had a singular second to blink before Mountain Peak folded her wings and angled her body downwards, her snout pointed right at the village entrance.

I screamed in terror as the mountain wyvern shot down like a thrown rock, divebombing towards my village.