[Clear Gaia's Dungeon, or die. *wink* *wink]
Eric awoke, confused, in an unknown blank space stretching as far as the eyes could see. Standing on a flat white floor, he examined his surroundings.
'Does that creepy place and weird robotic voice 'winks' come from my imagination?' Eric thought, 'Hot dang… at the very least my brain should have added a swimming pool with a tropical background surrounded by cute girls in tight swimsuits. Guess it's been too long since my last dream.'
The voice, calling itself the Tutorial Operator, said it was a game organized by Gaia, the goddess of Earth. The goal was, of course, to entertain her. Gaia was apparently a very bored goddess.
For that purpose, thousands of randomly chosen humans were teleported into the Dungeon every month where other races also lived in.
They would evolve by successfully clearing each floor, or die trying.
In a nutshell, they'd have to kill creatures. Kill, kill, and kill. With other challenges along the way, but the goddess thoroughly enjoyed bloodshed.
'A game in my dream? Nice! Bring it on! What a weird lore, though. The goddess sure seems like a real psycho.' He thought, before something the voice said caught his attention.
To motivate them, the first person to clear the last floor would be granted a wish. It was a competition for the grand prize. Unfair since some people have lived there for years apparently and already had a head start.
Eric wasn't interested in power or money. All he wanted was one single thing: the revival of his brother.
The system confirmed it to be possible. After all, a wish was a wish. Moreover, logic didn't belong in a dream where everything was possible. So fuck logic.
Wishes like going back in time, be flooded with cash, marry one's love interest, or whatever else. It wasn't surprising that reviving the dead was a viable, crazy option.
Insane option for an insane dream. Eric didn't care, though. Once again, fuck the logic. This dream could be the result of his grief, but so what? If it could bring him a modicum of happiness, for as long as the dream lasted, then it was worth it.
And so, for the sake of seeing his little brother again, he decided to participate in this crazy game.
Immediately after he made his choice, the system asked him to pick a class between those available to him.
[Please, pick your class. *Innocent smile*]
Standard classes:
- Warrior
- Mage
- Archer
- Assassin
Rare classes:
- Knight
- Pugilist
- Priest
- Homeless
Unique class:
- Casanova
As if noticing Eric's puzzlement, the operator promptly explained the classification of classes.
Standard classes were self-explanatory, meaning available for everyone. According to one's life experience, Rare and Unique classes could be available for the taking.
However, Eric's apparent dilemma didn't originate from the classes he could see, but from what he couldn't see.
If he had to play a game in his own dream, it was obvious to him there should at least be one particular class available. His consciousness would, no, must know this!
Did the Operator forget it? No matter, it was Eric's dream. His mind. His consciousness. A quick reminder should suffice. A forceful one, if necessary.
"Class: Beast Tamer." He said with a commanding voice.
[Searching in database. Class unavailable please—]
"Beast Tamer."
[Class unavailable plea—]
"For fuck sake. You are a product of my imagination!" Eric interrupted, pissed that his own dream would rebel against him. "My will is your will. Thus, my orders are supreme and immutable! I am your master and creator, so just shut up and do what I say!"
[… Yes… master.]
"Didn't I tell you to shut up?" Eric asked. It was his dream. His world. So he might as well tame this disobedient product of his imagination. What were the chances of failing to tame himself, anyway?
[…]
"Good, seems like you get it. So let's try this again. Class: Beast Tamer."
[…]
[…]
[…]
No answers came. Eric wondered if he broke the Operator when something unexpected happened. A blue notification window instead of the toneless voice, popped up.
BING!
_________
[*** Hidden quest cleared: Tame the Tutorial Operator!***]
Rewards:
*Tamer class unlocked
*Unique stat Charisma unlocked
*F Rank title Operator Tamer unlocked (+5 Charisma and slightly increases chances of taming an Operator in the future. Will rank up and gain additional bonuses after taming other Operators.)
*F-rank weapon, Combat Whip acquired
*+5 attribute points
_________
The combat whip appeared in Eric's hand. It was a 2.5 meters long whip made of solid leather with a steel handle also covered in leather for comfort purposes.
Also, amongst the classes available to Eric was now displayed a new section with a brand new class.
Legendary class: Tamer
"Tamer? Operator, how does this class work exactly?" Eric asked, confused. After all, it wasn't what he had asked for. A word was missing.
[…]
"You may talk."
[*Grateful smile* Searching database. Hidden data unlocked. The Tamer has the potential to … tame everything. *Amazed*]
"I see. Very… interesting."
A class that let him tame everything. Now that was OP! Not only would he be able to tame beasts like he wanted, but all kinds of living beings! Technically, even humans. Though, it'd be weird to tame one.
'I knew I wouldn't let myself down.' Eric thought, more than satisfied with the content of his dream.
[Would you… please pick a class now, master? *Pleading smile*]
Eric smirked, for it was a simple choice. What else could he pick but…
"Class: Tamer."
After confirming his selection, the system asked him to voice out the word "status" like some kind of anime hero screaming his ultimate technique's name.
No way in hell he'd do that, so he just said it calmly, normally. Like any human with an ounce of good sense would do—not that anybody would actually say "status" out loud.
Suddenly, an ethereal blue window appeared in front of Eric.
It confirmed that the Operator had tried to play a prank on him. Which he considered normal, since he supposed it was a copy of himself. But as the original, he wasn't about to fall for such an amateurish prank.
—————
[Eric Knight]
Class: Lv1 Tamer
Title: (F) Operator Tamer
——STATS——
HP: 100/100
Mana: 100/100
Strength: 15
Agility: 15
Charisma: 20 (+5)
Magic: 10
Physical Resist: 15
Magical Resist: 10
Exp: 0/1000
Attribute Points: 5
——SKILLS——
Skill Points: 0
Passive: (F-) Whip Mastery / (F+) Tamer's Eye
Active: (F-) Taming / (F-) First Aid
Pets (1/2): Tutorial Operator
—————
Now that was a familiar view to him. Not exactly the same status window he had when playing TamingGo, but close enough.
Some stats appeared higher than others. The system promptly confirmed it was based on his current body performance.
He also had access to the skills' descriptions. Or more precisely, he knew them. The knowledge had appeared in his brain after receiving the class.
Whip Mastery simply allowed him to be more familiar with a whip as a weapon. In a sense, he already was. After all, he had used a whip at the circus before.
The Tamer's Eye was a passive skill that activated as long as he focused on a target. It would allow him to see additional data about a target, to help him gauge his chances of a successful taming. Though at its current rank, it wouldn't show much.
Also, if the target was 2 levels above his, most data would be blurred.
Tamer's Eye worked hand in hand with his other skill, Taming. And would allow him to know when a target was tamable. There were other variables in play.
To summarize, with the Taming skill at F rank, he could tame any living being under level 5. However, intelligent beings like humans would be harder to tame. Harder being having a -90% in Tameability at the start. Although it wasn't exactly impossible.
What's more, he was limited to two tamed being called pets.
[Master, the Tutorial Phase 1 will now begin]
"Wait a second," Eric said. In preparation for the potential challenge he opened his status window. Using his 5 attribute points, he increased his Strength to 17 and Agility to 18. For now, since he had no real magical attack, he decided to focus on those to increase his chances of survival.
"Ok. Bring it on."
[Tutorial Quest: Kill or tame the Blood Wolf]