The silence on the Spire was absolute for exactly three seconds after the shockwave passed.
Then, the screaming started.
It wasn't an audible scream, but a psychic one—the collective panic of four hundred million sentient beings suddenly having their visual cortex hijacked by a semi-transparent blue rectangle.
Elian stood on the obsidian plateau, ignoring the notification blinking in his own peripheral vision. He was watching the Universal Pedestal. The Core crystal was spinning wildly, glowing so bright it hurt to look at.
"Server load at 94%," Query reported from his wrist, its synthetic voice sounding strained. "Cognitive dissonance resulting in mass panic. Administrator Vance, seventy-two percent of the population believes they are cursed."
"They'll get over it when they realize the 'curse' lets them carry twenty wheels of cheese in a pocket dimension," Elian muttered, his eyes scanning rapid-fire streams of data only he could see.
He tapped the air, bringing up a global heatmap. Red dots were erupting everywhere—major cities, rural villages, goblin dens.
Let's see how the hardware handles the stress test.
Elian focused his attention on a random cluster of data points—a small farming hamlet in the valley below named Riverbend. He didn't see the physical village; he saw a wireframe representation of its data.
[Perspective Shift: Garn the Turnip Farmer - Riverbend Village]
Garn dropped his hoe. It missed his foot, which was fortunate, because he was currently too busy clawing at his own face to notice.
"Get it off! Get the devil magic off me eyes!" he bellowed, stumbling backward into his turnip patch.
A blue box floated stubbornly in front of him, refusing to be swatted away. It had writing on it. Garn couldn't read, which only made the devil magic more terrifying.
[System Announcement]
Welcome to Aethos v1.0.
Tutorial Initiating in: 00:59 seconds.
Prepare yourself. Survive.
"Ma! Get the pitchfork! The sky is writing things at me!"
Around him, his neighbors were in similar states of disarray. The village blacksmith was swinging a hammer wildly at the air. The local hedge-wizard was curled into a ball, sobbing that the "Great Leyline had gone square."
Then, the countdown hit zero.
The ground rumbled. In the center of Riverbend, the dirt cracked open. It wasn't a demon that crawled out. It was worse.
It was a cube. A gelatinous, neon-pink cube about the size of a dog, vibrating with aggressive energy.
A red text box appeared above it: [Tutorial Slime - Lvl 1].
Garn stared. The slime jiggled, oriented itself toward his shins, and lunged with surprising velocity.
[Perspective Shift: The Admin]
Up on the spire, Elian watched the global casualty counter tick upward.
Current Deaths: 1,402
Current Deaths: 2,550
"The Tutorial Slimes are overtuned," Elian noted dryly. "Their aggression algorithm is set too high for a peasant populace with zero combat experience."
"Shall I deploy a hotfix to nerf their damage?" Query asked.
Elian's finger hovered over the 'Execute' button on his admin panel. He thought about the Hardcore setting. He thought about the impending threats from outside their reality that would make these slimes look like fluffy pillows.
"No," Elian said softly. "Let it ride. If they can't figure out how to hit a slime with a stick, they won't make it to Tier 2 anyway. Natural selection just got a user interface."
The Spire suddenly shook. The chaotic wind, previously silenced, roared back to life, but now it felt structured, gamified.
Three neon-blue fissures opened on the obsidian plateau surrounding Elian.
[Tutorial Wave 1 Commencing]
[Enemies Detected: Arcane Wisp (Lvl 3) x3]
Three swirling balls of crackling blue energy emerged. They didn't hesitate. Three bolts of lightning converged on Elian instantly.
Elian didn't move. The kinetic dampening runes on his coat flared, absorbing the impact. A small blue bar appeared over his head, dropping slightly.
[HP: 945/1000]
"Predictable attack patterns," Elian critiqued. He raised his hand. He didn't feel the usual strain of gathering mana. The System handled the heavy lifting now. He just had to provide the command.
"Admin Command," Elian said, his voice echoing with authority that wasn't entirely his own. "[Delete Object]."
He pointed at the center wisp.
It didn't explode. It simply ceased to be. The air rushed in to fill the vacuum where it had existed a microsecond prior.
[Critical Hit! Inflicted 999,999 True Damage.]
[You have slain Arcane Wisp (Lvl 3)]
[Experience Gained: 15 XP]
The remaining two wisps paused, their rudimentary AI seemingly confused by the sudden disappearance of their comrade.
"Inefficient XP grind," Elian grumbled. He waved his hand dismissively. A wave of distorted gravity washed over the remaining two, crushing them into dense marbles of mana that clattered to the ground.
[Tutorial Complete.]
[Time Elapsed: 45 Seconds]
[Performance Rating: SSS]
[Reward Processing...]
Elian looked down at the world below. The screaming had changed tone. It was no longer just panic; it was the sound of a million terrified people fighting for their lives against neon geometry. The death toll passed fifty thousand.
A new window filled his vision, golden and ornate. It was the same window appearing for every surviving soul on the planet who had managed to smash a slime or survive the first wave.
[Congratulations, User.]
You have survived the Awakening. The System recognizes your potential.
Please select your Tier 1 Class.
Elian smiled grimly. "Alright Aethos. Time to choose your major."
System Document: The Class Tree (Aethos v1.0)
Designer Note (Elian Vance): The initial class structure is designed for stability. Magic needs to be accessible, not hoarded by tower wizards.
Combat needs clear roles. I've disabled the "Hero" class. We don't need chosen ones; we need a competent workforce.
Tier 0: The Awakened
Prerequisite: Survive the Global Tutorial wave.
Description: The baseline state of all registered users. Access to Inventory (10 slots), Status Screen, and basic skill learning. No stat bonuses.
Tier 1: Foundation Classes (Available at Level 1)
Upon hitting Level 1 (completing the tutorial), users must select a path. This choice shapes their initial stat growth.
1. Vanguard (Warrior Archetype)
Focus: Strength, Constitution.
Role: Frontline fighter, damage absorption, basic weaponry.
Starting Skill: Power Strike (Next attack deals 150% physical damage).
2. Scout (Rogue Archetype)
Focus: Agility, Dexterity.
Role: Mobility, stealth, burst damage, trap detection.
Starting Skill: Stealth (Become invisible to lower-level enemies for 10s).
3. Elementalist (Mage Archetype)
Focus: Intelligence, Wisdom.
Role: Ranged magical damage, basic area control.
Starting Skill: Mana Bolt (Fire a projectile of raw magic).
4. Acolyte (Support Archetype)
Focus: Wisdom, Charisma.
Role: Healing, buffs, anti-undead utility.
Starting Skill: Minor Heal (Restore small amount of HP to target).
5. Civilian (Economy Archetype)
Focus: Varies (Luck, Crafting stats).
Role: Crafting, gathering, merchant services. Non-combat focus.
Starting Skill: Appraise (View basic details and value of items).
Tier 2: Advanced Classes (Unlock at Level 25)
Requires specific achievements or quest completion related to the Tier 1 class.
From Vanguard:
Dreadnought: Pure tank focus. Gains massive defense bonuses and taunt skills. Can wear super-heavy armor.
Spellblade: Hybrid Fighter/Mage. Imbues weapons with elemental magic for mixed damage types.
From Scout:
Assassin: Single-target burst damage specialist. Bonuses for striking from stealth or hitting weak points.
Ranger: Ranged physical specialist. Gains proficiency with bows/firearms and basic nature magic (tracking).
From Elementalist:
High Wizard: Focus on large Area of Effect (AoE) spells and battlefield control. Long cast times, devastating results.
Battlemage: Close-range caster. Uses defensive magic to survive melee while casting instant-speed combat spells.
From Acolyte:
Cleric: Dedicated healer. Gains powerful single-target and group healing spells. High survivability.
Bard: Buffer/Debuffer. Uses songs/performances to boost allies' stats or cripple enemies in wide areas.
Tier 3: Master Classes (Unlock at Level 60+)
Currently locked in v1.0 Alpha. Requires Major World Events to unlock.
(Examples): Titan, Shadow Lord, Archon, Saint/Saintess, Warcaller.
Hidden/Unique Classes
Classes outside the standard tree. Usually obtained through "System Errors," unique achievements, or direct Admin intervention.
[ADMINISTRATOR] (Unique - Elian Vance):
Description: Has root access to reality's operating system.
Skills: Admin Command Console, Reality Edit, Banhammer (Literal).
Limitations: Bound by System resource limits. Cannot violate core System laws (e.g., cannot just grant himself infinite HP without crashing the local physics engine).