My mind flooded with questions as the creature motioned for me to sit. I sat.

  “You'll have one earth hour to ask questions and to decide your race and class before your tutorial begins. I have been spawned in to assist as you need. But first…” it waved its hand and I saw several flashes in front of me.

  “Your System issued update will help you along your way. Think about your status.”

  As I did, a translucent blue window appeared in front of me. It was largely blank.

  Status

  Name: Dan Trench

  Humanoid Race: Human 0

  Class: None

  Profession: None

  Max Health: 30

  Max Stamina: 40

  Max Mana: 30

  Agility: 2

  Endurance: 2

  Intelligence: 2

  Perception: 2

  Strength: 2

  Vitality: 3

  Wisdom: 1

  Skills: None

  “I guess packing plant lineman isn't recognized as a profession. These sound pretty straightforward, but feel very low,” I said.

  “Humans are weak,” the creature said more matter-of-factly than I liked.

  “You’re kind of an asshole.”

  “I am not here to be kind, but to prepare you for the brutality of the tutorial.”

  Something deep within me twinged. I worked a steady job and basically just went between home and work. Sure, the odd critter would freak me out if I spotted it out of the corner of my eye, but it had been a while since I'd felt true fear.

  “This can't be real,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady.

  The creature placed a small vial of red liquid onto the table between us. “Place your hand on the table.”

  I hesitated, and faster than I could follow it grabbed my hand and slammed it on the table. A knife appeared in its hand as if from nowhere and I tried to recoil my hand, knowing I couldn't stop it. White hot pain erupted from my hand as I stared at the knife now nearly to the hilt. I couldn't do anything but stare. They yanked the knife out, another experience in pain, then picked up the vial, dripping its contents over my hand.

  The pain was immediately muffled to a dull ache as I watched the wound close up.

  “This is very real,” the creature said without any indication that it had just stabbed me.

  I picked up my hand and rubbed the blood off my palm. The wound had fully closed. “Holy shit.”

  “Ask your questions.”

  “Why did you stab me?!” I almost yelled.

  “To teach you the truth, and show you how healing potions can work on nearly every kind of injury.”

  “Well, you sure achieved that. Do you have a name?”

  “No. Call me Guide if you must call me something.”

  “What do mean by multiverse?” I asked. Big questions first.

  “The System is ever expanding, and once it is finished with its current realm, it finds a new one. In this instance, yours.”

  “And what is the System?”

  Guide shrugged. “I do not know. It summoned me here minutes ago. I only know what it has placed into my mind.”

  “That's not terrifying or anything. What's the purpose of the tutorial?”

  “Two purposes. To teach you how to survive in the multiverse and give each new entry initial time to build up its achievements. And to update your planet.”

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  “Achievements?”

  “They go by different names in different cultures. Some call them records, some call them karma, the result is the same.”

  I motioned for Guide to continue.

  “The more records you gain, the easier it becomes to advance and the better options that are available as you improve.”

  “Okay, that leaves even more questions. What did you mean by ‘updating’ the planet?”

  “The System floods the introduced universe with its energies, pushing the nonsentient beings into empowered adaptations and its sentient beings into the Tutorials,” Guide said.

  “So the tutorial is a training of sorts to deal with empowered beasts?”

  “In some ways, yes.”

  “And here we choose our race and class. How does one get a profession?”

  “Professions can be gained in a number of ways and are as varied as the myriad races you will no doubt encounter. Some may be found in a dungeon, some are found through trial and error, and others through magical means.”

  “Okay, assuming all of this is starting to make sense and it only sort of is, what should we expect from the Tutorial?” I asked.

  “You will need to show your ability to survive and thrive in hostile environments.”

  Shit. I only ever went hunting once with a friend when I was 15, and I could hardly hold the gun straight. I, frankly, had no survival skills. Unless fixing specific types of machinery counted, which I doubted.

  “It is now time to choose your race,” Guide said, waving their hand as a door-sized mirror appeared on the wall next to my chair.

  “Okay. Any recommendations?” I asked.

  “I can only give guidance, not recommendations.”

  “Great. Best get to it, then,” I said as I stood in front of the mirror.

  Welcome to the Race Selection Kiosk! Please take some time to consider your choice.

  “Alphabetical? Handy.” I scrolled through the list. There were a lot of choices. Far too many. After reaching something called an Iatolak, which was a weird humanoid that looked like a cross between a turkey vulture and a naked mole rat, I quickly scrolled back.

  “Why isn't human on the list?”

  “Every race has prerequisites in the System.”

  “But I'm human now!” I said, only a little panic in my voice.

  “With no skills that would ensure your survival should you go as a human into the tutorial.”

  “This is bullshit! Is there some kind of filter on this?”

  “Top right of the mirror.” Guide pointed out the strange logo.

  Fine. I needed optimal survivability. I will get optimal survivability. And damnit, I was starving. Out of curiosity, I filtered by food related terms like consumption, iron-stomach, and omnivore. Five primary options filtered to the top.

  “We have time.” I breathed in to try to steady myself. It didn't help. I turned to Guide. “Is this change permanent?”

  “Yes.”

  Shit. I felt the panic rush up and hit me. I moved to the other side of the table and bent over, dry heaving. Had it really been that long since I ate anything?

  A familiar searing pain erupted from the hand I'd placed on the table to steady myself. Guide had stabbed me again and poured another few drops of healing potion on the wound.

  “What the fuck, man?!” I cried out, yanking my hand to my chest.

  “Stop panicking or you won’t have time to finish making your selections, which would more than guarantee your death in the tutorial.”

  “I wasn’t-” I trailed off as Guide stared blankly at me. “Fine.”

  The pain had indeed helped me push back the panic. I glared at Guide and stepped back to the mirror. Four options to look through before changing the filters. The first was almost definitely a no-go, and I didn’t even drill down to see the stats.

  Fiendish Orb. Born from the nightmares of eldritch horrors, the Fiendish Orb ever hungers for the souls of the living.

  The creature in the mirror was barely humanoid. A huge blob with a single eye, huge mouth, and tiny arms and legs jutting out of each side. A long purple tongue lolled out the side. What the hell kind of choice was this? Nope. Next option.

  Bullywug Gorger. The largest of the bullywugs, the gorger can feast on any plant or animal small enough to fit in its stomach.

  This creature was a humanoid frog. While I had enjoyed the Battletoads game back in the day, I thought that I’d pass on this one.

  Voracious Digger. The Voracious Digger is well known throughout the multiverse as the most efficient excavators. In part, this is because they consume the very soil and stone they dig, excreting highly compressed gemstones.

  “Mole man that eats rocks and shits diamonds? Not sure if that would be valuable, but… neat?” I said, “Hopefully the last one is better.”

  Avian Sharpbeak. These airborne birdfolk are the apex predators of any airspace they occupy, and their sharp eyes allow them to spot prey from afar.

  “Okay!” I said, looking at the muscular bird man in the mirror, “Natural weapons on face and all four limbs. Wings in the back for flight. This is a contender.” Guide didn’t bother responding. My stomach growled. Guide’s eyes went wider as the mirror flickered. All of my options disappeared except one!

  Omnis Vorare. Hunger is ever on the mind of the all-consuming Omnis Vorare.

  For some reason, the edges of the mirror seemed to glitch around the shape I saw before me. Powerful legs, four heavily muscled arms, and a wide head split nearly in two by massive jaws and several rows of differing kinds of teeth that seemed to oscillate as needed. Two large eyes seemed to bore into me. The hide of the creature was thick and multihued. The room seemed to dim before I felt the very ground shudder.

  “How?” Guide said. He looked paler than a moment ago.

  “Is it good?” I asked.

  “Check the stats. See for yourself.”

  Omnis Vorare. Hunger is ever on the mind of the all-consuming Omnis Vorare. You will gain the following if you choose this humanoid race:

  All Stats Must Be Eaten. Unique. You gain stat increases from consuming monsters or other humanoids rather than based on your race, class, or profession levels. Overconsumption of a particular monster will have diminishing returns. Monsters below your level do not grant stat increases but can refill energy resources.

  All-Consuming. Unique. You can eat anything to sustain yourself. Literally anything. Meat, plant, metal, stone, all things can be processed to fuel your conquest to consume more.

  Infinite Tank. Unique. Though you can technically feel full if you consume enough, you cannot ever overeat.

  “This is crazy! Where are my other choices?” I demanded.

  “Praise the All Devourer!” Guide said, kneeling before me.

  “What?! No, no, no,” I felt the old panic threatening to well back up.