Chapter 2: School

  Tyler joined up with the others that were sprinting to school. “Hey Tyler, your speed finally caught up to us. You want to race?” Logan shouted. Quest unlocked, beat Logan in a race. Logan's screen: Quest unlocked beat Tyler in a race. “You’re on!,” Tyler exclaimed back. They bolted fast towards the school, a blue line trailed behind them. Tyler saw the city-like school ahead of him. A few moments later he burst through the school doors.

  “What on Earth do you think you’re doing,” a teacher shouted. Logan burst through the door right after. “You two are to go to the principal's office immediately and tell him what you did wrong.” Quest Completed: Reward: 100 experience, Quickboots have been added to your inventory. “Aw man, I failed my quest,” Logan said. “Did you two hear me? Go, now!” “Okay, sorry mam,” both boys said at the same time as they slumped off.

  “Why are you in my office? Tyler, this is the third time this week. Logan, I know you know better than this.” “We had a race and flew through the doors,” Tyler mumbled. “I’m going to have to call your mother Tyler. You are going to go to detention after school today. Logan, don’t do that again. Dismissed.” Tyler and Logan walked out of the office. “Aww man, my mom’s going to freak out.” “I’m sure you’ll be fine, what did you get as a reward?”

  “I got quick boots, I haven’t checked out the specs yet.” “Wow! I’ve heard about those, they increase your speed stat by 1. They are uncommon.” “Really? They should help me catch wolves in the forest to..,” Tyler was cut off by his own thoughts. “Oh yeah, detention.” Then he realized “My dad’s going to kill me! I’ll probably be grounded for a week.”

  “I’m sure your dad wouldn’t limit your training. He understands how important it is.” “No, that’s the problem. He’s old. He doesn't understand anything about this place.” Bong! Bong! Bong! “Well, time for class, I’ll see you at lunch,” Logan said. “Okay, sounds good. Tyler headed towards his first class, Calculus.

  Tyler walked into class and found his seat. He sat next to a shy girl named Aria and a class clown named Josh. “Good morning class!” “Good morning Mrs. Roe,” most of the class said unenthusiastically. “Let’s try this again, Good morning class!” A few students groaned. “Good morning Mrs. Roe,” more of the class finally said. “As you all know our finals are coming up.” The entire class groaned. “Let us begin.”

  Mrs. Roe wrote: E(x)=5x?x2,E(x) = 5x - x^2,E(x)=5x?x2, showing how the class could earn experience points (XP) by defeating enemies. “To maximize XP, we use calculus,” she said. “First, find the derivative: E′(x)=5?2x.E'(x) = 5 - 2x.E′(x)=5?2x. Set it to zero. What do we get?” Tyler replied, “X equals 2.5!” Mrs. Roe nodded. “Great! Now we’ll check XP for 2 and 3 enemies to see which gives more points.” Tyler realized this would help him level up faster.

  The class seemed to drag on forever due to Tylers anxiety about what his parents were going to say to him when he got home. “Class dismissed. Remember to do your homework tonight!” The class flooded out of the doors, luckily the school was gigantic. Quest unlocked: Get an A on finals. “Where does this quest system even come from?” Tyler wondered. “I know, I’ll ask Mr. Roth in history class later today.” Tyler continued to Creation class.

  Tyler walked into class finding a seat next to Logan. “Calculus was awful today. I couldn’t stop thinking about when I get home. We also have that final coming up.” “No, not calculus too,” Logan sighed. “Wait, there’s a Magic class final too?” “Yeah, I really don’t understand it. It’s mostly theoretical because people can’t figure much out about it.” “Do you two have something to say to the class?,” the nerdy looking teacher said. “No, sorry Mr. Mill,” They both said at the same time.

  “Now let us begin, what are all of your creation stats at?” “3,5,2,4,1,” said different students across the classroom. “1? Didn’t I teach you anything this year Josh?” “Sorry sir, I have been working on my gains.” The class laughed. “Your gains would be a lot better if you could make yourself a strength enhancing item.” Silence filled the room. “Now, which one of you can tell me how to enhance an item?” “You have to collect spirit dust from the enemies you defeat,” Logan said. “Good, now who can finish the other half of what Logan said?”

  “You have to drag the spirit dust to the item and select what you want to enchant the item with. The higher your creation level, the better the enchantment will be,” Sophie said from the back. ”Excellent. What are the types of enchantments place on items?” “You can enchant items with skills like speed, or attack, and theoretically Magic powers.” “Great work Tyler.” “Magic powers? Who would want to become a wizard freak?,” Josh asked.

  “Josh, please tell me what you know about Magic powers.” Josh’s face turned red. “Uhh, they can make you shoot lightning out from your sword?””Lucky guess,” Aria said as she rolled her eyes. “Surprisingly that is correct. Please don’t interrupt again, Josh.” “Now, let’s continue with crafting recipes for the rest of the class.” The entire class groaned. “You don’t want to fail your upcoming final.” “What, another final?,” Logan exclaimed. “Yes, every class will have one. The year is wrapping up.”

  Tyler met up with Logan in the crowd funneling out of the classroom. “I can’t believe there are going to be six finals. I’m not ready at all,” Logan said. “Me neither, I’m going to have to study a lot more, especially Magic class and all of the crafting recipes.” “Don’t worry, Magic class isn’t as bad as you think it is.” “I can’t believe we are graduating this year.” “Yeah, then we just enter the world and try to rank up as much as possible I guess.” They walked into their second shared class, history.

  “Welcome back to history,” Mr. Mills said as everyone sat down. “I want you to be in tip top shape for your finals this year. I’ll even give you a hint. Who can tell me the history of how we got here?””Wait? Is this going to be on the test?” Josh asked. “I can neither confirm nor deny.” “I am so screwed,” Josh said. The class laughed. “Well, who wants to explain?”

  “Earth was 7 minutes away from feeling the blast of the sun, so we were put into a simulation using our nerolinks. The nerolinks were created by the world's most advanced technology. Luckily they had already designed the entire simulation that we are in today. The simulation turned the last 7 minutes into 7000 years. Since the simulation was previously created, there is a main computer on earth that allows humans to have kids in the simulation. We are a byproduct of that process,” Sophie explained. “Good job Sophie, but I’m expecting a more detailed answer on the final.

  “Wait, we aren't human?” Josh asked in aw. “Have you been sleeping during my class again, Josh,” Mr.Mills asked. “Uhh, no. I just forgot.” “I’ll answer your question. I want you to be ready for the test. The main computer took the DNA and consciousness from your grandparents and when they had kids, the main computer took care of the specifics and created what you are today.” “And what are we?” Tyler asked. “We are artificial intelligence.”

  The class was kind of shocked by this. “Have any of you been paying attention in class?” “I already knew that,” Aria scoffed. “Does anyone have any other questions before we begin the lesson for today?” “What creates the quest that we receive. They seem kind of specific?” Tyler was finally able to ask. “Good question! The quest system was created by the top secret AI that they already had on Earth. It manages your quests and everything else that happens here.”

  After another hour of lecture, it was time for lunch. “We are artificial intelligence, That's so cool!,” Logan exclaimed. “I know right! Who would have thought. It’s also crazy that there’s an AI behind the curtains making all of the decisions. I wonder if you can get on its good side?” Quest unlocked: Meet your maker. Tyler stared at his notification for several moments. “Uhh, Logan.” “Yes?” “I just got a quest.” “That’s normal. Why are you acting so weird.” “It says meet my maker.” “Wait, no way. There’s no freaking way. You have to do it man!”

  Tyler opened up the quest notification. Go to the top of Skyward Mountain to meet your maker. “Where is Skyward mountain?” Logan turned pale. “I don’t think we are ready for that yet. I mean I’ve heard about it, but the people that went there ended up having to respawn immediately.” “Great, not like it matters anyways I’m going to be grounded for a week.” “Just think positive, I’m sure it will all work out.” They both started eating their food.

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  Bong! Bong! Bong! “Well, I’ll see you at gym,” Logan said. “Alright, sounds good.” Tyler headed off to Magics class. In the hallway Tyler accidentally bumped into Sophie, knocking one of her books on the floor. “I am so sorry.” Tyler went to reach for the book and ended up looking face to face with each other. On the way back up he saw Sophie. “Was she blushing?” Tyler thought in shock and started to blush too. “No, it’s okay,” Sophie said. “I'd better head off to class.” Tyler walked off quickly. “What was that? What just happened?” Tyler thought.

  “Now that you’ve had your fill, you should be ready to learn,” Mrs. Netzel said. “Today we are going to be learning about the types of spirits. Open your books to chapter 20. As you can see from the diagram there are several different rankings of spirits. There are lower spirits, regular spirits, and high spirits. It is even rumored that there are divine spirits. Each of these are broken into different categories such as elemental, light and the forbidden dark spirits.”

  Quest unlocked: Spirit Gatherer. Lesser Spirit Jar has been added to your inventory. “Lesser Spirit Jar,” enables you to collect lesser spirits. Capture 30 lower spirits to upgrade your container. The class was looking around at each other. “Oh, good. You have all received your spirit jar.” “How did you know that?” Aria asked. “This would be a good question for your history teacher, but one of the original simulation creators invented this feature. Remember, knowledge is power.

  When you are training at home, you will now be able to capture lesser spirits. All of you should currently have a Magic stat of 1. With your new ability to capture spirits you should finally be able to start using your Magic skill. You will also be able to apply enchantments to weapons using your creation skill, replenish your mana pool, and level up abilities like fire damage. Your current jar will replenish your mana by 5 points per minute, but after you catch the required amount of lesser spirits, your jar will upgrade.” “Wow, this is so cool,” Tyler said. “Indeed.”

  “Of course she gave me another final. How am I supposed to do 6 finals, be grounded, get training in and go to detention?” Tyler thought to himself. He continued to walk to his combat training class. “I need to figure out where this Skyward mountain is too. I probably won’t be able to go until summer.” Map has been added to your inventory. Skyward Mountain’s location has been added to your map.

  Tyley opened his inventory and mentally clicked on his new map. “Okay, so there is my house and there is the Great Forest. Where is the mountain at? I don’t see it. Tyler began to zoom out on the map. He continued to zoom out more and more and more. What? That would take forever to get to. That’s on the other side of the world.” Bong Bong Bong Bong! “Oh no, I’m late for class.” Tyler sprinted towards Combat Training.

  Tyler burst through the door, almost running into the teacher. “You’re late.””I,I..” “I don’t want to hear your excuses, go sit down.” Tyler slumped off to his seat. “What is the best way to kill a horde of goblins?,” Mrs. Moore asked. “Goblins? I haven’t seen any goblins,” Josh said, clearly shocked. “If you would pay attention in school, you would know more about what world you are living in. This isn’t Earth anymore.

  You are all about to graduate and enter this new world. There is no college after this. You need to be prepared for what is out there. I advise that you take this seriously. The rest of your life depends on it. If you want to do good in this world, then you should be paying attention and showing up on time.” Mrs. Moore glared at both Tyler and Josh. “So, how do you kill a horde of Goblins?” “Goblins are stupid and slow species. If you just keep your distance, they won’t be able to keep up with you,” Sophie explained. “At least someone is paying attention,” Mrs. Moore mumbled.

  For almost 45 minutes Mrs. Moore explained tactics like flanking, ambushes, hit-and-run maneuvers, feigned retreats, and sieges. Most of the class was starting to fall asleep. “Let’s now talk about the types of species you may encounter out there. I have been given authority by the military to let you know what you may be facing out there. So far, the military has collected data on goblins, dragons, zombies, wizards, elves, monsters, etc.

  The class erupted in noise. “Dragons, did she say dragons?” “I would love to meet a cute little elf.” “I wonder if there are robots out there?” “Settle down, settle down.” The room slowly returned to order. “Each of these beings have different strengths and weaknesses. Over the short time that we have left, we will be diving into as much of these things as possible to best prepare you. Remember, this will be on your final. Class dismissed.”

  Tyler weaved his way out of the classroom and found Logan. “Why didn’t you tell me about all the different species that were out there.””Oh, sorry man, I forgot. It’s been a busy day.” “Yeah, I guess it has, hasn’t it? That’s so cool. I can’t believe there are dragons. I hope I can fight one someday.” “You would need to level up a lot first. I heard they are at level 30 and above.” “Level 30? That’s insane! It's taken me 10 years to get to level 5.” “Well, to be fair, it is a dragon afterall,” Logan shrugged.

  They both walked into the gym. “Good afternoon class!,” Mr. Woods said happily. “Today we are going to be working on your strength and speed. I have already set out some weights. Divide yourselves in groups of 3 and start doing the rep sets that I showed you yesterday.” The class went their separate ways to different weights around the room. Thirty minutes went by. “That’s enough for that. Now who can tell me what their new max is on benching?” “I just hit 450lbs,” Josh exclaimed in excitement. The class looked around at each other shocked.

  “Well done Josh! Don’t worry class. His strength stat is now at 5 meaning he is 1.5 times as strong as a normal human. As we went over earlier this month, each stat that you level up increases your human capability by 10%. Who else hit a new max?” Silence. “Come on, don't be shy. Each person is different based on their size, genes and the amount of effort they give.” “I just hit 120,” Sophie said. “Well done, Sophie, that's up from last week. All we care about here is improvement. Okay, let's move on to speed

  As you can see on the other side of the gym I have set up an obstacle course.” Quest unlocked: Winner winner, chicken dinner. Be the first in your class to finish the race. The class looked around at each other, full of competitiveness. Tyler smirked as he selected his quick boots from his inventory. The class walked to the starting line. “Whoever is the first to the finish line wins. On your mark, get set, GO!” Tyler ran just enough to keep up with his class, jumping over ramps and dodging punching dummies that were in his way. Then, he took off, leaving everyone in the dust.

  “Well, done Tyler! You sure have gotten a lot faster.” Quest completed. You have received 100 exp. Sweatband has been added to your inventory. Sweatband: Increases your speed by 1%. Tyler looked up smiling at his new reward to see that some of his class members were scowling at him. They also had just received a message: Quest failed. “What did you get?” Logan asked. “I got this headband that gives me a tiny speed boost.” “Oh, that's what you need, another speed boost,” Logan laughed. “That's not fair, he cheated,” Josh said.

  “Tyler won fair and square, I’ve been watching his progress every day. He just recently upgraded his speed to level 5,” said Mr.Woods “My speed is level 5. There is no way he beat me”. “Remember, Josh, stats are not everything. Don’t be a poor sport.” Josh glared at Tyler as he stomped off. “What was that about?” Logan asked. “I think he’s just mad that I beat him.” Tyler rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a mix of triumph and guilt. “I get that he’s competitive, but it shouldn’t have to come down to this.” Logan frowned. “Yeah, but you earned it. Maybe he just needs some time to cool off.” Tyler sighed, watching Josh disappear down the hall. “I hope he’s not too mad at me.”

  “Can someone please tell Josh that of course there is a fitness final coming up. Class dismissed. Enjoy your weekend,” said Mr. Woods. “Enjoy our weekend. I’ll be studying until my eyes bleed,” Logan scoffed. “I still have detention and then my parents are going to kill me when I get home,” Tyler groaned. “Well, hopefully it’s not too bad. Maybe we can meet up tomorrow? Just message me.” “Okay, I'll see you later.” Tyler moped off to Detention.

  “This is detention. You are to stay here for 1 hour to think about what you did. You are only allowed to study. No talking and do not disturb my peace and quiet,” the school secretary, Kathy, said. Tyler sat down and pulled out paper and a pencil from his inventory. He then pulled up his menu and clicked on help. The help menu popped up. Tyler read off to himself: Creation, Items, Magic, Quests, Species, Stats. Tips: explore new areas, fight different species, complete quests, create items, use magic abilities.

  Tyler decided to click on species. “specie’s tab has been upgraded. You are now able to access the Species database.” Tyler looked at the newly updated menu in awe. He scrolled down and down and down. “There must be over 1000. How am I supposed to study this? I think I will just ask her on monday. He then opened his creations tab. “Creations tab has been upgraded. You are now able to access the creation database.” “Really? Another thousand things. How on earth am I supposed to memorize all of this?” Josh then went to his browser and brought up Earth's history. He then started taking notes.

  After an hour, Josh was released from detention. “I hope you learned your lesson. Don’t come back here again,” Kathy lectured to him. He then walked down the hallway and opened the front doors of the school. The sunlight was already fading. “Shoot, I’m going to be late and my parents know about my detention. Josh put on his quick boots and his sweatband and sprinted home.