Gatecrash: Awakening

The door to my room had a plaque labeled 57 and no handle. When I touched the door, the plaque shifted to read "Callisto C." Neat. The door swung open, revealing a cozy interior. The gray carpet continued inside, but there was a twin bed with a bright blue blanket. One of the walls even had a landscape painting of a hillside, the sky matching the blanket's hue. There was also a writing desk with a simple wooden chair. Resting on the desk was a white box with a word and a number in sharp black script on the lid: 'Saber 10'.

My heart skipped a beat with excitement, and I rushed over to the box. While I had not been shy about getting a nice new phone every four or so years, this was a phone no amount of money could buy. I opened the case, admiring the sleek black screen waiting under the packaging. I lifted it out of its foam indent, and felt a strange sensation as my AP was drained to charge it. I knew the principles at work were the same ones the generator my team was designing used to extract power from Energy Crystals.

The screen flashed to life, and after the routine new phone setup came the part I'd been longing for. Saber was a subsidiary of Hunters Inc., which ran the Hunter Exchange and HunterNet. And with a Hunter's phone came a Hunter Account. My hands shook as I painstakingly filled out every bit of information from my name to my age, even answering all of the optional background questions. I blinked through tears as I hit 'Submit'. This phone was the physical representation of my new existence; I had really become a Hunter.

With the phone's setup finally complete, I eagerly scrolled around the homescreen. It had come pre-installed with everything I'd expect to find in a new phone, but beyond that, it had every Hunters Inc. app, like HExchange and HunterNet. I tapped on the icon, grinning. But my hopes were dashed as it opened to a section titled "Tutorial". It was empty except for a pinned post which explained that access to the wider internet was impossible from the Tutorial.

Sighing, I followed its recommendation and minimized HunterNet. I tapped the stack of Coins next to it, which had a notification badge. Although it mainly existed for Hunters to buy and sell items, the Hunter Exchange was not so exclusive as HunterNet. I knew the firm I worked for had a corporate account for its crystal supply.

I tried not to feel too put-out as my eyes scanned over the homescreen. I navigated to my messages to see the source of the notification. I had one new message, subject line: "CONGRATULATIONS!!!". I thought that was as bit much just for becoming a Hunter and receiving 10 Coins. But as I opened it and began to read, I realized I might have been the only one in this Tutorial whose subject had been all-caps with three exclamation points.

Subject: CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Sender: Hunters Inc.

Welcome to the Tutorial, managed by the American Hunters Union and sponsored by Hunters Inc.! Your Potency stat is the highest registered in this Tutorial. Impressive! Once you press the ACCEPT EXCHANGE button at the bottom of this message, you will receive the American Hunters Union's complementary 10 Coins, as well as an additional 90 Coins courtesy of Hunters Inc.! You currently have access to a Tutorial Shop powered by Hunters Inc., and because of your incredible potential, we have also given you a coupon for any Skillbook. This coupon is only valid during the Tutorial, but the Coins will persist once you have returned to Earth. Don't forget that the better you perform in the Tutorial, the more the System will reward you, so we recommend going on a shopping spree! Congratulations once again, and good luck!

Below the message was a graphic showing that Hunters Inc. was offering to trade 100 Coins to me for nothing in return. It was accompanied by a green 'ACCEPT EXCHANGE' and a red 'REJECT EXCHANGE' button.

I'd known my Potency stat was high, definitely in the top ten of this Tutorial. But the highest? That was huge. I furiously tapped the 'ACCEPT' button, then through the confirmation. I went back to the main screen and saw where I had previously had 0 Coins, I now had 100. That was great, but first I had to check the Skillbooks.

I went to the buy page, then filtered it to only show Skillbooks. The selection wasn't bad. There were a lot of Common skills for sale, although they seemed a bit overpriced. The Uncommon skills had a more fair price point, though they were too specialized or situational for my purposes. And then there were they Rare skills. These were incredible. But even sold at a discount compared to their prices in the outside world, they were ridiculously expensive. 10,000 Coins for Lesser Regeneration? Was it even possible to get 10,000 Coins in the Tutorial? Maybe we were expected to supplement our earnings from the Instances by selling items we found to other Hunters.

Not that I needed to worry about that with my coupon. The main concern was which Rare skill to pick. Most of the Rare skills on offer were even more specialized than the Uncommon skills, and would certainly dictate what class I received. But there were two generalist skills which would leave my options open. The first was Lesser Regeneration, which would save me a ton of money on healing potions if my Class didn't have any way to self-heal.

The other was Appraise. Appraise was a weird choice, since it was pure utility. Still, it was unusual and valuable. Being able to see the stats of monsters in battle could be lifesaving. And if one of the main benefits of Lesser Regeneration was saving money, then Appraise even had that beat. Not only could I appraise all of my own treasure and not need to pay the fee, but I might even be able to work as an Appraiser to earn money on the side.

Picking a non-combat skill was risky, but I reasoned that my stats were good enough that I could even get by beating monsters to death with my bare hands if I had to. I bought the Skillbook, then opened my Status. The only change from last time was my Coins increasing from 0 to 100.

I navigated to my Inventory, which now had an Appraise Skillbook resting in it. I activated it, then went to the Skills/Feats tab. There was my solitary Skill, Appraise. In addition to the three rarities Classes were divided into, Skills and items had two additional ranks: Uncommon, between Common and Rare, and Legendary, between Rare and Unique. Appraise was a Rare skill. The description was short, but intriguing: "Consume AP to gain insight into the workings of the System. Physical contact must be made when appraising physical things."

That was similar to what I'd heard of Appraise, but there was a distinct nuance. Did the description mean I could appraise things in the System windows? To test it out, I appraised Appraise. Another window appeared.

Name: Appraise

Rarity: Rare

AP Cost: 1/second

Cooldown: None

Type: Magical

Description: When touching a creature or object influenced by the System, gives additional information. Can also be used to gain information about the System itself.

I eagerly went back to the main screen of my Status, appraising everything I could. I quickly discovered that I couldn't appraise terms inside the appraise window, but there was still a trove of information. Most of it was what I'd expected. Leveling increased stats, XP increased Level and could be earned by killing monsters. Being attacked reduced HP, and I would die if my HP reached zero. I could consume AP to use skills. But the results of appraising my stats were surprising.

Beyond the perfunctory explanations of what they meant (a higher Might stat would make me physically stronger. Who knew!), each also included a value called "Growth". My Growth value for all of them was 1, except for Potency, which was an even 10.

Did that mean I would only gain one point per Level in all of my stats except Potency? That was... pathetic. Some statistical analysis on the increase of stats over different levels had been published by the League of Eurozone Hunters, and the average Hunter would have a Growth of 20. In each stat. An average Hunter with 50 in every stat would outpace my exceptional start by Level 5, and would blow me out of the water in every stat except Potency by Level 10.

A chill beyond the cool air on my bare skin crept over me, and I leaned on the desk to steady myself. Desperate to be wrong, I opened the phone's calculator for the simple arithmetic. But each press of my fingers against the cold glass of the screen only confirmed my original estimates. 130 in each stat at Level 5, bringing them higher than all of my stats except Potency. 230 at Level 10, nearly doubling my meager stats. And at Level 20, the average Hunter would reach 430 per stat, catching up to my Potency and more than tripling the rest.

My steadying hand curled into a fist which I slammed on the hard wood. Would I have to settle for working as an Appraiser after all? Even if I managed to score a Unique Class, my mediocre Growth probably wouldn't be able to support it at later Levels. It might even be better to focus on an offensive casting Class, since that would leverage my only passable stat. My heart was thundering, my ears roaring with rushing blood.

What the hell had been the point of awakening as a Hunter if I was destined for mediocrity? Would I be better off sticking with engineering and modeling? I enjoyed both of those, even if they weren't what I'd always dreamed of. And I couldn't imagine paying off my student loans working as a Hunter with garbage stats. Not to mention that engineering didn't come with the constant threat of death.

I realized I was hyperventilating, and I forced myself to take a few slow, deep breaths to calm down. As the panic ebbed, critical thinking returned. I'd seen items and effects that modified every value in a Hunter's status, from the big ones like HP and Might to the most insignificant like Critical Resistance Penetration. Why would Growth be any different? Clearly information about it wasn't widely shared. Perhaps items and skills that increased it weren't sold on the open market to hide its existence.

Appraise would be crucial now. I would have been screwed if I'd taken Lesser Regeneration, wondering why my stats were increasing so little even as I gained levels. The more information I had, the better I could plan. I was already on a knife's edge; I could not afford to make mistakes.

I navigated back to the shop. The first thing I looked for were clothes. I found them quickly, but the price was even more ridiculous than the fact that they were charging for them in the first place. An ordinary set of clothes with no bonuses was exactly 10 Coins. If I hadn't made the top ten, that would have cost all of my free currency--free currency which the message made very clear was a stipend from AHU, not a bonus from Hunter's Inc.

That was just extortion. I fought the urge to slam my fist on the desk again. I could afford it without going broke because of the bonus, but now I opposed buying them on principle. 10 Coins for a set of clothes I could pick up at a thrift shop for $20 was beyond reprehensible. 10 Coins could buy an Energy Crystal big enough to power the generator my team was designing for an entire day. And that generator had enough output to serve a large apartment building.

I scrolled down, looking for something else to wear. To my chagrin, the cheapest set of leather armor was 120 Coins. I'd have to wait at least one Instance if I wanted to buy it. Other than a few hats and jewelry, there was nothing wearable that cost 100 Coins or less. Had they done that on purpose?

I looked down at myself. My sizeable pale breasts, my thick thighs, and my pink lower lips were all on display. The idea of giving anything to these bastards taking advantage of my dilemma was infuriating. But I couldn't just complete the Tutorial naked, could I? But as I scrolled back up to the clothes, my hand hovering over the buy button, I paused. Why couldn't I?

My heart pounded as I considered the idea. Everyone had already seen me naked, though I'd had the opportunity to cover myself in the entrance hall. The memories forced themselves into my mind's eye, unbidden. The humiliation sent me reeling again. I'd been naked in the middle of a crowd, dozens of sets of eyes on me with only my limbs to hide behind. But beyond the dizziness and the nausea, I felt a certain warmth. An exploratory hand went between my legs. It came back damp, and my stomach churned.

When I'd first appeared naked in the Tutorial, I was horrified. But I remembered feeling like this, too. So... thrilled at the exposure. I loved it when I caught people staring at the gym. Loved the idea of men's gazes lingering on pictures of me in the women's underwear sections of clothing stores. Loved imagining everyone who'd bought the calendar I'd modeled staring at me on their wall.

But I'd always had something covering me. There was no situation where it would be acceptable for me to be stark naked in front of a crowd. Being forced into it in the entrance hall had been violating. So why did remembering it fill me with the urge to rub my leaky slit against the corner of the desk? What the fuck was wrong with me?

My eyes were fixed on the clothes on my phone screen. Just 10 Coins and I wouldn't have to worry about this anymore. I could cover up and compete in the Instances like a normal person. The other Hunters would remember the sight of me in the entrance hall, but we'd all move on with our lives. And yet... what if I needed those Coins? The warmth filling me was pierced by the return of the chill brought on by my growth. Did I have the luxury of wasting 10 Coins on clothes with no mechanical benefit? If I wanted to buy the worthwhile, more expensive items, every Coin I saved would count.

It wasn't as if it was my fault things had turned out this way. I hadn't asked the Tutorial to pluck me out of my shower, and AHU was the one charging Coins for clothes. I closed HExchange and set the phone down on the desk. I gripped the hard wood with both hands now, resting all of the weight of my upper body. A significant portion of which came from my breasts. So many of the Hunters had been looking at the way they'd swelled against my thighs when I was curled up into a ball. Was I really going to give them the chance to get a full view?

I began to nod at that thought. I'd be giving them the chance. Unlike the forced exposure of being ripped from my warm shower into the cold Tutorial, they would see what I allowed them to see. I shivered as I pushed off from the desk, decided. I checked the time. I had about twenty minutes left until I needed to head back to the main room, so I stowed my phone in my Inventory (an action which came so naturally that it surprised me). Then, I looked around my room.

The main area was furnished only with the bed, desk, and chair. There was another door, which led to a bathroom. To my chagrin, it was bigger than my apartment's bathroom, even featuring a full bathtub. It was outfitted with soap, shampoo, conditioner, and body lotion. Enough to last the eight days of the Tutorial. There was a medicine cabinet above the sink, and it was likewise stocked with whatever toiletries someone would need for a week's stay, even a disposable razor.

I found a brush and began sorting out my hair. The air-drying and the conditioner had left it smooth and silky, so it only needed a little work to smooth out. There was one problem, though: I didn't have anything to tie it with. I tried a simple braid, expecting a challenge without any fasteners.

To my surprise, my hands moved with incredible precision, holding the hair in just the right ways to keep everything in place and make steady progress. Once finished, it looked like a competently done dutch braid. Was this a result of my Dexterity? I looked forward to seeing how much I could lift in the gym now with my Might, but that would have to wait.

I took a step back, seeing how I looked in the large mirror over the sink. My deep black hair was nice and secure, pulled away from my face to reveal my soft features and my sapphire blue eyes. I stood up straight, putting my hands on my hips and jutting my massive breasts out. Despite their impressive size, my breasts had hardly any sag. They were nice and perky as I turned from side to side, their sway mirrored by the braid behind my head.

But my face reddened as I realized this was how the other Hunters would be seeing me as well. With hair loose and unkempt, I'd given a disheveled impression. But now with my tight braid, there was an obvious intentionality to me. No one could look at me and not understand I was doing this because I wanted to.

And as I became more and more conscious of my nudity, my body responded. My nipples stiffened. The faint sheen on my lower lips became a small stream down one thigh, and I shivered as I turned around and checked the back. Thanks to my big ass, my pussy wasn't visible from this angle. I hopped on the balls of my feet experimentally, my voluptuous rear showing just the right amount of firmness, a result of years of diligent effort in the gym. I saw a hint of my wet slit at each bounce. I'd have to hope the first Instance wasn't a footrace.

There were towels hanging from the bars on the walls and door. While I had no reason to doubt Garrick when he'd said I wouldn't be able to bring anything from here into the Instances, I could at least use one of them in the rest area. I found the biggest, wrapping it around myself. Keeping everything covered was a challenge. The towel was shorter than I'd expected, so I had to keep it just above my nipples. I tied it tightly to keep it secure, which pressed my oversized breasts together and created deep cleavage.

Despite the exposure on my upper half, it barely covered my pussy while standing still. I turned around again, feeling butterflies in my stomach as I saw my ass hanging from the back. There was enough spilling out for someone to come up behind me and grab a handful without even going under the towel. The thought made me uneasy despite the pounding of my pulse.

I turned back around, noting that the blush had spread up to my ears and down across the portion of my chest left uncovered. I experimentally pulled the towel down a bit. My tits immediately popped out. Now far too loose at the top, the towel came undone and fell into a pile around me on the floor.

My heart stopped as I stared at my nude form in the mirror. One small tug was enough to expose me completely. And that was just in the rest area; I'd have to take the towel off to enter the Instances. How many Hunters would wait with bated breath as I removed my only coverage to head to the Instance? I sat on the edge of the tub, spreading my legs as I watched myself in the mirror. The posture opened my pussy slightly, revealing soaked folds. Guided by my reflection, I reached a hand down to the welcoming warmth.

I pressed my pinky and index fingers on my lower lips, sighing at the sensation. I used the digits to spread them apart even more, exposing my pink flesh to the cool air of the bathroom. The vulnerability of my entrance entranced me, as did the anticipation of the two fingers hovering above it. Then they plunged inside. As I deftly fingered myself, I realized my Dexterity hadn't only been good for braiding hair. Panting and gasping, my back arched at a sensation that felt like it was being delivered by someone with decades more experience pleasuring me.

My climax was already coming at me like I was standing in the middle of a railroad crossing and staring at an approaching freight train. I slowed my pace, not wanting to come too soon. This allowed me to straighten my posture and look back in the mirror. I was completely naked, just like in the entrance hall. The memory of all of those people looking at me made my chest seize with shame. And my mouth go wide in a breathy moan. What if I'd given in to the urge to jump for joy when I'd realized I'd become a Hunter? So many sets of eyes would have followed my bouncing breasts as I leapt up and down, my arms raised in victory at finally getting what I'd always wanted.