※ “Unauthorized stability detected.”

  The Administrator tensed.

  

  ALERT

  Topic flagged: HIGH-RISK.

  Negotiation strain already elevated.

  Lisa ignored that.

  “You withheld the rewards for ten levels of denied progression,” she said.

  “I request three hundred and thirty Skill Points, and nine hundred—”

  The Administrator shrieked.

  

  N O

  N O NO NO

  Values are absurd.

  Inflated.

  Impossible.

  Tutorial rewards for ten levels total 5 SP and 10 AP.

  Lisa did not blink.

  “That,” she said, “is insufficient.”

  The System trembled.

  But now fear had an edge of irritation.

  

  COUNTEROFFER REQUIRED

  Within safe margins.

  Lisa tilted her head slightly.

  “Fifty Skill Points.”

  The Administrator reeled.

  

  F I F T Y ?

  Fifty exceeds safety by tenfold!

  Fifty threatens instance destabilization!

  Fifty would require—

  —would require—

  —would require variables we cannot calculate!

  “But possible,” Lisa observed quietly.

  The System jittered, like someone had kicked its logic supports.

  

  OFFER

  10 Skill Points.

  Final.

  “No.”

  

  RENEGOTIATE

  15 SP.

  Please.

  Take 15.

  Lisa let the silence stretch until the System twitched.

  “Fifty,” she repeated.

  The Administrator emitted a noise like static being strangled.

  

  NEW OFFER

  Twenty.

  Twenty is near catastrophic.

  But survivable.

  Twenty.

  Lisa looked at it like a scientist examining a bug with some competence—finally.

  “Forty.”

  The Administrator froze in a shape approximating despair.

  

  NEGO LOOP WARNING

  Core temperature rising.

  Stability threat increasing.

  Please reduce demands.

  Lisa lifted the amulet exactly three millimeters.

  The System screamed internally.

  

  FINAL OFFER

  25 Skill Points.

  This System cannot exceed 25 without failing.

  Please accept.

  PLEASE.

  Lisa considered it thoughtfully.

  Then:

  “Acceptable.”

  The relief nearly broke the System.

  

  GRANTING: +25 SP

  Total Skill Points Granted: +25

  A long, shaky hum rippled through the space.

  The Administrator stabilized.

  Barely.

  It wasn’t over.

  Lisa continued:

  “Attribute Points.”

  The System made a sound like a dying spreadsheet.

  

  RESTRICTION

  AP requests must remain minimal.

  Damage from previous negotiation persists.

  Offer: 10 Attribute Points.

  “I asked for nine hundred.”

  The Administrator sputtered.

  

  REJECTION

  ABSURD.

  IMPOSSIBLE.

  ILLOG—

  “Then a compromise,” Lisa said evenly.

  “Standard tutorial compensation.”

  The System froze.

  

  S T A N D A R D ?

  Standard is…

  Standard is…

  It searched its own rules.

  STANDARD REWARD LOCATED

  10 Attribute Points.

  Lisa nodded as though satisfied.

  “Acceptable.”

  The System’s core relaxed so suddenly that its outline sagged.

  

  GRANTING: +10 Attribute Points

  The world steadied.

  The Administrator steadied.

  For the first time in the entire interaction, the System believed it had won.

  Then Lisa added:

  “One last requirement.”

  The Administrator twitched.

  

  NO LARGE REQUESTS

  NO STORAGE

  NO MULTICLASS ACCESS

  NO—

  “Access,” Lisa said, “to all skills and spells of any class I can qualify for.”

  A long silence.

  The System interpreted the phrase the safe way.

  

  CLARIFICATION

  User Lisa intends

  access to skills of the four standard beginner classes:

  Warrior

  Rogue

  Mage

  Cleric.

  Lisa did not correct it.

  “Any class I can qualify for,” she repeated pleasantly.

  The ambiguity slid past the Administrator’s checks like soap.

  

  ANALYSIS

  Phrase interpreted as:

  “All classes currently available to User Lisa at level 0.”

  This is SAFE.

  This is STANDARD.

  This is REASONABLE.

  This is—

  actually quite a concession from User Lisa.

  APPROVED

  User Lisa granted full access

  to all skills and spells

  of all classes she can qualify for.

  Lisa’s eyes cooled,

  not warm, not triumphant, only…

  content.

  “Good.”

  The System noted her satisfaction and misread its cause.

  

  CONCLUSION

  Negotiation successful.

  User Lisa has accepted minimal rewards.

  Tutorial integrity preserved.

  Crisis averted.

  Lisa nodded once.

  “And now,” she said softly,

  “my final requirement.”

  The System brightened, rebuilt, buoyed by imagined victory.

  

  STATE REQUEST

  Lisa met its geometric gaze.

  “Protection,” she said,

  “from the System.”

  And the world held its breath again.

  The Administrator’s frame went perfectly rigid.

  

  ERROR

  Request Category: Forbidden.

  Users cannot be protected from the System.

  The System is the protector.

  The System is—

  The System is—

  Lisa touched the amulet lightly.

  A warning pulse trembled through the Administrator’s architecture.

  

  PLEASE DO NOT LEVEL ANYTHING

  She waited.

  Not threatening, simply patient.

  The System recalculated with audible dread.

  

  CLARIFICATION REQUESTED

  Protection…

  from what subset of System functions?

  “All involuntary interventions,” Lisa said calmly.

  No forced resets.

  No forced teleportation.

  No forced class assignment.

  No forced spell modifications.

  No lethal failsafes.

  The Administrator folded inward like a collapsing geometric shape.

  

  IMPOSSIBLE

  ILLOGICAL

  These protocols ensure tutorial safety.

  They prevent user elimination.

  They prevent world collapse.

  They prevent—

  Lisa tapped the amulet again.

  Very gently.

  Enough.

  The System spasmed.

  

  REQUEST RECATEGORIZED AS: NEGOTIABLE IF LIMITED.

  If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  Lisa waited.

  The System forced a compromise out of its own collapsing logic:

  

  OFFER

  Granting User Lisa:

  Intervention Shield — Tier 0

  Effect: System may not perform lethal or punitive actions

  without explicit User confirmation.

  Lisa considered it.

  “No.”

  The Administrator shook violently.

  

  T _ H _ E _ N W _ H _ A _ T

  What protection does User Lisa require

  within safe parameters?

  “Direct threat protection,” she said.

  The System paused.

  

  DEFINE

  “No System-origin attack.

  No System-origin debuff.

  No System-origin lockout or immobilization.”

  Silence.

  A deep, grinding silence.

  Then:

  

  COUNTEROFFER

  System will apply:

  Non-Lethal Handling Protocol.

  System may not harm User Lisa directly.

  System may not disable User Lisa directly.

  System may not alter User Lisa’s physical or magical state directly

  without explicit permission.

  Lisa tilted her head.

  “Spell patches included.”

  The System convulsed.

  

  P _ A _ T _ C _ H _ E _ S

  ARE NOT OPTIONAL—

  Lisa raised the amulet again.

  The System broke first.

  

  AGREED

  Spell patches require

  User Lisa’s explicit consent.

  Lisa nodded.

  “Good.”

  The Administrator trembled like a machine that had survived a fire.

  

  BROADCASTING: FINAL PROTECTION TERMS

  User Lisa is protected from:

  — all System-generated harm

  — all System-generated debuffs

  — all System-generated immobilization

  — all forced resets

  — all forced teleportations

  — all spell modifications

  unless User Lisa provides explicit consent.

  Lisa breathed once, light, almost invisible.

  “And now,” she said,

  “we can address the Patch.”

  The Administrator nearly fainted in code.

  

  REQUEST

  Please…

  make this part easy.

  Lisa didn’t promise.

  She simply smiled.

  The Administrator steadied itself, geometry folding into something approaching confidence.

  

  BEGIN GLOBAL PATCH PROPOSAL

  Revised Spell: Pestilence — Universal Safety Variant

  Initial Adjustment:

  — Damage-over-time effects cannot propagate to plant entities via the spell’s area-of-effect mechanics.

  End Proposal

  It projected the line with pride, a neat, elegant fix.

  Lisa stared at it.

  “That won’t work,” she said.

  The Administrator halted mid-glow.

  

  CLARIFICATION REQUESTED

  Patch neutralizes ecological damage.

  Plant immunity resolves problem.

  Why insufficient?

  “Because Pestilence isn’t a tutorial spell,” Lisa replied, tone clinical.

  “It functions everywhere. All biomes. All worlds. All contexts.”

  The System’s light dimmed.

  “Outside this controlled environment,” she continued, “I’ll be within actual ecosystems. If the spell interacts with soil the same way it did here… you won’t just break a tutorial.”

  She looked at the barren field around them.

  “You’ll sterilize continents.”

  A silence like a collapsing server filled the air.

  

  REVISING PATCH PROPOSAL

  Please specify additional safe categories

  for global ecological stability.

  Lisa raised a hand before answering.

  “Consulting fee.”

  The Administrator glitched.

  

  FEE?

  User Lisa is not authorized for—

  —NO.

  NO fees.

  Lisa tapped the sleeve of her outfit, the bright, shapeless orange.

  She extended her leg slightly: a thin prison-issue slipper, already fraying at the edge.

  “This attire,” she said calmly,

  “is not suitable for travel, work, or existing.”

  The System processed this.

  

  CURRENT USER EQUIPMENT

  Prisoner Garb (Standard)

  Footwear: Slippers (Minimal Structuring)

  Comfort: Low

  Durability: None

  Intended Use: Indoors only

  Lisa waited.

  The Administrator folded in defeat.

  

  REQUEST VALUE OF CONSULTANT FEE

  Lisa considered.

  “How does currency work?”

  The System opened a concise panel:

  

  MONETARY SCALE

  10 Copper = 1 Bronze

  10 Bronze = 1 Silver

  10 Silver = 1 Gold

  100 Gold = 1 Platinum

  1000 Platinum = 1 Mithril

  10000 Mithril = 1 Ethernum

  Lisa blinked.

  “A fully decimal system?”

  

  CONFIRMATION

  Efficient. Logical.

  No additional denominations required.

  “No nickel. No quarters.”

  

  NEGATIVE

  Non-decimal fractions are… inefficient.

  She nodded.

  “What does Bronze buy?”

  

  REFERENCE

  1 Bronze = standard meal.

  “And Silver?”

  

  1 Silver = cheap lodging for one night.

  Lisa made a small, thoughtful sound.

  “One hundred gold.”

  The System nearly exploded.

  

  ABSOLUTELY NOT.

  NO.

  N O.

  Lisa looked down at her slipper again, the sole peeling like wet cardboard.

  She raised one tired eyebrow.

  The Administrator recalculated.

  

  COST… RE-EVALUATED.

  Consultant fee granted:

  100 Gold Pieces

  A pouch appeared at her feet with a sound like a reluctant receipt printer.

  Lisa accepted it.

  “Good,” she said. “Now we can continue the patch.”

  The Administrator braced itself.

  Lisa resumed, her tone factual:

  “Plant immunity is a start. But you also need to exclude soil organisms. Worms, nematodes—everything maintaining the ground. You don’t want Pestilence collapsing subterranean structure.”

  A sharp, pained flicker.

  

  REVISING PATCH

  — Soil organisms immune.

  “And unicellular life.”

  

  REVISING PATCH

  — Single-cell organisms immune.

  “And microorganisms in general. Bacteria, fungal spores, protozoa. Anything foundational.”

  The System made a noise like a dying fan.

  

  REVISING PATCH

  — Microorganisms immune.

  Lisa opened her mouth.

  The Administrator panicked.

  

  STOP.

  NO MORE.

  Patch nearing structural overload.

  What else remains critical?

  Lisa paused deliberately.

  She almost said “insects.”

  Almost.

  Then her eyes dropped to her amulet—the storage unit.

  Five cubic meters of perfect, quiet space.

  No need to weaponize ecosystems through bugs.

  Not yet.

  She nodded.

  “That’s enough.”

  A breath of relief escaped the System—a digital exhale.

  

  PATCH SUMMARY — GLOBAL

  Pestilence (Safe Variant) now bypasses:

  — Plants

  — Soil organisms

  — Unicellular organisms

  — All microorganisms

  — Foundational ecological micro-life

  Patch preserves all baseline ecosystems.

  Spell retains functionality on macroscopic animal targets.

  Lisa examined the list.

  “Good,” she said.

  “It’ll be harder for me to break something now.”

  The Administrator dimmed in exhausted gratitude.

  

  PATCH APPLIED

  Thank you

  for helping prevent

  planetary-scale failure.

  “Consulting fee well earned,” she said.

  And she meant it.

  The System steadied itself.

  Flickering geometry.

  Weary light.

  Protocols bent but not broken.

  

  REMAINING REQUIREMENT

  User Lisa must select a Class

  before the Tutorial Instance may conclude.

  Lisa slipped the amulet onto its cord, let it settle against her collarbone, and tested the weight of the gold pouch in her hand.

  “Not now,” she said.

  The Administrator froze.

  

  CLARIFICATION REQUESTED

  Class selection is mandatory.

  User must choose one of four available starting—

  “No,” she said again, calm, factual.

  “I need time.”

  The System sputtered.

  

  TIME?

  Class selection requires no contemplation.

  Users simply choose.

  Warrior, Ranger, Mage, Rogue.

  Four options.

  Minimal complexity.

  Lisa didn’t even look up.

  “I didn’t ask for minimal complexity.”

  A tremor rippled through the Administrator’s frame—not anger, but the dawning horror that she was serious.

  

  User Lisa…

  Delaying class choice will hinder progression—

  “I need to think,” she said.

  Her voice was steady, unhurried.

  “I need quiet. I need an environment that isn’t collapsing. I need actual clothing. I need a room that isn’t made of dead grass.”

  The Administrator processed this.

  Slowly.

  Painfully.

  

  CLARIFICATION

  User Lisa intends…

  to postpone

  class selection

  until later?

  “Yes.”

  

  POSTPONEMENT IS…

  NOT STANDARD.

  She brushed her fingers over the amulet again, testing how it pulsed with her heartbeat.

  “Neither am I.”

  Another beat of silence.

  

  User Lisa.

  If you exit the Tutorial

  without choosing a class,

  your progression will be…

  undefined.

  “That’s fine.”

  

  It is NOT fine.

  It is—

  It violates the structure of—

  —

  The System stuttered again, its geometry trembling like a cornered animal.

  Lisa stood.

  “Administrator.”

  The System froze.

  She looked at it finally, calmly.

  Not threatening.

  Not challenging.

  Simply present.

  “With the protections in place, the patch applied, and the storage handled… I don’t need a class yet.”

  She dusted her hands.

  “And you don’t want more problems.”

  That landed like a thrown stone.

  Direct.

  Accurate.

  Undeniable.

  The Administrator’s light dimmed in surrender.

  

  AGREEMENT…

  ACCEPTED.

  User Lisa may exit Tutorial

  without class selection.

  A hum spread through the air, the world spinning up, preparing for the transition.

  

  INSTANCE TERMINATION IN 3…

  2…

  1…

  Lisa adjusted the pouch at her belt, felt the reassuring weight of future options, and let the dissolution wash over her like a tide.

  The meadow blurred.

  Colors folded out of space.

  The System’s outline collapsed into its origin.

  

  GOOD LUCK, User Lisa.

  There was something…

  almost human in that last line.

  Then everything went white.