HP Bar is the Universal Law

"Update complete." "Game loading." "Automatic login initiated." "Ding-dong. Welcome, Player, to TF Game. Generating your ID number......" "Error. Error. Error Warning. Your ID number already exists. Commencing reload. Please wait patiently." What the hell? Lyra Hallowell blinked groggily, struggling to open her bleary eyes. After working 48 consecutive overtime hours, she'd collapsed into bed the night before. Now, amidst her deepest sleep, an irritating voice buzzed in her skull, pounding like a jackhammer. Assuming it was her phone, Lyra blindly groped for the nightstand. Her fingers brushed against something warm and fuzzy. She poked it again. Hmm... springy and warm. Definitely alive. Instantly jolted awake, Lyra scrambled backward. The sight before her was bewildering. A glowing blue pillar dominated the stark white walls. She wasn't in her bed at all, but lying on an immaculate white floor. Beside her hand sat a 50cm-tall white Totoro... breathing. The creature blinked enormous eyes and chirped: "Welcome, Player No. 7! I'm Mo Mo, your dedicated system assistant. I'll answer game-related questions within my permissions." "Wait a minute!" Lyra threw up an X with her arms, cutting off the creature. She scrambled to her feet, pinched her thigh viciously, and— "OW! Not dreaming?!" Tears sprang to her eyes as an angry red mark bloomed on her leg. Mo Mo tilted its head. "Lyra, maybe try less painful verification methods? Self-harm isn't optimal." Their staredown lasted three full seconds before Lyra accepted reality: she was trapped in some bizarre dimension with a non-human "assistant." Recalling the sleep-muffled announcements, she ventured: "Am I inside a game?" "Game is your human term. Technically, this is one of the Architect's domains. We periodically select inhabited planets for trials. Complete them—what you'd call 'beating the game'—and gain anything you desire." Lyra digested this. "How many Earthlings joined? What happens if we fail?" Mo Mo's reply chilled her blood: "100,001,000 players selected. Non-players remain in stasis until Earth's victory. Fail within ten years? Humanity erased. Players get ten failed missions before... termination." Ten years to avoid extinction. Ten strikes and you're dead. A literal survival game for the planet. Lyra's inner self screamed like a deranged groundhog, but her face remained stoic. "You called me 'No. 7.' What's that mean?" Mo Mo shrugged. "Apologies. Restricted information. Next question." "Rules of this 'game'?" "Proceed to the Career Generator. Instructions will activate during setup." The Totoro gestured at the central pillar. Steeling herself, Lyra approached... and got sucked into a swirling vortex. As she vanished, the pillar boomed: "Welcome back, Player No. 7 Lyra Hallowell to TF Game." Dizzy and disoriented, Lyra found herself inside the azure column. A vertical screen dominated the endless shaft. "Stand before the Career Generator for tutorial." The black screen flickered to life... then glitched. "Newbie tutorial commencing... Error. Error. Error Warning. Tutorial skipped. Player No. 7 Lyra Hallowell: select career and allocate skill points." Excuse me?! "Error. Error. Error Warning. Career already generated. Skill reset unavailable." Lyra's eye twitched. "Skipped tutorial? Pre-made career? Is this game BROKEN? Can I file a complaint?" "Complaint received. Processing..." To her shock, the system responded. Five seconds later: "Complaint invalid. Error confirmed." "HOLY GRASS (A TYPE OF PLANT)!" Lyra's sanity teetered as the system continued: "Claim your starter pack. Error. Error. Error Warning. Existing inventory detected. Reconfiguring item permissions..." This system wants me dead. Immediately. "Permissions updated. Skills updated. Profile updated. Exit Career Generator." "Wait—" The vortex spat her out before Mo Mo. "HOLY GRASS (A TYPE OF PLANT)!" Lyra roared at the Totoro. "What was that charade? No tutorial! Mystery career! Stolen starter pack! If you want me to explode, just say so! I'll somersault and make it a fireworks show!" Mo Mo, seeing that Lyra was about to explode at any moment, hurriedly soothed, "Since the system let you out of the Class Generator, it means your class has been created. Lyra, why don’t you check your panel first?" "Panel?" Lyra sneered. "There’s no beginner tutorial. How the hell am I supposed to know how to access it?" Fortunately, this was within Mo Mo’s authority. The guide spirit cheerfully explained, "Lyra just needs to silently recite the commands mentally. The keyword is 'Panel Information'—any instruction containing these four characters will work." That simple? Still wary of the system’s tricks, Lyra skeptically thought, Access Panel Information. To her relief, the system behaved this time. A glowing screen materialized before her. Mo Mo continued, "Character panels are private by default. Others can’t view your information unless you voluntarily share it—and even then, you can selectively hide details. All panel operations use mental commands." Lyra’s brow furrowed as she scrolled through her information screen, her expression growing increasingly alarmed with each swipe. "Can players generate multiple classes?" she demanded. "Only one class per player," Mo Mo answered without hesitation. "You’re certain?" "Absolutely." Though Mo Mo sounded confident, Lyra clenched her fists. She held back her burning question—because while the guide claimed players could only have one class, her panel clearly displayed two information fields: one bright, one dimmed. Bright Screen: Player ID: 7 Name: Lyra Hallowell Class: Physician Stamina: 110/110 Spirit Points: 1000/1000 Luck: 100 (MAX) Points: 0 Assets: 0 Skill Points: 1 Skills: [Expand] When Lyra mentally triggered Expand, the screen shifted to reveal a skill tree that nearly blinded her with disbelief. Unlike typical games where new players start with blank skill trees, Lyra’s Support branch already blazed with activity: - Minor Healing (Max Level) - Major Healing (Level 2) - Golden Needle Rejuvenation (Level 0) The other branches—Attack and Defense—remained dark except for their dormant golden final nodes, likely ultimate abilities locked behind full mastery. Each branch had 11 skills, with only the first skill’s description visible until upgraded. Skill Tree Overview: - Attack: Strike (Lv0) → 9 dark nodes → Golden Node - Defense: Shield (Lv0) → 9 dark nodes → Golden Node - Support: Minor Healing (MAX) → Major Healing (Lv2) → Golden Needle Rejuvenation (Lv0) → 7 dark nodes → Golden Node Lyra expanded the active skills, her eyes narrowing at the descriptions. The game’s brutal survival logic became clear: In a kill-or-be-killed world, players must balance offense, defense, and support—because when death closes in, you can only rely on yourself. Yet here she stood, a supposed "newbie" with inexplicably advanced healing capabilities. The system had either made a catastrophic error... or Lyra Hallowell was far more special than she’d ever imagined. Lyra Hallowell studied the three skill branches containing a total of 11 abilities. The first skill in each branch displayed descriptions by default, presumably allowing players to decide whether to allocate points. Subsequent skills remained hidden behind dark circular nodes on the skill tree. Based on the already unlocked support skills, Lyra deduced that investing 1 point in a prerequisite skill would reveal the next skill's description for consideration. The golden nodes at the end of each branch likely represented ultimate abilities requiring full mastery of that path. Lyra examined her unlocked skills in detail: Minor Healing (Level 10): Restores 10 HP to single target (Max Level) Cost: 1 SP Cast Time: Instant Major Healing (Level 2): Restores 20% HP to single target Cost: 20 SP (scales with level) Cast Time: 20 seconds (scales with level) Golden Needle Therapy (Level 0): Restores X HP per second over X seconds to single target Cost: 50 SP Cast Time: 5 seconds Lyra calculated that with her maxed Minor Healing (instant 10 HP recovery) and 1,000 SP pool, her effective survivability reached 10,110 HP when factoring instant recasts. Major Healing's 20-second cast time and scaling costs made it impractical given her current 110 HP cap. When attempting to allocate her remaining skill point to offensive abilities, a glaring warning appeared: "Player skill branch is locked. Cannot allocate points to Attack branch." Similar restrictions blocked defensive skills. After futile attempts, Lyra reluctantly upgraded Golden Needle Therapy instead: Golden Needle Therapy (Level 1): Restores 1 HP/sec for 10 seconds to single target Cost: 50 SP Cast Time: 5 seconds This unlocked the fourth skill: Holy Light (Level 0): Restores X HP to all allies within X-meter diameter Cost: 100 SP Cast Time: 60 seconds The group healing skill suggested teamplay possibilities, though Lyra remained frustrated by locked combat branches. Persistent clicking triggered a system message: Easter Egg (Traded for incomplete intel per instance): 1. Maximum 100 skill points per player (excess converts to points) 2. Golden skills require full 10-level mastery of entire branch 3. Golden skills manifest in reality Lyra's investigation revealed deeper anomalies - a second grayed-out character panel: Player ID: 6 Name: Lyra Hallowell Class: Mage HP: 500/500 SP: 1000/1000 Luck: 30 (Accumulating) Points: 1,300 Gold: 20,000 The locked mage profile with superior stats and zero skill points suggested her account predated current gameplay. This dual-class anomaly in a survival game meant either unprecedented privilege or imminent peril. With her healer build's limitations and this mysterious second identity, Lyra realized her survival might depend on unraveling these contradictions before they unraveled her.