*
Pyeonghwa opened his eyes in a space filled with hazy fog, still in his pajamas.
It wasn’t dark, but because of the fog, he couldn’t see anything. The only thing visible was a system window floating in the air.
<Tutorial: How to Save the World 1/3
Let’s try purchasing an item from the General Store with Aggro Points!
Aggro Points (AP) acquired so far: 1>
Pyeonghwa retraced the quest he’d received before being transported here. It said the world would end exactly one year from now, and he had to stop that destruction.
‘Me?’
It was absurd beyond belief. Why should he have to stop the destruction when there were so many Hunters? No, in the first place, the word “destruction” was so unrealistic he couldn’t even believe it.
He must have been caught by the wrong evil constellation. Just looking at how it played around with the quest window showed it wasn’t a proper one. He suspected it had some other ulterior motive.
‘Well…… it’s not immediately dangerous at least.’
He’d figure out how to deal with the evil constellation gradually, but for now, getting out of here was the priority. To do that, there was no other way but to finish the tutorial.
Since the tutorial title was ‘How to Save the World 1/3,’ it seemed like a system where he could leave after completing three missions.
“Let’s see…… Purchase an item from the General Store with Aggro Points? What are Aggro Points, uwah!”
<What are Aggro Points? They refer to points that can be obtained through Area Taunt. Can be used like cash at the General Store. (✿◠‿◠)>
As if answering Pyeonghwa’s words, a new system window suddenly appeared. Pyeonghwa clutched his fluttering heart.
“Am I, talking with a constellation right now……?”
Is it because it’s a tutorial? The academic consensus was that direct communication with constellations was impossible…… Pyeonghwa experimentally opened his mouth toward the air.
“How do I open the General Store?”
<How to use the General Store: Shout ‘General Store Open’ (*/ω\*)>
Crazy, it’s real. Pyeonghwa unconsciously frowned. Thinking that this Aggro whatever was watching him in real-time made him feel uncomfortable.
“General Store Open.”
Following the constellation’s guidance, a hologram window full of square boxes appeared like a shop in a game.
There were a tremendous number of items for sale, but most had red diagonal lines drawn across them. It meant they couldn’t be purchased.
Pyeonghwa pressed the detailed information for ‘Horn-Cut Unicorn (10day)’ among the unpurchasable items.
<(Cannot Purchase) Horn-Cut Unicorn (10day)
Grade: Unique
A horse that hates being told “Isn’t it just a horse if the horn’s cut off?”…(Insufficient viewing permission)
Price: 50,000AP>
“AP would be Aggro Points…… How do I get viewing permission?”
<Viewing is possible when the cumulative Aggro Point condition for each item is met♪(´▽`)>
“Tsk, there’s too much, it’s confusing. Isn’t there a function to show only items I can buy?”
At Pyeonghwa’s request, the complicated General Store became simple in an instant.
“Huh, only two?”
There were only two items that could be bought with 1AP. Since it was a free point, it couldn’t be helped, but he felt somewhat disappointed.
To move to the next stage, he had to purchase one of the two. Pyeonghwa compared the two items while reading their detailed information.
The first was an item called ‘Quiz Quiz Multi-tool.’
<(Special Price!) Quiz Quiz Multi-tool
Grade: Unique
A multi-purpose MacGyver knife with seven functions. The types of stored weapons can be confirmed after purchase.
Each time you get a quiz answer wrong, the selected weapon’s grade decreases. If you get five consecutive wrong answers, it is permanently destroyed. Reuse cooldown 24 hours.
Price: 1AP>
Because the product photo was a thick silver bracelet, he hadn’t thought it was a weapon, but it was a weapon with peculiar conditions.
Pyeonghwa checked the next item.
<(Special Price!) Someone’s Lost Egg
Grade: Normal
A small, hard egg. Unknown when it will hatch.
Price: 1AP>
It was a black egg covered in purple splotches. It looked too ordinary, even for ordinary.
“What’s with the balance?”
Unique items and Normal items couldn’t be compared. Moreover, since he didn’t know what mission would come in the next stage, he needed a weapon more than an egg.
‘Wait. Isn’t this a trap?’
Pyeonghwa, who was about to press the purchase button, flinched and stopped all movement.
He couldn’t trust the constellation at face value. It was someone who even played tricks on the quest window, so would it have done nothing here? If there were two choices like this and the balance difference was too big, wouldn’t the crappy one be the correct answer…….
After agonizing and pondering, he finally chose the egg.
<You have purchased ‘Someone’s Lost Egg’ Σ(っ °Д °;)っ>
From the product photo, a small egg the size of a tennis ball popped out with a pong. Pyeonghwa grasped the egg floating in the air.
<Tutorial: How to Save the World 1/3 Mission Complete!>
<Calculating…….>
While moving to the next stage, Pyeonghwa observed the egg in detail.
When he saw it in the photo it looked smooth, but in reality, the surface was bumpy as if barnacles were attached.
‘Ugh, gross.’
It was even warm, which made him feel worse. He wasn’t curious at all about what would hatch from the egg.
<Additional information on purchased items can be confirmed through ‘Check Information.’ (￣﹏￣；)>
When Pyeonghwa didn’t take his eyes off the egg, a system window appeared.
“Check Information.”
<Someone’s Lost Egg (Bound)
Grade: Normal
The shell is very hard so it doesn’t break easily. Has the property of wanting to return to its owner.
Caution! You must not even drink cold water carelessly in front of the egg! (Owner only)
Hatching Rate 0%……(In Progress)>
There was nothing special. Pyeonghwa roughly shoved the egg into his pajama pants pocket.
Finally, the next stage mission appeared.
<Tutorial: How to Save the World 2/3
Let’s collect as many Aggro Points as possible within the 30-minute time limit!
Remaining time: 00:29:59
Aggro Points (AP) acquired so far: 0
General Store use is restricted during the tutorial.>
In the previous stage it taught him how to purchase items with Aggro Points, and this time it seemed to want to teach him how to collect Aggro Points.
‘It said Aggro Points are Area Taunt points.’
Usually, Area Taunt is a tank’s specialty. A tank with strong defense makes enemies focus their attention on themselves, giving the dealer and supporter freedom of action.
‘Do I have to taunt someone?’
Swoosh. The thick fog that had been blocking his vision lifted in an instant. He’d thought he was alone here, but he learned he was with countless monsters.
They were humanoid monsters with a texture like green clay stuck all over them. Their height wasn’t very tall, but their thick limbs were threatening.
“Hiek!”
Pyeonghwa, who had been backing away from the monsters’ grotesque visuals, bumped his back into something. When he felt a hot and damp sensation, his spine went cold. Don’t tell me…… Pyeonghwa’s head turned with a creak like a broken robot.
“…Ah! Fuck!”
There was a monster behind him too. Pyeonghwa trembled intensely and toppled forward. I’m going to die now! He squeezed his eyes shut, recalling the Lion’s Mane Silver Wolf he’d seen in the Gate a few years ago.
But the monsters paid no attention to Pyeonghwa. No, they seemed unaware that Pyeonghwa was nearby. Pyeonghwa slowly lifted his eyelids and looked at the monster staring blankly at the air.
The monster’s eyeballs were white as if they had cataracts, it had no nose at all, and where its ears should be, large nails were driven in.
‘Can’t see, can’t hear, can’t smell……?’
Having grasped the monster’s characteristics, Pyeonghwa let out a sigh of relief. Taunting monsters without eyes, nose, or ears was this mission.
Excluding sight, hearing, and smell from the five senses left only touch and taste. Since he couldn’t slice his own flesh and put it in the monster’s mouth, the only method was to use touch. But seeing how there was no reaction when he bumped into it, simply touching it alone wouldn’t work.
The two characters ‘attack’ flickered in Pyeonghwa’s mind. The General Store hadn’t sold weapons for no reason. But what he’d purchased was a useless egg.
“……Can I not do this?”
Wondering if he could just wait for the 30-minute time limit to end, he let out a deep sigh and asked. Then an angry message from the constellation appeared.
<If the contractor shows no will during tutorial progression, a penalty will be imposed (╬▔皿▔)╯
Penalty: Death!!>
Fuck, who says it’s not an evil constellation! Pyeonghwa reluctantly got up and looked around. An endless white space. In this place, there were only himself and numerous monsters standing at regular intervals.
All Pyeonghwa in his pajamas had was the egg in his pocket. There wasn’t even any terrain he could utilize. Even Pyeonghwa, whose mind worked well, couldn’t help but feel at a loss.
Pyeonghwa put his hand in his pocket and took out the egg with its warm heat.
‘The surface is rough so it seems like I could inflict wounds.’
Given the characteristics of monsters without eyes, nose, or ears, there was a possibility they couldn’t identify the enemy’s location even after being attacked. Then he just had to run away well until the time limit ended.
