005. Tutorial Begins (5)
“Jaehee, you’ll be able to do this kind of thing soon too. Don’t worry about those foxes from earlier. Even if you die here, you don’t really die. But, you’re not mad, are you?”
Jeongwoo was now cautiously checking Jaehee’s mood, despite having mercilessly swung his arms around earlier while ignoring his groans. Jaehee felt a bit strange seeing Jeongwoo, who had been so fearless with those house-sized foxes, now concerned about his reaction.
Jaehee rubbed his wrist that had been held by Jeongwoo until just now. They had been so close that he felt like Jeongwoo’s scent had seeped into his body.
“It’s fine. I’m not angry, just tired and drained.”
“Oh, oh? Was it too hard? I couldn’t stop because opportunities to earn points like this are rare. We probably won’t get guidance from the guides anymore, but the tutorial points should have increased considerably. We’ll probably be in the top 1% overall.”
“What are guides, and what exactly is this tutorial thing?”
“Those con artist foxes are tutorial guides. They’re called guides, but they don’t tell you anything important and instead try to stab you in the back, so you don’t need to worry about losing them. The foxes have probably returned to their true forms now and are cursing us, but we don’t need to worry about that.”
“True forms? Tutorial guides? You said it right. I feel like I’m dying from exhaustion, but let me ask you—what exactly is going on here? Where are we? Explain it so I can understand.”
“It’s a long story, so should we set up a tent first?”
“What? Suddenly, what tent?”
Jeongwoo looked into the empty air and pulled something out. It was a large backpack. Then, more bags dropped from the empty space. Seeing Jaehee staring with a blank expression, Jeongwoo grinned and laid out countless items—a tent, chairs, and more. Jaehee had never heard that Jeongwoo was particularly into camping, but he looked quite skilled as he set up the tent and started a fire. Jeongwoo gave Jaehee a chair as well.
“Everything is complicated and hard to believe, but trust me for now. If there’s one true ally for you in this world, it would be me.”
“W-what… Stop saying such embarrassing things and just tell me quickly.”
Jaehee responded grumpily as he took the cup Jeongwoo offered. It was warm tea. Holding it, he couldn’t believe this whole situation.
“The tutorial is designed to create Awakened Ones. Remember the black hole we entered?”
Jaehee nodded. How could he forget? Even now, he couldn’t forget the look in Woo Jeongwoo’s eyes as he embraced him and jumped toward the black hole.
“Black holes like the one we entered have appeared in hundreds of places around the world, and everyone there is going through a tutorial like us. After completing this tutorial, you awaken to a special ability. A Zero is someone who realizes their ability without such help. Even my pulling objects out is one of the abilities that Awakened Ones can use—a kind of inventory. It’s just like the inventory in games.”
“…Sigh, so… Your weird behavior all this time was because you had awakened, and these items came from your inventory?”
“Yes. You’ll be able to use all of this too once you finish the tutorial.”
“Haa. Damn it. I don’t know if I’m the crazy one or if you’re out of your mind. Fine, let’s say everything you’re saying is true. Once this tutorial is over, do we go back to where we were and it’s all over? Just need to finish this?”
“When the tutorial ends, we go back to where we were, but it’s more of a beginning than an end. The world will completely change now. And at the center of it will be the Awakened Ones.”
“Awakened Ones… So when I finish the tutorial, I become an Awakened One too? Me too?”
Jeongwoo nodded. Jaehee was still half-skeptical. It was hard to believe, but after seeing items pulled out of thin air, he couldn’t completely disbelieve it either.
“But Jeongwoo, earlier, Seohuryorang? From what that fox was saying, being a Zero seems pretty amazing… When did that happen to you? Surely you didn’t awaken while studying for the college entrance exam, did you?”
“That… It just happened suddenly at some point. It’s not like I trained under a waterfall or joined some cult. And of course, it didn’t happen while studying. Let’s say it was like a traffic accident.”
“Traffic accident?”
“Maybe that’s a strange way to put it. What I mean is that it wasn’t a matter of choice. I just awakened one day. But more important than being a Zero is you right now. Shin Jaehee. The first Awakened One of the Great Awakening. We call it a tutorial for convenience, but the official name for the tutorial is the Test of Seekers. It judges everything about the Seekers and grants them what’s called an innate ability.”
“Innate ability?”
“Yes. Innate ability. It’s called innate, but it can actually change later in some cases. As your ability increases, the system might determine that another talent is more suitable. But there are also abilities that never change after you first acquire them—abilities that cannot be changed under any circumstances.”
“What are these unchangeable abilities? That sounds extremely important.”
“Right. It is important. To the Awakened Ones and to others…”
The expression on Jeongwoo’s face as he spoke was truly peculiar. The expression of Jeongwoo, who was only 19 years old, looked like that of a deeply wrinkled old man standing at the end of his life.
In truth, there were many strange things about Jeongwoo.
If he was a Zero, did that mean he knew everything? Somehow, that didn’t seem implausible.
“Anyway, let’s finish the tutorial first. Once we get out, be sure to tell me your unique awakened ability. That’s how I can help you. Got it?”
“Hmm, then you tell me first. Since you’ve already awakened, you must know your unique ability.”
Jaehee took the small lunchbox Jeongwoo handed him. Feeling the warmth of the soup and smelling it, he suddenly felt hungry.
“Since I awakened as a Zero, I don’t have any special unique ability. I’m just a Seeker. Unique abilities are only given to Awakened Ones who go through the tutorial. Oh right, Jaehee. Inside the tutorial, you must never eat anything except what you obtained yourself.”
“You’ve been saying that… Why exactly can’t I? Then shouldn’t I not eat this either? You gave it to me; I didn’t get it myself.”
“What I give you is fine to eat. But you can’t eat what others give you. This is something the guide should explain, but those con artists wouldn’t have done it. If you eat food provided by guides in the tutorial, your points transfer to the guides.”
“Um… But eating isn’t necessarily bad. Isn’t it okay to give up some points and eat?”
“Inside the tutorial, it’s fine not to eat anything. You feel hunger and thirst, but that’s just a habitual feeling. And about these points—they might be generous inside the tutorial, but they’re extremely hard to earn outside. And the food the guides offer isn’t just food. They’ve tampered with it.”
“Tampered?”
“If you eat it, you might lose your memories, or be unable to use parts of your body, things like that. Later, they use that as bait to take more of your awakened abilities or points.”
“What? Then they’re complete con artists!”
“Exactly. That’s why I called them con artists. Now, let’s eat and rest. While there’s no need to eat, we still have a long way to go in the tutorial, so it’s good to eat something for energy recovery. I’ve specially included something good for recovering physical strength. Since we chased away the guides, we’ll have to clear the tutorial without them from now on, but it shouldn’t be difficult.”
As Jeongwoo was smiling contentedly watching Jaehee eat the food he made, there was a sound.
Beep, beep, beep.
Along with an ominous warning sound, messages began to appear.
[A system error has been detected.]
[Information not yet permitted for Seekers has been leaked.]
[Interference from another in the test has been confirmed.]
[Improper intervention. Improper intervention.]
“Hey! Woo Jeongwoo! W-what’s this about?”
“No, wait! Damn it! How is this improper intervention? Are you crazy? Everyone does this much! You’re going to be this petty? Jaehee! No!”
Jaehee’s body began to turn transparent. Jaehee looked at Jeongwoo with a bewildered face.
Jeongwoo also shouted at the top of his lungs, veins popping in his neck, but he couldn’t stop Jaehee’s body from disappearing.
[Unique number 3831 Shin Jaehee, forced automatic tutorial progression will now commence.
Please prepare yourself. 3, 2, 1. Start.]
