006. Tutorial Begins (6)
Wow. This is… seriously…
Jaehee let out a hollow laugh as he stared up at the massive stone wall looming at least twice his height.
The place he’d been suddenly transported to was the middle of a maze constructed from stone walls. The passage was just barely wide enough for one or two people to squeeze through side by side. The walls towered so high that when he craned his neck back to look up, he couldn’t see anything beyond them. If there was anything fortunate about the situation, it was probably that at least it wasn’t pitch black.
Jaehee slowly ran his hand along the stone wall. The cool, damp surface looked quite old but still felt solid and sturdy beneath his palm. He briefly recalled a maze-solving method he’d read about in a book once—keeping one hand on a wall as you walked—but quickly shook his head. This was a tutorial, so it probably wouldn’t be solved that easily.
Since he couldn’t just stand there frozen in fear, Jaehee finally started moving forward little by little.
Surrounded by nothing but identical stone walls in every direction, various thoughts drifted through his mind. It was partly because nothing was happening, which made everything feel tedious.
When Jeongwoo raised his hand in front of the subway station and chanted something like a spell, I thought he’d completely lost his mind. But to think something like this would actually happen…
Well, Woo Jeongwoo has been extraordinary since we were kids.
The first time he’d seen Jeongwoo was back in elementary school. Even then, Jeongwoo had been noticeably bigger than the other kids and had striking good looks that naturally drew attention. But what was even more unusual was that he never simply said “yes” to whatever a teacher told him. It wasn’t that he was particularly disrespectful—Jeongwoo just lived with this relentless need to ask “why.” Why is that? Why does it work that way? Later, Jaehee heard that Jeongwoo had been identified as gifted. I guess smart kids really are different from a young age.
The cheerful Jeongwoo had always been kind and gentle with his friends, so naturally, he was popular. Jeongwoo, who’d always been at the center of their group, was still the same when they met again in high school. No—actually, Jeongwoo was shining even brighter than before.
It had been several years since Jaehee had last seen Jeongwoo, but he’d recognized him instantly.
Despite his large build, his eyes held an innocent quality, and his expression was bright and open.
That was probably what caught Jaehee’s attention.
Unlike himself, Jeongwoo was pure and transparent.
While thinking about Jeongwoo, Jaehee suddenly remembered what he’d heard right before being transported here.
Didn’t they say the automatic tutorial was being forcibly initiated?
A tutorial is something that happens before you enter the main game—it’s supposed to explain how everything works to the users. So wouldn’t some kind of explanation appear? Just as that thought crossed his mind:
[Tutorial Guide]
Letters flashed into existence before his eyes. It was as if someone had been listening to his thoughts and displayed them at precisely the right moment. When Jaehee glared at the text, it changed again.
[Welcome to all Seekers who have arrived at the tutorial. ^^ The future of our planet now rests in the hands of you Seekers. (੭ˊ꒳ˋ)੭ Let’s all work hard together to save our planet. (。´∀｀)ﾉ Stage 1. Life is a maze! The maze is monsters! Monsters are our points! Let’s defeat the appearing monsters, accumulate points, and escape the maze. (。•̀ᴗ-)✧]
Jaehee frowned at the explanation that somehow managed to feel both friendly and condescending at the same time. The tone that seemed almost mocking was irritatingly patronizing.
…What the hell does “life is a maze and the maze is monsters” even mean?
The mention of monsters appearing made his muscles tense, but remembering how he’d swung a sword under Jeongwoo’s guidance gave him a bit of reassurance.
Wait. If monsters are going to appear, shouldn’t I have some kind of weapon?
The thought of weapons finally occurred to him. And with it came something Jeongwoo had said.
Didn’t he say you need belief to turn fantasy into reality?
It had been a vague statement, but having already tried it once with Jeongwoo, he somehow felt like he could manage it.
Jaehee licked his dry lips and stared at his hand. He closed his eyes to solidify the image in his mind.
—A sword.
What came to mind in that moment was the sword he’d wielded alongside Jeongwoo. The instant he vividly recalled the weight and feel of that sword, the resonance he’d felt swinging it together with Jeongwoo, something pressed against his fingertips. As he closed his hand around it, he felt a heavy weight settle into his grip.
“Ha… is this actually working?”
The sword he’d swung with Jeongwoo was now in his hand. He’d thought it might work, but now that it actually had, it felt surreal. Jaehee swung the sword experimentally as he walked. Thinking that something might leap out at any moment, he unconsciously tensed up. Despite this bizarre situation, his mind felt strangely calm.
After manifesting the sword, letters flashed before him again.
A small fanfare-like sound played, and sparkles scattered through the air.
[Congratulations. You have achieved manifestation without any assistance, Seeker. v(°∇^*)⌒☆]
As multicolored sparkles fell and rose repeatedly over the congratulatory message, his vision suddenly flooded with red.
[Danger! Danger! A monster has appeared ahead. It’s a rock worm from an old mine. Please eliminate it splendidly to save Earth! ٩(❛◡❛)۶]
Though he felt like he was being mocked, he focused on what lay ahead since a monster was supposedly appearing.
His red-tinted vision returned to normal, and he spotted something slowly rolling toward him from up ahead. They were stone-like creatures with spikes bristling all over their bodies. Though they looked menacing, their sluggish movement made them seem less dangerous. Suddenly, the movement stopped, and letters flashed before him once more.
[༼ﾧ ͠ຈ ͟￡͜ ͠ຈ༽o:[]:::::::> Stab the part the arrow is pointing to.]
It was the belly of the crawling rock worm. It looked difficult to stab with a sword since the creature was practically flush against the ground, but the arrow helpfully indicated the angle, so he stabbed where instructed. With a flashing “Critical” notification, the rock worm vanished. It was almost anticlimactically simple. After stabbing several rock worms in succession, a large fanfare sounded again.
[Congratulations! You have eliminated all rock worms! v(°∇^*)⌒☆ Rock worms emerge in barren lands that do not receive the protection of the King. If you cannot dwell within the King’s veil, you end up like that. Rest in peace, poor creatures! Long live the King!]
What? What’s that supposed to mean?
A King? The King’s veil?
It seemed puzzling, but no further explanation appeared. He decided to ask Woo Jeongwoo about it later and kept walking. Several branching paths appeared, but he moved without much consideration. Not knowing which way to go, he simply followed wherever his feet took him, figuring it probably didn’t matter much anyway. He glanced around in case the system might display more messages, but there was no sign of anything.
It was when his tension had eased and he’d become somewhat relaxed.
“Huh?”
Jaehee had been walking leisurely when he suddenly sensed something wrong and spun around. The path he’d just come from should have been open, but directly behind him stood a wall. The instant he realized something was off, chills ran down his spine.
Grrrrrr.
“Wh-what the hell is this!”
Jaehee watched in horror as the wall behind him advanced with a bone-chilling grinding sound. When he quickly whipped his head forward, he saw that the front was also blocked by a wall that had appeared at some point.
The good news was that there was still a path to escape through sideways. There was no time to relax now. Before getting crushed between the walls, he quickly bolted and squeezed through to the side. Just as he was about to look back, thinking he’d escaped—
Grrrrrr. That eerie sound came again. No way, it can’t be… But when he turned around, the wall behind him was closing in once more.
“Damn it.”
Was this because he’d let his guard down after the rock worms had been too easy? There was no time to think about what to do. He had to run desperately because the wall was moving faster than expected. Every time he fled to another passage to avoid the wall, the wall behind him continued its relentless advance.
[Danger! Danger! The monster Evil Wolf is approaching. Wolves are pack animals! Evil Wolves are much faster and fiercer than ordinary wolves.]
The moment the alert appeared and he focused ahead, the approaching wolf’s movement seemed to slow to a crawl, like watching slow motion. This must be the system’s doing too, right? The alert window pointed a red arrow at the wolf’s nape. It had to mean that was a vital spot. The instant Jaehee registered it, he thrust his sword into the wolf’s nape without hesitation.
[Critical! Excellent! You attacked the Evil Wolf’s vital spot. ヾ(˹ᆺ˺✿)ﾉﾞ Future attacks will proceed without warnings!]
“Wh-what! You said this was a tutorial! Why is the difficulty suddenly spiking!”
Jaehee shouted as he plunged his sword into the wolf’s nape. He had no time to catch his breath, desperately trying to stab the wolves rushing at him in a frenzy while dodging the crushing walls. The wolf’s claws raked across his arm, and fangs sank into his thigh. The pain was excruciating, like he was dying, but he didn’t actually die. Somehow, if he pushed himself, his body could still move.
By the time he came back to his senses, all the wolves had vanished, and he was sprawled on the ground from sheer exhaustion. There was a sweet, metallic taste in his mouth, and his entire body was a mess of blood and dirt.
A message flashed before his eyes.
[Congratulations! ヾ(˹ᆺ✿˺)ﾉﾞ You have defeated all the Evil Wolves that were ultimately corrupted from not being under the King’s protection. Let’s save Earth by eliminating evil creatures.]
Rage surged through him when he saw the alert that read like some environmental protection campaign slogan.
It was clearly mocking him. But who could he even be angry at?
Just then, cheerful music started playing.
[Ta-da-ra-ra ta-ta-ta! Starting Stage 2. Find the real me! Let’s eliminate the fake self and find the real self! (*●⁰ꈊ⁰●)ﾉ]
“What the hell is this?”
Shin Jaehee stared blankly at the letters that appeared before him.
