Chapter 3: Tutorial (1)
Whoever desires to become a god, climb up The Tower!
* * *
[You have now arrived at floor 0, the Tutorial Hall.]
*Swoosh*
Yeon-woo frowned due to the bright light that pierced his eyes. A prickly sensation assaulted his eyes and his vision was shaking violently. He felt dizzy as if he were experiencing a high-altitude flight.
[Your trait ‘Cold-blooded’ has helped you maintain composure.]
He felt something wriggling inside his body holding the previously spinning world straight. The motion sickness soon subsided. Yeon-woo was then able to look around more comfortably.
He found himself in a corridor that ran in a straight line. The walls were made of hard stone, and the ceiling was studded with stones emitting light at regular intervals. However, the light was too dim, he could only see two meters ahead of him. Beyond that, it was all darkness.
‘I’m really here’
Yeon-woo clenched his fists. It was the same scenery he had seen in the diary.
The Tower serves both as a gateway and as a trial for participants that wish to become a god. Naturally, The Tower refuses to accept anybody and everybody. So, the trial takers have to first prove themselves worthy.
The place to test such qualifications is the tutorial, often called ‘floor 0’.
‘Beyond this place, are the people who hurt Jeong-woo.’
Yeon-woo felt that, just by closing his eyes, he could recall the numerous scenes he saw in the diary and the ones who had betrayed his brother and drove him to his death. But he didn’t get agitated, he kept his head as cool as he could.
‘Just wait a bit. I’ll be there soon.’
To enter the tower, the first thing he had to do was to clear the tutorial with a high score—No, it couldn’t be just a high score.
‘An overwhelmingly high score. I have to take first place.’
Of course, it wasn’t going to be easy. The Tower was connected to numerous dimensions, spaces, and worlds, and among them, only those highly capable had the chance to participate as players.
Yeon-woo could also be considered strong, if only looking at his planet, Earth. But the universe was endless, and so were the number of strong people in it.
Yeon-woo, who had only focused on his physical abilities and instinctive senses until now, had many weak points compared to the already existing players. If he tried to get through the tutorial like this, he would undoubtedly die without even being able to take a few steps. However,
‘At the same time, the tutorial is a place where I can obtain those kinds of qualifications.’
His brother had had a very weak body before climbing the tower. Nevertheless, he managed to prove himself by clearing the tutorial and ended up achieving the incredible feat of reaching the sixth place in the rankings within the shortest amount of time ever.
The tutorial wasn’t just a place that tested one’s physical abilities. It tested various aspects such as talent, judgment, agility, resourcefulness, and decisiveness. It summed up the individual results and assigned a score to each player.
Naturally, there were always some deaths in the process. No, most of them came from players that were overconfident in the little capabilities they had and rushed into the tutorial, only to end up dead.
Fortunately, Yeon-woo was aware of the dangers of the tutorial and was also aware of the value this place had.
‘Hidden pieces can be found everywhere in the tutorial. I have to gather as many as possible to finalize the incomplete succession process.’
At present, Yeon-woo’s Status Window displayed ‘Incomplete Dragon Body (5%)’. His brother’s achievements had not been completely transferred to him. Thus, Yeon-woo intended to refine his vessel as much as possible in order to replace the word ‘incomplete’ with ‘complete’.
‘To make my vessel as complete as possible. Let’s focus on that for now.’
After organizing his thoughts, Yeon-woo then quietly took out a white mask from his bag and put it on his face. He would have to face a lot of people, so he decided to hide his face in advance.
Yeon-woo then slowly walked forward along the corridor.
* * *
At that moment, after walking for who knows how long,
“Ohyohyohyo. A guest at a time like this. I almost missed you by accident.”
Suddenly, with a blue glow in the air, a portal opened up and someone dropped down from it.
In an instant, Yeon-woo instinctively stepped back and took on a combat stance, holding two daggers in front of him. It was because the appearance of the sudden intruder was too bizarre.
Small stature that looked like it only reached Yeon-woo’s waistline; his skin full of bumps that made him look scabrous; and his long, slanted eyes. All of this contributed towards Yeon-woo’s reaction. In particular, the glistening fangs that protruded from behind his thick lips stood out. The mere sight of it filled Yeon-woo with disgust.
A monster. It was a creature known as a Goblin.
However, this Goblin gave Yeon-woo a very different impression from the normal Goblins he saw in the diary. Unlike the normal Goblins that usually had low intelligence and were only faithful to their instincts, the Goblin in front of his eyes was wearing a strange monocle on one eye and a smart-looking tuxedo. His well-mannered behavior gave off a dignified atmosphere.
“No matter how broad-minded I am, it hurts my feelings if you act like that. So why don’t you put your daggers down?”
Contrary to his words, the Goblin was smiling delightedly and winking one of his eyes. Only then did Yeon-woo seem to realize what the Goblin before his eyes was.
‘A Guardian’
Those that manage and oversee each of the floors and trials in The Tower.
“Greetings. I am the Guardian of floor 0, Yvlke. Meeting you like this must also be destiny. Why don’t we give ourselves a round of applause? Ohyohyohyo.”
Yeon-woo lowered his two daggers.
The Guardians belonged to The Tower and were tasked to lead the players throughout the trials. There was no reason to keep his guard up against him.
“Ho, you believe me?”
“That’s because it’s good to keep the Guardians’ advice in mind, even if it sounds like something trivial.”
“Oh my, I guess you know a little about us. I thought you were just shy since you were wearing a mask. Anyway, it should be much easier to converse now.” Yvlke began his explanation with some light jokes.
“The tutorial is divided into seven sections, ranging from A to F. Each section has a different environment and a different challenge. You will be given scores depending on your performance in these challenges over a given time. At the end of the tutorial, all your scores will be added up and the results will be announced.”
Yeon-woo was already roughly aware of the rules thanks to the diary. However, in order to avoid attracting too much attention from the Guardian, and to confirm the rules he knew, he decided to ask some questions.
“Do I have to clear all 7 sections?”
“Not exactly. The tutorial is a place where you simply need to prove that you possess the minimum qualifications. If you think your score is already high enough, you can simply stop there. But it’ll be good to pass every trial in order to get a higher score.”
“What are the benefits of getting a higher score?”
“Players are given better rewards in correlation to their score. Shouldn’t there be some motivation for players to get better results? The Tower and us, Guardians, are very thorough that regard. Ohyohyohyo.”
“How long does the tutorial last for?”
“Players are given 30 days, one month. How you divide the time you spend in each section depends solely on you, the player. However,” Yvlke smiled as he adjusted his monocle.
“It’s already been around a week since this round started. There are only about three weeks left of it. What do you want to do? Will you join in the next round?”
A week may sound like something trivial. However, a week in the tutorial was by no means a short period. It was a period equal to one-fourth of the whole tutorial.
‘During that first week, the frontrunners must have already run far ahead. To a point where latecomers could never catch up.’
The higher one’s score, the better the rewards. It also increased the probability of clearing the tutorial. For Yeonwoo, who was planning to achieve a lot within the tutorial, this was a very unfavorable start. However,
‘That’s what I expected anyway.’ A slight smile rose from Yeon-woo’s lips.
Not caring about his reaction, Yvlke went on explaining.
“Although this place is called the tutorial, it’s still quite difficult. Normally, when passing through a section, we advise players to organize a party with at least three to five members. That way, players can proceed smoothly.”
“That means I will get a higher score if I pass a section alone, right?”
“Yes, but it will be much harder.”
“Is there any benefit for a late solo player that catches up to the frontrunners?”
Yvlke’s eyes shone behind his monocle. He realized what Yeon-woo was thinking. His lips then turned into a broad smile, which made his fangs stand out even more.
“The Tower develops based on players’ achievements. The score calculation will be adjusted according to the player’s achievements, so you don’t have to worry about it.”
“Understood.”
After he finished confirming, Yeon-woo started to lightly warm up.
*Crackle*
‘No matter what, I must kill ‘that guy’. If I miss him, it will mess up the whole plan.’
Yeonwoo recalled the biggest of the hidden pieces that could only be obtained within the tutorial. The guy that appeared only during a certain time. Only by killing him would the succession process become much easier.
*Crunch* *Crackle*
His muscles began to tighten, his blood started to circulate faster, and his mind became lucid.
Yvlke took a step back. He had already noticed that Yeon-woo wouldn’t listen anymore to his advice.
There had been players like him before, and in the end, they were either one of two kinds. The ones that were too confident in their own abilities rushed forward and got fucked, or the ones that were truly a sight to behold.
Whatever it was this time, Yvlke thought it would be fun to watch, so he did not stop Yeon-woo.
“If that’s what you want.”
*Snap*
Yvlke lightly flicked his fingers, creating a huge panel in the air.
[Beginning the trial of floor 0.]
[Trial: You, a participant who aims to become a god, must prove yourself worthy of climbing The Tower. During the given time, pass through the 7 gates and 7 challenges.]
[Requirements: Achieve a high score within the time limit.]
“Let the trial begin.”
Yvlke said goodbye with a dignified look and disappeared like the wind. Then, a timer appeared in his place.
[549:37:88_96]
[549:37:88_95]
······
‘There’s about 22 days and 21 hours remaining?’
Yeon-woo clenched his dagger and stepped forward.
‘Let’s do this.’
A new message popped up as he crossed the line that seemed to separate the starting zone from Section A.
[You have entered Section A]
[Either break through or deactivate all the traps in this section]
It was another straight passage.
He felt like the darkness was beckoning him to go that way.
Yeonwoo carefully took a step forward, keeping his nerves on edge. But although he kept his guard up, nothing happened even after a considerable amount of time.
An ordinary person would have relaxed a bit by now, but the further in Yeon-woo went, the more alert he became.
Yvlke had said that it would be easy to pass, as long as players formed a party of 3 to 5 people. If that was correct, Yeon-woo knew that he shouldn’t underestimate this place. He knew that danger always came without prior notice. And when it came, it would wipe out everything in its path, like a raging storm. Just like at this moment.
*Thwish*
Coming out of nowhere, an arrow shot across the darkness.
Yeon-woo instinctively turned his body aside. The arrow brushed past his left forearm. He could feel a scorching pain, and blood splashed as his clothes were torn.
*Twing*
‘A steel arrow!’
As he came back to his senses, Yeon-woo frowned while looking at the arrow that was deeply embedded into the wall.
The arrow was not made out of wood, but steel. His arm would have been torn apart if he had allowed that arrow to hit him, and If it had hit his head or abdomen, it would have been deadly.
The diary had warned him about the various traps in Section A. However, the locations of the traps were different each time, and they were randomly activated, so his brother’s experience wasn’t of much help. All he could do was staying alert and dodge his way through.
*Swish* *Swish* *Swish*
Steel arrows flew towards him in succession, all coming from different directions. It was impossible to track them with the naked eye.
Yeon-woo crouched low and rolled forward. At the same time, he grabbed onto the backpack he was carrying on his back.
Because the backpack was thick, filled with clothes and various tools inside, it was useful as a cover. He had brought it for this purpose in the first place.
*Puck* *Puck* *Puck*
Three steel arrows penetrated his backpack, getting stuck in it. The impact was so strong that he felt like his arm would come off each time an arrow hit his backpack. Two of them had even pierced through it and poked out as if shyly showing their faces.
He somehow managed to straighten himself up and stuck closely to a wall. In a situation where he didn’t know where he was being sniped from, he had to reduce his physical exposure as much as possible. It was a rule he had learned the hard way.
However,
*Shlickt*
Some traps seemed to have been installed not only at the front but also at the back and the very bottom.
Before he knew it, there was an arrow stuck deep into his left thigh.
“Hup!”
At that moment, Yeon-woo eyes managed to catch a spark right ahead of him.
In spite of the terrible pain, he gritted his teeth and tried turning his body around, but,
*Puck* *Puck* *Puck*
Once again, arrows came flying in. They ripped through his backpack and penetrated his left shoulder, forearm, and ribs.
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