The Tutorial and the Talent Shop

It was a dream, or was it reality? I had only blinked once, yet the world before my eyes had shifted. I went from a sunny afternoon in the park to a dark, gloomy void.

I hadn't heard a single explanation before I was led away by her hand. "Where is this?" A massive tower appeared before me, shrouded in mist. It looked like it had to be over a hundred stories tall.

"Wait a second..." With those final words, the woman vanished like magic. She disappeared as if she had never existed in the first place.

*Creeeak— Thud—!* The tower door slammed shut. Then, a translucent holographic window filled my vision. "What the hell is this..." Even in a situation where I couldn't tell if this was reality, my body moved, driven by survival instinct. All I could see was a massive empty space, and some equipment lying on the floor.

"It's not like this is a game." Leather armor and a single weapon. From the moment I first met that strange woman until now, I had no choices. This time was no different. I grabbed them.

Once I finished equipping the gear, the holographic window appeared again. At the same time, the massive empty space began to fill up. Giant bushes and trees. It was close to a jungle.

*Thump- thump- thuuump—!* White objects were rushing toward me, tearing through the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bushes. "Rabbits?" The number of rabbits pouring out like a pack of dogs was at least several hundred. Even if they were small animals, seeing them charge with blood-red eyes made me feel a genuine threat to my life.

"Wait a minute!" Despite my desperate cry, the rabbits didn't stop. There was no choice. I had to do something to survive. *Whoosh—!* I swung the sword with all my might. The feeling of swinging a sword for the first time in my life was lighter than I expected. *Squeak!* The tutorial, and the 1st floor at that. The rabbits, the weakest of the weak, fell one after another even to my clumsy swordplay. Honestly, it was almost anticlimactic.

"This is exhausting." The time it took to hunt all the rabbits was roughly 10 minutes.

Without even a moment to catch my breath, the scenery before me changed again. From a jungle to a snowy mountain where a blizzard raged.

Snowy mountains, caves, volcanoes. Yetis, golems, fire goblins. The environment changed on every floor, and the mobs I had to hunt changed as well. Creatures that looked like they belonged in a game attacked me, aiming for my life.

"Just die, all of you." But this was a tutorial. It was just a system designed to help me adapt to the environment here, so there was never a case where I was in danger of dying. Even if, by some chance, a bone broke— *Gulp.* I drank the special liquid provided on each floor. My wounds were healed in an instant through the potion.

*Yelp—!!* On the 10th floor, the last one. As I killed the gray wolf in the snowy mountain I had returned to, the tutorial ended. Was that it? Unlike before, the tutorial ended without a special notification window. The scenery before my eyes turned back to the dreary appearance it had before I entered the tower.

The time taken from the 1st to the 10th floor was approximately 24 hours. I couldn't tell if that was average or below, but seeing the grade I was assigned, it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was below average.

Seeing it in numbers, it was even more miserable. I didn't know the stats would be this trashed as a result of the tutorial. If I had known, I would have fought tooth and nail. Though, it probably wouldn't have changed much.

"No talent, huh." I knew. I was always behind others no matter what I did. Whether I studied, worked, or even played games. There were countless cases where I spent over a week on things that took others an hour to finish.

"I knew it, but..." But what I was curious about was why this 'Talent' was displayed on the status window. "Is it possible to obtain talent?"

A holographic window generated as if to answer my question. "Check." There was nothing else to see. Talent Shop. If I could just get the talent I had wanted so much, I would pay anything.

Combat, Lifestyle, Magic. Rather than talents needed for reality, these were talents for conquering the tower. The talent that would be most helpful to me at this point was, without a doubt, combat.

A pay-to-win system that made me want to curse. I let out a dry laugh because it was so absurd. "Cost?" The talents I could buy were only two. First, Sword Mastery was essential. "And the other one is..." - Evasion Talent. Survival comes first. If I can just survive, I can buy other talents anytime.

My first talents in life are Sword Mastery and Evasion. My family would be so thrilled. "Choi Suhyun, I will now begin the explanation of the main game." Only after the tutorial ended did the strange woman appear again.

"Let's hear what kind of situation this is." I had followed along because I was preoccupied with the situation before my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eyes, but it was a series of incomprehensible events. From teleportation to gaining abilities from a game. "Choi Suhyun, as a participant, you must conquer the tower."

To summarize her words, it was, in a word, the Apex of All Races. It's a game that gathers various races from other worlds in one place to select the strongest race, and among them, the one single winner. It was a battle of creations by the gods who manage the game, the gods who personally made each race. The condition for winning is to conquer the 'Tower of Genesis' created by each god. This was also the reason why the tutorial had the form of a tower.

"For your reference, the lowest-ranked race so far is human." That other worlds existed, and that humans were the lowest-ranked race, was absurd. "What are the winning benefits? Prize money or something?" Since it's a game where other races participate, there should be corresponding benefits. "The winning participant is granted honor, wealth, and the qualification for eternal life."

Benefits that money can't buy. More than that, they even give money. It's a reward anyone would want. Especially if they are strong enough to participate in this game. "Lastly, I will ask. Will you participate?" Even if I return to my original world, all that awaits me are the cold gazes of the people of the world. Coldly speaking, the possibility of winning is slim. But my life was ruined anyway. There is no hesitation. "I will participate."

On the way from the tutorial tower to the main game arena. Breaking the heavy silence, she spoke first. "I will introduce myself formally. I am Ariel, your manager. My race is Elf." The identity of the blunt and rude woman was indeed an Elf. Was it because I was human? There was no denying that she was particularly cold to me.

"Do you have any other questions?" The only rule and winning condition of the game. To conquer the Tower of Genesis created by the gods, the operators of the game. It doesn't matter how the process goes. You just have to be the first to conquer it. There is no need to climb the tower with the same race, nor is there any ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠need to climb with anyone. What they look at is only the result.

"Why was I chosen?" Even though there are other human participants, the reason I was chosen among so many people. She said it was purely at the manager's discretion, but I was curious about her inner thoughts. "Choi Suhyun, you were fated to die." Ariel's words pierced my heart like a dagger. Accidental death, or suicide? I don't want to imagine any kind of death. Probably the latter. Because it was a situation where it wouldn't be strange if I died soon, trapped in deep depression.

"You must have the ability to see the future?" "It is an inherent ability of the Elves." Just like in fantasy books or games, races had inherent abilities. The foresight of the Elves, the physicality of the Orcs, the dexterity of the Dwarves, etc. The future she saw for me didn't look hopeful at all.

"Then, did you just gather humans like me?" "No. Choi Suhyun, you are..." Ariel trailed off. What kind of words would pop out of her mouth? Feeling uneasy, I changed the subject. "The other participants must have gotten used to life here, right?" According to Ariel's explanation, managers had to maintain a certain population for balance between races. The fact that I participated in the game meant that someone before me had died.

"Countless time has passed since the game began." As much as I participated late, the difference in stats is obvious, and there is also a gap in information. There are two ways to survive. Grit your teeth and hone yourself to grow as fast as possible, or cling to them.

"Don't trust the other races too much. Especially the same race..." "You mean I should be careful of humans." There is a saying that when you go abroad, you should be careful of Koreans. Here, it wasn't Koreans, but I had to be wary of humans.

"If I leave here, is it goodbye with you, manager?" "For the time being, yes." Honestly, it was a pity. Even though she was cold-blooded, she was an Elf, and she had an outstanding appearance. A typical appearance of an Elf. Her pale skin and blue eyes were even marvelous. I had never met other races, but she was definitely a beauty even among Elves.

'Hold it.' Suppressing the desire to pull on her pointed ears, I walked until I reached the end of the road. Light leaking through a small crack in the door. *Thump-thump-* My heart began to beat again. Excitement or fear. I was captured by an emotion I couldn't even understand myself. "Then, I wish you luck."