Tutorial Stage #2 - "You Came In Here Alone? Lmao, Good Luck With That"

I felt a little hurt.

I'd opened the community tab with my heart full of excited anticipation, only to be met with nothing but ice-cold reactions. I skimmed through the community's atmosphere with a familiar sense of resignation.

"Ah, I see."

So that's why everyone was so hostile. They were wary of new competitors showing up. "Still, that's a bit much, isn't it?" Shouldn't fellow professionals be cheering each other on? Especially when we're all risking our lives to climb this tower.

"That's kinda lonely."

The information I managed to gather from the community tab was this: Once you enter the Tower, you can't receive help from others. And unless you form a party and enter together from the start, there's no way for anyone to interfere midway through.

"I'm completely isolated...?"

I looked around. The only thing left was the ashes of the goblin that had just crumbled away. Naturally, there hadn't been any sign of other beings the entire time.

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"Why are they dissing Earth like that?" It was honestly a little insulting to us Earthlings.

"This is so unfair."

Who said I wanted to come here? I only woke up after Awakening and found myself in this state. 'Hey kid! That's exactly why I told you not to come here!' I could almost hear Chief Choi's familiar nagging voice, but I shook my head vigorously and faced reality.

It was pretty much what I'd expected.

"Well, at least I got a nice solo level-up out of it."

Still, I probably had enough means to prepare for what was coming. The existence of Predator's Domain was incredibly reassuring.

'Low-grade Normal Strike' and 'Low-grade Normal Slash.' How these would grow further was something I'd have to figure out gradually. But the important thing right now was that even with this crude shield, I had a way to attack while defending myself.

"Four stages left."

The first section had been three goblins. From now on, I'd have to clear even harder difficulties all by myself. And to do that...

"Goblins."

I recalled the state of the monsters I'd just fought. All of them were ugly creatures that looked like failed attempts at mimicking humans.

"What a nice guy."

He probably had an incredibly handsome or beautiful face. You could already tell from the way he typed.

"Alright then."

I stood up and prepared for the next stage.

There was no option to refuse or run away. "Alright, let's go."

I nodded at the system's question, pushing my gloomy feelings aside as best I could.

.. ... ....

When I opened my eyes again, a peaceful landscape almost identical to the previous one greeted me.

'So the stage itself doesn't change?' It seemed like I'd be fighting multiple types of monsters within a single stage.

"Kerruk!"

Right as I had that thought, green-skinned owners of the presences revealed themselves in the distance. Two more shield-bearers than before, plus three goblins wielding blades and clubs behind them. And one archer in the rear.

The noticeably increased numbers added a heavy sense of pressure.

"Come on in."

I immediately raised my finger to the skill window and taunted the goblins. 'Shields up.'

In my hands right now were a long club and the old shield I'd picked up earlier. I didn't know about anything else, but I had to be careful of arrows flying in from range. If I got hit once and my movement ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠became impaired, I wouldn't be able to block the goblins swarming in from all directions.

"Kerruk!"

The goblins seemed to know this too. They let out wicked laughs and tried to spread out.

'Slash.'

I was obviously going all-in on lethality. I watched sharp, invisible blades flow around me in a certain radius, then immediately charged into their midst.

"Kerrk?!"

One startled shield-bearer rushed at me. I kept an eye on the movements of the ones charging from behind while meeting the shield-bearer head-on.

- Swish!

"Kek...?!"

The shield goblin that had entered my range looked confused as an invisible slash grazed its skin.

"That stings a bit, doesn't it?"

Swish. Slice. As red lines appeared on its body in real time, I grabbed its shield. At that moment—

- Whoosh!

"Shit!"

I hurriedly raised the shield in my hand at the sound of something cutting through the air.

- Thunk!

A chilling impact transmitted through the shield. When I looked down, I saw an arrow embedded dead center like a bullseye.

"Kerruk!"

"Look at this bastard."

Watching the one in the distance cackling with glee, I felt the strong urge to go over and greet it properly.

"Ke, kehek...!"

Meanwhile, the shield-bearer's vision blurred from the one I was holding, and it soon went limp. It couldn't withstand the slashes grazing its body and the resulting blood loss.

"Next."

Having watched their comrade get shredded in real time, I could see hesitation creep into their movements.

"Waaah!!"

I let out a loud shout at the opening, and the goblins flinched and stumbled backward. I immediately charged at the closest one.

The goblin holding a club froze, unable to do anything. I swung the club with all my might using the momentum from my charge—

- Wham!

"Fuck! Who shoots without a cooldown?!"

I panicked at the arrow flying in again and changed my strategy. 'Just push in deep.'

My plan was to use the other goblins' bodies as shields to dodge the arrows.

"Kerruk?!"

"Keek!"

The shield-bearer and the three vanguard goblins glared at me with expressions that seemed to say, 'Why is this guy suddenly acting like this?' I ignored them and pushed one step deeper into their formation.

- Slaaaash...!

"Kueeek!"

Since they'd entered my domain as well, they instantly became targets of the slashes.

'Not bad.'

I'd actually wanted to test it. Whether the skill only applied to a single target or affected everything within the area. And the result was...

"Kieek!"

It was proven to some extent as red lines appeared on every goblin around me.

'Everything within the domain.'

Maybe because it was a skill gained from the Awakening perk, its effect was quite good.

"Hup!"

I took a quick breath and—

- Wham!

I smashed the old shield into the temple of the club-wielding goblin, who was panicking from the sudden slash.

- Crack!

Its head caved in nicely. Its eyes rolled back and it collapsed.

'Two down.'

Four left. Behind the falling goblin, my eyes met the rear archer, who was panicking and waving its bow around.

"Just wait a little."

"Keeek!"

As soon as one died, another reacted. The shield-bearer, hurriedly remembering its role, threw its body forward to block me.

"What are you doing?"

But its movements were clearly slowed by the slashes, so I couldn't help but let out a dry laugh.

- Crunch!

I struck the leg it couldn't cover with my shield using the club, and its small body bent cleanly. I stomped on its neck to finish it, then took care of the remaining vanguard goblins in a similar fashion.

- Thud.

After roughly wiping the blood splatter off my cheek, I saw the rear archer trembling violently.

"I'm a fan."

Before it could aim its bow at me, I quickly hurled the thing in my hand with all my strength.

"Ke, keeek!"

It flinched in terror, but my attack didn't land. That was fine, though.

- Tap.

That alone was more than enough time for me to close in on it.

.. ... ....

"Leveled up again."

Maybe because the difficulty was higher this time, my level rose even more. Perhaps the solo bonus was applied here too.

"Oh."

I immediately selected the only skill I had.

- Shaaaa...!

Feeling the domain's energy grow stronger than before, I caught my breath.

"I hope it keeps going like this."

Getting skills, getting rewards. Making a ton of money, becoming a Hunter, and living it up in Korea... I wanted all of that. But there were still stages I had to get through first.

"Let's go."

Nothing would change if I just stood still, so I decided to head straight into the next stage.