The Tutorial Ends

They say being unemployed is comfortable for the body but uncomfortable for the mind. Sitting on the sofa with the slave I'd missed so much felt nice, but as the time dragged on, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was turning into a lazy bum.

"Hey."

"Yeah?"

"Shouldn't we do something productive?"

"Productive? Ah… you mean that?"

"…"

No. I wasn't sure exactly what she had in mind, but the word "productive" clearly meant something different in her head than it did in mine. I told her that not every act of creation involved making babies and shoved the damn slave off as she tried to climb on top of me.

"What the hell? Don't kill the mood—take your pants off already."

"No… I'm saying that beastly act isn't what I meant by productive."

"Then what is productive? Nothing beats this for making the most of your time in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the twenty-first century."

"?!"

She lunged at me like we were wrestling. The thought of getting drained again if she stripped me sent me scrambling to my feet, shouting. Once she calmed down, I made a suggestion to the visibly displeased slave.

"Hey. Did you do your daily quest today? If not, let's knock it out together."

"Daily quest? You mean Lost Ark?"

"Yeah. You like games, right?"

So hurry up and put those clothes you aggressively took off back on. With an awkward laugh, I sat Elphy in front of the computer chair and demonstrated my advanced skill of dressing her at the same time.

"Nice. You really do look prettiest when you're all wrapped up."

"Bullshit…"

"Huh? Ah… yeah, you're dying to play, right? Same as me."

So let's just enjoy the game from now on. I laughed out loud while silently cursing her out in my head. (Shit… she's throwing a fit just because I haven't given her sex in a while…)(Even if I'm technically living off her, I'm still her master. Is this really okay?)

The more I thought about it, the more it felt like she was treating me as some kind ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of living dildo, which was oddly irritating. And of course, my class was a tank, so even in this damn game I was stuck taking hits with my body.

"Hey… what are you doing! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠You're losing aggro. Get in there and body-block!"

"Huh? Oh… uh, right."

"No… don't use your skill now! Go to the right side and…"

"Oh… right side?"

"No… haa… just switch places with me."

"…"

Damn it… this was depressing. It was my first time running this dungeon and she couldn't even teach me properly. She told me all I had to do was stand in front and take hits, but why was it this complicated? If I'd known I'd just get nagged like this, I would've done the daily quest alone and switched to another game.

I poured all my frustration into mashing the mouse and keyboard, but maybe my reflexes really were declining with age—nothing felt easy anymore.

"Ah! No… why the hell did you take that hit! Why are you dying…!!"

"Huh? Oh… I swear I dodged it…"

"Dodged my ass. I saw you standing there like an idiot and eating the attack."

"…"

Shit… yeah, sorry for being an idiot. Sorry for being old, for my brain not working fast enough, for my reflexes being so shot that even pressing buttons is delayed by a few seconds. The situation where I couldn't tell who was the master and who was the slave was already depressing enough, and now she was clearing the dungeon by herself with godlike control while I had nothing to say.

"Whew… that was a pain to clear."

"People who know what they're doing finish it in five minutes. Thanks to you it took ten."

"No… you try getting old. Nothing moves the way you want it to."

My eyes were getting a little blurry and my reactions were slowing down. I tried voicing my grievances, but a race that didn't age probably couldn't understand aging.

"Ha? Old? I'm way older than you if we're going by actual age. What are you even talking about?"

"That's because you lack effort. If you start taking private lessons from me right now…"

"…"

She claimed she could run this dungeon in her sleep while doing… whatever vulgar thing she'd just said. I had no idea where she'd picked up that kind of language, but watching her adapt so thoroughly to human society that she was now steeped in its worst habits left a bitter taste in my mouth. Back when she first sat in front of this computer, she'd been so adorable.

"Hey, 'dick grinding' or whatever—let's use pretty words, okay?"

"Pretty words? You say 'fuck' every other word when you drive."

"…"

Damn woman. She never let a single word go. Sigh… this was all because this useless master lacked virtue. I sighed and clicked to exit the game.

"Wait…! You said you'd teach me—why are you quitting?"

"I don't really feel like playing anymore. I'm just gonna sleep."

"What? Are you sulking because I said something again?"

"Come on, let's do the event together instead. There's a jumping event going on right now."

"…Jumping event?"

A jumping event, huh… Come to think of it, this was her first time experiencing one. No wonder she'd looked so excited. With her looking forward to it this much, I couldn't refuse.

"I was actually waiting to do it with you instead of playing alone."

"Do it together? Really?"

"…"

Haa… if only she always made that face. The sharp attitude from earlier was gone, replaced by a bright smile, and I found myself smiling without realizing it.

"Yeah. Let's do it together."

"What should we raise?"

I'd always just been the one taking hits in front, but today was my first time playing as a dealer. It felt different from what I'd imagined—maybe because I took after my master, everything felt a little clunky.

"Hey. Is the archer's skill cooldown always this mismatched? My skills keep sitting there unused…"

"That's because archer is an auto-attack class… just hitting normally is stronger than using skills."

"You only need to use skills once in a while when there's an opening."

"…Really?"

"Yeah… you said you've played this game for three years. How do you not know this?"

"…"

Sorry… unlike you, I don't sit around running a hundred dungeons a day. I'm just a casual player who enjoys chatting by the village campfire, so sorry. I moved my clunky, master-resembling character with difficulty and somehow managed to finish the tutorial, but apparently something was still wrong because another scolding came from beside me.

"Ah! Don't skip that…"

"Why? I'm a skip addict, I'm skipping everything. Ehehehe…"

"Haa… I really want to punch that stupid face of yours. This is the alpha and omega of this game."

"Here. Quick! Come over here and watch mine."

"…"

What the hell could be so amazing that she was making such a fuss about alpha and omega…? Out of sheer rebelliousness I tried not to look, but she kindly turned the monitor toward me, so I had no choice. Thanks to that, I was experiencing an in-game cinematic for the first time in the three years since I'd started playing.

I found myself getting absorbed in the surprisingly well-made cutscene.

- In the beginning, there was a god. That god created another god to serve him.

- Creation and destruction. And maintenance and exclusion to assist them.

- They granted power to all races, including humans. The so-called color magic…

"…"

God. And magic. If I'd seen this a year ago, I would've just thought, "Wow, they did a good job." But living in a world similar to the game's setting made it feel more real. The difference was that in the game, only the chosen received magic, while in reality everyone except me could get it if they wanted.

"How is it? Pretty well made, right?"

"Yeah… it is pretty good."

"See? I wasn't exaggerating when I called it the alpha and omega."

"The wall section later on, and the part where the black dragon guarding the castle appears, are really well done…"

At the very least, let's clear up to the part where the wall falls today. Watching this horned otherworlder get so excited about a game left me with a strange feeling. By the way, wasn't the story supposed to auto-skip for a jumping character?

"Huh? What's this? My level's going up all of a sudden…"

"Of course it is—you set it as a jumping character."

"What?! No! You still have to let me see the story!!!"

"The protagonist from the discriminated outskirts grows while fighting against evil…"

"…"

Well, well. If you didn't know better, you'd think she'd single-handedly taken down all the evils in the outskirts and risen to glory. There was such a thing as over-immersion, but this was practically possession level. She'd probably seen the same story dozens of times already—how was she not sick of it?

"Hey. Are you listening to me?"

"Oh… yeah, I'm listening. Keep going."

Like a radio playing beside me, her story flowed on. I half-listened while clicking on the NPC in front of me and slowly reading the white text that appeared below.

- O chosen one of the gods… You did not yield even in battle against the great white wolf.

- Even if your heart stops, one chosen by the gods does ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠not die.

- From now on, you will face true evil… and advance without yielding to any pain.

The NPC, who reminded me of a village chief, spoke to my character like that. I stared blankly at the monitor and thought.

(White wolf… does not die…)

(Come to think of it, I almost died to that white wolf too…?)

A familiar image. And a familiar message. The emotion I was feeling now wasn't just because of what happened yesterday.

- Haven't you heard this somewhere before?

- Haven't you seen this somewhere before?

Based on my fading consciousness in the darkness, hadn't it surfaced in my mind?

I tried to grasp the hazy memory.

(What is this?)

(Back then, I definitely…)

"…"

It felt like it was about to come back but wouldn't. I drifted through the sea of memories while moving my character forward. Memories that should have been forgotten. Stories that should have remained asleep deep in my consciousness. The NPC wishing me luck now that the tutorial was over, and the faint thread of memory, both gradually faded away.

Yes, that was how it should have been.

But then that one line—the system notification that appeared the moment I left the field—rekindled the memory that had been dying down, setting it ablaze once more. Only now could I be certain.