The Second Tutorial (7)
I wanted to find out who the owner of those footsteps was, but by the time I stepped out of the alley, it was already too late. No matter how curious I was, I couldn’t exactly run out with my pants down. After quickly pulling them up and emerging from the alley, there wasn’t a single trace of presence left around me. I scanned the area, but no matter how hard I looked, not a single human was in sight. Deciding to let it go for now, I turned my attention back to hunting goblins.
“Senior. Let me hunt goblins too.”
Song Dayeong’s demand came with the confidence of someone who had already paid her dues and expected compensation. Without thinking much of it, I nodded.
“Sure. Who said you couldn’t?”
“That’s not what I mean. I need you to help me so I can actually kill them.”
“Ugh.”
Just as I thought. I had roughly guessed it back when she first offered her body. Her eyes had burned with far too much determination for someone just trying to survive the immediate crisis. In a way, this might have been her goal from the very beginning.
“How many points do you need?”
“Five hundred.”
“Don’t joke around. There’s no way you haven’t killed a single one yet.”
“……”
Sure enough. The girl who had been so bold suddenly couldn’t meet my eyes. It looked like I was right.
“Well… I did kill one or two, but I spent the points on bread…”
My ominous premonitions were never wrong. Just as I suspected.
“So that means you need to kill a hundred from now on.”
“…Yes.”
“And since you probably don’t have money for food either, I’ll have to feed you too.”
Watching Song Dayeong silently nod, I could only shake my head in disbelief.
“Since I already put it in and pulled it out, is it too late to back out now?”
“Do you want to put it in again right now?”
She grabbed the waistband of her pants as if ready to drop them any second and pushed her hips toward me. I gave her firm ass a solid smack and shook my head.
Slap.
“Hngh!”
“Sigh. Let’s go. We don’t have time to waste if we’re going to kill a hundred.”
I briefly considered abandoning her, but throwing away a woman I hadn’t even properly tasted yet felt like too much of a waste.
But at this rate, I really am becoming trash.
At first, I thought she’d give up and leave if I acted too blatantly. But when she accepted it without resistance, one thing led to another in the heat of the moment and it ended up like this. Whatever. Since it’s come to this, I might as well live as trash. Life has always been about the strong and the weak. Just act properly in front of those stronger than you.
Anyone who’s played an RPG knows how much of a hassle it is to carry someone on your bus. The thrill of one-sided slaughter only lasts for the first few times. Repeating the same dungeon dozens of times while just clicking skills over and over? It’s enough to drive anyone insane. Yet there’s only one reason bus drivers exist: money. To get stronger you need resources, but when you’re short on them and have no way to obtain more, you earn by charging bus fare. The people who run buses despite the boredom, all for the single-minded goal of growth, are the RPG bus drivers.
Then what does that make me, hunting goblins in exchange for sex?
A fake taxi driver or something?
Stab!
While I was lost in pointless thoughts, Song Dayeong, who had been hiding behind me, suddenly darted forward and drove her spear deep into the neck of a goblin whose arms and legs I had already severed. The girl who used to hesitate and fumble at first was now stabbing with mechanical precision. I wasn’t sure whether to be happy about her growth or depressed that I still had ninety more to go.
Anyway.
The second wave had ended. After killing the last goblin and walking a bit in search of the next one, the timer reset. The time was still five hours. Seeing that it stayed the same twice, it seemed the rest period was fixed.
After confirming the timer reset, I decided to check the rewards first.
Well-Maintained Iron Sword ×1
Bottled Water ×10
Beef Soup ×10
Soft Bread ×10
70pt
“Ooh.”
The sword I’d been using had gotten dull from smashing through walls, so I’d been wondering what to do. This was perfect timing. I claimed the iron sword from the rewards, pulled it out, and gave it a few swings. It felt a bit lighter than my previous one, which made my movements noticeably sharper. Not bad at all.
“Is that the first-place reward?”
Song Dayeong stared at the sword that had suddenly appeared out of thin air, her eyes wide with wonder. I shrugged in response and asked what I was curious about.
“What rank did you get?”
“Me? Fourteenth.”
“Fourteenth? That’s higher than I expected.”
“Really? I thought it was pretty low.”
Was it? Well, out of roughly one hundred and fifty goblins, I had killed about fifty. If ten kills got you fourteenth place, then everyone above me must have killed at least that many, if not more. Even considering shared kills, it was still on the low side.
“Senior. So first place only gives you that sword?”
“No, that’s not all. What did you get for fourteenth?”
“Nothing much. Five soft breads and five points.”
That was pretty stingy. I’d assumed the upper ranks would get decent rewards, but apparently not.
“Why are you looking at me like that? This is actually pretty good.”
“If you’re satisfied, that’s all that matters.”
I had been thinking about sharing some soup out of pity, but since she said she was satisfied, there was no need. Or so I thought.
“No! I’m not satisfied at all!”
She was quick on the uptake. The moment I trailed off, she immediately changed her tune. It was so cute that I took out the soup and bread.
“Wow! Beef soup. This is the one Soyeon unnie ate, right?”
“Probably. You’ll know once you try it.”
When I gestured for her to eat first while she stared at the soup like it was the holy grail, she hesitated for a moment before devouring it with frantic speed.
“Eat slowly. I’m not going to take it away.”
“Yes…”
She must have felt embarrassed, because after I said that, her face flushed red and she began eating more carefully. Still, I understood. From the first tutorial until now, all she had eaten for days was that tasteless bread. And even then, with so many people around, she probably hadn’t gotten a whole piece to herself. Anyone would have eaten like a starving animal when presented with beef soup.
“Listen while you eat.”
Song Dayeong, her cheeks puffed out with bread, nodded.
“I’m going to head outside the village for a bit. While I’m gone, hide somewhere. If you run into any goblins, use this to fight.”
She looked confused as she accepted the chipped sword I handed her.
“Why are you going outside the village? Can’t I just come with you?”
She already looked scared. I shook my head. If we went together, I’d inevitably have to explain the hidden piece. And I didn’t want to reveal that information just yet.
“It’s dangerous, so don’t even think about following me. I’ll come back as fast as I can, even if it takes a while.”
“You’re not abandoning me, right?”
“If I was going to abandon you, I wouldn’t have fed you.”
What a waste that would be. If I planned to throw her away, I wouldn’t have taken care of her like this.
“I’m going. Stay hidden.”
With the conversation over, I stood up. The sun had sunk much lower than before. It would start getting dark soon. Wandering around the mountains at night would be dangerous, so I needed to move while I still could.
I quickly made my way back to the cave where I had discovered the hidden piece. The reason I was returning to a cave I had already cleared was to figure out how these goblins were appearing. If they spawned from the same cave, I’d have to embark on an endless journey to find another hidden piece. But if they didn’t, then they must be coming from somewhere else. In that case, I could just look for other caves or places where goblins were likely to gather.
But as I walked, I realized something. There was no way these artificially created spaces would naturally allow goblins to gather and breed. Luniel must have summoned and placed them here. So was there even any point in going back?
I considered skipping it and searching for another hidden piece instead, but in the end I headed for that first cave anyway. My assumption might still be correct, after all. With that optimistic thought, I continued forward.
“There’s nothing here.”
Once again, the horrific stench assaulted my nose. I pinched it shut and scanned the plaza where the goblins should have been gathered, but there wasn’t a single one in sight.
“Hmm…”
Should I just leave? They might spawn here again, but since I already cleared this place, I needed to look for other potential hidden pieces.
The moment I turned to exit the cave—
Step. Step.
The sound of footsteps coming from outside the cave made me quickly hide behind the entrance.
“What is this place?”
“How the hell did that Yoon Iseo bastard know about this spot?”
“You think he really regressed like the kids are saying?”
“I didn’t believe it at first, but after entering the second tutorial, I’m starting to. The way he kills goblins… that’s not something a normal person can do.”
“Shh! Keep it down. It echoes in here.”
Were they tailing me? Their stalking skills were incredibly sloppy, but then again, they were just college students until a few days ago. They wouldn’t know proper surveillance techniques. If they did, that would make them dangerous, and I’d have to get rid of them.
I quietly drew my sword and prepared myself, waiting for them to enter. Leaning against the wall and holding my breath, I listened as the footsteps grew closer. When their shadows stretched long across the dimly lit plaza, I stepped out before they could fully enter and blocked their path with my sword.
“Who the hell are you?”