The First Tutorial

2. The First Tutorial

When I opened my eyes, it was another unfamiliar ceiling. No. This time, was it even a ceiling? Honestly, when I made eye contact with that truck, I figured if I woke up again it would be in a hospital or someone else's body. So I expected the usual hospital tiles or some strange wallpaper and fluorescent lights. But what I saw now was neither. Just a pitch-black sky. Not a single star, nothing but an endless, suffocating darkness—so dark that opening my eyes or keeping them shut made no difference. The only reason I knew they were open was the faint sensation of having done so. There was truly nothing.

“Hero Candidate Yoon Iseo. If you have regained consciousness, please stand up.”

For a moment I wondered if I was actually dead, but apparently not. I could hear a woman's voice. Or maybe this was the afterlife and a grim reaper was calling me. I didn't know which was true, but one thing was certain: that woman held the answer. Eager to hear it, I quickly got to my feet and turned toward the voice.

“So it was heaven, not hell.” The words slipped out the moment I saw her. Her pure white hair and delicate features contrasted sharply with her voluptuous figure—hardly hellish. But the most striking thing was the wings ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on her back. One on each side, they made it clear this wasn't hell. Combined with the title “Hero Candidate,” the conclusion was obvious.

“I really did die, huh?” Getting hit by a truck like that and surviving would have been stranger. I roughly understood the situation. This was a typical otherworld transfer story. I'd died in a truck accident, been sent to another world as a hero candidate, and if I defeated the Demon King or some terrifying villain, I'd get a wish granted. The details varied by novel, but the basic plot was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠always the same.

“You seem remarkably calm compared to the others, Hero Candidate Yoon Iseo.”

“Ah, sorry. I've been through something similar before. Still, this is pretty amazing. I knew ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠something would happen, but I never expected this.”

I'd assumed possession meant the story would start from there, not that I'd die and cross into another world entirely.

“I don't know what you mean by similar, but may I begin the explanation?”

I nodded readily at the angel's polite request.

“Welcome, Hero Candidate Yoon Iseo. I am Luniel, the angel who will guide you. Currently, you are…”

Luniel, who had introduced herself as an angel, explained my situation in a gentle voice. It wasn't much different from what I'd expected. The only problem was…

Did I ever read anything like this?

I'd read plenty of web novels, but nothing came to mind. Even after getting possessed, I'd kept reading them, including otherworld transfer stories. If I'd known this would happen, I would've only read those. Not that it would have helped much. Unless I'd read the exact same novel multiple times and transferred into it, I'd only remember the broad plot, not the details. So it was basically useless.

“Hero Candidate Yoon Iseo, do you agree to obtain a new life and save Aeteria?”

Who would refuse? Unless someone had zero attachment to life, they'd agree. I still had plenty of reasons to live, so I nodded.

Twice in my early twenties. And I hadn't even skipped the military—I'd gone twice. That alone was unfair enough. I couldn't die here.

“Thank you, Hero Candidate Yoon Iseo. As I mentioned, there will be a three-stage tutorial before you are sent to Aeteria. Once you are ready, please let me know and I will transport you immediately.”

“Send me now. There's nothing else to do here anyway.”

I didn't know if she was hiding anything, but based on what she'd said, there was nothing more to do here. The time she gave us was probably just to let us relax before the tutorial, nothing special.

“I like your straightforward attitude.”

Luniel smiled faintly and extended her hand toward me. A low hum sounded from somewhere, and a white light burst from her palm. The light shot down to my feet and formed an incomprehensible magic circle. While I stood there mesmerized by the unfamiliar magic, the circle that had been spinning beneath me suddenly stopped and began rising up my body. It moved slowly, and wherever it touched, that part of me vanished from sight as if it had never existed. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠By the time my body was half gone, only my head remained, staring blankly at Luniel. She looked at me and spoke one last time.

“Since you've followed instructions so well, I'll give you a tip. Acquire as many points as possible, Hero Candidate Yoon Iseo.”

Her eyes were full of goodwill. She'd probably dealt with plenty of troublemakers. Still, if she was going to give a tip, it should be something useful. Just as I opened my mouth to complain about the obvious advice—

“What kind of ti—”

The magic circle swallowed my mouth and devoured me completely. When I opened my eyes again, I was in an unfamiliar forest.

According to Luniel's explanation, the Aeteria continent wasn't much different from the usual fantasy setting we knew. Of course, it was dark fantasy, not romance fantasy. Death and rape ran rampant regardless of age or gender, and one moment of carelessness could turn you into a slave. There were medieval-style nations like empires and kingdoms. When the Demon King's forces—servants of the Demon God, known as the demon race—invaded the once-peaceful world, the goddess Aeteria used her power to summon people from other worlds to hold the collapsing front lines. She called them Hero Candidates.

When I asked Luniel why we weren't called Heroes but Hero Candidates, she said the title of Hero could only be obtained by killing the Demon King. Until then, we were merely candidates with potential.

“How stingy. What's with this ‘Hero Candidate’ crap? Would it kill them to just call us Heroes?”

Apparently the world I was heading to didn't have the saying “a single word can repay a thousand-nyang debt.” Otherwise they wouldn't use such an unpleasant title.

Thud!

“Kieeeek!”

The goblin let out a shriek and collapsed, a dagger buried deep in its throat. After repeating the same action for hours, I pulled the blade out without a second thought. Blood gushed from the wound as the creature slumped to the ground. It gasped for a moment before going still. Then it turned into light and vanished, leaving not a single drop of blood behind. The clean disposal was satisfying, but—

“Fuck, what the hell am I supposed to eat here?”

Five hours into the tutorial. Thanks to my training, the goblins weren't much of a threat. The real problem was food. I'd wandered around for five hours searching for anything edible, but found nothing. All I saw were tall trees, weeds up to my ankles, and a timer floating in the sky instead of a sun. No fruit, no animals, not even insects. This space was probably artificially created and contained only goblins.

Even if it was disgusting, I could have eaten them if I got desperate enough. I'd done survival training before dying, so I had a decent tolerance for repulsive food. But when a goblin died, it disappeared without leaving a drop of blood, so I couldn't even use them as rations. I'd even tried cutting off limbs and roasting them just to test it, but the moment the goblin died, my sense of fullness vanished too. It was like the system was blocking any loopholes. When the fullness disappeared, the hunger came back even stronger. It was torture. Of course, after about five minutes it returned to the level I'd been feeling before. At this rate, the goal of the three-day tutorial seemed to be starving us.

Three days without food… This wasn't going to be easy. I'd nearly lost my mind after fasting for two days during survival training. Now they wanted me to fight goblins while starving for three days. The place I was going must be brutal. I still hadn't found water either. If this continued, I'd die of dehydration before hunger.

Step. Step.

After wandering for a long time in search of food and water, I finally spotted a suspicious object.

“A temple in a place like this?”

It was barely worthy of being called a temple. A few broken pillars wrapped in vines and a single goddess statue illuminated by sunlight were all that remained. It felt like the ruined shrine of some forgotten god from a game or novel. It would've been nice if there was a hidden easter egg that gave skills or something, but—

Ding.

My tension eased the moment the translucent window appeared in front of the statue. I was in first place. So there were no regressors? I'd wondered if there was some protagonist-type character mixed in, but seeing myself at the top made it seem unlikely there were any regressors in this batch. It was still possible someone was hiding their power to avoid attention, but Luniel had told me to gather as many points as possible, so there was no need to worry about that.

Well, that's their problem.

Shadowboxing with something that might not even exist was pointless. I pushed the thought of regressors aside and opened the shop to see what was available. There was plenty of stuff, starting with food. First, I bought the most urgent item—water.

Thud.

The moment I purchased it, a leather pouch fell from the sky. The number 5 was engraved on its side. Since one pouch of water cost exactly 5 points, the number inside the brackets must represent points spent. The distinction between total and spent points suggested there was more to it, but nothing stood out right now, so I moved on. I picked up the pouch and drank.

“Hah… damn, it's lukewarm.”

I'd hoped for a refreshing chill and felt a bit disappointed, but after seven hours without water, the taste didn't matter. My mood improved instantly—until I checked how much was left and my spirits sank again. I'd only taken a single sip, yet more than half the water was gone. I hadn't spilled any; I'd even been careful to only fill half my mouth. This just meant the price was steep. Five points equaled one goblin. I'd killed twelve on the way here, so one goblin really did equal 5 points. At that rate, two sips of water cost one goblin. With the second-place person at only 10 points, I doubted the others would survive.

The ranking list even had names crossed out. I didn't know what it meant, but it couldn't be good. If I had to guess…

“They're dead, aren't they?”

Luniel had clearly said that dying in the tutorial only sent you to the next one—you wouldn't truly die. So I wasn't particularly worried, but it still left a bitter taste. A bunch of students from my department who'd gone on the same MT trip had all died in one car accident, and now they had to die again to goblins? It was hard to put into words. Still, there was nothing to be done. If you couldn't adapt, you got eaten. The place we were going wasn't the soft modern world or some romance fantasy. It was dark fantasy. If you didn't steel yourself, even after the tutorial ended you'd quickly lose your life or end up a slave suffering something worse. If you didn't want that, the easiest thing would be to run to the angel and beg her to kill you.