The Third Tutorial (1)
I was tired, but I didn’t sleep nearly as long as I’d expected. A little under eight hours, by my guess. I felt no fatigue at all. I could clearly tell my stamina had improved. Normally, after exerting myself like that, some weariness would linger even after rest. Now I felt crisp and refreshed. No wonder the protagonists in fantasy stories obsess over mana and aura. Experiencing it firsthand, I realized it was pure cheating. It raised physical ability, obviously, but it also came with endless side benefits—stamina recovery, attack power enhancement, and more. Aura, you magnificent bidet-like bastard. I can’t go back to life without you anymore. Take responsibility.
Slap!
I must have felt too refreshed; my mind had started wandering into insane territory. I slapped my own cheek hard, took a shower to snap out of it, and finally opened the shop. Shopping didn’t take long. I had a solid 1,865 points and already knew exactly what I wanted, so I bought them instantly and closed the window.
Threading the Needle — Highest Grade
One-Handed Sword Technique — High-Intermediate
Physical Training — Intermediate
I had wavered between axe mastery and Threading the Needle, but since I already possessed sword-related talent, picking up axe work felt like a waste. I went with Threading the Needle. I had no idea how valuable it would prove, but it seemed far more useful than an axe skill I’d never use.
The weapon technique planted the fundamentals of one-handed sword handling and basic swordsmanship directly into my mind. Physical Training taught me how to temper my body using aura. Both required steady effort before producing noticeable results, so I didn’t feel anything immediate.
Ironically, the one that delivered instant gratification was Threading the Needle. My momentary focus and manual dexterity sharpened dramatically. When I picked up my sword and performed the one-handed forms now lodged in my head, the difference hit me like a truck. Each motion felt normal at first, but the instant I poured all my concentration into it, the world around me slowed just enough to be surreal.
Not the highest grade for nothing.
At this level, I wondered exactly how focused I could become while threading an actual needle… but I wasn’t curious enough to test it. What would be the point? I’d just slide the thread through perfectly on the first try.
I sheathed my sword and left the room. I still had time to kill and figured I might as well go mess with Song Dayeong.
“Did you sleep well, Senior?”
“Well enough.”
I glanced at the cluster of women surrounding her, tilting my head in a clear demand for explanation.
“Ah, these are my friends.”
“Friends?”
Calling them friends was a stretch. Song Dayeong sat alone in a chair while the rest stood behind her like attendants. One fanned her by hand, another waited with a cup of water. To anyone with eyes it looked like a classic superior-subordinate dynamic, yet she shamelessly labeled them friends. I clicked my tongue.
“I don’t care if you collect followers, but don’t do anything annoying.”
“Yes. It’ll be over soon anyway. They’re just sucking up to me because they want to use the shower.”
When Song Dayeong laid it out so bluntly, the girls’ faces flushed with embarrassment. I didn’t see it as a bad thing. If you want something, you seize it yourself.
“You’ve all worked hard. The door’s open, so go shower or do whatever. And you know what happens if you get caught, right?”
At her brazen offer of my body as currency, they nodded quickly and hurried upstairs in a clump. I found it absurd, but once the others had disappeared I jerked my chin at the chair she occupied, stole it, and sat down.
“There are plenty of chairs…”
“Not my problem. But when did you get so shameless?”
She hadn’t been like this before we slept. Now she was openly selling me out and acting bold. It wasn’t necessarily a bad change. During the tutorial she had still tried to hide our arrangement, but the moment we arrived here something in her shifted. She carried herself with total confidence.
“Everyone already knows, so I might as well live shamelessly.”
“You’re actually going to kill me.”
When I called her shameless she simply smiled, stood, and tried to settle onto my lap.
“Get off. It doesn’t suit you.”
I shoved her away at once.
“Ah, why?!”
“Because I said so.”
Honestly, it didn’t stir me. An eager, shameless Song Dayeong wasn’t bad on paper—her base appearance was excellent—but I preferred the version from our first time. The reluctant, grumbling, prickly one had appealed to me more.
Whether she sensed my inner thoughts or not, she pouted, lips poked out like a duck, dragged another chair over, and sat.
“How are you planning to handle the next tutorial? You haven’t forgotten you promised to secure points for me, right?”
“After everything I’ve already given you, shouldn’t you handle the rest yourself?”
“I’ll try… but if it looks impossible, you’ll have to help me.”
“Fine. Try hard. The tutorial isn’t the end anyway.”
Good. For now I could worry about her a little less.
I had lost points during the second invasion. I needed to make up the difference in the third tutorial. That meant hunting orcs instead of goblins. Orcs were new to me, so carrying a handicap would be difficult. When I tested her reaction, it landed better than expected. She probably already understood that riding my coattails forever wasn’t viable.
The video footage likely helped too. This tutorial had looked relatively easy. During the second one they had shown other hero candidates being slaughtered or abused without any censorship. This time the group had advanced smoothly with no major crises. Whether that was truly the end or not remained to be seen.
“Looks like everyone is prepared.”
After loosening up, making small talk, and killing time, Luniel appeared exactly on schedule.
“Before we begin this tutorial, I will distribute weapons.”
Clap. At the sound of Luniel’s clap, a spear dropped in front of each person. One landed in front of me too, but since I already had a sword I left it. The others snatched theirs up and clutched them tightly; these were weapons they had desperately wanted.
“I will now open the portal.”
Luniel swept her gaze across the square to confirm everyone had taken their weapons, nodded, and opened the portal.
Whiiiing!
The familiar noise was almost welcome for a second. We stepped through one by one, and what greeted us was… an army too shabby to even call an army. These had to be the conscripted soldiers who had fought goblins alongside the hero candidates in the video.
Their appearance was disappointing. You could tell at a glance they weren’t properly trained. Most wore ragged, threadbare clothes. Instead of armor, the majority carried only a single spear. Some even held nothing but farming tools. In truth they weren’t much different from us. If anything we looked better. Their malnutrition was obvious; they clearly hadn’t eaten properly in a long time. At least we appeared healthier.
Still, it was within expectations. We hadn’t been counting on them anyway.
What we had been waiting for was—
“So these are the hero candidates you said were coming?”
A giant in full plate armor appeared. Everyone flinched and stared at the man. He really was on another level. With a physique similar to mine and clad in real armor, his presence was overwhelming. Add the bandit-style beard and the scar beside his eye, and anyone who didn’t flinch at first sight was the abnormal one.
“I am Knight Kailen, appointed to lead the vanguard in the Rikaun recapture operation. Who among you is the representative?”
At the question, everyone’s eyes slid toward me. I had zero desire to take responsibility for the group, so I ignored their glances and tried to signal Kim Daekwon to step forward instead.
“From what I see, you must be the representative. The aura you give off is on a different level from the rest.”
Kailen had already decided. He strode over and offered a handshake. I couldn’t refuse, so I took his hand and gave a short introduction.
“My name is Yoon Iseo.”
“Hero candidates certainly have complicated names.”
“You can simply call me Yoon.”
“Very well, Yoon. There’s no time to waste. Let’s go greet Baron Rikaun first.”
“An introduction, sir?”
“You are not some back-alley rat mercenaries. You are hero candidates. It is only proper to pay your respects to the Baron, is it not?”
“…Understood.”
The look in Kailen’s eyes made it clear he would treat us like vermin if we refused. I nodded and followed. Already the situation felt like a massive headache. If everyday life on the other side was going to be filled with these political landmines, I had no idea how I was supposed to adapt. The future looked pitch black.
“My lord. The representative of the hero candidates, Yoon, has come to greet you.”
“…Enter.”
We had been waiting outside the barracks. At the Baron’s permission we stepped inside. The interior was plain. A bed suggested Baron Rikaun had been living here. The rest consisted of a desk and chairs for administrative work. Nothing special.
The man himself fit the classic noble image perfectly. Even though his castle had been taken—something obvious from his title—he still wore ostentatiously luxurious clothes. I had worried he would be the type obsessed with etiquette and formality, but—
“Why are you not greeting Baron Yoon?”
“It’s fine. They are hero candidates who only just arrived in Aeteria. Consider the greeting received. Let us proceed quickly. What say you, Yoon? I intend to advance immediately. Are the hero candidates ready?”
Our dear Baron seemed to be in quite a hurry. The moment we appeared he skipped all pleasantries and jumped straight to the main topic. Losing his castle must have been eating him alive. Strangely, I found it refreshing. I had feared he would be the stuffy, etiquette-obsessed type, but he wasn’t. That was fortunate.
I had no desire to linger either, so I nodded at once and gave the answer he wanted.
“We are ready.”