The Waiting Room
After Luniel left, I spent the remaining ten hours or so still wandering around in search of hidden pieces. I had picked up a few hints from her expression and words, but I decided to hunt down the remaining goblins to rack up points as well. I scoured the area thoroughly. The result wasn’t anything amazing, but I did find one thing.
You have eliminated every goblin within the tutorial.
After wandering for a long time, I accidentally stumbled upon one last goblin and killed it. The message popped up right in front of me. While I was checking to see if there was any separate reward for the sudden notification—
“So you really killed them all. Hero Candidate Yoon Iseo.”
Luniel appeared with a somewhat exhausted look on her face and immediately handed over the reward.
“The reward is 500 points and access to the waiting room. The transfer will begin shortly, so please remain in place.”
“Wait! Do I have to go no matter what?”
“Yes. You must proceed.”
Damn, she was firm. I hadn’t confirmed whether there were any hidden pieces left, but I gave up on the lingering attachment. It didn’t feel like there was anything more anyway. Faced with Luniel’s almost stern expression, I lost the words to argue and simply obeyed quietly. If she said I had to go, there was no point in staying here.
There were eight hours left. Once I got there, I could finally sleep properly. Since there was still plenty of time, my plan was to head over and crash hard. No matter how weak goblins were as monsters, they were still monsters. I had to stay tense even while sleeping, so during the entire tutorial I had only managed short naps. Even though I looked fine, I had accumulated quite a bit of fatigue. The moment I reached a stable environment, I intended to pass out like I was dead.
“Then we will proceed with the transfer immediately.”
At Luniel’s words, my vision flipped instantly. I had assumed the waiting room would be the same dark, empty space I had first arrived in, but it wasn’t. That place had been nothing but pitch-black emptiness. This, however, was clearly inside a building. It wasn’t a modern building like we know from Earth—it felt more like the medieval mercenary guild offices you’d see in games or anime.
“Hero Candidate Yoon Iseo. Due to fulfilling special conditions, you have been assigned the best available room. Congratulations.”
Luniel spoke in a dry tone as she handed me a key. I took it and asked the question that immediately came to mind.
“If this is the best room, then what’s the first-place room like?”
“It is identical to the first-place room.”
“If killing all the goblins makes me first place anyway, is this even a meaningful reward?”
It was the same room you got for first place, so giving it like it was some special gift felt a little off to me.
“My explanation was insufficient. Hero Candidate Yoon Iseo, you will receive two rooms. However, since the tutorial has not yet concluded, the first-place reward room will be provided after the tutorial ends.”
“I see.”
I still didn’t really understand what the point of having two rooms was, but I let it slide. I was tired, and the moment the tension left my body, sleep hit me like a truck. I felt like I would collapse the second my head touched a pillow. I immediately asked Luniel for the room’s location, and once I confirmed it, I didn’t even bother looking around the room. I simply dove straight into the bed I saw.
To be honest, even though it was supposedly the best room, the bed wasn’t that impressive. But after sleeping rough for the past few days, even this felt like heaven. I passed out immediately, savoring the long-missed comfort of a proper bed. When I woke up, more than eight hours had passed.
“Hero Candidate Yoon Iseo. It is time to wake up.”
I honestly didn’t want to get up. But Luniel’s gentle voice calling me made it impossible to ignore. If this was what first place got, I could see why—being personally woken by an angel. I never thought I’d experience a real-life morning angel like the ones I used to see on TV. And with her appearance that didn’t lose out to any celebrity, the fact that an angel was personally serving as my alarm made the experience feel twice as special.
“Once you are awake, please wash up and come out. The other hero candidates will return within ten minutes.”
With those words, Luniel vanished in a soft shimmer. I stared blankly in the direction she had disappeared, then stretched to wake myself up and moved to get cleaned.
“A bathroom feels so out of place here.”
The room had the unmistakable atmosphere of a medieval inn, yet the bathroom was almost entirely modern. A proper toilet, sink, and even a shower—there was no difference from what we had back on Earth. I wasn’t sure if this was part of the first-place reward or if all buildings in Aeteria were like this, but either way—
This is a total jackpot for me.
When something’s given to you, you might as well enjoy it. I hadn’t been able to wash for three days, so I was a complete mess and felt disgusting. This was perfect timing. I started the shower right away and washed away all the grime with warm water.
The only downside was that the only thing available to wash with was soap. Other than that, everything was great. I could live with slightly stiff hair. It was a shame there wasn’t any lotion, though. That wasn’t the only disappointing thing, but anyway. After finishing my shower and seeing that roughly ten minutes had passed, I quickly opened the door and stepped out.
“You fucking bastard!”
Wow, things were heating up right from the start. The moment I opened the door, something interesting was already unfolding. Since this was the second floor, I couldn’t see their faces clearly, but a young-looking man had grabbed a middle-aged man with a shabby appearance by the collar and was yelling at him.
“Everyone died because of you! What are you going to do about it? Tell me, you son of a bitch!”
Now I remembered. Wasn’t that middle-aged guy the truck driver? Come to think of it, the only middle-aged men who could have been here were either the bus driver who had been driving our bus or the truck driver. And—
“That guy’s the truck driver?”
“Fuck, because of that bastard I…”
“Why the hell do I have to go through this?”
Since most of the people here had died because of that man, it was inevitable that all their furious gazes would gather on him.
“What! Fuck! So what? We’re alive now, aren’t we? Did you actually die or something?”
“What kind of bullshit is that?!”
Whoa. The sheer audacity was insane. How could a person act like that? Even if he apologized a hundred times, a thousand times, it wouldn’t be enough. After killing nearly fifty people by drowsy driving, the attitude that said “Well, we’re alive now, so I didn’t do anything wrong” wasn’t just shameless—it was downright revolting. Even I, who had half-expected something like this and reached a state of semi-enlightenment, felt a throbbing in the back of my neck at those words. I couldn’t imagine how the others felt.
Naturally, the moment they heard that, the enraged crowd kicked their chairs back and stood up. In an instant, they surrounded the truck driver. The situation was on the verge of exploding at any second.
I leaned against the railing, wondering if there was any popcorn around, and watched with great interest to see what would happen. But—
“Enough. Hero candidates, please calm down and return to your seats.”
The situation ended the moment Luniel appeared in a burst of light, flapping her large wings. What a shame. I was curious to see how it would play out.
If this had been before we died, I would have thought it would end just like that. But everyone here had already experienced death twice—or slaughtered countless goblins. Even if they hadn’t completely shaken off their modern sensibilities, with that level of accumulated stress, they would have done all sorts of things to the murderer who had driven them to their deaths. Well, I didn’t get to see the outcome in the end.
“Excuse me, Angel.”
“Please speak, Hero Candidate Kwon Soyeon.”
Once things had calmed down a little, a familiar face stepped forward. She was probably my classmate. I think she said she took a year off from school. We weren’t particularly close, so I didn’t know the reason for her leave of absence, but I remembered having a few conversations with her after she returned and ended up in the third-year class instead of fourth-year.
“You called us hero candidates, but that man is a criminal who drove us to our deaths. He cannot become a hero candidate.”
“We do not select hero candidates based on human sins. I understand Hero Candidate Kwon Soyeon’s concerns, but I would ask that you refrain from overstepping your bounds.”
“But…”
She had spoken politely, but in short, she was telling her to shut up and stay in her lane. Honestly, while they were called hero candidates, from what she had explained before we entered the tutorial, we were basically just mercenaries from another world. The most important thing for a mercenary was ultimately how well they could use their weapons. Personality had nothing to do with it.
“Hah, unbelievable. See that? These damn kids are really something.”
The truck driver seemed to think Luniel’s words were defending him, because he puffed up with arrogance. Whether he was bold or just clueless, I wasn’t sure. Maybe he simply didn’t understand the current situation at all. I had no idea why he was acting so cocky. It seemed like he mistakenly believed that being chosen as hero candidates together meant we were all on the same team.
“However, while we do not encourage conflict between hero candidates, we will not prevent it either.”
At Luniel’s words, everyone turned murderous glares toward the truck driver. Their eyes were so full of resentment that it felt like they could kill someone with just a look.
“W-what…? Where is that even allowed?! If you picked us as hero candidates, you should take responsibility!”
The truck driver shouted in panic, but there was no way that would work.
“You are merely hero candidates, not heroes.”
You shouldn’t be fooled by the title of hero. We were nothing more than mercenaries who had been given new lives in exchange for money and sent to another world. It seemed everyone had felt that truth to their bones, because their eyes changed.
“Very well. It seems everyone has calmed down somewhat, so before I explain the second tutorial, I will first provide a short break and assign rooms.”
At the word “break,” everyone began to sigh in relief. They must have been mentally and physically exhausted from experiencing all these firsts, so the mention of rest was probably the most welcome thing they could hear.
“Out of the total 48 people, the 30 who died will not be provided with rooms.”
“What? Then where are we supposed to rest?”
“You may rest here.”
Everyone started murmuring in confusion. That was understandable. The place where people were gathered had nothing in it and was just a wooden floor. It was still better than sleeping outside, but for people who had suffered terribly and even died to goblins, it was hard to accept.
“No, even so…”
“Next, the bottom 13 survivors may rest in the rooms you see before you.”
With a snap of Luniel’s fingers, thirteen doors swung open at once. Everyone’s eyes turned toward the rooms, and sighs escaped simultaneously. Not from joy, but from disappointment. There was nothing but a blanket on the floor. It wasn’t much different from sleeping outside. The only advantage was having a personal space, but that was it.
“Next are the rooms for second through fifth place.”
Now we were finally seeing actual rooms. The conditions still weren’t great, but the fact that there were beds made everyone look at them with envious eyes.
Wait a second. If things continued like this…
I had been so focused on watching everyone else that I had forgotten my own position. I was currently standing right in front of the rooms, leaning casually against the railing visible the moment you opened the door.
If it went like this, the moment the first-place room was revealed, I was going to draw massive aggro. I was wondering what I should do when—
“And finally, the first-place room.”
Luniel revealed the room without hesitation. The people looked at it in surprise while also wondering who the guy standing in front was. Since it had already come to this, I confidently waved my hand. Those who recognized my face looked up at me with expressions that seemed to say, “Was he always such an attention whore?” But the water had already been spilled. I decided to own it shamelessly.
I waved for only a moment. It started to feel bothersome, so I lowered my arm and waited for it to be over when—
“The first-place hero candidate, Yoon Iseo, will not only use that room alone but, due to fulfilling special conditions, may also use an identical second room.”
“Wait a minute!”
Weren’t we supposed to keep that between us?