The Second Tutorial: Goblin Invasion
I woke up after a deep sleep in the second tutorial bed and found less than thirty minutes left until the next tutorial. I quickly finished showering, grabbed the light rations and sword I'd prepared just in case, and headed out to the lobby. Everyone's getting ready fast.
They must have learned a lot from the first tutorial—everyone was already up and preparing. There wasn't much to prepare, really, just loosening up their bodies, but the resolve in their eyes was clearly different. Well, if you weren't tense after watching that video yesterday, you wouldn't be human.
That was how shocking the footage Luniel had shown us as a preview yesterday was. In the first tutorial, whether by system design or not, the goblins hadn't done anything beyond killing. But the second tutorial we saw yesterday was completely different. They slaughtered people with brutal cruelty, then carved off their flesh to eat. They shoved their filthy things into any hole they saw, regardless of gender. It was already horrifying enough when done by humans, but seeing those disgusting goblins do it made it even worse. If you could imagine experiencing that yourself, it would be strange not to feel tense.
“It looks like everyone is ready.”
Luniel appeared smoothly from thin air, glanced over us once, and nodded. “I will now open the portal to the second tutorial. Once it opens, we'll begin entry immediately, so please gather in front of me.”
At her words, people scattered throughout the lobby gathered before her. I naturally came down from the second floor and stood at the back of the crowd. During that process, I witnessed an interesting scene. So she got caught after all.
Kwon Soyeon, who had always stuck with the group, was now standing alone, separated from everyone else. It was obvious. It might seem too harsh to be ostracized just for eating some soup, but here, it made sense. Back on Earth, it was just soup, but here it was food that was impossible to obtain. When several people were sharing tasteless bread because there was nothing else, if one person went off alone and came back after eating soup with beef in it, the others would naturally feel not just disappointment but betrayal—even if she herself felt wronged.
Is she planning to go it alone, then? I'd thought for sure she'd come asking for help once she was alone. No matter how high her pride was, she wasn't the type to be completely oblivious to the situation. I'd expected her to come find me and ask for help after being abandoned by the group, but she hadn't approached me even though she was trembling with tension, apparently intending to handle this tutorial alone. I could respect the willpower, but it didn't seem like a good choice. To begin with, thinking that someone who couldn't even clear the first tutorial could survive the second one alone was a failed judgment from the start.
Well, she'll come crawling when the time comes. When that time arrived, I'd just pick her up and enjoy the meal. Vwoooom!
While I was thinking about this and that, Luniel opened the portal. “Enter in order, starting from the front.”
At her words, the person at the very front hesitated for a moment, but soon went in. Once one person entered, the rest followed quickly, and before long it was my turn at the back. I stepped through the portal in one go.
Flash—
The first thing I saw after crossing the gate was a timer floating in the sky. One hour. Luniel had never explained what it meant, but I could tell at a glance. That's probably the time left until the goblins invade.
It was kinder than I'd expected. I'd been prepared to stay on edge, constantly watching for goblins that could appear at any moment and taking turns standing watch, but with this much time, there didn't seem to be any need to be that strict.
“Yoon Iseo.”
While I was wandering around, planning to check the village's terrain during the remaining hour, Han Seungwoo approached with a group of men. Each of them was holding some kind of farming tool they'd found somewhere. They seemed to be doing their best to survive in their own way.
“What is it? There are plenty of rooms here.”
When I spoke sarcastically, Han Seungwoo's eyes twitched slightly. I'd deliberately provoked him once, and it was surprisingly effective—teasing him was quite satisfying.
“I know there are plenty of rooms. What are you planning to do? You're not thinking of staying alone here too, are you?”
“Who knows.”
I had a rough idea in mind, but nothing was set in stone yet. I'd have to see how things went first. I didn't think the invasion would end with just one wave. I suspected it would come in multiple stages, but that was just a guess—nobody knew what would actually happen.
“Why don't you join us instead? You can't handle that many goblins alone, can you?”
“Are you worried about me now?”
“It's not worry, it's about efficiency.”
“Well, I think my idea of efficiency is different from what you and the class rep have in mind.”
If their efficiency was about survival and safety, mine was about how I could earn more points. It was a selfish thought, but from my perspective, the best scenario was for those thirty people to act as meat shields while I killed the goblins and took all the points. If not that, then why bother? Of course, I could join their group, reap the benefits, and then betray them later, but… Better to be a lone wolf than a traitor.
If dying in the tutorial meant it was truly over, I would've betrayed them without hesitation. But this was ultimately just a tutorial—the real thing started after we moved on to Aeteria. If I betrayed them just to earn a few more points and then got branded as a traitor once we crossed over, that would be just as bad. So I figured it was better to operate alone like this for now.
“Ha, this fucking bastard's really full of himself. Seungwoo, let's go! How strong could someone like him possibly be?”
Im Dokeon, unable to watch any longer, glared at me while cursing. In response, I shrugged my shoulders mockingly and calmly went on my way. If they think they can handle it themselves, there's no point in talking more.
If this tutorial went to hell, the ones who would suffer were them, not me. Of course, if it failed, they'd have to go through a shitty experience and lose a ton of points, but even if I died, there wasn't much of a penalty beyond that. But that's not the case for them.
Most of them had died in the first tutorial and now only had two lives left. If they died one more time here, they'd be down to their very last coin. I wondered if they'd be able to clear it under pressure when they couldn't even do it in a more relaxed situation, but… Well, that's not my problem.
That was a future that hadn't happened yet. Right now, it was time for me to prepare so I could definitely earn points.
After parting ways with Han Seungwoo's group, I spent the remaining time exploring Delmore. It was a small village. Just a small farming village with nothing special about it. The advantages were that a small river flowed beside it, so there'd be no shortage of water, and because of that, we could fight without worrying about goblins attacking from all sides. Of course, there were disadvantages too. It was a small village, so I hadn't expected something like castle walls, but I'd thought there would at least be some kind of palisade around the village. Instead, there was nothing but a shabby fence. It'll all get torn down if we fight.
Up close, the condition was even worse. When I'd seen it in the video, I'd thought the defensive line had just been breached and people were running around inside the village, but now it seemed like the village itself would become the battlefield as soon as the mission started. The key is how many invasions there'll be.
Based on what I'd figured out so far, there wasn't anything in particular we needed to protect—we just had to survive the invasions to pass. If there weren't many invasions, we could probably finish quickly and go back, but if they happened frequently, it would be a real pain.
“Th-there! They're coming!”
Five minutes left. Goblins were starting to appear in view. “Shit, how many of them are there?”
As the goblins got closer and their numbers became clear, everyone waiting near the fence with their eyes wide in shock. Ha, they're going all out from the very start.
There were easily over fifty of them. Watching those small creatures swarming and charging, a frontal fight was clearly impossible no matter how you looked at it. I thought it would be better to lure them into the village and fight while using the buildings for cover.
“Don't be scared! They're nothing! Even that bastard Yoon Iseo supposedly took down hundreds of them!”
Using me as bait? The funny thing was, it worked. Im Dokeon had shouted it loudly to boost morale, and absurdly enough, it had an effect. I could tell from the way the others' eyes became determined after hearing those words that they must have thought of me a certain way. I'd figured that since I was tall and had done a lot of training, I didn't look weak, but apparently not. Compared to guys whose only exercise was military training, I'd just been ignored and dismissed. My situation was pathetic, but I let it go for now.
- Kieeeek!
The goblins were now right in front of us, kicking up dust as they charged. Their momentum was so fierce that I even doubted whether these were the same goblins I'd killed like breathing in the first tutorial. I felt a slight tension myself.
“Hoo…”
After taking a deep breath to calm my pounding heart, I quietly drew my sword and took my stance. The center of gravity was different from the wooden sword I practiced with every day, so my posture felt awkward, but rather than clumsily imitating what I'd seen in media without my talent unleashed, this was better.
“Kill them!!”
“Uwaaaaaah!”
With Han Seungwoo's fierce shout, everyone let out battle cries and swung their farming tools at the goblins in front of them.
Thud! Kieek!
A goblin hit by a farming tool screamed in pain and collapsed, but there were too many of them. They simply stepped over their fallen comrade without care and threw themselves at the fence.
Crack!
Under the pressure of the surging goblins, the fence was instantly destroyed and became useless. As the goblin horde pushed in rapidly, people swung their farming tools and the crude wooden spears they'd made from them, but the battlefield kept being pushed back.
Slash!
I was also doing my best to cut down goblins, but there was no fighting against numbers, so I had no choice but to retreat while moving. If I, who was holding a sword, was in this situation, the others without proper weapons were in even worse shape.
“No!”
“Don't! Don't pull it out!”
Eventually, one woman, terrified by the surging goblins, started running away. Han Seungwoo tried to stop her, but the panicked woman's ears were already closed, and she left the battlefield. If only one person had deserted, the front line might have held somehow, but—
“Kyaaaaah!”
“This is insane!”
Starting with the two who had run earlier, one or two more began deserting continuously.
“Shit, don't run away, you idiots! You think we won't see each other after this is over?!”
“You bastards, I remember all your faces!”
Even while Han Seungwoo and Im Dokeon were desperately holding off the goblins surrounding them, their half-threats finally reduced the desertions, but it was already too late.
“Aaaah!”
“My arm! This bastard!”
Once surrounded, there was no answer. No matter how physically inferior goblins were compared to humans, monsters were still monsters. Unable to fend off the malice-filled attacks of those creatures, the number of injured kept increasing. I wasn't in danger yet either, but the goblins' momentum was so strong that I decided it was time to pull back and fight, and when I glanced around to assess the situation, my eyes met Han Seungwoo's, filled with venom.
“Everyone! Fall back toward Yoon Iseo!”
This son of a bitch…?