The Tutorial is Too Easy

The tutorial is way too easy.

Only faint, wavering flames revealed their presence from far off—torches jammed into the walls. Even those barely did their job.

“Ugh… darkness gimmick right from the first room…. Wait. Hold on. This is just free loot, isn’t it?”

Darkness meant nothing to Dragon Eye. Once you got used to it, everything came into view. I’d climbed mountains just fine on moonless nights; as long as I watched my footing, it hardly mattered.

“I just need to be careful.”

I walked in, eyes sharp and ready. The room wasn’t large.

Clack. Clack.

A skeleton rattling a longsword. Over two meters tall. The way the ground dented under every step said its strength was nothing to sneeze at. And there were two of them.

The moment the pair of skeleton giants spotted me, they charged with a clattering roar of bone and steel.

“Eek. Not quite what I imagined.”

Once they closed the distance, both skeletons raised their swords at the same time. One veered left, the other right, closing in fast. They meant to hit me from both sides at once. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

“Ha. So that’s how you want to play?”

A wild grin flashed across my face. My pupils shifted into something reptilian on their own. One hand took the sword; the other gripped the staff. One hand tucked inside my clothes, the other clenched the blade tight.

“Casting Bullet.”

—Paaang.

Blue light exploded from the reverse-gripped staff inside my clothes. The aim was perfect, but I’d dialed the power down, so it didn’t kill. Still, it dropped the thing into a groggy state.

That left the remaining skull that had closed the gap by sacrificing its partner. I ditched the staff and caught the blade with my bare hand. Surprisingly, if you matched the angle just right, you could put force into the sword without cutting yourself. Twisting my body like I was bracing a pole for defense, I slipped the skeleton’s strike straight into the floor.

—Kakak!!

The skeleton’s sword buried itself in the ground, freezing it for a split second. I didn’t waste it—snatched the discarded staff back up. Another burst of blue light, and one skeleton collapsed. This time I’d cranked the power high enough for a one-hit kill. I cleaned up the other one right after.

Red magic stones dropped one after another.

“Totally doable.”

Outside the tower, Sera was watching the messages too. Party play was impossible if the difficulties didn’t match. But forming a party just to share messages? That little loophole worked just fine.

And then there was the Rare-grade trait Sera had earned in the tower: Observing. It let her project one party member’s third-person view as a floating screen in midair. Through it, Sera and Woo Soo-hyun were sharing Yumia’s vision.

“Th-this can’t be right! She hasn’t even been inside a full minute and she’s already cleared the first room?! On Hell mode?!”

Anyone watching might’ve thought Woo Soo-hyun was overreacting. He couldn’t help it. The movement, the decisions—none of it belonged to a first-time climber. That tiny, cute body was smashing Hell-difficulty enemies without mercy. White hair whipping as blue flashes erupted, and the enemies lost their heads.

“She’s always been like that. Her trait boosts dynamic vision, sure… but this is pure instinct. She always finds the best path and drives in like a nightmare.”

“You really think that’s possible?”

Sera didn’t think so either. But if they were going to start questioning things, a guy turning into a girl was already weirder.

“Well, it’s right in front of us, so we have to believe it. What choice do we have…”

The moment that message appeared, the shared vision cut out. Observing had a cooldown and a time limit.

“Looks like we’ll just wait here until she comes out.”

Sera glanced at Woo Soo-hyun and let out a small laugh. It felt like watching herself on the first day of training camp, sparring against him. Back then she’d awakened an A-grade ability and gotten cocky—only for him to shut her down without breaking a sweat.

“Wonder what I should buy her to match her tastes…”

Isabel’s potion effect was absolute. It pushed the mana my body held past its maximum.

Whoa. Body feels fresh and light. Gotta be the extra mana capacity.

Side effects? No idea. But this was definitely not something you handed to a student. Drop it on the auction right now and it’d fetch a few hundred to a thousand easy. The recovery amount wasn’t huge, but potions were always like that.

Remaining mana sat at about half. If the same enemies showed up the same way, I could still thrash them without trouble.

Nice. Let’s see how far I can push.

I scooped up the magic stones and stuffed them in my pocket. Magic stones were prized as both energy sources and research materials. On Hell difficulty, they’d sell for a premium, right?

But the most important thing was still waiting: the first room’s reward.

Alright, what’re you giving me?

What I needed most was mana. Specifically, something that raised my maximum mana capacity. Hand over the mana!

A silver box appeared in front of me. Inside sat a pure white glowing orb.

“Hell yeah!”

An item that let you pick one status—Durability, Strength, Agility, or Mana—and raise it. The most basic reward, but the one I needed most desperately. And crucially, I’d heard this only dropped from boss rooms. Yet here it was!

So… what the hell does the boss room give, then?

Sera’s advice to always take the highest difficulty finally clicked. On lower difficulties you’d get weaker versions of the same ticket—if you even got a Rare-grade one at all.

I picked Mana without hesitation. Raising Durability would’ve been fine, but right now mana was everything. I could always cover defense later with artifacts or defensive traits.

Mana.

The moment I thought it, bright blue light wrapped around my body.

“…Oh. Oh?”

I could feel it clearly. My mana capacity had nearly doubled. The potion’s effect was still running, but the overflow mana that had been temporary now felt fully mine. If I kept climbing and stacking this…

At least I’d never struggle from low mana again.

The second room was identical except the enemies were archers instead of soldiers—rewards included. I picked Mana again without a second thought. My capacity was now triple what it had been. Enough to fire three big shots!

And the small mana recovery every clear was surprisingly solid.

Might as well go straight in.

I stepped into the third room immediately.

But the third room was different. The darkness had lifted, and it was spacious. Two skeleton skulls stood in the distance. They were far taller than the previous ones, and they carried shields. Two of those. They started charging toward me before they even fully saw me.

And three skeleton archers with torches strapped to their ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠heads. Thankfully, they looked about the same as the ones from the last room.

“But… they’re kinda far?”

A skeleton archer released a fully drawn bowstring.

—Whiiish.

“Gyaaah!”

Almost died! Why are the arrows that fast?! Without Dragon Eye’s enhanced dynamic vision I might’ve taken that hit!

The second I saw them closing in, I bolted the opposite direction from the charging skeleton soldiers. Blue light erupted from the tip of my moving staff.

“Ranged first! Casting, Bullet!”

—Tsupaang!

“Casting, Bullet! Casting, Bullet!”

—Paaang! Paaang!

I chanted and punched holes through all three skeleton archers’ heads. White bone fragments—not flesh—sprayed everywhere. I’d already confirmed minimum power wouldn’t pierce, so each one cost two shots. Remaining mana: nine shots’ worth!

—Clack, clatter!!

The skeleton soldiers—no, skeleton giants—weren’t standing still. Having lost their archers, they advanced with shields raised, closing the gap.

“Casting… Bullet!”

A small explosion bloomed against a shield. That was three shots’ worth of force.

“…Why the hell are they so tough?!”

The shield cracked, but the actual damage was zero. One giant’s sword came crashing down at me. Vertical slash.

“Are you kidding me?! Using a two-hander like a one-hander?!”

—Kagagak!

I somehow deflected it. The blade didn’t bury in the floor this time, but it threw the giant’s stance off.

“Casting, Bullet!”

I put a hole through the head of the one whose shield was broken. Four small shots left. I’d burned almost everything cleaning up the ranged ones. Getting close to a shield was suicide—once you closed in, you couldn’t run. But just bailing without trying anything felt wrong.

Hmm… still, the front’s covered by that shield.

One clean headshot and it was over. And this bastard was creeping closer while hiding behind that ridiculously huge shield.

Annoying as hell.

…Wait. If the front’s blocked, just hit it from the side, right?

…Can I actually do that? Bending a shot that hard is some serious calculation…

I raised the staff immediately, aimed just beside the skeleton giant, and fired.

“Casting, Bullet.”

The mana bullet curved in like a breaking ball—

—Paaang!

“Yes!”

The skull behind the shield exploded into bone dust and scattered. Only a bright red magic stone remained—a little bigger than the earlier ones.

I stared at the golden box that appeared in front of me. Inside was something like a golden glowing essence. Another Status Enhancement Selection Ticket—but this one was SR.

I chose Mana instantly!

“Power… power’s surging!”

My mana container was now seven times what it had been before entering the tower! I could spam Basic Attack Magic all day!

Then I noticed there was one more reward. A wooden staff sat inside.

“Oh, ohhh, ohhhhh!!”

An artifact! Rare-grade! And the exact staff I’d needed most! No more paying silver every week to rent one!

“My silver’s finally safe!!!”

I snatched the staff up in a flash, terrified someone might see. Carrying the magic stones and the new artifact, I headed for the exit, savoring the afterglow. Climbing higher wasn’t an option—the expanded container still needed time to fill. And with just these rewards, I already had everything I needed to learn magic at Reinhardt.

Time to head back.

I was only a few steps from the exit when a fanfare exploded inside my head and a dazzling message flared in front of my eyes.

“Huh?”

“…What? They’re giving me even more?”

I’d heard that meeting certain conditions unlocked tower challenge quests. But Hell difficulty had so little info I’d just given up on it… so it was a speedrun!

My impatient personality actually helped for once!

I checked the rewards right away. Taking everything would’ve been nice, but of course it didn’t work that way. Four cards appeared in front of me. Looking closely at each one brought up a message description.

…That’s even better?

The pressure of choosing dropped a lot. Being Hell difficulty, the pool was massive. I checked the first reward.

Solid and safe. Come to think of it, Dragon Eye really was a great trait. I’d treated it like a telescope one-trick and felt a little bad. If nothing better showed up, I’d probably take this. The Dragon Mana part was kinda interesting too.

Next.

I looked at the picture on the card and recoiled.

“Eeeek…”

Some middle-schooler edgelord crest drawn on the back of my hand and arm. Super noticeable. Karnaroph or the student guidance office would lecture me for sure if they saw it. But a massive mana boost was tempting. I was going to climb the tower anyway—if I could spam magic even harder than now, the early floors would be a breeze.

On hold for now.

Next was an ability that looked like it would combo beautifully with Great Mage’s Talent. An ability dropping on the first floor? Amazing start… Abilities were something I’d desperately wanted for ages…

Yeah, but…

Hmm… it’s not bad. Definitely not bad, and the synergy with my traits is solid…

…But seeing a Rare right after an SSR just makes it look worse. Pass anyway. Magic can probably replace it.

The last one was a trait. I felt it instantly.

“…This is it!!!”