Chapter 230: The Tutorial Floor (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 230: The Tutorial Floor (2)
A week of survival.
At first glance, it might not seem like much, but surviving in a forest teeming with magical beasts is a challenge even for active Hunters.
No matter that they were given unique traits and skills, most of the people in the clearing were ordinary civilians.
For civilians with no combat experience, facing magical beasts in a forest is trickier than one can imagine.
Their vision is obscured by trees and bushes, and the environment disrupts their senses of hearing and smell.
Even seasoned Hunters are reluctant to hunt magical beasts in a forest.
Besides, the magical beasts weren't the only danger.
Spiders and snakes, presumed to be venomous, and poisonous plants scattered everywhere make securing food difficult.
For an ordinary person to last a week in this forest, an environment comparable to at least a D-rank Gate, was practically impossible.
And indeed, not long after everyone scattered, screams began to echo from all corners of the forest.
The reek of blood filled the air, and I'd already come across a fair number of corpses.
At this rate, only a handful will be left alive after a week.
For the record, I have no intention of helping them. I'm not interested in charity work.
“P-Please, save me…”
“Hm?”
I glanced over.
My eyes met with a man sprawled on the ground, covered in blood.
Ah, don't get the wrong idea. I'm the one who did that to him.
“Sorry, but that’s not going to happen. I can’t just let an armed robber go, can I?”
“P-Please…! I’ll do anything you ask…!!”
This man and his friends ganged up on me. They probably weren't looking to play, so I assume they were trying to rob me.
Well, I can't say I don't understand.
Half a day has passed since the tutorial began; it's about time people started getting hungry.
But in this forest, things you can eat are extremely limited. If you try to eat the grass, you'll just end up foaming at the mouth and dying, and the riverbanks, where you might hunt for fish, are frequently visited by magical beasts.
Of course, that doesn't mean there's no way at all.
Surprisingly, you can spend WP to get food.
A single meal costs 5 WP.
As someone who's learned a bit about the Tower's common sense from the System, I was dumbfounded. No tourist trap in the world would rip you off this badly.
For reference, a goblin is worth 1 WP, and an orc is worth 10 WP.
It might seem like a great deal, but in a forest like this, goblins are tricky beasts to deal with.
They're small and wield rusty blades, so even a grown man could be taken out in one hit if he's not careful.
Of course, there's another way to earn WP besides hunting magical beasts: hunting humans.
You get 10 WP per person, plus any WP they were carrying.
“Well, I can’t say I don’t understand. You probably thought you could easily take care of one guy if you all worked together.”
According to Lucifer, you only get WP for hunting humans on the Tutorial Floor.
The same goes for hunting magical beasts. Elsewhere, you could hunt goblins all day and not get any WP. Orcs might give you 1 WP, if you're lucky.
“I-I must have been out of my mind! If you just forgive me this once, I’ll turn over a new leaf and live a good life—”
“No.”
Stab—
The cold tip of my sword dug into the man's throat.
“Gah…?!”
“If I let you live, it wouldn’t be fair to your friends who are already dead, now would it?”
With his vocal cords pierced, the man couldn't even scream.
「You have hunted your own kind.」
「+10 WP」
By taking care of the armed robbers, I'd earned a total of 100 WP. In other words, I had single-handedly eliminated a tenth of the player candidates.
But I felt nothing.
They were the ones who came after my life first, after all.
Tiring—
「‘Dancing Destroyer’ sponsors you 1,000 WP.」
「“Khahaha! A fine answer, a fine answer indeed! Kill more of your kind! Annihilate them!”」
After all, receiving one sponsorship from a Constellation is far more profitable than killing ten people.
Dancing Destroyer.
I don't know its true name. It suddenly appeared while I was dealing with ten orcs bare-handed.
For the record, I was fighting the orcs bare-handed to practice for the Berserk skill's mission.
Lucifer, on the other hand, just frowned and asked what kind of bizarre stunt I was pulling.
I asked Lucifer about Dancing Destroyer, but she blatantly avoided the question.
She probably decided it wasn't the right place to talk.
「‘Dweller of the Swamp’ is pleased by the scent of blood.」
「‘Dweller of the Swamp’ sponsors you 1,000 WP.」
「‘Saintess of Uruk’ praises your martial prowess.」
「‘Saintess of Uruk’ sponsors you 1,000 WP.」
Besides Dancing Destroyer, two other Constellations had started paying attention to me.
I don't know who Dweller of the Swamp is, but I know about the Saintess of Uruk. I've read the Epic of Gilgamesh before.
‘Ishtar.’
The goddess born between An, the god of the sky and king of the gods, and Ningal, the goddess of reeds. In Mesopotamian mythology, she's classified as one of the highest-ranking deities.
I don't know why she suddenly took an interest in me, but since I was getting paid for the attention, I welcomed it.
Of course, Lucifer didn't seem pleased.
Well, I could understand why. Attracting the attention of a supreme god when we're supposed to be hiding our identities as much as possible—it was only natural for her to be worried.
But now that I was in the Tower, the attention of the Constellations was something I had to endure.
The only silver lining was the System's guarantee that there wouldn't be a problem unless I got involved with a high-ranking Constellation from Eden.
Lucifer looked displeased but didn't say anything. I guess that meant she trusted the System's word.
“Is it over?”
Just then, Lucifer, who had been away for a bit, returned.
The sight of her flicking the blood from her sword with a cold expression suited her quite well.
“As you can see.”
For a while, we had split up to hunt magical beasts and gather WP more efficiently.
On the surface, the Tutorial Floor seems like a hell designed to drive the helpless to their deaths, but that's not the whole story.
According to Lucifer, players on the lower floors always want to return to the Tutorial Floor.
To them, this place isn't hell, but a land of opportunity where even goblins cough up WP.
Orcs are worth 10 WP, and Roarbears are 20 WP.
In reality, the Tutorial Floor was the best place on the lower floors to farm WP smoothly. So, our goal was to collect as much WP as possible over the week.
“How much did you get?”
“684 WP.”
“…That’s underwhelming.”
My lukewarm reaction must have displeased her, because Lucifer frowned.
“You’re probably the first person to receive that much sponsorship on the Tutorial Floor.”
She was right. Thanks to the Constellations' sponsorships, the amount of WP I had was in a different league.
5,321 WP.
The combined WP of all the other player candidates probably wouldn't even reach 1,000.
“It’s all thanks to meeting such generous Constellations.”
「‘Dancing Destroyer’ acknowledges this.」
「‘Dweller of the Swamp’ desires more slaughter.」
「‘Saintess of Uruk’ crosses her smooth legs.」
As the messages obscured my vision, the back of my head prickled.
Sensing a faint killing intent, I quickly hid the smile spreading across my lips.
‘Of course, you know you’re my only Constellation, right?’
When I hinted as much via a telepathic message, Lucifer glared at me as if she wanted to kill me before turning and walking off somewhere.
Such a jealous and shy Constellation she is.
「‘Saintess of Uruk’ shows interest in this primal lovers' quarrel.」
A lovers' quarrel? If Lucifer heard that, she might have put a knife to my throat.
“Guess I should follow her.”
I rubbed the back of my now-chilly neck and started walking.
If I followed too closely, she'd get angry, but if I took too long, she'd get sulky. Pacing was key.
Others might find her personality annoying, but to me, it was one of her charms.
“Kyaaak!!”
But a woman's scream, echoing at the most impeccable timing, forced me to stop.
After a moment's hesitation, I turned in the opposite direction.
I refuse to do charity work, but I'm not so heartless as to ignore a woman in need.
*
A singer is a star, shining most beautifully amidst the envy of all.
It was a dream she'd cherished since childhood, and thankfully, she had the talent for it.
Looks that everyone could love, a voice that could move the masses, and the gift of turning flights of fancy into songs.
But reality wasn't as sweet as her dreams.
[SHOCKING! Genius Artist Lee Serin in a Relationship?! Her Partner is the CEO of a Major Entertainment Company!]
[Lee Serin on the List of Female Celebrities Providing Sexual Favors!]
[Lee Serin's New Song Embroiled in Plagiarism Controversy!]
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Raw malice became daggers of criticism, stabbing at her relentlessly.
Even when she cried out in pain, people still threw stones.
The fact that her suffering had become a spectacle for others stripped all the joy from singing.
Depression, panic disorder, stage fright. The misfortunes just kept piling up.
One day, as she was living only because she couldn't die, trapped in a darkness where not even a sliver of hope could be seen…
…a small rabbit doll appeared before her eyes.
Looking at her wretched state, the doll said, "I will grant your wish.”
The longing for the dream she had long forgotten enveloped her once more.
An irresistible impulse made her take the doll's hand, and when she opened her eyes, she was standing in the middle of a forest clearing.
That was the past she had momentarily forgotten.
“Pant, pant, pant…!”
At first, she thought it was a movie shoot. It wasn't uncommon for her memory to be hazy from the medication.
But the sight of someone's head exploding made her realize this was a brutal reality.
She ran until she was completely out of breath.
When she came to her senses, she found herself wandering alone in the forest.
As fresh air filled her lungs, the first thing she felt was fear.
“Pant, pant, hhh…! Please… please, anyone…!”
The screams echoing from all around, the unpleasant stench of blood that brushed past her nose.
She wanted to escape this place, no matter what.
She walked for hours, but the forest never ended.
Just as she was growing thirsty, she was lucky enough to find a riverbank.
But that place was another hell.
“Please… sob, hic… Please, save me!!”
“Kihihik!”
“Kehet!”
“Kikik!!”
Her eyes met with green-skinned monstrosities that were tearing apart and eating the corpses scattered everywhere.
The monsters immediately began to chase her, holding small, sharp blades.
Her mind went completely blank.
She dragged her legs, which felt like they would give out at any moment, and fled with all her might.
She didn't stop, not when branches scratched her, not when her whole body was drenched in sweat.
She screamed for help until her throat was raw, but no help came.
Her strength began to wane.
In that moment, she remembered the people lying by the riverbank, their eyes devoid of warmth as the monsters tore out their insides.
‘I’m scared, I’m scared, I’m scared, I’m scared, I’m scared…!’
She bit her tongue and kept running.
No matter how miserable her life was, she didn't want to meet such an end.
At the very least, she wanted to die as a singer.
She wished to close her eyes on stage, loved by even a single fan who believed in her no matter what.
She didn't want to be just another singer who died alone where no one could find her, only to be forgotten by everyone as time passed.
Just as the feeling in her legs began to fade.
“Ah…!”
She saw a human figure beyond the bushes.
A smile spread across her lips. She reached out, desperate to grab the lifeline that had appeared before her.
In that moment, she realized. No matter how hurt she was by the false articles and malicious comments, no matter how she was only living because she couldn't die, she wanted to live this badly.
She ran toward it with the last of her strength, to grasp that sliver of hope.
“P-Please, save m… huh?”
But reality was no fairy tale.
There are no convenient plot twists where a prince appears to save you in a moment of crisis.
The more desperate you are, the greater the despair.
“Grrrr.”
It wasn't the shadow of a human. It was another monster, with green skin and a giant club.
The moment her eyes met the monster's, she had the illusion that time was slowing down.
As she stood frozen, unable to do anything, the monster swung the club it was holding.
‘…That’s going to hurt.’
She was almost certain to die.
If that happened, she would end up as a meal for the monster, just like those other people.
‘…I don’t want that.’
She hadn't clung to life so desperately just to meet such an end.
There were still so many instruments she wanted to learn, so many songs left to write.
She wanted to date a wonderful man, too.
So please.
‘Help me…!’
In the end, she collapsed to the ground and squeezed her eyes shut. But even after waiting for a long time, the pain never came.
Instead, it became dead silent.
‘…Don’t tell me I’m already in the afterlife?’
Swallowing dryly, she cautiously opened her eyes.
It wasn't the afterlife.
There was just a man standing there.