Chapter 3
Chapter 3
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Tutorial - Adaptation
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A barren plain where not a single blade of grass grew.
In front stretched a dense thicket of bushes, while behind lay a vast open grassland. To the left and right rose gently sloping hills and rocky mountains thick with jagged boulders.
It was an area clearly divided into distinct zones, as if someone had meticulously prepared it in advance.
Above all, the 'Tutorial' message floating right before his eyes.
It was clear.
'I've come back.'
The very first day, when he'd been hurled into the tower utterly clueless.
He'd succeeded in regressing to that moment.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Tutorial Chronos's Hourglass.
The final gamble he'd staked amid the crumbling tower had paid off.
"Wh-what the hell is this place?"
"What's going on? I was at the office just a minute ago!"
The voices of people coming to their senses rang out.
The tutorial didn't summon just one person.
No one knew the exact criteria, but thirty humans designated by the constellations were summoned as players to the tower's outskirts.
Of course, humans weren't the only ones progressing through the tutorial and climbing the tower. Orcs, elves, dwarves, beastkin, and more—various races were dragged in willingly or, like them, completely in the dark.
"H-hey! Do you know anything? What's happening here...?"
A neatly dressed man in a suit grabbed Se-woon's sleeve.
His voice trembled, and so did the hand clutching Se-woon's sleeve.
'Well, I was the same way.'
Se-woon wasn't any different back then.
When the tutorial first began, he'd been just as unable to adapt to the sudden situation.
But now was different. Unlike the others, this wasn't Se-woon's first time in the tutorial.
"Calm down."
"How can I calm down in a situation like this?! I-is this some hidden camera prank? No, that can't be...!"
The man gripping his sleeve suddenly shouted, then began rambling incoherently.
But Se-woon had no intention of kindly explaining the tutorial to him.
'Explaining now wouldn't make a difference anyway.'
With everyone lost in confusion, stepping forward to speak would fall on deaf ears.
Besides, once things settled, they'd surely eye Se-woon—the only one who seemed to know what was going on—with suspicion.
'The wave will sort everything out soon enough.'
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Tutorial Act 1 - Adaptation Time until first monster wave: 4 minutes 21 seconds. Too panicked to notice, but the message hovered above everyone's heads, including Se-woon's.
A few had spotted it and screamed, but almost no one grasped the meaning of "monster wave."
'More importantly, I remember that guy.'
Se-woon glanced at the man clutching his sleeve.
Everything so far matched his memories perfectly.
He recalled the details he'd organized just for this moment, as he activated Chronos's Hourglass.
He'd worried regression might land him in a different tutorial spot, but this meant his plan faced no issues.
'Status Window.'
⚔ STATUS ⚔ ⚡ Strength: 7 💨 Agility: 9 💪 Stamina: 8 ✨ Intelligence: 12 📊 Remaining Stat Points: 0 Unique Skills: Authority of Greed, Authority of Gluttony Skills: - Se-woon opened his status window first, prioritizing a check of his current state before the monster wave.
He shook his head at the pitifully low stats.
'I didn't realize back then just how dire they were.'
For an average adult male, stats usually hovered around 10. Yet Se-woon's were all single digits except intelligence.
He hadn't been much for exercise, but he never imagined it was this bad. Strength of 7 meant he could barely handle a goblin.
'More importantly, Authorities?'
While checking, Se-woon spotted unfamiliar skills.
Authorities.
What were they?
The innate powers of gods or god-like beings.
There were two ways to wield them: become a god yourself, or serve as an apostle or familiar to receive a constellation's authority.
Se-woon, never favored by the constellations, had never used one.
Yet two now sat in his unique skills slot.
'Not a mistake.'
The system message that had appeared alongside Chronos's Hourglass activating.
He'd wondered if the chaotic causality reversal had caused a misread, but no.
'Can I use them?'
Regression had wiped all his skills, titles, achievements, and reset his stats to this pathetic level.
He had to make full use of what he had now.
Though he'd never tried them, Se-woon was a veteran who'd reached the 92nd floor—the highest any player had gone.
Focusing his mind on 'Authority of Greed' as if activating a skill opened a new window beside the status.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Treasure Vault of Greed opened. "This...!"
Se-woon couldn't help crying out.
Dozens of items floated before his eyes as the authority unlocked.
[Breath of the Flame Dragon]
-They say that every time the Red Dragon Huirax exhaled in fury, a sea of superheated flames unfurled.
[Mjolnir, Hammer of the Thunder God]
-The hammer wielded by the thunder god Thor, with which he slew countless giants.
[Heavenly Demon Supremacy Step]
-A martial art passed down through generations to the Demonic Cult leader, its power alone enough to dominate the world, annihilating foes and reshaping terrain.
...
Treasures befitting the name: divine relics of chief gods he'd glimpsed just before regression, secret techniques from top rankers, even monster abilities that couldn't exist as items.
Mammon's treasure vault.
The warehouse said to belong to the Greed Demon God had become Se-woon's through this authority.
Startled at first, Se-woon quickly composed himself and assessed.
'If this is a stroke of fortune, it's a damn good one.'
With this authority alone, he could execute his pre-planned strategy far more easily and swiftly. Perhaps he could even build the power to stand against the Outers.
'Now, what about this one?'
As he moved to check the Authority of Gluttony, the timer on the message above everyone's heads—including his—hit zero.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Tutorial Act 1 - Adaptation First wave beginning. Repel the monster wave and prove your right to exist. "What's a wave?! Somebody explain!"
"How should we know?! We're all in the same boat!"
"W-wait! Over there!"
As the new message appeared, several pointed ahead.
In the dense thicket, bushes tall as a man's waist swayed unnaturally violently—not from wind.
"Grrr..."
"W-wolves!"
"Not just one! Is that what a monster wave is?!"
"Run!"
People plunged into greater chaos upon seeing wolves burst from the thicket.
Some screamed and fled the opposite way, but...
"Graaah!"
"Kyaaak!"
"They're behind us too!"
"We're surrounded!"
The wolves weren't mindless chargers. They encircled their prey meticulously, slowly tightening the noose.
There was nowhere to run.
"If you don't want to die, fight."
"Fight wild beasts barehanded?!"
"Th-this is a joke, right? A dream? Yeah, has to be a dream!"
That was the end of Se-woon's advice.
No further persuasion would change anything.
In fact, his brief words had a few gritting their teeth, bracing for the wolves' assault.
'Brown Wolves. Lowliest monsters, but plenty threatening to unarmed civilians.'
Tutorial.
True to its name as an orientation, even monster waves started manageable.
They escalated later, but early on, uniting efforts sufficed.
Of course, few would react properly to the sudden beasts.
"Plan?"
A hulking man over 2 meters tall approached Se-woon.
Se-woon wasn't short, yet he looked diminutive beside him.
"I'll handle offense. You focus on defense as much as possible."
"Got it."
How could he face those wolves alone?
Did he have some trick?
How was he so calm?
Questions aplenty, yet the giant asked none, returning to form a simple formation with others.
Wolves were cautious beasts. They wouldn't rush a grouped foe easily.
On the other hand...
"Grrr..."
Isolated prey? They pounced in seconds.
"Right here."
Brown Wolves.
Among the tower outskirts' weakest monsters, coarse brown fur marked them.
Monsters in name only; no different from wild wolves.
That very familiarity made them deadly. Before humanity's high-tech civilization, wolves had been equal predators, inflicting massive casualties.
Unarmed humans struggled against even one.
'Perfect test subjects for trying out the Authority.'
From the open 'Treasure Vault of Greed,' Se-woon withdrew one treasure.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Ten Paths Subduing Legs Shaolin kicking technique emphasizing strikes. Features rapid offense-defense shifts and linear movements, hallmark of external martial arts.
A weathered martial arts manual appeared before Se-woon, then dissolved like ash in the wind.
Knowledge of the Shaolin technique, Ten Paths Subduing Legs, flooded his mind.
A grin spread across his face.
Even a basic technique, learned just by pulling from the vault? Climbing players witnessing this would freak out in disbelief.
"Graaang!"
At that moment, as if done waiting, one wolf lunged at Se-woon.
Despite numerical superiority, its caution led to a stealthy rear ambush.
Separate from the manual, his veteran instincts sensed the attack.
And—
Crack!
"Kyeng!"
Se-woon's kick slammed the wolf's flank mid-leap.
Ten Paths Subduing Legs.
A clean, no-frills Shaolin kick.
Thud roll!
Caught off-guard, the wolf tumbled across the dirt without reacting.
"Nice."
"Graaang!"
As Se-woon savored it, five more wolves leaped at him.