Tutorial — Floor 4

In the first cycle, the party had faced crises like this more times than I could count. Back then, a situation like this had driven them ever deeper into the forest, until they were chased up onto slightly elevated high ground.

Their escape routes had dwindled with every step. In the end, there was almost nowhere left to run.

It was on that slightly higher ground that they discovered it — goblin villages fused into one, the Grand Goblin Settlement.

And then, as they fled, several of them were wounded and fell behind. Their sacrifice became the foothold that let the rest escape. Even that had been a matter of luck. By ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠chance, the direction they ran led to a great river cutting through the forest, and the stretch they reached had a particularly fierce current.

I traced those memories now, studying the map and gauging the distance.

It's possible.

It was possible. It would be close — but it didn't look impossible.

I spoke without breaking stride.

"Our position is being discovered in real time. It seems ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠they're tracking us by some method."

I said some method while glancing at Park Nam-young, who was groaning on my back. When I looked at the others, their faces crumpled with despair.

"...Are we going to die like this?"

Nam Eun-ju asked, looking like she was about to cry.

"No. There's a way."

I looked ahead again as I spoke to them.

"There's a river on the map. A fairly large one. And it flows out of the forest."

"A river...?"

"Yes. Judging by how wide it's marked, it should be deep as well. We'll use it to get out. Can anyone here not swim?"

"I... I can't..."

"...Seo-yoon can't."

Damn. Na Seoyun can't swim either?

"The rest of you, help her. When we reach the river, dump all your steel armor. Put it in your inventories. I'll cut down some trees — hang onto them and let the current carry you. Once you're out of the forest, you'll have to get yourselves ashore. Stay sharp. Understood? This is the only way we have."

The party fell silent. They knew it too. This was the best option they had.

"We can't rest now. If we keep moving, we should arrive around sunrise. Don't give up. I'll avoid combat as much as possible."

From that moment, the forced march began.

Every last one of them followed me like their lives depended on it. Even with the stat bonuses from having their status windows unlocked, a march like this was no easy thing. Some of them ended up stripping off parts of their heavy armor.

No matter how much I tried to avoid combat, we inevitably ran into goblins along the way. When that happened I targeted the smallest groups I could, but wounds began to pile up one by one. Before long, Joo Ha-yeon was supporting Nam Eun-ju, and I handed Park Nam-young off to Kim Insil so I could cut loose even harder.

There was no point hiding my ability anymore. I revealed my skill gradually, as if I were growing under pressure, and the party began to follow with nothing but my back to trust.

Even through the exhaustion, I occasionally checked my allies' Stamina stats and levels with the Administrator's Eye. In situations like this, Stamina tended to tick up surprisingly well. Their status windows hadn't been open for long, after all. And when you leveled up, the body recovered, if only a little. Sure enough, as the forced march wore on, their Stamina stats seemed to be creeping up — they were keeping pace, if only barely.

I kept adjusting the pace. But a limit always comes, eventually.

In the end, Na Seoyun — the one with the lowest Stamina in the party — collapsed first from exhaustion. Supreme potential or not, she was still a child who hadn't finished growing. It couldn't be helped. Na-yeon wordlessly moved to carry her, but I stopped her and took Na Seoyun on my back instead.

I could feel Kim Insil staring at me. I ignored him without a second thought.

We had to fight a total of thirteen battles before the sun rose. The party was exhausted. The only ones without a single wound were me and Na Seoyun, who'd been on my back.

Because I'd been following the first-cycle route as we fled, the party witnessed the Grand Goblin Settlement, just as they had in the past. Already struggling, they sank into even deeper despair. Their will was on the verge of breaking. But the human instinct to survive is a magnificent thing. When I asked them if they were just going to die here, they forced their gazes forward and, one by one, dragged their feet onward.

The result of that was right in front of us.

The river.

"We made it... we made it..."

Someone muttered. There was no time for that. The sun was beginning to rise.

I borrowed Joo Ha-yeon's sword at once and started cutting down the trees around us.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

"Don't forget what I told you. Put your armor in your inventories. I don't know how long it'll take, but let's survive this somehow. As long as you're alive, I'll come find you. Mellid Castle is straight in the direction of the sunset once you leave the forest. So—"

Whizz—

Thunk!

"AAAAAAGH!"

An arrow came flying while I was still ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠talking. It buried itself in the shoulder of Kim Insil, who was carrying Park Nam-young.

"...Damn it! Everyone, hurry! Go!"

I shoved the felled logs into the river, and the others each grabbed hold of one.

"If arrows come, duck under the logs for a moment! Just hold on a little — a little longer and you'll make it!"

I pulled off my armor's chest piece and put it on Na Seoyun.

"This floats. Wear it and go."

"Oppa, what about you?"

"I'll follow in a bit."

"Let's just go together."

That was Na-yeon.

"No. If I go right away, they might follow. Then you'll be in danger. I need to buy time. Just a little — I'll stall them a little and then catch up."

I needed to buy time. I was a bit worn down myself, but looking after my own hide wasn't difficult.

I pulled off my helmet and gauntlets as well, fitting them onto Na Seoyun as I spoke.

"Stay close to your sister. I'll come find you, I promise. Stay sharp."

"Oppaaa..."

I knocked aside incoming arrows as I used the bandages from my inventory and the Armor Exchange Tickets I'd held onto since the tutorial. I pulled out two old goblin shields, pressed them against the backs of Na Seoyun and Na-yeon's necks, and bound them in place with the bandages.

I hadn't planned to use them this way. But it was for just in case.

In the distance, goblins were already charging into view.

"You won't die to arrows like this. Let's meet again alive."

"...I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Thank you, Shin-hoo. This debt... I'll repay it, I swear. I'm sorry..."

"Go."

With that, I turned my back on the river.

Na-yeon and Na Seoyun clung tight to their log and were swept rapidly downstream. A sniper showed signs of drawing another arrow, so I quickly threw a stone to pin him down. I didn't blow his head apart the way I had before. Simple suppression was enough.

In that interval, the entire party drifted away down the river. Even the Na sisters, the last to leave, shrank to dots and vanished from sight. By then, the goblin warriors had drawn close.

I slowly lifted my bowed head.

Heh heh...

Kirik?

Kik, puhat—puhahat!

The sudden laughter threw them. They hadn't expected me to laugh while making a last stand.

Puhahahaha!

I knew I looked insane. But I couldn't not laugh.

I'd saved her. I'd saved Na Seoyun, and I'd succeeded in earning Na-yeon's trust.

That bastard Johann pulling his filthy tricks, that idiot Park Nam-young making a mess of things — I'd thought the whole plan was about to unravel. If the future hadn't changed and Na Seoyun had just died here, I might actually have exploded.

Instead, I'd turned the crisis around and won their trust. Especially Na-yeon's last words — that she would repay this debt, no matter what. She would have felt like she owed me properly.

Standing here to hold them off had been a performance from the start. Besides, with a current this fast, as if goblins of all things could follow? Even in the first cycle, aside from the arrows that came at the beginning, there hadn't been any real danger. The river itself was wide, with few obstacles — if you rode the current well, you could get out safely.

Hah... Hey. Thanks. Thanks to you lot, I exceeded my goal.

I opened my status window and checked my stats.

Level 7. Strength up by 1, Agility by 4, Stamina by ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠1 — and Mana by a full 6. You could feel it without even opening the status window, the moment a stat crossed into a new digit. Stats generally stopped being a simple numbers game the higher they climbed. The gap between 38 and 39, for instance, was far greater than the gap between 18 and 19 — even though both were a difference of one. And when a unit or a digit place changed, the body shifted enough that you could feel it without looking at a window at all.

I'd felt that three times during the escape.

Agility rose, and my senses sharpened. Mana rose, and the reserves I'd been hoarding suddenly had room to breathe. And the moment Stamina hit 40, every scrap of fatigue that had been accumulating vanished in an instant. I'd played exhausted in front of the kids, but the truth was that thanks to the stats, I was fresh as ever.

In the Tower, leveling up doesn't raise your stats. Level is a rank — a measure of potential. If your innate potential is high and your level is high on top of that, it feels like that potential gets a plus-alpha. That's why even without talent, anyone who puts in consistent effort and never shies away from adventure can become strong. There's a reason it's called the Tower of Training. It's just that most people die along the way.

And if your innate potential is high, comparison at the same level becomes impossible. The rich get richer. High talent means you weather crises easily and grow fast. Survive a crisis, accumulate training, and you get stronger faster, in greater amounts, then challenge a higher level all over again. If you lack talent, you slam into wall after wall in that process. But if your talent is outstanding, you become a Lamborghini on the Autobahn, quite literally. There was a reason I was so hung up on Na Seoyun.

"Hey. You dumbasses."

Not that the goblins could understand me. But they seemed to sense that the presence rolling off me was anything but ordinary — they hesitated, edging back.

I dropped every last scrap of the aura I'd been hiding, and the release was enormous.

The moment I'd sworn I wouldn't play the sucker the way I had in the past, I'd run into the Na sisters, and I'd been stuck cosplaying as some righteous hero whether I wanted to or not. The stress had been considerable. I didn't think of myself as a complete bastard — but I wasn't a particularly good person, either.

I'd been exploited by a guild and told myself I was sacrificing myself for Earth, and I'd even been proud of it. But I was still the kind of man who'd reached the Upper Floors of that brutal Tower. If I'd been nothing but kind, a pushover to anyone who asked, I'd have been dead a long time ago.

"Thanks."

Kieh?

"Thanks for a lot of things, actually. Exceeding my goal, a good image, the experience — and now..."

I let the expression I'd kept tightly hidden all this time spread across my face.

I smiled brightly.