Tutorial — Floor 1

The one who'd spoken to me was a middle-aged man.

"…What do you want?"

I had a pretty good idea what was coming.

"Hey, uh — those things. The armor tickets? Think you could spare a few extras?"

I cocked my head to one side.

"And why would I do that?"

There was no reason to. I didn't want to, either. I was done living like a sucker, and at this stage, keeping them for myself was simply the most efficient play. More than anything, we'd be going our separate ways the moment we hit Floor 2. There was no reason to hand my things to a man I'd just met.

"We were in it together, weren't we? That's not how a person ought to live. You're young, so maybe you don't understand yet, but people share, they—"

"Don't give me that crap. When I stepped up and killed over twenty goblins, what were you doing? I fought because people were in danger — rewards had nothing to do with it."

"…We didn't know there'd be a reward. If I'd known, I would've fought too."

"Ha. Unbelievable. Goblins were murdering people and you sat it out because there was no reward?"

"Hey, you're the one who told us to stick together and hold the line! You said you'd handle it yourself—"

"I said that because nobody else was in any condition to fight. A man your age should've been out there swinging. You sat and watched other people get hurt, and now you want a cut of my stuff?"

"N-next time I'll fight properly. So just, those armor tickets…"

What a piece of work. People like him were everywhere. At least he wasn't raising his voice — he'd seen what I could do — but his eyes were swimming with greed.

I couldn't entirely blame him. Armor meant a better chance of walking away from a tight spot. At least this one claimed he'd fight ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠if I gave him some. The rest of them were probably just looking to hide behind me.

As I'd said before, if something wasn't in my memory, there was always a reason.

"I refuse. Floor 1 is over, so there are probably more of them waiting. Work hard on Floor 2."

"Come on, kid, that's cold! You grabbed over twenty of them! If you'd just share a few, we could all fight better!"

The moment the middle-aged man got turned down, one of the onlookers stepped forward.

"What is this… I pull you out of the water and you demand I hand over my pack?"

It was true I'd gone all out for the rewards. But they didn't know that. In their eyes, I was simply the man who'd stepped forward and resolved their crisis. I'd look like someone who'd made a sacrifice. And they still wanted me to hand over my tickets.

"I said I'll pay you back! A brat your age—"

"I'm not a kid, and I'm old enough. You're not worth my time anymore. Get lost. And I'm done speaking politely."

I turned to the interloper.

The moment the words left my mouth, the interloper — who'd been winding up to argue — shut it at the system message that bloomed in front of us.

"…What?"

The interloper looked like the message had stolen the words right out of his mouth.

I snorted.

Party play. A maximum of four. There were twenty-five survivors. Four to a party made six complete parties — and one person left over.

In truth, from Floor 2 onward groups of six to eight tended to travel together, meaning at least two parties would move as a unit. But they didn't know that. Being left alone, they could easily imagine having to face all of this by themselves. And if they'd been watching, they already knew. Who the strongest among the survivors was. Who they needed to cling to if they wanted to live.

The interloper pulled off a world-class 180.

"H-hey… uh, kid. I mean, young man. S-sorry about that. I just went through something rough, so I got a little heated. I didn't mean it like that…"

I ignored him and turned my back. Then I used all twenty tickets at once.

The Adventurer's Thick Leather Armor Set appeared in my inventory, and the moment I opened it, five pieces of armor spilled out in a cascade.

Defense 15. Ordinary iron armor of Normal grade barely cracked 10, and this leather piece still came in at a full 15. That was more than enough to stop ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠most arrows, and it was light on top of that. As of now, it was the best armor available.

I pulled the pieces from my inventory and started putting them on.

The others who'd earned tickets chose armor of their own, but most of them only had a single ticket, and next to mine every last piece looked shabby. People stared at me in the full Adventurer's Thick Leather Armor Set with naked envy — but nobody said another word. They all wanted into my party, after all.

The moment I finished buckling everything on, the interloper came at me again.

"H-hey, listen… about that party…"

I glanced at him once and immediately turned my head. The people around us came at me at once.

"Excuse me! P-please party with me!"

"I-I can really fight! Please party with me!"

"I'll do anything — anything! Please, just let me…!"

They threw themselves at me as if I were a rope dropped from heaven. I had no intention of partying with any of them.

When I didn't answer, their faces fell one by one into despair. Pushing through that crowd, three people who'd earned tickets and already put on armor approached me.

"Would you consider forming a party with us?"

He looked to be in his early thirties.

"My name is Kim Chul-woo. We currently have three members. If you joined us, we'd be exactly four. Our party took down goblins, so all three of us are equipped with at least one piece of armor. I have two. It's a far cry from yours, of course… but we won't be dead weight. Won't you come with us?"

Kim Chul-woo made his pitch with a measured courtesy. I turned the Administrator's Eye on him and his party members.

Mid-High, Low-Mid, Mid. Not bad. Nothing remarkable, either. I remembered the face — he'd been one of the people who survived, last time around. I just never saw him again after the tutorial. His injuries had been that bad. This time his arms and legs were intact, so in this cycle there was a real chance he'd at least clear the tutorial. He did have Mid-High potential, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠after all.

There was no reason to go with them, besides. What I needed wasn't power I could use right this minute — I needed people who'd matter in the future. Honestly, I was confident I could solo the tutorial without breaking a sweat.

So my answer was already decided.

"I decline."

"…Pardon?"

"I think you'll manage just fine without me. I'd recommend going with someone else."

"…We don't know what kind of trials are waiting ahead. I'm confident we won't be a burden. Please, if you'd just reconsider…"

"No. I'm fine."

At that flat refusal, Kim Chul-woo looked thoroughly thrown.

"That's…"

"Come on! He said no! Let's just go ourselves!"

That was Kim Eun-yong.

"No, but…"

"What's there to do? He said no. We'll go on our own. It's fine. We did well enough earlier. Let's try recruiting someone else."

"…Alright. I understand. Then… I wish you well going forward."

"You as well, Kim Chul-woo."

Kim Chul-woo didn't bother hiding his disappointment as he stepped aside.

As if they hadn't expected me to turn that party down either, a fresh wave of people found their courage and came asking. I refused every last one of them. A few even looked ready to try a honey trap, putting on a seductive act — not that it was going to work, covered in blood as they were.

I shut down every request without hesitation.

That was when Na-yeon, who'd been standing well back, approached me with a strained look on her face.

"U-um…"

"Yes?"

"I… this is a little hard to ask, but…"

I gave a little shrug.

"Want to party up?"

"…Yes."

"Alright."

"…Pardon?"

"Let's do it. Party."

At my say-so, Na-yeon's eyes went round, as if she couldn't quite believe it.

"Th-thank you! Um, but, I… I have…"

"Your sister?"

"…Yes."

"Well, I saw her earlier. Don't worry. You can bring her along."

I'd agreed without a second thought, and that only seemed to make Na-yeon more uneasy. Then her expression shifted, as if she'd made up her mind about something.

Looking at her face, I had a pretty good idea what she was thinking.

"…There's no hidden meaning. It's just… seeing your little sister reminded me of my own, back on Earth. That's all."

"Ah…"

Na-yeon looked at me with something like sympathy.

So naive.

The near-self-sacrifice I'd put on earlier had bought me enough trust that she believed me without much trouble. The truth was, that performance had been a calculated grab at the rewards.

The real truth was, I had my eye on her talent as a mage, and on that High Potential of hers.

Every last person who'd surpassed me in the first cycle had abandoned Earth and chosen another dimension — even after receiving everyone else's support. That was precisely why I wanted a different set of teammates, and High Potential was more than enough. I was confident I could forge her into an excellent mage. She simply ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wasn't quite cut out to be a protagonist.

She could reach the level of a first-cycle main party — or, depending on her skill slots and stats, even higher. Even my first-cycle self, after all that sucker behavior, had still climbed as far as Floor 60. The only reason it ended there was that people more gifted than me had stripped away countless rewards along the way. High Potential was not a number to dismiss.

If she fell short, I could always choose someone else. More than anything, the Na-yeon I remembered was someone utterly trustworthy, the kind of person who would never betray you. And she loved her little sister so dearly that treating the girl well would only pull her in deeper.

At my permission, Na-yeon broke into a bright smile.

"Th-thank you. I'll try — I'll really try not to be a burden!"

I nodded, and she led me toward where her sister was waiting.

"Seoyun! Seoyun! I found us a party!"

She ran toward a small-framed girl with that bright smile still on her face.

I looked at her sister and used the Administrator's Eye.

……What?