Tutorial — Floor 3

NPCs. Illusory beings. And yet they think much the same way humans do.

The only real differences are that, barring special circumstances, they leave no corpse when they die, and that they are subject to the System's interference.

Otherwise, they are nearly indistinguishable from people. Relationships intimate enough even allow for sex, and incidents of trainees killing or raping NPCs were painfully common. Conversely, countless trainees have lost their lives at an NPC's hands.

It was only thanks to the Avenger NPC who had appeared in the past that trainees finally stopped treating NPCs however they pleased. That turning point led them to police one another, and the indiscriminate murder and rape of NPCs declined considerably — though it never vanished entirely.

In other words, NPCs speak, they think, and they appear to feel. Debate over whether those emotions were genuine raged until the day I died, but I always believed they did.

The reason trainees began treating NPCs so carelessly in the first place was this particular NPC: Johann.

Johann is first encountered on Tutorial Floor 2. At the outset he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠presents himself as a kindly presence — offering useful information, supplies, and simple quests that ease the path to the next floor, even helping trainees enter the castle without trouble.

But as they pass Floor 3 and then Floor 4, Johann gradually reveals his true nature.

More precisely, his outward appearance barely changes. He still supports the trainees, still hands over supplies, still plays the helpful backer from the shadows. Only at the very end — when the situation has tilted so thoroughly in his favor that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the trainees can no longer reverse it, when they have been driven into a dead end — does he show his real face.

That is how trainees come to suffer from NPC distrust, growing wary of every NPC they meet thereafter, and eventually treating them with casual cruelty.

Having lived through the first cycle, I knew all of this. I had planned to be careful with Johann going forward.

The damage he had inflicted, looking back, was almost unbelievable.

But I never imagined he would start his schemes as early as Floor 2. It was supposed to begin on Floor 3...

No matter how I turned it over, though, this was Johann's doing.

For one thing, there was no chance Johann had been unaware of the wolf attack. We had arrived earlier than in the first cycle, but even then a few of the traps had already been visited, and there had been people who were hunted. And yet there had been no ambush on the road, none when we reached the clearing, and Johann himself bore not a single mark of having been attacked.

A pack of that size would have killed him outright. Had we been ambushed in the clearing during the first cycle, we would have found Johann's corpse waiting for us there — not Johann.

Moreover, Johann appeared the instant the wolf attack ended. A hunter like him, unaware that wolves had come this way? The spot where he emerged was one of the places the wolves had been hiding. And that was not all. The modest catch he had brought in the first cycle was entirely absent this time, and his expression was as awkward as could be. Not so much startled as flustered.

He had still intended to use us, most likely. But unlike the past, we had not fractured. We had moved as one around me, clumsy though we were — a single team.

That must have been the problem. In the last cycle he had thoroughly exploited our divisions. He probably had not meant to kill us all with the wolves. A hunter who worked these woods would not fall so easily to a wolf pack; he would have a way to drive them off. Even a bit of monster blood is enough to scatter a pack of beasts like wolves. A hunter would never wander the forest unprepared. Our party had no such preparations, which was the only reason the pack had been so threatening.

He had meant to whittle down our strength and use us as he pleased.

It had not gone his way. My armor must have been something he never accounted for.

Having pieced together the truth, I hid the rage boiling inside me and spoke to Johann.

"A pack of wolves attacked us. A large one — about twenty of them."

"Wolves!? Good heavens, are you all right?"

"Yes. Fortunately they seemed to be after only the game we'd taken from the traps. I'm sorry, Johann. They took all of it."

"Ah, damn. All of it...? No, it's fine. I'm the one who should be sorry. If I hadn't asked you to bring the game back, you all nearly died."

Johann arranged his face into something resembling apology.

But those very words only confirmed it. He had lured the wolves.

"We did manage to bring this, at least. Is this the one?"

I took out the Imitation Holy Grail and handed it to Johann.

"Oh. Oh, good. With this I can at least save face. Thank you."

"Shouldn't we get to the castle quickly? The pack may still be nearby."

"You're right. Come along, then."

We followed Johann's lead toward the portal to the next floor.

To Johann, the portal was apparently just a path; he walked toward it as if it were nothing at all.

The party flinched at the sight of a portal they had never seen before, but at Johann's urging they crossed it, and we were immediately transferred to Floor 3.

The mission arrived the instant we set foot on Floor 3.

The others had received it too; we exchanged glances at once.

After walking with Johann for a while, we soon arrived at Mellid Castle.

Mellid Castle was a small fortress. Not particularly large, but it looked sturdy enough.

"Halt!"

As we approached the gate, a soldier who appeared to be the gatekeeper barred our way.

"Krang! It's me."

"Johann? I told you to bring back food, and you show up empty-handed running your mouth?"

"Hey now, I did bring this. We ran into a wolf pack on the way and they took all the food."

"...The food was taken? By a wolf pack?"

The soldier called Krang looked puzzled.

"W-well, you see! There was nothing I could do about it."

The soldier's reaction to the claim that wolves had stolen the food was one of clear bewilderment.

At Johann's words, Krang simply nodded without further comment.

"Well, at least you completed the Lord's commission. But... who are these people?"

"Ran into them along the way. Adventurers, apparently. They had an accident, lost their way, and lost all their belongings too."

"I see. Identification?"

"...We lost it with our belongings."

"Then I can't let you into the castle. Turn back."

At Krang's words, Johann stepped in instead.

"Can't you do something? I brought them here myself."

"Nothing I can do. Procedure."

"How about this, then? I'll vouch for their identities. In exchange, they'll take on a commission."

"...A commission?"

"Goblin raids have been frequent lately, haven't they? Food stores are suffering for it... What do you say? Hire them? You've been recruiting mercenaries recently, haven't you?"

"Hmm... Well, if that's the case. Fine. If you're vouching for them and they're taking a commission... Hey. Adventurers. What do you say to this offer?"

"We'll take it."

"Well. All right. You're through."

"Haha. Thanks, Krang. Next time the drinks are on me."

Johann thanked him and led us inside.

I offered Johann my gratitude.

"Thanks to you, we were able to enter the castle. Thank you."

"No, no. Thanks to you lot I completed the Lord's commission, didn't I? I'm the one who should be thanking you."

Johann said it with a smile.

"That said, things will be hard without identification. You're not from around here, so you can't be issued new papers, but mercenary registration is possible. A mercenary badge serves as proof of identity, and you'll need to take commissions anyway, so why not register right away? I'll stand as your guarantor."

I nodded.

"We keep imposing on you. Thank you, Johann."

"Not at all. I already promised Krang, and if you take on the work, the castle will be that much safer, won't it?"

Johann said it with a smile.

In the first cycle, every bit of Johann's help had been like rain in a drought. Looking at the Tower's messages, I could even understand why he was doing this. It had all looked like Johann helping us complete our mission.

But now it was different. I had already lived through countless experiences in the first cycle.

Looking at him with suspicion, I could feel something off in every single thing he did.

Krang's reaction to Johann's excuses. The way he vouched for the identities of people he barely knew, even after we had brought him the Imitation Holy Grail. Giving us work, helping us register as mercenaries — by any common sense, he was showing an excessive degree of goodwill and assistance to people he had met only yesterday.

True to being a man of this castle, Johann had connections at the Mercenary Guild as well, and we were able to register without difficulty. LowestF-Rank mercenaries, admittedly, but we had obtained mercenary badges and could prove our identities. As promised, we accepted a commission and were assigned to defend the North Gate.

The commission provided lodging and meals, and the daily wage alone came to five silver. The party, knowing nothing, was grateful for Johann's kindness. Combat was frightening, but they had been told the enemy was goblins, and with no ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠money and no identification, there was nothing else we could do.

But I could see it.

The way the clerk's face lit up at the words "North Gate." The way Johann specifically singled out the North Gate. The faintly pitying look he gave us. And on top of that, for a commission involving monster subjugation or raid defense, five silver a day was a paltry sum. Even accounting for our being F-Rank. Commissions like this rarely fell to F-Ranks in the first place.

He had probably skimmed something off the top.

Still, thanks to him even Na Seoyun was able to register as a mercenary without trouble. She currently could not handle mana and had no status window, so Johann's help had been genuinely necessary. That much I could tolerate.

The question was whether he would continue exploiting us as he had in the past. No — of course he would. That was the kind of man he was. We would have to see Johann's face until Floor 7, so caution was necessary. I had thought it would be enough to start preparing after Floor 3 was cleared and the status window ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠opened, but having to think about this already was making my head spin.

"Well then, I need to deliver this vessel to the Lord, so this is as far as I go."

"We've been in your debt."

"Not at all. I'll drop by now and then. Until next time."

Johann guided us to the North Gate and then headed straight for the lord's keep.

When we presented the commission papers, the North Gate guards led us to the officer in charge.

"You're the mercenaries who took this commission?"

"That's right."

"...Freshly registered, I see. Any combat experience?"

"We were adventurers before this. We've faced goblins, wolves, and the like a few times."

"Is that so. F-Rank... tch. Can't be helped. As the papers say, the enemy is goblins. Most of them are of the warrior caste. A warrior goblin is individually stronger than your average adult man, and they're used to fighting. Don't take them lightly. There will probably be frequent combat. Combat days come with extra pay, so give it your all."

"Understood."

"Bozley! Show these people to their quarters!"

"Yes, sir!"

A soldier showed us the barracks and the mess hall and confirmed the positions we were to take in combat. Afterward, the entire party gathered in my room.

I addressed those assembled.

"Since the Floor 3 mission is a defense, there will be at least one raid within three days."

"...I think so too."

Joo Ha-yeon agreed.

"Let's focus on surviving as best we can. We have to defend, but there are soldiers here as well. Judging by the mention that most of them are warrior caste, they'll be stronger than the goblins on Floor 1."

"...Can we survive? It's been dangerous since Floor 1. Random battles, and on Floor 2 we thought we just had to fetch an item, but then we got attacked by wolves..."

"That's why I think we need some basic training."

The party agreed, as if they had no other choice.

I explained the formation I had in mind. "Formation" was a generous word — it was little more than a simple arrangement: me in front, people to support from behind, people to coordinate with, and so on. The sector we were responsible for was one stretch of the wall, so agreeing on at least how we would fight would be better than nothing. It was a necessary step. Even when there had been eight of us in the past, one person had died here. That was why we needed to prepare in advance.

We talked until dinner, double-checked the positions we would fight from, and threw ourselves into preparation.

On the first day and the second, there was no raid. The party spent the entire day checking and rehearsing the plan as if gripped by compulsion. Since we had no idea when the attack would come, we did not overdo it.

I used a day's wages to bribe one of the soldiers into helping with our training. I needed to hide the fact that I had regressed, and I figured it would be safer to have an experienced soldier's help than to try to handle all six of them myself.

On the third day, as expected, the goblin raid began.