Chapter 6
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Tutorial
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[Welcome, refugees participating in the Selection Process.]
[From now on, you must prove yourselves useful vermin by overcoming various Trials. The method is simple. Survive until the end. Good luck.]
The black screen suddenly brightened.
[You have entered the Tutorial area.]
The first sensation he felt was touch.
Cool air slapped against his skin, and his once-white vision gradually came into focus, revealing the landscape before him.
'Back again... to this damn Tower of Trials.'
Tower.
He didn't actually know if this place was a tower. It was just a common setting in web novels, so familiar that at some point, he started using the term himself.
It meant there were countless Trials, divided into multiple stages.
'Just as expected, the Tutorial area is here.'
Once his vision fully recovered, what he saw was a vast white snowfield.
Fluffy snowflakes fell from the sky like giant plates, and all around, snow-covered trees stood sparsely.
And some animal was darting through them.
'The way to the next area is simple.'
Overcome the Trial given in that area, and you can move on.
[A Trial has been assigned.]
[Hunt 2 foxes.]
Just like this.
Usually, the environment was a nightmare, or the target was a nightmare, or the difficulty was brutally harsh in some way.
But this was the Tutorial, so in the dead of winter, they let you pass by just catching two foxes.
He closed his eyes and reviewed his plan once more.
'Grow steadily, grabbing everything I can even if it takes longer. Roll the snowball thoroughly and breeze through the final Trial.'
If this were his first time, it would be impossible. But having overcome all the Trials once before, it was different for him.
'Save as many people as possible to bring them along. No, bring along those with good character, good morals, and real utility as allies.'
There was no need to save a ton of them.
After defeating the Destruction Dragon, all survivors would qualify as Otherworld residents anyway.
His job was to grow strong enough to smash the Destruction Dragon effortlessly and, as a bonus, keep his people alive until the final Trial.
'And for that, I need to monopolize everything.'
Some might call it selfish, but he had no intention of denying it.
He'd regressed solely for himself in the first place.
'Alright, let's get started.'
As he thought that, a notification appeared.
[A 'resident' has participated in the Selection Process, which is only for refugees.]
[Checking for errors...]
[Records found for player 'Kang Min-jun.' Updating.]
What? Updating?
This was different from before.
[Update complete.]
[The 'resident' is confirmed as 2nd round participant. Content adjusted per higher-dimensional request.]
[Privilege granted to player 'Kang Min-jun.']
A status window popped up in front of him.
[As a privilege, +10 is granted to all stats.]
He felt a bit dazed.
"All stats +10?"
For reference, levels in this world meant nothing.
They were just for show, an indicator of how far a player had progressed through the Trials.
Enter the 1st stage Trial, level 1. 2nd stage, level 2, and so on.
One might wonder why bother including them, but leveling up granted 10 bonus stats per level.
Meaning you could assign those 10 stats wherever you wanted.
'But when you move to the next area, the difficulty scales up accordingly, so you end up back at square one either way.'
Still, looking far ahead, they mattered.
The stats you invested in determined your style of overcoming Trials.
'Last round, I focused on Agility.'
He was fast, but his limits were clear. In the final Trial, all he could do was dodge magic attacks.
Anyway, back to the point.
+10 to all stats meant he could crush Trials far more easily than others.
'That's a total of 40 stats boosted.'
Ha, insane. 40 stats was like skipping four stages ahead.
'Feels like my genre just changed.'
Feeling his body lighten dramatically, he clenched and unclenched his fist.
A smile crept onto his face unbidden.
'Not a bad start.'
Of course, a mere 40 bonus stats wouldn't even scratch the Destruction Dragon. But he'd regressed confident he could clear it without such perks.
[Updating additional privileges.]
[Progress: 0%]
Apparently, more privileges were coming.
Probably felt like playing a console game with cheat codes.
"Wh-where is this?"
Just then, as he grinned like a madman on the snowfield, presences began appearing one by one.
"Tutorial? Survive here?"
"Says to catch foxes."
Hop, hop, hop. Foxes bounded between the trees.
Those who'd never hunted anything in their lives looked bewildered.
"Ha, shouldn't they at least give us weapons?"
"Ugh, my hands are freezing."
People shivered, stuffing their hands into their pockets.
Those who'd dressed warmly were fine, but since it was late spring back home, most outfits were light.
Women in skirts shrieked and trembled against the wind sweeping over the snowfield.
'Still better off than that guy, though.'
One dude, probably at home and hitting 'Yes' without thinking, was in his underwear.
"Ah, fuck. Freezing my balls off."
As another gust blew, the nine people huddled and shivered, soon turning to look at him.
"That guy's enviable."
"Looks warm."
Yes, nice and toasty. Super warm.
He'd come fully prepared for this.
His cold-weather gear made the wind feel refreshing instead.
"Ah, shoulda prepped like that too."
Society was riddled with safety complacency, and the Selection Process had only just begun.
Most here had accepted on a whim in a fit of anger.
'That's why initial entrants have such low survival rates.'
The truly exceptional ones—
Those skilled at navigating life and excelling on Earth, already successful—hadn't come yet.
They lingered on Earth, weighing options, entering later. Latecomers had overwhelmingly higher survival rates.
So he had no reason to care about these folks.
But apparently, they felt differently.
"Hey."
"?"
"Got any spare gloves, by chance?"
A woman approached and asked. That sparked it—everyone swarmed over.
"It's so cold, mind lending an outer coat?"
"Got anything besides that axe? I'll return it quick."
"Any more clothes in that backpack?"
To these people acting like asking meant they were entitled to borrow, he cut them off bluntly.
"No."
"C'mon."
"I said no."
After five straight rejections, their pitiful acts turned vicious.
"Cheap bastard."
"Jeez, it's not like it'll wear out from a quick use. What kinda guy's like that?"
"Kid's young, but no manners."
Yep, rude and stingy. So buzz off.
"Lending one won't kill you. We gotta help each other, right?"
"Yeah, yeah."
But they wouldn't back down, acting like he'd borrowed their stuff.
Some switched tactics.
"Young man. We're all Koreans here—can't we help each other? We're just too cold and unequipped, so please understand."
One built a polite, caring image amid the cursers to approach.
"Yeah, no."
"Fuckin' asshole."
Of course, one rejection and he turned into a foul-mouthed bald old man.
"Let's go. Ruins my mood."
"Let's see how long he lasts."
"People should live like people. Tsk tsk. Calling that trash human."
"Worse than a beast."
He almost laughed.
'You're not far off yourselves.'
As the Selection Process progressed, bloated modern human decency would vanish.
Robbery, murder, rape would rampant.
Only self-preservation mattered; others became mere fodder.
'Like-minded folks band together and cooperate later on, but by then, out of 4 billion, less than 500 million remain.'
Meaning almost everyone here would die—save maybe one or two. Survivors? Beastly trash.
'So why treat them well?'
They'd die anyway. Easier ignoring their curses or gossip.
He gripped his brought-along axe and eyed a fox.
Hop. Hop.
Foxes bounded over the snow-blanketed field. Desperate to escape this ASAP, people chased their tails frantically.
"Damn! Why's it so fast?!"
"Kyaaak!"
Tripping while chasing was standard.
One woman flailed, sunk in snow.
'Barriers everywhere keep them from fleeing far, but chasing like idiots takes forever.'
Chasing one by one was stupid.
So he'd prepared.
He gripped the axe handle tight. Then hurled it at a hopping fox.
Whirr—thunk.
The axe missed, embedding in snow.
'Stats are different now, so a bit off.'
But no issue.
A cord was securely tied to the handle, linked to his left hand.
He yanked the cord, retrieving the axe.
'Try again.'
Whirr—thunk.
'Once more.'
Whirr—
Splat. The axe buried perfectly into the fox's torso.
'Got the feel now.'
He approached the downed fox.
It tried rising to flee, still alive, so he swung the axe down once more.
Ngh.
The beast went limp instantly.
Touching it triggered a notification.
[Use the corpse separately?]
[Yes / No]
He selected No. The fox corpse and bloodstains dissolved in white light and vanished.
If not using the corpse separately, this was best.
'Respawns faster that way.'
Something remained on the snow.
Lucky. A drop right at the start.
Earrings shaped like beast fangs.
Low drop rate, but useful later on—essential for his plan.
'As I said, levels are just decoration.'
Bonus stats came with each new area, so the common mistake was grinding levels blindly, hitting a wall, then realizing too late.
'Item farming is what matters most in the Selection Process.'
But by then, it was too late.
You couldn't return to passed areas.
And Snowfield accessories were Tutorial exclusives.
'One down.'
This would be his first capital in the Selection Process.