Tutorial (1)

A sudden flood of light yanked my eyes open.

What the hell is this?

I'd been lying down — I was sure of it — but now I was on my feet, standing on sand in the clothes I always wore. It was a small plaza, about the size of a basketball court, and at its center a blue gemstone a little taller than a person hovered just off the ground. Dense gray fog walled us in on every side, and beyond it there was nothing at all.

Flash—!

Clusters of light burst into being, and four more figures appeared. One guy who looked like he was in his forties — or fifties? A scrawny kid who couldn't have been much past his early twenties. And a pretty woman with black hair cut into neat, straight bangs.

No! What the hell is THAT?

There was also a monster, about as tall as a first-grader, giving off a reddish glow.

Is this a fucking dream?

Yeah. This had to be a dream. A monster like that existing at all — the whole situation was completely insane. But it was way too vivid for a dream, and that was starting to make me genuinely uneasy.

"Wh-where... is this?"

The guy I couldn't pin as forty or fifty spoke up first. Honestly, his face wouldn't have looked out of place on a man in his fifties, but you could tell he still put some effort into his clothes, so I figured I owed him the courtesy of calling him Forty.

Nobody answered Forty-ham's question. Everyone else was just looking around with the same stunned expression.

"Another bunch of trash this time, huh?"

Every head turned toward the voice. It was coming from the blue gem in the center of the plaza. At some point, a woman with hair the same color as the stone had perched herself on top of it.

Wait... was she even human? Something about her gave off a subtle, not-quite-right feeling — like she only resembled a person.

"Hah..."

She stuck a cigarette in her mouth, scowled, and blew out a stream of smoke. It reminded me of Assistant Manager Lee Yuna from the GUI ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠team, the one I'd seen at our shitty company yesterday. Originally a pretty face, pickled in overtime and stress until all the life had gone out of it.

"I'm the Tutorial Fairy. Not that I expect anything from dipshits like you."

A fairy who talks with a cigarette in her mouth...? Okay, putting that aside — did she have to be that mean about it?

Snap!

The fairy flicked her fingers, and weapons appeared in front of us.

"Grab these and hold the line yourselves. If you can't, you all die."

Hold the line? Against what?

Six kinds of weapons had materialized in front of us: a longsword, a dagger, a two-handed axe, a spear, a bow, and a hammer. They appeared in front of each person separately, so at least we didn't have to worry about fighting over the same one.

"Um... excuse me... Miss Fairy...?"

Forty-ham raised a hand, glancing at her like he had a question. The fairy's face twisted into something monstrous in an instant.

"Hey. You wanna die here? Everyone knows asking the Tutorial Fairy a question makes your skull explode."

"Huk! I-I'm so sorry!"

Your head explodes just for asking a question? What the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hell would happen if you asked to be sent home?

Poor Forty-ham, chewed out for nothing, immediately dropped his eyes and started picking a weapon.

But how am I supposed to pick a weapon when I don't even know what we're doing...?

She'd definitely said to defend something. The problem was we had zero information — nothing about what we were defending against, nothing about the terrain. Asking directly would have been the most effective approach, but she'd just said questions made your head explode, and I couldn't work up the courage.

Still... a sword, right?

A hero transported to another world has to be armed with a sword. This is the law. You absolutely cannot pick anything else. Choose a bow and you will be arrested by the police.

But I remembered hearing somewhere that a spear was better for beginners.

I'll just take two, just in case...

Bracing myself for arrest, I picked a sword and a spear and slung the spear across my back. I had a sword, so maybe they'd let this little deviation slide.

Ding!

A sound effect chimed, and something like a window materialized in front of my eyes.

A monster and a chain-smoking fairy had already shown up, so a mere message window wasn't surprising anymore.

But what's a Special Tutorial supposed to be...

From one to ten, everything about this was a mystery. I looked around with that thought still turning over and saw that everyone else had finished arming themselves.

The red kid-monster had taken a spear. Forty-ham had a longsword and a dagger. The stick-thin guy had a bow and a dagger. And the black-haired beauty had grabbed nothing but a single dagger.

As I was looking them over, the timer ticked steadily down, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thirty seconds had almost run out.

"Get lost already. I'm seriously sick of this."

The fairy waved us off without so much as a glance, her face screaming that we were a nuisance.

Hey, you didn't even tell us anything, and you're annoyed?

Obviously I didn't say that out loud.

Fwaah—

The timer hit zero, my vision flashed white, and the scenery changed. I looked around again and confirmed that all four of the others had been brought along with me.

The same blue gem floated right beside us. Behind, a steep cliff rose high enough to cut off any retreat. Dense forest packed in tight on both sides, and only the front opened onto a single path.

So that's where the enemies come from?

I knew it instinctively. Something was going to appear from the far end of that path.

Another message bloomed in front of my eyes.

They're not even telling us how many enemies there are?

We couldn't even know how many opponents we were up against. Besides "defend the Core Crystal" and a timer, there wasn't a scrap of help. Every bit as unfriendly as that Tutorial Fairy.

"What the hell are we even supposed to be defending against?!"

Forty-ham suddenly scowling, irritation boiling over.

"They drag a busy man out here and treat him like this! What kind of bullshit is this?!"

The Forty-ham who'd been terrified of the fairy was dead. In his place, a man reborn in full Lü Bu mode had taken the stage. The others, though, seemed to have plenty on their minds already, and none of them looked eager to chat with him.

"You look like you work out, judging by that build."

Needing someone to talk to, Forty-ham turned to me.

"Ah, yes... well... about as much as anyone..."

"Come on, looking at that chest, you must've been pretty serious about it, huh? Ah, I used to hit the gym hard back in my twenties too. A hundred kilos on the bench was basic for me."

"Ah... right... I see..."

Looking at those twig arms and that gut hanging out, even a single push-up looked like it would wreck him — but I let it slide. I'd sat through this kind of bluster so many times it didn't even register anymore.

Since I wasn't giving him much to work with, he started in on the twenty-something. Something about how Koreans, being a nation of archers, were naturally good with a bow, so the kid had chosen well. And that he himself had been a distinguished marksman back in the military. That sort of thing. The young stick-thin guy, though, seemed frozen stiff with the knowledge that a slaughter was about to start — just rolling his eyes around, barely managing to respond at all.

Then Forty-ham's gaze landed on the black-haired beauty, and his eyes lit up.

"Aigoo... these bastards even dragged a pretty young lady like this into this mess!"

The woman who'd been watching the end of the path glanced at him, offered a faint smile, and turned her gaze back. Even as Forty-ham kept talking, her eyes stayed fixed on one spot. She looked like a pretty doll.

"Haha, nervous, miss? Don't worry too much! I did kendo for a long time when I was younger!"

The gym, a crack shot, and kendo — you'd been a busy man, sir! Even in a situation like this, the second he caught a whiff of a woman he completely lost his mind. Truly impressive. I'd be in my forties before long myself, but I was never going to age like that.

Ding!

An alarm chimed, and another message window appeared.

Ten seconds left.

From this moment on, I was going to pick up a cold weapon and commit slaughter. Could someone who just typed on a keyboard at the office even do that? I'd never so much as touched a sword or a spear.

No. I had to. The other side was definitely coming to kill me.

Just recently — after a full four years — I'd finally hit a 450-kilo total on the Big Three. Not a shred of talent in me, but I'd put in the work, steadily, for a long time. So compared to a regular person, I had some confidence in my strength.

Whether this was a vivid dream ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠or I'd actually been summoned to another world didn't matter. I always gave my all to whatever was in front of me. That was how I lived.

I was steeling myself with that thought when Forty-ham's voice rang out again.

"Don't you worry, miss! This oppa will protect you!"

I glanced that way and saw Forty-ham throwing a little wink at the black-haired woman.

Fuck, my eyes!!

Forty-ham had evolved into a Young Forty.

"Yes, I'll be counting on you."

Even after witnessing that hideous display, the doll-faced woman gave a slight smile and answered kindly.

I turned my gaze back to the front. Enemies were already walking toward us from the end of the path.

One, two, three... four?

There were five of us, and four of them visible. They were coming slowly, staying wary as they approached.

Is this a huge advantage? Or is there a second wave after we stop these...?

I had no idea what was about to happen, so I'd have to stay careful.

"Grrrrrrr."

The red kid-monster beside me started drooling, glaring at the approaching figures like it wanted to tear them apart. I pulled the spear from my back and gripped it with both hands. In the crushing tension, my heart hammered against my ribs, and I could feel my hands trembling.