Additional Features (2)

Tutorial? The moment I saw that word, my head tilted on its own.

After more than a year in this world, a tutorial? Now?

Even as something about this felt off, I decided to check out the tutorial feature first. Whether I ended up delighted or annoyed, it wouldn't be too late to react after finding out what it actually did.

Oh, so it was a skill tutorial.

It seems our great and glorious Chief God heard the complaint I'd been grumbling just moments ago and graciously moved to address His Apostle's grievances.

How merciful. How magnanimous.

O great Armadi, who stands above all the myriad gods of heaven.

I, Lucy Aln, Your Apostle, always believed You would not turn Your face from me!

Truly, I did!

My little whining was merely a humble suggestion that things might be even better this way, that's all!

You understand, don't You?

Your Apostle would never think of You as an incompetent lolicon pervert who's only honest about his own desires!

Stop spouting nonsense, you say?

Yeah, even I admit that was pretty ridiculous!

Having spat all that nonsense out in my head, I let out a long sigh.

This was, without question, a moment to be happy about.

Something I'd wished for had actually come true, after all.

And yet, staring at the tutorial prompt, the only thing settling into my heart was a creeping unease.

The Heojeop Chief God I know is the type who calls whining blasphemy and then plays bizarre pranks in retaliation.

Upgrading my Mesugaki skill, for instance. Or the whole "Suck it♡ lol♡" incident. And there's a track record beyond that, too.

This same petty Chief God, hearing my complaints, granting my request without a single prank attached? No games, no strings?

What exactly is lurking behind this?

What could possibly be waiting that made Him treat me this nicely?

...

No. Let's not borrow trouble from a crisis that hasn't even arrived.

Maybe Armadi simply decided I'd earned it this time and wanted to show a little care.

Right. That has to be it. So all I need to do is be happy about it.

Excuse me, Lord Armadi!?

Exactly what kind of scheme are You buttering me up for here!?

Can't You just act like You normally do!?

Why not crack a few jokes, dump some bizarre quest on me, the usual routine!

Honestly, that would be far easier on my nerves!

I tried desperately calling out to Him, but of course, no answer came back.

Whatever future is waiting for me, it terrifies me.

Whatever the Heojeop Chief God is preparing scares me more than anything Tariki ever threw at me.

...Maybe if I offered a prayer in a bunny girl outfit later, He'd soften up a little.

Blasphemous thought, sure, but it's worth one attempt.

You never know. With a perverted Chief God like that one, He might just relent while going "Hoooh♡ lol♡."

Wincing at my own imagination, I wiped a hand down my face and lifted my head again.

That could wait until later.

Right now, let's find out just what this tutorial feature actually is.

Given that a reward was attached, this clearly wasn't going to be some mere lecture on skill descriptions and nothing more.

Hmm. But how do I even use a tutorial?

Do I just think, "I want to do this skill's tutorial" in my head?

I want to run the tutorial for the Mastery of the Shield skill.

The instant the thought formed, a blue window bloomed in front of me.

Since when do tutorials have prerequisites?

A tutorial is supposed to explain the basics, isn't it?

If there are entry conditions bolted on, then ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠someone who wanted to learn the skill's functions couldn't even get in the door.

No matter how I look at it, this is not a normal tutorial.

Well, it says I've met the prerequisites, so I might as well try it.

The moment that message appeared, the scenery ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠around me warped.

From the ordinary training grounds of Practice Mode to the interior of some coliseum.

"Wha—?! 'Tis a girl! What is the meaning of this?! Why has the scenery up and changed so?!"

"It's a new blessing the Chief God gave me. Apparently it lets me test out the blessings I carry."

"Then ye might have said so beforehand! Near gave this old man a heart attack."

While answering the flustered Grandpa, I ran a quick check over my body.

My limbs felt incomparably heavier than usual.

It wasn't fatigue. It was closer to the sensation of my physical specs themselves having dropped considerably.

On top of that, the divinity inside me was completely empty — reinforcing my body was out of the question.

Opponent? The moment I read that word, the silent coliseum erupted into commotion.

People had materialized in the stands that had stood utterly empty a moment before.

As I watched them shouting in some unintelligible tongue, the ground of the arena suddenly shuddered.

A weak tremor, like a minor earthquake. I turned toward its source — and saw exactly what was causing it.

"KWAHAHAHAHA!"

The thing that crushed every other voice in the coliseum beneath its massive bellow was far too enormous to be human.

Three meters at a conservative estimate. At that size, wasn't it bigger than Benedict, at least in pure bulk?

I stood staring blankly as each footfall sent ripples through the earth — and a new window popped up before me.

S-so what You're telling me is: hold out for five minutes against that thing, which is unmistakably part giant?

In this state, with my body weakened and my divine reinforcement unusable?

...What kind of tutorial is this?! Any way you slice it, this is closer to a challenge than a tutorial!

Don't slap a tutorial label on it after tossing in a token explanation!

"'Tis coming, girl!"

At Grandpa's shout, I clenched my teeth.

Far across the arena, that hulking mass was charging straight for us.

From the clumsy rhythm of its footwork, it clearly hadn't studied any formal martial art.

Well, fair enough. With a body that size and muscles like those, why bother learning anything? The frame itself was already a weapon.

Watching the fist come hurtling at me, carrying the full momentum of the charge, I thought: the attack itself is honest, at least, so parrying it won't be difficult.

Still, better not take the impact head-on. If I did, the shield and I would both go flying and get slammed into the stands.

BOOOM! The moment the fist struck my shield, my body was swept backward, boots gouging furrows through the dirt.

Not yet. Not yet. I have to hold out until it commits a little more force.

Until the moment comes when I can break its balance in a single beat.

"#@#@!"

Now.

The instant the brute roared something incomprehensible, I tilted my shield sideways.

The weight that had been bearing down on me, trying to pin me beneath it, slid along the face of the shield and poured straight into the ground — and the brute, its center of gravity gone, toppled over with all the grace of a felled tree and planted a passionate kiss on the dirt.

'...Huh?'

This outcome was exactly what I'd intended.

But somehow...

The whole process had been unnaturally smooth.

Blocking its attack. Diverting its strength. Every single step of it.

"#%(#@!"

As I tilted my head, the brute scrambled back to its feet and swung its fist again.

Deflecting it exactly as before, I began to understand why the word "tutorial" had been attached to this.

The brute was the perfect opponent for testing out a whole repertoire of techniques.

The raw power born of its bulk was threatening, sure — but that was all it had.

A creature with no technique and no thought was nothing more than a toy that moved exactly as I directed, which meant I could comfortably test every correction the Mastery of the Shield skill had granted me.

And thanks to that, I learned quite a lot.

That the parry timing window had grown noticeably more forgiving.

That the speed at which I arrived at the optimal judgment had gotten faster.

That even movements I performed the same way as before now produced better results.

So that's why it called this a tutorial.

That imposing-looking lump of muscle was the ideal partner for feeling out just what my boosted shield proficiency could accomplish!

I'm sorry, Lord Armadi! For a fleeting moment, I doubted Your meticulous care!

But Your own past misdeeds share the blame here, so I trust You'll consider the circumstances!

If You hadn't pranked me so relentlessly all this time, I never would have doubted You in the first place!

Somehow, while playing with the brute, the five minutes had slipped by.

The scenery around me scattered and dissolved, and the familiar training grounds of Practice Mode spread out once more.

Grandpa, standing at its center, came toward me the moment he saw me, a fond smile creasing his face.

"Faced with Tariki, did ye glean some revelation? Thy handling of the shield has improved by leaps and bounds, I'll warrant."

'...Uh. Yeah. Something like that.'

His praise left me a little dazed.

So this is what a sudden spike in proficiency feels like.

After grinding my proficiency up step by careful step all this time, my first taste of an explosive jump hit harder than I'd imagined.

I had the feeling that right now, I could respond even to a full-power strike from Carl.

What?

Hold on — the skill that was already great just got greater?!

Not only did You make that delightful little playground for me, You're paying out bonus rewards on top of it?!

Ahhh!

I can feel my faith overflowing!

O merciful, benevolent, omniscient, omnipotent Lord Armadi!

Thank You!

If You had treated me like this from the start, I'd have become a devout believer ages ago!

The first tutorial experience had been such a good one that I immediately moved to run another skill's tutorial.

Not available yet, huh?

Shame. It would've been nice if it at least told me what the prerequisites were.

Well, I still had things left to test, anyway.

Ah. Figured. That's a feature attached to Ruel's Mace, not a skill.

So it can't be tutored at all.

In that case, the only option is to verify it the hard way — moving my own body and testing it directly.

Then what else is there...

Huh? Wait. Wasn't that everything I got this time?

Then the only tutorial I can actually experience is that one from before!?

Ugh. Disappointing, but nothing to be done about it.

Armadi put restrictions on things for a reason, surely. Better not to whine about it.

I'd just learn the rest gradually, testing things alongside Grandpa.

No, hold on a second.

Back when the tutorial was first explained, didn't it say "the skills you possess"?

Nowhere did it say anything about newly acquired skills.

Which means, don't tell me—

I want to run the tutorial for Iron Wall.

...Kheheh.

Kheheheheh!

There it is! This is how it should be!

Yes! Giving me just one and calling it a day would be far too cold-hearted!

Ahh. If every existing skill can go through a tutorial, how many rounds does that make?

"Heheh. Some glad tidings, girl? Why dost thou laugh so ferociously?"

'Because it looks like I won't be bored until the day I wake up!'

Having answered Grandpa, I immediately signaled my intent to proceed with the tutorial.

The scenery around me warped once more.

Now then — what's waiting for me this time?

It'd be nice if there were another fun toy like last time.

Otherwise, what's the point of playing with it at all?