Tutorial, Part 4

They'd asked to stay anonymous?

Was this the god's doing, too?

Chio.

What do you think? They even covered the hospital bill, apparently. Maybe I should just lie around here for a month?

Why?

...Fine. Tutorial, whatever the hell that is—I don't really get it. But you say a god made you, so I'll trust you for now.

Save the thanks.

"Anyway, I'm more comfortable at home. From what I can tell, there's nothing seriously wrong with me... right?"

"You wish to be discharged?"

"Yes."

The doctor stared straight into my unwavering eyes and clicked his tongue.

"Well... you did recover at a thoroughly abnormal speed. If you insist on leaving, there's nothing I can do. Should your headache grow worse than usual, or should you feel dizzy, come back to the hospital without fail. Understood?"

"Yes."

"You may leave right now. As for the hospitalization fee, you can collect the refund at the desk on the first floor."

But... I was in a coma, and they never even called my parents? Does that make any sense?

...Aha. I'm not exactly convinced, but I'll go with it.

It wasn't as if I had any other choice.

Whirr—

The automatic doors slid open.

The garden in front of the hospital was packed with patients. I finished a quick check-in call to my parents, who truly hadn't known a thing, and looked around. A patient in a wheelchair. Another strolling with an IV line taped into one hand.

I drew a white paper envelope from my pants pocket and breathed the scent in deep.

Sniff—

God. The smell of new money. A fat stack of those green fifty-thousand-won bills. The nurse had said a full refund of the hospitalization fee would be difficult, and I'd only gotten half of it back—and it was still this much.

Thank you, God. And this is my money now.

Nice way to put it. You've been tutorial-this, tutorial-that since earlier. What is it? How does it start?

I tucked the heavy envelope back into the inner pocket of my vest. With that, my balance wasn't merely comfortable. It was ready to burst. Enough to live without worrying about money for a good two months.

"Authority...? Oh, this?"

I pulled a medicine packet marked with a mask from the pocket of my slacks. I'd wondered where it had gone; it had been hiding in the back pocket. The god had been perfectly clear. This thing was originally a hypnosis item with functions stronger than I could even imagine right now. Aside from the Joker-like mask printed on it, it was nothing but an ordinary packet of powdered medicine.

Yeah. I'm a complete beginner, so keep the explanation kind.

The moment I answered inwardly, blue smoke appeared from nowhere and began to gather in front of me.

"...?"

Close enough that a slight reach of my arm would touch it. The smoke slowly took on a clean rectangular outline, and in an instant a translucent blue screen formed, the world behind it still visible through the glass. White powder settled across it, and letters engraved themselves into the surface.

A system?

Was this the thing they'd built to work like a game?

I reached out. The screen couldn't be touched, and it couldn't be pressed.

Chio. What is this thing in front of my eyes, and why won't it press?

A flimsy explanation, and yet somehow I more or less understood it. In a civilization this far along, novels and games of exactly this type came by the truckload. Ha. Told you I had talent.

The System looks complicated just from a glance. Can I turn the Status Window on right now?

There you go, ignoring me. So what is the Status Window, exactly?

I took the packet out of my pocket again. That same blue smoke gathered over it.

For a moment, nothing.

"Hah..."

With a trembling hand I shoved the powder back into my pocket. The blue screen bearing its description scattered into the air and vanished.

Th-this is it?

How could I not be? This isn't even a VR game, and things keep appearing right in front of my face.

Fwoosh—!

In a single instant, an unreal scene filled my vision. Blue smoke gathered beside the faces of most of the patients out walking in the park. It was, truly, a spectacle.

What was I looking at?

Window after window. I crushed the medicine packet in my pocket in a tight fist.

This... is insane.

Anyone? As long as she's a woman, it doesn't matter?

Convenience that put a VR game to shame. I read one of the open windows straight through from top to bottom.

Age, name, affiliation, body measurements... whether she's had plastic surgery? That shows up too?

Depending on the person, you could use this for blackmail. I can steal someone's personal details just by looking at them?

Is that so...

A sub-feature?

"F-five percent?"

Then just how far did the ability the god had called an Authority actually go? I was still standing there, dumbstruck, when Chio's toneless voice came through.

Tutorial Mode? Oh—that thing you kept talking about earlier?

So there's still a main course besides the Status Window. How do I run Tutorial Mode?

If you say so, that's what I'll do.

What incredible thing was I about to see? Heart pounding with anticipation, I headed for home at something just short of a run.

Click—!

The moment the front door shut, I called the System up in front of my eyes. Smoke gathered, and a blue screen formed.

You'd know if you'd ever played a VR game. This much adaptability is basic. Hmm. Was it like this?

I set a finger on the screen and gave it a light swipe to the right. It was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the basic method of using the System that Chio had explained on the way to my studio. As if I'd unlocked a phone's lock screen, white powder drifted down in the shape of letters across the new display.

I was seeing them for the first time, and yet the words were strangely familiar.

That's a level. This looks like an experience bar... and P is for points?

Kid, how many years do you think I've got in novels? Status window, system—anybody pictures this stuff.

Ah, ah—still, just in case.

Satisfaction?

Pleasure value... so I can get points and experience even from jerking off?

Okay. Keep going.

Boiled down, that was the explanation. If I wanted to use a good hypnosis item, I first had to raise my System level, then save up the points to buy it.

Nice. They made it exactly like a game. Simple and intuitive.