Chapter 1. Tutorial
“Lee Seong-han. Lee Seong-han—!”
“Y-, yeah...?”
Kang Ji-hyuk loudly called out to the skinny glasses-wearing guy sprawled out in a daze. The man snapped to attention and looked up at him.
“Dead is dead.”
Ji-hyuk delivered the line coldly. Forget the dead and worry about your own survival—that was the unspoken message. Seong-han had to know that much.
“Ah... yeah...”
But Seong-han still seemed shell-shocked, unable to shake off the impact easily. And who could blame him? If that arrow had targeted him first, he'd be the corpse instead of her.
Only now did he realize an invisible blade was hovering right at his throat. He'd known this place was a deathtrap, but this incident made it hit home, raw and vivid.
“It wasn't your fault.”
“...Yeah, I know. Just bad luck.”
Seong-han finally pulled himself together. As Ji-hyuk said, the dead were dead. He couldn't follow her into the grave just because it hurt.
...Fuck.
“Who the hell attacked us?”
Ji-hyuk pointed up at the sky.
“The fairy, obviously.”
“Fairy?”
“Yeah.”
Seong-han looked utterly confused. In his mind, fairies were beautiful creatures who loved forests and respected life.
Ji-hyuk smirked. He could practically read the guy's thoughts. Long ago, he'd clung to the same naive stereotypes.
Unfortunately, the fairies here killed life without a second thought, gobbled up meat with gusto, and didn't give a damn about forests. The only thing they had in common was their stunning beauty. Hell, some fairy heroes pulled off worse shit than orcs.
“Let's move.”
With one token already secured, Ji-hyuk didn't need to hunt monsters anymore. Still, it was smart to show effort for Seong-han's sake. Otherwise, the guy might stab him in his sleep over the token.
It was only day four; he'd need Seong-han to survive the last three. Of course, Ji-hyuk kept in mind that if tokens stayed scarce, Seong-han could betray him anytime. When lives were on the line, anyone—regardless of race or gender—could turn ruthless.
So the safest bet was grabbing one more token. That way, Seong-han wouldn't need to betray him.
Coldly speaking, one less mouth to feed wasn't all bad. Sure, he'd lose some sleep sharing watches, but things were simpler now. Ji-hyuk didn't let that show, though. Playing the decent guy outwardly helped more than admitting his real thoughts.
Anyway, Ji-hyuk pressed on, tracking monsters. This time, Seong-han pitched in actively.
Having decided to abandon their camp, Ji-hyuk left no marks on the trees. He wasn't dumb enough to reuse a spot exposed to enemies like some idiot.
The deeper they went into the forest, the chillier the air grew. Ji-hyuk felt it prickling his skin—the thickening killing intent.
Looks like monsters were swarming, drawn by the scent of blood. Seong-han shivered too, but he didn't seem to grasp it was killing intent.
Ji-hyuk sensed another group nearby, plus monsters. With days dwindling, participants were hunting more aggressively.
...Not just monsters, either. Fights over tokens between groups would spike too.
Right now, two groups were closing in on each other. That was all Ji-hyuk could detect at his current level—no details on identities or numbers yet.
“Follow me. Quietly, no noise.”
Seong-han swallowed hard, nodding tensely. They crouched low, muffling their footsteps, and crept toward the action.
Soon, a bloodcurdling scream pierced the air.
Not far off, they spotted two groups clashing viciously: lizardmen and orcs.
Holy shit—
Seong-han held his breath, ducking behind a tree to peek. It was brutal carnage.
Crude wooden spears snapped fast, so they switched to rocks. Dirt to the face was child's play; they gouged eyes of the fallen without mercy.
“Gah! Aaaagh—!”
Pure slaughter, no playful fisticuffs here.
One figure stood out: an orc, Giranoshi. He was leagues above the rest from the start.
Lizardmen weren't pushovers, but Giranoshi's brute strength and leadership crushed the orc pack's chaos into victory. Despite the lizardmen's numerical edge, they lost.
Giranoshi chased down and finished even the last fleeing one. Vicious bastard.
The orcs roared in triumph, then butchered the lizardmen corpses with sharp stones. They chattered excitedly about feasting tonight.
Giranoshi handed a token from the lizardmen to a subordinate—like rewarding the bravest fighter.
Seong-han and Ji-hyuk exchanged glances. The orcs clearly had multiple tokens.
Four orcs total. Against average ones, maybe doable—but with Giranoshi? No way. Fighting him plus three others was suicide.
As Ji-hyuk turned to retreat, an arrow whistled in, embedding in an orc's skull.
“Kreeek—!”
The orc screeched oddly and toppled dead. Giranoshi glared toward the shot, bellowing.
“You fucking bastard—!!”
That damn fairy's handiwork, no doubt. It had been picking off orcs steadily.
Orcs couldn't touch the fairy hopping tree-to-tree. All they could do was rage below.
Thanks to the fucking fairy, one less orc. Ji-hyuk saw a potential opening.
The fairy knew about their tokens too—it'd harass relentlessly.
Sure enough, another arrow flew. But the orcs were alert; it grazed past the head.
Giranoshi couldn't take it anymore. He charged the fairy's direction, roaring.
Now's the time.
Ji-hyuk seized the chance, sprinting straight at the orcs. He could outrun two, at least.
—!!
The orcs spotted the incoming human and bellowed too. A lone guy with one wooden spear? No threat.
Against a normal human, they'd be right. But this was legendary S-rank hero Kang Ji-hyuk.
Even in this shitty physical state, decapitating two orcs was child's play.
...Giranoshi could return anytime, though.
First one—!
Ji-hyuk sidestepped a horizontal club swing at his head, then jammed his spear into the orc's eye.
“Aaaagh—!!”
One down with a final scream. The other charged.
This orc swung a rock at his skull. Ji-hyuk ducked low, snatched a ground stone, kicked off, and leaped—smashing the cheekbone viciously.
“Guhk—!”
The orc staggered but didn't drop. Ji-hyuk wasn't aiming to kill, though.
His eyes were on that plump token on the ground.
He hurled his stone at the orc, snatched the token, and bolted.
The orcs only realized the theft after a delay.
“GRRAAAAAHHH—!!!”
Ji-hyuk just kept running. Seong-han followed, grinning at their luck.
Two tokens secured. No need to stick around.
They ran till their mouths tasted blood.
Who knew the fucking fairy would be such a help?
They ran till they figured pursuit was impossible.
“Huff, huff, huff.”
Both panted raggedly. Running bare was tough; lugging heavy tokens made it hell.
“We got lucky, Ji-hyuk.”
Seong-han chalked it up to fortune. Ji-hyuk stared; the guy quickly backpedaled.
“N-no, you busted your ass. Yeah, thanks. Seriously, I won't forget this.”
“You worked hard too, Seong-han.”
Ji-hyuk fed him empty praise. He didn't like the guy much, but needed him still.
“Nah, it was all you.”
Smart enough to know that much.
They caught their breath, pocketed tokens, and moved on. Both secured, no point lingering deep in the woods.
Water and food meant skirting the edge, killing time.
They walked till reaching their old pond. Heading for a drink, they found the teacher's corpse gone.
“...Huh? J-Ji-hyuk, the body's gone—!”
Seong-han hoped she was alive somehow. Ji-hyuk shattered that instantly.
“Yeah, someone took it.”
“...What?”
“Other folks. Goblins nearby, or whoever.”
“Ah...”
Seong-han's fear grew at Ji-hyuk's casual tone, like it was obvious.
“Don't sweat it. Drink up.”
Sweat it...? But Seong-han obeyed—his body moved on autopilot. Deep down, he feared Kang Ji-hyuk.
They guzzled till full, then walked on.
Seong-han felt off. ...This place drove people mad somehow.
Ji-hyuk glanced back at his troubled face, coaxing like a kid.
“Not too upset, right? I can be blunt. People misunderstand sometimes.”
Seong-han forced a smile. “Nah, it's fine. Totally get it.”
“Good.”
Ji-hyuk's smile vanished as he faced forward.
They walked in silence. Sunset painted the sky red.
Ever vigilant, Ji-hyuk scanned surroundings, checking for tails—especially that vile fairy.
“Let's exit the forest completely tonight.”
“Safe?”
“Better that way.”
Seong-han nodded. Ji-hyuk was scary but wise.
By half-dark, they escaped the woods.
Woooow—.
A distant beast howl. Seong-han shuddered.
“You sleep first.”
Sudden dread hit Seong-han. What if Ji-hyuk killed him asleep? No reason, but the thought crept in.
“Okay.”
Couldn't fight it—eyelids too heavy.
No way he'd kill me.
Seong-han crashed instantly.
Ji-hyuk inhaled deeply through his nose, exhaled through his mouth. Sun gone; stars glittered in the clear night sky. Beautiful.
Faint screams echoed occasionally. Ji-hyuk stared blankly toward them.
The forest was already hell. Token wars would rage nightly, devouring each other.
Heh, good luck with that—
Ji-hyuk felt rare leisure. He pondered post-tutorial plans.
Screams and roars multiplied. Suddenly, he craved a drink—that harsh booze scorching his throat.
Grab one after we get out.
A boom—explosion. Magic, for sure.
...Brutal fight over there.
Seong-han slept through it soundly.
Yawn—
Ji-hyuk yawned too. Exhausted. But no slacking—that arrow could end him like the teacher.
Eventually, the forest quieted. So did Ji-hyuk's mind, sinking deep.