The Tutorial Begins
Startled by the unfamiliar voice echoing chaotically in his mind, Taemin quickly realized what it was.
If I'm right, this is...
To confirm his suspicion, he shouted into the empty air.
"Status!"
Class:Il-sala-ja (Origin of Ancient Assassins)
Title: None
LV: 1 | EXP: 300 | Fame: 0
Physical ATK: 1-5 | Physical DEF: 1-3 | Magic Power: 1-1
Crit Chance: 0 | Evasion: 0 | Movement Speed: 0
Skill Activation HP: 100 | Skill Activation MP: 100
Remaining Points: 5
"What? This is real?"
He'd shouted it on a whim, just in case, but he'd actually awakened. Wondering if it was a dream, he pinched his cheek.
"Ow!"
The sharp pain felt all too real.
"It's real. This is really happening."
Suddenly, Taemin's heart began to pound. Just yesterday, he'd been regretting his pointless curiosity, wishing he'd never picked up that stone. But now, that same curiosity had landed him a jackpot like winning the lottery.
Unable to calm his surging excitement, Taemin paced the room endlessly. Then, he noticed the window still hovering there, refusing to vanish.
"What's this?"
When Taemin touched the window marked with an exclamation point, a new one appeared.
1. Open your inventory and equip the armor.
🎁 Reward: EXP 50
"Oh, this must be the famous tutorial I've only heard about. Inventory!"
The inventory window opened, revealing about fifty rectangular slots. When he hovered over the first and second slots, which contained something, their stat windows popped up.
Physical DEF +3
Physical DEF +3
Taemin pulled them out and draped them over his regular clothes.
"This is how you equip them, right?"
As he muttered while slipping them on, a notification chime rang in his ears, and a translucent window appeared.
Tutorial 1 completed.
Reward: 50 EXP acquired.
Please check the new tutorial.
"What? Already completed one? That was easy."
Having finished a quest just by equipping clothes, Taemin immediately checked the next tutorial.
2. Open your inventory and pick up a weapon.
🎁 Reward: EXP 50
"Let's see, where's the weapon...?"
ATK 10
Taemin took the Beginner's Dagger from his inventory and gripped it. Another chime rang out, followed by a status message.
Tutorial 2 completed.
Reward: 50 EXP acquired.
Please check the new tutorial.
He still didn't fully grasp what was going on, but the quick progression of quests and rewards lifted Taemin's spirits.
"100 EXP just from equipping gear... This is pretty rewarding."
3. Learn a skill.
Activate and use the basic skill Arrainba.
🎁 Reward: EXP 50
To proceed, Taemin opened his skill window.
Arrainba LV 1
Movement Speed +30
Duration: 1 min
MP Cost: 30
Next Level: Movement Speed +60 | Duration: 1 min 10 sec | MP Cost: 60
Skill Points: 0
"Movement speed boost? Just touch it?"
With a curious expression, he tapped the first slot in the skill window: Arrainba.
Arrainba skill activated. You can trigger it with your will alone.
"With will alone? Like, just think it?"
Taemin focused his mind and pictured Arrainba in his thoughts.
Arrainba.
A faint light rippled from his legs before fading. There was no visible change, but his legs felt remarkably lighter than before, confirming the activation.
Tutorial 3 completed.
Reward: 50 EXP acquired.
Please check the next tutorial.
"Should I test it out with a run?"
Before checking the next tutorial, Taemin dashed forward to experience the ability. After sprinting what felt like about 100 meters, his impression was underwhelming. His legs felt lighter, but the speed boost wasn't as noticeable as he'd hoped.
"Probably because it's only level 1."
With the skill activated, Taemin moved on to the next tutorial.
4. Spend all your stat points.
🎁 Reward: EXP 150
🎁 Item: Map
"Stats, huh... Status."
Class:Il-sala-ja (Origin of Ancient Assassins)
LV: 1 | EXP: 150
Physical ATK: 1-5 | Physical DEF: 1-6 | Magic Power: 1-1
Crit Chance: 0 | Evasion: 0 | Movement Speed: 0
Skill Activation HP: 100 | Skill Activation MP: 70
Remaining Points: 5
Taemin examined the stats closely. He had five points to allocate. Staring at the status window, he fell into thought. Despite his vast trivia knowledge from games and novels, he'd never heard of the Il-sala-ja class.
What stats should I put into for Il-sala-ja?
After much deliberation, he decided to test one by one to find the main stat for his class. He first allocated a point to Strength. His Physical ATK rose to 8, and Skill Activation HP increased to 105. One point in Strength gave +3 ATK and +5 Skill HP.
Next, Vitality: +3 Physical DEF and +20 Skill HP.
Then Intelligence: +3 Magic Power and +5 MP.
Mentality: +1 Magic Power and +20 MP.
Finally, the last point to Agility: +1 ATK, +0.5 Physical DEF, +0.1% Evasion, +0.1% Crit Chance.
Tutorial 4 completed.
Reward: 150 EXP acquired.
Reward: Map acquired.
A glow emanated from Taemin's body with the final notification before quickly fading.
"Already leveled up? Must be easy at the start. So Agility is the main stat? The numbers are low, but it buffs four things at once... I'll leave it for now."
Deciding to research more later, he closed the status window and proceeded to the next tutorial.
5. Go hunting.
Activate the map and head to the Beginner Dungeon to hunt 5 Wild Dogs.
Touch the marked location on the map for automatic path guidance.
Tutorial Quest: Wild Dogs (0/5)
🎁 Reward: Basic Monster Compendium, EXP 600
Hm. Five Wild Dogs.
Taemin pondered the tutorial. He knew the Beginner Dungeon well—it was frequently broadcast on raid channels.
"No way. I'd get eaten alive."
Recalling the massive packs of Wild Dogs from a broadcast, he shook his head vigorously. With his current weapon and abilities, he stood no chance.
"First, I need info. Gotta look up strategies."
Closing the quest window, Taemin sat at his desk and booted up his computer. Then he vaguely remembered the last message.
Something about humanity count...? I heard it, but everything came at once, and I was too excited—can't recall clearly.
"Eh, probably just quest stuff."
He decided not to dwell on it. What mattered was his awakening. That meant, starting today, he was a hunter.
Before tackling the Wild Dogs, he searched for hunter registration procedures and benefits. Partying up would be better than going solo. After digging through the internet for a while, he rested his chin on his fist, deep in thought.
There were three main ways to operate as a hunter.
First: Register with the National Hunter Management Agency and work as a civil servant. Stable salary and pension, but mandatory 10-year service, with all monster corpses and items belonging to the state.
Second: Join a guild, or private raid company. The first guilds formed from ex-civil servants after their service. Dissatisfied with salaries as monster parts and items sold for high prices, they sought personal profit. No salary or pension, but raid bonuses and shares of loot—and big windfalls if lucky. Initially deemed illegal, guilds grew too powerful, so they're now permitted for independent hunts within limits.
Third: Freelance, unaffiliated hunters. No state protection, mostly low-rank with weak skills, doing small raids to scrape by. Pros: No raid reporting required, no taxes due to no protection, and 100% loot ownership. Mostly beginners who hate low-pay civil service and lack guild entry skills.
For Taemin's current state, registering as a civil servant was safest. Steady paycheck and future pension meant a wealthy life.
But the 10-year mandatory service was the issue. Short or long depending on view. Before awakening, he'd have jumped at it, but now? Reality shifted his perspective.
Monster corpses fetched high prices by rank—new materials for daily goods, clothes, shoes, everything. Leather goods were top-tier luxury.
Dropped items were even more valuable depending on traits. Like a Half-Dragon Heart from mid-high dungeons: energy equivalent to Seoul's daily power needs. Could run the city for a day. Price: 16 billion won.
Countless such items existed, prices varying wildly. Rare drops, but even one in 10 years beat a decade of civil servant pay.
Yeah, no need to rush. I'll look into it more.