Tutorial Second Playthrough (1)
A massive resort perfect for gathering tons of college students. Instead of the scent of grass in the garden, the air was thick with booze and cigarette smoke. I stood a little away from the crowd, sipping water.
"......."
My mind was foggy. I felt like I'd been doing something, but the memories from before were hazy.
"Sunbae? What are you doing out here?"
"...Who?"
A girl with friendly brown bobbed hair approached me warmly.
"You didn't hear me during intros earlier? I'm Yoo Han-byeol!"
"...Ah, right. Yeah."
Hearing her name jogged my memory. She was the girl the department heads and others had been hyping up even before freshman orientation. With her killer looks and figure, she'd come from the countryside to Seoul for college and instantly snagged a ton of guys' attention. And then, another scene flashed through my mind from my memories.
-Uwaaak, run!
-Kyaaak!
A forest. Not like this place—a real wild, untamed natural forest. Screams echoed indiscriminately from guys and girls alike, and amid them, the sharp sound of blades tearing flesh pierced my eardrums.
"Sunbae? You okay? Should I... get someone?"
"Nah, I'm fine. It's not the booze."
The booze wasn't the problem; something else was making my head throb even worse.
"Yoo Han-byeol. Your dad's a provincial assemblyman, right?"
"Ah, yeah!"
Our conversation wasn't meshing.
"I gave up on other schools to come here too! I mean, this is Minjok University, right? Ehehehe."
"Do you remember what's about to happen next?"
"Sunbae, do you do SNS? I looked you up on Byeolstar, but I didn't see you!"
This girl, who could've debuted as an idol ages ago if she'd gone into entertainment, just kept chattering away.
Of course. This whole situation was from my 'memories' after all.
"You checked out the sunbaes in advance on SNS?"
"Yup! Gotta know their names ahead of time so I don't lose at drinking games. Thanks to that, I only had three shots. Hehe."
"If you were gonna scout ahead like that, why didn't you check out the assholes you'd end up following soon enough?"
"Sunbae, can I ask something...? You really don't have a girlfriend? Oh, n-no, don't get the wrong idea! They sent me to drag you over for a penalty game up there... but there are a few missions attached!"
"Yeah, missions. Life-or-death ones."
How had I responded back then? Hmm.
"Who gave you that mission? The department head? Or Choi Jun-hak?"
"N-no! Not those sunbaes..."
Good. Their names were fuzzy since they'd died pretty early on, but luckily this 'flashback scene' was making the words flow easily.
"Ah, fuck...!"
While I was talking to Yoo Han-byeol, the door to the building swung open, and a blonde girl stormed out cursing up a storm. She was in a tube top with hot pants and just a thin cardigan draped over—perfect outfit to catch a cold on a late night like this.
"Ah."
"......."
Yoo Han-byeol jumped in surprise, and the girl glanced between us before nodding curtly and heading off elsewhere.
"Fuck...."
Even as she left, she muttered curses, like she was still pissed about something.
"That's Shin Yu-hee," Yoo Han-byeol whispered, pointing after her. "I heard from other sunbaes she used to party pretty hard... guess the rumors are true."
"......."
What had I said back then? Ah, right. I remembered.
"It's about that time."
"Huh?"
Yoo Han-byeol was startled, but she wasn't the one I was responding to. Back then, I'd worn a fitting social mask and said something like, 'You can't judge people by appearances.'
"It's here."
"...Huh?"
The ground rumbled. The building shook, and a massive earthquake hit—strong enough that I couldn't even keep my balance.
"Kyaaak!"
Yoo Han-byeol clung to me in panic, shoving my body back forcefully. Even so, since she was a junior, I'd tried to support her as she desperately grabbed on, aiming for a safe spot.
But there was no safe spot.
It wasn't a normal quake. The building collapsed, and the ground itself split open violently.
A smartphone that had fallen to the ground. The last number I saw on the screen before it shattered: 7.6.
An earthquake too powerful to even stand against swept through, screams filling the building from inside.
Rumble rumble rumble!!
Those screams were buried as the building cracked and crumbled into the yawning earth, entombing everyone under piles of dirt.
Death by earthquake. That was my death—or rather, our entire class's cause of death.
And the reason this memory resurfaced now was simple.
It was to hammer home the realization of death—the 'tutorial angels'' plan.
"Kyaaaak!"
"Uwaaak! H-help!!"
A space of nothing but white. Young men and women in their early to mid-twenties flailing and screaming in a void with absolutely nothing in it.
I'm back.
The memories had fully returned. Like a game prologue, the replay showed exactly how we'd died.
'You have to accept death to justify joining the game,' they said.
All 108 people standing on this platform—everyone except me—were in full panic.
And who could blame them? Just moments ago, they'd been at the resort for the freshman MT called 'Newbie Bootcamp'—or nearby—and now they'd died in an unprecedented earthquake, only to be dragged to this all-white void.
"Wh-what the hell is this...?"
"Wh-where am I...? D-did I... die...?"
"S-sunbae!! What is this?! Some kinda event... right...?"
Simply put, it was the afterlife. More precisely—
Welcome, Earthlings. To cut to the chase: you are dead.
A blonde angel with white wings descended from the sky above—a textbook 'angel' figure—addressing us.
I am Estiel, the angel dispatched by the great Goddess to guide you to this world. You are currently in a soul state, and...
"What the fuck is this bullshit!!"
A guy yelled. Among the early-to-mid-20s college crowd, he looked the oldest—biggest musclehead with the highest face value. Kim Gwan-gyun. I remembered.
The third-year department head.
"Cut the crap!! We're not dead! I ain't dead!"
You must surely recall the memories before death. I see—you're denying it. I understand. No one but those who chose death themselves can accept it.
Estiel nodded impassively at Kim Gwan-gyun and the other wailing souls, her expression unchanging. Like a bureaucrat who'd studied humans in theory and was now dealing with clients on the job for the first time.
Looking back, she was surprisingly human.
It might sound weird to call that 'human,' but compared to the average angel, the one assigned to our group was practically saintly.
It's alright, everyone. Even if you refuse to accept it, I can wait.
"You fucking bitch! What the hell is this?!"
"What are you?! Dead? What does that even mean?!"
Others hurled double curses and questions wildly, but instead of making an example by slicing or burning one, she just nodded understandingly. No show of superiority over us lowly beings.
Hmm?
Ah. Eye contact.
Did she notice something?
I'd reset, but Estiel and I hadn't met after the tutorial. Other angels maybe, but not her.
Besides, no way she retained memories of the reset or regression.
If anyone but me did, the Goddess would've rushed here and shredded my soul on the spot.
Interesting. Humans process this differently. Some seem to grasp the situation already.
"So what is it?!"
Wouldn't you like to live again?
The angel asked. No one answered right away. Doubt was natural, but they'd all built up some self-assurance.
Ah. I'm dead. Whatever this is, it's some fantasy movie scenario unfolding.
The Goddess has claimed your souls and brought you to this world. By her grace, you are granted a chance to live again in this otherworld.
Live again. Whatever it was, having died once sharpened their desire for life. Especially after such a sudden accident—no one wanted to end it here, lose their memories, and call it quits. Losing memories meant losing the self, equivalent to erasure.
Even if reborn as something new in this world by the Goddess's design, what meaning would it hold without Earth's memories and traces? High chance of non-human birth too, and failure to meet the contract could mean demon rebirth.
We shall prepare vessels of flesh for your souls. In exchange, you must form a contract.
"Contract?"
Yes. Live again in this world, and in return, defeat the Demon King.
A straightforward deal. The Goddess, unable to beat the Demon King, gathered souls of the dead from Earth and bartered under her name.
The one who defeats the Demon King shall return to Earth in the Goddess's name.
Defeat the Demon King, return to Earth. That was the contract.
Therefore—
"Skip."
I raised my hand toward the angel.
"Explanation's done. Contract."
.......
The angel descended to me. She extended her hand in front of everyone.
In the name of the great Goddess—
A screen window appeared. I slapped my hand on it and scrolled down like crazy.
"I accept."
Click, click.
Historically, the fastest to ever sign the contract!
# Goddess Points +1 acquired.
"What. Why."
.......
"You said we'd get a chance to live again if we contract? Done. What more?"
No time to hesitate.