Tutorial Second Playthrough (4): Angelic Wager
Right now, I had two Goddess Points. One came from being the first to sign the Hero Contract, and the other from being the first killed by another aspiring hero.
The former was from my proactive move to become a hero. The latter wasn't intentional, but it turned out to be a convenient opportunity to exploit.
Unfortunately, I didn't get the Goddess Point for being the "first to die" as a sympathy play. As for those who died in between, I could only lament their bad luck.
So, up to now, I needed to sort out what I'd lost and gained. What I'd lost was simple: one thing. My body was dead, leaving me as a ghost overlooking the Tutorial Factory scene.
"Kyaaack!"
"R-real goblins!"
Goblin assault. The monsters straight out of fantasy comics started attacking the aspiring heroes. Their onslaught was merciless and indiscriminate.
Squish!
"S-save...!"
"Aaaah! Without weapons, against those things...!"
"Nooo!!"
These people—barely college kids in their early to mid-twenties—were being torn apart by goblins. Short daggers plunged into throats. Bodies paralyzed by flying poison darts collapsed, only to be stabbed through the heart. Fleeing goblins, they tripped and tumbled off cliffs to their deaths.
Now, the aspiring heroes had to figure out how to survive exactly 108 goblins.
"M-Mister! Save me!"
"Nngh, kid!! Come here first!"
Whether by seeking help from others...
"Hey! That's enough! Throw rocks!"
"Aim for the head!! Then grab their clubs!!"
...or analyzing the enemies and finding ways to turn the tables.
The advantage for survivors was that these monsters weren't as weak as the slimes outside a village that level 1 heroes face in tutorial games. And with the clear pain of death, they needed psychological preparation too.
Combat experience. Mental fortitude.
-Ah, I'm really in this hell now.
And awareness of reality.
'I don't need that.'
As a regressor, I'd already been through it all in the first playthrough. If Goddess Points weren't my goal, I'd have gone for the "Tutorial Goblin Slayer" title and its passive skill.
Goblin Special Forces. Damage +N% against goblins.
Did I have that title and skill now? No.
But I didn't need to hunt goblins on purpose in the tutorial for it.
What I needed to do now was manage what I'd gained from my quick death and actions.
I'd gotten Goddess Points, but not without downsides. I died because some asshole tried to get info out of me. Meaning, I was under suspicion now.
If I had to explain it in terms web novel readers would get instantly, it'd be one of two clichés.
One: This world is actually a novel, and I'm one of the readers sucked into it.
Nope. Sadly, no fourth-wall-breaking meta. The goddess gets royally fucked by the Demon King's army every time the worldline loops.
Two: The regressor possibility.
Regression stories are a common cliché now, and regression is actually a known skill here. A hidden piece born from a hero's strong desire, achievements, and a miracle—not buyable with Goddess Points. A skill.
[Death Regression] or whatever—it's one of countless save points the goddess and angels use to beat the Demon King's army.
Hundreds, thousands of save points to reach the "Kill the Demon King" ending.
The goddess and angels can't easily detect those saves, but they know the skill exists. Because it's a perk they granted heroes—or one heroes already had—that got lost when those heroes were killed in this otherworld.
I knew it. Angels manage "regression" more closely than anything.
Their main job in each Tutorial Factory is hunting down suspected regressors, future-seers, or anyone with skills that branch timelines.
Why? Whether personal grudges or big-picture strategy, a regression skill firing means "the goddess side failed."
Hard to imagine logically. No angel, not even the goddess, would picture "the one who beat the Demon King declaring regression as their wish."
The regressions they know are just reloading save points.
But mine is different. Mine is an absolute one-time regression where even those outside the save point don't notice time rewound.
How to regress again? Simple. Kill the Demon King, get a wish from the goddess.
With that in mind, my next move was clear: manage regression risks.
For that, I called Estiel.
"I'm using my Goddess Points."
To summon the administrator. And to strike a deal.
Shaaaah.
Even as the tutorial raged on, my body shifted somewhere else.
"You're a strange one."
Blonde hair, gray eyes. Dressed in white, but more nun-like reverence than angel, with a pair of white wings—she approached me.
"I'm truly curious. Declaring you'll use your Goddess Points..."
"Korean gamers have a national rule: when you get points, you gotta spend 'em somehow."
"Hmm, is that so?"
Estiel nodded, her voice a mix of dissatisfaction and acceptance.
"Very well, Goddess Points—"
"Skip the explanation. Instead—"
"One moment."
As I cut her off to speak, she reached toward my face.
"The tutorial is ongoing. The 'Survive the Goblins' quest lasts 24 hours. And during that 'business hours,' all conversation logs get reported."
Her words were soft and gentle, but her eyes asked: Do you know something?
"That's why I'm using my Goddess Points."
So I said it.
"The moment you declare Goddess Point use, access to aspiring hero info goes confidential, right?"
"......As expected."
The kind of thing insiders would know.
"Declaring Goddess Point use makes that info visible only to me for a time. Though... some angels might question the gap with no actions taken."
And Estiel knew.
"A regressor?"
"Something like that."
"Something...?"
"I'm the last survivor of the final 'hero party' who returned after reaching some truths about the world."
Angels can detect lies. Of course. But I didn't lie.
"I was part of my world's final hero party to subjugate the Demon King's army. And I used a special power to return here—to the start."
Hero Party (1/OOO). The final one was a party of one.
"I can't have the archangels knowing I regressed."
"Hmm... Why? I have duties. For anyone seeming like a regressor, I must track them and report to the great archangels who serve the goddess directly—and to the archangel leader."
"But if you do your duty, will the archangels leave you alone?"
Estiel's smile deepened.
"So... you're proposing a 'bet' on me? Hero Yoo Si-woo?"
"Yeah. A bet. Not just me betting alone. It's a bet between a hero and his 'assigned angel' for each other's sake."
"Assigned angel..."
Estiel licked her lips and stepped closer.
"I'm curious. You don't want your regression reaching heaven's higher-ups. But what do I gain for keeping it secret?"
Not "what do I gain"—what do you think? That was the right answer.
"Don't you want to be an archangel?"
I gave the answer.
"I'll make you a 13-wing archangel. On par with Michael, Gabriel, Uriel—not to mention Metatron."
"...To elevate me that far, you'd need to kill at least a hundred thousand demons."
"Not impossible. Before regression, I killed over ten times that."
Demon King included.
"My achievements will be your record. Top graduate from this factory, and—"
"That's enough. I get it."
Estiel mimed zipping her lips and clasped her hands.
"Understood, Hero Yoo Si-woo."
She was already calling me a hero—one who'd cleared the tutorial.
"What do you want to say, even revealing your regression only to me? How will you use your Goddess Points?"
"First one."
A hidden piece I'd known before regressing.
"Sex Level Up."
"......Pardon?"
"Boost my mana through sex with any non-demon being. No restrictions, right?"
Hero abilities could be anything, as long as it led to killing the Demon King.
"Uh, um."
Estiel blushed, scanning me up and down.
"This is unexpected. I thought you'd ask for a special item or a pre-regression skill as a perk."
Her gaze flicked to my face and below, but she cleared her throat and composed herself.
"Very well. That authority—"
"I'm using a Goddess Point."
"...Pardon?"
"Second one."
I held up two fingers, pointing at Estiel.
"Have sex with me. Right now."