Chapter 3

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Translator: penny

Chapter: 3

Chapter Title: Tutorial (2)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

The knight made a creaking sound right in front of Cheisi's eyes.

"...So, I guess we're supposed to take that thing down?"

Cheisi's thoughts matched those of the viewers.

"Yeah. It already looks half-broken..."

The knight appeared as if it would shatter with a single tap, but Cheisi had no intention of letting her guard down.

Cheisi first checked the knight's information.

A window of information unfurled before her eyes with a rustle. Nothing particularly unusual stood out.

The Broken Knight raised its head and stared at Cheisi.

Kikiik, kikiik.

As the knight moved, the eerie sound of its mechanisms creaking filled the ruins.

Cheisi spotted the weapon hanging at the knight's waist.

It was a broken wooden spear.

Cheisi felt a bit wronged.

"...It has a spear, so why am I empty-handed?"

"They wouldn't make us do that. Probably not."

Clinging to her faith in the developers, Cheisi scanned her surroundings and spotted a weapon nearby.

It was a dull black dagger with its blade completely worn away. A long strap was attached to the hilt, seemingly meant to be tied somewhere for carrying.

Cheisi checked the dagger's information.

The description was utterly unremarkable at first glance. Worse, its durability was nearly gone, risking breakage at any moment.

But it was the best weapon available right now.

Cheisi picked up the dagger.

Confirming the notification that her attack power had increased, Cheisi gripped the dagger and cautiously approached the Broken Knight.

Kikiik—

The Broken Knight didn't move at all, merely staring at Cheisi.

'It's not attacking...?'

The moment Cheisi judged the knight to be within the dagger's range and tightened her grip—

The spear of the utterly motionless knight swung out.

"......!"

She saw it—clear as day.

Cheisi instinctively deflected the spear. But the attack didn't end there. The knight's spear whipped toward her twice more, even fiercer than before.

Kang!

The clash of wood and metal rang out.

Cheisi blocked the leg-aimed strike on instinct, then barely rolled away from the next attack.

It looked like a precisely choreographed exchange of blows.

The viewers couldn't keep up with the action at all. It was impossible with human reflexes.

But the viewers had no choice but to accept it.

"...Hah?!"

Right before their eyes was the streamer, panting heavily at a distance after pulling off the impossible, looking flustered.

Having seen it with their own eyes, they had no choice but to believe.

"Th-this doesn't feel like a tutorial mob..."

"...I saw it."

"I-it just... I saw it..."

Saying that, Cheisi checked her HP bar.

"If I hadn't blocked that, I'd be dead right now."

Cheisi had learned that perfectly blocking an attack in the tutorial reduced damage taken by 90%.

And right now, she'd lost about 12% HP. If she'd failed to block, it would've been instant death for sure.

"...Yeah. The tutorial seems way too hard..."

Cheisi cautiously approached the Broken Knight again.

Kikiik—!

As the distance closed, the knight launched a preemptive strike.

After reacting to and blocking every incoming spear thrust, Cheisi realized something.

"...The pattern's the same."

The same speed, the same direction—a three-hit combo came flying in just like before. Having seen it once, blocking it was much easier.

Cheisi exchanged blows with the knight for the third time.

Sure enough, the pattern was identical. She could clearly predict what action would lead to what direction of attack, allowing her to block perfectly.

HP sacrificed: 15%.

And now, Cheisi had her chance to strike back.

At first, flustered, she'd blocked and immediately retreated. The Broken Knight didn't pursue, staggering in place as if half-falling before regaining its stance.

On the second exchange, she'd waited warily just in case, but this time, Cheisi had no intention of missing the opening.

The dagger struck the knight's tattered armor.

Kikik, kkik!

The knight knelt helplessly, taking the hit before barely rising and batting the dagger away with its spear, creating distance from Cheisi.

However, the fight was already decided.

"Feels like I got a solid hit in."

Cheisi's lips curved into a smile as she checked the knight's remaining HP.

Just 7% left. True to its tutorial monster nature, a single damage window had shredded its health.

In contrast, Cheisi still had about half her HP remaining.

The outcome was clear.

Kikikik!

The knight let out a violent mechanical screech and charged at Cheisi.

The chat tensed up at the ominous aura from the Broken Knight. Cheisi unconsciously flattened her ears, staring warily at it.

But the Broken Knight had no hidden patterns.

The boldly charging knight unleashed the exact same attack as before. That was the limit of a tutorial monster.

And to Cheisi, now accustomed to its attacks, it didn't land at all.

"...Now it finally feels like a tutorial monster."

Cheisi calmly blocked the knight's attack.

Kikik, kikiik, ki—kikiik...

Finally, with its HP depleted, the knight collapsed.

The knight's form vanished, leaving a small brown gear in its place.

Cheisi picked up the gear.

Cheisi looked up.

A short distance away stood a circular gateway.

"Guess I just slot this in there?"

Cheisi glanced at the viewer count.

'Ten viewers?'

The viewer count had tripled from three before she knew it.

Cheisi knew Abyss's ecosystem well. Newbie streamers just starting out often had one or two viewers—or none at all. She'd experienced it firsthand during test streams on League of Arena.

Yet here were ten people watching her stream.

A faint smile graced Cheisi's lips.

Without realizing, her tail swished contentedly.

"Alright, let's go."

Cheisi tied the dagger's strap around her waist, picked up the core, and headed to the gateway.

The gateway resembled a massive circular stele. Its center had a groove designed to hold something—likely where the core went.

As Cheisi inserted the core, the gateway activated, rippling with blue light.

Cheisi stepped inside. A message appeared.

A clear blue sky. A village straight out of a fantasy world unfolded before Cheisi's eyes.

One side bordered a dock on the sea. The rest was surrounded by forest.

Residents who looked like NPCs leisurely wandered the small, peaceful village.

"...Wow."

Cheisi let out an involuntary gasp of admiration.

She hadn't thought about it during the tutorial, but now that she was here, it hit her fully.

"All the senses are alive."

"Yeah... It's exactly like reality."

The breeze brushing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her ears, the villagers' chatter.

The feel of her vibrant red hair swaying in the wind, the fluffy cat ears she'd customized—all felt identical to touching them in real life.

"This is seriously insane...?"

Her excitement bubbling over, Cheisi dashed into the village and touched a nearby tree.

The rough texture of its bark and growth rings felt incredibly vivid.

"How is this even possible...?"

RO-One, the developers of Ariant World, had boasted even before launch that all five senses would be perfectly implemented.

And they'd delivered—show and prove.

Cheisi felt the last traces of regret over the capsule's high price vanish completely.

For a game like this, no cost was too great.

Cheisi wandered Runein Village, taking in the sights.

Before long, a puzzled tilt crept into her head.

"Why's the village so empty?"

All the people Cheisi saw while exploring were NPCs. Not a single player in sight.

It was odd.

"...Is it under maintenance or something?"

The chat plunged into confusion, just like Cheisi.

Ariant World had been hyped as the world's first full-dive VR game even before launch.

Countless players were itching to log in at midnight on release day.

For such a game's launch-day starter village to have zero players?

The viewers couldn't quite wrap their heads around it either.

-Ding!

Then, a cheerful chime rang out, and a message appeared before Cheisi's eyes.

"A title...?"

Checking the unexpected title she'd earned, Cheisi was taken aback.

She was the first player to clear the tutorial.

Judging by the chat reactions, the viewers were just as stunned.