The Crystal-Clear God of Self-Study

I left the house with a kitchen knife in hand.

It might have made me look like a maniac, but in Hwaseong City as it stood now, it was essential. Looters, monsters—the list of things that wanted me dead filled the city to the brim.

"Hah."

Outside, a narrow alley waited for me. Thankfully, no monsters loitered by the door today.

Squelch, squelch.

I picked my way over the damp ground and through the alley. About five minutes of walking would put me in the half-ruined downtown, where monsters still turned up often enough that you had to stay sharp.

I still can't get used to this place.

The buildings looked ready to collapse at any second, and yet, compared to other districts, this was the good part of town. This was the zone that held Hwaseong City's Tower, which meant it sat under the protection of the Hwasan Guild—the city's de facto masters.

Better hurry through.

The closer you got to the Tower, the more the city's infrastructure started to look halfway normal. Plenty of people called it livable. In the end, even this side of town is hanging by a thread.

I walked for about an hour with that kind of idle chatter in my head, and before I knew it I was standing before the massive Tower.

No guards?

I'd heard the Towers in big cities managed every entry carefully. Hwaseong City did nothing of the sort. There was a reason ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠people called it a sanctuary for illegal, unregistered hunters.

Works for me.

I wasn't an Awakened. Registering as a hunter meant revealing my aura ability, and the government would never leave me alone after that. They'd strip my aura training methods out of me, and while they were at it, they'd probably dissect my TS body for good measure.

For now, the Korean government is not to be trusted.

With that thought, I stepped up to the Tower.

A blue message bloomed in front of my eyes.

"Yes."

White light wrapped around my entire body.

When I came to, a blue window was blocking my vision.

A system message, huh. I dismissed it lightly and looked around.

An empty white void stretched out in every direction. There's really nothing here. Literally—my body was floating weightlessly in midair.

"Yahoo!"

I flailed like I was swimming, and my body started gliding through the empty air. So this was what flying felt like. I would have happily stayed like that forever, but—

…This is not the time.

I turned back to the system window.

Other Awakened supposedly agonized over the weapon choice for an hour or two.

"Longsword."

I'd already skimmed enough of the Swordsmanship Forum to decide instantly. Aside from a few weird sword-obsessives, everyone used a longsword.

When I opened my eyes, I was in a dark underground dungeon.

"Hm."

I picked up the longsword lying on the floor and stood. Exactly what the info posts said.

The tutorial was themed as a dungeon: kill monsters, push forward. Open the iron bars, walk the corridor, keep going.

Aura.

First I activated my aura and wrapped it around my whole body. My basic physical ability had already improved, but that was no reason to get careless.

Creeeak.

I shoved open the iron grate with its broken lock and stepped out. About a minute down the narrow corridor—

"Kyaaak!"

A goblin with a club appeared. If this had been my first fight, I might have tensed up. But I've spent my whole life in Hwaseong City. A goblin was something I could handle with a kitchen knife.

Shhk!

One light swing of the longsword, and its head came clean off. Early stages won't be a problem.

I pushed through to Tutorial Stage 3 at a good clip. More goblins showed up the deeper I went, but the packs never topped about ten. By the final wave of Stage 3—

Thud-thud-thud!

"Ky-yaaak…!"

A few sword strokes cleaned them all out.

I stared at the system window and thought for a moment. This is way easier than I expected. It hadn't even been combat—just one-sided slaughter. No tension to speak of. Still, getting too cocky would be stupid. They said Stage 4 is where it changes.

A little more carefully, I moved on.

Time passed, and before long I was in Stage 5. The moment I engaged, I couldn't help but freeze in confusion. I'd only meant to test the orc's strength—just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠casually driven the blade in—

"Graa—urk…!"

The thing writhed in agony, clawing at the longsword stuck in its throat. What the hell?

Shunk!

I pulled the sword free. Blood fountained out, and a moment later the orc toppled over.

"…That's it?"

For something billed as a newbie-crusher, this was almost insultingly hollow. Well. Cleared is cleared.

I looked at the system window.

"What?"

Not only had a Hidden Stage opened—the reward was a minimum B-class item. B-class means tens of millions of won at the least. And if an A-class dropped, the price jumped into the hundreds of millions. Anything useful I'd keep; the rest I could dump on the system exchange. Simple.

Should I ask the forum first?

Something this important deserved their input. Except—

There was no time to ask the gallery. I had to decide alone.

"I'm going in!"

I just went for it. Die and it would suck; succeed and my whole life would change.

I opened my eyes to find myself locked in a wide underground cell. A translucent barrier sealed the exit—so this was where the fight would happen. A boss, maybe?

I scanned the area, but it was too dark to make out the far end of the dungeon. I started to edge closer for a better look—

Clank, clank!

From the darkness came the sound of iron chains grinding together. Instead of stopping, it grew louder—

CRACK!

Something like a chain snapping, and the system window flared to life.

Out of the dark walked a crimson-black giant.

Thoom.

A High Orc. Unlike ordinary D-class orcs, this thing sat at the absolute peak of C-class. Even ten regular orcs couldn't guarantee a win against one. And yet—

Why is something like that showing up here?

It varied by person, but a C-class usually appeared as a boss from Floor 10 at the earliest. Meeting one in the tutorial would get even an S-class Awakened killed horribly.

…Aura.

I calmly cycled my aura.

"Kruk, krrruk…"

The creature watched me without moving, a roughly two-meter greatsword in its hands. Being cautious? It held a stance ready to strike at any moment. High intelligence—it would observe my moves before committing to its own.

If I open the gallery, it'll attack immediately.

Meaning I had to handle this thing without the Swordsmanship Forum's help.

"…"

My body felt cold. I remembered the first time I'd met a goblin on the roadside. That same sensation of being crushed by the situation. Back then I'd just sat on the ground and done nothing.

This time, I have to do it myself.

There was no one left to lean on.

Hsssss…

I wrapped my entire body in aura. Black mist leaked out from under my skin, and the air around me slowly stained with its color.

In that same instant—

"Kruk!"

The High Orc swung first.

Fast!

I threw myself into a forward roll.

Whoosh!

The blade skimmed over my hair. A fraction slower and my head would have been gone—goosebumps raced over my skin—but I closed the distance.

My turn. I poured aura into my legs and leapt high. One hit. Kill it.

I drove the sword hard into its throat.

Shunk!

The longsword punched through its hide. Got it.

I tried to shove the blade deeper—

Why is it so tough…!

No matter how hard I pushed, the sword's cutting power simply wasn't enough. The longsword locked solid in its flesh.

"GRAAAH!"

The creature seized the opening and swung its fist.

Shit…!

I needed distance immediately, but I couldn't get it—not until I pulled the longsword free of its hide—

BOOM!

The fist caught me and launched me like a shell into the wall.

"Ghh—urk…!"

It hurt. Pain sharp enough to blur my vision swallowed me whole. …Not enough power.

Even if I got up and fought again, I wasn't sure I could win. Shallow cuts wouldn't drop the orc before my stamina gave out first. Deep thrusts would just repeat what had just happened. In this state, I could not win.

Thud.

I heard it walking toward me. Going for the finish?

I have to move.

But my body wouldn't obey. The only thing I could still control was my aura. This can't…

My consciousness was slipping. Time stretched thin, and in that sliver of a moment all I could do was move my aura.

Hsssss…

Black mist poured out of me. The energy spreading through the air began to gnaw at the space itself.

Grrrnnn…

Wherever aura touched, space shuddered. Like two things that could not coexist, they clawed at each other, each trying to devour the other. And the one that won that fight was the black mist—my aura.

…I eroded space.

No—there was a better word for it than erosion. The aura had forced its own color onto the surrounding space, onto the world itself.

…Yes.

I imbued aura.

Aura soaked into the space. It poured power in and stamped its own hue onto everything it touched. So then—

Could I do the same ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to my body? To the longsword?

No time to think. I recalled the sensation from a second ago and wrenched my aura into shape. Aura erosion.

GRRRNNNN!

Forcing aura into my muscles brought a vicious backlash—pain like a blade shredding meat from the inside. I have to shove it in anyway…!

Through agony that felt like dying, I imbued my muscles and the longsword with aura.

"!"

My mind snapped back in an instant—

"Krrruk!"

—just as the High Orc was bringing its greatsword down on my head.

BOOOOM!

"Hah… hah…"

I barely rolled clear and checked my condition. At this rate I wouldn't last more than a few moves before collapsing again. I have to end it in one exchange.

One chance. A single attack.

"…"

I looked down at the longsword, stained black. I didn't fully understand it, but with the blade like this, I had the feeling I could kill the thing.

"Kruk—!"

Enraged, it swung the greatsword again. I cut inside immediately.

"Krrruk!"

"…!"

But it had read me. Its fist came crashing down on the exact spot I was diving into. Ordinarily I could never have dodged—

…I can feel it.

An instinctive sense moved a half-step ahead of the attack and pulled me clear.

BOOM!

Its left fist smashed empty air. And its right arm, still recovering from the greatsword swing, couldn't move yet.

Now.

I leapt high again. This ends it. I lined up the thrust for its throat—then hesitated. What if it hangs on?

With a High Orc's vitality, it could survive a hole through the neck for a few seconds. If it killed me in that window, it was over.

…Then—

I'd take the whole head.

"Hup—"

I shifted my stance and swung for the neck.

Thwack-crack-shhk!

Flesh pulped under the blade, and the head came clean off.

An empty white space.

"Hm."

When I opened my eyes, I was somewhere that looked a lot like the tutorial entry room. Whoosh~ Yeah—my body was floating again, so it really was that place…

"What the hell happened to my body."

I looked like I'd taken a bomb to the face. Every inch of me was shredded. Ugh. Gross.

The meat-slab that had been my body began knitting itself back into shape—gradually returning to a pretty, pale-skinned young girl. Looks like recovery will take a bit. Might as well browse the gallery while I wait.

"Oof."

The fight itself hadn't lasted long, but a lot of time must have passed while I was out. Survival report first.

That should do it.

To a swordmaster it probably looked adorable, but I was ridiculously proud of myself. Awakening a broken technique in the nick of time and surviving? I simply cannot be stopped.

Sure, to the gallery regulars it was probably nothing special. Still, I figured I might at least get a "nice job" out of them—

Everyone was posting the same broken-brained reactions over and over.