Tutorial Zone - [2]
The stairs leading toward the prison were quite deep and utterly dark.
“Would it be all right to leave the heroes in a place like this…?”
It had been nothing more than pure curiosity. They had summoned us, hadn’t they?
They must have summoned us because they needed us. Then why treat us this way?
When Dohyeon posed the question directly to the saintess, Raymond Philippe de Marseille answered first, as if he had been waiting.
“Monkey? Why so clever?”
Was that an insult or praise? Dohyeon lightly dismissed Raymond and waited for the saintess’s reply.
“T-that is… He requested it himself.”
“What? He requested it?”
“Yes. He said he needed to be kept in a place like this… or something along those lines.”
Hmm. This one was clearly not right in the head.
The acrid smoke from the dying torches and the damp, musty stench of mold filled his nostrils.
“The smell is disgusting…”
Dohyeon ignored Raymond’s whining and imagined the image of the jihadist. Shaggy beard. Ferocious eyes. A fanatic about to press the button on his suicide vest.
Just how crazy was he?
Dohyeon grew tense and touched the hilt of his sword.
Clink. Clink. Clink.
Finally, they reached the destination.
Dohyeon stared into the thick darkness beyond the iron bars.
Raymond, who had been muttering and following behind, stiffened slightly as well.
“…”
“…”
A dark-skinned man sat there in perfect lotus posture.
Kind eyes. Pure, innocent, and refreshingly simple in appearance.
The face of someone who had spent his entire life farming in the countryside and would have kept living even without law.
“A guy like this… is supposed to be a jihadist?”
Real madmen always look perfectly normal on the surface.
Those who commit insane acts with such innocent faces are far more dangerous than openly vicious-looking ones.
Raymond fell silent as well.
The saintess gestured cautiously.
“This… is the third hero.”
Perhaps sensing their presence, the man sitting in lotus posture opened his eyes.
“What’s your name?”
Dohyeon asked in a deliberately calm voice.
“Rayan.”
A short, dry reply. And then silence.
Rayan, who had introduced himself, said nothing more and simply stared quietly.
“…”
First, they needed to figure out the situation.
Dohyeon began to explain concisely and intuitively everything he had experienced and realized over the past three days.
That the world we knew on Earth was not the same.
That we had been forcibly summoned into a fantasy world of cliche settings—demons, dragons, or whatever—under the name of “hero.”
“Do you understand?”
He had expected anger or a breakdown as they had on the first day.
“I see.”
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Rayan’s mouth.
“I understand everything.”
“Eh?”
“What?”
Sounds of bewilderment escaped from both Dohyeon and Raymond at the same time.
“What? You understood it all?”
The saintess was even more surprised!
How could he accept it so quickly?
How could he accept the situation so calmly?
Swoosh.
Rayan rose to his feet. Then he spoke.
“Then the Holy Land that Allah has prepared for me is right here, isn’t it!”
He continued.
“In the Quran, it says that martyrs who fight in the path of Allah will receive eternal rest and reward. So this must be the holy land of that sacred reward.”
Dohyeon sensed what was coming next.
“Saintess, cover your ears.”
“Yes?”
“Cover them.”
“Ah, yes…”
“You won’t hear anything, right?”
It seemed he wasn’t listening, judging by the lack of answer.
Dohyeon felt the saintess’s gaze fixed on him, but he couldn’t understand the look in her eyes.
That meant she didn’t have to worry. Rayan had finally put a period to his sentence.
“The seventy-two virgins prepared for me are waiting here…”
He wore a dreamy expression, and Dohyeon shook his head.
“This guy is also not right in the head. Only normal people are me.”
Dohyeon met Raymond’s eyes and realized that, for the first time in three days here, they were finally on the same wavelength.
Well, that’s fine. In a world this messed up, the more insane you are, the better!
He was pretty crazy, though.
Back in the tutorial zone.
No matter how extreme the difficulty level of the game, there had to be at least a modicum of conscience.
It was a space specially prepared for beginners to learn the basic systems and combat instincts of the game.
The most important point was that this place was basically a “save zone.”
Anyone who died or took fatal damage inside this area could revive.
Of course, now that they were in reality, they had no intention of testing it.
Currently, Dohyeon, Raymond, and the dangerously insane jihadist Rayan were all standing in the center of the tutorial zone.
Game and reality were completely different.
Moving a character behind a monitor with keyboard and mouse was a completely different story from actually swinging a sword to cut the throat of a monster made of flesh and blood.
Training was essential for survival.
Above all, since they had formed a party, no matter how awkwardly, the top priority was to figure out each other’s stats and combat strength.
More important than swinging weapons and casting spells was exchanging information and chatting with each other first.
A strange tension hung in the air between the three people sitting with their butts on the sandy floor.
“Hmph.”
Raymond waved his elegant hand and broke the silence.
“But you know, thinking about it, they seem to be treating us quite nobly. The meals at every break aren’t bad, and the bedding is quite luxurious.”
Raymond wore an arrogant expression.
“Do we really need to go off on some adventure and spill blood? Staying in the temple receiving aristocratic treatment like this isn’t a bad choice at all. What do you two think?”
Dohyeon stared at Raymond with disbelief.
Just a moment ago, he had watched that fanatic get thrown into the prison with his own eyes, and now he’s saying they’re being treated well?
“There’s probably a time limit.”
“Time limit?”
“The game felt like just traveling, but summoning us doesn’t seem like something they did because they needed us. They summoned us because they needed us, and once we’re no longer needed, we’ll be thrown away. Then we’re dead.”
Raymond’s eyes widened and he exclaimed, “Monkey!”
Was that praise or an insult? Damn it.
Dohyeon clicked his tongue and pointed at Rayan with a chin gesture.
“Just look at this guy. Our treatment can’t be that good. There should have been better ways.”
Raymond snorted and shrugged his shoulders.
“Well, in Islam, being locked in prison is pretty normal daily life, right? Actually, they’re probably used to it.”
Natural, offhand racial remark.
And Dohyeon examined Rayan’s complexion and quietly expected.
Maybe he would suddenly snap and tear out Raymond’s throat?
Contrary to expectation, Rayan nodded with a serious face.
“Brother’s words are correct.”
“…What?”
Rayan clasped his hands together, closed his eyes tightly, and began muttering in an affected tone.
“Performing the great jihad requires such physical hardship and asceticism as a necessary refinement. Even the cold iron bars and hunger are part of Allah’s grace to test me. I felt spiritual fulfillment inside that prison…”
Raymond suddenly became meek.
It seemed he was experiencing primordial fear in the face of true madness.
“Hmph.”
The entire party consisted of insane people.
One a cowardly racist, the other a suicide squad who viewed death as a reward.
Dohyeon sighed and secretly glanced around the training ground.
He didn’t sense any direct gaze or presence aimed at them.
Of course… they were probably watching through some hidden means.
Even though they had given us the grand title of “hero,” they would want to confirm that we were controllable in their eyes.
Exposing our full power intact was clearly insane.
Dohyeon lowered his voice.
“First, let’s test each other’s abilities. We need to know our stats before we can do anything.”
Dohyeon continued.
“But there’s no need to show everything. Roughly… let’s hide about thirty percent of our power. How about it?”
His mouth said “thirty percent.”
However, Dohyeon’s hand pretended to rest on the floor while his palm opened upward.
Five fingers.
While talking about thirty percent, he was actually signaling to hide fifty percent.
Raymond and Rayan’s gazes fixed on Dohyeon’s open fingers.
Luckily, they sensed the intention and gave a short, subtle nod.
“Good.”
Dohyeon nodded in satisfaction and turned his gaze toward Rayan.
“But what’s your class? There must be something engraved in your head when you were summoned.”
Rayan answered with a calm face.
“My soul walks the path of the Shaman.”
“Oh… Shaman!”
A supporter that grants buffs like pain immunity, strength explosion, and increased attack speed to allies!
Dohyeon tapped the sword hilt.
“I’m just a Swordsman. I haven’t swung it directly yet, but… from the calluses on my hands or the way my muscles move, I can sense instinctively how to fight. The moment I grip the sword, my body seems to move on its own.”
Dohyeon asked Rayan again.
“You too? That Shaman thing—can you use it instinctively without learning it mentally?”
Rayan nodded as if it was obvious and began his Allah chanting again.
“The power bestowed by the Almighty already flows through my veins. When you listen to the call of the soul, miracles will naturally manifest.”
Raymond interjected with interest.
“Well, let’s try it once… Honestly, there’s a lot to do with either this monkey or me.”
It was exactly as he said.
So they hadn’t used their power directly yet.
Sword, magic, or whatever—they felt like exposing full power.
Whereas Shaman buffs could be hidden.
Rayan answered obediently and gestured for the two to step back a little.
Dohyeon and Raymond distanced themselves from Rayan by a few steps.
Raymond laughed and poked Dohyeon’s side.
“Now it actually feels like a real game. Like traveling through an unknown world.”
Dohyeon could only agree inwardly.
Swordsman, Mage, and Shaman.
The excitement signaling the beginning of true fantasy bloomed in the corner of his chest.
Rayan, standing in the center of the training ground, slowly spread his arms and struck a bizarre pose.
His eyes rolled slightly, and the whites of his eyes began to gleam.
At the same time, an ominous… aura began to emanate from his mouth.
However, the content of what Rayan was saying was strange.
“Bismillāhi r-rahmāni r-rahīm… Let the flame of punishment for Allah’s enemies burn… Holy powder born from the oath of martyrdom…”
This was nothing more than a suicide declaration when heard by anyone.
“Is it only me who feels uneasy? Monkey.”
“I feel it too, but why do you always add ‘monkey’ at the end of your words?”
“I’m not calling it monkey. What should I call it? Maybe I should call it cockroach?”
“That should be reserved for those strong bastards. Cockroach. It sounds good.”
“Hmph… That’s correct.”
“But you know? French are called European cockroaches.”
“Sounds like they didn’t get a proper education.”
Thinking about it, the French noble title had already disappeared, hadn’t it?
But why does this guy keep talking about nobles?
“I shouldn’t associate with crazy people.”
While Dohyeon and Raymond were chatting, suddenly Rayan opened his eyes.
And he shouted, “Allāhu Akbar!”
At the same time, light began to radiate from his body!
“…”
“…”
Dohyeon and Raymond looked at each other.
“…”
“!!!”
Rayan began approaching in an “Hug me~” pose!
The jihadist terrorist was approaching while emitting light in a “Hug me~” pose!
Dohyeon and Raymond screamed like mad and started running away.