01. An Unfamiliar World
01. An Unfamiliar World
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"This is one hell of a novel system. A school, of all things."
First off, the woman explaining from the podium was named 'Ha Yeon-seo,' and she's the Chief Instructor in charge of this school.
Like the principal or something, right?
To sum up her explanation, the place I'm in right now is a kind of 'school' located inside the Super-massive Tower at the center of the continent, an institution that trains 'Tower Warriors.'
To become a Tower Warrior, you have to go through this institution, and to enroll, you need to pass a total of three tests.
First. Test of Proof.
Second. Test of Patience.
Third. Test of Cooperation.
The first one is exactly what it sounds like—a test to prove your abilities.
They said it checks the minimum qualifications, and as long as you have at least one stat over 40, you're good.
So, in my case...
[Info]
Name: Ryu Si-hwan
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Age: 23 (Adult)
Level: 16 (.8)
Disposition: Free-Arrogant
[Strength: 11]
[Agility: 8]
[Mana: 1]
[Stamina: 27]
[Endurance: 37]
[Nano-robot.lv12] [Hormone Regulation.lv5] [Mechanization.lv2]
Flat-out failed.
Everything else is trash, but especially the Mana is disastrously trash.
1? Really?
Even without knowing the max stat values, anyone could look at it and instantly tell, 'Oh, that's a ridiculously low stat.'
"Failed, huh."
"Yeah."
This is just...
Do I really have to start off by failing right from the get-go?
I don't give a damn about Tower Warriors or whatever, but getting rejected the moment I arrive puts me in a bad mood.
"But maybe it'll work out somehow?"
Bari's saying hopeful stuff next to me.
"How? My basic stats don't cut it."
"I'm here, aren't I?"
"..."
Bari, all confident.
She placed her hand on her chest like some benevolent saint and continued.
"I'm counted as a separate lifeform, but ultimately treated as Sihwan-nim's Artifact, so you might pass due to 'my influence.' If I were an instructor, I'd have admitted you as top of the class."
"...Since when did you get such a massive ego?"
"It's not ego. It's a plain fact."
Bari stated it seriously.
"Household AI based on super-intelligence interface. As the true paragon of all things, created to assist my creator—the Human—pioneering planets and systems, and ultimately traversing the galaxy, no one can dare fail Sihwan-nim as long as I, 'Bari,' exist."
"Uh... yeah... sure..."
So basically, it's all thanks to her.
This girl turned into an ego queen while I wasn't looking.
Well... yeah... with Bari's specs, she's got every right to be proud.
More than enough.
Overflowing qualifications. I'll acknowledge it.
"Anyway, putting that aside..."
The real hardship probably starts from the second one.
The second test, the Test of Patience, involves experiencing extreme situations, but they didn't reveal the exact details.
Thinking of stuff like survival shows, maybe they drop you on a deserted island and make you survive for 7 days or something?
Or maybe it's battle royale style, forcing fights right off the bat.
Yeah, that second one feels more plausible. Didn't the Chief Instructor just mention 'survival probability'? Could be a bloodbath of kill-or-be-killed.
"But the test is called the 'Test of Patience' for a reason."
"They starve you and then pit you against each other, probably."
"I see."
The final third test has groups of 5 dropped into a forest, and you just need to survive there for a month.
Hmm.
Hold up.
Doesn't that overlap with the second test I was imagining?
"What's going on."
"Exactly, right?"
"Spill it, Bari. You know the answer."
"No way."
"You can read brainwaves or interpret them or whatever."
"...That's only for Humans. I can do simple stuff like reading emotions, but reading thoughts requires massive big data. Impossible right now."
"Man, nothing works around here."
"..."
"Then think like me. You must have some ideas."
"Mm. Ideas, huh."
Bari put on a thoughtful expression, then went "Ah" and opened her mouth.
"It might not be a bad idea after all."
"What're you talking about."
"You know how the Tower seems super dangerous? To become a great warrior, you need to know how to hold back your desires—something like that."
"Ho. So you need to control those desires, meaning you need patience?"
"Yeah. For guys like you, Sihwan-nim, they might strip a bunch of pretty beauties naked and lock you in a room with them. Survive a week without ejaculating or whatever."
"Haha. You think I'd fall for that?"
"You totally would."
This cheeky little...
"You still don't know me."
"I know you better than you know yourself, Sihwan-nim."
"Bari. Who am I? The great hero who conquered countless virtual realities and saved innumerable worlds. You think I'd screw up the greater cause over mere lust?"
"Yes."
"..."
Instant answer? Too much.
"If I may, Sihwan-nim's mentality isn't that strong."
"..."
This one's straight-up fact-checking and beating me down.
"And you hold grudges too."
"Fine. Drop it."
Bad girl.
"Guess I've drilled it in enough, so let's proceed with the first test."
Right as my chat with Bari ended, the Chief Instructor started speaking at perfect timing.
Looks like we're jumping straight into the test.
Shouldn't they give us a break first? Zero human touch.
"Before that,"
Ssiing.
"Huh?"
Something whooshed by.
Even I, with no abilities, could feel it—intensely dangerous...
"No injuries, right?"
"Huh? Yeah."
Somehow, Bari had extended one arm in front of me, deploying a translucent energy shield.
Puhwak!
Then horrific bursting sounds from all directions.
The guys who'd been filling the plaza with chatter up till now— a ton of their heads just fell off.
Geysers of spurting blood.
A gruesome organ party straight out of a game happened right in front of my eyes.
"..."
In an instant, a massive number of people(?) got wiped out, but the Chief Instructor on the podium and her attendant instructors remained totally unfazed.
"Unbelievable."
The Chief Instructor scanned the crowd with emotionless eyes and spat out in disbelief.
A mix of sneer and a hint of anger.
"What's with this batch? Quality's so low. How do you lose this many?"
No condolences for the dead.
Like, if you're gonna die from this, why bother coming here? Just drop dead outside.
That vibe.
"...Is she insane?"
Everyone's in full panic.
I'm half dumbfounded too.
Wait, aren't you selecting Academy trainees? To train Tower Warriors?
And you just attack and kill them out of nowhere?
What the hell?
"Should I attack?"
"No, hold off."
If not for Bari, I'd be chopped up and dead.
Thinking about it is horrifying.
"No choice. We'll proceed with who's left."
She sighed.
Around 300 gone, and she doesn't spare them a glance.
Is this the Otherworld sense of human rights?
"We'll conduct the first test. Honestly, it's embarrassing to even call it a test. It'd be weird if anyone but a tiny few failed."
Dude, over 300 already dead.
"Hm...? A Human... survived?"
She spotted me and Bari.
Her eyes lit up with interest, which is kinda annoying.
Maybe she thinks Humans are obviously gonna fail, but getting this much disdain is starting to piss me off.
Just acknowledge it and move on.
Fine for me, but if she looks at Bari like that, she's gonna regret it big time. This AI's the ultimate ego queen wrapped in pride.
"...Not quite."
"Exactly."
"..."
What? Huh?
Did I say something wrong?
"No. I'll hold back."
"Well, well. Never seen such an impure Android."
"Not the time to worry about corpses, is it? Wanna end up the same?"
While I was bantering with Bari, that voice from before chimed in.
The instructor who'd told Bari not to get cocky.
That woman.
What was her name again?
Yu something. Sounded super Korean.
"Yu Ina."
"Oh yeah, Yu Ina."
The Chief Instructor (Ha Yeon-seo) too... and this one... no way they're Korean like me, summoned to the Otherworld?
"Possible. It's the Otherworld."
"But she's not Human?"
"Must've transcended races or something."
"I see."
Bari casually agreeing.
Not sure if she's actually on board or just rolling with it.
"Ah, no. Sorry!"
The guy who got called out tensed up and shouted back big, and Yu Ina chewed him out like 'Get your head in the game.'
Getting reamed right after surviving.
Poor guy.
"Ready?"
"Yes, Chief Instructor-nim."
The chaos settled a bit, and the Chief Instructor stepped down from the podium.
Instructors moved down too.
"Follow me on this line."
A total of 9 instructors divided the survivors into 9 groups.
The instructor for my group...... Yu Ina.
Heh heh.
At this point, fate?
"Tch."
She clicked her tongue lightly upon seeing me.
Hey, why hate on me when I'm just standing here?
Hate Humans that much, you Human-hater!
"The test is simple."
You'll see.
"If you can't pass this, better get lost outside the Tower."
There's a chair in front of the instructor, and on it sits an orb about the size of a human head.
You place your hand on the orb in turn, get your pass judgment, and done.
Apparently graded from A to F.
C and up passes.
Me... maybe F?
With Bari factored in, obviously A.
[Rosa... Pass... C-grade.]
"I-I got C-grade? Is it broken or something?"
"What?"
"N-No... sorry."
"Next."
The test went super fast.
Less than 30 seconds per person.
Insanely easy considering they started by killing 300 right off.
[Mina... Pass... B-grade]
[Rachel... Pass... B-grade]
The line in front of me shrank steadily, and the woman right ahead stepped up to the crystal orb.
[Sasha... Pass... A-grade]
"Ooh...!"
"A! First A we've seen!"
First A out of about 60.
The room buzzed.
But the instructor kept her icy face and dryly called 'Next,' like 'Big deal.'
"Hm... that Human from earlier, huh."
"..."
She muttered the moment she saw me approaching.
Time for some proper education.
"Even a Human, what'd you pad it with?"
"Huh?"
Rude gets rude back.
Ignoring her twitching eyebrow, I placed my hand on the orb.
Come on. If you know who I am, and you can read info, say it already.
Stats are shit, but beyond A-grade A.
Using none other than Bari. On a whole different level from those elf whatevers.
[Ryu Si-hwan... Fail... Correction... Pass... F... E... C.. B.. C.. Judgment Error... Retry... Ryu Si-hwan... Pass... C.. B.. B..]
What the hell.
Just say it straight. A, done.
"What's this?"
The instructor frowned and came over.
"Move."
She cockily swatted my hand away and placed hers.
Wondering what she was doing, she squeezed her eyes shut. Sending Mana or something?
"No issues. Hey, Human, try again."
"My name's not 'Hey Human,' it's Sihwan, idiot."
"Idiot? Arrogant Human with no sense of place. I warned you."
"Oh nuh nuh nuh~ Got it, got it."
"..."
She glared like she was seriously pissed, but whatever.
"Guess it's because of me."
Just as I was about to place my hand again, Bari's words stopped me.
"Hm... figured as much."
"I'm just that exceptional."
...Here we go again.
Hey, that's called ego up front?
"...Just stating reality."
"Yeah, yeah, sure."
Too annoying, I'll concede.
[Ryu Si-hwan... Pass... C.. B.. B.. A.. A.. C.. A..]
Tried again, same glitchy mess.
At least it hits A now, so some change.
"...You, come over here for now."
"Got it."
"..."
"What're you looking at?"
"Nothing... Next."
Boring.
"Human acting all high and mighty."
Next guy(?) was an elf dude.
Gave me the same dirty look as that one from earlier, then placed his hand.
[Rev... Pass... C]
"C, C...?"
"Next."
"I-Instructor-nim! Once more...!"
"Next!"
"...Kuh...!"
He glared at me before retreating.
What? Why glare at me.
"Doing well?"
"Chief Instructor-nim!"
A change in the icy instructor's expression.
The Chief Instructor who massacred 300 was approaching.
"Why's this one standing out here?"
"Uh, there's an issue."
"Issue?"
The Chief Instructor glanced at me smoothly.
Clearly gentle expression, but her eyes were piercingly cold.
A gaze totally detached from her tone.
"No way... the orb doesn't even react to a Human... right?"
Ha. Way too much disdain from the start? Yeah? Should I put her in her place, not recognizing the great Sihwan-nim...
"No. Passed, but can't settle the grade."
"Hm~ Can't settle the grade, huh... That's weird."
"Started as fail. Then wavered between C and B, later even hit A."
"..."
She approached me.
Sensing some threat, Bari wedged in between.
Fair enough.
After that bullshit she pulled.
"...What's this?"
Displeased look aimed at Bari.
Like 'A non-lifeform doll blocking my way?'
"Move. Did your master teach you to block anyone?"
"Bari, it's fine. Come out. Doesn't seem like she's gonna harm me or anything."
"..."
Bari turned to look at me, then nodded.
Was that a sulky vibe? Nah, imagination.
"Sure. Why would I bother harming a Human myself, especially now. So move. It's about the grade."
Bari stepped aside to my side, and the Chief Instructor took one more step, sticking her face close to meet my eyes with hers.
Jewel-like pupils right in front.
Blue glow with an illusory chill emanating.
"Human Ryu Si-hwan... Interesting. Stats alone scream fail... Why's it confused...?"
What. She can see my stats?
Oh, can I see others' too?
...
Nah, probably not. No need for the orb if everyone could.
Most can't see others' stats, but special power holders can... that's the reasonable take.
After a few seconds.
She straightened from her slight bow and turned toward the podium.
Tak tak tak.
Just leaving without a word?
"A"
She tossed that one word and walked away.