Chapter 6: No title

[Attempt 1, Day 0, 1:28 pm] [Time left until Tutorial: 70 hours 32 minutes] We sat in the centre of the stone chamber, the 1st floor, waiting room, and proceeded to introduce ourselves. The bear-man who explained everything to me before was the first person to introduce himself. The bear-man's name was Choi Min Sik. He was 47 years old. Your average working man. He was pondering whether he should resign from his job when the message suddenly appeared before his eyes. A special quality of his was that he was on the athletics team in high school. Next was the short-tempered rebel. His name was Cho Kyung Min. He was 31 years old. It was befitting to call him a gangster. A special quality of his was that he liked Korean RPG games like Lineage. The only woman on the first floor, Park Su Ah, was next. She was 21 years old. A tertiary student. She liked Japanese anime. "I'm Lee Ho Jae. I'm 26 years old and I was a pro-gamer." "Pro-gamer? Lineage?" Kyung Min asked with delight. Were there even pro-gamers in Lineage? "No. I was a pro-gamer in the RTS category. When I was young, I learned to play many sports, including ke,ndo, hence I'm also quite confident in my athletic abilities." "Well, now that we know more about each other, how about discussing what is about to come?" Min Sik began to speak. However, we managed to only mutter to ourselves as we tried to read our current predicament. This was bound to happen since no one knew anything about each other. I guess it was up to me to man up and start the conversation. "Well, firstly, I believe that we all share the same understanding that this place is similar to a game, right?" The other three agreed. "They give you weapons, even a character status bar. It resembles an RPG game. It's kind of like Lineage, the game you like, Kyung Min." "Yeah, it's similar." Kyung Min loudly agreed with his voice. "One of the most important things about RPG games is team play. At a party, we all get assigned a role and play as a team. So, let's all show each other what type of the weapons we have chosen, so we can assign these roles to each other.' All four of us opened our inventories simultaneously and laid out our weapons. Min Sik had a large trident. The pole was wide, and the blade was also large. It was incredibly heavy. It seemed to be roughly 2 meters in length, a weapon that looked like it should be wielded by Guan Yu or Zhang Fei from the Romance of the 3 Kingdoms. Kyung Min chose an axe. The blade was a little larger than a fire axe. However, the long metal handle made it seem easy to use. I thought I had seen this kind of weapon somewhere, then I realised, it oddly shared the looks of an axe that a dwarf would have used in The Lord of the Rings. Including me, 3 of us had chosen a melee weapon. Deep inside, I had hoped that Su Ah had chosen a ranged weapon. A bow, a throwing weapon, or maybe even a mage staff. However, Su Ah had taken out a long katana instead. It looked much larger than a normal katana. Simply said, it looked like it was from an anime. My God, how is she going to use that… What are you, some sort of shinigami?1 All four of us had chosen a melee weapon. The combination was a little off-point. While Min Sik and Kyung Min argued over whose weapon was better, I cleared my thoughts. "I have an idea. Please listen." The formation I thought of was this. Kyung Min and I are at the front. Since I have the shield, I would stay slightly ahead of Kyung Min to block front-on attacks so he could attack with his axe. Min Sik at the back With Min Sik at the back, he should be able to pierce enemies in sight between Kyung Min and me. Lastly, Su Ah has a free role. The katana was significantly long. Compared to Su Ah's physique, it was too heavy, so she would have to use it as a two-handed sword. This is way too dangerous for a beginner to use. Su Ah would cover Min Sik's sides and read the battle. Moreover, if Kyung Min or I get hurt/ if people are out of position, Su Ah would come to support and attack only if there is a sure-fire chance. "So, what do you think?" Min Sik and Kyung Min agreed to my proposed positions. Min Sik seemed relieved that he was a bit safer one step back, and Kyung Min was happy that he was the main damage dealer in the group. However, Su Ah didn't like the idea. In all honesty, I thought that Su Ah would like this position the most since it was the safest position out of them all. It surprised me when she displayed her dissatisfaction. "Su Ah. I understand how you feel, but I think you should consider Ho Jae's suggestion. I understand that this may feel like a game to you, however, we don't know if we can get hurt or even die like a game. Moreover, we chose the hardest difficulty. We don't know the dangers ahead of u,s, and if we don't have any other solid suggestions, I believe we should follow Ho Jae's safe and stable positions." Min Sik calmly tried to convince Su Ah. Although Su Ah's expression hadn't changed, she nodded her head in agreement. Then, we began our group training. No matter how far we went, we were in an area where we weren't able to get hurt, tired, or even hungry. This was the perfect place to train. Firstly, we began by getting into the positions I suggested. Kyung Min and I are at the front, with me slightly ahead of Kyung Min and Min Sik right behind us. It was crucial not to get in Min Sik's way. We couldn't stay too close, nor too far away from each other. After multiple adjustments, we finally found the right distance we had to keep. At this stage, we just swung our weapons like madmen as a trial. "This should be enough." Kyung Min's words were reasonable, and we were a little jaded to continue. And so we stopped swinging our weapons. Shortly after, we began to spar. I was worried our weapons would get damaged as we trained, but fortunately, this wasn't the case. There were moments where our weapons would get damaged, however, the weapons would repair themselves to their original state soon after. Not only did the waiting room heal us, but it also repaired our equipment automatically. Although we were in the waiting room where injuries could not occur, when we sparred, we didn't train to inflict major injuries upon one another. We all lived a peaceful life until yesterday. We weren't prepared to fight to draw blood, even though we were in the waiting room. Despite that, we did make improvements. Kyung Min would swing his axe, and I would block it with my shield. We trained vigorously, full of concentration. If there was an opening, I also swung my sword. To deny the opportunity of a counter-attack, Kyung Min naturally learned to swing his axe with efficient movements. Allowing it to be swung with more precision. Min Sik was trying to get the hang of using the large trident. The trident was too heavy; it couldn't be used in a fancy way like you see in those Chinese martial arts films. You could only use the weight as an advantage for a forceful stab. Fortunately, our enemies wouldn't be able to target our backs. Su Ah was quite a problem. Due to how large it was, she was barely able to swing her katana properly. It was more like uncontrolled waving in the air. She still had yet to win a match when we sparred with her. I could beat her easily, even without my sword. I didn't expect anything better from her, so I wasn't too disappointed. However, you could tell that she was pretty upset about it. "How about we try swapping our weapons?" Maybe it was from the frustration and anger of her continued losses, but Su Ah suggested we try swapping our weapons. "Why, though?" Kyung Min replied in a rude tone against Su Ah's suggestion. You could tell Su Ah was upset by then. "Let's try it. Maybe if we tried using each other's weapons, we might be able to learn more about them." Kyung Min agreed to try each other's weapons after I said so. He always tended to ignore Su Ah and made fun of Min Sik's suggestions every time. As odd as it was, he was fine with everything I suggested. Maybe it was because I treated him like a superior ever since I met him. Kyung Min always complained and had a short temper, but at least his personality isn't completely trash. Knowing the fact that he was a gangster, he was quite well- behaved. When Kyung Min introduced himself as a gangster, the atmosphere in the waiting room got quite chilly. Luckily for us, it seemed like Kyung Min was able to get along with other people. After having swapped our weapons, we began to spar again. Surprisingly, Su Ah won multiple times. "Holy s.h.i.t, this is hard to use. The people in the movies used this thing so easily." Said Kyung Min after he had an attempt with the katana. There was quite a bit of improvement once we started sparring with different weapons. As we got to know more about each other's weapons, we knew how to cover for their weaknesses. Above all, something must've clicked in Su Ah as she swung Kyung Min's axe. She started practicing to swing the axe like cutting wood, using all her strength. Although hard to use in a real fight, it seemed ok for her role in the team. Su Ah trained nonstop with the weapons as she started to gain confidence. However, there was one problem, "Pierce the enemy's soul! Judgement! Moonbeam Strike!" Every time she swung her weapons, he would shout something similar to this. At first, I tried to go over it like it was nothing because I believed it was to help her concentration; however, I would be lying if I said I didn't get embarrassed every the The time she shouted these things. "Oi, why do I have to feel ashamed because of you?" "You have to say the name of the skills if you want to activate them." But I mean, why did you scream "Pierce"1 when you are striking downwards? Makes no sense. comment 0 comment Chapter 7: Tutorial 1st Floor, Waiting Room (Part 4) [Attempt 1, Day 0, 26 Hours 10 Minutes] [Time left until tutorial: 45 hours 50 minutes] "Like, f.u.c.k. So, are you saying I should just shut up and stay here doing nothing?" "No, I didn't mean that. I only said it because you get agitated so easily." A fierce tension formed between Min Sik and Kyung Min. They've already been going at each other for 30 minutes. The subjects of their arguments for the past 30 minutes have been very diverse, too. However, the arguments began because of their ego during their sparring match. On top of that, it looked like both of them wanted to become the leader of the party. Simply said, Kyung Min was ignorant and was also rather manly. He hated doing things that were tedious and required thought; instead, he preferred actions that would bring him the limelight. If I had to criticize Min Sik, it would be that his thoughts were too much like an old person. He was serious and calm, nevertheless, he wasn't flexible as a person, and he was just so persistent in his views. Moreover, to put it into words, he displayed a lust for power. I'm not sure how becoming the leader of merely four people will quench that lust, but he just wanted to be the leader. In all honesty, he led most of the conversations we had as a group. He encouraged us to share our thoughts on different ways to train. He had done a decent job of leading the party. And as for me… Mm, I had no interest. I preferred to play solo. I've tried and played every genre of games in the past, and overall, my favourite type of games are the ones where the required teamwork was minimal, and it only relied on my being good. So, here I was watching these two guys argue away. Su Ah sat next to me. It also seemed like she didn't want to be involved in their argument; she was watching them on the sidelines just like me. "HanSeo University? You must've been smart." "My parents said if I didn't do well in the college entrance exams, I would never be able to become a pro gamer, so I studied heaps." The two of us leisurely conversed awe s watched their scene unfold. I was a little disappointed we didn't have any popcorn. ED Note: Riley, Kappa. Finally, it seemed like their argument was reaching the last stretch. The subject of their high ego argument was now "Who will become the leader of the party?" "Well then, the person with better performance in the tutorial stage will become the leader of the party." "Yep. Don't go back on your words later." And the whole thing was concluded just like that between them. "Will you guys agree to this too?" Said Kyung Min as he turned to Su Ah and me. They concluded by themselves, but what kind of agreement were they talking about? 'Yeah, sure. But, I will deny illogical orders, no matter who becomes the leader.' And after that, we went back into training. The training continued. Min Sik and Kyung Min, who had completed military service, were of great help to our training. We did exercises under their tutelage when we had short breaks. Although these exercises didn't require weights, they were ridiculously tiring. Normally, this type of training would go beyond muscle pain and would tear our muscles to failure. But as expected, the automated healing effect of the waiting room kept us from feeling any muscle pain or fatigue. With this intense cycle of training and quick recovery, our muscle mass and flexibility improved very quickly. Although Su Ah was sick of all the stories Min Sik and Kyung Min told of their experiences during military service, as if they were boasting, they were a great help. [Attempt 1, Day 0, 71 Hours 57 Minutes] [Time left until Tutorial: 3 Minutes] Finally, the Tutorial begins. The nervousness of the four lingered in the air of the waiting room. However, you could tell everyone, including me, felt more excited anticipation rather than nervousness and horror. Well, why else would they have chosen the hell difficulty? For the last 72 hours, for 3 days, we trained very hard. It was all possible because we couldn't receive lasting injuries and feel hunger or tiredness in this environment. If we didn't have this type of advantage, not only would we be out of time, but we would've had multiple injuries like muscle tearing and broken bones from all the sparring we had done. Instead, we used this waiting room to the best of our advantage and even made use of our break times to frantically train ourselves. As a result, we all grew to a point where you wouldn't believe that this all happened within 3 days. [Tutorial, 1st attempt will begin shortly.] [A portal to the Tutorial stage will now appear.] 4 magical portal barriers appeared in the waiting room. Above one portal, a message appeared. [Lee Ho Jae] Mm… "Guys, it seems like only one person can go through a portal." It was just as Su Ah said. All that group training… was it all going to waste now? "f.u.c.k, does that mean we just wasted our time?" "Hmm. Well, we didn't waste all of our time. We trained and grew together. Above all, we may have to cross paths in the future. Don't be too distressed." Min Sik calmed the distressed members. [The portals will be activated soon.] We all moved up to our respective portals. "Be careful, everyone. I hope we will all meet each other after the Tutorial." I felt the same as Min Sik. I also want to see these people safe and sound again. Maybe it was the time we lived together, as we vigorously trained together for the last 3 days, we all grew close to one another. Sure, we fought due to our different personalities and got a bit salty with each other, but I felt it was safe to say to call these people my friends. I preferred playing in a one-man team. It's uncomfortable trying to cover for others since I was confident that I could do well on my own. However, maybe it was due to this new environment, these three individuals seemed like people I could depend on. They weren't too difficult to get along with, they were reasonable during the 3 days I had lived in the enclosed space. Instead of feeling like I was imprisoned, it felt more like the time when I went on a soccer training camp during the holidays of secondary school. "Hey, before I go…" Kyung Min raised his fist. Everyone smirked and raised fists for one another. "Don't get hurt, and let's meet again." "You be careful too, Su Ah." "Yep, stay safe, guys." We all comforted each other and stood on our portals. [The portal will be activated.] [Please enter the stage. Time left: 24 Hours] [Will you enter the stage?] "Yes" The blue light of the portal grew brighter, and it felt like I was falling. As I descended, my whole field of vision changed. It wasn't the place that I got used to for three days, instead, I was in a dark corridor by myself. [Tutorial stage, Welcome to the h.e.l.l difficulty 1st floor.] It finally began. I took slow, deep breaths. No, we'll be calm. Think about this as if it were a game. A straight, dark corridor. Light shines from above, equally spaced apart from each other on the ceiling. The light was faint, maybe even fainter than a candle. It was just enough to make out that the corridor was straight. d.a.m.n, it was too dark. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all made of stone. The ceiling was a little higher than 3 metres. The stone floor was flat but rough. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, I couldn't even slip from this. Behind me. A wall and a portal. A portal? I approached the portal. [Travel to the 1st floor waiting room?] "…Yes." The next moment, I was back in the waiting room. [Please enter the stage. Time left: 23 hours 59 minutes] So, you can come back without any restrictions. Due to the slightly pointless return, I felt my determination slightly thinned out. What would happen if the 24-hour restriction passed? After some thought, I tried to figure out what I could. Using the sword, I made a small cut on the back of my hand. Blood dripped slowly, but soon after, the bleeding stopped and the wound healed completely. The automated healing of the waiting room was still in effect. No matter how many times I may get injured in the tutorial. If I were able to run back to the waiting room, I could be healed and make a full recovery. I found something substantial. During an emergency, it might even save my life. At that moment, a portal in the corner of the room grew bright, and Min Sik appeared. "Min Sik?" I felt slightly embarrassed since we had just separated with full determination to go forth Tutorial. "Hahaha. I thought if I were you, I would test this out too." Min Sik scratched the back of his head awkwardly as he spoke. I shared what I found out with Min Sik. "This is really important information. Su Ah and Kyung Min should learn about this too…' But the two never came back. In all probability, they must have continued with the Tutorial. Without being able to do anything, Min Sik and I went back to the tutorial stage. [Please enter the stage. Time left: 23 Hours 42 minutes.] [Tutorial stage, Welcome to the h.e.l.l difficulty 1st floor.] Now, let's start again. "Status bar." [Lee Ho Jae (Human)] Strength: 10 Dexterity: 13 Endurance: 11 Intelligence: 21 Within three days of training, my strength increased by 2, and my endurance increased by 1. There wasn't anything like a proper workout machine, but after learning that stats could be increased by exercise, I exercised a lot. Read the latest Chapters at WuxiaWorld.Site Only HP and MP were not shown in the status bar. I wasn't sure if this was like a game, where you would die if your HP fell to 0. Here, you could probably die instantly from a lethal blow to the head or a piercing strike to the heart. If I could avoid fatal damage like that and make a successful run to the portal of the waiting room, I would be fully healed from any damage that I would have possibly taken. I know it's impossible to do this without a single drop of blood, but I couldn't afford to be careless. Even if I were attacked anywhere else on the body, I would concentrate mostly on protecting my heart, neck, and head. With the round shield held in my left hand, I lifted it to the under of my eyes and covered my chest, neck, and face. I bent my knees and back to a crouching position So the shield would cover as much of my body as possible. With only my eyes above the shield and sword drawn in front of me, I slowly moved forward. comment 0 comment Chapter 8: Chapter 8 Tutorial stage. h.e.l.l difficulty, 1st floor. I walked through an empty, dark corridor. Step by step, very slowly. I kept myself curled up like a grub worm and slowly, very slowly, forward while keeping my shield in front of me. Like, how long is this going to be? [1st attempt, Day 1, 1 hour 26 minutes] Around 5 minutes after I started, I was thinking, 'surely something will come out now?' So I shortened my steps by half. After 15 minutes, I was thinking,' something wily will come out now.' So I shortened my steps by half. After 30 minutes, I was thinking, 'Something's coming out, something's coming out!' So I walked slowly as if I were dragging my feet along the ground. And now. Nothing has come after all this time. Am I being crazy? That nice message, the message telling me the time, pt bothering me. Am I wasting this precious time? Is this something like a time-attack mission? The anxiety and horror in my heart grew and grew. My body is feeling tired, too. Due to the sword and shield I held in both hands, my arms and shoulders felt stiff. My back, arms, and shoulders were all shaking uncontrollably. It felt like I could hear my muscles making sounds whenever I moved. Sweat was dripping everywhere, and I could smell alcohol on my breath. f.u.c.k. It was already hard enough to keep my sword and shield at shoulder level. With my legs squatting, my back bent forward, and my shoulders and neck curled Inward,s kept myself behind the shield as much as possible. I felt like I was dying walking in this position constantly. I was thinking of just giving all this up and having a rest. Straightening my back, no, should I just sit down somewhere and have a rest? No. I still don't have any information about this place. I shouldn't brush off this tension, I must stay alert. I can't stay at ease at this time. I'm not sure if I can react to a dangerous situation even if I'm alert and nervous. Although it's hard… I must withstand this for as long as I can. With a determined mind, I went forward as slowly as a turtle. But then, [You have learned: Battle concentration Lv.1] [You have learned: Will Lv.1] 'Uh?' As the dazed sound came out of my mouth independent of will, I stood still. Although I was determined to stop, I should probably think a little bit about that new message. I straightened my back and walked back a few steps. 'Status bar' [Lee Ho Jae (Human)] Strength: 10 Dexterity: 13 Endurance: 11 Intelligence: 21 Skills: Battle concentration Level 1. Will Level1. … So I got some skills. [Battle Concentration (Lv.1)] Description: Your concentration rises in battle. Allows you to stay focused for longer periods. [Will (Lv.1)] Description: Increases your will. They're both passive skills. Battle concentration and will. They're both skills related to the situation I'm experiencing right now. It feels like I learn new skills depending on certain situations. I thought you would naturally learn new skills by levelling up or by getting new items; I guess I was wrong. If what I'm thinking is right, to learn as many skills I must try more diverse things. Let's try different things when I'm in a safer place. I wonder if Min Sik, Kyung Min, and Su Ah have found this out by now? I shook my head as I thought of the other three. I can't think of others right now. Let's focus. I curled up again and went forward. Slowly. Thinking danger could come out at any moment, I walked forward for roughly an hour as slowly as a snail. Finally, the danger found me. The reason I could respond to the danger wasn't because I was alert. It was because of the shield I held up with my left arm. Ting! An arrow flew through the dark and got stuck on my shield. Not until I felt the recoil from when the arrow hit my shield and gave a shock to my left arm, did I realise an arrow was shot towards me. Ting! Once again, an arrow got stuck on my shield. Where is it coming from? At that moment, I saw a silver flash in front of my eyes. Instinctively, I held the shield over my head. Ting! That was close. Phew… I didn't realise the first two arrows, but I saw and dodged the last one. Luckily… Pick! ?? Another arrow… Pook! 'AARRRRGGHHHHH!' The last arrow shot pierced my ankle. More than half of the arrow had pierced through. It hurts, it hurts! 'Aaaaaahhhhhhh…' For a moment, I saw my right ankle with an arrow pierced through it with my shaky vision. More than half of the arrow had pierced through I lay on the ground screaming and squirming in pain, but the pain didn't stop. The blood gushing out of my ankle pooled on the floor and reached my face to coat it. Even with my chaotic mind due to the pain, as I saw my bright red blood, my brain functioned to get me out of this. The waiting room! I need to get back to the waiting room! Following my brain's final decision made through the excruciating pain, I went back, tracing the steps I took to come here, back to the waiting room. I tried whatever I could to get back on both feet; however, without being able to stay balanced, I fell. AARRRRGGGGHHHH! f.u.c.k! The arrow must've grazed the floor as I fell; the pain arose again. Tears were flowing from my eyes. I stayed on all fours, and using the sword in my hand like a hook, I stuck it in the floor as I dragged myself forward. My muscles screamed as I crawled with my two hands and one usable leg. They screamed in pain. Agony. At the same time, the ankle with the arrow pierced through it screamed as if it were experiencing the most pain. [You have learned: Pain Tolerance: Lv.1] It took me a long, gruelling hour to get to where I was. Crawling like a lizard with one of my r.e.t.a.r.ded legs, I could see no end to this path. The crazy speed of my desperate pain-induced crawling was slowing down. 'Pant, pant, pant.' The pain subsided from a fresh, deep, piercing pain to a more compressed and controlled pain. It must've been adrenaline or some s.h.i.t, but it felt like my brain was finally functioning. I kept moving forward, even as I was moving forward, I kept checking my body status. I didn't know if the leg with the arrow pierced through it became paralyzed or something; other than the pain, I didn't feel anything. I tried moving my toes, but they didn't move. No, I didn't even know if they moved or not, because I couldn't feel them. [You have learned: Pain Tolerance Lv.2] [You have learned: Haemorrhage Tolerance Lv.1] f.u.c.king tolerance my a.s.s. I felt no effect. My normal leg and both my arms and shoulders were trembling all over. 'Pant. Pant. Pant.' My lungs warned me to stop the physical exercise and demanded more air. I could hear high-pitched ringing in my ear, maybe due to excessive haemorrhage. I could feel a chill on my head from the ever-rising temperature. I stole the sweat drops from my arm and laid them on my face. It was still as hot as a bonfire. Then, the chill I felt on my face was… At that moment, I felt a growing dizziness, and my vision started to fade. The word 'Death' flashed in my head. Think of this as a game? You f.u.c.king idiot! This pain, this feeling. It's real! Death will be real, too. I couldn't see anything anymore. I tried rubbing my eyes, pushing on my eyelids,,s and opening my eyes again, but I saw nothing. In this pitch black place, relying on the sensations in my arms and legs, I moved. Luckily, the corridor was a straight line. If I ignored the stone floor I felt on my arms and legs, the only thing I could feel was my tears rolling down my face. I thought my tears had all dried up as I crawled my way through this misery, but the pressure of death let my tears flow once more. Still, I didn't give up and allowed my arms and legs to play in this darkness. I didn't want to die here in misery. I don't want to die. Even if I die, I shouldn't die like this. Never will I die like this. How long has it been since I started crawling?, I wonder how far I've crawled. Am I even crawling forward? A flood of drowsiness filled my head. I couldn't feel any part of my body anymore. It is said that the most extreme feeling of pleasure a human can experience is the feeling right before death. I've seen some perverts on the internet die by strangling themselves in an attempt to feel this extreme pleasure. f.u.c.k, sure as h.e.l.l do I understand them. I want to rely on this drowsiness. Instead of denying and struggling, I just want to stay relaxed. Is it going to end like this? Because of a moment of carelessness? No. I won't become careless. I'll stay aware of my surroundings and slowly… It was an attack I couldn't detect or even block with my skills. If I didn't have a shield, the first arrow would've pierced through my heart, and I would've died there in an instant. Just why… (voooooommmm) Travel to the 1st floor waiting room?]