Chapter 6: Level 8 in Practice

I knew the strategies for clearing the Tutorial very well. No, not just the Tutorial, but all the events that would happen afterwards. After all, that was what I had memorized by rote for three years.

'I know about this field better than anyone.'

I didn't have the time, the leisure, or the money. Although hobbies were a luxury for me, I still had one. There was just one thing I had enjoyed, and that was sitting in front of the 10-year-old computer in my half-basement room and watching Youtube videos with the resolution fully turned down.

'When it comes to the theory, I'm way more knowledgeable than most Players.'

I had no talent. That was the evaluation I received. In a world of Players where talent was valued over all else, 'No Talent' meant you couldn't rise to the top on effort alone. The talentless me simply browsed Youtube dungeon strategy videos several times over, dreaming of a reality that couldn't be.

[Even though it is a baby Goblin, it would be very difficult for someone with level 1 abilities to defeat it.]

Those words were meaningless to me. Fighting it head on would be difficult, but I knew its weakness.

'A Goblin's weakness.'

As expected of a low-rank monster, Goblins had one weakness that could be easily exploited.

Kikik! Kikikikik!

The baby Goblin was still focusing on cutting the young girl's ankles.

'The back of the neck.'

I breathed out.

'The center of the back of the neck.'

In the center, there was a large black dot. That was a fatal weak point where a good hit could cause instant death to the Goblin. Actually, as long as you knew its weakness, a Goblin was an easy monster to conquer. It was just that they tended to move in swarms, the numbers being problematic.

'Inventory.'

For a moment, it seemed as if a faint light was coming from my hand, and then an item appeared in my grip. To me, it wasn't that shocking a sight.

[Equipped the Rusted Iron Sword.]

I stealthily walked to the back of the baby Goblin.

'I'll pierce it.'

I was someone who had struggled to kill a single big cockroach before this. I bit my lips hard. I had to completely resolve myself.

'Die!'

Holding the Rusted Iron Sword, I plunged the blade into the back of the baby Goblin's neck.

Squelch!

From the tip of the blade, to the hilt of the sword, to my hand, I felt the chilling sensation of piercing through flesh.

'I-I did it.'

I killed it in one blow.

Splurt!

Blood splattered, and a part of it landed on my clothes, but I paid it no heed. I didn't have the time for that.

[Baby Goblin has been killed.]

[EXP acquired.]

It wasn't visible to the eye, but I was able to confirm that I had received EXP. It was a feeling that automatically appeared in my head. A third of the EXP bar filled up.

'I really killed it.'

And in one blow. Yes, it was only a baby Goblin, and yes, I knew the strategy, but that I was able to kill it in one blow could only be described as having good luck.

'I was lucky.'

It was really not easy for a total beginner, no matter how high their starting stats, to kill a monster in one hit.

'Wait… Was it really lucky?' I couldn't be sure. Such a situation could only be described as lucky, but… 'Why is it so easy?'

Somehow, it was too easy. It was a little iffy to say it boiled down 'being lucky'. My hand went through the motions as if familiar with them, like I had been Playing since long ago.

It seemed this situation was unexpected for Streamer Senia as well. Her mouth moved almost imperceptibly, and she spoke in a low voice. She was probably narrating the scene to the Guardians.

[A level 1 Player has killed a baby Goblin with just one attack.]

She was speaking calmly, but the tips of Senia's wings were trembling. It was one of the characteristics of angel Streamers. Whenever there was a disturbance in their emotions, the tips of their wings would tremble.

I decided to handle the important matters in front of me first.

"Get up." The girl's eyes lacked focus. "Get a hold of yourself. If you lose track of me, I'll leave you behind."

Those words must have had an effect, because the teenager snapped to her senses.

"I-I'm coming."

I walked ahead of her. There wasn't much time. Not long from now, the 2nd wave of attacks would begin.

I entered the convenience store. Glancing behind me, I saw that the girl was trailing closely in a half-conscious state. I closed the door.

Senia was standing amidst the Goblin swarm, looking noble as she stood there all alone while describing the scenery around her. Perhaps she had set me as her main target, because she didn't stray far from me.

"No matter what happens from now on, don't open this door."

"…"

"Understood?"

I understood the girl had been in huge shock, but I had no intention of entertaining excessive childishness. Because this was the Tutorial Field, where 14,500 out of 15,000 people perished, and because I wouldn't do something so foolish as surrendering my life in order to take care of one kid.

"Answer me. Do you understand?"

The girl nodded.

"No matter who comes, even if they ask you to open it, you must never, ever open the door."

"I-I understand. I promise."

The girl was completely taken over by fear. To her, I was probably simultaneously her life's savior and a monstrous man who had stabbed a terrifying green beast to death. Her fear was understandable.

[The 2nd wave of Goblin attacks will soon begin.]

[The establishment of Safe Zones is beginning.]

I asked, "You hear the notices too, right?"

"N-Notices?"

"The voice you hear in your head."

"Ah—"

It seemed this girl had thought of this sound not as a 'notice', but something like an 'auditory hallucination'.

"What did you hear?"

"Soon… an attack will be starting. And that Safe Zones are being established…"

"Where, exactly?"

"T-The school and convenience store, the hospital… they've been established as Safe Zones."

"That's right."

My guess that this girl had awakened as a Player was correct.

'So she heard the hospital.'

People with a normal amount of talent would only hear up to the 'convenience store'. People with more outstanding talent would hear the 'hospital' as well. That was what was known.

'But wait, didn't I hear the hospital too?'

But I even heard an additional notice.

[In addition, the 2nd floor of the D-Tower parking lot is being established as an extra Safe Zone.]

I stared at the girl.

'I don't think she heard that?'

She hadn't said anything afterwards, so it seemed she hadn't heard '2nd floor of the D-Tower parking lot'.

'What's going on?'

I felt a bit of panic. There was another Safe Zone other than the hospital? That was something I hadn't known at all. Such a Safe Zone didn't show up even in the memoir of the Tutorial Ender, Fist King So Yoohyun. None of the past Players had said anything about there being another Safe Zone in the Tutorial.

'And it's the D-Tower parking lot of all places?'

Was there always a Safe Zone in the central field of the Tutorial, the 'D-Tower'? If there was, it wasn't widespread knowledge.

[The establishment of Safe Zones has concluded.]

[The 2nd wave of Goblin attacks is beginning.]

I had to steel myself. Soon, hell would break loose. Those who hadn't found a Safe Zone, those who hadn't gone into the buildings fast enough, they would all die.

"Don't open the door, ever. Actually, don't even look in the direction of the door and sit down with your back to it."

This place was an established Safe Zone. It was impossible to forcibly break in. Breaking the glass door to come in was also impossible, for monsters and people alike. Only a Player or monster of a rank that exceeded the establishment parameters could break in.

'There's no one like that in the Tutorial.'

The moment the door was opened from within, the Safe Zone would be deactivated, and I would have no choice but to greet a gruesome death.

[The Primordial Fog is starting to recede.]

The world outside the window was ghastly. Laying here and there were corpses. It was as if the city had been painted with crimson red paint. There were pieces of people, not mannequins, scattered about, and the road was absolute pandemonium.

"O-O-Open the door! I said open the door!"

"Open up! Open the door. I'm begging you!"

People, a lot of people, banged on the door of the convenience store. I didn't open it.

'Dammit.' I bit my lips and clenched my fists. 'This is… truly painful.'

Outside, Goblins were forming swarms. People gathered in small groups to put up a resistance, but as expected, they couldn't deal with those numbers.

I could only watch from this spot—a safe place—as people died and were eaten alive.

'Dammit!!'

I didn't turn away from any of it. I had to watch.

'I'll… remember it all.'

One day, I would fuck over the System and the Guardians that created this situation and were watching this hell like they were enjoying a game.

'This moment, this scene. I won't forget it.'

I looked harder.

'Never. I'll never forget.'

* * *

A day passed. The girl's name was Kang Sunhwa. She was in her first year of middle school. At first, she was frozen in fear, but she recovered fairly quickly—her mental fortitude was stronger than expected. It was a relief that she got a hold of herself quickly.

"Um… may I call you oppa?"

TN: Oppa is a familiar term used by girls for an older man.

I gave a slight nod. Oppa was correct, because mister wasn't quite right. My mental age aside, I had returned to twenty years of age. With a six year difference between us, oppa was about right.

After around six hours since the beginning of the 2nd wave, it became rather quiet. By which I meant, there weren't that many living people nearby.

"Thank you. For saving me. I haven't thanked you properly yet. I was just so scared…'

Looking at the way her eyes reddened while speaking, it seemed she hadn't quite gotten over her shock. Yes. That was normal. But still, it was pretty impressive. She looked pretty calm—at least on the outside.

"I'm so glad I met you, oppa."

"…"

"Thank you so much."

"…"

The conversation became rather one-sided.

"Please don't throw me away. I'm a really good girl. I'm good at washing dishes, cleaning, and tidying my clothes."

"…Oh. That so?"

For words spoken by a 14-year-old, they were a bit strange. I was surprised she suddenly asked me not to throw her away. People didn't usually say things like that, even with the situation being the way it was, right? Was it because she was that scared of being abandoned? I didn't know how to respond.

It was true that I saved this girl, but it was also a calculated move, not out of the sheer kindness of my heart.

"That's enough with the thanks. We don't know if either of us will survive to the end anyway."

"Still…"

"If necessary, I will use you as bait and make a run for it."

Sunhwa's face darkened. I decided to give it to her straight.

Another six hours passed. In the meantime, Sunhwa had apparently gotten more familiar with me.

"I think I can survive if I'm with oppa. Though I'm just as scared as before…"

She attempted a fairly bright smile, trying to put on a brave front.

'She's cute.'

It was pretty cute. There wasn't much meaning behind it, just that she was cute. Obviously, it was absolutely not as a man to woman sense. How should I say it? She was kinda like a niece.

"Oppa looks very strong."

"If I were strong, I would have gone out there and killed them all."

I pointed out the window. Outside the Safe Zone, Goblins were staring at us, snickering and slamming their clubs into the window. Almost as if we were animals trapped in a zoo.

With a shriek, Sunhwa scrambled backwards on her butt and hid behind me. She had a really small build.

"O-Oppa, aren't you scared?

"Who knows?"

I was scared. But more pressing than my fear was my anger, the helplessness of not being able to do anything. That was more present in my mind.

'After the 2nd wave of attacks…'

Until the end of the Goblins' 2nd wave of attacks, it was all about staying hidden. But once the 2nd wave ended, things would change a little.

"I might not be able to protect you for the seven days of the Tutorial."

"…"

"And I can't take complete responsibility for you, either."

Looking after myself was hard enough.

"However, I won't leave you here if nothing happens, so get some rest."

Sunhwa stared at me with eyes full of tears. It seemed she thought I would leave her and go if she fell asleep.

"Hey. I won't. Unless it's a situation where my life's in danger, I won't throw you away, so trust me and go to sleep."

"You really won't? I can trust you, right?"

She was rather scared of being abandoned. I said, as if annoyed, "Just trust me. Even if you don't, what can you do?"

"T-That's true," Sunhwa said, looking defeated.

"So get some rest for now. You'll need your energy."

"Got it. I'll do as you say."

After the 2nd wave of attacks, I would have to walk through the road littered with corpses. My destination would be the crux of clearing the Tutorial, which coincidentally happened to be the 'Gwanghwamun D-Tower', the location of the established Safe Zone that no one else had heard of.

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