Hidden Tutorial

Raaf opened the menu and selected 'Continue'.

The next screen appeared.

[ Quest Name: Hidden Tutorial

─ Availability: Single

─ Rarity: S Grade

─ Description: A secret quest that is known only to the first player to complete the whole tutorial.

─ Success: View the secret of the world.

─ Failure: The secret remains hidden.

─ Reward: Unknown ]

"Well, I guess I'll just have to try it out."

***

A new world appeared.

"This is...the hidden stage of the tutorial?"

Raaf looked around. He was in a dark room with nothing in it.

"Hmm... looks like I am in a dungeon or something."

He looked at the floor he was standing on and noticed that there was a red circle drawn on it.

"Is this a summoning portal? I don't think there is anyone here. Maybe I will wait for a while for the summoner or something to come."

He waited for some time but nobody came.

"Guess I'm stuck here then."

He sighed, "Now that I am in this predicament, I better find out the way to clear this stage on my own."

He sat down and started thinking.

"I remember being told that this hidden stage would reveal the secret of the tutorial. Maybe this means that I have to go fight some powerful beings and obtain information from them?"

He continued to think.

"So, how do I get out of this place? I have to find a way out."

He frantically started searching for anything that could help him escape this dark room. Then he stumbled upon a chest that was laying in the corner.

"I couldn't see this chest from a faraway. Just how dark is this place? I wonder if it has something inside."

He opened the chest full of hope.

"Nope, nothing in it."

His face quickly frowned, "But I thought that I was supposed to find something in this place."

"Maybe it's a clue to get me out of here?"

He searched the whole room again but found nothing else in it except for the chest.

He once more opened the chest hoping to find something with a slither of hope.

"No use, it's empty."

He sighed heavily full of disappointment while slightly pushing the chest.

"Whoa!"

The chest started to fall apart splitting the ground while shattering noises rang throughout the room.

It revealed a large passage below with spiraled stairs going deeper down.

He instinctively jumped back while the ground fell apart.

"Wow, that was a close call. I could have fallen in and that would be the end of me."

"I hope there isn't anything dangerous down there."

He hesitantly entered the passage and cautiously climbed down the stairs.

"I wonder what's down there. Maybe someone is imprisoned here?"

As he went deeper, the walls started changing shape.

"I wonder what's going on. I guess I'll just have to explore this place to find out. Let's see where it goes."

He went further down the passage but it still showed no sign of ending.

As he got agitated, he looked around and noticed that the walls were forming symbols.

"Hm, these look like letters. Maybe it's some kind of language."

Now the symbols faded and the colors of the wall started changing as well.

"Hmmm, this is interesting. The color changes are becoming more complex. I wonder what it's creating."

He continued walking down and the walls became more and more complex.

"The walls are beginning to turn into pictures."

He watched the wall as it changed from a simple picture to a more detailed one.

"Wow, this is amazing. It's like a painting."

He stood there in awe as the wall transformed into a masterpiece.

"This is incredible. The colors are so vibrant and the details are perfect."

He moved closer to the wall and gazed at it intently.

"Hmm, I can see a person in the picture. Is this a scene from a movie?"

As he kept staring, he saw a monster attacking the man.

"Whoa, that monster is huge."

"..."

"Wait, is that a dragon?"

He walked closer to the wall and saw that the man was fighting against the dragon with a sword in his hand.

"He looks like he is ready to fight."

He saw the man's face and instantly recognized him.

"Th-That's me!"

He yelled and jumped back in surprise.

"What? This is strange. That can't be me. I have never seen a dragon in my life let alone fight it."

"This... is just a drawing. It's not real."

He shook his head and started walking down the stairs again.

"Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it's not drawing or movies but some kind of hallucination."

He reached out to touch the wall and felt the texture of the paper.

"This is really just a painting. But why is it like a movie? What is the purpose of making it here?"

"I might be able to find the answer at the bottom of this stairway. So let's keep walking."

Raaf continued walking down the stairs and he saw many such realistic movies on the way.

"There are so many stories here and I saw many different versions of myself as well. This is getting weirder and weirder."

After treading for more than 8 hours, he finally landed on the bottom floor.

There were candles lit on all sides of the wall with an altar in the middle of the floor.

On the altar was a very old book covered with dust. It seemed to resonate mana from within itself.

"I can feel some kind of aura from the book. It must be a magical item."

He got closer to the altar and took the book in his hand.

As he took the book, a barrage of information flooded his mind and the book faded away in the air.

Then a sudden burst of immense pain filled his entire body and mind.

He screamed in pain as he fell to the ground twisting and turning his body in all directions.

It looked like he would die any second now as he kept shouting in agony.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the pain subsided.

"So, this is what's happening. This hidden quest was not present in the original beta at all but was only added after the tower was erected in this world."

"And the pictures or movie whatever that was, were the events happening in the real parallel worlds. This world is just a small part of a multiverse and there is an infinite number of me. The purpose of this tower..."

He again felt immense pain in his mind and he couldn't seem to recall any more information from the book.

[ Warning: Your mind couldn't handle the enormous amount of information that was forced into you at once. So, the information has been restricted and will only be released bit by bit at an appropriate time. ]

[ Congratulations! You have cleared the hidden stage. ]

[ You have obtained the information of the multiverse. ]

[ You have obtained the Grim Scythe as the reward for clearing the hidden stage.

You can view more information about the ability from the status window. ]

[ You will now be teleported to the beginner's city. ]