The Tutorial Is Too Hard Chapter 8:
<tutorial 1st floor (1)></tutorial>
Previous Chapter
Tutorial stage .
Hell 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 went 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 will definitely come out now . ’
So I shortened my steps by half .
After 30 minutes, I was thinking ‘Something’s coming out, something’s really coming out!’
So I walked slowly as if I was 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 kept bugging 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 also .
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 in my breath .
Fuck . 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 inwards I 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 of 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 slow 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 not 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 Level1 .
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 of time .
[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 dependent 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 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 in any moment, I walked forward for roughly an hour as slow 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 definitely saw and dodged the last one .
Lucklily…
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 laid on the ground screaming and squirming in pain, but the pain didn’t stop .
The blood gushing out of my ankle pooled 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 brains’ 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! FUCK!
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 retarded 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 shit, 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]
Fucking tolerance my **** . 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 a high pitched ringing in my ear, maybe due to excessive haemorrhage .
I could feel a chill on my head of ever-rising temperature .
I stole the sweat drops of 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 **** 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 and opening my eyes again, but I saw nothing .
In this pitch black place, relying on the faint senses on 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 were my own 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 actually die by strangling themselves in attempt to feel this extreme pleasure .
Fuck, sure as **** 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 1st floor waiting room?]
<Tutorial 1st floor (1)> End