The Tutorial Is Too Hard Chapter 235:
Editor: Tide
“A banquet?”
“Yes, it’s this evening . ”
Why are you telling me this now? I guess it’s because you’ve started to understand me .
Ever since I’d decided to take a few days off from the 55th floor, Sung-Joo had been relentlessly inviting me for meals . Of course, I refused many times .
After those repeated rejections came an invite for a banquet hosted by Sung-Joo .
The guilty feeling of continuously turning down Sung-Joo’s invitations had been nagging at me, so I was about to suggest having a meal together, but it seemed like attending the banquet would also serve to ease my guilt .
When I asked the butler, he’d said he’d already planned for the impromptu banquet a few days in advance .
The butler assumed that I was interested in the banquet, and he explained the event logistics in significant detail . He chattered on for minutes about the status of the preparations, how many people had been invited, and how many days the banquet would last .
After listening to the butler’s droning, I felt an inexplicable urge to simply stand and run away from all his babbling, but I resisted the urge and listened to him some more .
“And this banquet will be attended by Young-ae . ”
“Is she well? After suffering from that curse and what not . ”
The clear mission of the 55th floor-stage was to get jewelry from the Dungeon to save Young-ae from the curse .
“Yes, thanks to the apostle . You’ve recovered much faster than expected . ”
(T/N: apostle here refers to Lee Ho-jae, in case you didn’t know . )
Continuing his rambling, the butler began to narrate Young-ae’s features in detail from how beautiful she was to the nature of her mannerisms .
The sight of an old man portraying a girl in her late teens as a goddess sent shivers down my spine . I’d seen him numerous times in the past few days, but I still couldn’t get used to him .
Next, the butler also told me about Young-ae’s role in the banquet .
“Letter?”
“Yes, this is a letter from Young-ae to the apostle . ”
“…Will that be recited in the banquet hall? In public?”
“Yes, it’s one of the main events of this banquet . ”
That was weird .
Going to a crowded banquet hall was already intolerable enough, but I could force myself to endure .
Honestly, I was curious about the banquet . But damn, that letter reading was going to be disturbing .
First of all, I replied to the butler that I understood and quickly sent him out . The sooner he left, the better .
The butler exited with great joy once I agreed to join the banquet .
[Are you really going?]
“Are you crazy?”
As long as there was an event of Young-ae reciting the letter, I wouldn’t go to the banquet . You wanted me to listen to a letter in front of people? At the banquet’s main event? I couldn’t care less about the content of the letter and just knew that there was no way in **** I’d be going there .
Of course, I could just be overreacting . Young-ae’s letter could be a thank you note for my services . But then, isn’t it more natural for Sung-joo to be the one giving his thanks?
I remembered the recent actions of the butler, such as praising Young-ae excessively, trying to keep me informed of Young-ae, asking if I could meet Young-ae, who was lying in bed, and tell her about me, and on and on .
I recalled confessing to my crush in front of the whole school when I’d been a student . It was an old memory, but it amazed me that I was able to recall the event with such detail . No matter how I thought about it, the banquet reminded me too much about that dark memory .
“Let’s make a run for it . ”
[I knew it! Hu Hu Hu Hu . Seregia, I’ll grant you a wish later . ] Ahbooboo chuckled .
[If it’s a strange wish, I’ll say no . ]
I guess the two of them even made a bet .
Ahbooboo, who’d already lost his chance to get fixed, often flew around, but usually hung on a handkerchief tied to a soul sword possessed by Seregia . Perhaps because of that, I felt like the two were getting close recently .
Are they dating?
When I was awake, I could hear what they were talking about, but I had no idea what they were talking about while I was asleep . Just like how I didn’t know about the bet they made .
I’ll ask them later about their relationship . If the relationship they have now is still in the stage where they maintain a subtle distance from each other, then my question could unintentionally strike a sore spot .
“Ahbooboo . You remember Mado Engineering right?”
[Yes, yes . I remember everything I learned . I also remember what parts I didn’t understand . ]
“Don’t forget or get confused later . ”
After confirming that Ahbooboo knew about Mado engineering, I called the frog .
“Hey frog, we’re going to use the ring . ”
“Kee-ek!”
The frog disapproved, but the ring activated to bring us back to the sub-dimensional world .
Ever since I’d cleared the 55th floor, there’d been a portal hovering around me .
“Move . ”
* * * * * *
[Welcome to the waiting room on the 56th floor]
“What is this?”
After using the portal, I thought I’d naturally be moved over to Kirikiri’s fields, but the place where I’d gotten transported to was near a waterfall .
Before I entered the 55th floor, I remembered that Kirikiri said I wouldn’t be able to see her soon . I assumed that she meant I’d have to stay longer on the 55th floor . But now that I see it, she didn’t mention the process of clearing the 55th floor .
“This is awkward . ”
[What’s wrong?] Ahbooboo asked, but for now, I remained silent .
Was it because I had to learn something from the 55th floor or did Kirikiri think I needed a break? Even though I was grateful, I had questions .
If after clearing the stage, the process of being transported to Kirikiri’s field had been omitted, then when would I be able to see Kirikiri again? What kind of place is this?
The notification indicated that this was the waiting room, but there was no sign of a portal for the next stage . In the waiting room, there was no furniture, such as beds, that would’ve usually been there .
There was just a massive waterfall . Releasing my mana, I looked around, and found out that a huge cave lied behind the waterfall .
I went into the cave, but it ended up being eerily empty . Even small creatures such as bugs and bats couldn’t be seen . The only thing in the cave was a crystal ball that layed, discarded, near the bottom of the cave .
[Hello . ] A resonating voice came out of the crystal ball and greeted me .
“Who are you?”
[Challenger, I’m Karin, who will guide you till the 59th floor . ]
* * * * * *
The voice from the crystal ball had taken the name ‘Karin’ . The most important thing was that the voice referred to me as a challenger .
“Are you part of the Tutorial System?”
The voice didn’t answer my question immediately . After a brief pause, it spoke .
[You may see it that way, but it’s more of a vaccine than a tutorial . ]
(T/N: It literally says vaccine here . If any of the readers have any idea what this is supposed to be, please let us know _(:3」∠)_)
What? I’ve been hearing a lot of strange stories today .
“Then, are you like a manager?”
There was a manager for each difficulty level in the tutorial . In the case of Hell’s difficulty, Kirikiri filled that role .
[From your point of view, it’s similar, but the reality is quite different . ]
It was similar . But the reality was different . But from my point of view, it was similar . Are you saying that you belonged to the same system? That you’re an equal? Firstly, I don’t think this thing can ever replace Kirikiri .
I asked for a detailed explanation from the voice . Fortunately, the voice began to explain as I’d requested .
[My role here is to decide which stage is right for you . ]
“Stage?”
[Yes, I will decide which stage you will go to, from the 56th floor to the 59th floor . ]
It meant that the content of the stage could change depending on the voice’s intention . I decided to ask more about this later, and appreciated the fact that there was an end to the 59th floor .
“After clearing the 59th floor, can I meet Kirikiri again?”
This was the most important question . A new store window would open as soon as I entered the 60th floor . I yearned to listen to Kirikiri’s advice, preferably before entering the 60th floor .
[KiriKiri?]
“Hell’s Difficulty Manager . ”
[Oh . Yeah, as you said, once we clear the 59th floor, we’ll see her again . ]
Kirikiri’s position in the tutorial, no, in the vaccine, seemed to be quite high . It was a predictable statement, but quite puzzling to learn it this way .
“Then are you an apostle?”
I didn’t think it was God . Apostle came to my mind first when she said she belonged to a vaccine war .
[No . ]
No, she’s not . There’s nothing that fits today .
[I don’t belong to one God . I’m just working for a vaccine war . To put it bluntly, it’s a slightly higher position than a typical apostle . ]
You needn’t explain something that I didn’t ask… I continued to ask more questions .
“Why are you talking through the crystal ball? And also, why was this important crystal ball discarded on the bottom of the cave?”
[The gods said it would be better to talk through the crystal ball . I don’t know .
It’s better to not question a God’s advice . ]
It’s better to not question a God’s advice? What a funny remark . Maybe it was because people usually get disappointed or embarrassed when they hear the reason .
I became even more interested in the reason . The voice, “Karin,” was seen as a member of the vaccine war and interacted comfortably with the gods .
I was curious about the identity of the voice . “What exactly are you? What do you usually do other than the role of giving a stage?”
Listening to me, Karin gladly introduced itself again .
“Dragon?”
[Yes . ]
Karin’s voice showed pride in its race . It wasn’t a sin to be proud .
I remembered the people on the 20th floor worshipping dead dragons like gods . For them, dragons were divine beings . After hearing the word dragon, it felt strange to think it was related to the vaccine war .
On the other hand, I was happy . Dragon .
Oh . My . God .
“Hey . ”
[Huh?]
“Come out for a second . Let me see your face for a moment . ”
[… Can I hear why you want to meet me and why?]
“Why? Because I want to see a dragon in person . It’s been a dream since I was a kid . ”
[Don’t lie to me . ]
Damn it . Was it that obvious? Suddenly, it became alert .
“You have to decide which stage is right for me . Wouldn’t it be better to meet me in person? You know, to measure my combat capabilities . ”
[But the gods advise…]
“Scared?”
At my words, Karin sounded embarrassed and shouted, [What coward! I am a dragon! Even though you’re a challenger, do you think I’m going to be scared of you?]
“Then come out for a moment, yea?”
[… . ]
“Scared?”