The Tutorial Is Too Hard Chapter 171:

[Round 24, Day 29 . 3:30]

"Heng . It was tough this time, wasn't it?" Kiri Kiri asked, as she smiled beamingly, and I couldn't help but nod .

It certainly was difficult .

Though they weren't at my desired level of difficulty, the 28th and 29th floors had certainly been difficult .

Especially the 29th floor .

My reputation had risen abruptly .

If I hadn't earned the people’s trust enough to hear the information that the underground force was going to perform an act of terror on the city's marketplace, I may have had to challenge the stage more than once, taking several rounds .

I had been tied down in the 29th floor for a whole round, but on the contrary, it was fortunate that I had been able to clear it within only one round .

"So about what I was talking about before, the combat difficulty . "

"No, that's . . . "

Kiri Kiri had been talking ecstatically, but she suddenly paused .

I wondered why, and I waited briefly .

Kiri Kiri looked at me seriously and said, "Hooooujae, you already know what kind of floor the next one is, right?"

Of course I do .

The 30th floor .

It was the first residential district that existed within the Tutorial .

It was different from the stages that repeated every round, or even the waiting rooms, that were maintained by a powerful preservation magic .

They weren't connected to time; regardless of the number of people, or the organization of said people in the waiting room, it was a space where you could rest when you wanted, play when you wanted, and meet people when you wanted .

Of course, it had a different meaning for me .

I'm alone anyway .

The residential district wasn't much different from a large waiting room to me .

"That's not it . "

"What do you mean?"

"It doesn't have a healing function, restoration also doesn't work, and there's also no protective wall . "

"Is that a huge difference?"

"It's a big difference . "

I thought she would say some pointless wordplay, but Kiri Kiri looked quite serious .

"Hooooujae, you've mostly done your training in the waiting room . Of course, you also grew a lot during combat, but that foundation came from your training in the waiting room . "

"That's true . "

If it weren't for my training, my concentration, and my preparation in the waiting room before entering a stage, it would've been difficult to exhibit a sufficient performance or growth .

"Also, the waiting room is an innocuous space . Since no matter what you do, you won't get hurt, and nothing will be broken . If you're hurt by an excessive impact, or the walls collapse, they'll also be restored . "

I nodded my head once again .

"It’s such a different environment . It differs based on the individual to what extent your body feels that, but your mind is different . Most people definitely recognize the difference in their mind, and through that, they’re able to influence their subconscious mind . "

"For example, by you using your body more excessively than usual . "

"So that's how it is . "

It was just as Kiri Kiri said .

You could see it if you took a look at my training that I had invested the most time into, or even my self-injury .

Of course, even if you consider my self-injury as a part of my training, there would be a question remaining of 'are you ok', but . . . let's say that it's training .

If it weren't the waiting room, would I have been able to self-injure myself every day like that?

Regardless of how much I needed it, or how much I preferred that method, I wouldn't have been able to self-harm myself so frequently .

Because my body would sustain damage .

"In conclusion, I'm saying that you shouldn't just rest for a few days and immediately rush to the 31st floor . "

Yeah . . .

Honestly, after this round ended, and the next round started, I had decided to immediately enter the 31st floor .

I couldn't anticipate any improvements on my specs through level ups anymore, and as the combat difficulty of the stages went down, I wouldn't be able to anticipate my growth in battle either .

The only thing remaining was for me to go up the stages as quickly as possible, and encounter greater difficulties .

That's also how Kiri Kiri had advised me .

"However, it's not often for you to get an opportunity to take a major step forward through just training . "

A major step forward, huh .

It'll be that effective just training on the 30th floor?

Why would training have such an effect in a space that isn't even the waiting room?

I had sometimes trained in stages where I had already acquired safety and I needed to kill time .

"Stages are also different . Especially you, Hooooujae, since your body changes whenever you leave the stage . "

"Are you talking about my insomnia?"

"A little of this and that, including that too . "

I briefly pondered, and ultimately decided to follow Kiri Kiri's advice .

I usually didn't lose out by listening to Kiri Kiri .

Though it did happen occasionally .

"It doesn't!"

"What do you mean 'it doesn't' . "

Kiri Kiri may have saddened from my statement as she went 'hmph' and turned her head .

For some reason, I started laughing at the sight .

I laughed, stood up, and approached the portal .

"Finally, if I were to tell you one last thing, you have to rest a bit . "

"I got it . I'll make sure to rest properly . "

"And don't do it half-heartedly . Think about it as training too, and force yourself to rest . "

"I got it . I got it . "

After I finished responding, I stood atop the portal .

As soon as I waved my hand, Kiri Kiri scampered around and said her goodbyes, telling me to take care .

Soon, I was transported to the 30th floor from Kiri Kiri's field .

[Welcome to the 30th floor residential district . ]

The message was accompanied with a full view of the 30th floor .

The 30th floor residential district had also been the setting for the first competition .

It definitely looked identical to what I’d seen before .

There was a square in the middle, surrounded by a line of wooden buildings .

I wonder how many buildings there are?

Even if I were to make a low estimate, there should be more than hundreds of them .

I was certainly well-aware of how the residential district was structured .

At the time of the competition, I had experienced it firsthand, and I also read the community's explanatory articles .

Certain buildings should be lodgings, while others should be restaurants .

Even amongst these buildings, they had separate uses .

They even had a cafe, a pub, a playground, and even a casino .

It was truly a town .

However, to me, it was no different from the waiting room .

On the contrary, it was worse .

There wasn't anyone here besides me anyway .

I sighed, and started walking to decide my lodging .

I felt hungry .

In general, whenever a stage ended, my hunger would automatically settle when I entered a waiting room, so I wasn't often pestered by hunger .

However, I had spent an entire round within the previous floor, and had been transported to the residential district, not the waiting room; thus, my hunger hadn't settled .

As soon as I find my accommodations, I should eat something .

Is there any beef jerky left?

 

* * * * * *

 

[Oh . . . I was really scared, Warrior . ]

"If you pout one more time, I'm going to shove you into my inventory . "

I stopped the holy sword from making his frightened appeal in his cutest way .

The holy sword felt that it was unfair, but who cares .

[You know how scary going into the inventory can be . ]

What do you want me to do about it?

Whenever I go to Kiri Kiri's field, you're automatically stored into my inventory .

"What about Seregia? Were you also scared by any chance, Seregia?"

[No . ]

She answered promptly .

It also sounded like she snorted at the end there .

It was definitely a ridicule-filled snort towards someone .

"Seregia, are you feeling better now? You seemed really unwell back there . "

[Yes . I'm alright . And I was alright back there as well . ]

Whenever there was a battle recently, Seregia became a bit weird .

Though she was usually curt and didn't speak much, she became really quiet after a battle .

She becomes firmer and sharper .

I'm not talking about the tone of her voice, but her will .

It was to the point that I, the wielder, could feel it; the sharp will within her .

And considering those times, it seems like she's losing her humanity .

Well, she seems to like her current condition, so I'm not sure if I should be worried about her .

I didn't have to walk for very long and went inside the closest building .

There was a table with chairs spread around it on the 1st floor .

It was a space where you could sit and rest .

I went up to the 2nd floor .

I opened the closest door and went inside .

There was a small desk to the side and a bed right next to the window .

It was a small room .

It was the same as the room I had stayed in during the competition .

"What should I do now?"

[I agree with the advice that you heard, Warrior . First, please rest . ]

"Do you really think I need the rest?"

[Yes . You really do need it . ]

After the holy sword spoke, I asked for an explanation .

[First off, it's your bodily condition, Warrior . ]

"My body's fine . My fatigue has also gone away for the most part . "

[No . I'm talking about your continuously maintained tense state . I have no idea what will happen if you completely release all your tension . Truthfully, the amount of time a person can maintain a tense state is at most a few days . However, you haven't released that tension even once, Warrior . At least, after you acquired me . ]

He had a point .

It was unlike him .

Even in the completely safe waiting room, as well as Kiri Kiri's field, I hadn't ever completely released my tension .

That's because I need to concentrate in order to clear the next stage .

However, if I were to completely release my tension while I have this chance to rest . . .

[Next, it's regarding your 'level'*, Warrior . ]    

 

[T/N: His level of strength . Not his Tutorial level or stage . ]

 

"Level?"

That was unexpected .

What does rest have to with my level?

[If I'm completely honest, your level changes case-by-case . It's not to the point where I can see it going up and down, but I see it abruptly go up to the next level . ]

"I'm hearing that as you saying that I'm a half-wit who can't even manage his own power . "

[Yes . That's exactly what I'm . . . not saying, but I'm saying that that's how amazing you are, Warrior! Ha . Ha . Haha . I love you, Warrior . ]

I wish he would stop saying that he loves me over and over again .

[From my point of view, it seems to me that your problem is that your body cannot keep up with your own skill, Warrior . Since you haven't given your body the time to adapt to your skill and you've been continuously growing until now . Of course, during that time, your body should have also felt that process of growth, and had grown accordingly, but that's only when talking about normal people . When you get to this strength, it is important for your body to become accustomed to even a single leap of growth . ]

He had a point this time too .

If we just exclude that it came out of the holy sword's mouth, it was extremely useful advice .

Kiri Kiri and the holy sword .

Both of my trusted advisers had recommended that I rest .

Unreasonably going to the 31st floor from here would probably be overdoing it .

I want to immediately leave here, but I restrained myself by thinking of it as another sort of training .

I chattered with Park Jung Ah and Kim Min Hyuk a bit, and read the surplus community articles .

I guess I'll meditate if I get bored .

With that in mind, I decided to rest for a few days .

"Also, teach me some magic . "

[I don't want to . ]

" . . . Why?"

He spoke so firmly that for an instant I thought the holy sword was Seregia .

[My position becomes uncertain . ]

"If you don't teach me magic, your position will become really solid . You'll definitely be able to reflect on your solid position from within my inventory . "

[I'll teach you . ]

After my consultation with the holy sword, I decided to rest for three days accompanied by study in magic theory .

So after I feel as though I've rested aplenty, my schedule would be one day of rest, one day of magic study, and one day of swordsmanship training in that order; and I decided to stay here for around one round, maybe even two .

I drew up a chart of my daily schedule as if I were a elementary school student .

My schedule was mostly filled with rest, taking walks, meditating, or chatting (messages) and I tried my very best to follow it to the letter .

Even on the days I had to train in magic, my training didn't surpass three hours .

It was a boring everyday life to the point that I felt impatient, but it was effective .

It had been one week since I'd entered the residential district .

And then there was an unexpected change .

[Your level has been adjusted . ]

[Lee Ho Jae (Human)]

Lv . 101

I had been at level 56 and had suddenly shot up to level 101 .