The Tutorial Is Too Hard Chapter 24:
Tutorial 2nd Floor (Part 5)
We'd like to apologize for the lack of updates for TITH, we will try to get chapters out like before from March onwards .
"Gasp, gasp . "
I kept on sprinting, progressing forward .
I had continued to run ever since I miraculously survived the heat stroke thanks to the Level up's effects .
I could feel my lungs burning with every breath I took .
This horrible temperature was akin to hell's furnace .
‘I thought it was the correct decision when I started running .
‘But is going forward really the right decision?’
‘Maybe it would’ve been better to run back to the Waiting Room?’
‘Even now?’
‘No . It's too late to go back . ’
Even at that very moment of my run, the Waiting Room was moving that much further away .
‘Let's just focus on running forward now . ’
I thought that to myself, and picked up my speed .
Then I was dumbfounded .
‘What is this?’
My speed was getting faster .
Abnormally faster .
This was not the effect of my strength or my dexterity .
I had already checked the effects of my stats before .
‘Wind Spirit’s Blessing . ’
‘It must be one of its effects . ’
An effect I had never been able to find, since I could never find an opportunity to run at full speed in the confined space of the Waiting Room .
‘What an outrageous effect . ’
‘This is not just added dexterity in effect here . ’
With such an increase in speed, the air began to lash at my face .
‘Thankfully, I can finally feel some cool…’
‘No . ’
‘The wind is so **** hot . ’
‘It's as if someone is blowing a torch in front of my face . ’
I could hear the violent turbulence of the wind .
The kind of sound you hear when you lower the windows while driving on a highway .
‘Is this something you should hear when a human runs?’
This was clearly not in the realm of human feat .
If my previous comparison was with Usain Bolt, the comparison now would be that of a cheetah or a scooter .
To top it off, even though I was sprinting at my full strength, I didn’t feel tired at all .
My muscles and my lungs were at peak condition .
I felt like I could run the entire marathon at this speed .
‘This is dangerous . ’
‘The skill is so effective that it's dangerous . ’
‘It's too fast . ’
‘And it's still getting faster . ’
‘Should I slow down a little?’
‘Do I have the time to waste?’
‘No . ’
‘Then, let's focus on running even faster . ’
‘Let's figure out just how fast I can run with this . ’
‘I must focus . ’
Although I had turned Battle Concentration off due to reaching my mental limit, I decided to use it now .
[Battle Concentration]
Everything in my vision passed quickly by me .
Just looking at how fast I was going was giving me the chills .
It was similar to the finals for my last year of highschool .
I woke up too late and had to call a quick bike service to take me to school .
The chill I felt now was the chill I felt as the motorbike weaved through the cars on the streets at ridiculous speed .
It's terrifying enough to just run with my eyes open and keep my centre of balance .
I could feel my hands, feet and my stomach go cold even in this scorching heat reminiscent of a desert during a heat wave .
‘Damn, am I scared?’
I clenched my teeth, and focused on my muscles’ movements .
‘Shit, shit!’
‘Big mistake . ’
I was running fine when I didn't think about the individual movements of my muscles .
But the moment I was conscious of each and every movement of my body, I had to think how each arm and leg had to move in my head .
Just like how your breathing or blinking suddenly becomes unnatural the moment you become aware of it .
‘Uaaah . ’
‘It feels as if my face is cooking from the hot wind . ’
‘Actually, it is getting cooked!’
For the first time, I was grateful for the Pain Resistance .
This Pain Resistance skill did not remove the pain .
It just made you tolerate pain better .
‘I have always been unsatisfied with it, but at this moment, I have realised just how great of a skill it is . ’
Even though I could feel my skin burning all over, I could ignore the pain while still being aware of it .
As a result, I could keep all of my senses intact while ignoring the pain, and run on .
Pain is not important .
What's important is the senses becoming dull or the body paralysed from either the cause of the pain or the pain itself .
And Pain Resistance helps to prevent it .
‘Anyway, it's about time for some arrows to come out . ’
‘There is no way this sinister tutorial will leave me alone . ’
Ping- ping-
It was as if someone was reading my mind .
Multiple arrows tipped with poison were fired at once .
Getting hit by an arrow while running at this speed would have been extremely dangerous .
But .
Whoosh-
The arrows could not keep up with the speed I was traveling at .
I managed to escape the traps before the arrows could even reach me .
I dodged one arrow coming straight at my face by just barely tilting my head to the side .
The remaining arrows from the front were from the ceiling being shot at a steep angle, so I could simply move through it without needing to dodge them .
The arrows from my sides and back couldn't even get anywhere near me .
To pass through a trap like this .
My head was filled with joy .
Even the burning pain from the hot wind could not stop this joy .
No matter how much it burned my skin . . .
‘Huh?’
‘The heat disappear . . . uh?’
‘Ah, shit!’
My legs got tangled .
The trip had much more severe consequences, since I was running at a speed closer to that of a scooter rather than a human being .
First, for a few seconds, I was in the air .
I believe I can fly-
I could see a light flash before my eyes as I felt the freedom of flying, just for a moment .
After the brief flight, I smashed, hit my head and rolled on the ground .
And lost my consciousness afterwards .
***
[Round 2, Day 3 . 2:20]
‘Damn . How long was I out for?’
The floor was wet .
Of course, it was my blood that made it wet .
I was not even surprised at this point .
I took out a healing potion from the inventory .
It was my last remaining healing potion .
And I swore to save it as much as possible when I was buying it .
I drank all of this expensive liquid .
‘Hah-’
‘I feel empty . ’
I just lied on my back and looked at the ceiling, with no enthusiasm in sight .
‘How many times did I almost get killed now?’
‘If I were to pick them individually, it would be at least 20 times . ’
‘I have managed to survive through those 20 near fatal events, but yesterday was especially dangerous . ’
‘It's abnormal that I'm still alive right now . ’
‘Thank god, the level up came when it did . ’
I slowly began to remember what happened before I went out .
Embarrassment rushed into my head .
To almost die from tripping over my own two feet .
All the confidence I had before plummeted to the ground .
‘I must really be a **** . ’
‘Uaah…’
The scorching heat had dissipated completely .
The metal plate on the armour which was hot as a coal had cooled down completely .
I sat up and began to check on my body .
The skin was burnt, with blisters, the size of my palm, sprinkled all over .
. . . It looked rather hideous .
Some of the hair was sticky and tangled with blood clot, while the remainder seemed to have burned away .
‘Did I catch fire as well?’
There were quite significant burns on my scalp .
To be so injured even after a Level up .
I thought I didn't get so damaged during the run, but I must had been mistaken .
Perhaps, I was too focused on the running part .
It seemed the healing potion had little effect on the burn marks and blisters .
I took out a burn healing potion from the inventory .
I looked at my status window as I slapped on some of the potion .
[Lee Ho Jae (Human)]
Lv . 7
Strength : 12
Dexterity : 32
Vitality : 18
Mana : 22
Skills : Battle Concentration Lv . 7 Willpower Lv . 3 Awakening Lv . 1 Night Vision Lv . 2 Brighter Sight Lv . 1 Sprint Lv . 1 Natural Regeneration Lv . 1 Heightened Senses Lv . 3 Basic Swordsmanship Lv . 1 Cut Lv . 1 Basic Shield Skill Lv . 2 Wind Spirit’s Blessing Lv . 1 Pain Resistance Lv . 10 Bleed Resistance Lv . 4 Stun Resistance Lv . 1 Piercing Resistance Lv . 1 Poison Resistance Lv . 2 Paralysis Resistance Lv . 4 Heat Resistance Lv . 2 Burn Resistance Lv . 2
Misc : The God of Adventure pities you .
‘The God of Adventure is taking pity on me?’
‘ . . . Is she thinking “I pity that foolish mortal, making things so difficult for himself” to herself, as she watches me making those stupid decisions?’
‘Ah, **** . . . It irks me, and embarasses me as well . ’
Only other noteworthy changes were Heat and Burn Resistance and Natural Regeneration .
‘Did I get that Natural Regeneration while I was fainted?’
I never saw the message for it .
[Natural Regeneration (Lv . 1)]
Description : Increases the speed at which your body recovers from injuries .
‘Mother, Father . Today, I have gotten 1 step closer to becoming a troll . ’
‘If this skill becomes stronger, will I be able to regenerate a hand or a foot even after it gets cut off?’
‘If it's that good then I wouldn't need to rely on the Waiting Room, Healing fountain or Level ups as sole opportunities for regeneration . ’
Waiting Room was ok, but relying on Level up for healing was too dangerous .
This Tutorial world was different from the nice and user friendly game with proper interface .
Since it didn’t show my experience bar, I had no idea when I would level up .
Plus, the amount of experience required to level up was increasing .
I mean, it was obvious that I would need more, but the amount of experience required was increasing too much .
From the way I felt it, each time I leveled up, it seemed like the experience required increased not by 2x, but by ^2 .
If I excluded the Level ups, then the sources of regeneration I could rely on were the Waiting Room, Healing fountain and my used up healing potions .
Although weak, having a regenerative ability was welcome at this point .
‘Now, with the potion fully applied, what to do?’
I stood up, stretched myself as I thought .
The heat had disappeared completely .
I walked back a few steps, but could not feel the heat again .
It seemed, from near the start when the heat began to pick up, to where I was a few moment ago, a distance which needed half a day to travel, was one big heat trap .
I walked forward a little, and could feel some chill ahead .
It seemed, it was a cold trap from here onwards .
‘Let's go back to the Waiting Room . ’
It was a clear decision .
My current condition wasn’t too bad, but I needed to prepare for the cold which would come next .
But before all that, I needed to improve my heat and burn resistance as well .
‘Let's take some time increasing that burn and heat resistance, so that it rises quite high . ’
‘Same goes for the poison . ’
‘I would assume that, until the 2nd floor ends, all the arrows are tipped with poison . ’
I was too excited from the newfound strength I gained from the 1st round .
I thought with such positive outcome, I would be able to navigate through this Hell difficulty .
My thinking was too lazy .
‘Let's be calm, thorough, think and think again before moving . ’
‘Let's not make the same mistake . ’
As I confirmed that to myself, I ran toward the Waiting Room .