Chapter : 3
Apocalypse Tutorial (2)
Thud!
Dan-yoon jumped forward immediately.
It wasnāt a calculated moveāit was instinct.
The intuition of a pro gamer who had played countless games.
āThis is a tutorial.ā
Running away from the enemy, jumping off a cliff, or trembling in fear while waiting for time to passāthat wasnāt a tutorial.
A tutorial teaches you something.
Here, it was probably meant to train judgment and problem-solving.
Clenching the dagger tightly, Dan-yoon ran straight toward the dragonās claws.
It might be madness.
If he did nothing, maybe he could just dodge one or two breaths and survive.
But by provoking it, he might make things worse.
Whoosh!
The moment his dagger struck the dragonās claw, Dan-yoon became certain.
There was no feeling of impact.
His attack cut through empty air.
As soon as he attacked, the dragonās form flickered strangely.
āAn illusion.ā
It was fake. Not real.
Then the real objective must be something else.
Dan-yoon looked around within the illusion.
The massive dragon flickered continuously, but only the breath inside its mouth burned clearly.
āThatās it.ā
He was sure.
That flame was the key to clearing this stage.
āBut itās too high.ā
Even though the dragonās head was lowered, it was still too high to reach with a jump. And since the body was an illusion, he couldnāt climb it.
He looked at the dagger in his hand.
āIf I throw it properlyā¦ maybe itāll reach.ā
He had never thrown a dagger before.
Could he even do it right?
About five minutes remained.
There was no time.
Gripping the dagger like a throwing knife, he focused all his strength into his fingers.
As he stared at the burning energy, his concentration sharpened.
It felt like standing on the finals stage.
All his senses gathered at his fingertips. His vision narrowed to only the target.
He leaned back, then swung his arm forward.
Whoosh!
The dagger wasnāt very fast, but it flew straight toward the energy source.
At that momentā
Flash!
The dagger exploded midair near the target.
At the same time, the illusion vanished, and in place of the energy source, a bee-like insect appeared.
[Target acquired.]
āGot it.ā
He clenched his fist in victory.
Then, the hidden information appeared.
[Stage 1 – Tutorial]
[Clear Condition: Eliminate the Illusion Parasite]
[Description: Impressive. You figured out the nature of the stage. But it wonāt be easy.]
[Time Remaining: 14:21]
[Failure Penalty: None]
The hidden details were revealed, and the time increased by ten minutes.
At least there was no penalty for failure.
āIllusion Parasiteā¦ā
It was a bee the size of a human head.
If he saw something like that in real life, he would be horrifiedābut after seeing a dragon, it looked almost cute.
Buzzā!
The creature circled around angrily, as if upset that its illusion had been broken.
Dan-yoon clenched his fists and took a rough fighting stance.
Unless it had poison, he had the advantage in size.
If he tore off one wing, it would be overā
āAAAGH!ā
Dan-yoon screamed and grabbed one eye, rolling on the ground.
The parasiteās stinger had struck his eye at lightning speed.
āUghā¦!ā
Pain like he had never felt before hit him.
Half his vision disappeared instantly.
Thick blood flowed from his eye, and the buzzing sound near his ears filled him with terror.
This wasnāt a game or a novel.
This pain was real.
Dan-yoon crawled desperately.
The parasiteās tail struck the ground where he had just been.
Boom!
The ground cracked from the impact.
āI canāt winā¦ā
So much for size advantage.
What a foolish and careless thought.
Even a small hornet could kill a person.
This thing was the size of a head.
āForget clearing itā¦ā
There was no penalty for failure now.
He just needed to survive ten minutes.
BuzzāThud!
āAAAGH!ā
Another strike hit his back.
The parasite mocked him, attacking freely.
Damn it. Damn it!
With each attack, he kept cursing.
Third hit. Fourth hit.
Eventually, anger took over.
It crushed his fear.
āIāll kill youā¦ you damn bug.ā
The parasite hovered in the air calmly, as if it knew he wouldnāt fight back.
Buzz!
Dan-yoon raised his arm instinctively.
The stinger pierced through his arm.
The pain was bearable now.
Or maybe his senses were numb.
The parasiteās movements had slowed slightly.
It was getting tired.
This was possible.
Dan-yoon spread his arms wide.
As if saying, āCome at me.ā
The parasite hesitated for a moment, then charged.
Dan-yoon sensed it.
This time, it was aiming for his heart.
The moment the stinger came closeā
He twisted his body slightly.
The stinger missed his heart and pierced through his side and arm.
At that instantā
He tensed his arm.
Then he trapped the parasite between his arm and body.
With his other hand, he grabbed it tightly.
āGot youā¦ you damn bug.ā
Then came violence.
He slammed it into the ground.
Holding it tightly, he smashed it again and again, like hammering.
Over and over.
Until the ground was stained yellow, green, and redā
The parasite finally stopped moving.
Dan-yoon collapsed on his back, breathing heavily.
āThisā¦ is a tutorial?ā
It was way too hard.
He couldnāt imagine how difficult the next stages would be.
[Stage 1 Cleared.]
[Evaluation in progressā¦ 56%]
He couldnāt see himself, but if there was a mirror, it would be horrifying.
One eye nearly destroyed.
His body full of holes.
Blood everywhere.
[Clear Rank: A]
[You have successfully completed the hidden objective.]
[You have received 1,500 coins.]
[Your Master, Constellation Stella, is watching you.]
[Your body has been fully restored.]
āA rankā¦ā
He didnāt know if there was an S rank, but this wasnāt bad.
A mysterious force surrounded him.
The pain disappeared.
His wounds healed.
His vision returned.
It seemed clearing a stage fully restored his body.
āAt least Iām not blind.ā
He felt relieved.
Then he recalled something.
[Your Master is watching you.]
For a brief moment, he had felt it.
A strange sensation.
Someone watching him.
It disappeared quickly, but it was clear.
So Stella had checked on him after he cleared the stage.
There must be thousands of players in each faction.
[Additional rewards are being granted.]
āOh? Bonus rewards too?ā
[āTraitsā and āSkillsā are now activated.]
[Tip! Say āSkill Windowā to view your traits, passive skills, and active skills.]
Dan-yoonās eyes lit up.
Traits were probably passive abilities.
Skills were likely something like magic.
He would definitely need them to survive future stages.
āā¦Skill window.ā
<Dan-yoon – Skill Information>
Traits: Gambling Addict (Common), Forced Loner (Rare), A-Rank Prospect (Rare), Framed Pro Gamer (Mystic), One Who Reached the Peak (Mythic)
Passive Skills: [Gambler Lv.1], [Translation], [Rapid Growth], [Pain Resistance Lv.1], [Adaptability Lv.1]
Active Skills: [Appraisal Lv.1], [Stealth Lv.1], [Potential Release Lv.1], [Trap Detection Lv.1]
āThereās a lotā¦ā
A new trait, āA-Rank Prospect,ā had been added.
It must be from his stage result.
Skills seemed to come from traits.
For example, āGambling Addictā gave him the āGamblerā skill.
When he tapped a trait, its related skill appeared below it.
āā¦Wait.ā
The mythic trait āOne Who Reached the Peakā had a skill called [Rapid Growth].
That sounded powerful.
Most skills had levels, but [Rapid Growth] and [Translation] did not.
That probably meant they were already complete.
āā¦No attack skills?ā
His basic skills were all utility-type.
āTranslation,ā āAppraisal,ā āAdaptability,ā āPain Resistance.ā
āHow do I use these?ā
As he explored the systemā
[The next stage will begin.]
[Generating stage.]
[Summoning āZombie Cityā.]
āā¦Already?ā
He had just fought like hell.
Shouldnāt there be some rest?
And āZombie Cityāā¦ that sounded awful already.
[Tip! The higher your clear rating, the better your rewards.]
āYeah, I get it. Give me a useful tip instead.ā
[Stage 2 begins.]
His vision shook.
The world turned whiteā
Then changed instantly.
Dan-yoon quickly looked around.
He was now inside a clean, modern apartment with three rooms.
