Chapter 4
I left the house with a kitchen knife in hand.
I might look like a lunatic, but in Hwaseong City these days, it was essential.
Looters, monsters, and the like…
The city was full of things that threatened my life.
“Phew.”
When I stepped outside, a narrow alley greeted me.
Fortunately, there weren’t any monsters at my door today.
-Squish, squish.
I walked down the alley, stepping over the damp ground.
After about five minutes, I’d reach the half-ruined downtown area, where I had to watch out for monsters that sometimes appeared.
‘I never get used to this place.’
The buildings looked ready to collapse at any moment, but compared to other districts, this was actually pretty decent.
This was the area where Hwaseong City’s Tower stood.
It was under the protection of the Hwasan Guild, which was practically the city’s ruler now.
‘Let’s hurry.’
The closer you got to the Tower, the more the city’s infrastructure returned to normal.
A lot of people said it was quite livable.
‘But even this place is still hanging by a thread.’
After walking for about an hour, lost in those idle thoughts…
I eventually arrived in front of the enormous Tower.
‘No guards?’
I’d heard that Towers in major cities carefully monitored everyone entering, but Hwaseong had nothing like that.
There was a reason they called it a haven for unregistered, illegal Hunters.
‘Works for me.’
I wasn’t Awakened.
To register as a Hunter, I’d have to reveal that I had aura. If I did, there was no way the government would leave me alone.
They’d rip the method of training aura out of me, then probably dissect my TS body while they were at it.
‘For now, I can’t trust the Korean government.’
Thinking that, I approached the Tower.
[Would you like to enter the Tower?]
[Current area: Hwaseong City.]
A blue message appeared before my eyes.
“Yes.”
Brilliant white light enveloped my entire body.
***
When I came to, a blue window was blocking my view.
[Welcome to the Tower Tutorial.]
A system message, huh.
I casually ignored it and looked around.
An empty white space stretched out around me.
‘There’s really nothing here.’
I was literally floating in midair.
“Yoo-hoo.”
I flailed around as if I were swimming, and my body began moving through the air.
Is this what it feels like to fly?
I wanted to stay like this forever.
‘…This isn’t the time for that.’
I looked back at the system window.
[Please select your basic weapon.]
[Spear/Longsword/Dagger/Staff… and 150 more.]
I’d heard that other Awakened spent an hour or two agonizing over their weapon choice.
“Longsword.”
I could decide quickly because I’d already taken a look at the Swordsmanship Gallery.
Aside from a few sword fetishists, everyone seemed to use longswords.
[Selected weapon: Longsword]
[Weapon selection confirmed.]
[Moving to Tutorial Stage 1.]
***
When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a dark dungeon.
“Hmm.”
I picked up the longsword lying on the floor and stood up.
‘It’s exactly like the information post said.’
The tutorial’s setting was a dungeon.
You had to kill monsters and gradually make your way forward.
Now I just had to open the bars and walk down the corridor…
‘Aura.’
First, I activated my aura and wrapped it around my whole body.
My basic physical abilities had gotten stronger, but that was no reason to let my guard down.
-Creeeak.
I opened the bars, whose lock had been broken, and stepped outside.
I’d been walking down the narrow passage for about a minute when…
“Kieeek!”
A goblin holding a club appeared.
If this had been my first fight, I would’ve been nervous, but…
‘I’ve lived my whole life in Hwaseong City.’
I could take down goblins with nothing but a kitchen knife.
-Shhk!
With a casual swing of the longsword, its head flew off.
‘The early stages won’t be a problem.’
I quickly made my way through the tutorial to Stage 3.
The goblins grew more numerous as I progressed, but there were never more than about ten at a time.
I reached the final wave of Stage 3.
-Splurt!
“K-kieek…!”
A few swings of my sword were enough to clear them all out.
[You have cleared Stage 3.]
[Would you like to proceed to the next stage?]
I stared at the system window and thought for a moment.
‘This is way easier than I expected.’
It had been less of a fight and more of a one-sided slaughter, so there was no reason to feel tense.
Still, I shouldn’t get too careless.
‘They said things are different from Stage 4 onward.’
Feeling a little nervous, I moved on to the next stage.
***
Before I knew it, I’d reached Stage 5.
I’d just entered battle, and I couldn’t help but feel bewildered.
At first, I’d only thrust my sword in carelessly to gauge how strong the orc was.
“Graa, urgh…!”
It writhed in pain, desperately trying to pull the longsword out of its neck.
‘What the hell?’
-Splurt!
When I pulled out the sword, blood gushed out like a fountain, and the orc soon collapsed.
“…That’s it?”
It was supposed to be a newbie crusher. Wasn’t that way too anticlimactic?
‘Well, a clear is a clear.’
Thinking that, I looked at the system window.
[Tutorial Clear Complete!]
[Total score: 30,000 points.]
[The Tower applauds your exceptional talent!]
[You have been granted access to ‘Tutorial: Hidden Stage’!]
[Clear reward: Item of B-Rank or higher.]
“What?”
Not only had a hidden stage opened, but its reward was a B-Rank item at minimum.
‘A B-Rank item is worth at least tens of millions of won.’
If I got an A-Rank item, its price could shoot up to hundreds of millions.
I could use anything worthwhile myself or sell it through the system exchange, so either way, it’d be easy to deal with.
‘Maybe I should ask the gallery first.’
Since this was important, it seemed best to hear what they thought.
However.
[Time remaining to choose: 5 seconds.]
*If you do not choose, you will automatically refuse.
There was no time to ask the gallery.
I had to make the choice on my own.
“I’m going in!”
I decided to just take the plunge.
If I died, that’d be a shame. If I succeeded, my life would be made.
***
[You have entered the hidden stage.]
When I opened my eyes, I found myself trapped in a large dungeon.
The exit was blocked by a translucent barrier, so I guessed I’d have to fight here.
‘Maybe a boss will show up.’
I looked around, but it was too dark to see the far end of the dungeon.
Just as I was about to move closer to check…
-Clank, clank!
I heard the sound of chains clanking in the darkness.
The sound didn’t stop. It only grew louder.
-Kang!
Along with a sound like chains snapping, the system window reacted.
[Objective: Defeat the High Orc.]
A crimson giant strode out of the darkness.
-Thud.
A High Orc.
Unlike an ordinary D-Rank monster like an orc, it was among the strongest C-Rank monsters.
Even ten orcs charging at it wouldn’t guarantee a victory.
And yet…
‘Why is something like that here?’
It varied from person to person, but a C-Rank monster usually appeared as a boss on at least the tenth floor.
If you encountered one in the tutorial, even an S-Rank Awakened would be slaughtered.
‘…Aura.’
I calmly controlled my aura.
“Krrk, krrk…”
It stared at me, holding a greatsword about two meters long.
‘Is it wary of me?’
It took a stance as if it could attack at any moment.
It seemed intelligent enough to watch what I did instead of rushing in carelessly.
‘If I open the gallery, it’ll attack immediately.’
In other words, I had to deal with it without help from the Swordsmanship Gallery.
“…”
My body was cold. I remembered the first time I’d encountered a goblin on the street.
It felt as if the situation were pressing down on me.
Back then, I’d sat down on the ground and been unable to do anything.
‘This time, I have to do it.’
There was no one I could rely on like I had then.
-Shaa…
I wrapped my entire body in aura.
Black mist seeped out from my body, and the air around me gradually became tinged with aura.
At that moment…
“Krrk!”
The High Orc swung its greatsword first.
‘It’s fast!’
I immediately rolled forward.
-Whoosh!
The blade skimmed over my hair.
I shuddered at the thought that I would’ve lost my head if I’d been even a little slower, but…
‘I closed the distance.’
Now it was my turn to attack.
I focused aura in my legs and leapt high into the air.
‘I’ll kill it in one hit.’
I thrust hard at its neck.
-Thud!
The longsword pierced its hide.
‘I did it.’
I tried to drive the blade as deep as possible, but…
‘Why is it so tough…!’
No matter how hard I tried to thrust it in, the sword simply didn’t have enough cutting power.
As a result, the longsword was stuck fast in its flesh.
“Graaah!”
It seized the chance and swung its fist.
‘Shit…!’
I needed to put some distance between us, but that was impossible. First, I had to pull the longsword out of its hide—
-Thoom!
My body shot through the air like a cannonball after taking that punch and slammed into the wall.
“Guh, ngh…!”
It hurt.
Pain so intense it made my head spin washed over me.
‘…I’m not strong enough.’
Even if I got up and fought again, I didn’t know if I could win.
If I only gave it shallow cuts, the orc wouldn’t go down before I ran out of stamina.
And if I tried to stab it deeply like before, the same thing would happen again.
I couldn’t win like this. Not a chance.
-Thump.
I heard it approaching me.
Was it coming to finish me off?
‘I have to move.’
But my body wouldn’t obey.
The only thing I could control was my aura.
‘This can’t be happening…’
My consciousness gradually faded.
Time seemed to slow down, and for that brief instant, I could move nothing but my aura.
-Shaa…
The black mist flowed out of my body.
The energy spread around me, gradually eating away at the space.
-Gwooom…
The space touched by my aura vibrated.
As if two things that couldn’t coexist had collided, they kept moving, trying to devour each other.
The black mist—my aura—won that struggle.
‘…I made it invade the space.’
No, there might be a better word than ‘invade.’
My aura gave the surrounding space, the world, its own color.
…Yeah.
‘I imbued it with aura.’
Aura seeped into the space.
It infused it with power and forced its own color onto it.
If so…
‘Could I do the same to my body and longsword?’
There was no time to think.
I manipulated my aura, recalling the sensation from just before.
Aura imbuement.
-Gwoooom!
When I forced aura into my muscles, I felt resistance.
The pain was like having my flesh torn to shreds by a knife.
‘I have to force it in…!’
I endured the unbearable pain and imbued my muscles and longsword with aura.
“!”
Then my senses returned in an instant, and…
“Krrk!”
The High Orc was bringing its greatsword down on my head.
-Kwoom!
“Hah, hah…”
After barely dodging it, I checked my condition.
At this rate, I was sure to collapse again before long.
‘I have to finish this in one blow.’
I had only one move left.
Just one chance to attack.
“…”
I looked down at the longsword stained black.
I couldn’t say for sure, but I felt like I could kill it in this state.
“Krrk—!”
It roared in fury and swung its greatsword again, so I immediately darted inside its reach.
“Krrk!”
“…!”
But as if it had predicted my movement, it brought its fist down on the spot where I’d stepped in.
Normally, I wouldn’t have been able to dodge that.
‘…I can feel it.’
My instincts let me evade the attack a moment before it came.
-Thoom!
Its left hand slammed into empty air.
And its right hand couldn’t move yet, caught in the follow-through of its greatsword swing.
‘Now!’
I leapt high once more.
‘This has to end it.’
I prepared to pierce its neck.
But…
‘What if it can hold on for a little while?’
With a High Orc’s vitality, it might survive for a short time even with a hole in its neck.
If I died before then, it’d all be over.
‘…Then.’
I’d cut its head clean off.
“Hup—”
I changed my stance and swung my sword at its neck.
-Splurt, splurt!
Its flesh was crushed, and its head was completely severed.
[Objective complete: You have defeated the High Orc.]
[Hidden Stage Clear Complete.]
[You will be moved to the reward room shortly.]
***
An empty white space.
“Hmm.”
When I opened my eyes, I was in a place like the room where I’d entered the tutorial.
-Whoooosh~
Hmm. Since my body was floating around too, it really did seem like the same place…
“What happened to my body?”
It looked as if my whole body had been ground up by a bomb exploding right in front of me.
Ugh, gross.
[Severe damage to the climber’s body detected.]
[Recovery system activated.]
Then my body, which had looked like a lump of flesh, began to return to its original shape.
I gradually turned back into a beautiful girl with pale, pretty skin.
‘It’ll take a while to recover.’
I might as well browse the gallery in the meantime.
[Swordsmanship Gallery.]
-Did the newbie really die?
-Where’d my adorable newbie go!!!
-Blue-tag mod says the newbie died.
-The fact is, it’s only been 30 hours lol
“Whoa.”
The fight itself had been short, but maybe a lot of time had passed while I was unconscious.
‘I should let them know I’m alive first.’
[Title: The ridiculously cute newbie is here again lol]
Author: WokeUpAsATSGirl
I cleared the tutorial and this ‘Hidden Stage’<< opened up!!
I couldn’t resist, so I went in,
and when I came to, I was standing in front of a High Orc.
But all I had was one ridiculously shitty longsword…!
I was in a desperate crisis, but… I pulled off an insanely awesome technique!
(Pic of blackened longsword)
I just imbued it with aura, and it turned into an insanely powerful sword.
Thanks to that, I one-shot the High Orc, and now I’m waiting for my reward lol
‘That should do it.’
It might look cute to a Sword Master, but I was incredibly proud of myself.
Awakening an insanely cool technique at just the right moment and surviving a crisis?
‘You just can’t beat that.’
Well, it might not be a big deal to the gallery regulars.
Still, I thought I might at least get some praise for doing well, but…
-What the fuck is this
-?
-PureAndLovely*) Huh?
-GeniusSwordMaiden) What is this…?
Everyone was acting broken, posting the same kinds of comments over and over.
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) Why’s everyone acting like that? Are you just happy I made it back alive?
└PureAndLovely*) No, you idiot.
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) Yeah?
└PureAndLovely*) You fucking newbie, are you actually not a newbie?
└WokeUpAsATSGirl) ?
└PureAndLovely*) How the hell do you teach yourself aura imbuement, you crazy bastard!!!