Chapter 5: Tutorial (5)

After parting ways with Go Hyun-joon, Yoo Ha-na continued to receive numerous party invitations.

Men, men, and more men. Every man she encountered made no attempt to hide their leering desires.

The Tutorial Fairy had imprinted the concept of death onto the minds of these modern-day people, who were accustomed to safe, comfortable lives.

The threat of death amplified the primal urge for procreation. Knowing that death lurked around every corner, people became more blatant in their pursuit of it.

Manners and etiquette had once served as a mask for lust. But within the Tower of Proof, those masks crumbled, revealing the raw desire beneath.

Surrounded by this overflowing lust, Yoo Ha-na felt a suffocating nausea. Seeking refuge, she specifically sought out parties that included women.

“Haha, nice to meet you, Ha-na.”

“Yes, let’s do our best.”

She joined a four-person mixed-gender party consisting of two women and two men. A perfect balance.

Including Yoo Ha-na with her daggers, the party comprised a man with a sword and shield, a man with a greatsword, a woman with a bow, and a woman with a holy book. The trinity of vanguard, rearguard, and support.

She thought it would work out well.

She was terribly mistaken. As Go Hyun-joon had warned, they were clueless about their weapons and how to use them effectively.

Their movements were clumsy and uncoordinated. The monsters in the field were formidable, and the party members ended up hindering each other more than helping.

“Eek! The monster’s coming! What are you doing? Why are you letting it get so close?”

“D@mn it, I can’t help it! You’re supposed to provide fire support from a distance!”

“I can barely handle my side, how am I supposed to worry about you?”

“Ha-na, what are you doing? You need to move faster!”

Under the relentless assault of the monsters, their flimsy teamwork crumbled.

Instead of focusing on the enemy, they wasted precious energy bickering amongst themselves, resulting in an embarrassing retreat.

“…Good work today. We had some shortcomings, but let’s try harder tomorrow.”

“I don’t think trying harder is the solution.”

“Sigh, we barely made any progress on the quest.”

“We only killed 14 kobolds.”

“14 kobolds? So… how much did we earn today?”

“One, two, three, four… eight, nine. Nine copper coins.”

After a full day, they had earned a mere nine copper coins. And that was solely due to the automatic reward for killing monsters.

If not for the ‘system’ governing the Tower of Proof, their day’s work would have amounted to nothing.

But oblivious to this fact, the five of them began arguing over the nine copper coins.

“Let’s divide the spoils. I’ll take three coins, Ha-na gets two, Seung-hoon gets two, and the rest of you get one each.”

“Why? Why do we only get one coin each?”

“That’s right! We worked just as hard!”

“The vanguard is exposed to more danger. And Ha-na was actively engaging the monsters, switching between vanguard and rearguard roles!”

“So, you’re saying we were just dead weight?”

“If that’s how you see it, then yes.”

Faced with harsh reality, people became stingy. The once-amicable atmosphere turned hostile.

“Stop, stop! It’s fine… I’ll just take one coin. Then we don’t have to fight.”

Seeing the escalating tension, Yoo Ha-na relinquished her share. The two coins were rightfully hers, her reward for her efforts.

But were those two coins truly earned through her skill alone? She questioned herself and came to a conclusion.

She was inexperienced and inadequate. The two coins she received were likely influenced by favoritism and ulterior motives.

So, she gave up half her share. She believed she didn’t deserve it, rejecting the favoritism and bias.

“I-I see… Well, then…”

“In that case, we have no complaints.”

The argument seemed to have subsided. But her sacrifice was merely a bandage on a festering wound.

– “Unnie, don’t you think Yoo Ha-na is a b*tch?”

– “Totally. It’s like she’s flirting with the guys, you know?”

– “Even giving up her share today was just a show for the men. If she had fought with us, we could have gotten another coin each.”

– “Ha-na is just that type. You know, a queen b*. Those !diotic men think she’s so kind for sacrificing her share. But it was just a ploy to earn brownie points.”

– “Ah, I get it. Acting all innocent on the surface while manipulating the men to get what she wants, that kind of fox-like behavior, right?”

– “Exactly, Yoo Ha-na is that kind of fox. Pretending to be nice and hardworking while leeching off the men.”

– “Then aren’t we screwed? We’ll always be left behind.”

– “That’s why we need to strike first.”

In the cramped inn room they shared, while Yoo Ha-na slept soundly, exhausted, the two women gossiped, slandered, and plotted against her.

Blinded by jealousy and insecurity, they slipped out of the room late at night, leaving Yoo Ha-na behind.

– “Haah! Haah!”

– “Haa! Hah!”

The unmuffled sounds of copulation came from beyond the thin walls. The four of them entangled without a care, but Yoo Ha-na, lost in a deep sleep after a grueling day, heard nothing.

Unbeknownst to her, her position within the party was subtly eroding.

“Ha-na! What are you doing, making such mistakes?”

“Eek! Ha-na unnie, what are you doing! You’re leading the monsters towards us!”

“Ha-na noona, the monsters are going your way! Two of them, but you can handle them, right?”

“Ha-na! Focus! You’ve been making mistakes all day!”

They followed the same routine as yesterday, but the blame was disproportionately directed at Yoo Ha-na. Minor mistakes were magnified, and she was burdened with an overwhelming workload.

“Alright, good work, everyone. Let’s divide today’s earnings. We earned 13 copper coins today, so I’ll take three, Seung-hoon gets three, Yeon-ji and Ji-hye get three, and Ha-na, you get one.”

“W-what? Why?”

She faced blatant discrimination in the distribution of rewards. She had worked harder than anyone, yet she was treated so unfairly. She protested in frustration.

“Well, Ha-na, you made a lot of mistakes today.”

“That’s right. We were in so much danger because of you, Ha-na unnie.”

“Honestly, Ha-na, you didn’t pull your weight.”

“I agree.”

No matter how much she pleaded, the other four party members, as if colluding, continued to criticize her, nitpicking her every mistake.

“Oh, Ha-na, can you wash these clothes?”

“Oh, Ha-na unnie, mine too.”

“Hey, Ha-na, are you going to do laundry? Can you do mine as well?”

“Noona, can I ask you to do mine too?”

As the days passed, Yoo Ha-na’s position within the party was reduced to that of a servant.

No matter how hard she tried in the field, she was met with only criticism. Her earnings were pitiful, and what little she received was quickly spent.

“Sob… Sob…”

In just four days, her self-esteem and self-reliance had vanished.

All she had left was a pair of daggers and the laundry her party members had dumped on her.

“Sob… Sob…”

As she scrubbed clothes by the well, her hands raw, she wept at her plight. How had she ended up like this?

“Waaah… Waaah…”

She had tried so hard, but why was she in this situation? She berated and tormented herself, crying until her eyes were red and swollen.

While everyone else enjoyed the night with food and drinks, she stealthily did the laundry like a thief.

That’s when she heard it.

“Ha… That b*tch Yoo Ha-na is playing hard to get. I’m getting tired of these other girls.”

“Hehehe, I know, right? She should take a hint. She’s so clueless.”

“But judging by her state, it won’t be long now. Once her spirit is completely broken, she’ll spread her legs willingly.”

“Ah, just imagining it makes me so
horny. Hey, Joon-ho hyung, should we just
her? What’s she going to do anyway? She’s broke. She’ll probably just moan and take it.”

“Should we? I think she’d probably give in.”

Yoo Ha-na’s mind went blank upon hearing the men’s vulgar banter. She had joined this party specifically to avoid such blatant expressions of desire.

And she had tried her best to earn their respect. But she was betrayed.

The women in the party had conspired with the men to break her. And the men were simply using her as a plaything, complicit in the women’s scheme.

‘How… how could they?’

Was this what it felt like for your world to collapse? A whirlwind of thoughts raced through her mind.

‘B-but what should I do? What can I do?’

Initially, anger surged through her, the urge to confront them overwhelming. But fear quickly consumed her.

‘What will you do even if you confront them, you stupid b*tch? Are you going to leave the party? Do you think you can survive on your own?’

Her panic stemmed from learned helplessness. Stripped of her self-reliance and self-esteem, she no longer trusted her judgment, succumbing to negativity and self-doubt.

‘No, there’s nothing I can do now. What can I possibly do… I just… I just have to accept it. If I want to be useful to the party…’

Her broken spirit led to resignation. She rationalized her situation, suppressing her disgust.

But then, a thought flashed through her mind.

– “I plan to start the quest five days from now, in the morning. I’ll be waiting by the fountain in the plaza. I hope to see you again then.”

The words of the man who had approached her on her first day in this world. The man who called himself Go Hyun-joon had said he hoped to see her again.

‘I have to escape. Escape and find that man… I’ll do anything, even sell my body. Anything is better than this!’

In that moment, driven by impulse rather than her broken spirit and resignation, she acted.

That night, she ran away. Far, far away, until the inn where they were staying was no longer visible.