Chapter 2: Tutorial boss (2)

The Tower of Exile.

The Tower of Exile, as it was known, was never intended to be a hidden stage.

Rather, it was a treacherous trap zone, a remnant from the early days of the game, present only during the beta test phase.

??? : “For our esteemed novice adventurers, we offer an exclusive 90% discount.

Do consider making use of our services.”

There’s a common tale, isn’t there? A tragic saga of a novice gamer, duped by a merchant’s honeyed words, who boarded a “black taxi” only to be whisked away to a locale teeming with high-level monsters.

Trapped and unable to escape, they ultimately had no choice but to delete their character.

‘Back then, a single item was enough to drive me to madness.’

▶Item – Accessory

『Devil’s Blessing』

※Upon equipping, it elevates natural HP and MP regeneration by 40% each, and doubles all other stats.

※A pendant meticulously crafted from the ground horns of an ancient demon.

Occasionally, an indiscernible voice can be heard emanating from within.

In truth, I had a similar, albeit personal, encounter.

Each race — be it Human, Elf, Demon, or Dwarf — possessed unique racial perks.

For the Demon race, that coveted perk was none other than the Devil’s Blessing.

More precisely, within the exclusive questline available only to the Demon race, lay a high-difficulty mission that promised the acquisition of that very blessing.

《 ~Stage~ Demon King’s Labyrinth 》

The objective was to first traverse the labyrinth, a winding maze that consumed an hour of travel even with prior knowledge of its layout.

Then, one had to deftly evade the myriad monsters lurking within to finally claim the Devil’s Blessing, ensconced at the pinnacle of a towering spire.

‘Why is it that no one attempts this quest?’

‘The game is still in its nascent stages, and it’s exclusively available to Demon characters, who are not particularly popular.

Furthermore, high-level players are barred from entry due to stringent level restrictions.’

Having received a concise explanation of the quest from a high-level player, I resolved to undertake the challenge as Cyan.

Fortuitously, my level teetered just below the imposed limit, making the attempt feasible.

True to its infamous reputation, the difficulty proved utterly abysmal.

The monsters that spawned were approximately 1.5 times stronger than even the highest-level players of the era, rendering them virtually undefeatable.

While I considered myself a formidable player, each individual common mob proved more challenging than many typical field boss monsters.

Yet, humanity possesses an indomitable will.

‘I got it! I got it!’

After approximately a week of arduous grinding, I finally managed to ascend to the summit of the Demon Tower.

It was there that I finally claimed the coveted Devil’s Blessing.

I promptly captured a screenshot and proudly posted it on the community forum, yet, to my surprise, the responses diverged significantly from my expectations.

—Oh? Lol, look at this sucker (TL Note: A Korean slang term, ‘heuk-u,’ referring to a naive person who is easily exploited, or a ‘sucker.’) getting that again, lmao.

—RIP, you’re trapped now.

—Ma’am~ add another rice chest player (TL Note: A Korean slang term, ‘dwijju peullei,’ referring to being trapped in a ‘rice chest,’ a historical torture method, used here metaphorically for being trapped in a game.) here!

‘……?’

Rather than commending my acquisition of the item, the community mocked me, asserting that I was about to embark on a forced confinement playthrough.

A rice chest playthrough? What in the world were they talking about?

Initially, their cryptic remarks made no sense to me.

However, the grim truth of their words soon dawned upon me.

‘Damn it, how do I get out of here?’

After being mercilessly cut down by monsters thirteen times in my attempts to return to the village, the stark realization hit me: no matter how deftly I moved, I was utterly incapable of escaping the Tower of Exile stage.

—Entering is at your discretion, but exiting is not.

I desperately sent out an SOS to other players.

Alas, this was a map designated for solo quests, rendering any intervention from other players impossible.

On the off chance it might work, I even attempted to use a village teleport scroll.

A message promptly informed me that its use was forbidden within a quest zone.

The notion of deleting my character and starting anew briefly flickered through my mind, but the sheer effort and invaluable time I had poured into this particular Cyan were far too precious to simply discard.

“Haha,” I mused, “looking back, perhaps even that was a fleeting memory, a bygone reminiscence.”

And so, I found myself inexplicably trapped within an utterly desolate stage.

While I had been oblivious during my ascent of the Demon Tower, the descent revealed a drastically altered terrain.

It was meticulously designed to ensure that, regardless of one’s approach, a monster’s strike was utterly unavoidable.

Attempting to fight my way out by defeating monsters was equally futile.

My level was so woefully low that dispatching even a single foe felt like an eternity, or rather, most of my attacks simply missed, rendering them nothing more than empty, flailing gestures.

Above all, even if I landed a powerful blow, a single retaliatory strike meant instant death.

“……Nostalgia, my ass,” I muttered derisively.

Yet, isn’t there an old adage that even if one is caught by a tiger, maintaining one’s composure can lead to survival?

[ Level Up! ]

[ Level Up! ]

[ Level Up! ]

‘Holy hell, slaying just one granted me three entire levels at once!’

After an eternity of relentless grinding, I finally managed to fell a single, insignificant mob.

Perhaps owing to the colossal level disparity, I savored the unprecedented triumph of gaining three levels in one fell swoop.

This breakthrough allowed me to reach a point where a single hit from a monster would merely leave me on the brink of death, rather than outright killing me.

With renewed determination, I finally managed to reach the stage’s exit.

‘Wait.’

However, just as I was poised to exit the stage, a sudden, intriguing thought occurred to me.

‘Here, maybe I can use it as my personal hunting ground?’

‘If I were to claim this place as my personal hunting ground, wouldn’t I be able to level up and amass wealth far more rapidly than any other player?’

Currently, the outside world was plagued by hundreds of players swarming limited hunting grounds, leading to rampant “kill stealing” and monsters perishing the instant they spawned.

But what of this place?

Here, no other players existed to pilfer my hard-earned loot, and the monsters, though formidable, were horrifyingly abundant.

Thus, I began slowly, like a newborn taking its first tentative steps.

Then, as my stats steadily climbed, I reached a point where I could competently fell monsters, and to my surprise, I even began to enjoy the process.

Naturally, sustained hunting proved challenging due to a perpetual shortage of potions, as I had no access to shops.

However, the ‘Devil’s Blessing’ equipment proved invaluable, allowing me to recover through natural regeneration and even partially compensating for my accuracy.

In this manner, I managed to ascend to the top ranks of the leaderboard far more swiftly than any other player.

It was only after the game’s developers, realizing the severe imbalance this had created, promptly disabled the quest and the item’s acquisition that I was finally able to emerge from that place.

“Even that peculiar expedition was made possible thanks to this very item,” I remarked.

I examined the solitary red pendant draped around my neck.

Upon closer inspection, its silver exterior, adorned with a deeply set crimson gem, struck me as exquisitely beautiful.

Even during the arduous battle against the Transcendent Delatros, whose potion cooldown was inexplicably doubled, it was only thanks to this very item that I narrowly managed to secure victory.

……To think I had once considered deleting such an invaluable item—it made me wonder if I had temporarily lost my mind.

“But before that.”

That, however, was merely a tale from a game.

This, by all accounts, could only be reality.

The tactile sensations in my hands and the invigorating breeze caressing my skin provided undeniable proof that this was no mere virtual reality simulation.

-Creak!

“What kind of place is this?”

I strode to the window, peering out at the world beyond.

Beyond the pane, an expansive verdant forest stretched as far as the eye could see.

“No way, did I really enter the Novel Online game……?”

It was the tutorial stage—the very first location where newly created characters opened their eyes.

《 ~Tutorial Stage~ Twilight Forest. 》

This was none other than the mythical ‘Twilight Forest’, renowned as the very birthplace of all life—indeed, of every single race within this world.

****

《 ~Tutorial Stage~ Twilight Forest. 》

Stepping through the window, I was greeted by an expansive forest.

A forest of colossal scale, with no end in sight.

According to the game’s lore, it boasted an incomprehensible expanse, its sheer scale unknowable even from within this Tower of Exile, which itself towered higher than any building ever conceived by human hands.

“It really is the tutorial stage.”

I stumbled weakly towards a nearby chair, collapsing onto its seat.

If this truly was the world of the game, then the question of my next course of action weighed heavily on my mind.

First and foremost, was there any conceivable way to return to reality?

A new employee, absent without leave on their very first day, was simply unthinkable.

Having painstakingly passed that interview, I was desperate to avoid an ending where I found myself trapped within a game world, only to be summarily fired.

“……It’s not a dream after all.”

I meticulously examined my body once more, from head to toe.

A generous bust, a finely sculpted physique.

Her skin was, of course, pristine white, and her sharp eyes hinted at a cool, ‘kuudere’ demeanor.

Indeed, from head to toe, it was unmistakably the ‘Cyan’ I knew.

Yet, there appeared to be a subtle discrepancy from my own avatar; if my memory served correctly, the original Cyan should have been clad in a crimson coat, not this somber black robe.

“Then it’s the tutorial boss Cyan.”

In Novel Online, two distinct entities bore the name Cyan.

One was my own character, Cyan; the other, the formidable NPC Cyan, who served as the tutorial boss….

In terms of raw specifications, there was no discernible difference between them.

The development team had, in fact, specifically requested my fully equipped character’s stats, which were then mirrored precisely.

Thus, it was safe to assume they were virtually identical.

“Usually in such situations, I can open the menu or inventory, how do I open it?”

A fleeting hope sparked within me: what if the items I possessed were still intact?

A mere glance at the equipment I currently wore confirmed it: these were ‘Holy Relic’ class armaments, the most potent items I possessed.

Even though Novel Online had once boasted over five million concurrent players worldwide, the items I owned were a unique blend of personal custom creations and limited-edition artifacts, rendering them exceedingly rare and truly priceless.

Though, regrettably, their untradeable nature meant I couldn’t sell them….

“……I don’t know, there’s no keyboard or mouse.”

Just in case, I even vocalized commands like “menu” and “inventory,” only to be met with a profound sense of self-inflicted shame.

It was enough to make me feel a pang of apology towards Cyan herself.

While it wasn’t how I personally played her, the lore depicted Cyan as a haughty and cool demon archmage.

A demon who, over countless ages, traversed the entire world, diligently researching truth and relentlessly seeking out ‘Transcendent Beings’—entities akin to gods.

It was said that she steadily amassed power, leveraging both her innate abilities and her exceptional magical prowess.

Having thus become an entity beyond casual confrontation, the demon, after extensive research, uncovered the Transcendent’s insidious plot to annihilate this world.

【 Fallen Transcendent – Delatros 】

▶”You pathetic mortals have striven, but your efforts end here.

Your dimension and this world shall cease to exist this very day.”

Sensing the impending doom, she rallied the world’s heroes, forging an alliance.

Yet, as each hero began to falter, kneeling before the Transcendent’s overwhelming might….

『 There is still hope. 』

With every hero having fallen, she alone rose to her feet.

『 If all seven powers of the World Fragment are used. 』

She summoned forth every ‘World Fragment’ she had amassed throughout her arduous journey—artifacts rumored to have been left behind by the Genesis God for the very preservation of the world—converging them all into a single point.

The power to move the universe.

She believed that such power could inflict damage even upon a Transcendent, a being akin to a god.

And her conviction proved true.

【 Fallen Transcendent – Delatros 】

▶”Ah, no… how could this be…!”

At last, the Fallen Transcendent was sealed away.

……That was a story of the past.

It was a tale from before the world known as Novel Story even began.

The MMORPG, Novel Story, chronicled the subsequent journey of those heroes’ descendants.

The game’s premise revolved around finding the scattered World Fragments to maintain the seal that ancient heroes had placed upon the Transcendent, battling against those who sought its revival.

It was almost inconceivable that such a rich narrative had been crafted in a mere five years.

Its creation was owed to the fervent cooperation of countless players, coupled with the remarkably user-friendly approach of the development team.

Indeed, judging by the fact that they even produced and distributed various character figures, it was evident the director had poured their heart and soul into the project.

“So what should I do now…….”

Regardless, my own future stretched before me, utterly bleak.

That narrative was enjoyable only from the perspective of a gamer playing the game.

If one were to actually step into that world, the story would undoubtedly take a very different turn.

Monsters assailing people, transcendent beings inexplicably bent on annihilating the world….

Was I truly expected to survive in a world where such deranged entities ran rampant?

This wasn’t some reality survival show.

“Haha.”

I forced a strained laugh, then ambled back towards the window.

Despite the seemingly desperate circumstances, if I allowed myself a glimmer of optimism, it wasn’t, perhaps, the absolute worst-case scenario.

“……The sky is really pretty.”

For the moment, to collect my scattered thoughts, I resolved to simply gaze out the window and admire the breathtaking scenery.

While not a pristine sky devoid of clouds, the achromatic white of the scattered clouds paradoxically seemed to infuse the vista with a vibrant sense of life.

It was a moment of tranquility I hadn’t experienced in a very long time.

Perhaps, then, it was time to venture outside?