Chapter 3 — The Tutorial The first day passed without anyone knowing what to do. The chamber that had once been filled with shouting had become strangely quiet. Twenty-seven students had been brought to Avoria. One teacher. Twenty-seven players. And none of them knew what would happen when the countdown reached zero. Their teacher had tried to maintain order, but even she seemed lost. She spent most of the day checking on the students and making sure everyone was alright. Food appeared three times a day. Water was provided. Beds had even been placed along the walls. It should have felt comfortable. It didn't. Jaden sat on one of the beds, staring at the ceiling. The countdown continued. [TIME UNTIL FLOOR 1: 6 DAYS] Six days. They had already spent an entire day here. Jaden still hadn't figured out what his ability did. “Hey.” Jaden looked over. Dazim was sitting on the bed beside him. “You've been staring at that thing for hours.” Jaden looked at his status. [ABILITY: COMPREHENSION] [RANK: F] “I'm trying to figure out what this means.” Dazim shrugged. “Maybe there's more to it.” “That's what I'm hoping.” Around them, the other students were doing the same thing. Some were practicing their abilities. Others were talking quietly. A few had completely shut themselves away from everyone else. The S-rank students had already started gathering together. Rayden was one of them. He seemed almost excited about the situation. Jaden couldn't understand how. Their teacher was alive, but everyone could tell she was struggling to keep herself together. Even Aira, the class representative, looked exhausted. Nobody knew what was waiting on the first floor. Nobody knew if they were strong enough. And nobody knew whether they would ever see home again. By the second day, something changed. “Guys!” A student's voice echoed through the room. Everyone looked over. Emily, the D-rank player with Basic Appraisal, was standing in the middle of the chamber. “I found something!” Rayden looked annoyed. “What?” “The status screen.” “We already know about that.” “No, I mean there's more.” Several students gathered around her. Emily opened her status window. Then she pointed toward the bottom. “There's a menu.” Jaden immediately opened his own. He hadn't noticed it before. At the bottom of the screen were several small icons. [STATUS] [ABILITIES] [INVENTORY] [SKILLS] [QUESTS] [MAP] [PARTY] [TUTORIAL] [SETTINGS] Jaden stared. “You've got to be kidding me.” Dazim leaned closer. “Why didn't we see these before?” “They were there.” Jaden tapped [STATUS]. Another screen opened. [PLAYER STATUS] Name: Jaden Age: 16 Level: 1 Class: None Strength: 5 Agility: 7 Intelligence: 14 Luck: 8 Ability: Comprehension Rank: F Jaden stared at the numbers. “Five?” He looked at Strength. Then Agility. Then Intelligence. Almost everything was painfully average or below. He looked at Intelligence. 14 Jaden raised an eyebrow. “At least I'm not completely stupid.” Dazim laughed. “Fourteen is actually pretty high.” “Compared to five, anything looks high.” Dazim opened his own status. Jaden tried to peek. “What's yours?” “None of your business.” “You're literally sitting beside me.” “Still none of your business.” Jaden rolled his eyes and continued exploring the menu. The Ability section contained almost nothing. [COMPREHENSION] [DESCRIPTION UNAVAILABLE.] Jaden frowned. “Still nothing.” He opened Inventory. Empty. Skills. Empty. Quests. Empty. Then he noticed something. [TUTORIAL] Jaden stared at it. “What's this?” Emily answered. “I don't know.” She had already opened it. “Apparently it appeared after we discovered the menus.” Jaden tapped it. The screen changed. [TUTORIAL] Objective: Survive Duration: 5 Days Reward: Tutorial Completion Death: Disabled Jaden read it twice. Then again. “Death disabled?” Dazim looked over his shoulder. “Looks like it.” Jaden stared at the screen. “So it's safe.” Dazim shrugged. “Probably.” Jaden sighed. “Good.” He tapped the button. [ENTER TUTORIAL?] [YES] [NO] Jaden stared at it. Then cursed quietly. “Why did I click this?” Dazim laughed. “You don't have to go.” “I already clicked it.” “Then don't chicken out.” Jaden glared at him. “Thanks for the encouragement.” The screen appeared again. [ENTERING TUTORIAL.] [Please prepare yourself.] Jaden barely had time to wonder what that meant. The room disappeared. --- Jaden landed on his knees. Grass. He immediately looked around. A forest surrounded him. Tall trees blocked out most of the sky. The air smelled different. Damp. Earthy. Real. Jaden slowly stood. “Okay…” Nothing happened. No monsters. No Host. No classmates. Just trees. He opened his status window. It still worked. [TUTORIAL] Objective: Survive for 5 Days Time Remaining: 119:59:54 Jaden stared. “Five days.” He looked around. “That's it?” He had expected something more dramatic. A giant monster. A dungeon. Maybe some kind of boss. Instead, he was standing in a forest. Maybe the tutorial really was safe. After all, the System specifically said death was disabled. Jaden started walking. He decided to find water first. Then shelter. Food would come after that. He wasn't exactly an expert at surviving in the wilderness, but he had read enough books to know that wandering around without a plan was stupid. He followed a small slope downhill. Eventually, he found a stream. “Nice.” He crouched beside it. The water was clear. Jaden cupped his hands. Then stopped. Wait. He stared at the water. There could be parasites. Poison. Something living inside it. Jaden opened his status window. “Comprehension…” Nothing happened. Jaden sighed. “Of course.” He looked around. Still nothing. Maybe the tutorial really was just about survival. He drank a small amount. Nothing happened. “Good.” He continued along the stream. The forest remained quiet. Too quiet. Jaden stopped. He heard something. Crunch. A branch breaking. He slowly turned around. Nothing. “Probably an animal.” Another sound. Crunch. Closer. Jaden backed away. Something moved behind a tree. Then stepped out. Green skin. Short. Ugly. A crude knife in its hand. Jaden's blood went cold. “...Goblin.” The creature stared at him. Jaden stared back. For some reason, his brain immediately began comparing it to every fantasy novel he'd ever read. Small. Humanoid. Poorly equipped. Aggressive. Probably— The goblin charged. “WAIT!” Jaden turned and ran. He didn't even think. His feet moved on their own. Branches slapped against his face. The goblin chased him. Jaden looked over his shoulder. It was faster than him. “Of course it is!” His foot caught a root. He fell. The goblin jumped toward him. Jaden rolled aside. The knife missed his chest. He scrambled backward. “Stay away!” The goblin lunged again. Jaden raised his arm. The knife struck him. Pain exploded through his body. Jaden screamed. He looked down. The knife had pierced his stomach. His mind went blank. For a moment, he couldn't breathe. The goblin pulled the knife away. Jaden collapsed onto the ground. His hands trembled. “Ah…” He couldn't believe it. He was hurt. Actually hurt. The pain was real. His vision blurred. The System appeared. [PLAYER CONDITION: INJURED] [TUTORIAL RULE: DEATH DISABLED] Jaden stared at the second line. His breathing became shaky. “Death…” He remembered the tutorial screen. Death: Disabled. His eyes widened. “So I can't die…” The goblin raised its knife again. Jaden's expression changed. “But that doesn't mean I can't feel pain.” The goblin charged. Jaden rolled away. The knife struck the ground beside him. Jaden crawled backward. His body screamed with every movement. He had assumed the tutorial was safe. That was his mistake. Safe from death. Not from everything else. The goblin attacked again. Jaden grabbed a fallen branch and swung it desperately. The branch hit the goblin's arm. It stumbled. Jaden froze. Something appeared in front of his eyes. Not the normal blue window. Something different. [COMPREHENSION] [Target analyzed.] Jaden stared. The goblin recovered. [Species: Goblin] [Threat Level: Low] [Observed Weakness: Right Knee] [Observed Behavior: Repeated Attack Pattern] Jaden's eyes widened. The goblin charged again. This time, Jaden watched. The movement was predictable. The right foot stepped forward. The knife came from above. Jaden moved sideways. The knife missed. He swung the branch at the goblin's knee. Crack. The goblin fell. Jaden stared. His hands were shaking. The goblin was still alive. Still dangerous. But now— Jaden understood. He tightened his grip around the branch. “Comprehension…” For the first time, the F-rank ability didn't look completely useless. The goblin slowly stood again. Jaden raised the branch. Five days. He had five days to survive. And this was only the tutorial.

Chapter 3: The Tutorial