Level 8 in Reality

I was well-versed in the strategies for the tutorial. No, that’s an understatement. I had all the history beyond the tutorial and the entire game practically memorized, having committed it to memory over three years. “I know this field better than anyone.”

I didn’t have time, leisure, or money to spare. Hobbies were a luxury for me, but still, there was one thing I enjoyed. Sitting in front of my decade-old computer in a semi-basement room, I would watch YouTube videos with the quality turned down as low as possible.

“Theoretically, I’m way better than an average player.”

I lacked talent, or so I was told. In a world like Player’s World that valued talent above all, “no talent” implied that effort alone couldn’t take you to the top. Devoid of such talent, I could only watch dungeon strategy videos on YouTube and let my imagination soar.

“Even if it’s a baby goblin, it’s very difficult to catch with Level 1 abilities.”

That statement meant nothing to me. Though plain hunting might be difficult, I knew their weakness. “Goblin’s weakness.” As expected of a low-level monster, goblins have a vulnerability that makes them easy to defeat.

Kyik! Kikikyik!

The baby goblin was still focused on slicing at the ankle of a young girl. “Nape.” I took a deep breath. “The center of the nape.” There was a big black spot in the center. If hit correctly, it could kill a goblin in one shot. In essence, goblins are easy to conquer if you know their weakness. It’s their numbers due to their tendency to flock that poses the real problem.

“Inventory.” A faint light appeared from my hand, and an item materialized in my grasp. The spectacle was not surprising to me. [You have equipped a Rusty Sword.] I crept up behind the baby goblin. “Stab.”

For someone who struggled to kill a large cockroach, this required gritting my teeth. “Die!” I thrust the rusty sword forcefully into the back of the baby goblin’s neck.

Puwook!

Through the tip of the blade, through the handle of the sword, and through my hand, I felt a chilling sensation as the blade penetrated the flesh. “Done, it’s done.” He was killed in one blow.

Puwak!

Blood splattered, some of it reaching my clothes, but I didn’t mind. I didn’t have the luxury to care. [You have hunted a baby goblin.] [You have gained experience points.] Though invisible to the eye, I could sense the experience bar filling. It’s just a sensation that automatically appears in my mind. About a third of the experience bar filled up.

“I really caught it.” And in one hit no less. Even for a baby goblin, to kill it in one hit implies a stroke of luck that’s hard to put into words. “Lucky.”

For a complete beginner, and regardless of how high the initial stats are, it’s exceptionally rare to kill a monster in one hit. “Or… is it luck?” I’m not sure. It seems right to regard it as luck, but… “Why is it so easy?” It was oddly easy. Too easy to just chalk up to “having good luck.” It felt as though my hands were accustomed to this, as if I had been playing all along.

BJ (Broadcast Jockey) Senia seemed equally surprised by the situation. Her lips moved slightly, whispering softly, probably broadcasting this to the Guardians. [A Level 1 player has instantly killed a baby goblin with a single attack.] Though she spoke calmly, her wing tips were trembling—a characteristic of angelic BJs, who show tremors in their wings when emotionally stirred.

For now, I decided to focus on the pressing matters before me. “Get up.” The girl’s eyes were unfocused. “Snap out of it. If you don’t follow me properly, I’ll leave you behind.” The threat of being “left behind” seemed to jolt her back to awareness. “I-I’ll follow.”

I moved first. Time was of the essence. Soon, a second wave of attacks would start.

***

I entered a convenience store. Glancing over, the girl had managed to follow despite being half out of it. I locked the door. Senia, amidst a horde of goblins, stood regally alone, capturing the scene. She seemed to have designated me as her main target, staying not too far from my vicinity.

“Don’t open this door no matter what happens.” “……” “Did you get that?”

I could tell the girl was profoundly shocked. However, there’s no room for coddling in the tutorial field, where 145,000 out of 150,000 people die. I wouldn’t be so foolish as to risk my own life just to take care of a child. “Answer me. Do you understand?” The girl nodded.

“No matter who comes or screams to open it, never open it.” “Okay, I promise.”

The girl was utterly terrified. To her, I must’ve become both a lifesaver and a monster who murdered a fearsome green beast with a knife. It’s understandable that she’s frightened.

[A second goblin attack is about to start.] [Setting up of safe zones has begun.]

I asked her, “You hear the notifications too, right?” “Notification?” “The voice in your head.” “Ah…” Apparently, she took the “notification” to be some sort of hallucination. “What did it say?”

“It said the attack is about to start… that there are safe zones being set up…” “Where?”

“Schools and convenience stores. Hospitals are also set as safe zones.” “Right.”

The girl had also awakened as a player. ‘She even heard the hospital.’ People with average talent hear ‘convenience store.’ Those with exceptional talent hear ‘hospital.’ That’s the common knowledge. ‘But I heard up to the hospital?’

But I received more of the notification. [Additionally, an extra safe zone has been set at D Tower’s parking lot on the second floor.]

I glanced at the girl. ‘She didn’t seem to have heard it?’ Since she remained silent, it seemed she didn’t catch the part about ‘D Tower parking lot on the second floor.’ ‘What’s going on?’

I was a bit confused. Besides the hospital, there was another safe zone. I had never heard of such a thing. People know me as the tutorial conqueror, ‘Martial King’ Ma Sang-Hyun, and it was not recorded in my memoirs. None of the players from the past ever mentioned the existence of an additional safe zone in the tutorial. ‘And of all places, D Tower parking lot?’

Was there a safe zone in the tutorial’s pivotal field, the ‘D Tower’? This was an undisclosed fact. [Safe zone setup is complete.] [The second goblin attack begins.]

I had to steel myself. Hell was about to unfold. Those who couldn’t find a safe zone, those who couldn’t enter in time, they’ll all die. “Never open the door. Actually, don’t even look at the door; turn your back.”

Once a safe zone is set, it’s impossible to forcefully breach it. Even breaking through the glass door becomes impossible. Whether it’s people or monsters, unless they are players or monsters of a rank that can surpass the setting, they can’t enter. ‘There are no such beings in the tutorial.’

The moment someone inside opens the door, the safe zone is deactivated. And I had to witness a horrific scene unfolding.

[The Primordial Mist is starting to disperse.]

The view outside the glass window was gruesome. Corpses were strewn everywhere. It was as if blood-red paint had been splattered all over the city. They weren’t mannequins but real human body parts scattered around, the streets in utter chaos.

“Open the door! Let us in!”

Bangs on the convenience store door from people begging to be let in were evident. There were many of them. I didn’t open the door. ‘Damn it.’

I bit my lip, clenching my fist. ‘This… this is real suffering.’ People were forming small groups outside, trying to resist the goblins, but it was a futile effort against their numbers.

I could only watch as people were massacred and devoured alive, from this place of safety. ‘Damn!’ I didn’t turn away from the scene. I had to take it all in. ‘Remember this.’

I vowed to feed this despicable system that orchestrated this scenario and make the guardians who watched and enjoyed it like a game pay. Sometime. ‘This moment. This scene. Don’t forget.’ My eyes hardened. ‘Never forget.’

***

A day passed. The girl’s name was Kang Seon-hwa, a first-year middle school student. Initially paralyzed by terror, she seemed to recover fairly quickly. Her mental fortitude was stronger than I expected, which was fortunate. Soon she became comfortable with me.

“Can I call you brother?” I nodded slightly. Brother was fine. I certainly wasn’t old enough to be called ‘uncle.’ Though the game says I’m twenty, I presume that’s my current age, making the six-year age difference appropriate.

After about six hours since the second attack started, things became relatively quiet. That meant there were not many survivors left around us.

“Thank you for saving me. I didn’t even thank you properly because I was so scared…” She spoke with welled-up eyes, evidently still shaken by the ordeal. That’s to be expected, though she was quite composed on the outside.

“Meeting you was really a blessing.” “…” “Thank you so much.” “…”

The conversation flowed unusually.

“Please don’t abandon me. I’m really good. I can wash dishes, clean, and organize clothes well.” “…Oh, is that so?”

It was a strange thing for a 14-year-old girl to say. Typically, you don’t just ask someone not to abandon you. Given the situation, maybe she’s terrified of it? I didn’t know what to say in response.

I did save her, but I had my reasons. It wasn’t purely out of kindness. “Forget it. Put away your thanks. We don’t know if we’ll survive to the end.”

“But…” “If needed, I’ll throw you as bait and run away.”

Seon-hwa’s face turned ashen. I wanted to be absolutely clear with her. Another six hours passed, and Seon-hwa seemed to grow more comfortable with me.

“I feel like I can survive with you. It’s still very scary, but…”

Kang Seon-hwa managed a bright smile, trying to appear strong. ‘Cute.’ Her display was quite endearing. This isn’t about appearance. It’s simply cute. Of course, I don’t mean this in a romantic way. Like a niece, perhaps.

“You look so strong.” “If I were strong, I’d be out there killing those bastards by now.”

I pointed outside the window towards goblins staring back and laughing maniacally, smacking the glass as if mocking us. Seon-hwa gasped in fear and, in her seated position, scooted back to hide behind me. She was quite small.

“Aren’t you scared?” “Well…”

I was scared, but my anger and frustration at being helpless were stronger. ‘After the second attack…’

Hiding was the strategy up until the second goblin attack, but it would be different afterward. “I might not be able to keep you safe throughout the 7-day tutorial.” “…”

“I can’t take full responsibility for you either.”

After all, I need to look out for myself. “But I won’t abandon you first. Sleep for now.”

Seon-hwa looked at me with teary eyes, likely thinking I would leave her once she fell asleep. “Hey. I won’t. Unless my life is in immediate danger, trust me and sleep.”

“Really? Can I trust you?” She’s afraid of being left behind. Slightly annoyed, I replied. “Trust me. And what can you do if you don’t?”

“Well, that’s true.”

Kang Seon-hwa was deflated. “So sleep for now. You need to conserve energy.”

“Alright. I’ll do as you say.”

After the second attack, I had to make my way through the littered bodies on the street to a key location. Coincidentally, it was the ‘Gwanghwamun D Tower,’ the same place no one else heard about in the ‘safe zone setting.’