Chapter 8

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Tutorial stage .

Hell difficulty, 1st floor .

I walked through an empty dark corridor .

Step by step very slowly .

I kept myself curled up like a grub worm and slowly, very slowly went forward while keeping my shield in front of me .

Like, how long is this going to be?

[1st attempt, Day 1 . 1 hour 26 minutes]

Around 5 minutes after I started, I was thinking ‘surely something will come out now?’

So I shortened my steps by half .

After 15 minutes, I was thinking ‘Something will definitely come out now . ’

So I shortened my steps by half .

After 30 minutes, I was thinking ‘Something’s coming out, something’s really coming out!’

So I walked slowly as if I was dragging my feet along the ground .

And, now .

Nothing has come after all this time .

Am I being crazy?

That nice message, the message telling me the time kept bugging me .

Am I wasting this precious time? Is this something like a time-attack mission?

The anxiety and horror in my heart grew and grew .

My body is feeling tired also .

Due to the sword and shield I held in both hands, my arms and shoulders felt stiff .

My back, arms and shoulders were all shaking uncontrollably . It felt like I could hear my muscles making sounds whenever I moved . Sweat was dripping everywhere and I could smell alcohol in my breath .

Fuck . It was already hard enough to keep my sword and shield at shoulder level . With my legs squatting, my back bent forward and my shoulders and neck curled inwards I kept myself behind the shield as much as possible .

I felt like I was dying walking in this position constantly .

I was thinking of just giving all this up and having a rest .

Straightening my back, no, should I just sit down somewhere and have a rest?

No . I still don’t have any information of this place . I shouldn’t brush off this tension, I must stay alert .

I can’t stay at ease at this time .

I’m not sure if I can react to a dangerous situation even if I’m alert and nervous .

Although it’s hard…

I must withstand this for as long as I can .

With a determined mind, I went forward as slow as a turtle .

But then,

[You have learned: Battle concentration Lv . 1]

[You have learned: Will Lv . 1]

‘Uh?’

As the dazed sound came out of my mouth independent of will I stood still .

Although I was determined to not stop, I should probably think a little bit about that new message .

I straightened my back and walked back a few steps .

‘Status bar’

[Lee Ho Jae (Human)]

Strength: 10

Dexterity: 13

Endurance: 11

Intelligence: 21

Skills: Battle concentration Level1 .

Will Level1 .

… So I got some skills .

[Battle Concentration (Lv . 1)]

Description: Your concentration rises in battle . Allows you to stay focused for longer periods of time .

[Will (Lv . 1)]

Description: Increases your will .

They’re both passive skills .

Battle concentration and will . They’re both skills related to the situation I’m experiencing right now .

It feels like I learn new skills dependent on certain situations .

I thought you would naturally learn new skills by levelling up or by getting new items; I guess I was wrong .

If what I’m thinking is right, to learn as many skills I must try more diverse things .

Let’s try different things when I’m in a safer place .

I wonder if Min Sik, Kyung Min and Su Ah found this out by now?

I shook my head as I thought of the other three .

I can’t think of others right now . Let’s focus .

I curled up again and went forward . Slowly .

Thinking danger could come out in any moment, I walked forward for roughly an hour as slow as a snail . Finally, the danger found me .

The reason I could respond to the danger wasn’t because I was alert .

It was because of the shield I held up with my left arm .

Ting!

An arrow flew through the dark and got stuck on my shield .

Not until I felt the recoil from when the arrow hit my shield and gave a shock to my left arm, did I realise an arrow was shot towards me .

Ting!

Once again, an arrow got stuck on my shield .

Where is it coming from?

At that moment, I saw a silver flash in front of my eyes .

Instinctively I held the shield over my head

Ting!

That was close .

Phew…

I didn’t realise the first two arrows, but I definitely saw and dodged the last one .

Lucklily…

Pick!

?? Another arrow…

Pook!

‘AARRRRGGHHHHH!’

The last arrow shot pierced my ankle .

More than half of the arrow had pierced through .

It hurts, it hurts!

‘Aaaaaahhhhhhh…’

For a moment I saw my right ankle with an arrow pierced through it with my shaky vision .

More than half of the arrow had pierced through

I laid on the ground screaming and squirming in pain, but the pain didn’t stop .

The blood gushing out of my ankle pooled the floor and reached my face to coat it .

Even with my chaotic mind due to the pain, as I saw my bright red blood my brain functioned to get me out of this .

The waiting room!

I need to get back to the waiting room!

Following my brains’ final decision made through the excruciating pain, I went back, tracing the steps I took to come here, back to the waiting room .

I tried whatever I could to get back on both feet; however, without being able to stay balanced, I fell .

AARRRRGGGGHHHH! FUCK!

The arrow must’ve grazed the floor as I fell; the pain arose again .

Tears were flowing from my eyes .

I stayed on all fours, and using the sword in my hand like a hook I stuck it in the floor as I dragged myself forward .

My muscles screamed as I crawled with my two hands and one usable leg .

They screamed in pain . Agony .

At the same time, the ankle with the arrow pierced through it screamed as if it were experiencing the most pain .

[You have learned: Pain Tolerance: Lv . 1]

It took me a long, gruelling hour to get to where I was .

Crawling like a lizard with one of my retarded legs, I could see no end to this path .

The crazy speed of my desperate pain-induced crawling was slowing down .

‘Pant, pant, pant . ’

The pain subsided from a fresh deep piercing pain to a more compressed and controlled pain .

It must’ve been adrenaline or some shit, but it felt like my brain was finally functioning .

I kept moving forward, even as I was moving forward I kept checking my body status .

I didn’t know if the leg with the arrow pierced through it became paralyzed or something, other than the pain I didn’t feel anything . I tried moving my toes but they didn’t move . No, I didn’t even know if they moved or not, because I couldn’t feel them .

[You have learned: Pain Tolerance Lv . 2]

[You have learned: Haemorrhage Tolerance Lv . 1]

Fucking tolerance my ass . I felt no effect .

My normal leg and both my arms and shoulders were trembling all over .

‘Pant . Pant . Pant . ’

My lungs warned me to stop the physical exercise and demanded more air .

I could hear a high pitched ringing in my ear, maybe due to excessive haemorrhage .

I could feel a chill on my head of ever-rising temperature .

I stole the sweat drops of my arm and laid them on my face . It was still as hot as a bonfire .

Then, the chill I felt on my face was . . .

At that moment, I felt a growing dizziness and my vision started to fade .

The word ‘Death’ flashed in my head .

Think of this as a game? You fucking idiot!

This pain, this feeling . It’s real!

Death will be real too .

I couldn’t see anything anymore .

I tried rubbing my eyes, pushing on my eyelids and opening my eyes again, but I saw nothing .

In this pitch black place, relying on the faint senses on my arms and legs, I moved .

Luckily the corridor was a straight line .

If I ignored the stone floor I felt on my arms and legs, the only thing I could feel were my own tears rolling down my face .

I thought my tears had all dried up as I crawled my way through this misery, but the pressure of death let my tears flow once more .

Still, I didn’t give up and allowed my arms and legs to play in this darkness .

I didn’t want to die here in misery .

I don’t want to die .

Even if I die I shouldn’t die like this .

Never will I die like this .

How long has it been since I started crawling,

I wonder how far I’ve crawled .

Am I even crawling forward?

A flood of drowsiness filled my head .

I couldn’t feel any part of my body anymore .

It is said that the most extreme feeling of pleasure a human can experience is the feeling right before death .

I’ve seen some perverts on the internet actually die by strangling themselves in attempt to feel this extreme pleasure .

Fuck, sure as hell do I understand them . I want to rely on this drowsiness . Instead of denying and struggling, I just want to stay relaxed .

Is it going to end like this?

Because of a moment of carelessness?

No . I won’t become careless . I’ll stay aware of my surroundings and slowly…

It was an attack I couldn’t detect or even block with my skills .

If I didn’t have a shield, the first arrow would’ve pierced through my heart and I would’ve died there in an instant .

Just why…

(voooooommmm)

[Travel to 1st floor waiting room?]

End