Chapter 14

Tutorial 1st Floor (Part 7)

[The trial will begin in 30 seconds]

There was apparently 30 seconds to go until the damned trial began .

Sigh .

First, I jumped to the rock in the centre .

2 metres .

My body had become somewhat abnormal thanks to the modification from the stats and skills . Making a 2m jump while standing still was an easy feat .

But still, the fact that one slip would result in my death from the lava made my heart quiver a little .

Phew, I managed to land on the centre rock with my right foot .

I was afraid that my body might lose balance during the landing but surprisingly, I managed to stay balanced .

Of course my heart was in a state of great disturbance .

Among the rocks which were positioned in a 3×3 formation, I stood in the centre and remembered the position of the other rocks without mistake .

And,

Ping!

An arrow flew without warning .

***

Huak .

Bending my knee, I barely dodged the arrow that was coming towards my face .

Standing on this circular rock made dodging arrows a difficult task .

So, I can't just dodge the arrows as easily as I thought .

Ping!

There were some arrows thatmade loud noises .

These arrows usually fly much faster, and on impact, would be more lethal .

I had to dodge these arrows .

If I block it with my shield, I'll fly backward from the impact .

Tik .

But I can't dodge all the arrows .

I couldn't maintain a proper stance while trying to dodge the arrows at the same time . .

With no other choice left, I raised my shield and deflected the incoming arrow with the edge of my shield .

It's a very difficult technique for a novice who has never had proper training, and using it made me sweat on my back every time .

I managed to get a shield skill from deflecting some of the arrows while evading all the others .

[Basic Shield Skill Lv . 2]

Whad'ya know, its level 2 already .

All this time I thought it was the action and how much the action is performed that was basis of skill formation .

But within an extremely stressful situation, the shield skill grew rapidly in such a short time .

And I'm surviving thanks to that .

There was no end to the arrows . .

Rather than dodging or blocking them, I jumped backward .

A backspin .

I flew without even looking back, but I was quite confident of myself .

Confident that I wouldn't slip on the landing .

I figured out something since the boss room trial began .

That Heightened Senses was an incredibly overpowered skill .

Heightened senses not only improved sight, touch, taste, smell and hearing, but also it also included all the other senses that a human may have .

If my sense of balance wasn't enhanced from the multiple tries of the rope trap before, I would have fallen in the lava a long time ago .

And if I didn't have the bonus from the Heightened Senses skill which improved not just the 5 senses, but also balance, direction and body control, I would be swimming in the lava .

I landed perfectly on the rock 2m behind me .

I twisted my waist to dodge the arrow that was fired when I landed .

My balance was shaken, but I managed to recover by swinging my arms .

Hiss

Damn it!

My clothes was caught on fire .

I don't even remember when it happened .

Was it when I jumped to the other rock, or when I ducked to dodge the arrow?

Anyway it didnt matter anymore, the moment it touched the lava it was set ablaze . .

Ping, ping, ping .

Did they know that I was on fire?

The number of oncoming arrows suddenly increased .

I wanted to cut the clothes, or rub it or do anything to get the fire under control, but with these arrows, I didn't have a chance to .

As I dodged the arrows forcefully, the flames on my clothing became larger and larger .

"Uaaaah! FU! CK!"

I moved to the rock on the right as I screamed .

The arrows were getting to the point where it was impossible to dodge them while standing still .

I had to continuously move to dodge them .

Meanwhile, the flames continued to grow and was already burning my torso .

I have heard that the worst pain a human could feel was from a burn .

Nothing could top the execruciating pain from being burned alive in this hell of arrows .

If only my senses were dulled .

I was desperate to lose conciousness .

But the moment I lose my focus, I'd fall into the lava and perish .

[You have received Pain Resistance Lv . 9]

TLN: For all the tolerance skills, changed from Tolerance -> Resistance .

[You have received Burn Resistance Lv . 1]

I've thought to myself multiple times, but these resistance skills are useless .

Pain was still pain, damn it .

These resistance skills improved the body and the mind's tolerance, but not lessen the pain .

The fire was now spread around my entire shirt .

The thick smoke began to shoot up my face .

I couldn't think straight as the smoke began to sting my eyes and nose .

My mind fell into misery from the sudden encroaching of death .

As I leapt toward the rock in front of me, I ripped the shirt with my strength .

And because of that, I lost my balance from the landing, and an arrow pierced my right arm as I tried to regain my balance .

It's alright .

I could still take it .

They said the trap will continue for 5 minutes .

Its a death trap full of lava, but I'm doing rather well .

I only got hit once at this point in time .

Ting-

I deflected another arrow .

Good news!

And there is also a bad news .

My ankle caught fire .

I kneww for sure now .

The damn lava made anything that got close to it, even without direct contact, catch fire .

Damn it, there's no way I could take my pants off amidst the barrage of arrows . It was impossible .

My only choice was to continue while withstanding the pain from the burns .

Man, how much time had past?

I'm sure it had already been 5 minutes .

But the traps didn't seem like it was going to stop any time soon .

The entire world seemed to move slow .

The flying arrows, and the shield trying to block the arrows .

Even the bubbles forming on the lava .

As the world began to slow down in my mind, my vision became wider .

Was it similar to how professional sports players felt when they were extremely focused .

Or was it similar to the vision of death where you see your past flash before your eyes .

Only after a few minutes of the trap and I was already on death's doorstep from each passing moment .

A flying arrow .

The arrow was aimed at my stomach .

Calmly, with no hesitation, I deflect ited with my shield .

There was no impact in the process .

I managed to redirect all force the arrow had in it .

Now I looked for the next one .

It was coming straight inbetween my eyes .

Large movements were dangerous .

I bent my neck and shoulder with as minimal movement as possible .

My lower body hardly moved .

I was confident that I would dodge that arrow .

I watched the arrow fly past me as I tilted my head .

From the tip, to the shaft, to its feathers .

I could see everything clearly in this slow world .

If it was a baseball instead of an arrow, I felt like I could see all the individual strings on it .

Once the arrow finally flew past the side of my head, I looked for the next arrow .

There were no more .

The pain was still there, but the flames on my pants were gone .

The lava below my feet began to disappear, slowly .

The wall opposite to where I came from crumbled, making a path .

This really was a bridge huh .

Jumping across the few rocks, I headed towards the path .

[Congratualtions . You have cleared the Tuturial, Hell difficulty, Floor 1 . ]

[All status effects and injuries are healed . ]

[You have received 1000 points for clearing the floor . ]

[You have received 1000 points for being the first to clear the floor . ]

[There is a god that has taken interest in you . You have received 500 points . ]

[You will receive additional reward proportional to your play record . ]

[You have received Wind Spirit's Protection Lv . 1]

[Please continue . ]

My entire body shone with light and all injuries were healed, as if I had leveled up .

I'v done it .

At the same time, multiple messages appeared before my eyes .

If I were to continue, I had to go through this path .

Before pressing on, I should check first .

Status Window .

[Lee Ho Jae (Human)]

Lv . 6

Strength: 12

Dexterity: 31

Endurance: 16

Mana: 22

Skills: Battle Concentration Lv . 7, Willpower Lv . 3, Awakening Lv . 1, Night Vision Lv . 2, Light Radius/Eye Lights Lv . 1, Sprint Lv . 1, Heightened Senses Lv . 3, Basic Swordsmanship Lv . 1, Cut Lv . 1, Basic Shield Skill Lv . 2, Wind Spirit's Protection Lv . 1, Pain Resistance Lv . 9, Bleed resistance Lv . 4, Stun Resistance Lv . 1, Piercing Resistance Lv . 1, Burn Resistance Lv . 1

Extra: God of Adventure has taken an interest in you .

My level didn't increase among all that .

Shouldn't you atleast be given one for effort .

The new skills I received were Shield Skill and Burn Resistance .

Furthermore, Pain Resistance leveled up .

And the reward for clearing Floor 1, Wind Spirit's Protection .

From what I've seen in Community, most additional prizes were potions, consumable scrolls or items such as accessories .

I had never heard of receiving skills as a reward .

As it stated, the reward was proportional to the play record . It seemed all the bullshit that I've went through weren't for nothing afterall .

[Wind Spirit's Protection Lv . 1]

Description: A newly born Wind Spirit's protection is with you .

Dexterity +10

Althoughthe skill's effect was just an increase of Dexterity by 10, it was still an incredible help .

Considering that stat rewards for level ups ranged from 1 to 4, an increase of 10 was quite significant .

I closed the window, and continued down the dark path .

As my body began to relax from all the stress, my limbs were being dragged as if I were exhausted, even when I should have been fully healed .

A message appeared and I quietly replied, enter .

After a moment's feeling like I was afloat, I arrived on green plains .

What was this?

It looked like The Hobbit Village from Lord of the Rings .

And on the very plains was a girl in a white onepiece dress, crouching .

The girl was . . .

"A rabbit?"