Tutorial

People can be categorized into different types.

Starting with men and women, you can also distinguish between white, black, and yellow people by skin color, by country of birth, by date, by region, by blood type, by weight, by place of work, by kinship, by education, by age, and even by which restaurant they ate at or did not eat at.

There are many ways to categorize people, but the way I see it, there are only three kinds of people.

Heroes, criminals, and villains.

This doesn't mean much.

When I say heroes, I don't mean great people. A criminal isn't necessarily a common crook. Similarly, a villain does not have to be the bad guy, although they may share some characteristices with the stereotypes we usually associate with these roles.

It's all a matter of judgment based on your perception.

...So which side am I on?

Isn't it obvious?

Without a shadow of a doubt, I am an unquestionably evil person.

"Ughhhh...."

The man let out a groan as excruciating pain surged through his head.

After enduring the intense pain that left him immobile, the sensation gradually subsided. It took a considerable amount of time before he could muster the strength to open his eyes. Even then, he remained in a state of bewilderment, his gaze fixed ahead for a brief moment.

He found himself in a disheveled and cluttered room, illuminated by dim lighting. Based on the architectural style, it appeared to be a section of a larger building.

In the room, there were a total of four individuals, including himself: three men and one woman.

The man proceeded to wake up the other three individuals.

It wasn't too challenging to rouse them, although they winced as they sat up, perhaps experiencing the same excruciating headache that plagued me.

"Ah... what the hell."

"What's wrong? What's going on?"

"Where am I?"

The three individuals sat up, each expressing their own bewildered impressions.

However, their reactions were varied. The man with golden hair was cursing and pacing around, his brows furrowed as he tried to make sense of the situation. The high school girl in uniform had retreated to the corner, curling up into a ball. The last man to awaken looked around in shock, taking in his surroundings.

"Alright, everyone, let's have a talk!"

His words were met with unfriendly stares, but undeterred, he raised his voice, as if accustomed to such situations.

"Regardless of how we ended up here, it's important for all of us to stay calm."

"Calm? What the hell are you talking about? What's your role in this situation?!"

"Boom!"

Out of nowhere, the blonde-haired man charged like a bull, pinning him against the wall. The high school girl screamed, and the other man could only fidget nervously. Eventually, the pinned man let out a sigh and delivered a knee to the blond's chest.

It was only a single blow, but it was enough to send the blond man staggering back, clutching his chest. Sensing the escalating tension, a lanky man standing at the side decided to intervene.

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Daniel Kim, and I woke up here just like all of you."

"You expect us to believe that you were the first one to wake up?" the blond man retorted sarcastically.

Joining the conversation, the man who had been pinned down spoke up. "My name is Ethan Yoo," he asserted.

Upon hearing Ethan's unexpected interjection, the high school girl also felt compelled to reveal her name.

"I'm Maya Johnson," she said, her voice trembling slightly.

In this strange moment, as Daniel, Ethan, and Maya each voiced their names, an odd sense of unity began to permeate the room. The blond man, feeling the weight of their introductions, reluctantly spoke up.

"Damn it. My name is Alex Shin."

Once they had exchanged names, the initial excitement began to subside. Just as someone was about to speak up, a small blue window suddenly appeared in front of them.

Starter Quest:

Rank: Tutorial

Title: Introduce Yourself!

Description: Knowing someone's name is the first step in getting to know them. It takes courage to overcome the awkwardness and share your own name.

Reward: Reputation +5

"What is this?" Ethan's voice was filled with frustration as he gestured at the air. He wasn't the only one shaking his head in disbelief. Daniel mirrored his confusion, while Maya's eyes blinked repeatedly, indicating that this strange vision was not unique to any one of them.

After blinking her eyes several times, Maya raised her hand and spoke up.

Maya: "...I can't be the only one seeing something weird right now, right?"

Alex: "Ha, fuck. Did I drink too much last night? What the hell kind of hallucination is this?"

Ethan: "Alright, let's calm down for a second. I don't know what's going on here, but it looks like everyone has a window called 'Starter Quest' in front of their eyes, right?"

Daniel: "Yep. Unless all four of us are having the same hallucination, I'm pretty sure I saw a window that said 'Introduce Yourself'."

Alex: "What the hell is going on here... Let's gather everyone. I think we all need to talk."

Maya: "You're such a jerk. Why are you suddenly trying to take the lead, huh?!"

Ethan: "Hey! Is that important right now?! We need to figure out what's going on!"

Alex: "Ha, you're just a damn high schooler, huh?"

It was a chaotic five minutes, to say the least.

Daniel tried to defuse the situation, Alex cursed, Maya tried to stop him, and Ethan worked on calming things down.

"I think you should stay quiet."

"What? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Look over there...."

The three pairs of eyes focused on Ethan's pointing finger. It led to a partially broken door, and what caught their attention was a man on the other side. He was wearing blood-red armor and contorting his body in bizarre, jerking movements that resembled breakdancing. He looked like someone possessed in a horror movie.

"Geeeeeeeeee...."

Just as the man groaned and stepped into the room, another small window appeared before everyone's eyes.

Quest:

-Rating: Tutorial.

-Title: Survival, Slaugther, Escape.

-Description: You have entered the world of The Misson! They say actions speak louder than words. Now it's time for you to experience it firsthand. Survive against a group of people possessed by evil spirits.

-Objectives:

Survival: Stay alive inside the building. Complete this objective by surviving for one day or being the last one standing.

Slaugther: Defeat all the demonic possessors in the building.

Escape: Find a way out, whether it exists or not, and successfully escape.

"Damn!"

Alex let out a curse, but nobody reprimanded him. They were all too terrified by the live, breakdancing monster bleeding before them.

"Kaaaaaah!"

"Everyone, step back!"

"Kaaaaaaaah!"

"Find a weapon!"

As everyone reacted, Daniel was the first to take action. To everyone's surprise, he raised his arms to shield his face and charged at the monster, throwing punches at its face. Had he learned boxing? After a few solid hits, the demon staggered backward. Daniel turned to the panic-stricken group behind him and shouted,

"Listen up, everyone! We can take this bastard down. There's only one of him and four of us!"

Motivated by Daniel's proclamation, the others started moving, searching for anything that could serve as a weapon.

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Inside a control room, screens displayed four individuals bravely fending off a menacing monster.

"Has it begun?"

"Yes, the tutorial has just started."

"Hmm. These people are rather peculiar, aren't they?"

The old man, idly toying with his goatee, lightly flicked his hand, conjuring a massive screen before him. It displayed the room with Daniel, Alex, Ethan, and Maya. The old man's interest was piqued by the swift initiation of the tutorial.

Among the thousands of videos featuring the same room with different people, theirs was the only one where the monster appeared.

"I can't quite make sense of it from this vantage point. Why did they start so quickly?"

"Do you see the blond guy over there? His name is Alex, and he woke up quite early."

"Early?"

"Yes. What's peculiar about him is that he was the first one to awaken and grasp most of the system's workings."

The first person to wake up among the four is awarded the title of "The early bird gets...".

This title likely signifies their ability to notice something unusual. However, the crucial point to note here is not just the title itself, but rather Alex's understanding of the system, including the status window and skill window.

"What's more, after he figured out the system, he seamlessly blended in with the others and pretended to faint."

"Heh, heh, heh, heh, he's quite clever."

Finally, the old man grasped the situation.

Tutorial quests are designed with a basic understanding of the system in mind.

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System: "You have completed the quest and met the tutorial start condition. The quest is about to commence."

Alex: "This is exciting. It's incredibly fascinating. I can't believe I figured out the system on my own before everyone else woke up."

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"We need to address this matter. His behavior is indeed intriguing, but it's unfair to everyone else. Why don't we modify the trigger to a specific time after all four individuals have awakened?"

"Does it really make a difference?"

"Perhaps not in the main quest, but this is the tutorial quest. We should provide a fair starting point, at the very least."

The man casually waved his hand, as if convinced by the old man's words. However, the old man couldn't tear his eyes away from the video playing before him.

"Oooooh, look at that!"