Here begins the tutorial

Of all things, it had to be cards. 

I never liked card games, not even a little. I detest them. I don't understand the logic of HP points and damage because everything depends on who's playing, where, and when.

Setting aside my hatred for cards, another thing I hate is waking up wet. Where I live, during the summer it gets so hot that when I wake up in the mornings, the first thing I feel is the bed drenched in sweat.

I even feel like I'm in a puddle of water...

"Peaches, I am in a puddle of water."

What a funny way to come back to life. There was even a cute girl waiting for me to wake up.

[Hans, I appreciate you calling me cute, but you never died.]

She had a cute red explorer uniform.

[Hans.]

Her skin was reddish and her eyes were golden, like looking at a sunset.

[Stop.]

She seemed to be around-

[Hans! Stop! What are you doing?]

"I'm trying to think." Could she read minds? All of this is weird. I don't know what's happening, but at the same time, I do.

I just died and now I'm in some strange place, but I don't feel panicked or scared. For some reason, I felt quite calm, as if this strange situation was normal.

All this information, things I didn't know, things I knew, and things I couldn't remember. It felt strange and at the same time, it didn't. Like floating on a cold, calm lake.

[Is it possible you feel cold because you're in that puddle?]

"Carrots, that's true."

I got up and looked around.

I was in a cave, damp and dimly lit. 

What seemed to be the exit was up a small slope, and near the entrance there was a poster touching the ceiling. Between me and the exit, only Anary stood.

Wait, how do I know her name?

[There are things you will know and others you won't until you see them with your own eyes.]

"You're some sort of guide, right?"

[I don't need to tell you much, thanks to the information in your head. But something I must do is guide you to the nearest safe point and give you your card.]

Guide me to a safer place? But with that poster, this is a safe place. In fact, I should establish my base here.

[Stop, all you would achieve here is being expelled from Littera in the first week. The monsters would climb the mountain and you wouldn't be able to defend this poster alone. Moreover, if you bring more people, your base won't be very safe.]

We were on a mountain? I thought we were underground. Certainly, a mountain would be difficult to climb and descend. Defending this place must be quite a challenge as well.

I lay down to think better. I couldn't shake off the feeling that something was missing. I had a vague sense of something missing, like a cold feeling invading my mind.

[That's because you went back into the puddle. Didn't you say you hated being wet?]

What I said was that I hate waking up drenched in sweat.

[You know what, just take your card. Get ready to leave.]

Anary handed me a card. The back of the card was brown, with a beautiful design and a lion drawn on it. On the front, the beautiful designs continued; there was a woman with gray hair and ghostly white skin, red eyes, and strange clothing. She was holding a sword and had a sad look, as if she had lost a pet.

#[Rin] [Agile] [Level 0] [Normal – Common]#

#[Description: Rin comes from the far east. After the fall of her country when she was young, she and her sister traveled for days until they reached the southern empire.]#

"Huh? The card is level zero… What the Peaches is this, is it a joke? In what kind of game are cards level zero? Worse yet, it doesn't even have an active passive. How am I supposed to survive the week?"

Wait, how do I level up the card? Wait, how do I level up myself? Nuts, the previous chapter didn't explain anything about how to level up. What am I going to do?

[What crime did I commit in my past life?]

.

.

.

.

We had left the cave, the exit was a bit steep and a bit uncomfortable because of the dirt. The light made my eyes hurt momentarily before they adjusted to the incredible landscape.

In front of me, an incredible forest stretched as far as I could see. The trees surrounded everything like an endless sea, some giant white rocks could be seen in the distance, and what seemed to be some kind of castle far off.

"Are we going to-"

[No. That place is the base of an orc boss. If you want to die, you can try to take it back. That place used to be an ancient castle, one full of incredible warriors. When you become a king, I recommend trying to take it back.]

If at this point a king hasn't risen, who says I can do it?

We began to descend the mountain and little by little the view changed. The descent wasn't difficult, but when we reached the forest, I felt a strange sensation of courage and curiosity. Something was pushing me to enter and run.

Just when I was about to enter, Anary stood in front of me.

[Well, this is where my job begins. It's time for the tutorial.]

Auto mode is temporarily activated.

Selecting card…. Card-

[Use the card I gave you. I will teach you myself.]

This… wasn't what I thought.

Anary explained how to summon the cards. I just had to throw the card with enough force for it to activate. Once I did, the card emitted an intense light and for a few seconds, I saw the bright silhouette of my card form.

The card Rin has been summoned.

When it finished, the card had a curved, single-edged sword, strange white and red clothing. She was barefoot and her ghostly pale skin gave her a touch of coldness. Her sad red eyes looked at me as if to kill me. The wind lifted her gray hair, hiding her features except for her eyes.

The swift sword, Rin had appeared.