Tutorial

People can be divided into various types.

From man and woman to skin color—white, black, yellow—depending on the country they were born in, the date, the region, blood type, weight, occupation, family ties, school connections, regional ties, and even whether they ate at a certain restaurant or not, they can be categorized.

While it's possible to classify them in so many ways, from my perspective, people can be divided into just three kinds.

Hero, ordinary person, villain.

It's not like there's some grand meaning behind it.

A hero doesn't necessarily refer to great figures. An ordinary person doesn't strictly mean just average people. Likewise, a villain isn't unconditionally a bad guy. Of course, there's some overlap with how the world generally sees it, but still.

It's all judged based on my own standards.

…So, which one am I?

Isn't that obvious?

Without the slightest room for doubt, I was unmistakably a villain.

"Uuuuugh…"

With a groan, a sharp pain surged into my head.

The agony was so intense that I couldn't move even a little, but after some time passed, it gradually began to subside. Only after a long while could the man finally open his eyes. And in that moment, amidst the flood of confusion, he couldn't help but tilt his head.

He had no choice but to do so. What he saw before him was a scene so far removed from the daily life he was used to.

Was he inside some abandoned building? The worn-out surroundings, a dim lightbulb casting faint illumination, and four people inside a room that was an absolute mess.

Three men and one woman.

For now, it seemed waking these four up would get the story moving.

Waking the four wasn't particularly difficult.

Though, just like him, they seemed to be suffering from severe headaches, as they grimaced sharply while getting up.

"Ah…, what the fuck."

"W-What's going on?"

"W-Where are we!"

The three people rose, each voicing their own reactions.

However, their actions were all different. The man with golden-dyed hair spat out curses, still unable to grasp the situation, clutching his forehead with a furrowed brow and sitting with his eyes closed. The high school girl in a uniform shrank into a corner, crouching down. And the last man to get up was startled, constantly looking around.

Thinking that he needed to calm this situation somehow, the man clapped his hands loudly and said,

"Everyone, look over here!"

Even though the gazes directed at him couldn't be called friendly by any stretch—not even as a joke—he seemed used to this kind of situation. Realizing their attention was focused on him, he raised his voice and said,

"For now, putting aside why we ended up in this situation, I think we all need to think calmly."

"Calmly? What fucking calm! Fuck! You're involved in this situation, aren't you?!"

"Ugh!"

Suddenly, the blond charged like a bull, grabbing him and slamming him against the wall. In the sudden chaos, the high school girl screamed loud enough to shake the room, while the other man fidgeted, unsure of what to do. Finally, the man pinned against the wall let out a small sigh, grabbed the blond's back, and delivered a knee strike to his chest.

It was just one blow, but the blond clutched his chest, staggering and stepping back. Before the situation could worsen further, the man spoke first.

"My name is Kim Chang-seok! I woke up here just like the rest of you!"

"Bullshit. You expect me to believe that? I don't know what's going on, but…"

"M-My name is Yu Seong-hun!"

Interrupting the sudden outburst, the high school girl also revealed her name.

"I'm Yu Mi-na!"

It was abrupt, but once they started introducing themselves, the atmosphere shifted strangely. Following Chang-seok, Seong-hun and Mi-na gave their names, and naturally, the blond—who had been causing a ruckus without introducing himself—couldn't avoid doing the same.

"Damn it. What the hell is going on? My name's Shin Pil-seop."

Once they knew each other's names, the tension seemed to ease a little. And just as someone was about to speak, a small window appeared before their eyes.

**Quest.**

- Grade: Tutorial

- Introduce Yourself! (In Progress)

- Knowing someone's name is the very first step to getting closer to them. Overcoming awkwardness and revealing your name takes considerable courage.

- Reward: Fame +5

"What is this?"

Seong-hun's voice, filled with disbelief, was the first to break the silence. He began waving his hands in the air. It wasn't just him—Chang-seok shook his head, and Mi-na repeatedly closed and opened her eyes. From their reactions, it seemed this strange hallucination wasn't something only one of them could see.

After blinking several times, Mi-na raised her hand and said,

"Uh… I'm not the only one seeing something weird in front of me right now, right?"

"Ha, fuck. Did I drink too much yesterday? What kind of hallucination is this?"

"Wait, calm down. We don't know what's happening, but right now, there's a window called a 'Basic Quest' in front of all of us, right?"

"Yes. Unless all four of us are hallucinating at the same time, it seems a window with the content 'Introduce Yourself' has appeared."

"What the hell is this situation… Anyway, everyone gather up. I think we need to talk this over."

"Old geezer. Why are you suddenly trying to take charge, huh?!"

"Hey! Is that important right now?! Figuring out the situation comes first!"

"Ha, fucking high school brat acting all high and mighty, huh?!"

It was a situation that perfectly fit the phrase "five minutes before total chaos."

Chang-seok tried to take control, Pil-seop spewed profanities, Mi-na tried to stop Pil-seop, and it was Seong-hun who finally calmed the mess.

"You all need to quiet down."

"What? What's this bastard suddenly saying?"

"Over there…"

The three turned their gazes to where Seong-hun's finger pointed. It was directed at a half-broken door. The problem was that beyond it stood a man, drenched in blood, twisting his body grotesquely as if breakdancing.

He moved like a dancer—no, if a comparison had to be made, he was more like a possessed person from a horror movie.

"Grrrrr…"

As the man let out a groan and stepped into the room, another small window appeared before everyone's eyes.

**Quest.**

- Grade: Tutorial

- Survival, Slaughter, Escape

- You've roughly grasped the world of *The Mission*! There's a saying: "Seeing is believing." Now it's time to experience it firsthand rather than just hear explanations. Survive against people possessed by evil spirits.

- Conditions for Completion:

1. Survival: Survive inside the building. Complete by surviving one day or being the last one standing.

2. Slaughter: Complete by eliminating all the evil spirit-possessed beings in the building.

3. Escape: Complete by finding an escape route, if one even exists.

"Fucking hell."

An unpleasant sound came from Pil-seop's mouth, but no one called him out on it. They were curious about the term *The Mission*, but more than that, the "evil spirit-possessed" figure in front of them was overwhelmingly terrifying. Want to watch a horror movie?

If a monster breakdancing and dripping blood stood right in front of you, you'd never think that again.

*Creak.*

"Kraaaah!"

"Everyone, get back!"

"Kyaaaah!"

"Weapons, weapons!"

Amid their varied reactions, the first to act was Chang-seok. Astonishingly, he raised both arms to guard his face, charged at the monster, and threw a punch straight at its head. Had he trained in boxing or something?

After taking a few jabs, the evil spirit staggered backward. Turning to the panicked group behind him, Chang-seok shouted first.

"Everyone, grab something! There's only one of them! If all four of us attack, we can kill it!"

Spurred by Chang-seok's yell, the flustered three began moving to find anything they could use as a weapon.

"Did it start?"

"Yes. The tutorial just began."

"Hmm. These people are a bit unusual, aren't they?"

An old man fiddling with his goatee lightly snapped his fingers, and soon a massive screen appeared before him. On it was the room with Chang-seok, Pil-seop, Seong-hun, and Mi-na (presumably a typo for Yu-na in the original). The reason the old man took an interest was that the tutorial had started far too quickly.

Around him, thousands of videos showed similar rooms with other people, but the only one where a monster had appeared was theirs.

"I started watching midway, so I don't know what's what. Why did it begin so fast?"

"Do you see the blond one? That's Shin Pil-seop. He woke up pretty early."

"Woke up early?"

"Yes. What's unusual is that after waking, he figured out most of the system first."

The one who wakes up earliest among the four receives the title 「The Early Bird…」.

He likely noticed something odd after seeing that title and acted on it. However, what's noteworthy isn't just earning the title—it's that he figured out the system, like the status window or skill window.

"On top of that, after grasping the system, Shin Pil-seop blended in with the others and pretended to be unconscious."

"Hohohoho! What a cunning fellow."

Only then did the old man understand how this situation came to be.

The official start condition for the tutorial quest is based on the moment someone roughly understands the system.

"By completing the quest, he met the conditions to start the tutorial. That's why it began."

"Interesting. Very interesting."

While everyone else was waking up and rousing those around them, this guy figured out the system all on his own.

"This is something we need to fix. His actions are fascinating, but it's far too unfair to the others. How about changing the trigger condition to activate after all four are awake and a certain amount of time has passed?"

"Does it really matter?"

"It might not matter in the main quest, but this is strictly a tutorial quest. At the very least, the start should be fair."

Seemingly convinced by the old man's words, the other man lightly waved his hand. Still, the old man couldn't tear his eyes away from the scene unfolding on the screen.

"Oho, these people are something else!"