The Fairy of the Tutorial.
A merciless evil, preying on the innocent newcomers in the Tower, it serves as a wake-up call, reminding them that this isn't the reality they once knew. Here, in the 'Tower,' one must struggle to survive.
To modern humans, who've been living comfortably within the boundaries of the law, the Fairy is a first encounter with the bizarre, teaching them the brutal law of the jungle: survival of the fittest.
- Has anyone seen someone get their head blown up by the Fairy of the Tutorial?
- Would there be?
- I saw an older man try something funny with the Fairy, but someone stopped him. I mean, who doesn't know about the Fairy these days?
But nowadays, thanks to various creative works, everyone's pretty familiar with the Fairy, so hardly anyone gets their head blown off.
Scenarios where an irate middle-aged man or a punk with bleached hair confronts the Fairy, only to get killed, with others looking on in horror, have become almost clichés in webcomics and web novels.
Of course, just because there are fewer victims doesn't mean the Fairy's reputation has diminished.
The Fairy of the Tutorial remained an object of fear, a hungry beast always on the lookout for a chance to blow someone's head off.
- Any of you taken down the Fairy in the tutorial?
Until the stories about Kang Chan spread, that is.
< Any of you beaten the Fairy in the tutorial? >
Unbelievable, right? I didn't believe it either. I was just freaking out from being summoned to the tutorial when suddenly this super scary-looking guy stands up.
At first, I just stared, but then he stood still without saying a word, emitting such an intimidating aura that it was hard to even look at him. I was looking down, trying not to meet his gaze, when suddenly there was a loud smack!
When I and others looked up, the Fairy (didn't know it was the Fairy at first) was on the ground, and there was a trickle of blood from the man's head.
Later, I heard that the Fairy shot some kind of magic at the guy, but he dodged and counter-punched, knocking it out. Eventually, another fairy appeared, took the unconscious one away, explained the background, gave us weapons, and left.
I've never seen someone so terrifying before. That fierce gaze and emotionless face still haunt me…
ㅡ JLN
- I was in the same tutorial. Everything he said is true. There were some guys brawling initially, but after seeing him take down the Fairy, they bowed to him and called him "boss". The atmosphere was tense as hell.
- If he took down the Fairy right at the start, when he had no levels... wow.
- How good must his stats be? I have a C-grade stat, and now I feel inadequate...
- Don't just call him "that guy". Respectfully address him as Kang Chan.
After that, the man's known name was Kang Chan. Details about his appearance, skills, age, etc., varied depending on who you asked...
- Now the Fairies don't threaten to blow our heads off.
- After being taught a lesson, they've learned their place, huh? LOL.
- God Chan 😮😮😮
One thing was certain: with a single punch, he had taken down the formidable Fairy of the Tutorial.
Choi Ji-won, who single-handedly defeated the master of the city on the second floor.
Kang Chan, who subdued the Fairy of the Tutorial with his bare hands.
And lastly, the mysterious man rumored to have beheaded the hidden boss Minotaurus with a single strike.
If you were to pick the top three hottest names in the Korean community right now, these would be the three...
Definitely.
Even if only half of the stories I read online were true, he more than deserved to be on the 3-5th floor.
Though clad in stiff leather armor, his intimidating aura was unmistakable.
"...Hmm..."
Kang Chan, who had been closing his eyes and absorbing our gazes, slowly opened them and silently walked towards the stone door.
Perhaps suggesting that it was time to move on and progress through the third floor.
After a brief exchange of glances, both Ahn Kyung-jun and I nodded and took our places in front of the stone door.
And so, the four of us stood in front of the massive stone door.
The moment each of us placed our hand over the palm-shaped indentations...
A rumbling sound echoed! With a ground-shaking roar, the stone door began to move.
The real challenge of the 3rd floor had begun.
Step by step.
In the dim light of the torches on the walls, it wasn’t long before our footsteps echoed loudly, amplified by the confines of the narrow cave tunnel.
"Screeeek!"
Every now and then, goblins would spring from crevices, letting out shrill cries as they attacked.
Whoosh!
But frankly, compared to the goblins, I had become much stronger. I used to get beaten by goblins in the very early days of the tutorial, but now, they were nothing more than mere cannon fodder.
Given the narrow space, I dispatched the goblins with quick stabs and wiped the blood off my blade on the ground.
"... I wonder if their eyes have degenerated from living in caves. Their pale eyes are quite creepy..."
Ahn Kyung-jun, perhaps trying to ease his tension, was incessantly talking.
"It's strange that there aren't any bugs in a cave like this, isn't it?"
Dok Su-hee, either relaxed or just naturally quirky, made an offbeat remark contrary to her sharp appearance.
And then there was Kang Chan, still exuding an intense aura, not letting his guard down for a second.
With me leading, we cautiously made our way through the cave.
So far, the 3-5th floors had been... ridiculously easy. Too easy, in fact.
After the stone door initially opened, we quickly armed ourselves from a room filled with various weapons.
Then, all we had to do was walk down the damp cave tunnel.
And the only enemies that popped out were goblins and bats.
Are we too strong? However, realistically, anyone powerful enough to make it to the 3-5th floor wouldn't be troubled by goblins.
There had to be more to the 3rd floor. I felt there was some other trick up its sleeve...
As I pondered this,
We soon reached a vast cavern connected to the narrow tunnel.
The cavern, carved out in a circular shape, seemed as vast as a concert hall. The torches hanging on its walls flickered eerily.
The four of us cautiously ventured into the cavern, alert and on edge, but there was no sign of any threat.
"There's a door on the other side..."
True to Ahn Kyung-jun's words, there was a stone door with a familiar design on the opposite side of the cavern. However, unlike before, there was no palm-shaped indentation. So, placing our hands on it wouldn't open the door.
"... Maybe we need to find a hidden mechanism? With no enemies around, there might be some sort of puzzle!"
Dok Su-hee's suggestion made sense.
If we have to proceed and the door is locked, and there are no enemies, considering the size of this space... it's plausible that we might have to press a hidden switch to proceed.
The 2nd floor was more of a puzzle than a combat challenge, so... who's to say the 3rd floor wouldn't be the same?
"Shall we... split up and look around?"
So, when Ahn Kyung-jun suggested that we spread out and investigate, no one objected.
===
About 15 minutes had passed.
Despite feeling along the cavern walls and tapping on them, we couldn't find any hidden mechanism.
"Hmm..."
Honestly, I had a feeling there wouldn't be any hidden devices.
There was something eerie about the atmosphere in the cavern.
Playing games like Dark Souls, there are moments when you get this feeling, like, "This room totally feels like a boss room, right?"
But there's no formidable boss in sight, just torches burning ominously.
Entering a boss room only to find that the boss is missing.
When reading web novels, usually at moments like this, the boss would be...
"Huh?"
I slowly raised my head.
In the darkness of the cavern ceiling, out of reach of the torches, my eyes met the glowing yellow eyes staring back.
"Crack!"
The moment I saw those slit pupils, I was already in motion.
Boom!
A monster, or rather, a huge white-furred wolf, crashed down where I had been just moments ago.
"Junho!"
"Damn it..."
The ground where the wolf landed cracked, and the SUV-sized creature turned its gaze, locking onto my throat.
Zoom!
Using its powerful legs, the monstrous wolf leapt. Its jump was so swift that even someone with superhuman reflexes would find it hard to react. Clang!
Reactively, I positioned my sword horizontally to block the beast's swinging paw. An unbelievable sound resonated, as if animal flesh had clashed with metal.
"Ugh!"
This wolf... its strength is immense. Unable to fully deflect its ridiculous physical force, my body was sent flying backward through the air.
As I was about to land, I extended my legs backward to slow my momentum...
Slip.
"Huh?"
My feet, stretched out to slow down, danced on the slippery cave floor, and
Crash!
In a half-turn, my face forcefully kissed the ground.
[You have taken damage.]
[You will return to the initial point of the 3-5th floor.]
"...Get up.
Songyi."
Kangchan's growling voice reached my ears as I rubbed my face with my palms.
"Damn it..."