‘Why is it me again?!’ cried out Seo-Jun.
‘Oh, quit your whining. Haven’t we already gotten over this? Just hurry up and choose already’, retorted Alice, rolling her eyes.
Seo-Jun looked at the three paths, carefully weighing his options but still finding no hints.
Resolving to make a choice, he clenched his fists and said with determination, ‘Fine. Then, let’s go right.’
‘Dude, you really are just following a fixed pattern, aren’t you’, said Daiki offhandedly, not intending to complain after the previous incident.
‘Well, in any case I have an equal chance of being wrong since I’m choosing at random anyway’, replied Seo-Jun, embarrassedly.
The group just sighed in passive agreement and cautiously entered the right-most path.
They advanced slowly, swords raised, senses on high alert for any potential dangers. After five minutes, they encountered a creature.
However, it wasn’t as overwhelmingly powerful or terrifying as before.
It stared at them with innocent, wide red eyes and a small nose. It’s long, soft ears twitched as the delicate white fur trembled in front of them. And the small feet showed no signs of escaping.
It was just a cute and cuddly white rabbit.
They looked at it, confused about whether to attack or retreat.
’Uh…do we kill it?’ asked Alice uncomfortably.
‘Hey! How could you say that about something that looks so harmless?!’ exclaimed Zhiren in horror, shocked at the notion of such an act.
‘Could you really call anything harmless in this place?’ mumbled Daiki.
‘Well, considering that it could survive in a place like this should answer that’, replied Alice in exasperation.
‘What do you think, Jun?’ asked Jason.
Seo-Jun jerked at the name, and stared at Jason with a smirk, ‘What’s with the nickname all of a sudden?’
‘It’s a pain to say the whole thing’, shrugged Jason, ‘So what should we do?’
(Jason: And the author thought it was a pain to write too l, so…
Jun: !
Author: ╮(＾▽＾)╭ )
Seo-Jun responded with a smile, pleased at getting a nickname, ‘Uh, yeah. Got it.’
He had friends before, but they were never that close since in his world, you didn’t know who’d suddenly try to kill you for resources, practice or just plain fun.
So there’s never been anyone who’d called him with a nickname before, and for some reason he felt that this group could be trusted.
He continued, ‘Usually in plots like this, these seemingly harmless creatures turn out to be carnivores and attack as soon as the protags let down their guards…so, kill it?’
Zhiren shouted in shock, ‘No! Don’t just do that because there’s a possibility it’s dangerous! Let’s at least pretend to let down our guards and only kill it if it attacks, okay?’
‘We have to because there’s a possibility. But okay. Since it bothers you so much, let’s just go with what you suggested then’, said Seo-Jun.
Everyone nodded in agreement and vigilantly proceeded, pretending to be nonchalant.
Surprisingly, the creature did not attack the whole way. But it did quietly follow them even when they arrived at the next path.
This was unexpected, considering that these creatures weren’t supposed to leave their paths.
Zhiren wanted to hold it at one point but didn’t at the group’s insistence.
The next few paths were also divided three ways, for which Seo-Jun chose middle, left, right, middle, left and then right again.
Of the six, they encountered similar rabbits in the 3rd and 4th paths which they dealt with in the same way, however they had all continued following them from a short distance.
Until they reached a choice of four paths to which Alice complained, ‘Ugh, how long will this keep going! We aren’t getting anywhere and aren’t increasing any stats since we haven’t fought anything.’
‘Let’s just keep going, I’m sure this’ll end soon, Al’, said Jason, ‘Though it seems Jun’s way is more or less working out for us. Is there really a pattern to this’, he wondered.
Perhaps there was, because as anticlimactic as it was, they continued by taking the paths as 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, and 4.
Throughout the whole journey they only increased their followers to 7 as they encountered the rabbits on alternating paths.
To their despair, their were now faced with five paths, for which as usual Seo-Jun chose the fifth, where they had been met with yet another clingy rabbit but no danger.
‘Hey, doesn’t it feel like we’re just being messed with?’ said Daiki as they were nearing the end of this path.
(Collectors watching: Huh, how’d he find out!)
As soon as he spoke , there was finally a change.
At the end, instead of more paths, there was a door!
‘Hah…finally, an end to these damn paths!’ exclaimed Alice with a sigh of relief.
‘We shouldn’t let our guards down. Who knows what we’ll find beyond that door?’ cautioned Daiki with a worried expression.
‘And we don’t know what’s the deal with those rabbits either’, pointed out Seo-Jun.’Something like the final boss, maybe?’ wondered Jason.
Seo-Jun looked at him with an amused expression, ‘Final boss, you say…’Jason replied, shrugging, ‘Seemed like something you’d say.
‘They had a brief ‘oh really ‘ ‘yes, really ‘ conversation with their eyes, when ‘Ahem! Can we focus on the potentially life threatening situation here?’ interrupted Zhiren.
‘Uh yeah, sure. Well, I think this might be the final boss, but only if it’s that bear Jas saw at the start, since we haven’t encountered it yet. And frankly I don’t think we’ll need to since we might get the remaining TP we need in this fight’, explained Seo-Jun quickly, in one breath.
This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
‘So, then let’s see what’s on the other side of this door’ said Daiki with clenched fists.
They all turned to face the large door, seeming to be about 8 feet tall, made of what looked like pure silver as it shone brightly like moonlight pouring out.
It had a crest in the middle which had an oak tree and a small figure of a woman engraved sitting under the tree.
There was no handle to open it. ’Uh, but how do we do that?’ wondered Alice, confusedly. She knew where she needed to go, but not yet how to get there.
She tried knocking on it a couple of times, but it did nothing. Jason tried to push it but to no avail.
Daiki and Seo-Jun tried looking for a hidden lever or something wherever they could get their hands on, but still nothing.
Finally, Zhiren stepped forward and did what seemed to be the most obvious but what no one thought of.
She didn’t know why she thought of doing it like this , but it did feel like she knew what she was doing.
She raised her hand slowly, her delicate white fingers, highlighted by the silver’s light, looking almost transparent as if her hand had become one with the door.
She put her hand on the crest and pushed it while turning it anti-clockwise, as a loud yet slow creaking was heard.
After a half turn the crest protruded outwards, becoming a sphere shape. She used both hands, and spun it clockwise 360°, and pressed it.
Suddenly the light exploded outward, putting forth a dazzling gleam, mesmerizing all those who behold the sight. It shrouded her whole being, encompassing every corner.
Her pale white skin, combined with her cream colored dress, truly created an otherworldly sight, with only one word to describe her person, a goddess.
She turned her head around, looking at her teammates over her shoulder sending shivers down their spine as the warm and gentle beauty gazed upon them with bright eyes and a triumphant expression, making them stunned at the angelic sight.
It was her, but it looked like they were looking at someone else as another figure's visage seemed to overlap on her face, bringing a sense of familiarity as if reminding them of a lost memory which they couldn’t quite bring up.
The light gradually died down and there was the sound of a lock opening as the door swung open leading to an empty cave.
The rabbits ran forward, and rubbed her legs which caused her heart to squeeze as she petting them all gently.
Her teammates, however seemed to not notice, lost in their own world and daydreaming at this crucial moment. 'Guys, it’s open. Let’s go!’ pointed Zhiren as she noticed their condition, startling them awake from their trance.
As the clouds on their consciousness scattered away with her voice, they regained their composure, swatting away the after image of the sight they’d just witnessed, still dancing upon their retinas.
Seo-Jun thought, ’Could it be that she’s actually the FL? Or what if she’s the MC?’ He lost touch with reality for the moment.
Before they could step in, the rabbits rushed forward, claws coming out of their previously soft feet and their teeth growing razor sharp.
’I told you they’re dangerous ‘, cried out Alice but the unexpected happened.
They suddenly crashed into a wall and started attacking it, clawing and biting at it. They couldn’t understand what was going on, until they heard a loud agonized roar, upon looking they saw blood splashing.
The Minotaur was waiting for them in camouflage!
They couldn’t believe their eyes, the rabbits they thought would attack them seemed to be protecting them.
‘Well, I told you they would be harmless ‘, boasted Zhiren with a proud look on her face.
‘Yeah, that doesn’t look harmless to me’, said Daiki nervously.
‘At least, they were to us’, retorted Zhiren.
‘Yeah, yeah. But how did you know how to do all that and how were you so sure that they wouldn’t harm us?’ asked Daiki in wonder.
Zhiren started, ‘Well, honestly I don’t…’
When she was interrupted by another roar.
They looked at the source only to find that the Minotaur was now ripping the rabbits apart.
What was even more surprising was that the damage inflicted by the rabbits was added to their stats!
‘Hey…I don’t know if we can take on that thing, but don’t we at least have a chance now after these stat boosts from the rabbits?’ asked Jason.
‘Only one way to find out’, said Daiki raising his sword.
The others understood his gesture and did the same. Each rabbit had given them a 2 points stat increase, adding up to 16 points. Their stats were now as follows,
Alice: Strength-152, Speed-152, Intelligence-152, HP- 100, MP-142, PP-136 TP-136, EXP-617, and Kills-10 and Gold – 60
Jason: Strength-92, Speed-92, Intelligence-92, HP- 100, MP-82, PP-82, TP-82, EXP-256, and Kills-3 and Gold – 250
Zhiren: Strength-107, Speed-108, Intelligence-112, HP- 100, MP-102, PP-102, TP-102, EXP-416 , Kills – 3 and Gold – 400
Daiki: Strength- 108, Speed- 112, Intelligence-112, HP- 100, MP- 102, PP-113, TP-109, EXP-416, and Kills – 7 and Gold – 450
Seo-Jun: Strength-96, Speed-96, Intelligence-102, HP- 100, MP-92, PP-92, TP-92, EXP-216, Kills – 3 and Gold – 250
Zhiren and Daiki both exclaimed after getting the notification announcing they have completed the tutorial, ‘I completed the tutorial!’
They looked at each other and smiled in relief, but were soon brought back to despair when they asked the remainder two,’ What about you guys?’
They both just lowering their heads and shook it.
Zhiren and Daiki immediate resolved them selves and said ‘No’ when asked to resume and so did Alice.
They all turned to look at her in confusion. She just shrugged her shoulders and said, ’It asked me again, I guess since those two were also done. Guess we have to fight that thing after all though.
‘Their eyes darkened when looking back at the raging beast, still ripping the rabbits still clinging on and tearing at his skin, wildly.
They readied their swords together, and gestured to attack at the same time. Then, chuckled at themselves.
It was unbelievable that individuals like themselves who had all shut themselves away could ever have such a tacit understanding and a close bond with people they’d met less than 24 hours ago.
It made no sense to them, but that’s just how it was.
’Perhaps experiencing near-death experiences does bring you closer together’, thought Seo-Jun.
They charged at the distracted beast, still occupied with the furry carnivorous creatures, attaching themselves to its skin and struck down with their swords.
They slashed and stabbed continuously, their movements precise and practiced, bringing them back to the moments when they were completing their daily tasks.
It slowed down, but such a towering beast would not go down so easily, as it continued to flay around with its weapon, trying to attack these pests who were nothing more than prey in its eyes not too long ago.
Its eyes became bloodshot and its veins were protruding as it was bathing in its own blood yet not showing any signs of going down.
Alice climbed its back like the tree earlier in the day and reached the head, bringing her sword down through it.
But it was still upright! Though it seemed that there was nothing more left than some final attempts from the beast to hold on.
Finally, Alice jumped down and shouted, ‘Everybody step back now!’
They immediately jumped a few inches away as Alice took out her taser and shot at it. The Minotaur struggled and twitched for a few seconds still not giving up, so Alice shot a second, then a third shot.
It stopped moving and bent down looking at its attackers with anger one last time, when its eyes widened as it caught sight of something, and a tear rolled down from the corner of its eyes which shocked those watching its final moments.
It opened its mouth, trying to say something but was unable to. Then, as if giving up hope, it closed its eyes and fell sideways to the ground, breathing its last.
The group took a sigh of relief, as Seo-Jun and Jason shouted, ‘I’m done too!’ Then they looked at each other with a wide smile, ‘We can finally get out of this place!
’They all chose ‘Yes’ for ending the tutorial and were quite pleased with their stats.
When they got a notification again.
Notification!
Congratulations on meeting the requirements to leave the tutorial zone. You will now be able to participate in the Main Quests.
However, you shall first be sent to the rewards room.
Do you wish to continue,
–Yes
–No
They all looked at each other.
‘It’s yes, right?’ asked Seo-Jun with uncertainty.
‘Of course it is!’ they all said simultaneously.
‘Okay, okay. Jeez, no need to yell’, he said, smiling, ’Then, together on 1, 2…,' he took a deep breath, looking at his teammates and newfound friends one more time with a smile and finished, ‘3′
They all shouted together, ‘Yes!’
The group vanished as the prompt appeared,
You have chosen to continue on to the rewards room and leave the tutorial zone. You will now be taken to the reward room.
Loading…
To be continued…
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Their stats;
Alice: Strength-192, Speed-192, Intelligence-192, HP- 100, MP-182, PP-176 TP-176, EXP-700, and Kills-11 and Gold – 650
Jason: Strength-132, Speed-132, Intelligence-132, HP- 100, MP-122, PP-122, TP-122, EXP-350, and Kills-4 and Gold – 300
Zhiren: Strength-147, Speed-148, Intelligence-152, HP- 100, MP-142, PP-142, TP-142, EXP-500 , Kills – 4 and Gold – 450
Daiki: Strength- 148, Speed- 152, Intelligence-152, HP- 100, MP- 142, PP-153, TP-149, EXP-500, and Kills – 8 and Gold – 500
Seo-Jun: Strength-136, Speed-136, Intelligence-142, HP- 100, MP-132, PP-132, TP-132, EXP- 300, Kills – 4 and Gold – 300
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Bear: Hey…what about me?
Author: Don’t worry, you’ll get your appearance soon.
Bear: Yay
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