Chapter 1
Tutorial (1)
In a narrow, shabby villa living room.
Kang A-hyun, who was lying down looking at her smartphone, suddenly sat up.
“Hey. How long are you going to stay like that?”
Kang A-hyun glared fiercely at her older brother, Kang Hyeon.
“What?”
“How long are you going to mooch off me in my house! It’s a new year, don’t you feel like living a new life?”
“Wait. I’m looking for a job, you know.”
Kang Hyeon responded indifferently to her usual nagging.
Even as he spoke, his eyes remained fixed on the game character on the monitor.
“Pathetic bastard. You should sell that computer secondhand or something.”
“Hey hey! Look at that foul mouth. You’ll never get married like that.”
“Aaargh! Just get out, please!”
Finally exploding, Kang A-hyun screamed and threw whatever she could grab.
At the commotion, Hyeon hurriedly turned off the computer and came out.
“Your hysteria seems to be getting worse these days. Is something wrong?”
Kang Hyeon muttered as he took out a pack of cigarettes.
“Damn, no cigarettes either.”
His crumpled cigarette pack was immediately thrown into the trash with the expression on his face.
“Haa… Life.”
Kang Hyeon didn’t know either. That he would end up living such a hopeless life.
Just 2 years ago.
When he graduated from university and entered a large company as an intern, he felt like he had the world.
It was just an internship, but he had hope.
The promise that they would promote him to a full-time employee after 2 years of hard work.
Deceived by that lie,Kang Hyeon worked day and night for a monthly salary that wasn’t even 2 million won.
The reward for his efforts was a dismissal notice that came without warning after a year and a half.
-Ptui! There are plenty of other places to work! You know!?
Kang Hyeon left the company, shouting defiantly.
This is the result now.
Finding a job was harder than he thought, and in the end, it’s been a year since he started living in his sister’s studio apartment to save even a penny of living expenses.
A 27-year-old unemployed man. No, now a 28-year-old unemployed since the new year has dawned.
That’s who Kang Hyeon is now.
“I really need to do something now… Should I look for a part-time job…”
In fact, in a situation where he didn’t have a penny, it would have been right to do any work, be it part-time or whatever.
But he couldn’t easily knock on doors due to a vague fear that he might never get a proper job and end up hopping from one part-time job to another.
“Actually, this might just be an excuse because I’m comfortable being unemployed.”
Kang Hyeon checked the time with a self-deprecating smile.
[20:17]
The first day of the new year was already coming to an end.
“Right. I’m tired of this kind of life now. I need to do something. You’re Kang Hyeon. You can do it!”
It was when Kang Hyeon was making this cringeworthy resolution.
His smartphone rang for the first time in a while.
Checking the screen, he saw a familiar friend’s name.
“Oh, what’s this about?”
-What are you doing? Let’s have a drink.
“I don’t have money.”
-When did you ever have any? Come out, man. It’s on me.
“Call!”
To do anything, he needed to fill his stomach first.
***
Ippotranslation
***
-Sizzle~
Pork belly cooking on the hot grill.
This sound is beautiful whenever you hear it.
As the glass of alcohol was flowing along with the sweet meat, I was getting a bit tipsy,
“Are you looking for a job these days?”
Kim Tae-soo, today’s sponsor and Kang Hyeon’s childhood friend, got to the point.
“Don’t you know me? I’m Kang Hyeon. Kang Hyeon. Don’t worry, I’m looking.” Kang Hyeon frowned at the unpleasant question and answered halfheartedly.
“Hey. Don’t change the subject. I’m asking because I’m worried. I know all about your family situation, how can I just stand by and watch?” At Kim Tae-soo’s words, Kang Hyeon put down his soju glass irritably.
For a moment, anger welled up along with the intoxication.
“So what?! I’m a broke unemployed guy, have you helped me out? Don’t interfere. Bastard!”
Kang Hyeon knew that Kim Tae-soo was saying this out of concern for him.
But Kang Hyeon was already too tired and twisted.
Sorry. Ashamed. Self-loathing.
To hide numerous emotions, harsh words he didn’t mean poured out of his mouth.
“Why are you talking like that, you bastard? If someone’s worried about you, you should listen! When are you going to grow up?”
“Are you done talking now?”
“I’m not done. What have you done so far? You graduated from college, is being a big company intern once such a big deal?”
“You bastard!”
The argument that started from something trivial quickly led to a fistfight.
“What do you know about me!”
Kang Hyeon, who stood up kicking his chair, swung his fist with all his might.
However, his weak fist helplessly cut through the air.
This is because he has not been exercising for a long time and hasn’t taken care of his body at all during his unemployed life.
In contrast, Kim Tae-soo, who was usually meticulous about self-management, landed his fist right on Kang Hyeon’s jaw.
“Ugh!”
With a short groan, Kang Hyeon fell to the floor.
“Wake up, you bastard. Do something instead of just playing games. Aren’t you ashamed in front of your sister?”
“Sh*t…”
He was furious.
He was so angry that tears came out. It was anger at himself, not at Kim Tae-soo.
‘How did I end up like this…’
He thought he was still young and in his prime.
So he thought he could dream big and have ambitions.
But he wasn’t as great as he thought, nor was he lucky.
Just an ordinary newcomer to society.
Nothing more, nothing less.
“At least use this for medicine.”
Kim Tae-soo put six 50,000 won bills in Hyeon’s hand and left.
It was too much money for just one light punch.
Moreover, he was the one who threw the first punch.
“Haa, making me miserable till the end…”
Kang Hyeon wiped away his tears and staggered home.
***
Ippotranslation
***
“Hey. Where have you been? Have you been drinking?”
Kang A-hyun frowned at the smell of alcohol that wafted in with Kang Hyeon as the front door opened.
“Uh, I had a little. Sorry.”
“Why are you drinking when you don’t even have money…?”
“Here, take this.”
Stumbling towards his sister, Kang Hyeon grabbed her hand and pressed 300,000 won into it.
“What’s this? What money is this? And what’s wrong with your face? Did you get into a fight?”
“No. I fell. I’m sorry.”
“What are you suddenly sorry for?”
“Just everything. I’m tired, so I’m going to bed first.”
“Hey! I asked if you got into a fight! And what’s with the money?”
“Sorry. Let’s talk tomorrow.”
Despite her worried questions, Kang Hyeon only kept saying he was sorry.
Kang Hyeon stumbled into his room, and the door closed with a bang.
“I wonder what happened…”
Kang A-hyun was worried about her brother’s unusual behavior, but feeling it was difficult to talk to him now, she decided to have a conversation the next day.
***
“Haa…”
Entering his room, Kang Hyeon collapsed onto the floor without even changing his clothes.
His head was spinning, and he felt like he might pass out at any moment.
“I can’t live like this. No, I won’t live like this. You can do it. You’re Kang Hyeon…”
It was then, as Kang Hyeon was mumbling and half-conscious, that messages suddenly began to appear before his eyes.
[Detecting unilateral connection from the Haken dimension]
[Earth’s defense system activating]
[Temporarily rejecting connection from the Haken dimension]
…
[Tutorial begins on Earth]
[Time remaining until complete connection with Haken dimension: 4 years 364 days 23 hours 59 minutes 27 seconds]
[26 seconds…]
[25 seconds…]
“What is this…?”
Kang Hyeon’s eyes finally closed completely as he flailed at the air in a half-asleep state.
***
Ippotranslation
***
A pure white space.
As soon as Kang Hyeon opened his eyes, all he could see was a completely white space.
Even the floor was pristinely white, making it impossible to tell where he was standing in this strange place.
“Where am I?”
Kang Hyeon frowned and looked around. At that moment,
[Welcome to Kang Hyeon’s tutorial entry]
A message appeared before his eyes, and a neutral voice was heard.
[This tutorial consists of 8 stages in total]
[The tutorial will proceed during sleep time and is unrelated to real-world time]
[Death in the tutorial is unrelated to death in reality]
[Upon clearing the tutorial, you will be awakened and rewarded]
[The tutorial cannot be abandoned midway, and if you fail to clear it, you cannot retry]
Messages and voices filled his vision chaotically.
“What does this mean…?”
Faced with an incomprehensible situation, Kang Hyeon could only blink.
[Do you want to enter Stage 1?]
Kang Hyeon pondered the message’s question.
“A tutorial…”
There are probably very few 20-year-old men in South Korea who don’t know what a tutorial is.
Simply put, it’s like a warm-up for the main game.
“I don’t really understand, but have I entered some kind of game?”
Kang Hyeon chuckled at his own thoughts, finding them amusing.
“Heh. Is this because I drank too much? What a strange dream. Well, it doesn’t matter if it’s not a dream.”
It was surely a dream, but he didn’t mind if it wasn’t.
The message clearly said there would be a reward for passing and that it had nothing to do with real-life death.
“This is sweet! I’ll enter.”
[May your courage save the Earth]
***
Ippotranslation
***
A flash of light before his eyes and a momentary sensation of floating. When Kang Hyeon opened his eyes again, he found himself standing in a gloomy cave.
[First Stage (Stage 1)]
[Overcome your greatest fear and prove your courage]
[Clear condition: End of the Cave. Reach the end point]
[Fail condition: Death]
“Is that all?”
The tutorial content in the message didn’t seem particularly difficult.
“Well, I like that it’s simple.”
Kang Hyeon walked slowly through the cave.
Something occasionally emitting light floated around, but overall it was an extremely dark path.
-Drip, drip
Every time he heard the sound of water droplets falling, it sent chills down his spine.
Kang Hyeon continued walking, keeping one hand on the wall.
10 minutes. 20 minutes…
He wasn’t sure exactly, but it felt like he had been walking for quite a while.
Anxiety slowly crept in.
‘How much further do I have to go?’
His pace was too slow, being cautious and observing his surroundings as he moved.
Gradually, his concentration scattered and fatigue built up in his body.
‘I can’t just run blindly either. This is driving me crazy.’
He didn’t know what might happen if he just started running without thinking.
In this situation, he could only take one slow step at a time.
Kang Hyeon continued walking with his lips tightly pressed together.
‘Light!’
Fortunately, not long after, he saw light seeping in from the distance.
“Huff, huff!”
At the same time, he felt the temperature around him rise dramatically.
Sticky sweat began to pour from Kang Hyeon’s entire body.
‘Why is it so hot?’
It felt like he had entered an incredibly hot sauna.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Kang Hyeon hurried out of the cave.
“What the…?”
As soon as he exited the cave, Kang Hyeon’s mouth fell open involuntarily at the sight before him.
“This is supposed to be a tutorial?”
Hell stretched out in front of Kang Hyeon. And not just any hell, but a dazzling inferno.
A massive cylindrical space that looked like the crater of a volcano you’d only see on TV.
In this space, which must have been hundreds of meters high, numerous bridges were intertwined like a spider’s web.
Countless people could be seen crossing the bridges in various directions.
“Are they telling me to cross this…?”
Like the others, a bridge leading to the opposite side lay before Kang Hyeon.
Kang Hyeon swallowed hard as he looked at the precarious bridge that seemed like it would crumble at the slightest touch.
“Let’s see what’s below first.”
Kang Hyeon cautiously approached the bridge and leaned forward to check below.
“What is this…”
There were mountains, rivers, and seas made of lava and fire.
Kang Hyeon shook his head at the tremendous heat that felt like it could scorch his face just by looking at it.
“Even a fire-type Pokémon would die instantly if it fell there.”
It was clear that if Kang Hyeon fell there, he would disappear without leaving even a fragment of bone.
The mere imagination was so horrifying that Kang Hyeon shuddered.
“Aaaaargh!”
It was then.
A scream erupted from somewhere, filling the space.
Hurriedly checking where the sound came from, he saw someone falling down.
-Thud! Crash!
“Kyaaaaa!”
“Aaargh!”
The falling man hit some unfortunate woman crossing a bridge below, and with the impact, the fragile bridge broke, and they fell together.
-Thud! Thud! Boom!
“Aaaaargh!”
About 20 people fell in a chain reaction like this.
They fell amicably into the sea of lava, and soon it became quiet as if nothing had happened.
“What kind of tutorial is this…?”
Originally, a tutorial is supposed to be beginner friendly that teaches you how to play the game.
He had never heard of a tutorial that throws beginners into such an inferno.
“It’s questionable whether I can cross the bridge quietly by myself…”
The bridge itself looks very unstable, and now he has to watch out for such natural disasters, no, human disasters.
“Phew…”
Kang Hyeon clenched his fists in tension.
“But I have to cross it. I can cross it. They said it has nothing to do with real-life death, right?”
Unlike his words feigning calm, his trembling legs showed no sign of settling down.
“But what if it’s not true? What if I really die?”
If he falls into that inferno below, they won’t even be able to find his corpse.
Anxiety gripped Kang Hyeon again.
“Whoa! Get a grip!”
Kang Hyeon slapped his cheeks hard.
It felt like his racing heart calmed down a bit.
“Kang Hyeon, let’s go carefully. First, we need to look for other dangers.”
It’s not just about crossing the bridge.
In a situation where you don’t know what other dangers might cause.
Kang Hyeon watched others crossing the bridges for a while.
“Hmm… Are they not real people?”
He watched for quite some time, but nothing unusual was seen.
The only peculiar thing was that the people crossing the bridges showed no emotions.
Seeing this, Kang Hyeon guessed they might be NPC-like entities in the game.
“Alright. This seems doable enough. I can do it. I can do it!”
It’s just about crossing a very narrow bridge about 30cm wide.
“Whoa! I need to start right now.”
Sweat poured down like rain in the heat that surpassed a sauna.
At this rate, he might collapse from dehydration before even crossing the bridge.
“Let’s go!!!”
Shouting a powerful battle cry, Kang Hyeon finally took his first step.
Despite the loud cry, it was an extremely cautious step.
-Crumble…
Just one step, and stone dust fell from the hellish bridge.
His wildly pounding heartbeat echoed in his ears.
“Haa, haa…”
His breath quickened with each step.
The lava and flames below seemed like they would devour him at any moment.
‘I can do it. I can do it…’
Kang Hyeon mumbled ‘I can do it’ like a mantra.
At that moment,
“Aaaaargh!”
Screams began to be heard from above.
Kang Hyeon instinctively ducked his head and crouched down.
‘Please…!’
The scene of people colliding and falling down was still vivid in his mind.
His heart felt like it would burst at the approaching screams.
-Crash!
The falling person hit right in front of Kang Hyeon and bounced off.
With the impact, the bridge crumbled and shook violently.
-Boom! Thud!
“Aaaaargh!”
“Kyaaaaa!”
The space trembled with the screams of countless people.
However, these screams subsided in less than 5 seconds.
“I… I’m alive…”
Kang Hyeon caught his breath as he brushed his chest.
“Phew… It’s okay. Just keep walking.”
Muttering with half-closed eyes didn’t bring back any confidence that wasn’t there.
Unable to stand up at all, Kang Hyeon grabbed the bridge with both hands and slowly crawled.
***
Ippotranslation
***
A little later.
“Just a bit more… Just a little!”
Kang Hyeon had almost reached the end of the bridge.
Now only one step remained.
“I’ve arrived! Aaaaargh!”
Finally reaching his destination, Kang Hyeon screamed like a madman.
“I did it! I did it!”
When he finished the college entrance exam.
When he was discharged from the military.
When he got a job at a big company.
There had been quite a few moments of joy in his life so far, but the elation now overwhelmed all those moments by far.
“Hahaha! I’m alive again! I’m alive, you bastards!!!”
As Kang Hyeon shouted frantically, not even knowing what he was yelling at, a message appeared before his eyes.
[Congratulations. You have cleared Stage 1]