The Morning Star (5) The tutorial is way too hard.
The moment that thought crossed his mind, the Kim Seonwoo within him flinched.
Ivan ignored the reaction and continued thinking.
This is absurdly difficult.
Even objectively, imagining the game’s progression from Kim Seonwoo’s perspective, it made no sense.
Leaning against a tree trunk, Ivan let out a weary sigh.
If only I had one competent teammate.
Even someone on Dmitry’s level would have been enough.
He had killed a couple of soldiers on the eastern side, planted traps, sprinted all the way to the western end, deliberately fired a shot to lure them over— Repeating that routine for over thirty minutes had worn even Ivan down.
Since he had to limit every skirmish to a single gunshot, the difficulty had effectively doubled.
Thanks to that, a long sword wound now stretched across his forearm.
Ivan took out his last remaining healing potion and was about to pour it over the wound before stopping.
“…I can still bear it.
Better save this.” Taking a moment to catch his breath, he sat beneath the tree and organized his thoughts.
Let’s assume this situation is the tutorial immediately after selecting the character “Isabelle.” I’ve just passed the character selection screen.
Now the loading screen is scrolling through all those “What’s that supposed to mean, you damn nerd?” bits of world-building while the loading bar fills up.
If this were a AAA game, there’d be a cutscene here.
Fortunately, there’s a perfect one.
A train terrorist attack.
An academy cliché.
The train explodes.
You wake up buried beneath the rubble.
An NPC has been wounded protecting you.
Now the player takes control.
But there was a problem.
How do you even get out?
Escaping a train car buried under tons of earth was already a challenge.
Fine, maybe there was some sort of puzzle inside that let you escape.
But after that…
A horde of elite soldiers with unknown identities comes charging in?
Before the game has even explained a single combat mechanic?
And on top of that, the tutorial boss is…
‘There was Line-of-Fire Detection.’ Thinking back to Esidisi’s case only made it stranger.
Her tutorial had been so easy that you could clear it with one hand.
Then maybe this wasn’t a combat event at all.
Maybe it was an escape event.
Or even a scripted defeat.
There were plenty of games where you lost on purpose, got captured, and escaped later.
…No.
These people were trying to kill Isabelle.
Their equipment wasn’t meant for taking prisoners.
It was built for murder.
Which meant getting captured wasn’t part of the plan.
Normally, after a scripted defeat, an ally rescued the protagonist.
A rescue…
An ally…
‘Me…?’ The color drained from Ivan’s face.
His heart lurched.
I was the ally?
In other words…
Was I an NPC?
Suppressing his pounding heartbeat, Ivan forced his turbulent emotions back under control.
Keeping calm under pressure was something he had long mastered.
One by one, he counted through the possibilities.
Did the original game have a character named Ivan Petrovich?
His military service.
The eighteen years he spent crawling through hell like a dog.
Fighting the Seven Dragon Generals despite being nothing more than an ordinary man.
Retiring…
Founding an orphanage…
Were all of those things already…predetermined?
Regardless of his own will?
Had everything already been written into the setting?
Then what ending awaited the original Ivan Petrovich?
Would he survive to the end?
Would he even appear during the ending credits?
Forcing himself to cut off the chain of dark thoughts, Ivan tucked the healing potion back inside his coat.
There’s only one way to find out.
Why had this event become such a disaster?
Was it truly impossible to survive without an ally?
With that, he swiftly climbed the tree and headed back toward the train.
Clang!
KRAANG!!
*** Steel crashed against steel, scattering sparks.
She couldn’t overpower him.
Nor could she surpass him with skill.
Grinding her teeth, Isabelle twisted her blade.
It was a textbook deflection— Beautiful enough to have been copied straight from a fencing manual.
The trajectory flowed flawlessly, not deviating by even a hair’s breadth as it diverted her opponent’s sword.
It was the best she could possibly do.
She couldn’t imagine delivering a more perfect strike.
“There are people like that sometimes.” Eiphellos knocked her sword aside with a grin.
“You know the type.
They see something somewhere, then lock themselves in a room and spend all day swinging a stick.
They memorize every page of the manual, thinking they’ll become faster…
more graceful…
model students.
Isn’t that right?” “Shut…
up!” “You’re wrong.” “The knight of Thyles.” Clang!
Clang!
Every attack was blocked.
Meanwhile, every attempt to defend cost her something.
She hadn’t suffered any serious injuries yet.
But Isabelle knew.
She was steadily being pushed back.
Her balance between offense and defense had completely collapsed.
She couldn’t even take a single step forward anymore.
Step by step…
She kept retreating.
And behind her…
Were civilians.
People she had to protect.
She couldn’t retreat any farther.
There was nowhere left to go.
This was her last stand.
Grinding her teeth so hard they nearly cracked, Isabelle swung again.
CLANG!
“What good is swordsmanship if your blade never reaches the enemy?” Eiphellos sneered.
“In the end, swordsmanship is nothing more than the methodology of burying your blade into someone else’s body!” CLANG!
“So this is the daughter of the Hero?
Never seen real combat even at your age?
The Alliance’s decadence truly disgusts me.” “SHUT UP!” CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
Consumed by rage, her sword no longer carried precise technique.
She was simply hacking away wildly— Trying to vent her frustration.
Against such crude attacks…
Eiphellos had far too much experience.
Clack!
CLANG!
Locking their blades together, he snapped her wrist.
Her sword flew from her hand and clattered across the ground.
Truthfully…
He could have finished this much sooner.
But “the Hero’s child” had made him overly cautious.
After all…
The Hero— Maximilian— Always performed miracles at the very last moment.
But now…
It was over.
Eiphellos smirked.
I lost good soldiers for nothing.
*** “You protected no one.” “Isabelle, daughter of Maximilian.” “Any last words?” Biting her lip, Isabelle stared at the sword lying on the ground.
Facing death with dignity was admirable.
But now wasn’t the time.
She should have been watching her opponent.
Such an amateur.
Mocking her silently, Eiphellos raised his sword.
*** From atop a tree…
Ivan watched everything unfold.
He had no intention of saving her.
He needed confirmation.
If Isabelle died here…
Then his theory was wrong.
Sure, there were games where dying to the tutorial boss resulted in an immediate Game Over.
But this didn’t feel like one of them.
That opponent was simply too strong for her current stats.
On the other hand…
If he stepped in and saved Isabelle…
Then there would be no denying it.
“Ivan Petrovich” would truly be nothing more than an NPC in this game.
Therefore…
Even if Isabelle died…
He wouldn’t interfere.
There were still five playable characters remaining.
Sacrificing one to uncover the truth would be a worthwhile trade.
From the branches above, Ivan quietly watched Isabelle.
“You protected no one.” “Isabelle, daughter of Maximilian.” “Any last words?” Time slowed around Isabelle.
Like the flashback people claimed to see just before death.
The rippling sword descending toward her.
The Demon’s face twisted with contempt and rage.
The distorted moonlight.
Her own ragged breathing.
Her sword…
Lying at her feet.
The proof of all her effort and all her years of training…
Discarded like garbage.
“Pick up your sword.” A voice echoed.
It was the same ancient knighting oath Sir Dian August had murmured while unconscious.
Her consciousness sank deeper.
A vague vision appeared.
Countless people stood in solemn formation.
One person knelt before them.
“Stand with the weak, and see the world through their eyes.” “We raise our swords not because of our courage…” “Nor our strength…” “Nor our superiority…” “But because it is right.” “Because it is just.” “Because there exists a cause that must be protected.” A solemn declaration echoed through the hall.
Every knight raised their sword in unison.
At the front…
An old man lowered his blade.
Slowly.
Carefully.
As though administering a blessing.
Tap.
The flat of the sword rested upon the kneeling figure’s head.
“Raise your sword because it is the right thing to do.” “Raise it not for your own strength…” “But for your own righteousness.” Tap.
Tap.
The blade lightly touched each shoulder.
“From this day forth…” “You are a knight.” “Stand with the weak, and see the world through their eyes.” Without even breathing, Isabelle returned to reality.
The Demon King’s sword was descending toward her head.
Slowly…
Yet her own body felt even heavier.
Even slower.
Behind her…
She heard frightened gasps.
Screams.
Cries.
“Stand with the weak…” “Raise your sword not for your strength…” “But for your righteousness.” The voice still echoed.
“Yes…” “I will.” As if entranced, Isabelle reached toward her fallen sword.
Her fingers wrapped around the hilt.
Her body felt…
Light.
Lighter than it ever had before.
Every muscle throughout her body bent fluidly— Then gathered into explosive strength.
By the time Eiphelllos’s blade reached the space directly above her head…
Isabelle had already assumed her stance.
THRUST!
Silence.
Everyone fell silent.
Even the wind.
The trembling breeze of the forest could no longer reach Isabelle’s ears.
The clouds parted.
Moonlight poured down once again.
Behind her, the survivors forgot even to breathe.
Above Isabelle’s lowered head…
The descending blade had stopped.
And protruding from the broad back of the giant Demon…
Was a sword.
Like a branch sprouting from a tree.
“H…
how…?” Eiphellos couldn’t understand.
His vacant eyes stared down at Isabelle.
Her face remained hidden.
Her head was lowered.
But at that moment…
He understood with perfect clarity.
This girl…
No.
This knight…
Has just taken her first step.
Eiphellos laughed bitterly.
“First the Hero…” “And now his daughter puts a hole through me.” He coughed up a mouthful of blood and staggered backward.
Clang.
His sword slipped from his hand.
After a few unsteady steps…
He collapsed to one knee.
“Haa…” Isabelle also planted her sword into the ground and knelt on one knee, breathing deeply.
She was exhausted.
Completely.
But…
She had protected them.
Everyone behind her.
Every single survivor.
“Excellent.” Hearing the low voice, she looked up.
A man was walking toward her from the distance.
His bushy beard hid his expression.
But even in the darkness…
His bright blue eyes shone clearly.
He was smiling.
Blood dripped steadily from his arm.
His coat was torn to pieces by branches.
Just looking at him…
She could tell what kind of battle he had fought.
She could never have done that.
She had nearly died fighting just one opponent.
So that’s why he said I’d only get in the way.
Letting out a quiet laugh, Isabelle shook her head.
“…What about the other enemies?” “He was the last one.” “…You’re incredible.” “Really…” “I wonder.” Looking at her the way an uncle might look at a niece who had grown up well…
The man smiled gently.
The thought made Isabelle laugh.
It was strangely accurate.
This man really did seem to see her as nothing more than a niece.
“Hm?
What are you doing?” “Treatment.” He uncorked the revolting truth serum and walked toward the fallen Demon.
*** Thank goodness.
Kim Seonwoo let out a sigh of relief.
Good.
Ivan smiled faintly as well.
So it was just a normal early-game awakening event.
A tutorial event.
Most likely…
In the original story, Isabelle had killed every enemy in this forest.
But in doing so…
Every survivor would have died.
She alone would have remained alive.
Because of Ivan’s intervention…
Every survivor had lived.
Good.
It seemed that the only variable in this world…
Was Ivan himself.
A smile of relief spread across his face.
That alone was enough.
Just proving he wasn’t an NPC was a tremendous gain.
Now…
Only one thing remained.
“W-What are you…?” “Treatment.” “…Why…
me…?” “Because I have a lot of questions.” If the difference in tutorial difficulty between Esidisi and Isabelle was normal…
Then how difficult were the tutorials for the other members of the Hero’s Party?
Should he interfere?
Or simply observe?
Unlike Esidisi’s incident…
This time, the mastermind behind the attack had personally appeared.
How could Demons move so openly near Prizhenkaya?
How many had infiltrated the academy?
Where were they plotting?
Who exactly sat at the top of their organization?
There was much he needed to learn.
And fortunately…
The Extermination Unit possessed both boundless curiosity…
And countless methods of satisfying it.