2. Tutorial(2)
The overwhelming majority of players thought of it this way.
That the purpose of the tutorial was to check for the minimum force needed to take down ten goblins, or the cooperation needed to kill them.
So the players who went through the tutorial split broadly into two groups.
Either they killed the goblins competently on their own and cleared the tutorial quickly and left.
Or they were too frightened to kill goblins and had to borrow someone else's hands.
Whichever group they fell into, the players who came here focused only on 'killing ten goblins.'
'It isn't wrong or mistaken. The Tower did set it up that way in the first place.'
Stepping past the goblins that blocked him, Lee Jin-hyeok pushed deeper and deeper into the forest.
'But if you only go the way the Tower set it up, you can't become stronger than anyone else.'
A flaw in the system, or a hidden element.
Only by looking for those could one get ahead of others and grow strong.
Brushing off the tutorial as trivial was forbidden.
What deserved attention in the tutorial was not the 'number' of goblins but their 'quality.'
Kill ten goblins and the tutorial ended immediately, sending the player to the Floor 1 trial waiting room.
That was right.
The tutorial grounds did not hold only 'ordinary goblins' like the ones he had just met.
'Which' ten goblins one killed was entirely up to the player.
'Even if it costs a little time, killing stronger, more special goblins is the better deal.'
Lee Jin-hyeok's goal was to stop a Constellation strong enough to bring down the Tower.
He needed force on a scale other players could not even imagine.
For that, he had to go where others did not go, dig into the flaws in the system, and at times take dangerous roads.
***
GAAAAAHK!
SCREEEEECH!
The deeper he went into the forest, the more goblins there were, but none of them could stop Lee Jin-hyeok.
They merely had parts of their bodies cut off by his sword and rolled across the ground.
Perhaps it was because no player had ever taken such a course before.
[Constellation <Eternal Flame> is watching you.]
A Constellation observing Lee Jin-hyeok had appeared.
'A Constellation? Already?'
Constellations wanted to see the 'stimulating' sight of players fighting as they climbed the Tower.
But the tutorial showed nothing more than newly arrived players adapting or dying.
Its flavor was inevitably milder than that of the upper floors.
'Which is why there's usually no Constellation watching the tutorial.'
<Eternal Flame> was a Constellation famous as an underdog enthusiast, one who watched and cheered for weak players.
The fact that Constellations came in every disposition imaginable hit home again.
'Before the regression or now, an odd one either way.'
[Constellation <Eternal Flame> wonders why you are not killing the goblins.]
Lee Jin-hyeok knew who <Eternal Flame> was.
'Handles fire, and favors players of a good disposition.'
The personalities of Constellations varied enormously.
<Eternal Flame> rarely watched players, but lavished an excessive amount on the ones it took a liking to.
Put unkindly, it was a sucker.
'Not every Constellation is my enemy. At least until I'm strong enough, I'll need to use them.'
Grin.
'There's no need to look bad in front of a Constellation. Not when there's something to be gained.'
Finishing this long train of thought in an instant, Lee Jin-hyeok offered an answer that <Eternal Flame> would like.
"Goblins are lives too."
[Constellation <Eternal Flame> listens closely to your words.]
"So I did not want to kill them unless it was a situation where I absolutely had to."
It was bullshit.
Lee Jin-hyeok was not killing them only because he did not want them counted toward the 'ten.'
It was not because he possessed a kind heart.
But did that matter?
Whatever cause or sentiment one held, the result came out the same.
In which case, there was value in looking good to a Constellation right now.
Only then could he make use of it.
[Constellation <Eternal Flame> believes that giving a chance is better than killing.]
[Constellation <Eternal Flame> is satisfied with your answer!]
[Constellation <Eternal Flame> sponsors you with 1,000 points.]
"Thank you for the sponsorship."
When a Constellation found a player to its liking, it would support them with points or items like this.
<Eternal Flame> was a Constellation that formed one of the pillars of the Star Universe <Olympus>.
As such, its wealth and authority were considerable.
'Nothing compared to <Pure Radiance>, though.'
SLICE.
Even while listening to <Eternal Flame>, Lee Jin-hyeok kept digging deeper inward.
And in doing so, he found a meaningful trace.
"These are scorch marks from fire. I doubt a player who has only just entered the Tower would be able to use fire."
Swish.
"It seems there is a goblin here that uses fire."
[Constellation <Eternal Flame> marvels at your powers of observation!]
Apparently quite taken with Lee Jin-hyeok, <Eternal Flame> kept watching him.
"Let us go and see."
Following the scorch marks and pushing between the trees, before long he heard a rhythmic chanting.
-Gurk. Gurk-gurk-rrk! Gurrk!
-Gurk. Gurk-gurk-rrk! Gurrk!
-Gurk. Gurk-gurk-rrk! Gurrk!
Goblins dancing around a bonfire, keeping to a steady beat.
'Found it.'
A necklace of skulls, eyes full of madness, the bearing of one commanding the other goblins.
The one in the middle was the chieftain leading the goblin band.
Though he had played innocent for <Eternal Flame>, Lee Jin-hyeok had been searching the tutorial grounds with that thing as his target from the start.
At last he had achieved his purpose.
"SCREEEEECH—! Humans! Bring more humans! We will show them our rage!"
At the Goblin Chieftain's order, the other goblins dragged over the corpse of a human already dead.
The chieftain drew blood from the body and smeared it across the faces of the other goblins.
'So someone was already taken.'
That player had probably been one who failed to band together with the others.
Goblins would take players who were isolated or paralyzed with fear like this and use them in their sorcery.
So that they themselves could grow stronger.
-Gurk! Gurk-gurk! Rrk! Gurrk!
-Gurk! Gurk-gurk! Rrk! Gurrk!
The goblins' dance grew wilder and wilder, and the ones chosen by the blood roared and lifted their weapons.
Monsters that used the blood of a creature other than a goblin as a medium to invoke sorcery, gaining stronger bodies but losing reason and charging at nothing but their target.
Goblin Berserkers.
"Gurk-gurk-rrk! Gurrk!"
At the Goblin Chieftain's command, the Berserkers left their places to search for nearby humans.
'Those are the ones that hunt the humans dropped into the tutorial.'
[Constellation <Eternal Flame> is curious about your next move.]
A few minutes after the Goblin Berserkers left.
Crouching low to stay hidden as best he could, Lee Jin-hyeok headed inside.
'There isn't much cover, but this much is workable.'
Goblins that were not chieftains had low intelligence and poor senses.
On top of that, there were only a few Goblin Berserkers, the ones with real combat strength.
So he was able to sneak all the way to the tent where the Goblin Chieftain had hidden himself.
"Gurrk!"
"SCREEEEE—!"
Without a stealth skill, sneaking into the tent itself was beyond him.
In the end, he could not help being spotted by the two keen-sensed Berserkers standing guard nearby.
"......."
In an instant he thrust his sword, stabbing at the Berserker's eye.
SCREEEEEECH—!
Was it thanks to the power of the sorcery?
The Berserker dodged Lee Jin-hyeok's attack and hurled itself at him, its strength exploding.
Power and ferocity beyond any comparison with an ordinary goblin.
Swish.
He avoided its blade and claws, rolled once through the air, and cut the back of its neck.
It was a smooth chain of movements, like a dance.
[Constellation <Eternal Flame> marvels at your martial power.]
SLICE.
SCREEEEEECH—!
An ordinary goblin would have died instantly, but the Berserker, with its tougher hide, did not die from that alone.
'Don't die.'
SCREEEECH!
'Counting you among the ten would be a waste.'
In that opening, the other Berserker came running at Lee Jin-hyeok.
The blood smeared on its face shone brightly, serving as the medium of the sorcery.
He landed on the ground, then bent low and crouched.
Then he sprang out like a coiled spring and struck its throat precisely with the flat of his sword.
THWACK—!
"......!"
Thanks to the strike aimed exactly at a vital point, one of them was knocked out.
The other charged regardless of the blood streaming from the back of its head, but it was already weakened, so subduing it was simple.
"Gurrrrk! Human?"
In the meantime, the chieftain had come out of the tent and was fiddling with his necklace of skulls.
"Fool! To crawl all the way here alone! Gurk. Gurk-gurk-rrk! Gurrk!"
The humans the Goblin Chieftain had met until now had possessed very weak strength.
Even dozens of them together could not handle him and his Berserkers.
And yet one came charging into a place like this alone?
Throwing himself at the one who ruled an entire goblin settlement, without knowing any better?
It was reckless.
No, it was stupid beyond words.
"That stupidity."
FWOOSH!
"Repay it with death!"
Strong flames began to rise from the dagger the Goblin Chieftain held.
"Charge him!"
At the chieftain's command, the other goblins rushed at Lee Jin-hyeok.
[You have been afflicted with <Status Ailment: Slow>. All movement is slowed.]
[You have been afflicted with <Status Ailment: Curse>. All stats are reduced.]
Using the other goblins as a meat shield, the Goblin Chieftain laid a curse on him.
And that was not the end of it.
[You have been afflicted with <Status Ailment: Burn>. You take continuous damage.]
Fire rose from the dagger in his hand and shot toward the impudent intruder.
Having watched him deal with the Goblin Berserkers, he seemed to have grasped that this was not an opponent he could subdue easily.
So even at the cost of sacrificing his own subordinates, he was trying to burn the man to death.
In a sense, he had thrown in every means available to him.
It may have been excessive, but it was done to finish the opponent for certain.
It was a wise decision.
If there was a variable, it was that Lee Jin-hyeok already knew what powers a Goblin Chieftain held.
And that because of it, every countermeasure was already prepared.
[By the effect of the skill <Indomitable Star>, you are freed from all status ailments.]
But there was something the chieftain had overlooked.
First of all, Lee Jin-hyeok did not catch status ailments at all.
His movements did not slow, nor did he weaken.
On top of that, he possessed powerful stats and abundant experience.
So the goblins that were supposed to bind and pin his body could instead be used as a shield against the flames.
SLASH—!
Shoving out from among the goblins and swinging his sword was, by Lee Jin-hyeok's standards, far too easy.
"Damn it!"
As if in a last desperate act, the Goblin Chieftain threw a spear that lay beside him.
SLASH!
He let the thrown spear slide past, grazing his side, then rolled along the ground and kicked a fallen weapon toward him.
"Hrgh?"
The Goblin Chieftain was thrown off by the weapon suddenly flying at him.
Not missing that opening, Lee Jin-hyeok drove strength into his thighs and shot forward.
SLICE.
"SCREEEEECH—?"
Before he could even properly register what had happened to him, a thin line was drawn across the Goblin Chieftain's arm.
"SCREEEECH! Human!"
"Chieftain."
The Goblin Chieftain was an individual that could speak with humans.
So he asked.
"You goblins must serve a Constellation of your own as well."
"......!"
"The Sacred Relic that holds that one's power. Tell me where it is and I'll send you off without pain."
<Blood-Red Hair>.
The Sacred Relic that held her power was an item Lee Jin-hyeok needed.
The higher one went, the fewer goblins there were as a monster type, so if he could obtain it here, it was wise to do so.
"Gurk-gurk-gurk-gurk-gurrk...... Kill me instead, human."
The Goblin Chieftain clutched his own arm.
"I would sooner die. I will not speak the location of the Constellation's Sacred Relic."
"In that case."
SLICE.
"Nothing to be done."
In that instant, the Goblin Chieftain's world turned over.
His head had simply fallen from his neck.
[You have slain a <Goblin Chieftain>!]
[You have acquired 100 points!]
[Your level has risen!] x2
[Constellation <Eternal Flame> is astonished by your combat sense and intelligence.]
[Constellation <Eternal Flame> marvels, saying it has never seen a player like you in a tutorial!]
"Gurrrk?"
"Skrrrr!"
Having lost their chieftain, the goblins scattered in every direction in a panic.
The Goblin Chieftain was, by rights, a monster tutorial players 'could not kill.'
The reason was simple.
Players who had only just entered the Tower had no countermeasures against status ailments like curses or burns.
And that was not all.
They could not break through the countless goblins guarding him without killing them.
'And if you kill goblins while trying to break through, the moment you fill your ten you get moved to the Floor 1 waiting room.'
But Lee Jin-hyeok, thanks to the various elements he possessed and the information he already knew, had been able to kill the Goblin Chieftain.
[Constellation <Eternal Flame> is curious as to why you covet a Sacred Relic.]
"I will show you that later."
Lee Jin-hyeok stretched his hand toward the ground.
The dagger the Goblin Chieftain had used lay there.
"At least."
Grin.
"I've gotten a weapon that will do for the lower floors."
[You have acquired the item <Blood-Red Claw>.]
[The item <Blood-Red Claw> may be destroyed depending on conditions.]