Players have been appearing more frequently across every nation. So News Channel 2 has decided to air a new program in which we invite Players to share their experiences inside the tutorial. For our first guest, we’ve invited Player Javier of Mexico, who recently set the record for the fastest clear of the Normal difficulty tutorial.
But before that, let's talk about the tutorial's main questline: Defending the Human Kingdom & Defeating the Demon King.
The TV murmured in the background of a small apartment, its broadcast little more than white noise against the chaos unfolding nearby.
“Adam, right side! They’re flanking!”
A tanned beauty with a slight Japanese accent and striking two-tone blonde and black hair illuminated by her computer's LED screen leaned forward in her chair, fingers flying across her RGB keyboard as she repositioned her in-game character with practiced precision.
“I see them! Throwing a nade!”
Adam shouted back, eyes glued to his monitor. His plain, slicked back brown hair stuck slightly to his forehead, damp from the PC fans blowing heated air into the cramped space.
There was barely a foot of space between their desks. They didn’t need to shout, but adrenaline had long since taken over, pushing them to the very edge of excitement.
A sharp bang echoed out of Adam's headset as an explosion flashed across his screen.
“Ah?! How’d you kill yourself?!”
The woman glanced at the kill feed, then over at his screen.
“The nade hit the window frame…”
“Aish… what am I going to do with you?”
“Maybe focus on the other team first?”
“Focus? I could wipe these bronze scrubs with my eyes closed.”
“I’m one of those bronze scrubs…”
“Yeah, but you’ve got me to carry you. God Gamer Mei Mori they call me. Remember the name.”
She struck a playful pose, flashing a V-sign over her eye.
“Who calls you that?”
“Someone, somewhere. Probably.”
“So just you.”
Mei shrugged, then flicked her mouse.
Her crosshair snapped across the screen and landed perfectly on the head of an enemy pushing through the doorway. A single heavy-caliber gunshot rang out through her headset.
The enemy character dropped instantly. Dead as could be.
Before the body fully hit the floor, a flashbang bounced into the room.
Mei’s fingers danced over the keyboard. Her character vaulted out the open window and hit the ground in a clean roll, canceling the fall damage without missing a beat.
Adam stared, momentarily forgetting to breathe.
He’d watched plenty of pro esports matches before, but even they couldn't move the way she did.
Mei circled around the building, slipping inside through the first floor. She climbed the stairs just as the final enemy breached the room on the third floor—where she had been moments before.
He never even had the chance to turn.
One shot ended him like his teammate.
“See? EZ.”
Adam nodded weakly.
It was easy. For her.
If their positions had been swapped, he doubted he’d have survived the first encounter, let alone the flashbang. Even if he managed to leap from the window he'd likely just end up with broken legs.
Mei carried the rest of the match effortlessly, securing the win within minutes.
“Victory! Let’s gooo!”
She spun around in her highbacked gaming chair, flashing him a smug grin.
“Carried ya again.”
Adam glanced at her, about to respond, when something flickered at the edge of his vision.
He frowned.
“…Hey, Mei.”
“Yeah? Another round?”
“No. Uh… since when does this game have holograms? Actually, since when can my PC even do that?”
“What are you talking about?”
Adam pointed between them.
“This. It’s a hologram, right?”
Mei blinked, then frowned.
“Adam… honey, there’s nothing there.”
She looked at him the way a mother would look at their delusional child who spouts things like “the cursed black dragon hidden in my right arm hungers for violence”.
Not that Adam would know anything about that. He was a completely normal and well-adjusted child with a perfectly active imagination.
“…No, there definitely is. It says… Congratulations on being selected as a player for the tutorial…”
His voice trailed off as he blinked hard and rubbed his eyes.
The message didn’t disappear.
“No freaking way!” Mei shrieked. “You got sele—?!”
Her voice cut out abruptly.
Adam turned toward her.
She was staring at the same empty space, eyes wide and unfocused.
“You too?”
“…Me too…”
A shocked silence settled between them.
From the TV, the broadcast filled the gap.
Player Javier, what is the best advice you can give to prospective players?
The biggest piece of advice I can give is something that’s been repeated since the beginning. Never choose Impossible.
Wise advice. After all, not a single person has ever returned after entering the Impossible difficulty tutorial.
Mei swallowed, then glanced at Adam.
“Ne, Adam… what difficulty should we choose?” she asked, slipping into her native Japanese. “It’s gotta be Impossible, right? After all, it has that as the final reward.”
Adam’s finger hovered over Easy.
“Are you insane? That’s a death sentence. No. At most we go Hard. If we really push it, maybe Nightmare. But Impossible? Never.”
He shook his head firmly.
“It’s called Impossible for a reason. It wasn’t made to be beaten.”
“But—”
“No buts. Haven’t you seen the livestreams? People pick it knowing exactly what it is. And every single time? They die.”
Mei blinked.
Then finished her sentence.
“…I already chose it.”
Her body began to dissolve into drifting motes of blue and white light.
“Wait—!”
Adam shot to his feet, knocking his gaming chair over, but it was too late. She was already fading, her legs were already gone, her torso beginning to break apart.
“You—!”
He didn’t even know what he was going to say.
“Shit!”
Without thinking, he slammed his finger onto Impossible.
Light swallowed him instantly.
“I’m going to—”
The words never left his mouth.
He dissolved completely.
Impossible Difficulty Player Count: 0 → 2
Welcome to the tutorial, Players Mei Mori & Adam Colt!
“Oooh! We’re really here!”
Mei spun in a full circle, eyes sparkling as she took in their surroundings like a kid stepping into an amusement park for the first time.
“You!” Adam snapped.
The word came out sharp, but whatever string of curses he wanted to follow it with got forcibly swallowed. His jaw tightened as he dragged in a breath through his nose.
Now wasn’t the time.
They were inside the Impossible difficulty tutorial. There was no logging out, no backing out, no second chances. They either cleared it… or they died.
Getting mad at Mei wouldn’t change that.
Instead, he forced his focus forward.
Floating in front of them was a semi-transparent screen, its faint glow casting a soft light over their faces. It wasn’t just any regular game menu. This was the system panel. The thing that would decide how they lived or died in this world.
“What? You gonna swear at me?” Mei tilted her head with a grin. “I can take you in a fight, you know.”
Adam rolled his eyes and ignored her, eyes scanning the screen.
Please carefully read the information below:
Current difficulty is set to: Impossible.
This cannot be changed.
Impossible difficulty modifiers:
All level requirements for players, NPCs, and mobs have been lifted. (Items will not be marked with a level as a result.)
Example: In Normal difficulty, a level 5 goblin would spawn with at most a weapon five levels higher. In Impossible difficulty, a level 5 goblin may spawn with any level and rarity of weapon. (Even a level 100 Legendary is possible.)
Mob, Boss, and NPC levels scale with player level × 50%. (They can, and likely will, exceed this scaling)
Mob, Boss, and NPC stats increased by 1 rank. (Limited to stats under A-rank)
Player inventory size reduced to 10 spaces.
Livestreams disabled outside of Boss fights.
Coin store disabled (inside tutorial world).
Replaced with wandering merchants.
+ Hidden modifiers ×10
The two of them read through the panel in silence.
By the time they reached the bottom, the weight of it had settled in.
They slowly turned to each other.
“That’s… a lot of hidden modifiers,” Adam muttered, eyes lingering on the final line as if staring at it long enough would reveal what was being concealed.
Mei shrugged, unfazed.
“The visible ones don’t seem that bad. Just enough to make things interesting.”
“Interesting?” Adam shot her a look. “You mean the part where a level 5 goblin can spawn with a weapon strong enough to oneshot us?”
“Okay, but think about it,” Mei said, leaning forward with growing excitement. “If we kill that goblin and it drops the weapon, we instantly get a level 100 Legendary. That’s broken.”
“And what if it’s not a goblin?” Adam countered immediately. “What if it’s a boss? What if something actually strong rolls that kind of gear?”
He didn’t wait for her answer.
“We die. That’s what happens.”
Mei waved a hand dismissively.
“You worry too much. Once we get our talents, this’ll be easy. We’ll just steamroll through everything with our OP abilities.”
Adam exhaled slowly, the sound heavy with restrained frustration.
Mei was incredible. Talented, confident, fearless.
And completely reckless.
With her skill and his ability to stay grounded, they could’ve handled Hard. Maybe even Nightmare if they pushed themselves. With livestreams active, they would’ve raked in coins too. It didn’t hurt that Mei had the kind of presence and beauty people loved to watch.
They would’ve thrived.
Instead…
He glanced back at the word Impossible.
They were trapped in a mode no one had ever beaten.
Most people who chose it were idiots chasing a fantasy, convinced they were special. That they’d be the exception.
Some of them actually were special. Geniuses. Monsters in their own right.
None of them survived.
Most didn’t even make it past the first boss. Let alone reach the final boss, the demon king.
Adam’s hands curled into fists at his sides.
Still…
He hadn’t given up. Not completely.
There was one thing left. The one variable that could change everything.
The talent awakening.
Every Player received at least one talent. And sometimes, those talents broke the rules.
The system panel flickered.
Assessing Players’ hidden talents. Please wait patiently…
“There it is!”
Mei leaned forward, practically vibrating with anticipation. She might have been waiting, but patient was the last word anyone would use to describe her.
A beam of light burst from the floating panel and swept toward them.
It started with Mei.
The pale glow passed over the top of her head, illuminating her two-tone hair much like the light from her gaming monitor had only moments ago. It traveled slowly downward, reflecting in her blue contact lenses and highlighting the sun-kissed skin she worked so hard to maintain. As the beam continued its descent, it accentuated the definition of her shoulders, arms, and toned midriff, tracing every curve and line of muscle hidden beneath her seemingly carefree exterior.
The scan didn't stop at the surface.
The light passed through her purple-and-black crop top and black leather shorts as though the material didn't exist, penetrating her body before emerging from the opposite side in a soft glow.
Mei watched the process with wide eyes and an excited grin, completely unfazed by the fact that she was essentially being X-rayed by a mysterious cosmic system.
Then the beam shifted toward Adam.
He instinctively stiffened.
Unlike Mei's curiosity, his first reaction was caution. The light moved with deliberate precision, descending from the top of his head to the soles of his feet like a scanner from a science-fiction movie. He watched as it passed through his white t-shirt and jeans, revealing muscles, bones, organs, and everything else hidden beneath his skin.
As the beam reached deeper, he felt something stir within him.
It wasn't physical.
There was no warmth, no tingling sensation, no pain.
Yet he felt it all the same.
It was like a locked door buried somewhere deep inside his soul had been discovered for the first time. Something dormant. Something forgotten. Something that had been quietly waiting his entire life for this moment.
The feeling grew stronger as the scan continued.
A faint sense of possibility filled him. Not power exactly, but potential. The promise that there was more to him than he had ever realized.
Glancing sideways, he noticed Mei's expression had changed as well.
The excitement was still there, impossible to suppress completely, but beneath it was something new. A look of concentration. Of awareness. As if she too could feel that hidden part of herself awakening.
The beam finally completed its scan.
The light faded.
Silence filled the space around them.
For a brief moment, nothing happened.
Then the system chimed.
Congratulations! You have successfully awakened your talents!