Chapter 61

 

The Fairy of the Tutorial.

 

A ruthless villain who preys on the heads of innocent citizens who just entered the tower, and an entity that awakens them to the fact that this place is not the reality humanity has known so far. That it’s a space called ‘the tower,’ where one must struggle desperately to survive, putting their life on the line.

 

This creature is the first bizarre anomaly that teaches modern people, who have lived comfortably within the fences of law, the cruel natural law of the survival of the fittest.

 

- The Fairy of the Tutorial: Has anyone seen someone’s head burst open by the fairy?

 

- Is that even possible?

 

- I saw a middle-aged guy trying to curse at the fairy but got stopped by someone else. Honestly, who doesn’t know about the Fairy of the Tutorial these days?

 

However, nowadays, the perception of the fairy has become so widespread through creative works that there are virtually no cases of people getting their heads exploded by this villain.

 

Situations where a furious middle-aged man or a punk with bright yellow-dyed hair confronts the Fairy of the Tutorial only to explode, causing horror among others, have become almost cliché in webtoons and web novels.

 

Of course, the absence of victims does not diminish its stature.

 

The Fairy of the Tutorial is still an object of fear, a starving beast hunting for an opportunity to burst someone’s head.

 

<Hey, does anyone know about that guy in the tutorial who beat the fairy?>

 

Until the stories about that man—Kang Chan—spread.

 

<Hey, does anyone know about that guy in the tutorial who beat the fairy?>

 

Can you believe it? I hardly can. When I was first summoned to the tutorial and freaking out, suddenly this incredibly scary-looking guy stood up.

 

At first, I just stared, wondering what was going on. But this guy, standing silently, exuded such a terrifying aura – an aura so intense it was hard even to look at him. I was so scared I could only stare at the ground, but then suddenly, there was a loud ‘thump!’

 

I wasn’t the only one staring at the ground. When the sound echoed, everyone slowly looked up to see the Fairy of the Tutorial (I didn’t realize it was the fairy at first) sprawled on the floor, with a trickle of blood running down that scary-looking guy’s head.

 

I heard later that the fairy had shot some kind of magic at the man’s head, but he dodged it just in time and counterpunched, knocking it out. Eventually, another fairy appeared, took the unconscious one away, provided some background knowledge, and left us with some weapons.

 

I think that was the first time I’d ever seen someone so intimidating. The memory of those fierce eyes and expressionless face still haunts me...

 

===

 

- BS

 

- I was in the same tutorial as this guy, and it’s all true. There were a few people squaring off in the vacant lot, but after seeing him take down the fairy, they all started bowing down to him, calling him ‘Hyung.’ The atmosphere was really intense.

 

- Beating a fairy without any level at that early stage? Wow...

 

- How good must one’s attributes be to do this? I’m only a C-grade, and I feel so… worthless.

 

- Don’t just call him ‘that guy.’ His name is Kang Chan.

 

The man’s name that emerged later was Kang Chan. His appearance, abilities, age – the details vary depending on who you ask, and nothing is clear...

 

- Now the fairies don’t threaten to bust heads anymore.

 

- They learned their lesson the hard way, now they know their place, lol.

 

- God Chan

 

What’s certain is that he is an incredibly strong figure who subdued the Fairy of the Tutorial with a single punch.

 

Choi Ji-Won, who alone defeated the master of the city on the second floor.

 

Kang Chan, who overpowered the Fairy of the Tutorial with his bare hands.

 

And finally, the mysterious man who is said to have beheaded the hidden boss Minotaur with a single stroke.

 

If you had to pick the three hottest figures in Korean online communities right now, everyone would agree on these three names...

 

Definitely.

 

Even if half of the stories I’ve seen on the internet are true, he more than qualifies to challenge the hardest floor on the 3rd floor: Floor 3-5.

 

He wore stiff leather armor, but his daunting aura was unmistakable.

 

“...Hmm.”

 

Kang Chan, having calmly endured our gaze with his eyes closed, slowly opened them and then silently walked towards the stone door.

 

“...”

 

It seemed like the time for small talk was over, perhaps signaling to proceed to the 3rd floor.

 

I exchanged a brief look with An Kyung-Joon, and we both nodded slightly and positioned ourselves in front of the stone door.

 

So, there we were, four of us standing before the massive stone door.

 

The moment we placed our hands on the indented palm-shaped hollows on it-

 

Rumble!

 

-With a ground-shaking roar, the stone door began to move slowly.

 

The real challenge of the 3rd floor had begun.

 

Step. Step.

 

How long had we been walking, relying on the light of torches hanging on the walls?

 

The echo of our footsteps resonated loudly in the narrow cave tunnel.

 

“Screeeeech!”

 

Occasionally, a goblin hiding in the crevices of the rocks would leap out with a shriek.

 

Thwack!

 

Honestly, I had become too strong to be sent back by mere goblins. In the very early stages of the tutorial, a goblin might have been a threat, but now, they were nothing more than minor nuisances.

 

The space was so cramped that I dispatched the goblin with a thrust and casually flicked the blood off my sword onto the ground.

 

“...Could it be that living in the cave has degenerated their eyes? Those white eyeballs are creepy...”

 

An Kyung-Joon was constantly talking, perhaps trying to shake off the tension.

 

“At least there are no bugs like in a typical cave, right? That’s interesting~”

 

Dok Su-Hee, now relaxed or perhaps just talkative, shared her quirky observations, contrasting with her sharp appearance.

 

“Hmm.”

 

Kang Chan, still exuding an aura of intensity, never loosened his grip on the tension.

 

We were slowly walking through the cave.

 

To be honest, the floor (3-5) we’ve been through so far was... too easy. Unbelievably easy.

 

After the first stone door opened, we picked up familiar weapons from a room stacked with various arms.

 

What followed was just a long walk down a slippery, damp cave tunnel.

 

The only enemies that popped up were goblins or bats.

 

Aren’t we too strong? However, according to common sense, it is unlikely that a person strong and confident enough to enter the floor 3-5 will be beaten by a goblin.

 

There must be something more to this floor. Something else... a different strategy perhaps...

 

As we continued on with these thoughts,

 

“...”

 

The narrow cave tunnel, which seemed to stretch on endlessly, finally opened into a large cavern.

 

The size of the cavern, carved out in a circular shape, seemed almost as large as a concert hall, and the torches hung on the walls flickered eerily.

 

“Hmm...”

 

The four of us cautiously walked into the cavern. Although we were on high alert, nothing seemed to jump out at us.

 

“There’s a door on the other side...”

 

True to An Kyung-Joon’s observation, there was a familiar-looking stone door on the other side of the cavern, but unlike before, there was no palm-shaped hollow. It seemed unlikely that the door would open just by us placing our hands on it.

 

“...Maybe we need to find a hidden mechanism? If there are no enemies, it could be something like a puzzle!”

 

Dok Su-Hee offered her opinion, which seemed quite plausible.

 

We needed to move forward, but the door was closed, and there were no enemies. Plus, this space was quite large... so the hypothesis that we might need to press a hidden switch to move to the next room was quite convincing.

 

The 2nd floor was more puzzle-like than combat-oriented, so it wouldn’t be out of the question for the 3rd floor to be similar.

 

“Should we split up and look around...?”

 

So when An Kyung-Joon suggested that we spread out to search for any suspicious features, no one objected.

 

===

 

Perhaps about 15 minutes had passed.

 

“Um...”

 

I had touched and tapped the walls of the cavern extensively, but found no hidden mechanisms.

 

“Hmmm...”

 

Honestly, I had a feeling there wouldn’t be any hidden devices.

 

The atmosphere of this cavern was ominously unsettling.

 

It reminded me of playing games like Dark Souls, where you get this feeling.

 

It looks just like a boss room, right?

 

But instead of a fearsome boss, only the torches flickered ominously.

 

Entering what seemed like a boss room, only to find it empty.

 

In web novels, at times like this, usually from the ceiling...

 

“Huh?”

 

I slowly raised my head.

 

In the darkness of the ceiling, untouched by the torchlight, I locked eyes with glowing yellow irises.

 

“Wha-!”

 

The moment I saw those slit pupils, my body was already in motion.

 

Crash!

 

A monstrous creature, no, a massive wolf with fluttering white fur, had struck the spot I had just vacated.

 

“Jun-ho! Watch out!”

 

“Damn it...”

 

The ground where the creature had struck split apart, and the beast, the size of an SUV, turned its head, fixing its gaze on my neck.

 

Whoosh!

 

The monster wolf, using its incredible agility, leaped into action. Its jump was so swift that even a superhuman would struggle to react in time.

 

Clang!

 

Instinctively, I raised my sword horizontally to block the wolf’s swinging paw, and the sound that rang out was unbelievably like metal clashing against the animal’s claws.

 

“Argh...!”

 

This wolf. Its strength was immense. Unable to fully deflect its monstrous physical force, my body was sent flying backward, suspended in mid-air.

 

As I neared the ground, trying to slow my momentum by stretching my legs backward...

 

Slip.

 

“Huh?”

 

My feet, extended backward to reduce speed, skidded across the slippery cave floor.

 

Crack!

 

As my body rotated halfway, my face made a harsh “kiss” with the cave floor.

 

 

 

 

***

 

“Get up, greenhorn.”

 

I heard Kang Chan’s growling voice, and I rubbed my face with my palms.

 

“Damn it...”

– – – End of Chapter – – -

 

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