The Tutorial

He carefully thought about his name and started entering it. This was a new beginning for him. Another start. This time around, he won't be pushed around, he won't be weak, he will be the

[King].

The system's messages resounded again. 
[Your new name has been registered!]

[Follow the Guiding Arrow to enter the tutorial area and begin the tutorial!]

He tilted his head and saw a yellow arrow hovering above him, pointing in a certain direction. 

[Your assigned Goddess is looking at you!] 

[A few other Gods are looking at you!]

The messages died down for a brief moment and then resumed. 
[Your status window is now ready!]

[Would you like to view you status window?]

"Yes." He replied plainly, resting his hands on his waist. 
Another transparent panel opened-

[Name: King

Status: Player 

Titles: -

Achievements: -

Overall level: 1
Blessings: Lucky Duckling, Seer of Truths,???Skills: -

Stats: 

 Strength: level 1  

Agility: level 1  

Endurance: level 1

 Intelligence: level 1  

Charisma: level 1  

Mana: level 0

*additional details may be provided later! 

*user may invest coins to level up or to learn new skills! 

]

He studied his status briefly and closed the window. It was as the Goddess had said; all Stats at base level. He sighed. Even though he knew, he wasn't very pleased. 

[Notification: new messages have arrived!][Would you like to read unread messages?]   
'New messages? Is it the Goddess again?' 

He curiously opened the messages and read their contents thoroughly. Slowly, a smirk formed on his lips.

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A plethora of distant figures could be seen as he trudged through towards where the yellow arrow took him.

The blue sky was now replaced by the dawn and the ending of the lush green grass could be seen as the entrance to a forest stood beyond the figures.

He quietly approached the small crowd as it gleamed with chattering, and some of them noticed his presence. They were players like him. 

"Ha, look! A new guy has joined us."

One of them cried, and a few heads turned his way. 

[You have reached the tutorial location!][Countdown till tutorial starts: 20 minutes.]                                            

Another person put a firm hand on his shoulder and greeted him with a big smile. He seemed to be a stout fellow, fairly bigger than him, with balding hair, brown beard and a hardened yet friendly face.

"Brother, I am Liam Turner from America, which country are you from?"

"I'm- I'm from Korea. You can call me King."

He couldn't lie that he felt somewhat embarrassed, calling himself that. He wasn't yet used to this new name.

The man let out a haughty laughter and shook his hand. He then turned his head towards another guy.

"Did you see his audacity, Justin? This guy appeared and now just declares himself as our king."

He hastily explained. "N- no, I didn't mean it as a title, I-"

The man let out another fit of laughter.

"Yeah, I know, brother, I'm just messing with you." He said as he patted his shoulder quite strongly. 

Some other people around him also began introducing themselves to him, as Liam introduced him to them. 

Justin Reece from England.

Ichiko Himejima from Japan. 

Ayush Jaiswal from India.

Renata Kambolina from Russia. 

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Many people from different parts of the world had greeted him by now and it seemed the wave of introductions had finally ended. 

They had also died for one reason or another in that world and began their lives anew in this one. He saw the sight of the different people from so many different nations, no longer divided.

They all seemed quite friendly and inviting. Though he had been greeted by only a small part of the crowd, he could hear and see the others smiling and chatting nonchalantly, sharing their previous lives.

But he didn't smile or speak. The other people saw themselves as a continuation of who they used to be. But he had decided already that he was longer that person called Lee Dae-sung.

He saw their laughter and chatter and couldn't help but feel pity. None of them had a clue what was going to happen....

An alarm clock went off in all their heads and the chatters died down as everyone read the message that had popped up before them. 

[The Tutorial has begun!]

[

Tutorial: Test of Luck and Ruthlessness

Clear conditions: 

 Step 1: collect your weapon.  

 Step 2: reach your starting position in the. tutorial area. 

 Step 3: slay at least one monster to earn. the Tutorial Pass ticket.

 Step 4: use the Tutorial Pass ticket to exit the tutorial area.

Time limit: 90 days

Reward for completion: 300 coins

Penalty for failure: Death

*additional information will be given as the tutorial proceeds.

*monsters drop a random amount of gold coins upon death. 

]                                                                               

[Step 1: collect your weapons!] 

A long line of identical swords levitating in mid air materialised before the crowd. They seemed like rather unremarkable and plain swords. Slowly, some started to approach them and slowly picked them up. 

King, however, went to the left most sword and started counting them. He soon stopped on one of them and his hand reached out to grab it.

However, instead of the hard hilt, he felt the soft and warm hand. Both the hands reflexive withdrew. He looked at the owner of the hand.

A girl with long black hair, matching black eyes, pale skin and a cute face. She had a cute red ribbon on her head. This was Ichiko Himejima, the player from Japan.      

"Oh I'm sorry..." She spoke softly, with faint redness visible on her cheeks.

"N- No, it's okay, it was just an accident."

He replied and grabbed the sword again. She shyly placed her hand on the sword next to it and nodded while picking it up. 

He broke the awkward silence that lingered for a while.

"Thank you for letting me take this one. "

She smiled and then giggled a little. "But aren't they all the same?"

He didn't say anything to her. 

Thankfully another system message interrupted just in time.

[You have completed Step 1!]

[Step 2: follow the yellow arrow and reach your assigned positions in the tutorial area!] 

The crowd scattered into smaller clusters and slowly started moving into the forest before them. It was quite dark now, but they didn't mind; after all, the tutorial is never hard, they thought. 

The crowd had slowly almost completely seeped into the forest's darkness. He and Ichiko began moving too. For some reason they didn't even know, they were moving together.

They walked in and felt the rougher terrain beneath their feet, and the growing darkness ahead of them. Twigs and leaves growing outwards from the trees occasionally felt in their legs and arms but they ignored them.

They diligently followed the yellow arrow. The crowd around them kept getting thinner as they went, spreading into different parts of the forest. Eventually they tanned the point where his and Ichiko's arrow diverged.

She politely have him a small bow and waved her hand with a smile. "Let's meet again after the tutorial."

He turned towards her and nodded.

□He knew they would never meet again.□

He separated from the crowd and went ahead alone towards his assigned position.

Soon, he encountered a circle on the ground, blue rays of dancing light emanating from it's perimeter. The arrow disappeared and another message rang in. 

[You have encountered your assigned position!]

[Step 3 will commence when all players have stepped into their assigned positions!]

He sat down and rested his back against a nearby tree. Surely, nobody would be foolish enough to step into it during this time. Had it not been for the arrows, it would be impossible to even reach here in this darkness. 

This was the time everyone would rest and prepare for the next day. He slowly closed his eyes and lost himself into a peaceful slumber. 

________________________________________

The sunlight, fluttering through the green roof of the forest occasionally hit and illuminated his face. He took his time to open his eyes and stand up. A system message was already awaiting him. 

[523 players have stepped on their assigned positions! 16 players remaining!]

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[12 players remaining!]

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[9 players remaining!]

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[5 players remaining!]

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[1 player remaining!] 

He stepped upon the circle and the blue light from the perimeter disappeared.

[Step 3 has begun!]