Tutorial
The spatial transfer did not feel like violence.
There was no tearing of flesh or reality.
Only a smooth passage, like walking through warm water.
Seo Jun's bedroom light faded.
And the world changed.
He opened his eyes.
✦ ✦ ✦
A vast alien jungle stretched in every direction.
Tall black trees rose like pillars, blocking most of the sky.
The air was thick and humid.
It stuck to the skin like wet cloth.
The ground was soft with crushed leaves and damp earth.
A faint metallic smell mixed with rot filled the air.
This was not a surprise attack dungeon.
This was the Tutorial Zone.
Every awakened person had been given 24 hours of warning before being sent here.
Around him stood about 1000 people.
All newly awakened.
All gathered in one place.
Some wore casual clothes.
Some wore panic-bought hiking gear and tactical vests.
Others wore gray Hunter Academy tracksuits.
Everyone looked tense.
But they were prepared for what will come next.
At least on the surface.
✦ ✦ ✦
A soft mechanical chime echoed through the clearing.
In front of every person, a glowing blue pedestal appeared.
Each pedestal carried basic equipment provided by the system.
Outside weapons were forbidden.
Everything had to be fair.
✦ ✦ ✦
Seo Jun looked at his own gear.
A simple leather chest armor labeled:
[Tutorial Armor]
Type : Armor
Rank: Normal
Defense: 10
Description:
Basic armor provided to participants of the tutorial. It offers simple protection against low level attacks and increases the user's chance of survival.
✦ ✦ ✦
Next to it were basic weapons.
Iron longsword.
Wooden staff with a mana crystal.
Recurve bow with arrows.
Round shield.
Hammer.
Iron gauntlets..... and many more.
All were normal grade weapons.
He picked the chest armor and equipped it.
Then he chose the iron longsword.
[Tutorial Iron Longsword]
Type : Weapon
Rank: Normal
Attack Power: 10
Description:
A standard iron sword designed for beginner combat. Its balanced weight and reliable blade make it a suitable weapon for learning basic sword techniques and defeating low-level opponents.
✦ ✦ ✦
It felt balanced yet weak.
Too fragile compared to what he once wielded.
Still, it was enough. At least for now.
He needed to check himself first.
"Status window," he muttered.
The system didn't fully activate the moment someone awakened.
New Awakeners received only a notification confirming their awakening. The actual System remained dormant, its functions sealed away until they entered the Tutorial.
A translucent blue screen flickered into existence before him.
✦ ✦ ✦
[Status Window]
Name: Lee Seo Jun
Age: 20
Level: 1
Class: None
Strength: 12
Agility: 14
Stamina: 13
Perception: 15
Mana: 8
Primal Genesis Aether: 0 (Locked)
✦ ✦ ✦
Seo Jun silently scanned every line.
An ordinary person averaged around 8 in their physical attributes.
His stats had already surpassed the limits of a normal human.
Not because he was some blessed genius.
Not because fate had smiled on him.
He had bled for every damn point.
Five years.
Five brutal years inside the academy.
Countless hours of sword drills.
Relentless physical conditioning.
Bones cracked.
Muscles tore.
Blood spilled.
Then it all started over the next fucking day.
Pain.
Despair.
Repeat.
Again.
And again.
And again.
By the time he awakened, he had already pushed his body to the absolute peak a human could naturally reach.
His gaze drifted downward.
Mana: 8.
Completely average.
Nothing remarkable.
Nothing worth bragging about.
But beneath it...
There was something that shouldn't exist.
Something abnormal.
✦ ✦ ✦
[Primal Genesis Aether]
Status: Locked
Value: 0
Seo Jun narrowed his eyes and focused on the strange entry.
For a brief moment, nothing happened.
Then...
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The System responded.
✦ ✦ ✦
[Primal Genesis Aether]
Type: Attribute
Rank: Origin
Description:
The primordial essence of creation and destruction dwelling within the soul.
It is the lingering authority of a world that willingly sacrificed itself, carrying the power to shape existence... or erase it without leaving even a trace.
Though dormant, its true potential remains beyond mortal comprehension.
Current Status: Sealed
Restriction:
Current vessel incapable of containing Origin-class authority.
Mana pathways remain unstable.
Physical body below the required threshold.
Unlock Requirement:
Strengthen the physical vessel, expand the mana pathways, and accumulate sufficient mana to withstand the burden of Origin-class authority.
✦ ✦ ✦
Seo Jun let out a slow breath.
Origin.
It was a rank he had never seen in his previous life.
Not once.
It made perfect sense.
He had reversed time...
But he hadn't overturned the laws of reality.
His soul possessed the authority of a sacrificed world.
His body, however, was still that of a mortal.
No matter how extraordinary the power was, a fragile vessel could never contain it.
Not yet.
If he tried to force it awake now...
His mana circuits would rupture.
His flesh would tear apart.
His body would collapse before he could even draw another breath.
There was no shortcut.
Only the same path he had walked before.
The difference was...
This time, he knew every step.
And this time...
He wouldn't make a single mistake.
His gaze shifted lower.
The next section of the Status Window appeared.
Skills.
Characteristics.
✦ ✦ ✦
[Innate Characteristic]
[Indomitable Will]
Rank: Transcendent
Level: 1
Description:
A soul tempered in the flames of an apocalypse.
Having endured countless battles, betrayals, and moments of absolute despair, the user's will has become nearly impossible to break.
Greatly increases resistance against fear, illusions, mental corruption, psychological attacks, and all forms of spiritual interference.
So long as the soul endures, the will shall never yield.
✦ ✦ ✦
Seo Jun gave a faint nod.
Just as expected.
This Characteristic had existed long before the world fell.
Long before he became one of Humanity's Eleven Strongest.
It was the foundation that had carried him through impossible battles and kept him standing when countless others had broken.
The only difference now...
Its rank had changed.
From Mythical...
To Transcendent.
The description had evolved, but its essence remained unchanged.
His will had simply reached a higher existence.
Perhaps that was why it had returned to Level 1.
Evolution demanded a new beginning.
His gaze moved to the next section.
Skills.
✦ ✦ ✦
[Exclusive Skill]
[Archive of the Fallen Epoch]
Rank: Unmeasurable
Level: 1
Description:
A mental archive preserving the entirety of knowledge from a forgotten lifetime.
Every martial art, spell, experience and survival technique.
Every battle fought, victory and failure.
Nothing is forgotten. Nothing deteriorates. Nothing is lost to time.
✦ ✦ ✦
Seo Jun's eyes narrowed.
A new skill.
Yet its purpose was immediately obvious.
Knowledge could be preserved perfectly.
Execution was another matter.
A sword technique required the body to keep up.
A spell demanded sufficient mana.
A masterpiece remained nothing more than theory if the user lacked the strength to bring it into reality.
Memory alone wasn't enough.
It was only half the equation.
The other half...
Had to be earned.
That was why Exclusive Skills possessed no measurable rank.
Unlike ordinary abilities, their value wasn't fixed.
It depended entirely on their wielder.
In the hands of a fool...
An Exclusive Skill might barely surpass a Normal-ranked ability.
But in the hands of someone who continued to learn, adapt, and push beyond every limit...
The very same skill could transcend all known ranks.
Its ceiling couldn't be measured.
Because its limits were determined by the person using it.
The next skill appeared.
✦ ✦ ✦
[Exclusive Skill]
[Mana Sovereignty]
Rank: Unmeasurable
Level: 1
Description:
An authority over the very foundation of mana.
The user may analyze, deconstruct, alter, and redefine mana according to their knowledge and comprehension.
Any phenomenon understood as a concept may be reconstructed through mana.
Elements.
Forces.
Natural laws.
Even abstract principles.
So long as their structure is fully understood, mana can imitate them.
Its potential knows no measurable limit.
As mastery deepens, mana itself begins to lose meaning, gradually revealing a power that exists beyond the very concept of mana.
✦ ✦ ✦
Seo Jun slowly closed his eyes.
His original Exclusive Skill had been Mana Mutation.
This...
Wasn't the same ability.
It felt like its evolved form.
A far more complete authority.
As though his regression had rewritten something fundamental within his very soul.
That explained everything.
His Innate Characteristic had evolved.
His Exclusive Skills had evolved with it.
He couldn't help but smile.
This was far beyond what he had expected.
The Archive of the Fallen Epoch granted him every lesson from his previous life.
Mana Sovereignty gave him the freedom to transform that knowledge into limitless possibilities.
Separately, they were extraordinary.
Together...
They were downright fucking terrifying.
And this was only the beginning.
Because none of it was his true trump card.
Not until Primal Genesis Aether awakened.
✦ ✦ ✦
"Seo Jun. Are you ready?"
He closed the status screen.
And turned.
A girl stood a few steps away.
Short black hair, kept in a neat, practical style that suited her movements.
Dark eyes with a faint violet tint that caught the dim light of the stage.
Gray academy tracksuit.
A leather vest layered over it.
Holding a wooden wand with both hands.
Kang Ha Neul.
His childhood friend.
A gifted mage researcher.
And someone who would have died early in the previous timeline.
She was trembling.
Not from cold but from the unknown fear.
"It's just like the textbooks said," she whispered.
"I memorized everything… survival rules, mana control, everything."
"But actually being here…"
Her voice broke slightly.
"I can't stop shaking."
Seo Jun stepped closer.
Not as a leader but as someone familiar.
"Hold your wand," he said gently.
"Feel the wood. Focus on that."
Ha Neul tightened her grip without knowing.
Knuckles turning white.
Seo Jun continued.
"No textbook can prepare you for the smell of a real dungeon."
"Fear is normal."
"Your body is just reacting to danger."
He looked at her directly.
His gaze was calm and steady, and yet beneath it lay a quiet sadness.
"But you're not helpless."
"You're an awakened scholar."
"You understand this system better than most people here."
Ha Neul looked at him. He was familiar, and yet somehow different.
Searching for something to hold onto.
"You're not scared at all," she said softly.
"How?"
Seo Jun smiled slightly.
"Because we trained for this."
A simple lie.
But a necessary one.
"We've done this in simulations for years."
"So just follow what we practiced."
"Stay close."
"I'll take the front."
"You handle support and observation."
"We get out together."
Ha Neul exhaled slowly.
The shaking in her hands reduced.
Not gone but controlled.
"Vanguard and support," she repeated.
"Just like the academy virtual mock battles, I can do this."
Before they could settle, the air in the clearing changed.
The temperature dropped sharply.
Like winter snapping into existence.
A strange smell spread through the jungle.
Burnt sugar. Mixed with ozone. It was sweet but deadly.
✦ ✦ ✦
A voice echoed.
Not from one direction but from everywhere at once.
"Silence, you fresh little hatchlings."
The entire clearing froze.
One thousand awakeners.
All of them stopped talking instantly.
A soft pop sounded above the crowd.
Green smoke bloomed in the air like a cloud bursting open.
When it cleared,
something was floating there.
A goblin.
But not the kind from beginner manuals.
Not feral.
Not wild.
This one looked… refined.
Dark green skin.
Short, but standing with calm confidence.
A tailored purple velvet suit. A white ruffled shirt with a tie. A tall top hat.
And a polished walking stick with a golden handle.
It twirled the stick casually, like a noble at a banquet.
"Welcome to your new lives," it said.
"Welcome, chosen ones."
The goblin tipped its hat slightly.
Mocking the awakeners elegantly
"I am your Tutorial Guide."
"You may call me Supervisor Krix."
"You are no longer ordinary humans. At least for now."
"You are Awakeners who will give the test for becoming the hunters."
✦ ✦ ✦
A bulky man near the front scoffed loudly.
Bought in panic.
Stacked with confidence.
"Cut the act," he said.
"We know how this works."
"Just remove the barrier so we can start hunting."
✦ ✦ ✦
Krix stopped twirling his stick slowly.
Its yellow eyes turned toward him.
"Quiet you little pest."
Then it tapped the golden handle once.
The world changed.
Gravity multiplied.
It happened instantly.
It felt like the air itself had become stone.
The arrogant man dropped to his knees.
Gasping.
Unable to breathe properly.
Others around him collapsed too.
Some fell forward.
Some hit the ground trying to resist.
Only a few remained standing.
Barely.
Seo Jun did not move.
He felt the pressure clearly.
But his body held firm. He controlled it.
Indomitable Will and trained physical limits, kept him upright.
Beside him, Ha Neul shook violently.
She grabbed her wand like it was the only thing keeping her alive.
Krix spoke again.
"Confidence is a lovely trait."
"But arrogance…"
"It is stupidity in its purest form."
"You read forums."
"You think you understand the system."
A pause.
"But you are mistaken."
The pressure lifted instantly.
Air rushed back into everyone's lungs.
People coughed and collapsed.
Shivered in fear.
Krix smiled.
Sharp teeth glinted under the dim light.
"Now."
"Let us continue."
The air shifted again.
A blue projection appeared in the sky.
It was massive and clear.
"Your tutorial has five stages."
✦ ✦ ✦
Stage One: The Verdant Hell
A jungle appeared. It is dark yet alive and dangerous.
"You will survive here for seventy-two hours."
"No rescue."
"No protection."
"You will hunt or be hunted or die. Not in the reality but in the tutorial."
"This stage removes the weak."
"Most of you will not survive it. Obviously, in the tutorial. You will just return to your daily boring life. The defeated will never understand the intoxicating solitude of standing at the top of the food chain."
The image shifted.
A long hallway filled with mirrors.
✦ ✦ ✦
Stage Two: Hall of Reflections
"A mental trial."
"You will face fear, doubt, past traumas and your own mind may break down."
"If your mentality is broken then, your mana core will collapse permanently."
"You will return home… powerless. If you pass it, you will become a true awakener even if you fail the other trials."
✦ ✦ ✦
Another shift.
An ancient stone altar with complex magic puzzles.
✦ ✦ ✦
Stage Three: Trials of Resonance
"Survival is not enough."
"You must cooperate."
"Work as a group."
"Solve magical systems together. It will check how you will coordinate in real life battles."
✦ ✦ ✦
The image changed again.
A massive stone arena.
✦ ✦ ✦
Stage Four: Proving Grounds
"You will face a system-generated Guardian."
"Each Guardian is tailored to your abilities, and their strength will increase with every level."
"Defeat the Level 1 Guardian to clear the trial."
"Further victories are optional to clear the trial, but each conquered level brings greater rewards."
✦ ✦ ✦
Finally,
a golden staircase rising into light.
✦ ✦ ✦
Stage Five: Zenith Crown
"Optional but dangerous."
"A final boss trial."
"Success grants extraordinary rewards."
"Failure has consequences."
✦ ✦ ✦
The projection vanished.
Krix clapped slowly.
"You have weapons."
"You have armor."
"You have rules."
"Now you need to survive if you can."
"I suggest you form groups."
"Unless you enjoy dying alone."
He pointed his stick toward the edge of the clearing.
A translucent blue barrier shimmered there.
It was a dome of safety.
Beyond it, the jungle was watching and breathing.
Red eyes.
Dozens.
No.
Hundreds.
They were breathing, waiting for humans to enter the jungle so they could finally fill their stomachs.
Seo Jun studied them calmly..
He knows it. Only awareness exists in his eyes. He needs to clear the tutorial and perfectly.
"The grace period ends now."
Krix tipped his hat.
And vanished in a puff of green smoke.
✦ ✦ ✦
The silence lasted one second.
Then,
a sound like glass breaking echoed through the jungle.
The barrier shattered.
It happened instantly.
A roar exploded from the treeline.
Massive shapes surged forward.
Chaos erupted.
Panic spreading like fire.
✦ ✦ ✦
Seo Jun did not hesitate.
Not even for a moment.
He gripped his iron sword. It was a familiar weight.
Then he looked at Ha Neul.
"Stay behind me."
"Watch the air above."
"If anything drops, use a mana blast to knock it off balance."
"I'll handle the ground."
Ha Neul swallowed hard.
Then nodded.
"Understood."
Seo Jun turned toward the jungle.
A wolf-like beast burst forward.
Black fur.
Red eyes.
Feral hunger.
Charging straight at weak students.
Seo Jun lowered his stance.
Calm breath.
Focused mind.
He pushed mana into his legs.
Only a fraction.
Then he moved.
The ground cracked under his step.
And Lee Seo Jun launched forward into the fight.