Chapter 12

The man staggered to his feet, then leaned against the wall, which was partially broken by the monster’s fist, and sat down. He closed his eyes for a moment, letting his body cool down from the heat of battle.

After enjoying the cool sensation from the cold stone wall for a considerable time, the man finally put his hand in his pocket and pulled out his phone.

Warning! : ‘Crimson Wolf’ has taken severe damage and has been forcibly unsummoned. Due to forced unsummoning, ‘Crimson Wolf’ cannot be re-summoned for 1 day. -Please note that if a summoned creature is forcibly unsummoned, there is a low chance that the card may be destroyed.

The topmost message indicated that the Crimson Wolf had been forcibly unsummoned. The man recalled the penalty for forced unsummoning and then checked the next message.

Starting Tutorial. 6. Defeat the Boss. -This is finally the last hurdle. You must overcome the dungeon of trials based on the abilities you have gained so far. The boss guarding the last exit is very powerful, so you must be thoroughly prepared. -> Completed. Reward: A small amount of experience. -> Would you like to claim your reward now? (Y/n) _(Caution) Unclaimed rewards will be automatically deleted after 7 days.

“…” The man frowned. The message said it was the final hurdle, but there was no mention of the tutorial ending. Moreover, the reward was only a small amount of experience.

“Tsk…” He clicked his tongue and claimed the reward, and a level-up message appeared again.

“So, this makes me level 9.” Not seeing his level clearly was inconvenient in many ways. The man made a note of his level and current possessions on his phone, then drew a random card.

Card Information Name: Will-o’-the-Wisp Level: 1Lv Experience: 0 Grade: Common Category: Summon Growth: Late Bloomer (Small) Attribute: Fire Effect: Summons 1 small fire spirit. Cost: 10 Seed: 1 slot

“Hmm…” The man silently equipped the Will-o’-the-Wisp card into an empty general slot.

“Open Will-o’-the-Wisp.” And with his summon command, a small flame, about the size of a candle, appeared before his eyes. Its combat power didn’t seem promising, but it gave off a decent amount of light, making it suitable as a light source in a dungeon like this. Torches had to be held by hand, which could be cumbersome during combat, but this Will-o’-the-Wisp moved on its own, eliminating that worry. Plus, with this guy around, he wouldn’t have to fuss about making a fire like he did in the forest.

“Not bad.” He nodded, thinking it wasn’t a bad idea, when a new message suddenly arrived.

Tutorial Complete. : Exit through the doorway. -The tutorial ends when you exit through the doorway near where you defeated the boss. Once the tutorial is complete, you cannot return to this location, so remember to check for anything you might have missed! Especially, seeds are sometimes found inside the heads of powerful monsters, so don’t forget to check before you leave.

“Inside the head?” The man’s face contorted. Was it asking him to dig through that monster’s head to find a seed? He had turned it into a pulp with his own hands, but that was in the midst of a life-or-death struggle.

“…” The man hesitated for a moment, but then he thought that if it was mentioned in the message, it was safe to assume there was definitely a seed inside that monster’s head.

“This is crazy.” It was awkward, but he couldn’t just abandon a seed. The man stifled a gag and dug through the monster’s head with his hand.

“Ugh…” How long had he been digging? Eventually, the man found a small, black, seed-like object.

“Phew…” He roughly wiped his fluid-covered hands on the stone floor, then tried to identify the item.

Item Information Name: Speed-Up Seed Level Restriction: None Type: Seed Grade: Uncommon Effect: Overall Speed 2% Description: A seed held by the master of the dungeon. Can be equipped to items or cards with Seed slots to enhance abilities. To detach an equipped seed, the special ability ‘Detach’ is required. [Click here to equip this seed to an item or card.]

“Overall speed…” This seed had the effect of increasing an individual’s speed itself, including attack speed and movement speed. The man equipped this seed into the second slot of his Blood-Soaked (R) card, then stood up. He started to head for the exit as the message instructed, but then he paused, remembering something. It was the part about not being able to return once he left through the exit.

The man hadn’t fully explored this dungeon yet. Of course, he desperately wanted to get out of this dreadful place as soon as possible, but on the other hand, he was concerned that there might be hidden rewards remaining, such as ‘Item Identification.’ For example, if a special ability like ‘Detach’ was hidden, it might become troublesome later if he didn’t acquire it now.

“It’s probably best to take everything I can.” The exit was easy to find, but the man didn’t go out. Instead, he searched the remaining areas of the dungeon. And while he was at it, he thoroughly checked the bodies of all the zombies he had killed so far.

To put it simply, the man was right. He found the special ability ‘Detach’ in an area he hadn’t explored yet.

Congratulations! You have acquired the special card ‘Detach’. : Acquiring special cards allows you to unlock sealed special abilities. -Special ability ‘Detach’ is unlocked.

“Good.” Now, he could remove any equipped seeds at any time. The man went on to check the bodies of the zombies he had defeated, one by one. How long did he endure the nausea, digging through the corpses, hoping to find a leftover seed? His efforts were not in vain, as he found one more seed from a zombie’s corpse.

Item Information Name: Shell Seed Level Restriction: None Type: Seed Grade: Common Effect: Physical Resistance 5% Description: A seed that reduces physical damage. Can be equipped to items or cards with Seed slots to enhance abilities. To detach an equipped seed, the special ability ‘Detach’ is required. [Click here to equip this seed to an item or card.]

For a man who had to fight bare-handed without proper armor, this was a rewarding discovery for his troubles. The man equipped the newly acquired seed into the remaining slot of his Blood-Soaked (R) card before finally heading towards the exit. The exit was glowing brightly, just like the one he had seen in the forest earlier.

“Phew…” After taking a light deep breath, he stepped inside, and the man moved to a new location.

“…” Unlike the gloomy places he had passed through until now, this place was filled with shimmering light, leaving him momentarily bewildered. Then, another message arrived on his phone.

Tutorial Complete. : Exit through the doorway. -The tutorial ends when you exit through the doorway near where you defeated the boss. Once the tutorial is complete, you cannot return to this location, so remember to check for anything you might have missed! Especially, seeds are sometimes found inside the heads of powerful monsters, so don’t forget to check before you leave. -> Completed!

• Calculating your actions and performance in the tutorial. This process will take a moment. Please wait.

“…” The man stood silently and looked around. The space filled with shimmering light initially felt very mystical, but after a while, it somehow became dull. Just as he was about to yawn out of boredom… the message finally updated.

Congratulations! : Your Rank is S. -You have passed the entire tutorial process with excellent results. Additional rewards will be given in addition to the basic rewards. Reward: A small amount of experience, Tutorial Reward Box, Tutorial Reward Box (S-Rank) -> Would you like to claim your reward now? (Y/n) _(Caution) Unclaimed rewards will be automatically deleted after 7 days.

“…” Without a second thought, the man immediately claimed the rewards. And just like before, he leveled up again.

“This makes me level 10.” The man first opened the Tutorial Reward Box. A light streamed from his phone, revealing a copper ring.

Item Information Name: Ring of Will Level Restriction: None Type: Ring Grade: Common Effect: Stun Resistance 3% Seed: 1 slot Description: A ring that increases resistance to attacks that cause stun. It is possible to equip a seed in the groove in the center.

“Hmm…” Perhaps because it was a copper ring, its resistance value was a bit lower than the gold rings he had obtained previously. The man picked up the ring and put it on his left hand. Wearing three rings, something he had never done in his life, felt a bit awkward, but he ignored it and opened the S-Rank Reward Box.

Congratulations! You have acquired the special card ‘Inventory’ from the Tutorial Reward Box (S-Rank). : Acquiring special cards allows you to unlock sealed special abilities. -Special ability ‘Inventory’ is unlocked. -It is possible to register and use up to 10 different types of items in the inventory.

“Inventory…” Though the capacity was smaller than he expected, he liked the fact that he wouldn’t have to carry everything by hand. The man put all the items he had into his inventory. Finally, he opened a random card, but it was the same Double Attack he had gotten before. Then, another new message arrived.

Tutorial Completed. : You have completed the entire tutorial process. It is now time to return to your original place. We wish you good luck on your journey ahead. (Remaining time: 10 seconds)

As the man confirmed the message, the remaining time began to count down. After 10 seconds, the man felt the shimmering lights before his eyes explode all at once and lost consciousness.

And when he regained consciousness, the man realized he was lying on a hospital bed.

“Ugh…” The man grimaced briefly due to a throbbing headache, but the pain soon faded. Supporting himself with his right hand, he raised his left hand to cup his head and felt the cold touch of metal on his forehead. There, two gold rings and one copper ring were neatly on his finger.

“This is…” He was staring blankly at the rings on his hand when the door suddenly opened. A nurse entered, her eyes widening in surprise as she saw he was awake, then she rushed back out. Moments later, a group of people crowded into his hospital room. There was a middle-aged male doctor in a white coat, followed by two nurses, and then two burly men in black suits. The doctor quietly approached the man, checked a few things, and then cautiously asked,

“Excuse me, do you remember your name?” The man nodded silently. The doctor then asked again, “Then please state your name.” The man looked directly at the doctor and opened his mouth.

“My name is… Park Jun-sang.”