Chapter 4: Damned Tutorial (3)

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 4: Damned Tutorial (3)

When I came to my senses and opened my eyes, the view of the waiting room came into sight.

I immediately checked my body.

“Hah, I thought I’d be healed, but actually being healed feels weird.”

The pain that had felt like my flesh was being gouged out just moments ago was completely gone.

There were no scars left on my body either.

Well, it was to be expected.

In the game, even if an employee was on the verge of death, as long as you cleared the stage, they would be back to normal as if nothing had happened.

Of course, that didn’t mean you were invincible.

Once you entered a stage, there was no way to return to the waiting room through ordinary means.

I closed my eyes, sweating coldly.

Then, I recalled the fierce battle I had with the kobold.

Memories of the pain that should have disappeared resurfaced in my mind.

‘...One mistake is enough.’

It wasn’t just close; it was incredibly close.

It felt like I was about to board the ferry run by the Grim Reaper himself.

The reason was that I had confused reality with the game.

That was why I had been careless.

I had subconsciously denied that this was reality.

‘How foolish.’

If I had taken just one more wrong step…

‘That would’ve been my grave.’

After finishing my thoughts, I opened my eyes again.

I clenched and unclenched my fist.

The vivid sensation traveled up from my palm.

This was my reality.

‘Stay focused on the present, as always.’

This wasn’t a game; it was reality.

I doubt I’d ever confuse the two again.

After roughly checking my condition, I opened the mailbox and checked the logs.

[You have unclaimed rewards. Please check them now.]

This was the reward for clearing the stage.

I pressed the notification to check my rewards.

[You have successfully completed the stage 'Kobold Assault'. (+10 points)]

[The Foundation's Star absorbs knowledge about the creature. You have acquired the skill ‘Beastman Language’.]

After reading the message, I frowned.

“10 points, huh...”

Points were the in-game currency.

They were used for training, contracts, recruiting employees, and purchasing equipment.

They were also the score needed to survive.

When I glanced at the monument, a hologram that wasn’t there before appeared above it.

[Assigned Points: 30]

[Owned Points: 10]

[Time remaining until point submission: 90 hours 13 minutes]

Of course, I knew what this meant.

“So, the real game begins now.”

From the moment you started containing creatures, the headquarters' point collection order was issued.

The main content of this game was submitting points to the headquarters within the designated time.

‘If you didn’t submit the points on time, the game would end with a message saying the company had collapsed...’

In the game, it would simply end, but now, this was my reality.

That meant I might die if I failed to submit the points to headquarters.

‘This is where most newbies face their dilemma.’

Points were needed to grow the company.

But points were also needed to protect the company.

I swallowed dryly.

The number of employees was only two.

There was just one creature.

The only silver lining was that the company was still small.

‘It’s fine. This is still the tutorial. Collecting 30 points is easy.’

Once all the tutorials were completed, I’d receive a reward of 10 employee recruitment tickets and 100 points.

With only the last tutorial remaining, points weren’t the problem.

What really made me frown was the message below that.

‘The problem is this…’

[Beastman Language]

- A creature that once brought a civilization to the brink of extinction. You understand the language of this creature.

I’ve invested over seven years into KeepWorld.

I memorized almost all the skills by heart.

‘For someone like me to see a skill I don’t recognize...’

It meant that ‘Beastman Language’ was one of the kobold creature’s skills.

‘Understanding the language of this creature...’

This was useless.

What good was it to understand a monster’s language?

Even if I could understand them, there was nothing I could do.

I was drained by the fact that the first skill the Foundation’s Star absorbed from a creature was decoding the Beastman language.

But then, something flashed through my mind.

‘...Now that I think about it, where’s the creature?’

The creature I encountered in this tutorial was a situational-type creature called ‘Kobold Assault’.

Since I cleared the stage, there should be a space within the company where the creature was contained.

I couldn’t see it around here, which meant it wasn’t in this layer.

In that case…

I placed my hand on the monument and opened the vortex labeled ‘Management.’

[Administrator Area (No Affiliation)]

- Company Rank: Unranked

- Administrator: Shin Seongjin

[Creature Management]

- Number of creatures currently managed: 1

- Company score: 1 (Unable to calculate rank)

[Employee Summoning and Management]

- Number of current employees: 2

- Grade 9 (2)

A massive screen filled the air.

But I scrolled down the screen without hesitation.

[Relocate Containment Room]

‘Found it.’

I opened the settings window labeled ‘Relocate Containment Room.’

Soon after, a massive screen popped up.

The company’s cross-section diagram was displayed on the screen.

It was a structural configuration mode that only players could use.

[You can move the containment room by tapping and dragging.]

Following the on-screen instructions, I touched the air.

Before long, with a thud.

A containment room appeared right in front of me.

On the sign of the containment room, the words [Kobold Assault] were inscribed.

I touched the sign to retrieve information about the creature.

[Kobold Assault (0/5)]

- A space where you can endlessly clear the 'Kobold Assault' stage.

- Non-escape entity.

- Clearing generates 0 to 10 points.

‘Oh, this is…’

A windfall.

After reading the detailed description of the creature, my eyes lit up, which was rare.

‘A creature I got from the tutorial is a non-escape entity and a farming-type creature that can help the employees grow.’

On top of that, ‘Khan,’ whom I picked first, was performing better than I expected.

Considering he was a rank 9 employee with low mental strength, that is.

A creature dungeon that can be farmed infinitely and a usable employee with skills.

This was not a bad combination for the start.

No, it was actually a blessed combination, comparable to a god-tier account.

Assuming I have the knowledge to run this company moving forward.

‘There are two ways to develop the company with this combination...’

One was the method used by the former number 1 ranked player.

Since they used it, it would be the fastest and most reliable route to grow the company.

‘The return is guaranteed.’

But...

I immediately shook my head, dismissing the idea.

‘I can’t recklessly follow that person’s method.’

In the first place, the former number 1’s method went beyond the realm of understanding.

Following a strategy I couldn’t even comprehend would be tantamount to suicide.

‘It’s not like I have multiple lives, so there’s no point in experimenting.’

So, that plan is dismissed.

The other plan is the one I devised myself.

This method was how I surpassed the former number 1, who had stopped logging in at some point, and climbed to the top.

A method that has never been disclosed to anyone.

It didn’t take me long to decide.

For now, I just need to fully utilize the cards in my hand and walk down the solid path laid out for me.

The other important thing is to uncover the secrets of this world and adapt to it...

There are several ways to uncover the secrets of this world.

The first is through conversations with other people.

“Do you understand a bit now?”

I asked Khan, who had approached me unnoticed.

But Khan’s reaction was a little odd.

“…I somewhat understand.”

His actions were visibly cautious.

I tilted my head for a moment, then recalled the performance he had just shown and the characteristics of the Foundation's Star.

‘Right. It must’ve been an extraordinary display of action.’

Additionally, the trait of the Foundation's Star’s authority must have played a part.

‘How ironic. I was just an ordinary office worker, but now, killing a living creature doesn’t even faze me.’

Just as I was about to lose myself in these thoughts, Khan’s voice snapped me back to reality.

“However, I don’t remember everything.”

As I silently listened, Khan seemed to misunderstand something, continuing to stay in a submissive posture.

But I didn’t feel the need to correct his misunderstanding.

‘It would be troublesome to set a precedent that wasn’t intended.’

Even though it was just the two of us now, it was important not to be underestimated.

It was crucial for me to give orders as I wished when running the company in the future.

And I had been curious about something.

In the game, employees of certain ranks—

That is, employees ranked 7 or higher—usually followed orders well from the beginning.

On the other hand, lower-ranked employees often disobeyed the manager's orders or acted rebelliously, not understanding why they needed to manage the company.

How was that possible?

After thinking about it briefly, I concluded.

Employees of a certain rank and above were summoned with a certain amount of information already unlocked.

‘And the condition for unlocking this information was the employee’s rank promotion.’

In contrast, the information given to lower-ranked employees was probably very limited.

I suspected they might have been abducted while mentioning the world.

And, as expected.

“One day, a goddess appeared to me and told me to follow the manager and save the world... She said the world would be safe if I protected this place.”

Khan knows information that I don’t.

“This is all I know. I don’t know why I was chosen. Or why kobolds, thought to be extinct, have suddenly appeared before me!”

Khan lamented over his situation, crying out in frustration.

“...”

“Sorry for going on so long. This place just feels more like a prison than a hall for saving the world...”

When he mentioned "prison," I closed my eyes tightly.

His careless remark reminded me of the account I had raised.

‘He’s not wrong…’

Managing creatures that could die at the mere flick of a player’s hand while quietly earning points for the headquarters—what else could you call it but a prison?

“This is all I know. Can you now tell me more clearly what this place is?”

After spilling all the information he knew for free, Khan now requested information from me.

I could tell him everything I knew.

But revealing all the cards in my hand would not be wise.

I slowly opened my eyes and looked at Khan.

There was only one answer I could give him.

“You’ll find out soon. Whether you like it or not.”

“What does that mean...?”

Khan’s eyes trembled slightly, dissatisfied with my answer.

But it wasn’t a joke.

Soon, the final tutorial—the alpha and omega of this game—would begin.

“The only way for us to survive. And the protection of the world you heard about from your goddess. You’ve already noticed, but that’s not something we can control. It’s from higher up.”

I raised my index finger and pointed upward.

“The headquarters.”

Strictly speaking, it would be the developers who made this game, but since the game was now a reality, I figured the "headquarters" must know something too.

“So just do your best to survive.”

Sure enough, right after I finished speaking, a notification appeared in the air.

[The third tutorial is character promotion.]

[Would you like to proceed with the third tutorial immediately?]

[Yes/No]

Without a moment's hesitation, I selected YES.

Then, something massive fell toward where Khan and I stood.

Boom!

With a loud crash, smoke spread everywhere.

Soon after, the smoke cleared, and a massive machine was revealed.

[Promotion Device]

No matter how you look at it, it looked like a modification chamber, but it was called a promotion device.

Character promotion.

A rank 9 employee must pass through this to be promoted to rank 8.

If I remember correctly, the promotion device's description said something like this:

It awakens the forgotten memories of employees to help them grow.

Other than that, I’ll have to experience it for myself to know for sure.

I quickly selected the employees.

[Rank 9 employee ‘Shin Seongjin’ has met specific conditions for promotion.]

[Rank 9 employee ‘Khan’ has met specific conditions for promotion.]