#000. Prologue
There was no particular reason.
When I opened my eyes, it was a different world.
A place where two moons and countless stars hung in the sky.
A place forever gloomy beneath thickly hanging clouds.
And a place familiar to me.
It was the world of the game 'Otherworld,' which I had been playing just moments ago.
At first, I was excited.
No matter that this 'Otherworld' boasted of hellish difficulty; I had been pouring my time into it lately, so it didn't matter.
I knew the locations of various events and powerful items, not to mention the strategies.
There was only one regret.
That I had come here right before meeting the hidden true boss.
Well, what was the problem with that?
I could use my knowledge to traverse this vast continent from now on and rise to become the strongest.
But as always, a serious problem confronted me.
Unfortunately, I was not a player.
Wearing black armor, carrying a massive greatsword on my back, fluttering long pitch-black hair—driving beginners to despair.
The 'Eroded Recluse.'
I had become a boss mob in the tutorial area.
Damn it.
What good was knowing the strategy? No matter what I did, I couldn't leave this area.
And what drove me the craziest was the background music still ringing in my ears.
It was this game's main theme.
This grand symphony, seemingly a fusion of a hymn and a funeral dirge, was a masterpiece worthy of this year's game music award, but to me, forced to listen to it all day, it sounded worse than a dog taking a shit.
Aah, the highlight had just begun.
The eerie voices of the choir pouring out over the orchestra's melody.
'Deus! gaudium in sanctus! honorable homo et dabo te in sanguinem! placere anima meus et Auferat malitiae et irae!'
'O God! O saint filled with joy! I offer the blood of the honorable! Please take away the evil and wrath that permeate my soul!'
Why on earth did they compose such a masterpiece for a measly tutorial boss?
I wanted to rip out my eardrums and insert resistance to that music immediately.
How on earth could I turn off that music?
How on earth could I escape this half-collapsed temple and enter a world full of adventure?
...Ah.
I see a player in the distance.
My only stress relief—wearing cheap armor and a white ring above their head—rushes toward me.
How should I kill them this time?
How can I make that player despair?
I fell into deep contemplation.
#001. End and Beginning
The ruined temple, the final place of the tutorial.
I had been sitting here for hours.
No matter how long I waited, no player came.
Had I gone too far?
I had given up counting after killing them about twenty times.
He was someone with no talent for games, but his persistence alone was impressive.
So I had decided to enjoy it a bit longer and then spare him, pretending it was an event.
After killing him about fifty times.
Truthfully, I had dragged things out because I was afraid that if the player vanished, I'd end up in a lonely situation like this, but now he really wasn't coming.
I rose from the chair and strained my ears toward outside the temple.
Silence.
The background music and crow sounds that heralded the game's beginning had vanished.
I had hated those noises terribly, but now that they had disappeared, an even greater emptiness crashed over me.
Why wasn't he coming?
I cast my gaze beyond the broken wall.
There were trees sharp as beast fangs and winding forest paths.
If I could just get past there, the tutorial starting point would appear.
I should probably go check.
I got up from the chair and moved my steps outside the temple.
***
To me, the tutorial was an annoying formality.
I had always skipped through it quickly.
So I wasn't perfect when it came to the paths here.
But a tutorial is still a tutorial.
Thanks to the short routes, it didn't take long to look around everywhere.
Moreover, the skeletons placed throughout didn't attack and only stared blankly, making things even easier.
Rattle, rattle.
As if saying, "Long time no see."
I tapped one out of curiosity, and it crumbled immediately.
I waited to see if it might respawn, but there was no reaction.
It didn't even give experience points.
Well, it was only natural since I wasn't a player.
While thoroughly searching the tutorial area, I obtained a potion from a place inaccessible in the game.
A very precious 'Elixir,' at that.
I didn't know how it would work in reality, but in the game, a single Elixir healed most wounds.
That something so precious appeared in the early section.
What could it taste like? Should I take just one sip?
Resisting the temptation of curiosity, I hung the Elixir at my waist.
Without an inventory, this was the best I could do.
Leaving the forest path, I saw a small cave below the canyon.
That was where the tutorial began, and what was called the Cradle of Elam in the game.
***
It was miserable.
My once-steadfast heart and mind crumbled slightly.
I sat down next to a cold, extinguished campfire inside the cave.
I should have tormented him moderately.
Regret flooded in.
As if declaring it would never return, the player's armor lay empty.
"Huu...."
I laid my sleepless body on the floor and stared at the ceiling.
I felt hollow and troubled.
To soothe this heart, I closed my eyes and began to feign sleep.
This was the only way I could think of to protect my sanity.
Thanks to the healthy body of a recluse, even this relieved most of my physical fatigue, and the mental fatigue was also bearable.
How much time had passed?
I opened my eyes at a strange sensation.
—Caw! Caw!
Beyond the silence, I heard crow sounds. At the same time, the grand theme music began to play again.
"Ah!"
This was the signal that a player had returned.
I sprang up and looked at the empty armor.
A shining ring formed above it.
"They're here!"
I hurriedly ran.
I ran toward the temple designated as the recluse's location.
While running, I thought.
This time, I would let the player survive.
***
Too late.
It must have been the same player as before, but they were much slower than usual.
Did this mean their skills hadn't improved at all?
Or were they leveling up by killing skeletons?
To catch me?
I smiled proudly at their commendable spirit.
Soon, I saw the player's ring in the distance.
But something was strange.
I heard something I shouldn't have.
"Kyaa! What is this! Go away! Go away! Totally gross!"
A living woman's voice.
It was my first time seeing an avatar speak.
No, was that even possible?
...No way.
"Aack! What's that now! That black thing is super strong! What do I do!"
...Is she also possessed?
While I stood there blankly, the player ran inside the temple.
Rattle, rattle.
The five skeletons chasing her came in together as well.
Normally, they would fall away the moment one entered the boss room, but now they came in together.
"Kuht!"
The fleeing player tripped on a stone.
The iron armor on her body hit the floor with a loud noise.
And....
"Wuaaang!"
She's crying.
She didn't seem to have any intention of getting up.
Looking at her, I thought of two choices.
The first was to reveal that I was also possessed and help her.
The second was to pretend I didn't know.
If I chose the first, she would obviously cling to me.
Surviving this harsh continent while dragging along an obvious beginner? It was suicide.
Then the second choice.
Pretend not to know.
But this kind of pretense was a bit too much for me, who still had some humanity left.
Then let me save her just once.
I rose from the chair and raised the greatsword.
I stomped my foot.
I dragged the greatsword across the floor. Using the recoil starting from my waist, I swung the sword horizontally.
Whoosh!
Using the weight of the blade, I rotated my entire body.
This was the spinning slash technique, the signature of the 'Eroded Recluse.'
The heavy greatsword passed over the fallen player.
Together with a heavy sonic boom, it pulverized the five skeletons.
Truthfully, they were creatures that would crumble with a tap, but I exaggerated a bit to express the joy rising from within.
And this backfired.
"Wuaaang! If that hits me I die instantly! What do I do!"
The player was on the verge of fainting.
Damn it.
I returned to where I had been sitting, planted the greatsword in the ground, and crossed my arms.
This was the Eroded Recluse's basic stance.
Before drawing aggro, it always maintained this stance.
Once aggro was drawn, it would quickly rush out and perform an upward slash. Then a horizontal slash.
When health reached about half, phase two began. After that, it alternated between two skills.
Anyway.
I was currently maintaining this stance to show that I hadn't drawn aggro yet.
The reason was to let the player pass through.
There was a separate way to pass by this recluse in the tutorial without fighting.
Namely, circling around the wall without drawing aggro and exiting to the back.
Most gamers usually chose this method.
It seemed designed that way from the start.
But I had only learned this fact after dying dozens or hundreds of times before finally defeating it.
If this player wasn't as reckless as me, she would have done at least a basic search.
"Wuaaang!"
Doesn't seem like it.
Or maybe she had given up because I kept coming out to greet her despite that....
Yeah, my mistake.
"Save me! Uheung! Please! If this is because I deleted the game, I'm really sorry!"
The player was kneeling right before me and begging profusely.
Wearing full plate armor that covered even her face, she looked pathetic doing this.
Watching her act like a complete newbie, I once again thought of various choices.
First, reveal my identity. Absolutely impossible.
Second, ignore her. Already too late.
Third, this.
Accepting that I had become part of this game.
"O Outsider."
"Uk!"
The player was startled and fell prostrate.
A hollow laugh welled up to my chin, but I suppressed it.
"Uack! I-it talks! Yes! Yes! Please speak!"
"You will not survive in this 'Jaha.'"
Jaha was the game's setting and the name of this continent.
"Th-then what should I do...? I'm really not from here.... I kept dying while playing the game, so I deleted it and fell asleep... I have no idea what's happening...."
"O Outsider."
"Y-yes, please speak."
"Leave this place at once and go to the Order of the Sun. Find High Priestess Yuliant and entrust yourself to her."
"...Pardon?"
"And choose Shaman or Mage, not Knight. Don't even look at Demon Hunter. Also, equip a one-handed weapon and shield instead of a two-handed weapon. Or a spear is fine too. If you really hate it, better to take a crossbow or an arquebus."
"What do you mean...."
"Come closer."
The player cautiously approached and stood beside me.
I used the tip of the greatsword to draw on the floor.
"Avoid these symbols. And approach these symbols."
"Y-yes. I'll keep that in mind."
"Go to Highrandel as quickly as possible and settle down there."
"Highrandel. Yes."
"And...."
After that, my unsolicited advice continued.
Harboring the possibility that this person might be the key to my escaping the tutorial.
***
The player left.
She kept trying to stick around without leaving, so I scared her a bit, and she finally left.
With her slumped figure gone, the background music ringing in my ears disappeared as well.
It was uneasy, yet comfortable.
Comfort bred boredom, which spread into loneliness.
And loneliness brought despair.
"Damn it...."
I had helped her with the thought that if she cleared the game, I might get out too.
But.
The thought that I would have to endure here alone for that long made all sorts of negative emotions begin to gnaw at my mind.
"Hu...."
Something hot rose along with curses.
With my head burning hot, a different thought suddenly came to me.
"Wait...."
I looked at the cave leading out of the tutorial beyond the fallen pillar.
It was calm.
As if there was nothing there.
But that place was blocked by an invisible barrier.
When I had first opened my eyes here, I had checked there immediately.
The despair from that time was unforgettable.
It seemed made specifically to block my approach, not allowing even the slightest gap.
Would it be the same now?
Recalling the player passing through, I got up from the chair.
Only a few steps were needed to reach the cave entrance.
A mountain breeze blew from beyond the cave and brushed my cheek.
At that moment, it took on a different meaning.
The vain hope that since the player had gotten out, maybe I could too.
I approached closer.
Don't hope.
Don't be disappointed.
Repeating this to myself, I reached out.
"Ah."
It was blocked.
Even though the player had escaped this place, it would not let me go.
"......."
Silently turning around, I returned to the temple.
And I—
smashed my only resting place, the chair, with the greatsword.
***
A long time passed again.
"......."
Time is frightening.
It slowly began to collapse my firm heart.
And so the limit of my patience arrived.
I wanted, right now,
to get out of this place.
I looked at the Nest of Elam in the distance.
It was dark.
I looked at the canyon surrounding the tutorial area.
I couldn't muster the will to climb it.
After glaring at the sunless sky in every corner for a moment,
I saw a star falling toward me.
It drew closer.
Looking closely, it wasn't a star.
It was like a person.
While I blankly tried to guess what it was, an unidentified lifeform landed before me.
Short hair and a long, drooping beard.
Ash-gray pupils and a skull necklace.
A middle-aged man with an ill-tempered look.
"Hmm...."
Looking closely, it was a familiar face.
Decaran, the Ruler of Raok, the 'Death Merchant' you could meet while progressing through the main episode.
I remembered him clearly because I had died to him at least ten times.
Why on earth was this guy here?
Just in case, I wrapped my hand around the greatsword's hilt.
So I could swing at any moment.
Decaran's tightly closed mouth opened.
"Are you still sulking?"
A tender tone unlike the one I knew.
"I am sorry. It was the Elder's order, so there was nothing I could do."
"......."
"I shall surely repay you later, so please dispel your anger now."
"......."
"Anyway, take this. Your exile ends today."
He handed over a small scroll.
Looking at it, it was a Teleport Scroll.
"You have suffered. Ah, by the way, was there no particular reaction at the Nest of Elam? There was word that strange flows were detected...."
This time, he glared with beady eyes as if waiting for an answer.
After pondering briefly, I answered.
"There weren't any."
"Hmm, strange.... Anyway, I only stopped by for a moment. I'm in the middle of a war with the Empire bastards, so I must be going."
"I see."
"...I say, Vergil."
'Vergilius van Diabolu.'
(Vergilius van dĭábŏlu)
Shortened to Vergil.
This was the recluse's name.
I knew because it was written on the greatsword's hilt.
When I stood there without answering, Decaran took one step closer.
"You seem quite upset. I am truly sorry, so please be sure to visit Raok later. I shall give you one thing you usually covet."
"Very well."
"Then farewell."
When Decaran tapped the ground with the jade staff he held, his body instantly shot upward.
Like when he had arrived, he became a dot and disappeared.
"......."
Bewildering.
So this person named Vergil had a story too?
Curiosity arose, but now was not the time to satisfy it.
It seemed dangerous, so I pushed it back in priority.
First, escaping this tiresome place was what mattered.
I tore the scroll in my hand horizontally.