Chapter 3: Beginning of the Tutorial 0
Chapter 3: Beginning of the Tutorial 03
To fulfill the quest and accompany Han Se-ah, I had to consider her situation.
The game began with boarding a carriage, traveling, and entering the city gates, which marked the start of the tutorial.
Unlike the uncomfortable carriage and rural scenery outside the carriage window, the adventurers' city had a subtle, modern, and sophisticated atmosphere.
Han Se-ah wandered around, comparing outfits of citizens and adventurers, conversing on camera to engage viewers' interest. Naturally, she made her way into the guild.
It was impossible not to recognize this colossal building.
Adventurers gathered around well-worn tables, a bulletin board laden with request forms, and a neatly arranged, pristine counter.
The beautiful blonde woman behind the counter, Ellis, undoubtedly drew explosive reactions from the viewers.
Even after ten years in this fantasy world, men's reactions remained the same in both my past and present lives.
Few people would refuse a beautiful woman with delicate skin, a small face, and a large chest who smiled warmly and recommended a senior adventurer.
Even other women would struggle to speak ill of her in the presence of that charming smile.
Neither the gamer Han Se-ah nor the streamer Han Se-ah could refuse.
Well, despite the grand explanation, the logic was simple.
If an unknown man approaches her, it's suspicious.
But if the stunning receptionist introduces him, there's credibility.
The viewers would prefer that.
The predominantly male audience, with ulterior motives, would favor my approach through the beautiful receptionist, Ellis.
"Senior adventurer Roland?"
"Yes. I'd like to sit at the reception counter with you, but you mentioned you're dreaming of becoming an adventurer."
At Ellis's gentle words, Han Se-ah's eyes scanned me. More precisely, it seemed as if she was looking at the air below my chin on my chest.
Was she expecting a hologram as a gamer?
Her eyes widened as if she witnessed something extraordinary. Misinterpreting her reaction, Ellis chuckled and reached over the counter to poke my side.
She must have thought that my name, Roland, had become well-known enough that even a country girl would be surprised.
It was slightly different.
Her eyes unmistakably shifted from my chin down to my waist.
With my superhuman physique and ten years of combat experience, I could effortlessly discern the movement of someone's eyes.
From under the chin to the navel, her eyes repeatedly moved from left to right, then down to the lower left. She was undoubtedly reading a text box from top to bottom.
If this hadn't been a game world, I might have considered her a novice adventurer who couldn't make eye contact because of my reputation.
[Form a party with streamer 'Han Se-ah' 0/1]
Based on her eye movement, it seemed the hologram in front of me was wide.
Was it a quest window?
Was she reading a character information window?
Curiosity suddenly overwhelmed me.
The astonishing thing she was looking at might be the stat window of Roland, more precisely 6 'Great Paladin' Roland.
If you disregard the critical disadvantage of being a male character, the stats and skill window would only make you think that the management team went all out to showcase the monstrous numbers.
Of course, I couldn't recall every single detail from the status window I had seen ten years ago for about five seconds, but I could at least remember the difference in the numbers.
For example, if a tier-1 main tanker with five stars at level 1 had around 10,000 health points, Roland with six stars at level 1 had over 20,000.
Even at a pure level 1 without leveling, awakening, or skill enhancements, my character could effortlessly crush those with four stars or fewer.
If she saw that, there's no way Han Se-ah would refuse me.
"Wow, really?!"
"Yes, it's an opportunity to adventure with 'Paladin' Roland."
"Really? With me? You're forming a party?"
She seemed to have been shocked by my information window, as she stumbled over her words. She'd been talking non-stop in front of the camera drone, surely to dozens of viewers.
Her eyes frequently shifted to the right, revealing that she was checking the chat window.
The setup seemed similar to the online streams I knew, with the status window in the center and the chat window on the right.
A beautiful blonde woman recommended a handsome blonde character. As a streamer, Han Se-ah had no choice but to accept.
She nodded vigorously as if agreeing with my thoughts, her black hair fluttering like a flag, reflecting her emotions.
"I came here for that, so it's fine. But it seems this junior hasn't registered yet?"
"Oh, right! I'll register you as an adventurer first."
As Han Se-ah approached the counter, her eyes were fixed on Ellis, who was rummaging through a shelf behind the counter.
Ellis pulled out a crystal ball the size of a human head.
It was an identifier I had often seen in fantasy novelswhen touched, it would reveal a person's rank.
I couldn't fathom the magic behind it, as I was a magic layman.
It could read a person's abilities just by touching their palm?
Of course, now that I knew this world was a game, it made sense.
"Place your hands on it, like you're wrapping them around it."
"Like this?"
"Yes, please wait a moment."
As the two beauties faced each other across the counter, the attention of those around intensified.
Their curiosity about the newcomer's first steps added to the attention.
The guild's crystal ball, which assessed human abilities, informed the results in a very simple way.
It didn't project illusions inside or show various colors to indicate ranks.
It merely emitted a bright white light proportional to the latent abilities.
My doubts about why it read latent power instead of the magic flowing in the skin were resolved thanks to the game system.
'Users using the crystal ball with the status window will make it easier when forming parties.'
This city, filled with adventurers from all over the world, was built around the tower.
Dozens of new adventurers arrived daily, and there was no way to check each one's status window individually.
"Hmm, not bad!"
"Really?"
The crystal ball didn't emit a dazzling light that would blind a person.
Instead, it only emitted a bright light that illuminated the hand holding the ball.
I wondered if this measured Han Se-ah's individual talent or if all playable characters ranked fairly high.
Would my character, 'Paladin Roland,' exist in other people's games too?
"Yes! If the crystal ball doesn't shine and remains dark, it means the person isn't suited for battle. If it was just a little darker here, I would have suggested you become my junior instead of an adventurer."
"Does that mean the process is over?"
"There's usually a basic training for novice adventurers, but... I'll leave that for you, my bored senior adventurer."
"Isn't it more like you're passing the responsibility to me?"
"No, no, it's a task to strengthen the bond between senior and junior."
Although her giggling was somewhat annoying, her looks made it difficult to get angry.
Besides, I had offered to train a beginner because I was bored, so I had no choice but to become a tutorial guide.
Meanwhile, I heard Han Se-ah muttering to herself, 'Is this a tutorial...?'
Could others not hear her?
If something related to the game had been visible to others besides me, there would have been a commotion by now.
The semi-transparent camera drone floating above her head was too advanced for the people of this medieval fantasy world to understand.
If people saw that, rumors would spread that the new recruit was a steel spirit mage or a witch who controlled ghosts.
"Um... I look forward to working with you, senior!"
While secretly watching the camera drone that was filming the inside of the guild, Han Se-ah approached me after hearing the explanation about basic training.
The drone moved smoothly above her head, so it must have been filming me from the front.
I couldn't make eye contact with the drone, so I lowered my gaze and looked into Han Se-ah's jet-black eyes.
A rare beauty with black hair and black eyes in this Western-themed world.
"Alright, I look forward to working with you too. What's your name, junior?"
"Ah, my name is Han...Na!"
"I am Roland, a frontline warrior. I look forward to working with you, junior."
It seemed Han Se-ah's name was too peculiar to use in a western fantasy setting, so she quickly made one up.
But speaking with someone from the modern world made my usual way of speaking feel awkward.
***
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