43. S: Go Once More, Oh Sage

".... Where.... am I?....”

Opening my eyes and muttering so, I feel headache, confusion, and dizziness overwhelming my mind, but then weakly holding my head in response, I slowly rise from...

“A bed?....”

Saying that, and finally recognizing my whereabouts, I suddenly glance at the half-familiar room in confusion, glancing at it with a weird feeling of deja vu, when suddenly...

….!!!

I remember, how I got to this room, how I woke up here in a very similar pattern, how I started a so-called tutorial, and how...

“... Uhm-”

Suddenly holding mouth.

I died.....

“Blaaaghh....”

Throwing up.

How I was pierced by the Sudden, Ruthless Red...

“Ughhh..... Cough, Cough, Cough....”

And with all of that, I...

-Score: 000-

“......”

I silently glance at the notification cruelly hovering in front of me.... and with a pale face, drained from blood, read it...

-First Wave Failed-

Speechlessly, I read it, while also... Suppressing the shacking in my limbs.....

......

......

......

How long was it..... A minute?.... two?..... No, the answer was...

-00:27:29-

“About half an hour...”

Clenching the blanket around me and muttering that, I blankly stare at the corner of my vision where along with a timer.....

-00:27:31-

-Restart-

Along with a timer, a certain button stood. Still, ignoring such a timer and button, I sat on the bed with a blanket on me, while also staring absentmindedly at air...

Then after a while, I stared at my hands, legs, and even my clothes, but...

“they are normal... with no scratch on them....”

Saying that I then again look at my right hand, clench it multiple times, and finally use it to check my face and even eyes, but...

“the same... there is no injury, pain.... or anything....”

Weakly saying so, I stare at the air dumbly for a while, before then standing from my place and slowly walking toward the desk on the other side of the room...

Doing so, I then look atop the desk and search, until I find it...

“here it is....”

A pen.

And shakily holding that pen, I move and sit on the chair, before then leaning forward on the desk, and...

Stabbing the pen precisely in my left hand.

“Ummghhhhh.…!!!!”

Biting lips.

Doing such a stupid thing, I quickly feel the pain spreading through my hand, but then...

Just as I quickly pull the pen out of it, it happened...

And with an instantaneous change.... that hole in my left was suddenly.....

“Healing.....”

Saying that and looking at my hand, I can’t help but look at the healing wound, and shudder.... while also remembering how at the tutorial, my wounds just kept healing and prolonging the suffering until a certain red laser beam pierced My..... Head...

Just remembering that brings me shivers, honestly.... but is it thanks to the instant healing?.... or maybe some other thing?... well, I don’t know.... but for some reason, it seems that with each passing second, I... am slowly forgetting that experience of the tutorial.... or to be specific, I am starting to lose my fear toward it, as if...

“the memory itself is getting blurrier, and more foreign with each passing second....”

Saying that, and somehow only feeling a little confusion, I...

Do nothing..... but sitting down at the desk, before then once again glancing at the empty air.... and what I saw there was...

-Status :

Chris Bright Lv1

hp : 25

mp: 10

sp : 10

atk : 10

def : 30

agi : 10

Skills:

- Notebook - Health Lv2 - Defense Lv3 - Pain Tolerance Lv1 -

And what I saw there was a status window, with my name, stats, and even skills there... Honestly, when objectively looking at the situation, a status window is not that surprising compared to everything else...

“Nevertheless, it’s still surprising enough...”

Muttering that and remembering the messages I saw in the midst of the tutorial, I then glance at the bottom of my status, and what I saw there were ‘Skills’...

Those very same skills I gained through the hellish tutorial of before, well.... most of them were gained at the time, but not the first one though...

Thinking of that, I look at my skills again for a while, but...

“How do you use them again?”

“No, seriously, just how am I supposed to use them?....”

Saying that and feeling confusion, I stand from my chair and then move in front of the desk, I stand in place while looking at my status, but...

“what should I do now? Scream the skill name or something? Ah, but I tried that before and nothing happened so maybe there is something I missed?”

“hmm... could it be that I can’t use skills before passing the tutorial? Or maybe it’s because I lack something?”

“Ah, but maybe I need an awakening event of sort, first? I mean, that’s how it’s usually, no?”

“Having common skills that only enhance status, but needing an event or quest to gain any real useful skill....”

“hmm... then I guess I have no choice....”

Sigh.

Reaching that conclusion and sighing, I.... give up, before then resignedly glancing once again at the timer in the corner of my vision and...

Tapping the button below it.

-Restart-

When once again...

-Announcement: Tutorial Has Restarted-

The same familiar notifications...

-Tutorial: Special Edition-

Have reappeared.... and seeing that, I... did my best in stopping the sudden weakness I felt in my limbs, suppressing the pulsing fear I found in my heart, and...

Erasing the hesitation clouding my mind, after all...

“Such inferior things can not stop the likes of me...”

or at least, that’s what I calmly said, before then scratching my cheeks in embarrassment.

“Ah, but it’s fun, nevertheless....”

“even if it’s embarrassing...”

Saying that and smiling a little, I ignore all that happened before, throwing my worries behind me and then looking to the door in front of me, as I...

Enter and choose the same weapon once more.