Chapter 2: The Tutorial Begins. 

The area around the forest was filled with various people holding bows, spears, swords, everything. Joshua was confused as to why he didn’t have a weapon himself, but his confusion was soon blocked out by something else. 

[Welcome to the tutorial, Players.]

The robotic voice came again, a window appearing above his head and everyone else's. “What is happening here??” A man would say, a sword in his hand as he looked up at the window in the sky. “I don’t know. It seems like something is about to happen.” A woman would say, nudging the man slightly to look deep into the dark forest. Joshua did so as well, his eyes flaring up as he could sense creatures in the darkness. “So our tutorial is to hunt some monsters?? I’m guessing?” 

[You have been given a quest.] 

Kobold Subjugation: Low-Rank Quest 

[With your Fellow Players, Hunt a total of 500 Kobolds within 5 Days.]

Reward on Success: 200 Gold, 200 XP

Failure Penalty: Death. 

 

The crowd was outraged at the quest. Some were happy to do something, and the supposed normal humans were outraged at the Failure Penalty. You die if you fail the tutorial. “Now that’s rigged,” Joshua says, rolling his eyes. He then hears the voice speak again. 

[Failure to participate also results in death. You need a minimum of 5 Kills to move on. Showing Cowardice also results in failure.]

 

“Are you kidding me?!” Someone else yells. Multiple people start to agree and start protesting against the quest. But a group of people walks off into the forest to start the quest. Joshua sighs, beginning to head towards the forest as well. “I suggest you guys get moving. Protesting does nothing against the quest. You all need 5 kills to not die.” He gives them some good advice before he’s off into the forest. He immediately feels as if he’s being watched… 

[You have decided to partake in the quest. Good luck, Player.] 

"Good luck..? We're just here for your enjoyment." He says underneath his breath, walking along the forest floor. His eyes began to flare up with purple fires as he looked around the forest. What was he looking for?? A goblin of sorts? Orc? 

[The God Pluto Says: You are looking for Goblins. Find the goblins and kill them. Finishing the Tutorial is your priority.]

"Alright, Pluto. Whatever you say." The man shrugs, looking around for whatever these... Goblins were? He's never seen one before outside of video games. He didn't know if they looked the same as in the Video Games or completely different. 

He trudged through the forest for around 2-3 Hours, searching for these so-called goblins. 

"Grrr... Me hungry..." He finally found them. Standing up high in one of the trees and looking down on the small creature. They had a light gray or a dark brown pelt with yellow slit-like eyes and sharp teeth adorned in their mouths. Sharp nails on long fingers and rags as clothes. Their only weapons were jagged and broken daggers. But even then, the bodies of a few normal people and players lay on the ground. "We take hooman to the boss... Boss tell us what do next.." The 5 Kobolds giggled and cackled in response as they began to drag the bodies away. 

"Seriously... How did these guys die to such small creatures..." Joshua wondered, shaking his head as his eyes flared up again. 

[Pluto: Do not underestimate the little creatures. They were created by the God of Beasts. So even these level one creatures get strong enough to kill a player.] 

Pluto warned Joshua, telling him not to let his guard down around the little creatures. Never should he do such a thing. "Alright. Just like a lion, I must hunt a rabbit with all I have." 

[You've Activated the Skill; "One with the Shadows". You are now invisible to monsters as long as you are inside of a shadow.] 

He would groan, climbing down the tree and staying inside of their shadows to not be seen by the Kobolds. 

 

"Sniff... Sniff... I smell human." The kobold that seemed the smartest sniffed the air around them, catching onto Joshua's scent. "Status." Joshua decided to check out the goblin's stats and such before he would start his attack. 

[KOBOLD JINKO]

STR: 21

DEX: 13

CON: 17

INT: 3

WIS: 3

CHA: 3

MAG: 6

SPI(SPIRIT): 25

Class: Dagger Wielder 

This Kobold was surprisingly strong... Way stronger than he thought... "Now I know why he sensed me.." He was quite surprised. This man had to at least be level two? This fight was gonna be hard. But maybe Goblin Jinko would count as two goblins. The other goblin's stats were around 5-6 On all fronts other than Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma, and Magic. What boiled his blood though, was that a fucking Goblin had more Charisma than him... Was he that unfriendly..? 

 

"Alright, Joshua. You can do this." He hyped himself up before he slithered around to another shadow. The part of the forest they were in had an opening where the sun could shine inside. So

one beam of light hitting him would mean he was found out. And a 5 on 1 wasn't something he was fond of doing. 

The Kobolds' eyes darted around and their noses twitched as they tried to find the scent of Joshua once again. He would creep behind one of the lower level Kobolds, grabbing him by the neck and squeezing hard. His neck snapped with a loud crack, blood oozing from the torn skin. 

"Agh! Human, There!" Another of the kobolds screamed as their comrade was dragged into the darkness of the forest. "Stay calm, brothers. It's just one human!" Jinko screamed, the kobolds coming back from their fear. They would come together, backs against each other. 

 

Joshua grabbed the knife from the Kobold's body, and Weapons Expert activated almost immediately. He felt as if he knew how to use the Dagger like he had been using it all his life. Twirling the dagger in his hand, he smirked. "Who's next..?" He said to himself, aiming for the Kobold right next to Jinko. Jinko felt bloodlust from the forest and quickly tried to get his brother in arms to dodge. "Brother, Dodge! Human aim for you!!" 

Before the kobold could even think, his chest had a dagger lodged inside of it. He would scream in agony, falling to the ground in pain. The other two Kobolds gasped, running to their friend to help them. But before they could even get there, one of them was sent flying away with a kick to the side of the head. 

Jinko would look up, seeing the massive behemoth of a man that was Joshua. Especially since they were short, to begin with. "How human so tall..?" He would ask himself before the third kobold was stabbed brutally through the neck. Now it was just Joshua and him. "That was surprisingly easy." Jinko's yellow eyes began to tear up slightly, seeing the bodies of his comrades adorn the floor. "Oh, don't be too sad. You'll be going there next." That was the last straw. 

 

"Me... Me... I kill Human!!" He screamed, his dagger beginning to glow red with energy, and his eyes doing the same. Joshua tilted his head to the left, a bit confused. Before his eyes, Jinko's body flickered and before he knew it, Jinko was in front of him, His dagger high above his head, ready to swing. 

"DIE, HUMAN!" He screamed. "Shit!" Joshua would put up his harm in advance, but then quickly dodged to the left. His cheek now cut slightly. "I almost forgot I didn't have a weapon!" He almost died right there. Jinko gave chase as Joshua ran to the body of one of the kobolds, flipping him over with a kick and grabbing the dagger. 

 

Turning around quickly, his blade and Jinko's met sparks flying as the little man floated midair, clashing against Joshua. "Dammit... You little bastard... How are you so strong?!" He growled, being pushed back. Jinko responded. 

"I'M BLESSED BY BOSS!!" 

So the Boss of the Kobolds can bless them..? That was gonna be annoying to deal with. Before he could think anymore, he was blown back by Jinko. Just a one-stat difference in strength was that much?! "Gah!" He was quickly on the defensive, blocking consecutive attacks. Every time he blocked he was cut by the after-effects of blocking such strong attacks. His Ballistic vest was cut in half from one of the attacks... "Fuck!" He would begin to retaliate, sending out a slash of his own, which Jinko dodged, nearly getting hit. 

[Your enemy has escaped death Once.] 

 

"Oh... Dammit!" He would go for a knee, of Which Jinko dodged back, slashing his knee afterward. "Ah!" He screamed, holding the knife up above his head, going for a downward slash. Jinko easily dodged the attack. Well... Easily may be a stretch. 

 

[Your enemy has escaped death once more. Death Bringer Exclusive Critical Hit now acquired.] 

His eyes would flare-up, the fire glowing red and so did his sword. The silhouette of Pluto appeared behind him. "DIE!!" He would scream, Fear filling Jinko at the scary sight. 

[Your enemy has been Induced with Fear. They can no longer move.] 

Joshua slashed Jinko down the middle, a gust of wind coming from how strong the slash was. And then a massive explosion, the Earth around him cracking underneath as Jinko's body was sent flying through several trees. 

 

[You have defeated {JINKO}. You have leveled up. You have earned the Skill: "You Shant Escape Death"]

 

He was out of breath... Tired... He had almost died more than a few times during that fight. But afterward, he had gotten stronger. And now he knew that he had to always fight like a Lion. Also try your best, even against a rabbit. "Fuck... I'm super tired.." He would cough, walking out of the forest, deciding he had to rest for now. And Ignoring the new Notification by the system. One that would come and bite him in the ass later. 

 

[You are the first one of the 4th Generation to Kill a Kobold Captain.]

TUTORIAL RATINGS:

1: Joshua Reeves: 2,500 Participation Points 

2: Harold Smith: 1,340 Participation Points

3: Zhen Fu: 1,250 Participation Points. 

 

There were tutorial rankings. And He was number one. By a long shot. 

Two hours later... 

Joshua was now resting, taking a seat against a tree in the tutorial waiting area. Many people were waiting around, either making parties to go hunt down Kobolds or helping players who got away injured from multiple fights. He looked at the various people and that's when he spotted the two other rankers. Harold, and Zhen Fu. Zhen Fu looked like your average Manhua Main Character. And Harold seemed to be just a normal guy. 

"These buffoons are number 2 and 3..? Must've killed some easy Kobolds then..." 

[Pluto: That Zhen Fu fellow... I need to know about him. Here.]

[The God of the Dead has given you: Sneak Peek.] 

[Pluto: Look at his status.] 

"Pluto... Are you seriously going to continue to cheat..?" He could've sworn he heard a booming laugh somewhere. His eyes would flare a yellow light as he looked at Zhen Fu's Insane Status. 

[Zhen Fu: Regressor]

STR: 25

DEX: 25

CON: 19

INT: 20

WIS: 20

CHA: 20

MAG: 20

SPI(SPIRIT): 30

<Other Stats Hidden>

CLASS: Magic Swordsman 

GOD: Zeus, God of the Sky and Thunder

SKILLS: [Weapons Expert], [Curse of Revenge], [Regressor's Insight], [Future Sight]

"What the fuck..?" Pluto was also surprised by an Actual Regressor... Someone who has seen the future and the past. And his stats are all Legendary Status... "An actual Regressor..? What, do I live in a Web Novel?" Pluto chuckled slightly before speaking. 

[Pluto: I suggest you stay away from that man. Or kill him. Maybe even make him your servant. Either way. Unless you have him under your grasp, he must be taken out. He's escaped death too many times. Especially since he's regressed.]

Before he could fully respond to Pluto, he would look up, seeing the very handsome man now standing before him. "Hello. Are you Joshua Hyung-Nim?" So he was Korean..? Obviously... "Yes. What does it mean to you..?" 

"Would you like to form a party with me and my other friends and clear this dungeon ourselves?" 

"Are you serious?" 

"Very much so.."

"Alright then. I'll come along. Heh." 

To be continued... 

SKILLS EARNED: 

[Sneak Peek]: The Ability to sneak a peek at another player's status. Also Heightens your eyesight. 

[You Shant escape death.]: The more your enemy comes close to dying by your hand the higher your Critical Damage, Speed, Health, and Fear Factor power up. Can Stack up to 2 Times Currently. 

CURRENT LEVEL: 2 EXP: 4/100