NOVEL NEXT chapter 2
2 – Floor 0, Tutorial.
“No way.”
Horrible thoughts filled my head.
At that moment, the message pointed at me.
[Error player. The thought you are having right now is exactly correct.]
“…Error?”
People stared at me.
Minji Lee awkwardly smiled, while the middle-aged man burst into blatant laughter.
“You. There was a reason you didn’t want to reveal your name. Oruin. How can a person’s name be Oruin? Puhahahaha!”
“……”
There was nothing to say.
‘I’m glad I’m used to it.’
Every time he revealed his name, he faced similar reactions.
Maybe that’s why.
Even hearing the ridicule, he felt nothing.
Rather, he could remain calm.
Because he was certain that the other was a surreal being.
Others seemed to be the same, keeping their mouths tightly shut.
[We will now reveal the correct answer that Player Oruin has come up with. As he predicted, you are already dead.]
The middle-aged man, who had been laughing as if he would choke, suddenly stopped.
“…What?”
[It means that the moment you chose to enter the Tower of Struggle, you could no longer return.]
“……”
[It’s okay. Don’t worry. As long as you climb the Tower of Struggle, you won’t be eliminated.]
No one could refute the helper’s words.
The television footage was so shocking that it seemed everyone had forgotten how to speak.
Rumble-.
With a loud noise, the stone door began to open.
People’s heads turned awkwardly.
They glanced at each other with faces full of tension.
[This is the 0th floor of the Tower of Struggle. To put it simply, it’s a tutorial. It’s where you learn how to use the ‘Soul System’.]
Something came to mind.
【Name – Oruin】
【Race – Human】
【Health 100】【Mana 100】
【Strength 10】 【Agility 10】 【Stamina 10】
“`
【Intelligence 10】 【Wisdom 10】 【Luck 10】
【Skills in Possession – (0/1)】
【Attack Power 10】【Durability 10】
【Spell Power 10】【Resistance 10】
【Nature Power 10】【Regeneration 10】
Someone muttered.
“…Game?”
[Since it’s a familiar form, you should be able to adapt easily, right?]
“…….”
The message continued.
[Players on Earth start with all stats fixed at 10. Regardless of age or gender, it’s 10. The ‘Soul System’ stats are absolute, so the same value outputs the same power.]
“…What does that mean?”
Lee Minji’s question.
[It means that if the current error player and Lee Minji player fight, it would be evenly matched. Normally, the male error player should win.]
“…Reset?”
[That’s right. Reset. As expected of the error player. Your understanding is exceptional.]
“…….”
[Although ‘equalization’ is a more accurate term than ‘reset’, the meaning is conveyed, so let’s move on.]
“…….”
[So why does equalization occur? It’s because your dimensional system is pathetically weak.]
“Weak, so equalization?”
[It’s so insignificant that distinguishing is meaningless, so we unified the stats to 10.]
Someone raised a hand.
[Player Park Jihoon seems to have a question. We have some time now, so I’ll take questions.]
“…Are there aliens too?”
[Although the aliens Player Park Jihoon imagines are different, aliens do exist.]
“…….”
[Just like you, they enter the Tower of Struggle and either climb or prepare to climb.]
I had a vague feeling.
‘Seeing the race below my information after my name, it’s impossible not to know.’
“`
If only humans existed, would there be a need for such a category?
No.
Because there are other species besides humans, there is a separate column for it.
[You belong to the weaker side of the human species. So, we are raising the overall level through standardization.]
“……”
At that moment, a middle-aged man spoke up.
“…Doesn’t standardization mean that some people get weaker?”
The middle-aged man continued, as if feeling wronged.
“If a man like me becomes the same as that girl over there… In the end, I’m at a loss. She’s at an advantage.”
[That’s correct. It’s a structure where a minority of players suffer losses. But it can’t be helped. It’s better to think of it as the sacrifice of the few for the many.]
“……”
[But there’s no need to feel too wronged. It’s just that your stats have decreased. They can grow again soon.]
The assistant sent a message, pointing directly at the middle-aged man.
[Player Jin Cheol-hwan seems to feel very wronged.]
“Of course I feel wronged. I could have started more advantageously, but because of those things…”
[We can do as Player Jin Cheol-hwan wishes. Shall we do that?]
“Is that possible? Then why do we even have standardization…”
He grumbled loudly but did not refuse the privilege.
“Oh. It’s real.”
Jin Cheol-hwan looked into the air.
He was diligently examining his information.
“What? What is this!”
Then he was startled and fainted.
“Why have my stats decreased? Strength, agility, stamina all down to 8… And why has my attack power dropped to 8!”
[Because Player Jin Cheol-hwan’s physical abilities are below 10. It’s natural for them to decrease when normalized.]
“Where is that fair! No, give it back. Make my stats 10…!”
[What do the others think?]
They all looked at each other.
A young man, Park Ji-hoon, who had asked the alien question earlier, requested the normalization of his stats from the assistant.
[No, it can’t be done.]
The assistant firmly refused his request.
‘…I never intended to listen to someone with a stat above 10 from the beginning.’
Jin Cheol-hwan, who had a stat below 10, was acting up, so they normalized his stat as an example.
[Let’s proceed with acquiring skills. This is actually the most important time.]
With that message, an enormous amount of text was listed.
It was a list of skills that could be acquired.
1. [Smash][F]
[Strike the opponent with force, dealing 『1,521%』 physical damage.]
2. [Throwing Stone][F]
[Throw a small stone, dealing 『1,004%』 physical damage.]
3. [Crude Paralysis Poison][F]
[Apply paralysis poison to the weapon, dealing an additional 『505%』 physical damage + 『109』 poison attribute damage on the next attack. 5% chance to inflict paralysis on the opponent.]
……
10000. [Charge][F]
[Charge forward, dealing 『1,330%』 physical damage.]
The number of F-rank skills was a whopping 10,000.
It was practically impossible to look through and choose them all.
“…Do I have to choose one from here?”
Park Ji-hoon asked, clicking his tongue as if he had the same thought as me.
[Yes.]
“Ah….”
[But there’s no need to worry too much. For now, you can only acquire one skill, but as you grow, you can expand your slots. There are also higher-level skills. So don’t get too hung up on F-rank skills.]
Is that as easy as it sounds?
‘In a situation where my life is at stake….’
I would somehow try to find and acquire a highly efficient skill.
[Of course, that’s a story for when you have time to worry about it.]
A message that felt somewhat sly.
Tick-tock-.
Soon, a large clock appeared in the center of the white room.
The second hand, the minute hand, the hour hand.
Unlike an ordinary clock with three hands, that clock had only one hand.
[If the player does not acquire a skill within the time limit, it will be considered that the player has given up on acquiring the skill.]
Fixing his gaze on the skill list, he skimmed through the list quickly.
How focused he was.
When he lifted his head and looked around again, his eyes and neck felt incredibly stiff.
“Is there no function like skill search?”
Unable to bear it, Park Ji-hoon asked the assistant.
[There is.]
“…Then why didn’t you tell me….”
[Because you didn’t ask.]
A response that made his mind go blank.
‘I don’t have the luxury to deal with that.’
He actively used the search function to find the necessary skills.
“Hmm.”
“What should I choose?”
It’s hard to decide even when choosing a meal menu or a game nickname.
How much harder would it be to choose a skill that his life depended on?
The assistant said it was just an F-rank skill, but from the perspective of someone who just became a player, it was hard to think of it as just that.
“Smash…. Hit the enemy with all your might for 150% physical damage….”
“How about this? It’s called Shield Mastery, and it’s a passive skill that applies permanently….”
Min-ji Lee, subtly hinting for help, grumbled.
The confident appearance was nowhere to be seen, and Jin Cheol-hwan, who was asking questions next to Park Ji-hoon.
‘Hmm…?’
Something was strange about Min-ji Lee’s words.
“Crude Paralysis Poison. 50% additional physical damage, 10 poison attribute damage. And inflicts paralysis….”
Wasn’t she talking about all the skill damages, including Smash, at a much lower value than mine?
‘I must be seeing it wrong.’
He thought so and passed it over.
It didn’t take long to realize the problem.
‘…Am I the only one who feels strange?’
Jihoon Park, Cheolhwan Jin, Minji Lee.
And the middle-aged woman, Sujin Lim.
‘Why are they all the same?’
All four have the same damage coefficient.
Except for the man who was forcibly eliminated, I was the only one among the remaining five whose numbers fluctuated wildly.
So I asked, just in case.
“…What did you say about the Smite option?”
“Smite? Hold on a second. Let me check again.”
Minji answered.
“It says it deals 150% physical damage by hitting the opponent with all your might.”
For me, it’s not 150%, but about 1500%.
“What about emergency treatment?”
I asked about the other skills as well.
“…It says you can recover 50 health by bandaging. But how much is 50?”
The results were the same.
‘Is it a bug?’
I got goosebumps for a moment.
‘If they find out, I’m in big trouble.’
I must not let the assistant catch my thoughts.
I don’t know if it’s possible to hide my thoughts.
‘…Have they already found out?’
The assistant hadn’t shown any reaction since earlier.
‘Maybe the mind-reading they showed earlier was just a guess based on observation.’
I need to check.
Mind control.
I composed my emotions and called the assistant.
I only thought of him in my mind.
No answer.
“…I have a question.”
[Error player? What are you curious about?]
“Life force recovery. I’m curious about how much exactly this is.”
[Life force is an absolute value. Whether your fingertip is cut or your arm is severed, if you take 10 points of physical damage, your life force decreases by 10 points.]
“Thanks for letting me know.”
[You’re welcome. That’s my role, after all.]
I was thanking it for something else, but the assistant misunderstood my words.