Chapter 1

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“Ugh…”

I woke up feeling a slight headache.

‘Ugh… I didn’t even drink yesterday, so why does my head… huh?’

As I was thinking to myself, I panicked because the place I woke up in wasn’t my home.

Not only that, but I couldn’t understand why I was with a bunch of other people.

‘What the…? What’s going on?’

The only thing that came out of my mouth was curses.

I clearly remember finishing work yesterday, coming home, and having dinner with my sister. But now, I’m in some strange place surrounded by strangers? What the hell is going on?

From the looks of it, everyone else was also glancing around in panic, so it seemed like we were all in the same situation.

‘…What the hell is this? A kidnapping? What’s going on… damn it.’

Something felt off because this place was extremely unfamiliar.

The plaza itself was bizarre—the walls, floor, and ceiling were all pure white.

My hands and feet were trembling, and my mind couldn’t comprehend the situation.

‘Not just me, but everyone else… they’re all terrified… Does no one know what’s going on?’

As I continued to think, I started hearing other people talking to each other.

“Hey, where is this place? Does anyone… know anything? What the hell…”

“I don’t know either… What is this…”

Just as I was starting to sweat from the incomprehensible situation, a voice echoed through the plaza.

[Greetings, everyone from Earth. Welcome to the tutorial of Eras.]

“What?! What kind of crazy talk is this? Earth? Is this some hidden camera show?”

“You kidnapped people and suddenly talk about a tutorial? What the hell are you saying?! And you say we’re from Earth… what the…!”

I could understand why people were shouting. The person addressing us said we were from Earth, so of course, something felt off.

‘Damn it… So this isn’t Earth? What the hell?’

“Haha… You’re making a mistake. I’m Ha Seung-won, a member of the National Assembly! Where’s your supervisor?!”

[I am not here to answer your questions. I understand that you are all panicking or feeling fear due to the sudden situation, but panicking or feeling fear will not help you survive here.]

People’s faces started turning pale in real-time.

The mention of the word “survival” made most people realize that this wasn’t a joke.

‘Crazy… Damn it, damn it! What the hell is this situation? Eras? Tutorial?’

I knew I had to think calmly in this situation, but my thoughts were completely out of control.

‘Damn it, they said survival. They clearly said panicking won’t help… Are our lives in danger?’

The men were shouting, the women were crying—it was complete chaos.

“What the hell are you talking about… Send us home! Please… sob… Please send us back…!”

“Damn it, stop joking around! Where’s the person in charge?! You’re all hiding and not showing your faces! Come out and explain right now!”

[The tutorial will begin shortly. If you pass, you will earn the right to live in Eras. Those who fail will die. I will now give you a brief explanation about the tutorial.]

‘Damn it… Fail and die? I need to listen carefully.’

I’m not usually the type to curse this much, but the situation forced it out of me.

I tried to ignore my pounding heart and focused as much as possible. If failing meant death, then listening to the explanation was the first priority.

[You will see one large door and four smaller doors in the area you are in. The four smaller doors contain the food and weapons you will need. There is enough for each of you to take at least one weapon, and there is also plenty of food and water. Please take as much as you need.]

‘Weapons? Food is one thing, but weapons?’

[Soon, monsters that do not exist on Earth will enter through the large door. You can choose to fight or flee. The choice is yours. Please choose carefully.]

‘Damn it, how are we supposed to flee when there’s no way out…! There’s only that large door…! And monsters?’

[Thinking like you did on Earth will lead to death here. And you are special. Each of you has unique traits. If you think of or call out “status window,” your status window will appear.]

Someone muttered.

“St-status window!”

“Ugh! What is this?!”

“Status window!”

Some people suddenly sat down in shock, while others stared into the air.

‘Status window.’

[Name: Lee Yun-seong]

[Age: 26]

[Occupation: Not yet decided.]

[Title: None]

[Unique Trait]

Scout (Grade being measured) – You can view and save other people’s status windows. However, the other party’s unique traits or abilities may allow them to detect you. As your grade increases, more features will be unlocked.

[Stats]

Strength – 09 Agility – 10

Stamina – 08 Luck – 12

Magic – 00 Resistance – 08

“Ha…”

The status window that appeared before my eyes was eerily similar to a game. But this wasn’t a game—this was reality.

As I was trying to process my thoughts, the voice spoke again.

[Your survival rate will depend on how you choose to grow using your status window. Occupations and unique traits are divided into Common, Rare, Heroic, Legendary, and Myth grades. As your grade increases, your stat growth and limits will also increase. Titles are granted based on your activities on the continent. Unique traits vary from person to person and are generated based on your characteristics and personality.]

“……”

The voice continued, but with so much information being thrown at me in such a short time, I couldn’t focus.

[Your stats can be improved through consistent effort. Of course, the limits of your stats vary from person to person. Excluding Magic and Luck, the average stat for an adult male on Earth is 10.]

‘Damn it… I wasn’t exactly an active person, but even my Agility is below average?’

I’d have to check my status window later. For now, it seemed like a good idea to check other people’s status windows, so I looked at a few.

‘First, the middle-aged man next to me and the siblings who look like students.’

[Name: Park Dong-hyuk]

[Age: 54]

[Occupation: Not yet decided.]



[ Title: None ]

[ Unique Traits: None ]

[ Stats ]

Strength – 15 Agility – 11

Stamina – 13 Luck – 06

Magic – 00 Resistance – 13

“This guy’s stats are better than mine, but he has no unique traits. Are unique traits not a given?”

Apparently, not everyone has unique traits.

[ Name: Lee Yoo-rim ]

[ Age: 19 ]

[ Job: Not yet specialized ]

[ Title: None ]

[ Unique Traits ]

Quick Reflexes (Grade Under Measurement) – Permanently increases Agility by 3.

[ Stats ]

Strength – 10 Agility – 14

Stamina – 12 Luck – 10

Magic – 00 Resistance – 06

“This girl has a unique trait. She’s a student, and my stats are worse than hers?”

I knew I was a bit weak, but I didn’t expect my stats to be worse than a high school girl’s.

[ Name: Lee Yoo-hyun ]

[ Age: 15 ]

[ Job: Not yet specialized ]

[ Title: None ]

[ Unique Traits ]

Guidance of the Light-lost God (Grade Under Measurement) – A once radiant god has favored you.

[ Stats ]

Strength – 06 Agility – 09

Stamina – 08 Luck – 20

Magic – 03 Resistance – 08

“What the? Magic 3? Can you start with magic? And what’s this ‘Guidance of the Light-lost God’?”

I don’t know exactly what the magic stat does, but from what I’ve seen so far, I thought everyone started with 0 magic.

“Damn, and why is Luck 20?”

[ Alright, I’ve given you the basics. That’s all for now. The goal of the tutorial is survival and strategy. I hope you all make it through. ]

*Rumble*

As soon as I heard the sound of the gate opening, I realized this wasn’t the time to be standing around.

“Crazy! Weapons! I need to grab weapons first!”

As soon as the announcement ended, the big gate started to open. The explanation said monsters would come out from there, so I needed to grab weapons and supplies as fast as possible.

Sure enough, others seemed to have the same idea, and people started crowding into the room with supplies and weapons.

“Move! I picked this!”

“Ah! Don’t push! Don’t take all the water!”

It was chaos. I quickly grabbed a bag and filled it with water and food.

Next, I needed a weapon. There were various types: swords, spears, bows, bludgeons, shields, daggers, axes, etc.

‘I’ll skip the sword… I don’t even know how to use one. A spear might be okay, but it’s hard to use with a shield…’

I ran over and grabbed a bludgeon and a small shield.

The bludgeon is easy to swing, and while I’ve never used a shield, having some means of defense is better than nothing.

Most people grabbed swords, spears, or bludgeons, with some also taking shields like me.

Bows were rare since they’re hard to use, and once you run out of arrows, you’re done.

Outside, the sounds of monsters grew louder. The unfamiliar noises filled everyone, including me, with fear.

There was no way to escape except through the gate where the monsters were coming from.

“Damn it! Damn it! You crazy bastards! Dragging us into this mess…!”

“Please save me… God, please… Mom…!”

“Everyone, stay calm! Grab your weapons! It’s just a tutorial, so it shouldn’t be too hard! Stay calm!”

The square was filled with panicked screams, angry shouts, and people trying to calm others down. Even those trying to calm others seemed too scared to stay composed themselves.

‘Damn it…!’

My hands trembled as I gripped the bludgeon, and I cursed under my breath. Then, a clear sound broke through.

“Kieeeek—!”

The gate opened, and red, humanoid monsters, about waist-high to an adult male, started pouring into the building.

“Ahhh! Damn it! What the hell is that! Aaah!”

“Save me, save me—!”

“Keeek!”

The sight of the monsters paralyzed everyone with fear. People were being slaughtered without even putting up a fight. I was no different, frozen in place.

‘This… this…’

The monsters killed people and then started tearing out their entrails with their claws, eating them on the spot.

“Run…! Run away!”

Most people, unable to fight back, started fleeing through the gate the monsters had entered from.

If the monsters had immediately attacked, everyone would have died, but they were too busy eating the corpses, allowing some to escape.

‘I need to move!’

I was an idiot for thinking the tutorial would be manageable.

I tried to run, but something grabbed my leg.

“Huh?”

“Save… save me! Please don’t leave me…! My… my leg…! Ugh… please save me! Take me with you…!”

A woman with what looked like a leg torn off was clinging to my leg.

‘Damn it… I need to be realistic. She’s already dead… There’s no medical supplies here. I have to leave her.’

Of course, I had to leave her. It was impossible to take care of her in this situation.

If she had all her limbs, or even if just her arm was injured, maybe we could have run together. But with her leg torn off, there was no way she could survive.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

I shook off her arm and started running. It was hell everywhere. Blood and screams filled the air.

“No…! Don’t leave me… Ugh… Aah…!!!”

I ran out into the forest. Inside the building, the sounds of those who couldn’t escape being eaten by the monsters echoed. But there was a bigger problem.

It wasn’t daytime. It was night.