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Translator: penny
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Tutorial (1)
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Time flew by quickly.
In that time, Yoo Seo-hwa had adapted to many things.
The tail that moved on its own. Her changed field of vision. And even her new female body.
The subtle discomfort from the heaviness in her chest upon waking in the morning had become familiar by the third day, losing its novelty.
She'd even searched online for how to wash cat ears and learned from that.
"Churu..."
She realized that just seeing churu made saliva pool in her mouth instinctively.
Of course, refusing to abandon her human dignity, Seo-hwa desperately suppressed the urge to buy some.
She'd tried gathering info on Ariant World too, but aside from it being a VR fantasy RPG, there was surprisingly little information out there.
Users eagerly awaiting launch were constantly complaining on various communities about the lack of info.
Seo-hwa gave Abyss a test run by starting a stream.
Of course, viewers were at zero. Even a brand-new shop with no promo wouldn't feel this empty.
Seo-hwa played a match of League of Arena on her unviewed stream.
A 5v5 AOS game where you pick characters and fight. League of Arena.
Maybe because it was an old game few played anymore, no viewers showed up until the end.
Still, Seo-hwa ended the stream in a good mood. She thought she knew now why she'd regretted not doing this before dying.
'Who knew it could be this fun.'
She regretted not starting sooner. Just turning on a stream and playing felt so satisfying.
It was an amazing sensation. The next day and the day after, Seo-hwa played more League of Arena on her empty streams.
And then, the day before Ariant World's launch.
"Purr..."
A cat lay sprawled contentedly asleep on the sofa.
It wasn't just sleeping—it was strategic rest, meticulously planned.
It's common knowledge that new games get the hottest attention on launch day.
Terms like "open run" and "open users" aren't used lightly in gaming.
Players who blast through from day one create gaps with late starters that can't be bridged.
Some RPGs get completely dominated by those open users, so Seo-hwa planned to open run if possible.
Right now, she was stocking up on sleep for that.
"Puuurr......"
She was setting up to pull an all-nighter the next night by skipping sleep today entirely.
Having decided to make Ariant World her main game as a streamer, she needed to level up enough not to be embarrassed anywhere.
Plus, every RPG has demand for high-level player content.
Maxing levels via open run was Seo-hwa's goal.
"Purr... urk..."
Having resolved as such, Seo-hwa rolled off the sofa and woke up unintentionally.
Time until Ariant World's midnight launch: two hours.
She'd planned to wake an hour early for stream prep, but this awkward timing made her click her tongue softly.
"No need to eat since the capsule has IV fluids..."
With nothing much to do, Seo-hwa logged into Abyss.
[Ariant World Waiting Room] [VR open run today—farming achievements first]
Top of the rankings, streamers seemed to be prepping for today's big event.
Seo-hwa logged in with Cheisi's account and turned on her stream.
Thinking she'd chat with any viewer who showed to kill time, she set the category to chatting.
And for an hour, no one came.
Cheisi played a match of League of Arena.
Time was still awkward after one, so she played another.
"..."
She lost both.
Unconsciously drooping her tail, Cheisi switched the category to 'Games/Ariant World' and entered the capsule.
A hologram-like computer screen appeared before her eyes. She could tweak various stream options.
Her expensive capsule gear, bought with trembling hands, was working perfectly.
Cheisi held her breath until Ariant World's midnight launch, then connected immediately.
She registered her iris and carefully agreed to the terms.
Then a simple story intro played. Around then, viewers—drawn by the VR game hype—started trickling into Cheisi's stream, reaching three.
-Hey
-Hello.
-Here for the VR game open run.
Viewers.
'Viewers!'
Cheisi's eyes sparkled without her realizing.
After days of zero-viewer streams, even one felt like buried treasure—precious and rare.
"Hello. I'm Chei..."
Greeting her viewers, Cheisi writhed in pain.
"Cheisi... ugh..."
-lolol
-You okay...?
"Yes.... First time with viewers, so I'm a bit nervous..."
A bit nervous—she'd bitten her tongue.
'Ow...'
It hurt a lot.
-All good
-Nice voice.
-Thinking of turning on cam?
"Cam... The capsule says cams don't work."
-Ok
Truth be told, Cheisi wouldn't turn it on even if it did.
Even stripping makeup, Yoo Seo-hwa was stunningly pretty. Plus those rare cat ears atop her head would boost popularity.
But Cheisi saw no need.
Game streaming alone satisfied her. Why force viewers with cam? No reason.
From her long Abyss viewer days, she'd seen toxic fans swarm pretty streamers.
Turning on cam could invite hassle.
Unless something special, Cheisi wouldn't cam even if capsules allowed it.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙...The hero who will save us is you.
The story she'd barely glanced at ended.
The surroundings brightened, and a mirror appeared before Cheisi.
An avatar that subtly resembled her yet didn't quite.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙This avatar has been randomly generated. Customize your avatar freely! Tutorial begins after customization.
Customization—an RPG staple.
Cheisi tweaked the avatar briefly.
It came out similar enough to take pride in.
"Should I go red for hair color?"
-Yeah
-Red's good.
Cheisi started fine-tuning her Ariant World avatar with viewer input.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Under a clear sky, a castle lay in ruins.
Huge stones that once formed it were scattered about, moss and weeds claiming spots here and there, marking ages of neglect into a wasteland.
A man stepped into the area.
Before his eyes stood a small knight with a wooden horse head carved atop it.
Wearing broken armor with visible gears and parts inside, a wooden snapped spear at its waist—the knight looked precariously perched at a glance.
⚙ TUTORIAL QUEST: COMBAT TRAINING ⚙Defeat the Broken Knight.
The man snorted at the brief message before him.
"Even for a tutorial, isn't this too boring?"
He picked up a nearby dagger and sauntered toward the knight.
Kiki?
The knight stared silently at the approaching man, showing no movement.
No sign of counterattack.
"Well, it's a tutorial..."
Thinking it nothing special, the man swung his dagger—then the motionless knight drew its spear at blinding speed, knocking the dagger aside.
-Clang!
The clash of metal and wood echoed.
Without giving time to recover, the knight's one-sided beating began.
Whack! Crack!
"What the..."
The knight's broken spear and the man's dagger had the same range. But the speed differed.
Attacks too fast to track properly.
Unable to resist the wooden spear, the man sighed at the message.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙You have died. Death in the tutorial zone reduces penalties. You cannot log in for the next 10 minutes.
"...This is the tutorial?!"
Such scenes were unfolding for many Ariant World users.
💬 Comments— UserHow are we supposed to block this?— UserThis is the tutorial?
Ariant World's tutorial monster.
Broken Knight.
True to tutorial form, its stats were low.
Stats were.
But its attacks were so fast—perhaps a ploy to lure complacency with low stats—that users could barely react.
The attacks themselves were simple; recognize the pattern once or twice, keep distance, and it was easy.
But just five minutes post-launch, clueless users had no choice but to fall.
With zero info, reacting to the Broken Knight's strikes was near impossible.
At least for average humans.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
A golden path appeared before Cheisi.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Customization complete. Tutorial begins.
Before following the light to the tutorial zone, Cheisi checked her appearance.
"Looks pretty good, right?"
Based on her real self, red hair, golden eyes.
Height unchanged.
'Body change made me dizzy before...'
Cat ears and tail stayed. Humans adapt—even after just a week, lacking them felt off.
The resulting red-haired adventurer girl.
Viewer advice referenced, but her tastes firmly reflected.
-Good
-This should work?
"Alright, heading out."
Cheisi skipped through tutorial steps like a pro.
Most were useless, like teaching humans to walk and run, but checking monster info and inventory was handy.
Then, Cheisi reached the ruins.
Kiki. Kreek...
Rusty mechanisms creaked.
In the ruins' center, the wooden horse-headed knight silently watched Cheisi enter.
Ding-!
📜 TUTORIAL: COMBAT TRAINING 📜
Defeat the Broken Knight.
The message appeared before Cheisi's eyes.