«All stats, skills, and innate abilities have been reset to their initial values.»
«The challenger's current stats are already at their initial values.»
«Reset process canceled.»
At first, I stared at the holographic message in a daze.
But…
«Beginning the tutorial trial.»
A message suddenly appeared, mentioning a "tutorial trial."
The moment I saw that message, I felt a wave of heat seeping out of my body.
What the hell is happening? What is this?
Let's start with the simplest questions about my current situation.
"The Tower of Death? Is this some new kind of Great Catastrophe?"
The Great Catastrophes were events that caused massive chaos and enormous losses to humanity ever since the Second World appeared. They were drastically different from ordinary monster invasions.
I tried to define the nature of the current situation.
Thoughts flooded my throbbing head.
But even that was only temporary.
«Providing weapon.»
Clank.
After the weapon-related message, a sword dropped in front of me.
One with a sharp edge—unlike the wooden ones I used at the training center.
The blade was about 30 inches long, give or take.
"What the…?"
One can of soda couldn't possibly get me this drunk, right?
Although my alcohol tolerance was practically nonexistent, it had actually increased a bit after I awakened as a player.
But…
"There's no way this would make me hallucinate like this."
I quickly looked around and analyzed my surroundings.
The place where I had been standing was no longer a snow-covered park bench—it had become a random forest.
No—could this place even be called a forest?
It was covered in purple trees, thorny plants, and large, filthy ponds.
Although at first glance it seemed somewhat normal except for the strange colors, the boundary between the sky and the horizon told a different story.
It was vast and open, yet unmistakably artificial.
If this were the entrance to the Second World, I would have needed to pass through a gate—so that wasn't a possibility.
Just as I was about to fall into complete confusion—
«Wild Jungle Tiger has appeared.»
Thud…!
"Oh my God…!"
A low growl echoed, and the shadow of an animal emerged from behind the bushes.
"…"
The giant black tiger had to be at least 10 feet long.
My heart stopped when the tiger locked its red eyes on me.
At the same time, another holographic message appeared.
«Survive the Wild Jungle Tiger.»
«Remaining time – 29 minutes 59 seconds»
"Grrrr…"
A desperate situation dictated how I should stay alive.
And all the questions in my head that still had no answers.
Everything seemed to connect the moment I faced the tiger head-on.
I couldn't pretend to be ignorant even if I tried.
"Damn it!"
I snatched the sword from the ground and ran at full speed.
Fight?
Impossible, given the size difference.
Even a light swipe from this tiger would be enough to kill an adult in an instant.
A low-level player like me wouldn't fare much better.
That was the reality.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
"Kraaaa…!"
Every hair on my body stood on end as its roar vibrated through me.
I wanted to run faster, but I couldn't.
Thud! Thud!
My feet sank into piles of filthy pond water with every step forward. I had no time to care about cleanliness.
"Shit, shit, shit!"
These bushes were holding me back.
At the same time, the sound of heavy footsteps was approaching faster than my legs could move.
Even if I managed to keep running, the only thing waiting for me was a wall stretching up to the sky.
Either I'd get killed if it caught me, or if I reached the end of this field.
There might be no escape from this place.
My only hope was the time limit I could glimpse from the corner of my eye.
«Remaining time – 27 minutes 34 seconds»
I couldn't keep running for another 27 minutes with my current stamina.
Maybe I'd have had a chance if my stats were just a little higher, but…
I also couldn't keep running until the time ran out…!
I should have realized what they wanted the moment they gave me the sword.
Either die running, or turn around and fight.
I kept glancing back at the tiger while sprinting.
"Damn it, how the hell am I supposed to beat that?"
But I had no other choice.
This sword couldn't do anything to the tiger.
But…
"I have to fight."
If running wasn't the solution, there had to be another way.
I drew on every bit of knowledge I had about jungle tigers.
One of the things I gained from the past five years of training was a huge amount of theoretical knowledge about monsters from the Second World. Of course, it couldn't compare to the real experience of actual hunters, but it wasn't something to be underestimated either.
There had to be at least one method that could be applied to this situation.
Monsters with tiger-like forms generally had relatively soft skin that was somewhat easy to penetrate.
And the Wild Jungle Tiger was a low-level monster, which meant it had a core.
They were classified as F-rank monsters, so their cores were still immature and hadn't fully formed into real hearts inside their bodies.
This type of monster usually had their core located in the center of their chest.
But I didn't have enough confidence to get that close to it.
Even if I managed to get near, it was obvious how much damage this sword could actually do to that core.
No—I didn't even know if this sword could make so much as a scratch.
And yet.
'I have to go…!'
Looking back, the tiger was about 40 feet away.
Could I run toward the tiger and dodge its attacks?
No, I couldn't think like that.
Overthinking wouldn't make this situation any less deadly.
"I have to dodge it!"
Whoosh!
Having made my decision, I charged straight toward the tiger.
…40 feet… 30 feet… 20 feet…
The closer I got, the more overwhelming the physical difference between us felt.
Just looking at this massive F-rank monster filled me with intense fear.
I felt like throwing up, but I kept running.
I had never fought a monster before, let alone killed one.
Now I had no choice but to succeed.
I kept my eyes on the tiger as I closed in near its front paws.
Fwoom…!
Its razor-sharp clawed arm sliced through the air and accelerated toward me.
An attack powerful enough to tear me apart instantly.
I stared straight at it and leaped into its path.
Just as the massive claws reached the front of my face, I slid directly underneath them and barely managed to avoid the strike.
BOOM!
Filthy green water exploded everywhere from the tremendous impact.
Because of its enormous size, there were significant delays between each of its movements.
By the time I realized that, I had already started running again.
My body knew it even before my mind did.
If I wanted to survive, I had to drive this sword into the tiger's chest.
I slipped through the bushes, approaching the core stealthily while the tiger was still struggling to regain its balance after the last attack.
Clang~!
The tip of the sword rang out as it sliced through the tiger's skin and grazed the core.
Of course.
The tiger's core wouldn't break from a shock like that.
Crack…!
A tiny crack appeared on the core…
Whoosh!
"Grrrrraaaa~!"
The tiger roared in pain from having its skin cut and was preparing for a second attack.
The moment I saw that, I threw my body forward without time to react properly.
Shaaa!
Then—
Whoosh…!
The next strike nearly took the top of my head off.
Pure luck.
Nothing else could describe it.
I didn't stop even though the thorns of wild plants were tearing up the skin on my legs completely.
Please… please let this work this time!
The moment the sword struck the core—
Crack!
«The Wild Jungle Tiger's core has been destroyed.»
The system message blocked my view as the light faded from the tiger's red eyes.
With the lights gone, the tiger's body turned into a pile of dust.
Shwaa…!
«Remaining time – 22 minutes 3 seconds»
«The tutorial trial has ended.»
I collapsed the instant I saw the message.