章 2: Chapter 2 - Tutorial Start 02
Due to the difficult reality that is not easy to accept, the feeling of alcohol quickly disappears from my brain.
This is because the world I have experienced for ten years was not just a virtual reality game, but also a terrible battlefield with bone pieces sticking out of wounds, guts flowing, and novice adventurers being eaten alive by monsters. This all just served as the background for a game?
"[Join a party with broadcaster 'Han Se-ah' 0/1]"
However, the hologram in front of us did not disappear, and even the pretty-looking woman staring at a translucent drone-type camera in the air did not vanish. If it weren't for the magical safe zone verified by the Adventurers Guild, I would have doubted my eyes and stabbed the back of my hand with a dagger.
"It's not a hallucination."
There is a 0% chance that the alcohol we drank contained drugs. With my strong body, I quickly clear my head of the alcohol that clouds my mind and start thinking clearly.
Of course, it's not a hallucination, and other adventurer's besides me are looking at that woman, Han Se-ah.
The creepy eyes of an old adventurer reminiscing about his youth, the greedy gazes of half-baked people who think it looks good to eat, and the insidious eyes of sexual desire for beauty that cannot be compared to the female adventurers on the street all look at her.
This safe zone is where middle-aged or older adventurers are scattered for rest. Unless all the adventurers here have gone crazy in a group hallucination, the woman named Han Se-ah is a real person.
Thus, I had to party with her.
This is the first game system that has appeared after a long decade. I cannot immediately figure out why I fell into this world with this body, but I will find out eventually.
I set down the empty glass on the table as if throwing it away, and the eyes that were focused on Han Se-ah turned towards me. The looks were questioning why I was the one who, on holidays, would stay glued to their seat until being kicked out by the owner after the sun had set, is acting like this.
There are some subtle glances, perhaps due to the combination of new, attractive recruits. However, what's important now is not reputation. There's a variable that has appeared after ten years, who could I blame if I let it go and take things slowly?
I walk down the street after getting rid of the alcohol's influence. It's business as usual, but I feel a slight difference. The game elements are mixed in a confusing mess, with no clear direction. Despite going back and forth countless times over the last ten years, everything feels strange because of the illusion that looks like a game system in the air.
"… now is not the time to doubt this."
I put my suspicions about the strange world composition aside and take a long stride. People's attention is drawn to me because I'm a celebrity, but I ignore adventurers who try to pretend to know me to arrive at my destination before Han Se-ah.
The destination is, of course, the Adventurers Guild.
This world is a typical fantasy world that mixes elements of mobile and fantasy RPG games. The tower in the center of the city features powerful artificial monsters, that provide mana stones and various rewards, which is why the many adventurers gather in the city to hunt them.
As a result, there is an adventurer's guild to control adventurers and protect their rights and interests. The guild collects fees for managing the tower's pass, disposing of loot, and accepting personal requests.
If this world were really a game, Han Se-ah, who arrived first in the city, would have no choice but to go to the Adventurer's Guild.
Speaking of Han Se-ah.
"Wow, I thought there would be a lot of horse poop on the street because of the fantasy background, but this street is almost modern. I was worried after the wagon I rode in at the beginning of the tutorial was old and shabby."
She's a well-behaved girl with a lot of energy.
If a camera were following me, it might look like I'm stalking her. So, I walk as fast as I can through another road, but Han se-ah, who is already chatting away in front of the Adventurer Guild sign, seems like a girl lost in her dreams, unaware of her surroundings.
The guild innkeeper, who has many daughters, looks at Han Se-ah talking to herself with a worried expression.
There are a lot of words I say to myself that people in this world can't understand, but you're a light talker. Is there some kind of filtering? Words like tutorials and NPCs are meant to be skipped, as if they can't see the translucent camera drone.
No way.
When I found out that this world is a game and that I'm an NPC, all my thoughts turned towards it. The stark difference between the city with the tower and the outside world, the magic civilization, which is so convenient that it is close to modern culture, and the existence of a heterogeneous tower with an unknown identity….
"Hmm? Isn't it a holiday today?"
"You can't just play around forever."
"That's something the master would be happy to hear. You didn't take over gambling, did you? You come in a hurry because you needed some more funds?"
"Hey, if I came here because I needed money, I wouldn't have come here, I would have gone to the bulletin board."
I regained my composure, which was going in a negative direction, and headed towards Ellis, the receptionist, She is a beautiful blonde with a pretty face like a guild madam. Looking at her, I start to doubt again. Outside the city of adventurers with towers, farmers work hard in the sun without any skin care, and most of them have sunburns.
However, there are quite a few women in Adventurer City who have fair and freckle-free skin. Is it the difference between extras, supporting actors, and leading actors?
"What brings you here today? By now, someone should be drunk and passed out."
"Isn't your tongue too sharp? You haven't seen me in a while. What's wrong with you?"
"It's been a while since I've seen you," I said as I chatted with the receptionist, drawing the attention of other adventurers. The veteran adventurer, who had survived ten years, made the beginners struggling in the guild envious.
Even though the world was conveniently made, people are dying like crazy in fights with monsters, like a dark fantasy.
What should I say? Thanks to the advanced magic power, there are more people here than in the medieval world, but…the majority of the increased population is getting slaughtered by monsters. Even if you're just an ordinary farmer, it's hard to survive if you meet a wolf, let alone a group of monsters with some intelligence like goblins or kobolds who target humans and raid villages.
"What brings you to the guild at this early hour?" the receptionist's clear gaze asked me curiously.
At the same time, there's a natural gathering of attention towards me. The guild's idol, who could also be called a beauty, and a ten-year veteran are chatting away at the counter, so people's eyes are naturally drawn there. There are plenty of adventurers who know that it's advantageous to pick up tidbits of information, so even though it's deliberately baited, the attention is on me.
"It's early? The sun is up high in the sky."
"It's not sunset, so it's still early."
"Well, that's true… I came here to play because I was bored."
"You're bored?"
"Yes, well… I thought I'd find a junior and train them."
The guild had a mentoring system where senior adventurers helped junior adventurers. While on the surface, a retired adventurer became a private instructor to earn pocket money, the story changed with the game system.
If a clueless farmer named Hans were to team up with gamers right from the start, most gamers wouldn't fare much better than goblin poop in a corner on the first floor. Even with a blessed body, it took me nearly a year of real time to become accustomed to combat. The majority of VR gamers who are unfamiliar with combat will likely take longer than me.
Isn't this the first recruitment event the game company put in for newbies?
So, I was aiming for the 5★ event location like a tutorial character draw.
A character given for free at the beginning that you definitely want to include in your party. Of course, considering my body and abilities, I can think of myself as a character that could accompany the party until the end, like an HR character. But…
I deliberately had to act like a slightly above-average senior adventurer. Not completely weak, but not too strong either.
If I single-handedly dominate the field, they might abandon me for the sake of entertainment. The most important thing here is that Han Se-ah is a broadcaster. If she's a woman who's serious about game strategy, she'll stick with me despite my overwhelming stats. However, if she's a broadcaster who pursues entertainment, she might create a variety-type party to start from scratch.
"Oh my god, that lazy–"
"Hey, hello!"
"Huh?"
Han Se-ah opened the door while we were talking and came to the counter to greet us. Ellis' eyes opened wide at the appearance of the exotic black-haired beauty.
Ellis, who is famous among the guild receptionists for her beauty. Whether she's a blonde beauty or a busty woman hidden under her guild office attire is not important right now. There is only one reason why I talked with her about fostering juniors.
"I've never seen you before, are you here to be an adventurer?"
"Yes? Oh, yes!"
"Hmm, you're not thinking of becoming a receptionist, are you?"
"No. I just really want to go to the tower."
"Well then…the timing couldn't be better."
Receptionist Ellis takes appearance seriously. Not in a cold way towards unattractive people, but in a way that treats exceptionally beautiful men and women with great kindness. In game terms, you could say that there's a likability adjustment for those with a certain level of charm.
"How about it, Mr. Roland?"
"…Rol, and?"
"What's wrong?"
"Here you are, a pretty and cute junior."
So she's boldly recommending an unverified newcomer from the countryside to me, a senior adventurer who is difficult for guild rookies to even approach in conversation.
Of course, there was no reason to refuse.
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