บท 4: Chapter 4: The Cost of Prosperity
"That's why this Tutorial Realm was created. It was created so every year, a few sacrifices with potential could be selected. These Sacrifices were responsible for taking part in deciding Earth's fate."
"If humans fail, humanity will be wiped out. And if they succeed, humanity can keep on progressing."
Kim Seojin listened carefully, with each revelation coming across as more shocking than the last.
The monsters were sent by the gods? Earth lost its freedom? Humanity getting linked with gods?
"In the last three hundred years, a thousand Players are selected each year by the strongest thousands of current Players."
"That's why I was surprised. If you were selected by one of the top thousand players, you should have known. Unless, one of the Players thought that it would be fun to play god with you and waste their quota."
The squirrel could only shake her head in the end. It turned back to the main topic.
"You will learn more about the world when you leave this place. And I'm sure you will be very surprised. Earth that you heard in the books is no more."
" The civilization of Earth has gone in a completely different direction. You could say that humanity became more developed. Many Players have even conquered other planets."
"Once you finish the Tutorial and return to Earth, you will see it yourself. But after you return, your life will also depend on your actions."
"If you're good, you'll survive longer. If you're unlucky, you'll live a month at most."
"Why would I live a month at most?"
"Every month, the batch of Players receive a challenge from them. If you finish it, you survive. If you fail the challenge, everyone in that batch dies."
"You are in the 300th batch. You can stay on the mountain, but if your batch fails the challenge, you will die as well. So why not die entertaining the Constellations instead of dying while idling?"
"How many batches have died because of failing a challenge?"
"Out of the last 299 batches, only five batches are still alive. I believe they are batch 259, 279, 280, 286 and 298."
"That means the last batch..."
"Correct. They failed in their sixth month. So they are dead. And even in the surviving batches, most of the people had died during the missions. So it's only a matter of time before they die."
"What will happen if all the batches die before the time for the next batch arrives?"
"If that happens, then..." The squirrel laughed. "This world would be judged to be useless and not entertaining. This World will be erased and a new world will be selected to enter God's Domain!"
"If earth dies, a new world will be selected? So the reason earth was selected was because-"
"Because another world failed and was erased," the squirrel completed Kim Seojin's sentence. "The Sacrifices are to entertain the gods. But that's not all. They are the protectors of humanity!"
"As long as the Sacrifices exist, humanity exists. As long as the Sacrifices prosper, the humans prosper. The day it stops, there is no turning back."
"So the reason earth had to suffer was... Just for entertainment?"
Kim Seojin's fists closed tightly. They were no more than pawns for these constellations? They were nothing more than chess pieces? He lost everything, because... it was entertaining?
"Young man, it is no use getting angry. You did not create the rules, but you still have to play within these rules, at least until you get stronger enough to create your own rules."
"Is that... possible?"
"Who knows? This is the answer that you can find out yourself. But are you sure you want to waste time talking about the future?"
The squirrel pointed at the sky, where a timer was present. The timer was counting down from the five minute mark.
"You only have five minutes remaining before you are sent to the Tutorial Challenge. Many gods would be keeping an eye on their prospective streamers. If you don't even survive the tutorial, then all my answers will become useless."
Kim Seojin realized the urgency of the situation. Although it all appeared so unreal, this place had become his reality now.
He had to find out the rules if he wanted to become strong enough to create his own rules in the future. He had to survive in this unfamiliar world.
"I am sorry. I got distracted. Tell me how I can survive in the Tutorial? What do I have to do?"
"You came to the right person. There are three things you need to keep in mind." The Squirrel proudly laughed.
"First, try saying Status. It will activate a status screen that will show you your presence stats. I'm certain you received some free stat points ranging from 1 to 5 after selecting a class, depending on the rarity."
"You can easily interact with the Status Screen. Put those stat points to use according to your desires. They will help you get stronger. Though if I were to give you a hint, it's better to put them all in speed if you want to survive."
"Next, you should learn how to use your skills. Skills are what came with your selected class. As you level up more, you will unlock more class specific skills and become stronger."
"And lastly, when you enter the Tutorial Challenge, don't just try to survive. Try to take advantage of the tutorial. The more achievements you gather, the more beneficial it will be for you."
"A Tutorial is a dangerous place where you can die at any moment. But it is also the best place to level up and attract the attention of Constellations. So you need to find a balance between risk and opportunities."
Kim Seojin heard the squirrel speak, but there were some things which really surprised him.
The guide told him that a person received a free stat from one to five, depending on the class they selected.
He clearly remembered that he had received ten free stat points? That was double what the guide said as the maximum. Was it because his class was a Unique Grade?
He did remember the system notification that it was the first time this class was selected. Was his class really that good?
He was really curious to see if it was as magical as it all sounded.
He looked at the timer in the sky, noticing that only two minutes were left.
"Status!"
He called out, as per the instructions.
A screen opened before him at the same time.
[Name: Kim Seojin]
[Level: 1]
[Class: Lost Oracle]
[Age: 23]
[Traits: Observant]
[Streamer Status: Awaiting Tutorial Completion]
[Subscribers: Awaiting Tutorial Completion]
[Stats]
[Strength: 5]
[Agility: 6]
[Stamina: 8]
[Intelligence :15]
[Magic: 75]
[Equipped Items: None]
[Free Stat Points: 10]
[Skills]
[Insight]
[Guidance]
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