Like Hyukjin expected, Senia had no choice but to accept his proposal. For Senia, it was a very sweet deal.
[Your Item Shop's grade is increasing.]
[The Item Shop's grade has been increased to 'Beginner'.]
She added an explanation. "A lower grade Item Shop can be accessed at any time."
That meant Hyukjin could open the 'Tutorial-grade' Item Shop whenever he wanted, though there probably wouldn't be any need to.
"The Item Shop has several different cate—"
"The Potion/Return Scroll category of the Item Shop. Open it."
For a moment, Senia nearly became flustered. She hadn't even finished her explanation, but this Player already knew. As expected, he wasn't an ordinary Player. She didn't ask again, but she didn't rule out the possibility that he was some kind of 'higher existence' she didn't know about.
She politely responded, "Understood. I will open up the Potion/Return Scroll category of the Beginner Item Shop."
[Item Shop – Beginner-grade – Potions & Return Scrolls]
Beginner Constitution Potion 300 Coins
Beginner Mana Potion 300 Coins
Beginner Cure Potion 400 Coins
Beginner Safe Zone Return Scroll 3000 Coins
Beginner Healing Potion 400 Coins
Cure and healing potions were slightly different. Cure potions were for treating illnesses, poisons, and 'abnormal statuses', whereas healing potions treated 'physical injuries'.
[1 Cure Potion purchased.]
[1 Healing Potion purchased.]
Hyukjin began to carefully pour them one by one into Sunhwa's mouth.
'Please.'
Wake up.
'The beginner potion… will be more than enough.'
With a beginner potion, it should be possible for her to make a full recovery.
'Wake up! Please.'
The berserker-mode Magic Troll was a powerful monster, but it was still a 'Tutorial'-level monster, and the item Hyukjin was using now was one grade higher, a 'Beginner'-level item.
[10 Cure Potions purchased.]
[-4000 Coins]
[10 Healing Potions purchased.]
[-4000 Coins]
He only had 1,000 Coins left, but he didn't regret their loss.
'Please.'
He continued to pour them into her mouth.
'Wake up.'
After using around five potions, Sunhwa finally woke up.
"Are you okay?"
It was a relief. It was truly, truly, a relief.
'If not for Sunhwa…'
If Sunhwa hadn't absorbed the hit for him, Hyukjin's head might have been crushed by now. No, it would have been crushed. The detailed imagery he'd gotten from Sixth Sense had drawn out his death all too clearly.
He was alive thanks to Sunhwa. Also, before she took the blow, Sunhwa must have already known.
'That she could die from blocking it.'
Despite realizing that, she still extended her arm without a single second of hesitation, reaching for a fist swung by a monster over 2 meters large.
'I owe her my life.'
Also, Hyukjin was certain now—his talent was absolutely anything but ordinary. He hadn't seen it with his eyes, but he was able to see the movements of a higher-level monster, almost like he had a new 'eye'. Only then did he remember the notices that had flashed past.
[Innate Ability, 'Sixth Sense', has been forcibly activated.]
'Innate ability… I had something like that?'
Innate ability referred to the 'natural-born ability' each Player's body had. Hyukjin had completely memorized the definition of the term.
'Innate ability awakens in special circumstances and is latent within each Player.'
This was literally the influence of 'talent'. Despite having received an evaluation of [No Talent], the innate ability 'Sixth Sense' activated within Hyukjin.
Sunhwa's voice interrupted his thoughts.
"I'm… alive?"
"Yeah. You, you're quite something, y'know?"
He spoke as calmly as possible, as if nothing was wrong. That way, he could reduce the shock this little kid had to suffer, if only a little.
"I'm… alive."
Sunhwa got up. She thought she would die right then and there, but she was alive. She saw the empty potion bottles strewn around her and could imagine just how she was brought back from the jaws of death.
"But you said you'd throw me away if I became a burden."
"You're barely past burden status. It was a shame to leave you behind."
Sunhwa gave him a bright smile, unbefitting of someone who had just come back from death.
"I… wasn't abandoned."
Whether she was happy about that, or happy about coming back to life, she couldn't tell. Her eyes were slightly wet with tears. Hyukjin, who wasn't used to situations like this and didn't even know what to make of Sunhwa's tears, awkwardly looked away and turned towards Senia, who was still watching in the same place as before.
The most urgent fires had been put out. Now, it was time to get what he was owed.
"Alright, then, list out the rewards now. The individual rewards are still left, right?"
He clearly remembered Senia saying, "Player Kim Hyukjin. You have been recognized as the Player who hunted the Magic Troll," earlier.
The System notice had been:
[The general system reward, as well as the individual rewards sent through Intermediate Administrators, will be distributed to each Player.]
He hadn't forgotten that. The reason Senia was still unable to leave was because she had to give out the 'individual rewards'.
'Even though So Yoohyun was registered in the Hall of Fame, I might be the one getting the bulk of the rewards.'
That was probably the case.
"I will begin distributing the individual rewards," Senia said.
Before receiving the rewards, Hyukjin said one more thing. "About you raising the Item Shop grade for me…"
"What about it?"
"You know we didn't write a contract, right?"
"…"
She had raised the Item Shop grade without writing up a contract. They had only made a verbal agreement, but in all actuality, a verbal contract had no meaning.
"T-That's…!"
Everything needed to be proven in 'documents'. Having made such a basic mistake, Senia's face stiffened, and the now-conscious Sunhwa was able to see that Hyukjin was laughing as wickedly as the devil himself.
When we first entered the 2nd floor of the D-Tower, I was level 15.
Struggling to maintain as much composure as possible, Senia gritted out, "You have been given 3 level up points."
Simply put, I was getting 3 level ups. They took effect immediately.
[Status Window]
Name: Kim Hyukjin (Player)
Level: 18
Title: [First Pioneer] [Excellent Player]
Innate ability: [Sixth Sense]
Strength: 17
Intelligence: 17
Agility: 23
Perception: 17
Constitution: 17
Willpower: 17 (+30)
Bonus stats: 6
Random stats: 3
Undistributed stats: 9
My 'innate ability' had been added to the status window.
'My current level is 18.'
Considering that the Tutorial's level cap was 10, a level of 18 was something a new Player who had just finished the Tutorial Field could never hope to reach. In addition, I also received another three 'random stats'. Even though they were supposed to be difficult to get, I had gotten them continuously.
'I'm…'
By now, I was really sure of it.
'Really a genius.'
The only problem was that I didn't know how long this genius would last. There had been a lot of Players who only burned brightly in the beginner period. They were called 'Rising Stars' or 'Super Rookies', but they quickly faded from the public eye. It felt a little too early for me to be happy about being a genius.
"Also, the Excellent Hunter title has been upgraded."
Originally, it was 'Excellent Hunter', but it was upgraded to 'Excellent Player'.
[Excellent Player]
A title that is only granted in the Tutorial Field and can only be upgraded after hunting the Tutorial Field's Boss Monster. Applies to all 'hunted prey'.
20% additional damage.
+20% movement speed.
Ability to use the special skill 'Excellent Strike'—a medium chance to ignore the prey's unique trait.
+10% EXP gain.
The title effects were so astonishing that even I couldn't help but be shocked.
'A title like this was given not in some A-rank or higher dungeon, but… the Tutorial?'
Additional damage. Increased movement speed. Ability to ignore unique traits. Increased EXP gain. A special skill. Each and every one of them were gems.
'Even though this is the very beginning…?'
On top of the +10% EXP gain from this title, the title effect of 'First Pioneer' was also in effect.
[The First Pioneer]
A glorious title given to one who pioneered a new domain.
EXP +20%
Stacks with other titles.
That meant I could level up 30% faster than others. Leveling up faster on its own wasn't necessarily a good thing. But the faster you leveled up, the faster you would grow, which meant you would be able to take firsts in everything.
'I know the future.'
I had the strategy guide in my head. Between the ability to take firsts and the knowledge to make that happen, I had everything.
'Who would have known that something like this was hidden in the Tutorial?'
To be honest, it didn't seem like the Tutorial was made for someone to gain these things. After all, to begin with, a low-level Player couldn't hunt a 'lycanthrope'. It was impossible without resorting to tricks. So this stream of events was already impossible from that point onwards, at least originally.
Three level ups, plus nine random stats. On top of that, a title upgrade. And that wasn't the end of the rewards. That alone could certainly be called a 'jackpot', but there was more.
'This is the real jackpot.'
I recalled the new 'individual reward' I had just gotten.
Earlier, back when I was in danger of dying to the Magic Troll and Sixth Sense was urgently activated, I heard this:
[You have overcome the 'death sentence' of 'Sixth Sense'.]
[A condition for the fusion of 'Sixth Sense' has been fulfilled.]
My innate ability, Sixth Sense, had undoubtedly warned me of death. No, it foresaw my death. But thanks to Sunhwa stepping in unexpectedly, I survived.
[Fusion with the 'Tutorial Bonus' or 'Open Beta Bonus' is possible.]
I had received two Open Beta Bonuses. One was the 'High Strength Elixir' I used when fighting the Lycanthrope, which I got from the 'Courageous Lion King'. The other was the 'Calm Observer's Eye' that was with me nearly from the very start of the Tutorial, given by the 'Nameless Observer'.
[High Strength Elixir.]
[Calm Observer's Eye.]
The High Strength Elixir was already used up, so only 'Calm Observer's Eye' was left.
Calm Observer's Eye could be fused with Sixth Sense. I had heard of 'fusion' before, but this only applied to Rankers of the highest level and wasn't something normal people knew much about. It was the sort of information you could maybe dig up by doing a lot of civil servant studying.
'So fusion also existed in the Tutorial.'
I had the thought that there might actually be a lot of secrets the populace didn't know about hidden within the Tutorial.
[Will you approve the fusion of 'Sixth Sense' and 'Calm Observer's Eye'?]
I approved it. My heart began to race, and it felt like hot blood came rushing out from within my heart to shoot vitality all throughout my body. With a little exaggeration, it felt like steam was rising from my body.
['Sixth Sense' and 'Calm Observer's Eye' have begun to fuse.]
[The fusion process is accompanied by extreme pain.]
[If you are unable to endure the pain, you will die.]
At that moment, agony assaulted my heart.
"Argh!"
This fucking System. It should have told me this in advance.
"O-Oppa, what's wrong?"
I collapsed, clutching my chest. I'd never felt pain like this before. I didn't know exactly how to describe it, but it felt like my heart was boiling up, like each and every drop of blood in my body was boiling. I writhed, enduring the terrible feeling of my body being burned, like something enormous was piercing through my insides.
"UAAAGHHHH!"
My body screamed, heedless of what my mind willed.
It hurt.
It really fucking hurt. It was difficult to explain beyond 'it hurt', but the pain was so great I would rather die.
It felt like something snapped, and I had no memory of what happened afterwards, which meant I probably lost consciousness.
While unconscious, I faintly felt like I heard the words 'Fusion successful', though it was like hearing something in a dream. In any case, I had the feeling I heard those words, but I didn't exactly remember.
The moment I regained consciousness, I was greeted with a reality that was difficult to believe.
'No way—!'
____