[Ding! Does the host want to start the Tutorial World?]
Sitting by the bedside, I blankly looked at the notification that suddenly popped up in front of me.
Even though I was familiar with the term "tutorial", and had the basic gist of what it implied, but the clear concept of it in this situation was still vague to me.
'Tutorial? Can you elaborate on the details?'
[Ding! Tutorial World is a world for the user to get used to the role of a villain and to get a general idea of what to expect in future real worlds.]
[Because it's a tutorial, the difficulty level would be the lowest possible.]
[The tutorial can be skipped, but then the host won't be able to experience it again.]
[Time left for selection: 29:57]
[Warning: If the user hasn't chosen an option by the time the countdown ends. By default, the tutorial will be skipped.]
'What sort of dog shit is that?'
It was unquestionably important to play the tutorial to comprehend the 'Villain Simulator's' fundamental operations and its intricacies to better perform and survive in those real worlds.
There wasn't a choice but to play the tutorial.
Nevertheless, I must control my nervousness about visiting a new place and my impulsivity in the face of the approaching end of the countdown, before I even think of leaving for a new world.
There were a lot of things for me to consider.
'When I enter another world, what happens to my physical body here?' I asked the system in my mind.
[The user's body will gradually go into sleep mode.]
That solved one problem, but there was one issue that remained.
If my body fell into a state of sleep, it would be susceptible to external influences and threats, because time would be constantly passing in this world.
'Isn't there any time difference between the worlds? And how long will the tutorial last?'
In novels, most of the time in these scenarios, there was always a function concerning the difference in time between the two worlds that was provided to help the body, because no one knows how long it would take to finish the objective in a different world.
'In another world, sometimes it may only take a day, but it can also take years to complete the task.'
'In any case, even my awakened body can't survive for a long time in that situation.'
[Checking...]
[The host doesn't have authority over "time dilation."]
[The difference in time is set at default between this world and the tutorial world, which is 1:365.]
'That means, one day in this world is equal to an year in the tutorial world.'
To be honest, I was hoping for a function similar to that described in those novels so that it would be possible to pause time in this world.
But I suppose that granting such a privilege from the beginning was still excessive.
'Though this implies that there is no other time restriction on how long I can stay there except for the normal passage of time that will affect my real body.'
That was a huge help because I don't have to worry about the time limit anymore, but if it takes a few months or even years in that world, I can't afford to spend an entire day sleeping here.
'I have to find a way to deal with Rachael's situation as well. In the event that she wakes up and tries to escape like she did in the novel or kill me.'
Sigh!
Although Axel was a talentless bastard, but it wasn't that this player was all trash, because, to make settings more realistic, I added a slight twist of balance.
Which brought forth a certain setting in Axel's background data.
『Axel von Goldline Vainself is a noble. His pride is so heavy and unshakable that it doesn't matter if he himself sinks and drowns because of it, but the words compromise and effrontery aren't even in his dictionary』
『A pride that is paradoxically elevated in the face of adverseties.』
It was like having the best, most secure software on the planet but no hardware to back it up, so even simply booting up the system was a challenge.
In any case, since we were talking about Rachael, I really felt sorry for her.
Looking back at her sleeping face after brushing her soft hair and tucking her snowy white hairs behind her ears, I couldn't help but mutter sadly.
"I am sorry, Rachael. I didn't intend to hurt you, and if I could do it over, I would have tried to build a strong relationship with you before trying to make you like me. But I guess at this point, I won't even have that chance."
Being her creator, I could say without hesitation that she was an exceptionally sweet and innocent girl who had been through a lot of pain in her short life.
Despite this, she never held a negative opinion of others and never harmed anyone.
"But I have wronged you, Rachael."
Even in the book, and now in real life as well, I had done her wrong both times.
If I could, I really wanted to help her out.
But now we were in this situation where I myself didn't know what would happen in the future.
"I hope you forgive me."
Regardless, I would never let her go.
'She is mine, and I will see to it that she knows nothing but joy and contentment in her life from this point forward.'
Initially, I didn't give much thought to being in a serious relationship with anyone else because I was still with Seo-ah.
'But now that I cannot escape from Rachael, and thanks to this Villain Simulator, I know I'll almost certainly be in relationships with multiple girls as part of my new life in those worlds, and that at least one of them will probably inspire feelings in me.'
That was why, I had already kicked out the thought of "no-harem" from my mind.
"I just hope Seo-ah will understand and forgive me too."
Nevertheless, based on what I know about her, she would run after me with a slipper in hand and beat the sh*t out of me, but she would eventually forgive me.
Because she was my sweetheart, and I knew her best.
"Am I a hypocrite, a selfish bastard?"
Suddenly, I couldn't help but ask myself such a question as a wry smile appeared on my face.
"I don't know, maybe I really am a scum."
Nonetheless, regardless of who I was, only I know how much my heart hurts because of Seo-ah's death, and because of Rachael, who was like my own creation come alive.
As a creator, I was indeed, at one time or another, in love with certain characters, for whom I wrote with all my heart, day and night, continuously, day after day, month after month, and year after year.
In this moment, however, my heart was bleeding with guilt as I watched the one to whom I was most recently and emotionally attached suffer in this way.
'I don't know if I am wrong or right, or if I am just giving a self justification for my deeds, but I will take responsibility, and this is my path... I will accept who I am.'
With that much absolute conviction, I got to my feet, locked the main doors and windows from the inside, and stashed the keys away in the system storage.
After that, I used an extra bedsheet I found in the closet to carefully and quietly tie Rachael's limbs to the bed.
Since that dimwit Adrian had already given everyone three days off, there were no maids or butlers in this secluded villa on the outskirts of the city.
He even drugged his own shadow, Charlotte, who was a high ranking player, with magic-infused sleeping pills, and now even she was down, sleeping in the hallway.
So this was the only way I could ensure my safety and prevent Rachael from escaping while I came back from the Tutorial World.
After taking all the precautions I could think of, I threw a knife, some gold accessories, and some of Adrian's clothes into the system storage, changed into a nightgown, and laid down on the couch next to the shelves, covering myself with the blanket.
'System, start the Tutorial World.'
[Proceeding with the Tutorial World]
My consciousness instantly left the body.
But what Adrian (Leo) failed to notice as his consciousness left his body was the pair of azure blue eyes that opened for a split second to look at him sleeping on the couch with a touch of raging complexity, and then closed themselves again.
Their owner, muttering to herself in a low voice.
"Are you afraid I will run away? Or is this your coping mechanism?"
* * * * *
General POV:
A few minutes ago.
"WHAT!!!"
Rachael's eyes fluttered open as a muffled yell reached her ears, and she saw a dimly lit room with only the morning sunlight streaming in through the window curtains.
It was an unfamiliar room.
Not understanding her situation, she immediately wanted to sit up, but couldn't because of her painfully exhausted body.
Feeling the heaviness of a hangover in her head, she wanted to groan in pain.
However, it was at that precise moment that the haze of the hangover lifted, and the events of the previous evening flooded back into her consciousness.
The instant she recalled how Adrian seemed to have taken advantage of her in her sleep, she shut her mouth as a wave of anger and disgust swept over her.
The pain in her head combined with her rage nearly drove her insane, but she restrained her screams when she saw Adrian standing in front of her.
She looked over at him, who was standing on the floor, with his back facing her, and she again felt an intense urge to lash out at him.
She wanted to scream, and curse him for what he had done, but at the same time, she knew that it wouldn't change anything.
Because he was the son of a billionaire and his sister was the head of the Vaiself guild, while Rachael herself was just a poor girl from nowhere.
The damage had already been done to her, and any aftermath would only hurt her and her family more.
However, what the inexperienced and pure Rachael failed to notice were the obvious signs of intimacy that weren't there, clearly proving that nothing happened between her and Adrian.
It was at that moment that she saw Adrian suddenly kneel down on the floor, and suddenly a name escaped his mouth, leaving her shellshocked.
"Seo-ah!."
It was a hoarse, grief stricken voice that contained an unimaginable amount of pain and suffering from the loss of a loved one.
Yet, his words weren't over, because he spoke again, this time shouting like a crazy person denying reality.
"Dream! Dream, yes, this must be a dream. Yes, Seo-ah can't die. She must be alive."
As he clutched his head and pulled his hair in a state of complete insanity.
*Sob* *Sob*
Muffled cries escaped his lips as he cried profusely like a kid, constantly trying to regain control of his body by wiping away the tears, but unable to do so because of the extreme grief.
It took a few moments for Rachael to fully register the sight before her, and understand what was happening.
The man who had 'r*ped' her the night before, was now sitting on the floor, hunched over and sobbing uncontrollably, presumably because he remembered the death of this girl, Seo-ah.
Her mind raced back to the events of the previous night.
She remembered how he kept giving her drinks, how helpless she felt as he took her to bed, and how disgusted and ashamed she felt afterward as she fell unconscious.
Nonetheless, now that she was focused, she remembered him saying something like this to her:
"Hey, Seo-ah, why are you being so into the character today? Do you like this role-playing so much?"
All of a sudden, Rachael's mind connected one dot to another and came up with a story of its own.
Thinking about it from his perspective, as she watched him weep, presumably because he remembered about this girl— Seo-ah's death—a different emotion began to surface in Rachael's heart.
Despite the unspeakable things he had done to her, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy for him, because she knew what it was like to be trapped in a world of pain and misery with no way out.
She desired to scream at him, to lash out, and to inflict pain on him. But at the same time, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of sadness for him.
Her mind raced with conflicting emotions as she watched him cry.
Yet a part of her was still not ready to forgive or forget.
Suddenly, he calmed down and stopped weeping, and a second later, he spoke into the air.
"I see. Thanks."
"??" For a moment, Rachael thought he had gone crazy.
But before she could think any further, he stood up and sat on the bed as Rachael instantly closed her eyes.
She didn't know what he was doing while sitting on the bed, as he suddenly went silent.
Suddenly, however, she felt a gentle hand on her face, tugging the strands of hair behind her ears, and she heard a somber voice full of regret and guilt.
"I am sorry, Rachael. I didn't intend to hurt you, and if I could do it over, I would have tried to build a strong relationship with you before trying to make you like me. But I guess at this point, I won't even have that chance."
Her body almost shook after hearing these words.
Regardless, his words weren't over yet, as he continued to speak one after another with a little gap between each sentence.
"But I have wronged you, Rachael."
"I hope you forgive me."
"I just hope Seo-ah will understand and forgive me too."
"Am I a hypocrite, a selfish bastard?"
"I don't know, maybe I really am a scum."
The more Adrian spoke, the more Rachael's anger began to shift into something more complex.
She started to see him as more than just the man who had hurt her.
She started to see him as a person—someone she had a crush on until last night, and someone who had his own problems and struggles.
She couldn't help but feel a sense of empathy for him, even though she knew it was wrong.
Slowly, Rachel's emotions began to shift again, this time towards sadness.
It dawned on her that Adrian's girlfriend had passed away, and that he was going through an incredible amount of suffering and grief as a result.
She couldn't fathom what it must be like to lose someone you care about, and the thought of it caused her heart to hurt for him.
What he had done to her was unforgivable, but she also understood that he was a broken man in need of help.
Her emotions were a tangled mess of anger, sadness, and compassion. She didn't know what to feel or what to do.
All she knew was that her life had been turned upside down, and that she was struggling to make sense of it all.