With the timer running to zero, the world quickly blackened as I vanished from inside the church. I now stood alone in a dark room. This time, however, there was no adverse reaction on my part. There were only so many times the world could go black and get a reaction out of me.
'Oh no, I'm in a big black room again. What should I do?'
At this point, my mind was already mentally resilient and prepared for whatever came at it from this point out. I took stock of the situation with the calm practicality of someone who had just experienced real-life trench warfare in the last few hours and was running low on the capacity for further distress.
"Hello?" I muttered to the void.
A loud POP echoed through the empty space.
A glowing rectangular screen blinked into existence directly in front of my face. As if I hadn't seen enough weird things for a day. To top it off, the screen wasn't just floating—the thing had limbs. Real limbs. Little glowing stick arms and little stick legs. And it was bouncing, shifting from foot to foot like it had been waiting an unreasonable amount of time and was very pleased with itself.
"CONGRATULATIONS!!!"
The screen spun mid-air, executed a flawless backflip, and landed with jazz hands.
"YOU HAVE COMPLETED TUTORIAL FLOOR ONE!!!"
I stared at it in a state of confusion. Nothing could have prepared me for this.
"What?" I muttered, sheer confusion taking over.
The screen leaned forward conspiratorially, its stick arms resting on its stumpy legs. "Was that not obvious?"
"You're a talking TV. Am I going insane? Maybe my head sustained permanent damage in the tutorial. A TV is talking to me."
"I prefer the term Interactive Tutorial Interface Unit," it said proudly, puffing out its flat-screen chest.
"You're a TV."
"I am a TV," it conceded.
We stared at each other in the void. Then it aggressively clapped its tiny hands together.
"ANYWAY!!! LET'S REVIEW YOUR PERFORMANCE!!!"
A drumroll started from nowhere. There were no drums in this void, but the sound echoed from all directions regardless, permeating my eardrums.
"TRIES—" It paused dramatically, lights flickering around its bezel as confetti cannons went off and showered me in digital paper I had absolutely not consented to. "Twelve!!!"
I wiped a piece of holographic confetti off my cheek. "Twelve?"
"That is correct! You died twelve times!"
"I thought it was around ten."
"We count accurately here at the Tower," it said smugly. "Would you like B-roll footage?"
"You know what, thank you, but I'm good."
The TV let off a small shoulder shrug before continuing.
"NOW!!!" The invisible drumroll intensified, vibrating in my teeth. "FOR YOUR FINAL CLEARANCE SCORE!!! DRUMROLL PLEASE!!!"
The drumroll somehow got louder. The whole thing seemed like an out-of-this-world theatrical performance.
"B PLUS!!!"
The drums cut out as quickly as the results had finished. Bright spotlights zoned in on me, illuminating the room and blinding my eyes.
"Ahhh. Chill with the lights, are you trying to take me out!"
"My apologies, I thought you would like it."
"Yeah, it's all good, but what do you mean B+?" A small sense of annoyance was building up. All that hard work to get a B+. By all means, the score wasn't the worst, but it could definitely have been better.
The TV froze mid-bounce. "Excuse me?"
"A B-plus," I repeated, voice dangerously calm. "A B-plus."
"Yes! A very respectable—"
"I FOUGHT IN A WAR!" The adrenaline of my accumulated deaths finally boiled over in one concentrated burst.
"You did."
"I DIED TWELVE TIMES!"
"That has been confirmed. Do you want to see the B-roll footage?"
My eyebrows raised as it once again mentioned showing me the footage. I really think it wanted to show me it. Too bad I wouldn't give it the satisfaction.
"NO. I HELPED KILL A GIANT MUTATED DEMON WOLF!"
"Yes, that was quite commendable," it nodded in agreement.
"And you're giving me a B-plus?!"
The TV tilted its screen, tapping its chin with a stick finger. "Well, when you say it like that, it does sound quite impressive."
"Because it was impressive!"
It raised one tiny finger. Its eyes creepily set still, the smile disappearing from its face.
"However," it stated with a much deeper voice, "the number of deaths was excessive." The TV listed off now, serious. "In the Tower, you can't afford to die this many times. Not someone like you who has been chosen."
Chosen? What did it mean by chosen? Did this have something to do with the true tutorial message I had seen at the beginning?
"Furthermore, the lack of care for allied units was duly noted."
I paused. "Excuse me?"
"You displayed minimal emotional investment in the wellbeing of your NPC comrades. That wasn't very heroic."
"They reset!"
"They did not know that."
"That sounds like a them problem."
The TV blatantly ignored me. "Let me add reckless spell deployment, frequent at that, to boot."
"IT WORKED!"
"Eventually."
"Okay, that one's fair."
The TV flipped its display to another panel.
"HOWEVER!!!" Its voice went back to a jovial, light-hearted tone.
'Is this thing bipolar?'
Sparkles, actual digital sparkles, framed the screen.
"Points were awarded for ingenuity! The creative application of lightning manipulation and Wrath's Thunder was very much impressive! Adaptive learning across multiple deaths was commendable, and the formation of temporary battlefield alliances led to a significant contribution to the defeat of a high-threat entity!"
I subtly tried to get on the right side of the screen. Maybe I could use its personality against it.
"Right, screen-chan, you are so smart and amazing. The most premium of televisions. Don't you think these heroic efforts should deserve at least an A?"
The TV wobbled from side to side, blushing slightly. "We considered it."
"And?"
"We decided against it."
"And what do you mean by 'we'?"
"We is we, little Kura," it said while giggling.
It was a bit creepy having a TV laughing and calling me by my name, but hey ho.
"You're lucky I can't hit you."
"I am, statistically speaking, very lucky," it replied smoothly.
I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
'Fine. A B-plus it is. Not like I can do anything about it.'
I guess I could live with that score.
"NOW!!!" The TV clapped again. "REWARDS!!!"
A glowing panel expanded between us.
"Reward One!"
Light condensed into a physical object and dropped, heavy and cold, into my open hand. A fang. Large, serrated, and faintly translucent like polished bone infused with something alien. Dark, purified veins ran through the enamel, stripped of the rotting corruption that had twisted the beast it came from.
[Item Acquired: Purified Terror Wolf Fang] The tooth of something that spent its entire existence at the top of the food chain. Cleansed of Tenebrus corruption but still humming with the primal authority of an apex predator. Beast tamers and creature sovereigns would kill for this.
Material Grade A. Rare Special Properties: Apex Resonance: Provides a significant stat boost to Beast-class warriors and Beast Sovereign abilities. Ritual Catalyst: Can be used as a binding artifact to sign a creature contract with a Minor Terror Pup.
"Hahaha. So I can't use it."
This thing was categorically useless for me, who was neither a beast tamer nor a beast-class warrior.
"Correct!" the TV said brightly.
"Then why give it to me?"
"Because it is valuable!"
"So you're giving me something I can't use."
"Yes!"
"To sell."
"Yes!"
"You could've just given me money."
"Where is the fun in that?"
I looked at the fang, sighed, and tucked it away into my pocket. Still, currency was currency. Right now I was a brokie. Anything that helped my financial situation would help.
"Reward Two!!!" The TV did a spin.
A second light formed. This one didn't drop into my hand. It sank directly into my chest, warm and familiar and electric.
[Skill Acquired]
Electro Craft (Lv.1) — Active
Description: A weaker derivative of Electric Aura Manipulation. Allows the user to shape electrical energy into small-scale constructs such as blades, threads, and bindings from hands only. Creations have to be connected to hands at all times; if let go, they disappear.
Effects: Can form short-range weapons (blades, spikes), create temporary structures (threads, bindings).
Cost: Core Output (Low → Moderate, scales with complexity)
Cooldown: None (continuous skill uses mana while in motion)
Conditions:
– Requires active mana control and focus. Constructs degrade rapidly without sustained output. Overextension may cause instability or backlash.
My fingers twitched involuntarily. A faint yellow spark danced across my knuckles. It was nowhere near as good as Electric Aura Manipulation. Not even close.
"Well, I can't complain about a new skill in my arsenal."
"Yes, be grateful!" the TV cheered.
I focused the current out of my palm. A thin, perfectly stable thread of electricity formed between my index finger and thumb.
"Yes, thanks."
The TV clapped one final time.
"REWARD DISTRIBUTION COMPLETE!!!"
The lights in the void dimmed. For the first time since it appeared, the little screen stopped bouncing, stick arms resting at its sides.
"Tutorial Floor One complete," it announced, voice softening just a fraction.
I stood there in the quiet.
"That was insane," I whispered.
Twelve deaths. A full-scale war and a boss monster at the end. The full fantasy package. It felt like I was living a dream. I rubbed the back of my neck, the phantom aches of a dozen brutal deaths lingering in my muscles. In the silence, my mind drifted backward. Back to the church. To my goodbye with Luna. I could still picture her sitting by the chapel benches, staff in hand, composed and focused like she belonged in that nightmare. Unlike me.
"You're from a strange place," she had noted at one point.
"Yeah. You wouldn't get it."
"Try me."
I had shrugged. "In my world, people fight over less important things."
"Less important than survival?"
"Yeah."
"People will dedicate entire days to arguing with strangers they have never met over whether a dress is blue or gold."
Luna stared. "A dress."
"A stranger's dress. Nobody they know. Nobody wins. Society just collectively loses its mind for a week and then moves on."
"That is the most baffling thing I have ever heard."
"It gets worse. People also do something called going viral—where one person does something embarrassing or pointless and then thousands of strangers immediately do the same thing to show that they too can be embarrassing and pointless."
"…Why?"
"Clout."
Luna had turned to look at me fully. "What is clout?"
"Social standing or influence. The respect of strangers on the internet."
Luna had been quiet for a long moment.
"Your region sounds like a unique kind of madness," she had said finally.
"It really is.
"Clout. Hm, I think I get it," she said calmly. "I fought a plague war for clout."
"Luna."
"I am simply applying the concept."
"That is NOT what clout means—"
"You said social standing and the respect of others. I have fought admirably and its for my brother as wll as increasing my standing, no? I believe I have clout."
"I created a monster," I muttered.
"One day I will have a lot of clout," she said proudly.
"Yeah, sure Luna", I said barely holding back a laugh. It was a shame that the timer had almost run out. Only a minute remained now.
"Try not to die."
"That is the objective."
"And hey," I had added, already feeling the pull of the void. "If you ever end up somewhere with instant noodles, don't eat them every day."
"I do not know what that is."
"Good. Keep it that way."
She had frowned slightly, icy staff resting at her side. "You are saying goodbye as if we won't see each other for a long time."
"Hahah, yeah." She didn't understand the mechanics of the Tower. How could she? She was a tutorial NPC.
"Then," she had said slowly, "I'll see you later Kura.."
"Yeah. Bye, Luna."
The memory dissolved with me heading into the restroom, turning back into the dark.
"Weird," I muttered.
It had all felt real. Too real for something that was supposed to be a simulated tutorial. I pushed the thought aside and exhaled a long breath. The TV perked up immediately, ruining my serene reminiscence. It stuck its proddy arms up into the air.
"TIME ALMOST EXPIRED!!" It straightened its posture and grinned or more accurately displayed an emoticon that looked like a grin. Two massive glowing options appearing in the air between us.
[Exiting Tutorial Space] or [Continue To The Next Floor]
I gave it a long look.
"Get me out of this place."
"Goodbye, little Kura. Until next time. May the grace of Prima Lux be with you," the TV said.
The world began to shift. White light tore through the darkness.
"Yeah," I muttered, stepping forward.
"Goodbye to you too."