"Gyahahahaha… run, run, run!" The chibi were-tiger giggled with excitement.
Its tail swayed frantically in the air as it observed the movements of the humans below.
With a child-like smile on its face, it remained suspended, still watching the chaos, then suddenly the swaying movement of its tail stopped.
"Ah… Yao Yao stupid, the esteemed guests will be angry, Yao Yao not turn channel on."
Its tiny fingers glowed a faint blue then Yao Yao snapped its fingers.
Snap!
Vveemm!
The moment it did, all players below received a notification from the system.
****
[Ding! Constellation channel #13 has been created.]
[Ding! The tutorial monsters will be spawned randomly in the next ten seconds.]
[Ding! Side quest, kill ten tutorial monsters in the span of fifteen minutes.]
'Ten… did the default difficulty change to hell mode?'
Even in the game we were only required to kill five or less monsters in the tutorial stage.
It was simply a scenario designed to familiarize players with the game mechanics, regardless of what mode a player set the game to, the maximum amount of monsters required to kill never exceeded five.
'The system isn't following the original game scenario.'
That was my first thought but on closer inspection I realized something.
While the quests had some notable differences from the ones in the actual game, the overall structure was still the same.
Although this was still a mere thesis on my end since I had yet to gather enough information to back my claim, I decided to bet on the chances that I could be right.
I ran towards a narrow alley, a short cut I knew all too well.
Ryu followed closely behind.
Unlike me, he wasn't used to such a situation, as the son of a trillionaire, illegitimate or not, he was treated with the same respect someone of his class would've deserved and because of his position he rarely even left the mansion without some sort of escort.
On the other hand, mingling with unruly crowds as my stepmother claimed had given me all sorts of experience.
And what better teacher was there than experience?
I picked up a few tricks here and there like parkour from my so-called unruly folks, and had to learn it to escape the cops.
Heaven knows my father would have killed me if my unfortunate ass had been put in jail.
Not the point but anyway, Ryu was a Nepo baby and I? I was for the streets… uh no, wait that sounded wrong.
[4…3…2…1… Ding!]
[Tutorial monsters spawned.]
'Please be goblins please be goblins.'
Behind me I noticed that Ryu had stopped running.
I was about to ask the reason for his abrupt halt but the moment I turned around, he spoke up.
"B-Blood… bloodlings."
My eyes widened and the hairs on my skin rose with tension.
Instinctively I pivoted off my foot, tilting my body just enough to dodge the claws that slashed at my back.
Surprised at my nimble movement the gray-skinned, bald creature paused for a second, it stared at its claws which failed to draw any blood, then it screeched.
"Oh god damnit, run Ryu."
My step brother flinched then snapped out of his reverie, he instantly ran the other way and I followed behind.
The creature didn't waste any time, it chased after us immediately, which was just absurd considering how fast bloodlings were.
"Eeekkkk! Don't eat me, eat my brother… he's infinitely more delicious than me." I squealed in panic.
It specifically seemed like the creature was targeting me but that could've been my imagination.
Ryu stared at me with bloodshot eyes.
He didn't need to speak, I could tell he was judging me.
His gaze was practically saying.
'Really brother?'
'What? Don't look at me, you eat better than me, I even have a stunted growth… your mother gave you all the good stuff.'
"Do it again," Ryu blurted out, looking ahead of me.
"Uh? What?"
"Scream like a k-pop idol fan girl."
"Ryu-Min, this is no time for jokes."
"I'm being serious Tae-Min, the bloodling froze for a moment." He paused as we took a detour into a narrow path in-between two buildings.
I glanced back.
The bloodling was coming at us even faster but it stopped when it got to the entrance of the tiny alley between the two buildings.
I watched its movements then I suddenly remembered something…
These bastards were blind.
"Ryu" I called.
My brother sucked in a deep breath then spat.
"This… wasn't how the game tutorial went, is that tiny demon trying to kill us? What the heck is that thing."
Ignoring his outburst I watched as the bloodling approached the entrance while sniffing the air.
"Look Ryu, those little fuckers are blind, they rely on their other senses to find prey."
How could I even forget that, I had fought some bloodlings in the game but I never simply bothered to find their weakness I just burnt them to a crisp but right now I didn't have any of my character's abilities.
Ryu frowned.
"Wait, you're right… I never noticed in the game since bloodlings were weak monsters, at least weak by standards of level thirty players, but they fall under the category of resonants."
He stared at me.
"But how does that change anything? If it relied on sounds then wouldn't that mean it's hearing us right now."
We were still in the alley and the creature crept closer, with uneven breaths echoing in the narrow alley.
And yes, Ryu was right.
There was no way it wasn't hearing us.
'That thing, it's toying with us.'
"Hah… this fucker, seriously!"
My gaze grew dark and so did my tone.
"You still have your phone, right Ryu?"
"Yes but—"
"Then that's ok."
I tossed him my phone.
"Play the most disturbing nerve-wracking sounds you can find."
Without waiting for his response, I drew a small pocket knife from my trousers.
Ryu did as I told and the moment he did, an irritating cacophony of grating noises rang out.
The bloodling let out a guttural screech, abandoning all pretense as it lunged forward.
And so did I.