“ID?”
I tried to wiggle my hand to press one of the two buttons in front of my eyes.
“Oh.”
But I couldn’t hide my surprise as I noticed the cursor moving naturally without me having to actually move my hand.
I mean, it’s virtual reality, but I just entered the device, and yet I can control it just by thinking?
Isn’t that like the ‘real’ deal?
“…Really?”
I swallowed hard.
Nah, there’s no way it’s really happening.
I tossed aside those distracting thoughts and stared at the two buttons.
If I’m starting out, it should be the blue button.
If there’s an ID, then it’s the red button.
“I don’t have an ID… right?”
Isn’t this my first time playing a game? If I had an ID, that’d be weirder.
I pressed the blue button just by thinking about it.
As the cursor touched the blue button, a bluish veil started to envelop my entire body.
[Welcome to Devil of Angel.]
[Configuring starting data… Verifying data.]
[Configuring avatar… Configuration complete.]
[Entering tutorial mode.]
“Uh-oh.”
Before I knew it, I was standing in a grassy field.
I could see the pristine grass poking up between my toes with a rustling sound.
A cool breeze blew, and in the distance, I could hear birds chirping.
“Wow… Is this virtual reality?”
Isn’t this way too realistic?
[Linking avatar. Transferring customized avatar data.]
[Tutorial – 0.1]
Objective – Check your appearance.
Reward – 10 Experience Points.
‘Customization?’
Did I even customize an avatar in the first place?
I feel like I just started.
In the center of the grassy field stood a full-length mirror taller than me by at least 50cm.
An orange holographic arrow was pointing to my destination.
As I walked towards the arrow, a quest completion message popped up, revealing my reflection.
“…It’s just me.”
Lily Elbrite.
The saintess of a small village with blue hair and wall-like eyes was there.
Still gigantic.
In the mirror, I was wearing the saintess’s attire.
It was a white garment with sky-blue stripes symbolizing the celestial race wrapped around it.
If there’s one difference, it’s that rather than the long dress that reached my ankles in the past, this one was a bit tighter.
This should be comfortable enough for movement.
[Tutorial – 0.2]
Objective – Talk to the farmer in front of you.
Talk to that person.
Reward – 20 experience points.
In a space filled only with grass, a new area is ensnared.
Suddenly, a part of the grassland is engraved along the dirt path, and beyond that, another wind blows.
An orange arrow appears once more.
As I walk slowly along the dirt path, I see a farmer farming in a field with holes everywhere.
An old man…? A farmer with a sickle, banging on his waist.
“Hello?”
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen an outsider… hmmm. Could you help me a bit?”
[Tutorial – 0.3]
Objective – Fulfill the farmer’s request.
Reward – 30 experience points, an old sword hidden in the storage.
…Suddenly?
Receiving a request is familiar, but it’s been a while since someone asked for help so directly.
“What’s the matter?”
“I’m farming, but those wild boars are ruining my fields. Could you help me catch them?”
“…Sure.”
“Thank you! There’s an old sword I used to keep in storage, you can use that to catch them!”
The farmer kept expressing his gratitude.
I nodded casually and headed toward the old storage.
Receiving thanks was still a pleasant thing.
■
“Was this really meant to be a sword?”
Should I have noticed when I saw the old storage?
What was inside was an old sword.
In fact, it looked like a pile of scrap metal that should be disposed of, with not even a single grade attached.
Even if I sell it for scrap metal, it doesn’t seem like I’d get much.
Thinking maybe there was something else, I rummaged through the whole storage, but nothing really counted as a weapon.
Suddenly, I felt like I wanted to refund those thanks I received earlier, but I held it in for now.
After all, it’s a game.
Since it’s not reality, I just have to follow the tutorial.
This is a game, not reality.
“…Log out!”
Suddenly feeling anxious, I shouted to log out right away.
[Saving data… Proceeding with logout.]
A blue curtain opened, and I rose from the device.
Back in reality.
I touched my face and body, then hurried into the bathroom.
Lily, slightly smiling but a bit quiet.
“…It’s really a game.”
Fortunately, this time I didn’t get possessed or anything.
I wasn’t possessed or anything.
I think I can relax a bit now.
Lily smiled brightly again.
I returned to the game.
■
Following the arrows, I headed toward the area where wild boars appeared.
The once beautiful blue forest now looked a bit messy.
Every tree had signs of having been bumped into, and remnants of half-eaten grains were scattered everywhere.
As I ventured deeper into the forest, I spotted brown-haired wild boars sniffing around.
They were quite huge, each the size of twice my height.
I might be a bit on the small side, though.
[Tutorial – 0.4]
Objective – Eliminate 3 wild boars.
Reward – 50 experience points, 50 silver coins.
As I approached the designated area, one wild boar came roaring towards me.
When I moved, the boar sprinted a bit faster.
I was holding a rusty chunk of iron. No, a sword.
I don’t really use swords.
When I need something with reach, I use a long spear, and for heavy hitting, I wield a giant hammer.
Kraaah!
“Ugh.”
But that doesn’t mean I can’t use a sword.
Ever since inheriting the blood of the Celestial Race, I’ve received significant boosts in handling all cold weapons.
Just like how the Demon Race can naturally master magic from birth.
The wild boar charged straight at me, and I dodged to the side slightly.
As I dodged, I positioned the rusty sword in its path and gripped it tightly.
Whoosh! The boar was sliced apart, scattering its insides everywhere.
If I hadn’t had enough strength and had placed the sword in its path, it would have bounced right off or lodged in the boar’s tough skin.
But I had enough muscle to handle it.
If the Demon Race is proficient in Great Magic,
the Celestial Race has overwhelming might by nature.
…But why was my strength working here?
“Huh?”
Just then, I thought to myself, dazed as I retrieved my sword.
The wild boar, after charging, rolled on the ground and died.
Since it’s a game, the blood is green, and the insides aren’t visible.
Compared to the corpses I knew, this wild boar’s body wasn’t gruesome at all.
It definitely felt like a game.
I poked the corpse with my sword and turned to the remaining two wild boars.
They didn’t seem as fierce as before.
Do the wild boars in the game feel fear too?
Reality works that way.
With my sword raised, I charged in.
The wild boars, with nowhere to retreat, charged back at me simultaneously, refusing to lose.
At the same time, they charged in.
After all, I thought I was dodging the attacks because my body was at the same level as a body on Earth.
But what if that wasn’t the case?
There was no reason to dodge while attacking if that were true.
Boom!
The sword clashed against the boar’s teeth. The boar’s teeth crunched against the old sword and broke.
The somewhat heavy body of the boar.
As expected, I haven’t fully returned.
Right now, I feel quite disappointed, but if the users of Devil of Angel saw this scene, they’d probably jump up asking what nonsense this was.
After all, hunting a boar is merely a device to inform beginners of the monster’s danger and the existence of “death.”
Originally, a level 1 regular user could never catch a boar and would receive a quest to return to the farmer after dying.
Then the farmer would mistake it and provide some good swords and armor instead.
However, a user with the blood of the Celestial Race—an unprecedented con—has basically hunted level 10+ monsters like they were pieces of scrap.
The brief clash of strength between a delicate woman wielding an old sword and a massive boar ended with the delicate woman’s victory.
The old sword split the boar in two and smoothly sliced through the second boar as well.
While I was busy using my head to hold my ground, it didn’t matter because I had already figured out their positions.
Before I knew it, three boar corpses lay before me.
“I won?”
I retrieved my sword with a sense of emptiness.
Yet, I didn’t really have any questions about the fight.
Most of the tutorial is just a step to teach the basics of combat.
It’s meant to help you understand combat easily.
It won’t be easy, but at this level, it shouldn’t be too difficult to overcome.
Surely, everyone can manage at least this much?
I smiled and headed back to the farmer.
■
“What the heck is this…?”
The scene caused coffee to spill from Izina (27), an employee of Nutri Company, who was casually enjoying her salary by ‘user surveillance.’
“Assistant Manager! Look at this!”
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