The message appeared like static burned into my vision.
[BEGIN]
Then the world fell away.
No fanfare. No blinding light.
Just a sickening lurch and the thud of my body slamming into cold stone.
I gasped.
Air tore into my lungs like I hadn't breathed in years. Every nerve screamed. My back stung. My ribs ached. My hands scraped stone as I pushed myself up, coughing dust.
No beeping machines. No IVs. No sterile ceiling lights.
Just stone and silence.
I was in ruins.
Cracked, jagged tiles stretched across a broken plain of dead earth. Blackened stone pillars slanted toward the sky like they were trying to escape it. There was no sun. Just a pale gray that sat heavy above like a lid on a tomb.
And bones.
Everywhere.
Half-buried. Shattered. Burned.
A glint caught my eye.
Something stuck out of the dirt nearby — the hilt of a sword, rusted and flaking. I limped toward it and wrenched it free.
The metal groaned.
[Rusted Training Sword acquired.]
[ATK: 1 | Durability: 13/40]
The screen flickered beside my vision, just like it had in the novel.
I stared at it, heart pounding.
No way.
[Tutorial Objective: SURVIVE.]
I froze.
The word sent a chill through me.
This is… the tutorial?
I remembered this part. In The Crowned Hero and His Seven Vows, the main character began in the "Ruin of Beginnings." There were training dummies, simple goblins, and a system instructor guiding him.
This… wasn't that.
The growl came from behind me.
Low. Wet. Animal.
I turned — and the thing stepped into view.
It was hunched and twitching, like its bones had been jammed into a skin that didn't fit. Its eyes glowed red. Drool hung from its long, tusked snout. Its claws were too big for its limbs, but it moved fast.
Too fast.
[BLOODFANG GNOLL – LV. 12]
[DANGER RATING: EXTREME]
[TUTORIAL BALANCE: ERROR_004]
Error?
I barely had time to think.
It roared and lunged.
I swung.
The blade hit air.
A claw raked across my side, flinging me backward like a ragdoll. Pain bloomed through my ribs. My spine cracked against stone.
[HP: 7/20]
I coughed blood.
The gnoll didn't wait.
It was on me again in seconds — a blur of teeth and rage.
I rolled. Sloppily. Desperately.
The claw missed my face by inches.
I scrambled to my feet, sword shaking in both hands.
I'd never held a real weapon.
I didn't know how to fight.
But I knew this: if I didn't move, I was dead.
The gnoll hissed and charged again.
This time I stepped sideways, swinging instinctively.
The blade grazed its shoulder — not enough to stop it.
Its fist slammed into my chest.
I flew.
[HP: 2/20]
Everything rang.
My limbs were slow. My lungs burned. My legs wanted to quit.
No. Not yet.
The sword was beside me. I grabbed it.
The gnoll was already running toward me, eyes locked on my throat.
I didn't have strength. Or speed.
But I'd been here before — helpless. Cornered. Weak.
I didn't want to die again.
I crouched.
Waited.
The gnoll leapt.
I lunged forward — not clean, not fast — but just enough.
My sword met its neck.
The metal didn't slice. It tore.
The gnoll collapsed, gurgling.
I landed hard beside it, panting. My hands were numb.
[Enemy Defeated.]
[Skill Progression Unlocked.]
[You have acquired: Diagonal Slash Lv. 1]
[You have acquired: Basic Parry Lv. 1]
[XP Gained: 0]
[Level Up: — ]
[Condition Not Met.]
I stared at the messages, eyes shaking.
No XP? Still Level 1?
I didn't understand.
I'd killed something ten levels above me.
I'd earned that victory.
But the system didn't care.
My body trembled. My sword arm was slick with blood. My side throbbed with every breath.
I was still alive.
But I wasn't supposed to be.
That was the moment I knew:
This wasn't a tutorial.
This was a test no one was meant to pass.
And I was the only idiot left still breathing.