[Tutorial, Welcome to the 2nd Floor.]
[1st attempt, day 29. 4:40]
[Time left until end of 1st attempt: 43 hours 20 minutes]
It’s finally over. For real.
It felt like something that had been constricting my airways deep within my chest had been unwound.
The time left until end of the 1st attempt was 43 hours.
If I knew it would have ended like this, I would’ve tried that trap in front of the boss room once more.
Who knew the boss room would be over that quickly?
2nd Floor waiting room.
It was the same stone room.
No, there was one obvious difference.
[Enter the stage?]
This so called ‘stage’ that the message was referring to would not be to Tutorial’s 1st floor.
It will probably take me to the 2nd floor.
This meant that strategies could be developed for the floors above before the attempt timer hit zero.
People in different difficulties would have definitely developed strategies for the 2nd floor.
The first information about clearing the 1st floor was spread around the Community chat at roughly 20 days after the 1st attempt.
Those people who had cleared the floor roughly 9 days earlier wouldn’t just be sucking their fingers in the 2nd floor waiting room.
What if they were able to develop a sufficient strategy for the 2nd floor before the 1st attempt had even finished?
This would be more than possible for people in the Easy and Normal difficulties.
There was a reward for the person who cleared a floor first.
As for me, I’m the only person left in Hell difficulty so it’s obvious who will get it but, what about the other floors?
The ones in the high ranks of every floor would be competing to clear the floor first.
Moreover, those in the higher ranks wouldn’t be so willing to share their knowledge in the Community chat.
Although their fight barely relates to me, I still wonder.
Are there extra rewards that could be earned?
I should definitely ask Kirikiri about it after I’ve finalized my tactics for the 2nd floor.
After summing up my thoughts I wandered around the 2nd floor waiting room.
There was a bed in the dark corner of the waiting room.
I guess there was a slight upgrade.
It was old and stained, it even looked like there would be the stench of fungus on it.
I threw my body on the bed and instantly my eyes closed themselves.
Damn. What is this? It’s so comfortable.
There was much to do.
There was so much to think about.
But… Let’s think about after having a deep sleep.
I couldn’t beat my exhaustion.
How long did I sleep for?
[1st attempt, day 29, 17:05]
[time left until end of 1st attempt: 30 hours 55 minutes]
Did I sleep for like, 12 hours?
There’s so much to do.
I think that was the longest that I’ve slept ever since I came into the Tutorial.
Was it because I was so relaxed?
I lifted my body and sat on the edge of the bed.
Sigh, what did I have to think about?
Oh, yeah.
My mental state.
I needed to test my mental state so I that I know that there was nothing wrong with it.
A few days ago, I thought about this when I first discovered the healing well.
It was also to improve my stats and skills.
It was a typical gamer’s mindset.
Oh and of course, near death.
Yeah, they could say this was a brave thing to do, to walk the road of pain. One that was painted so obvious. Just because it was the most efficient path.
If the chances of staying alive from that was lower than the chances of living with no purpose, and a person still walked that road without hesitation… you could say that person was retarded.
Am I retarded?
Am I still not able to grasp the reality I am in and still thought of this as a game?
After falling into the Tutorial, my dedication had also changed a lot.
Before coming here, I was always just drinking and watching TV.
I didn’t feel any sort of rush towards life and I couldn’t entertain myself enough to put aside the boring life of mine. So I always fell asleep slightly tipsy.
Without a doubt, if time passed a little longer, I would’ve been an alcoholic.
There was no meaning or motivation to my life.
But look at me now.
I wasn’t even thinking about the pain or the safety of my life.
I was able to feel the excitement and anticipation that I had forgotten since I came here.
I worked day and night for one game when I was a pro gamer.
And on the day of the match.
I put all that on the line and played against my opponent.
It was a cold and brutal battle, but that was the life I loved living.
Even if I lost, even if I fell from the top, If I stayed in the world of gaming, if I was able to feel the spark I felt through nervousness and victory…
I’ve regretted ever since. How I longed for it, drinking day by day.
And at that moment, enthusiasm was given to me once more.
Pain or death, it didn’t matter for me.
I was like a craved drug addict, and this time I got my hands on some.
Without caring for side-effects, I just enjoyed the rush and pleasure.
It was time for my personal diagnosis.
Mmm… it wasn’t bad.
There wasn’t anything wrong in my head.
This abnormal enthusiasm wasn’t going to stop me, but would instead be the fuel that would bring me forth.
Let’s sum everything up positively. It felt like my heart and even my body had gotten so much lighter.
On to the next thing in my to-do list.
“Shop.”
As I opened the shop, like Kirikiri had said, all equipment, potions and essentially any item that would be useful for battle were all locked and only food and lifestyle items were the only items available.
Thanks to Kirikiri’s advice, I had already bought all the necessary items earlier.
I took out clothes that I purchased with Kirikiri.
My clothes were stained with blood and it had holes everywhere where the arrows had struck me. Moreover, due to the fire in the boss room it was all ragged and in tatters.
Although there was no beneficial effect provided from the comfortable, thin, white t-shirt and sweat pants, it actually felt quite good when worn.
It felt like going from barbarism to civilization.
“Auction.”
Oh, this was quite fascinating.
People who had cleared the 1st floor were able to buy and sell items in the Auction tab.
Most of the items listed were beginner items and the extra rewards gained from clearing the 1st floor.
In all of those, there were also stuff like this.
[Cat collar with a bell]
Description: Cat’s don’t like this. If you try force this on your cat, even if you are its owner, it may show its claws.
Kyaaaa! What an amazing item.
I can’t believe they gave you that shit as a reward.
I could only laugh because it was someone else’s, if that shit was mine I would’ve just thrown it away on the spot.
I checked the Community chat and it seemed that extra rewards were completely random.
Even if you clear with significant results (as the author of this post claims), you could get a shitty item, and even if you clear just barely, you could get a godlike item.
Well. The messages said that the extra rewards were given based on your play history.
It could just be an excuse from the people who got shitty items.
Since it hadn’t been that long, there weren’t enough examples to make a conclusion.
I’ll be able to tell when I check later.
Now, the last key problem.
The problem which was to check the 2nd floor before the 1st attempt ended.