Chapter 5

# 5

Unprecedented Tutorial (3)

Just out of reach.

The place Lokan arrived, driving the creatures with a subtle gap, was the village hall. The village hall, built of logs, was the largest building in the village, but it couldn't help being crude, as it was a village of squatters.

"Use the Fire Resistance Scroll."

As the goblins chased him to the very back, Lokan used the Fire Resistance Scroll and rushed into the village hall.

Whoosh!

As soon as he entered, flames burst forth, and scorching heat filled his lungs. His breath was cut off, and it became difficult to breathe.

The village hall was already on fire, and without the Fire Resistance magic, he would have suffered burns and suffocation.

Thud. Swallow!

To replenish even the lost health, Lokan drank the lowest-grade health potion. As a result, the health that seemed about to plummet to zero from a couple of goblin attacks slowly began to recover.

'Come on, come on.'

The problem was whether the goblins would follow him inside.

Even if the frenzy of battle applied, would they jump into a blazing inferno where just standing would severely drain their health?

If this didn't work, he would have to start over from the beginning.

"Keeeee!"

The goblins' screams answered for him. They had followed him in.

"Haah!"

The moment he heard the sound, Lokan began his work. He took out the woodcutter's single-bladed axe and struck one of the burning pillars supporting the village hall with all his might.

Crack. Crack. Thud.

The wood, weakened by the flames, crumbled easily after a few axe strikes. Thanks to the option that gave an advantage in logging, fitting for a "woodcutter's" axe.

The axe's durability dropped significantly as the flames spread, but it didn't matter. After all, the equipment was only owned during the tutorial.

One, two, three.

While cutting through the supports and determining their positions, a burning sensation appeared on his side. It wasn't because the Fire Resistance Scroll's effect had ended; a goblin that had jumped in had stabbed him with a hand knife.

"Ugh!"

Lokan stopped his axe work and knocked the goblin down. He pushed it away with a kick, took a sip of the lowest-grade health potion, and sprinkled the rest on the wound. Although it was only the lowest grade and didn't fully restore his health, he was grateful that it helped at all.

"Keeeee! Keeeee!"

Looking back, the building was already in chaos. It was filled with goblins that had been forced inside by the armed goblin's coercion.

The sight was quite amusing. They had been forced in, but the intense heat made them hesitate, unsure whether to attack or flee.

However, the armed goblin, who should have given orders, was already red-hot due to his metal equipment and was not in his right mind. He was suffering more than anyone else as the metal heated up.

"It's over!"

Lokan delivered the final gift to these creatures by destroying the last pillar.

Rumble.

The village hall began to collapse completely.

"Screech!"

Amid the screams of the goblins crushed by the falling debris, Lokan launched himself into a corner he had prepared. He aimed to hide in the gaps between the fallen debris.

'Ugh!'

But that was not easy. The collapse began rapidly the moment he destroyed the last pillar. A large rock struck his back as he moved.

His health was drastically reduced, and the small debris brought it to the brink. He quickly drank the last remaining lowest-grade health potion, but a couple more hits would certainly mean game over.

'Please...!'

Lokan slid his body forward. He inserted the axe handle into the gap between the debris, which was already showing signs of a chain collapse. Using the woodcutter's single-bladed axe as a support, he created a space to hide.

Rumble!

The next moment, the entire village hall collapsed.

And a short while later, instead of the black darkness of death, a tutorial completion message appeared before his eyes.

It seemed that if all the goblins in the village were eliminated, the tutorial would complete automatically without leaving the village.

"Is this it!"

The titles he earned were three in total. Two of them were unbelievable achievements, and one was an impossible achievement!

Lokan had obtained a few "unbelievable" titles in his previous life, but this was the first time he had seen a "impossible" title.

His body itched to check the title effects immediately, but unfortunately, it was not possible yet. He would have to wait until the tutorial completion notice ended and he arrived in the village known as "Pocket City."

'Tolkien got the 'Avenger' title, a 'Unique' grade.'

If that was the case, perhaps he could get an 'Epic' grade.

While Lokan was excited, a small cluster of light flew into his eyes.

First, the basic rewards. These were the rewards that could be obtained regardless of one's performance in the tutorial.

However, if he had skipped the tutorial like in his previous life, he would have received nothing. Though they might seem insignificant, tutorial rewards were very important in "The Lord," known for its lack of user-friendliness.

'Oh, thinking about the hard work I did for this...'

No wonder Lokan was grinding his teeth, recalling his previous life after confirming the rewards.

There would likely be many users in Pocket City in the same situation as his previous self.

'Oh, five boxes...'

The unknown boxes were, as their name suggested, boxes whose contents were unknown. They were also the special rewards of the tutorial.

The "real" reward, like the titles Lokan received, was that the more boxes, the better, as they could be quite helpful in the early stages.

'Some people even made a living off this, I guess...'

The unknown boxes were essentially "random boxes" whose contents were unknown, and some people spread rumors that they contained "rare" or higher-grade items to profit from it.

Later, it became known that only normal-grade items came out of these shabby wooden boxes with holes.

'But what is this so sturdy...'

While reminiscing about his previous life, Lokan noticed something strange. It was good to receive five unknown boxes, but their appearance was different from what he knew.

Or rather, he knew about them, but they shouldn't have appeared here.

'Why are these here...'

Four sturdy iron boxes and one shiny silver box. The composition of the unknown boxes was surprising, perhaps because he had cleared the tutorial.

'Jackpot.'

Iron boxes could contain items up to the magic grade, and silver boxes could contain items up to the rare grade. Of course, these were the maximum grades, and the types were random. But at this point, any equipment that came out would be better than this.

"Hehehe!"

At this point, how could he not burst into silly laughter?

Lokan continued to chuckle even after the move to Pocket City, drawing glares from others.

But it didn't matter. After all, this was the period when new players were first encountering this brutal game and cheering like madmen. Besides, Lokan wasn't the type to care about others' opinions.

'Well, what should I open first?'

While others were running around to understand the system, level up, and take quests, Lokan didn't need to do that.

Instead, he was happily pondering what to check first.

Should he open the unknown boxes first, or check the titles first?

'Let's check the titles first.'

Naturally, the titles were the most intriguing.

You have defeated an opponent 10 levels stronger than yourself.

You are the first to obtain this title.

-10% increase in all stats when fighting enemies 10 levels higher than yourself.

You have won a 17-to-1 battle. Numbers are meaningless to you.

You are the first to obtain this title.

-10% increase in defense when fighting multiple enemies.

-Defense increases up to 30% based on the number of enemies in battle.

'Wow!'

Both "Descendant of David" and "17-to-1 Warrior" were "Unique" grade titles. Moreover, the effects were enhanced because they were the first to be obtained.

Compared to the highest 10% increase in a single stat and 10% increase in defense that Lokan had obtained in his previous life, these were truly remarkable.

Both titles would be more useful later rather than now, as "% effects" generally work that way.

'They are both late-game titles.'

In the case of "Descendant of David," the 10% increase in stats might be less effective than additional stat titles in the early stages, but it would show significant stat boosts later. "17-to-1 Warrior" would shine when enjoying guild-level or war content.

That's why, in his previous life, almost no one in the so-called "top tier" lacked these titles.

Some guilds even went as far as to support promising members to obtain these titles from the beginning.

'This will save a lot of time.'

Interestingly, both titles are harder to obtain later if you give up on getting them early.

Later, when trying to obtain them with better equipment and titles, the enemies would also be stronger, making it even harder to get them.

Fighting multiple higher-level enemies in "The Lord," where the monsters are already tough, is a daunting task unless you have a special class. So, even if it's painful at low levels, it's better to work on it early.

Thus, obtaining these titles, especially at the "Unique" grade, was a stroke of luck for Lokan.

'Well, then...'

He was already satisfied, but one more title remained.

The title obtained for achieving an "impossible" achievement!

He checked the information with a prayerful heart.

"...This is cheating."

The first words out of Lokan's mouth after confirming the title were these.

Oh