[Round 24, Day 2. 23h 55m]

[Huh? Really?]

Yeah, really.

[Really? Really?]

Yes, really.

[Really? Really? Really? For real?]

I threw the holy sword who was obnoxiously making nasal voices into the inventory.

Its been doing that ever since it heard that I wont be able to bring him out for over 24 days.

Its not like I couldnt understand how suffocating it was to be confined in the inventory for all that time, but whatcould I do?

The system wouldnt let me access my gear.

[Does that apply to me as well?]

Seregia abruptly asked.

Yeah, you too.

Seregia didnt say any more.

It seems as though she fell back down into her deep consciousness.

Thankfully, Seregia still speaks up like that every now and then.

It startles me because her timing is random and out of the blue, but it was better than nothing.

I put the soul sword into the inventory as well.

Since the gear will all be confiscated, I didnt need to prepare anything and stepped atop the portal.

Past the campfire room, I entered the 35th stage.

[Welcome to the 35th floor stage.]

[Round 24, Day 3. 0h 0m]

Phewwww.

I tried not to make any unnecessary noises, but I couldnt help but let out a long sigh.

It was an expected sight.

It was just as Kiri Kiri had said.

I knew it was going to happen, but the shock came again.

I was standing at the entrance of the 1st floor stage.

A straight dark pathway.

There were faint lights embedded in the ceiling every few meters.

The three-meter-high ceiling.

The floors and walls made of rough stone material.

I shed a lot of blood on these floors.

A chill ran down my spine.

It wasnt because I was stuck in my past trauma.

It was the feeling, not the familiar sight.

My feet hurt.

No, hurt as much as.

I could feel the hard floor

The feeling of exhaustion in my feet from standing on the stone floors felt very foreign.

The leather armor I was wearing until just a moment ago was all gone, and I was wearing the thin clothes from

when I first entered the Tutorial.

The smooth modern clothes that I hadnt seen for a long time were unfamiliar.

My body was also unfamiliar.

The inhalations were brisk, and my beating heart felt fragile enough to burst at any moment.

I couldnt feel any strength in my arms and legs.

My vision was dark.

Though the lights were faint, they were just barely enough for me to discern the straight hallway.

It was no longer the superhuman body that I was used to for the last two years, but the typical body of a NEET[1] living life as though I were crippled and spending time alone in my room.

[The 35th floor stage begins.]

Explanation: Your body returns to the time it was the weakest. By walking in the footsteps that you have once already made, survive in a different way.

The stage has 34 gates in total, and each gate mostly coincides with those that you have passed through before.

Everything you have achieved here goes back to naught. Each time you pass a gate, water and jerky will be given to you through the pouch.

If you survive for a specified amount of time, you will be sent to the next gate.

[Clear Criteria.]

1. Survive

It was no different from what I had heard from Kiri Kiri.

If there was one thing different, it was the information about water and jerky.

Without me realizing it, there was a small pouch tied to my waist.

I opened it, but nothing was inside.

Seems like theyll store water and jerky here as I proceed with the gates.

Seems like thats plausible.

Now, what do I do?

[The God of Remorse[2] is watching you.]

The God of Remorse.

That wasnt a familiar title.

Its possible that the God of Remorse is the architect behind this 35th floor stage.

Remorse.

Ill keep that in mind.

I put aside thoughts about the god for now.

It wasnt something that I needed to concern myself with right now.

Instead, I needed to focus on how to survive this stage and proceed past it.

First, there is no need to move right away.

The theme of the 1st floor is arrow traps, and the traps dont go off unless I approach them.

Lets prepare here, then move.

Next, Ill need to check my condition

Status.

[Lee HoJae (Human)]

Str: 10

Dex: 13

Sta: 11

Mana: 21

Its been a while since Ive seen a status this bleak.

Theres no level being shown and Im level 0 just like when I entered the Tutorial .

The numerous skills Ive had are all gone.

It really is a do-over.

What I need to focus on in this bleak status window is the mana.

Mana: 21.

During my time on the 1st floor, I didnt know what mana meant, nor the implications of it being 21.

But now, I know exactly what it means.

The norm for most people is to start at 0 or 1, and the highest is around 10 for the mana value.

A mana value of 21 is a ridiculously high value.

And because of that, I very rarely ran short of mana when Ive used skills.

To be fair, its also because Ive used Authorities instead of active skills

I closed my eyes and tried to feel the mana inside my body.

It was scattered throughout my body.

I proceeded to move a slightly large piece.

It absorbed the smaller mana fragments that it passed by and congregated into a large lump.

It was like rolling a snowball.

Once I felt enough mana was gathered, I moved it along a circuit.

[Acquired Mana Circuit Lv. 1.]

[Acquired Mana Circuit Lv. 3.]

Unlike the other challengers that did not how to advance their skills even after obtaining it, I fully understand the fundamental workings.

Without the help of the system, I could force open the blocked mana circuit.

One error was that the mana circuit in my body back then was smaller than I thought.

The mana being forced through the circuit brought small pains and tremors, along with a sensation as if small ants were crawling in my skin. My whole body started to tremble.

In addition, there were clogs along the path here and there.

Normally, one would slowly melt those away and widen the path by circulating mana hundreds or thousands of times, but I didnt have the luxury of waiting for that.

I bore a path through the blockades.

Kuhk.

[Acquired Mana Circuit Lv. 7.]

Blood poured out of my nose and mouth.

It wasnt like a small nosebleed.

It was more accurate to say I threw up blood than I had a nosebleed.

A small puddle of blood soon gathered at my feet.

Phewooook. Phewoooo.

Because I couldnt breathe while throwing up blood, my lungs struggled for air.

My lung capacity was pathetically awful.

I spat out the blood in my mouth and moved the mana again.

Just recognizing and moving the mana does nothing.

You need to find pathways to manifest mana outside of the body.

A lump of mana moving at high velocity clashed against a blockaded wall.

And along with it a Boom sound.

As if I were the victim of a hit and run, I felt a strong pain at the back of my head.

My vision went dark.

And the next moment, I felt nothing.

Along with the pain, my senses died, and my focus dissipated

Fuck. Pain Tolerance.

I forgot I didnt have Pain Tolerance.

Without the tolerance skill, my body released hormones to sedate itself upon feeling a strong pain signal.

I forced myself to focus.

I couldnt feel any sensations, but I tried desperately to guide the mana along the circuit path.

Soon, part of my senses came back.

I was lying on the ground, writhing in agony.

I couldnt keep a clear mind through the pain that came from every bone becoming misaligned and my

muscles twisting.

It was too strong of a stimulation without Pain Tolerance.

Ku.ahhhk

A groan escaped my clenched teeth.

My face felt as though it would explode from the blood pressure.

If not, my eyeballs would pop out at the bare minimum.

[Acquired Mana Circuit Lv. 16.]

[Acquired Will Lv. 4.]

[Acquired Awakening Lv. 7.]

Without knowing how much time had passed, the pain slowly eased away.

I waited for the pain to completely dissipate.

After I was confident that I was completely fine, I squirmed my arms and legs.

Thankfully, they move fine.

I thought I would be crippled if this went badly.

And if so, it would be very bothersome until I cleared the 35th floor.

Once I looked around, the formerly-small blood puddle had enlarged.

My body was sticky, as if blood had oozed out through my skin instead of just my nose and mouth.

It wasnt a small amount of pitch-black blood.

If I express it how I used to[3] , I probably

dipped my ankles in the Samdo River.[4]

[Acquired Pain Tolerance Lv. 2.]

I got Pain Tolerance up to Lv. 2 in one go.

It really, honest-to-god fucking hurt.

It was enough to make me worry if my body would die from the shock.

Pain Tolerance doesnt reduce the pain itself but blocks the shock and sedation of the senses.

A great deal of anxiety had welled up inside me upon being greeted by the acute pain without any form of tolerance.

I was more worried that this body would actually die from the pain rather than the pain itself.

The sensation of pain was quickly dissipating.

But it left me feeling washed out.

I felt drowsy from my lack of strength.

But I also felt refreshed.

With the airways unobstructed and probably because bodily waste was gone, my mind felt clear.

And the mana inside my body was circulating without any obstructions.

Once I recover my stamina, it would be much better.

I decided to sit down and rest.

According to Kiri Kiris information, Ill be on the 1st floor stage for a total of one hour.

[Round 24, Day 3. 0h 27m]

More time had passed than I had initially thought.

I thought it would be a few minutes at most, but I mustve writhed in pain for a good half hour.

My reward[5] was Mana Circuit Lv. 16.

It was good enough for now.

I decided to be content with it for now.

If I did anymore right now, it would take too much time; plus,I was afraid I might die from shock.

I needed to respect my weak body.

To take the next step, I needed to relentlessly circulate my mana and prepare myself.

I finished up my thoughts and got up.

I was going to rest a bit more, but I needed to get moving since more time had passed than I initially thought.

Once I started to move forward, each step was excruciatingly difficult.

My legs shook, and my back bent backwards

As I moved, I could feel the aches here and there in my body.

My bodys current condition required a few days of rest no matter how you look at it, but I pressed on.

Fuck. What I wouldnt do for a bottle of elixir.

[The God of Remorse is watching you.]

The message about the God of Remorse appeared again.

The message appeared as soon as I wondered if I was irrational in forcing the mana circuit, as if the God was just

waiting for it.

Was it waiting for me to have a regret or something?

I started to wonder what the Gods wanted to say throughout this stage.

Was it to look back through the stages that Ive been through and find a new solution for the regrets that Ive had?

Or was it to take everything Ive achieved away, leaving this sad body with me to make me feel sorry for myself?

To ruminate over the terror and pain from the beginning and realize how meaningless of a being that I was?

Whatever it was, I was pissed.

I clenched my teeth and forced my legs forward.

My left leg wouldnt move properly.

I proceeded along with one leg limping.

Ping.

Accompanied by the launch noise I was waiting for, the arrow went off.

My eyes followed the white flash of the arrowhead reflecting the light.

I wasnt certain if my eyes would be able to track and locate the arrows path, but it was enough.

The first is left shoulder.

I snatched the shaft of the arrow with my right hand.

I imbued mana on my hand and fingers to make sure the arrow wouldnt slip through.

It felt as though my hand was on fire from the intense friction, but I ignored it.

Ping.

The second one is the heart.

I swung the arrow in my right hand.

Tik.

The arrow I swung hit the flying arrows tip and made it swerve from its path.

Ping.

The next one aims between the brows.

Without the need to swing my arrow, I tilted my head to the side.

The arrow passed through the air and flew into the distance.

The fourth comes a bit later.

One beat pause and

Ping.

I threw the arrow downwards, past my knee.

The arrow that came low aiming for my ankle was impaled by the arrow I had and embedded into the ground.

I still had my natural abilities.

And the abilities, once the system recognizes it, becomes skills.

[Acquired Slash Lv. 11]

[Acquired Intermediate Weaponry Lv. 4]

[Slash Lv. 11 combined into Intermediate Weaponry]

[Acquired Intermediate Throwing Lv. 1]

[Acquired Combat Concentration Lv. 21]

Status.

[Lee HoJae (Human)]

Str: 10

Dex: 13

Sta: 11

Mana: 21

Skill: Combat Concentration Lv. 21, Will Lv.4, Awakening Lv. 7, Intermediate Weaponry Lv. 4, Intermediate

Throwing Lv.1, Mana Circuit Lv. 16, Pain Tolerance Lv. 2

The once-bleak status window was soon filled.

Unlike the weaponry skill and combat concentration skills, the Pain Tolerance skill just skipped to Level 2.[6]

Its probably the difference between a skill about knowing technique, and a skill requiring familiarity with the technique.

The only merits I can take away are skills that dont require the help of the system to acquire or use.

Lets examine it for a bit.

The main objective is survival.

For that, I need to proceed carefully and defensively, and procure the minimal amount of jerky and water by passing

through the gates.

But that wasnt my personal goal.

I want a proper clear.

For that, I needed a more active progression.

The 35th floor stage lasts slightly longer than 24 days.

Only 24 days.

How much could I progress through in 24 days?

In that time, could I develop enough to defeat the enemies Ill be facing again?

Authorities, Level Ups, Clear Rewards, and even the items you could buy in the store werent available.

But I have experience and information.

I calmly organized my thoughts.

Fun

This is going to be a lot of fun.

I slowly took my breaths.

The air in the hallway was cold.

The cold inhale soon became a hot exhale.

[The God of Remorse is watching you.]

Lets see how it goes.

To see if it goes your way or mine.

< Tutorial 35th floor (2) > End

Gandara NEET is an acronym referring to someone not in employment, education, or training. The author did not originally write this phrase, but implied it by describing Hojaes activities.

[2] The Gods name is written as (Korean) or (Chinese) denoting regret, remorse, and contrition.

[3]Hojae made jokes in the earlier chapters to how he was so close to death he was practically swimming and touched his grandpas fingers, etc.. Its a throwback to those jokes.

[4] Originally written as , it refers to a river leading to the afterlife in Buddhist lore.

[5] The wording used for reward differed from the typical rendering of the word. The original text wrote , which can be interpreted as cost, but it makes little sense in this context.

[6]The author originally wrote this as Pain Tolerance Lvl. 3, but we corrected it to match the text above.