NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 3
Chapter 3
A barren plain with not a single blade of grass in sight.
An expanse of dense foliage lay ahead, a vast meadow stretched out behind, with gently sloping hills and rugged, rocky mountains on either side.
It was as if the areas were meticulously divided by someone beforehand.
And most notably, the message that appeared before him, proclaiming “Tutorial.”
It was unmistakable.
‘I’ve returned.’
The very first day he was thrown into the tower, knowing nothing.
He had successfully returned to that time.
Chronos’s Hourglass.
The ultimate gamble he had staked in the collapsing tower had paid off.
“W-where is this?”
“What the hell happened? I was definitely at work!”
Voices of people coming to their senses echoed around.
The number of individuals summoned to the tutorial wasn’t just one.
Though the criteria were unknown, thirty humans designated by the Constellations were summoned to the outskirts of the tower as players.
Of course, humans weren’t the only ones climbing the tower. Orcs, elves, dwarves, beastmen, and various other races were either brought here willingly or dragged here unknowingly, just like them.
“Uh, excuse me! Do you know what’s going on? What’s happening here…?”
A man dressed neatly in a suit grabbed Se-Woon’s sleeve.
His voice, as well as the trembling of his hand clutching Se-Woon’s sleeve, revealed his fear.
‘Well, I was like that too.’
Se-Woon wasn’t any different.
When the tutorial first began, he too was unable to adapt to the sudden situation.
But now, things were different. Unlike the others, this wasn’t Se-Woon’s first time in the tutorial.
“Calm down.”
“How can I calm down in this situation?! Is this some kind of hidden camera prank? No, that can’t be…”
The man grabbing Se-Woon’s sleeve shouted hysterically and started to babble incoherently.
However, Se-Woon had no intention of kindly explaining the tutorial to him.
‘It won’t matter even if I explain it now.’
With everyone in panic, no one would pay much attention even if he raised his hand and started explaining.
Moreover, once things settled down, they would likely look at Se-Woon suspiciously as the only one who seemed to know what was going on.
‘They’ll figure it out once the Wave starts, anyway.’
[ Tutorial Chapter One – Adaptation ]
– Time remaining until the first monster wave: 4 minutes 21 seconds.
Though most were too panicked to notice, system messages like this floated above the heads of Se-Woon and the others.
A few people noticed the messages and started screaming, but almost no one understood or accepted what a monster wave meant.
‘More importantly, I remember that man.’
Se-Woon looked at the man who had grabbed his sleeve.
Everything was the same as his past.
Using Chronos’s Hourglass, he recalled the memories he had organized for this very moment.
Even if it’s a regression, he had worried that the tutorial might start in a different location, but with things as they were, his plan remained unimpeded.
‘Status window.’
[ Status Window ]
Name: Jung Se-Woon
Level: 1
Title: –
Strength: 7
Agility: 9
Stamina: 8
Intelligence: 12
Remaining Stat Points: 0
Unique Skills: Power of Greed, Power of Gluttony
Skills: –
Before the monster wave, Se-Woon thought it was best to assess his current situation and opened his status window.
He shook his head at the low stats.
‘Didn’t realize it back then, but this is pretty serious.’
For an average adult male, the mean value of his stats was usually around 10. But Se-Woon had single-digit stats for everything except intelligence.
Even though he wasn’t fond of exercise, he didn’t expect it to be this bad. With a Strength of 7, he could barely handle a goblin.
‘And what about these powers?’
While checking his status, Se-Woon noticed skills he had never seen before.
Godly powers.
What exactly are godly powers?
They are the unique strengths possessed by gods or god-like beings.
There are two ways to use such power.
Either become a god yourself, or become an apostle or follower of a god to receive their godly powers.
Since Se-Woon was never particularly loved by the Constellations, he had never used any godly powers.
Yet, there were two godly powers listed under his unique skills.
‘I wasn’t mistaken.’
The system message that appeared along with the activation of Chronos’s Hourglass.
He wondered if he had misread it in the chaotic situation of reversing causality, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
‘Can I use them?’
Having regressed, all of Se-Woon’s skills, titles, merit points, and stats had been reset to pitiful levels.
At this point, he had to leverage everything he had.
Though he hadn’t used them before, Se-Woon was a veteran who had reached the highest level attained by a player, the 92nd floor.
Focusing his mind on ‘Power of Greed’ just as he would with a skill, a new window appeared beside his status window.
– Opened the Treasury of Greed.
“This is…!”
Se-Woon involuntarily shouted out.
It was because of the dozens of items that appeared before him upon unlocking the power.
[ Breath of the Fire Dragon ]
– It is said that when the Red Dragon, Phyrax, unleashed its breath in fury, it created a sea of extreme heat.
[ Thor’s Hammer, Mjolnir ]
– Known as the hammer wielded by the God of Thunder, Thor, with which he reportedly slew countless giants.
[ Heavenly Demon Dominance Step ]
– A martial art passed down through generations of the demon sect’s leaders, its power is said to destroy enemies and reshape terrain with a single step.
…
A myriad of treasures worthy of the name “treasury.”
There were godly relics of the highest level like those he had seen in the treasury before his regression, books containing secret techniques used by the tower’s top rankers, and even abilities of monsters that could not exist as physical items.
Mammon’s Treasury.
The legendary Treasury of Greed that the Demon God of Greed possessed had now been inherited by Se-Woon as a godly power.
Initially, he was a bit taken aback, but Se-Woon quickly composed himself and assessed the situation.
‘If this isn’t a stroke of luck, then what is?’
With this power, he could proceed with his pre-meditated plans much more easily and swiftly. Perhaps he could genuinely build the strength needed to confront the Outers.
‘So, what about this?’
Just as he was about to check on the Power of Gluttony, the remaining time on the message hovering above Se-Woon and the others’ heads hit zero.
[ Tutorial Chapter One – Adaptation ]
– The first wave is starting.
– Defend against the monster wave and prove your worth.
“What the hell do they mean by ‘wave’ now? Someone explain this!”
“How would we know that! We’re all in the same situation!”
“W-wait. Look over there!”
As a new message appeared, a few people pointed towards the front.
In the dense forest, the thick foliage seemed abnormally agitated, as if driven by something more than just the wind.
“Grrr…”
“W-wolves!”
“It’s not just one! Is that what they mean by a monster wave?”
“Run!”
The sight of wolves emerging from the thick foliage plunged everyone into further chaos.
Some screamed in panic and tried to flee to the opposite side.
“Grr!”
“Ahhh!”
“There are more behind us!”
“We’re surrounded!”
The wolves were not foolish creatures charging mindlessly. They meticulously surrounded their prey, tightening the circle bit by bit.
There was nowhere to flee.
“If you don’t want to die, you’ll have to fight.”
“How are we supposed to face a wild beast without any weapons?”
“Come on, this must be a joke, right? No, it’s a dream! Yes, it’s got to be a dream!”
That was the extent of Se-Woon’s advice.
Anything more than that wouldn’t change much.
In reality, a few people, gritting their teeth, prepared to defend themselves against the wolves following Se-Woon’s brief words.
‘Brown wolves. They’re the lowest-rank monsters, but they’re still quite a threat to unarmed civilians.’
Tutorial.
Just as the name implies, even a monster wave won’t throw opponents at them that they can’t handle.
Although the difficulty will ramp up as they progress, the initial phases provide enemies that can be overcome with mutual cooperation.
Of course, not many people will react appropriately to the sudden appearance of predators.
“What’s the plan?”
A burly man, over 2 meters tall, approached Se-Woon.
Even though Se-Woon wasn’t short by any means, he felt dwarfed as the man stood beside him.
“I’ll try to handle it, so stay defensive.”
“Got it.”
How he intended to handle the wolves on his own.
Whether he had some other methods.
How he remained so calm in such a situation.
The burly man had many questions but didn’t voice any of them and instead went back to his position.
He quickly collaborated with others to form a simple defensive formation.
Wolves are cautious animals. If their opponents are clustered together, they won’t attack easily.
On the other hand—
“Grr…”
They quickly target isolated prey.
“Right, come this way.”
Brown wolves.
These creatures, covered in coarse brown fur, were among the weakest monsters inhabiting the outskirts of the tower.
Although they were called monsters, they were not much different from ordinary wolves.
However, that made them even more threatening. Until humans developed advanced technology, they were in constant conflict with wolves, suffering significant losses.
Humans without proper weapons would struggle to handle even a single wolf.
‘That makes them perfect subjects to test my godly powers.’
Se-Woon pulled out a treasure from the ‘Treasury of Greed.’
[ Ten Path Leg Technique ]
– A fundamental kicking technique of the Shaolin sect, emphasizing striking moves. It features rapid transitions in offense and defense, with straightforward movements characteristic of external martial arts.
A worn-looking martial arts book appeared before Se-Woon and then dissolved like a breeze.
Soon, the knowledge of the Shaolin sect’s Ten Path Leg Technique permeated his mind.
A smirk formed on Se-Woon’s face.
Even if it was a basic martial art, merely retrieving it from the treasury allowed him to master it instantly. If players climbing the tower witnessed this, they would undoubtedly be astounded.
“Grr!”
At that moment, a wolf, seemingly unable to wait any longer, lunged at Se-Woon.
Despite their numbers, the cautious wolves always sought opportunities for ambush, trying to attack Se-Woon from behind.
Apart from the martial arts knowledge, Se-Woon’s instincts as an experienced player detected the wolf’s attack.
And then—
Smack!
“Yelp!”
Se-Woon’s kick struck the wolf’s flank, delivering a powerful blow.
Ten Path Leg Technique
It was a clean, no-nonsense kicking technique characteristic of the Shaolin sect.
Thud!
Caught completely off guard by the unexpected counterattack, the wolf tumbled onto the dirt ground without being able to react properly.
“Not bad at all.”
“Grr!”
As Se-Woon expressed his satisfaction, five more wolves lunged at him.