## Chapter 231 – 231. Tutorial Floor (3)
#231. Tutorial Floor (3)
Lucifer’s finger pointed at a woman.
“What’s that?”
Her coldly subdued voice pierced my ears.
Before I knew it, I swallowed hard, but I tried to act as nonchalant as possible as I opened my mouth.
“…A person?”
The next moment, a sharp murderous aura tightened around my neck.
I quietly lowered my gaze.
“H-hello…”
The woman, covered in a blanket and sipping hot chocolate, cautiously greeted Lucifer.
Her name was Lee Serin, and I had saved her from being killed by a horde of orcs and goblins.
“H-heek…!”
Having faced the gender-equal murderous intent head-on, she trembled like a rabbit caught in the rain. Seeing Lee Serin’s reaction, Lucifer withdrew her gaze as if nothing had happened.
So angelic of her.
Instead, she sent that gaze my way.
Why are you doing this to me?
“You didn’t bring her here to play the saint, did you?”
“Of course not.”
If that were the case, this clearing would be overflowing with people I had saved.
As I said before, I’m not interested in free service.
“I just couldn’t leave her to die in front of my eyes.”
Of course, if she hadn’t been a beauty to my liking, I would have just saved her life and left her there. I don’t have the luxury to play nanny.
“Ha, do you think I don’t know what you’re thinking? You must have felt some kind of sexual attraction to that woman.”
“…”
As expected of a former Constellation, she had reached a considerable level of mind-reading.
“S-sexual attraction…?”
“It’s slander.”
Despite my protest, Lee Serin’s wariness towards me instantly heightened.
I felt wronged.
Of course, if you asked me if I had no ulterior motives when I helped her, that wouldn’t be true either.
In fact, if she had been ugly, I would have pretended not to see her.
But is having ulterior motives really that bad?
It’s not.
In the first place, feeling attraction and sexual desire towards an attractive person of the opposite sex is a perfectly natural process.
If I were truly a human trash with a terrible personality, I would have raped her as soon as I saved her.
This tutorial floor has no petty laws, and I have the power to easily subdue a frail woman.
“If you want to resolve your sexual desires, I recommend you take care of it as soon as possible. The week on the tutorial floor is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. There’s no time to waste on such base instincts.”
“…That’s not what it is.”
I met her contemptuous gaze with a smile and sat next to Lee Serin.
“S-since it’s my first time… please be gentle…”
“…”
I’m not a rapist.
Suppressing a sigh, I handed her a holy water while she was sobbing.
“Drink this before you get a scar on your face.”
It’s the lowest grade, but there’s nothing better for scratches.
There are potions too, but I’d rather chew on powdered medicine than drink that.
“Ah… t-thank you…”
Only then did Lee Serin seem to relax a little, and she thanked me with a slightly reddened face.
“It’s nothing. And if you don’t want to suffer from muscle pain tomorrow, force yourself to stretch, even if it’s hard.”
“…Yes.”
I lightly patted her shoulder and stood up.
I used magic after moving away from the bonfire with Lucifer.
[Silence]
With this, I wouldn’t have to worry about Lee Serin hearing our conversation.
Of course, it wouldn’t work on the Constellations, but I didn’t really care.
Lucifer would cut off the conversation if a dangerous topic came up anyway.
「‘Saintess of Uruk’ is amazed by your magic.」
「‘Saintess of Uruk’ is curious about your exclusive trait.」
「‘Saintess of Uruk’ is curious about your identity.」
Our troublemaking Saintess seemed amazed that I was using magic so skillfully. She kept sending me indirect messages even though I was just a Player Candidate.
Well, I only used a sword when hunting monsters, so it’s understandable that she would find it strange.
For reference, only the system and the administrator can see the Player Candidate’s status window.
It’s for fairness or something.
Thanks to that, even a high-ranking god like Ishtar can’t peek at my status window as long as I’m a Player Candidate.
By the way, even the administrator can’t see my current status window. It was thanks to the system’s help.
She’s probably seeing a slightly modified version.
I don’t know why the system is doing me this favor, but there’s no way I can know the system’s thoughts even if I think deeply about it.
For now, I have no choice but to let it go.
“So, what are you going to do with that woman? You’re not planning to keep her with you, are you?”
“I can’t help it. If I leave her like this, she’ll die soon.”
“What does that matter…!”
Lucifer stopped talking midway.
Seeing her biting her lip, my hand moved without me realizing it.
Thwack!
Lucifer roughly slapped away my hand that had touched her lips.
Then, she glared at me with a distorted expression before turning around and walking away somewhere. I swallowed a sigh as I watched her bright red earlobes.
‘…Did I act too much like I do with my girls?’
My body moved on its own, regardless of my will. I guess I didn’t want to see her beautiful lips get scarred.
For reference, you shouldn’t follow her in situations like this.
Although we haven’t known each other for long, I could tell when to follow and when not to.
Is it instinct?
She’ll probably relieve her stress by hunting nearby monsters.
It sounds like a brutal way to relieve stress, but it’s surprisingly effective.
Of course, I’ve never done it myself, but according to Noel, people in her hometown often relieve stress like that.
‘No wonder she didn’t bat an eye even when monster guts were exploding.’
I chuckled at the sudden thought and then dispelled the magic. I went back to the bonfire and sat down.
“If… if you fought because of me…”
“It’s not like that, so you don’t have to worry.”
I picked up the bubbling kettle and made hot chocolate.
It wasn’t for me, it was for Lucifer.
She surprisingly likes sweet things, but she also has a surprisingly sensitive tongue. If I cool it down in advance, she might feel better.
“Since we’re in this situation, should we introduce ourselves again? I’m Kang Hyun-woo, 21 years old.”
When I offered a handshake, Lee Serin hurriedly grabbed my hands with both of hers. They were small, soft, and warm.
They were colder than ice when I saved her from being killed by the orcs.
“I-I’m Lee Serin. I’m 25 years old…”
“You’re older than me?”
“…”
She nodded with a bright red face.
Come to think of it, there were surprisingly many older women around me.
Iris and Sylvia go without saying, and my teacher and the Magic Tower Master, Rael, were also older.
I don’t know her exact age, but Lucifer is probably older than me too.
“Um…”
I snapped out of my thoughts at Lee Serin’s voice, which had gotten closer. A sweet fragrance brushed past my nose.
“Do you… by any chance know where this is, Hyun-woo?”
She looked very nervous as she looked at me. Her slightly trembling eyes even looked pitiful.
“Why do you think so?”
“Well… you dealt with the monsters so skillfully, and you seem strangely calm…”
Well, there’s no way you can be a normal person if you’re just slicing up monsters with a sword from the start.
I pondered for a moment.
Should I tell her the truth, or should I just pretend I don’t know?
I was leaning towards the latter at first, but her desperate appearance made me change my mind.
“Well… at least I know more than anyone else here.”
“Ah…!”
I wondered if Lucifer counted as a person, but I decided to just let it go.
“Can I ask you something…?”
When I nodded, she hesitated for a moment before cautiously opening her mouth.
“…Can we go back to Earth?”
It was an expected question.
I had two choices here. Should I lie to her out of consideration, or should I help her face reality?
I soon made a decision.
“It’s impossible right now.”
Unnecessary consideration will only make things harder for her. It was right to face reality, even if it was difficult right now.
Lee Serin’s expression darkened rapidly.
“I-it’s impossible right now, but that doesn’t mean there’s no way at all, right…?”
As she said, if someone clears the 100th floor, all Players will be expelled from the tower.
Expulsion here means returning to their original planet. It was information I got from the system, so it was reliable.
But it could take years.
Only the 63rd floor has been cleared at this point.
Lee Serin couldn’t say anything for a while after hearing that.
I quietly handed her some snacks. I didn’t know anything about her, so comforting her would only backfire.
I opened my status window to kill time.
「Name: Kang Hyun-woo
Age: 21
Contract Constellation: Fallen Star
Affiliation: –
Authority: Black Flame (C)
Exclusive Trait: Path of Magic (S), Unbreakable Vajra Body (A-)
Exclusive Skill: Fire Magic (B), Lightning Magic (B), Scarlet Cloud Lightning Strike (C), Close Combat (C), Murderous Intent (C)…
Trait: –
Skill: -」
It was a pretty satisfactory screen.
But there were a few things I didn’t understand.
‘Unbreakable Vajra Body is only 3-star, but it’s A-?’
And my magic-related trait is S-grade even though I’m only 4-circle. I don’t know the criteria for measuring grades.
Of course, I had some guesses.
I used magic and Unbreakable Vajra Body when fighting the First Tempter.
What if the grades were determined based on that?
‘Are you saying that the system rated casting a 5-circle magic spell at the same time higher than the Buddha’s Palm?’
If I assumed that the system didn’t recognize my ability, the dating app, it was a plausible hypothesis.
After all, the system had to quantify my abilities in order to make me a Player.
For reference, the Contract Constellation is still Fallen Star because my contract with her hasn’t been completely severed.
Although she lost her position as a Constellation, her essence is still divine.
She just can’t send indirect messages or sponsor WP like before.
Besides, I have a temporary contract with her, so there’s no need to worry about modifiers being visible to others.
Well, the process of contracting with other Constellations is more difficult because of that.
“Hyun-woo.”
I turned my head at the beautiful voice.
Lee Serin was looking at me with a different look in her eyes than before. She even looked determined, as if she had made up her mind about something.
“…I know this is a shameless request.”
She knelt down and lowered her head.
“But I’ll do anything, so please help me adapt to this world.”
She was desperate.
Well, she almost got killed by orcs, so it’s understandable.
“You said you’ll do anything?”
“…Yes.”
I heard her swallow hard.
Lee Serin, who had carefully raised her head, met my eyes. They were slightly trembling. As if she had a premonition of what was about to happen, she slowly closed her eyes and approached me.
Her face was flushed, and her eyelashes were thick.
She was too beautiful to be considered an ordinary person.
“You don’t have to do anything, so you can open your eyes.”
“…Huh?”
When I pressed her forehead with my fingertip, Lee Serin made a dazed sound and opened her eyes.
It’s only the women with terrible personalities that I like to take advantage of and dominate. I don’t have a hobby of forcibly raping women who seem vulnerable.
“Did you know that I’ve let people die by standing by? About ten people.”
In fact, I ignored the screams I heard from nearby.
Of course, they were all men.
“For the record, it’s not like I didn’t have the time. I just didn’t want to do free service.”
“Then why me…”
“Because you’re pretty. There’s no grand reason.”
I sipped the slightly cooled hot chocolate.
It was too sweet for me after all.
“Are you disappointed?”
“…No. You saved me anyway.”
“I’ve killed people too.”
“Was that a senseless murder?”
“Of course not.”
Lee Serin silently grabbed my hand.
Looking at it again, I could see calluses in various places, so she must have played an instrument.
“To me, Hyun-woo is my only hope and lifeline. You’re the savior of my life. That’s enough. I won’t even bring up things like asking you to help other people.”
To be honest, when I first saw her, I had a strong impression that she would lose out in life.
Her softly curved eyes seemed like they would easily attract scammers.
But now that I see it, she’s a smart woman who knows how to seize opportunities.
“I look forward to working with you, Serin.”
She beamed at my answer.
She looked like a job seeker who had passed an interview.
“By the way, we’re going to be living together for a while, and it’s a bit much to keep using honorifics. Can I call you comfortably?”
“Ah, y-yes, yes!”
“Okay, Serin *Nuna*.”
“…?”
