I returned from my trip with Yuki, but I still have over a week of vacation left. I decided it was time to do something I probably should have done earlier.
You see, I often talked about how my Essence operates within the logic of another world, specifically the Hell Difficulty Tutorial, but I had never truly utilized it. While I developed skills like [Mana Manipulation] and [Mana Sense] and created arrows, spears, and blasts using mana, I hadn't spent any time exploring or discovering other potential uses. The most complex application I had achieved was reinforcing my body, which, in that world's logic, was quite basic.
My excuse was straightforward: I didn't live in an environment that supported this kind of development. I live in the twenty-first century, surrounded by luxuries I had only dreamed of in my first life, and while I had encountered enemies in dungeons, those experiences hardly provided what I needed for meaningful growth.
That's where my wonderful Essence came into play. Thanks to its dynamic nature, it could develop new functions based on my unique skills and the underlying logic of its creation. Now, I was about to use one that was specifically tailored for me.
I planned to enter the Tutorial, starting with the first floor. My goal was to grow.
So, I waited for Yuki-san, whom I sometimes affectionately called Maid-san, and shared my plans with her. Although she wasn't the most expressive person I knew, I noticed a hint of sadness on her face. However, it quickly faded when I explained that time would flow faster inside the Tutorial and that it should take less than a day.
Before entering, I noted down my stats and my Shard count to track my progress.
//
Masachika Kuze Age 15
Lv 36 Race: Human(Beyonder)
Title: Essence User, The Gamer, Reincarnated, Child Prodigy, College Student, Youngest Entrepreneur, Protagonist, Awakened
HP: 260/260 (+2.6/10min)
MP: 900/900 (+5.6/10min)
Ki: 410/410 (+2/10min)
Spirituality: 560/560 (+4.65/10min)
Str: 25
Dex: 45
Con: 26
Int: 90
Wis: 56
Luk: 37
Free Points: 75
Shards: 134.943
//
I waved goodbye to Yuki-san, who was watching from the sofa.
"Good hunt, Masachika-sama. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah, see you later."
Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm my pounding heart from the excitement.
"[Dungeon Creation: Tutorial - First Floor]"
Entering the dungeon for the first time was a completely different experience. Blinding light surrounded me, even with my eyes closed, and then I felt a sudden sensation of falling. Correction: it wasn't just a sensation; I was truly falling. The abrupt blindness took me by surprise, but I managed to regain my balance and ended up foot-first on the grass.
My penthouse was gone. I found myself in the middle of a green clearing, with trees all around me, and the sun replaced by two different stars.
I didn't remember much from the novel, and I didn't want to risk a sudden attack from nearby monsters by entering my [Memory Palace] to retrieve information. Honestly, if I wanted to learn about this floor, I would have read up on it before entering anyway.
As I continued to scan my surroundings for clues, something emerged from the forest: a massive wolf.
[Wolf Lv.6]
For a two-meter-tall wolf, it had a surprisingly low level. It charged toward me quickly, ready to pounce, but as it approached, its intelligence kicked in, causing it to hesitate at my gaze. It wasn't what it expected; I wasn't afraid—I was actually happy just looking at it.
My [Observe] skill had leveled up enough to provide me with more information than just its name and level.
//
Wolf Lv.6
A low-ranked wolf. He's starving and he's not in his peak condition.
//
Nothing much, but those words were enough for me to create a profile of the creature. It was a low-ranked wolf, just a regular beast without any special powers, I assumed. He was starving and not in peak condition, which meant my appearance was just what he desired: a meal to sate his hunger.
However, I was strong, and since he wasn't an ordinary animal, he sensed that I didn't fear him. He was alarmed, but his starvation clouded his reasoning, making an escape less likely.
He observed me for a few moments until his hunger overcame his caution, and he leaped at me. He went directly for a bite, not even attempting to swipe at me with his large paws, which was something I suspected he wouldn't do.
Not that he had a chance anyway. I took two steps back, and while he prepared to pounce again, I pulled a spear from my inventory and thrust it into one of his eyes. Blood sprayed everywhere, and the wolf became enraged, swiping his paws left and right in an attempt to deter me from getting closer.
I did what he hoped and kept my distance while preparing to throw again. The spear left my hand and lodged itself in one of his paws. The wolf cried out in pain, a normal reaction to the torment he was experiencing. Then something unexpected happened: I realized this was the first time a monster was trying to escape our encounter, something I wasn't used to, given my experiences with dungeon monsters whose sole aim was to kill me.
But I didn't mind. The fact that this encounter perfectly mirrored the first floor of the tutorial, as I've read in the webnovel, was clear to me. I chose not to chase down the wolf as he slowly made his way into the forest; I wasn't interested in pursuing him. The two hits I had delivered would likely bleed him out until he died, and I had no desire to chase an already secure kill.
Instead, I went in the opposite direction and entered the forest. Five minutes later, I received the kill notification, which awarded me a small amount of experience points and Shards, but I continued my walk.
Though it was a different world, the flora was remarkably similar to that of Earth; the trees and flowers belonged to races and genealogies already present in our ecosystem. The only difference was the abundance of mana in the air, something not found in my world.
As I walked, I observed my surroundings, occasionally collecting plants to add to my inventory, and dealing with some nearby green pests known as goblins. These goblins were different from those I had encountered in the Goblin Dungeon.
By the end of the day, I had mapped the nearby areas and set up a hammock on a tree, ready for a nap. Just before settling in, I checked a screen that I had left open for a while.
[First Floor Quest: Survive for 30 days]