[Congratulations! You have cleared the quest!
You are now Level 1!
You have been given 1 Stat Point. Do you wish to allocate it to one of your stats?]
After Luna successfully killed the fifth slime today, a screen similar to the [Status Window] suddenly popped up in front of her.
"Guys, I did it!" she announced, proud and exhilarated. Feeling victorious, she put up her arms, spraying the slime on her body around her.
"I'm also officially Level 1!" she added. According to the others, every new Challenger started at Level 0 and would only level up once they cleared a quest. That means that one could get their wish granted upon reaching Level 100, after 100 quests were completed.
"T-that's great and all... but please, stay there!" Erik begged her. Luna ran toward Erik and Jay, but those two took some steps back as they did not want the slime to get on their clothes.
"Hey, what is this Stat Point? It said that I can allocate it to one of my stats! Does it mean I can boost myself by clearing more quests?!" Luna asked, her eyes beaming in excitement.
"Simply put, yes. After doing a quest, you'll be rewarded with one point. You can then choose if you want to use that point on your strength, mana, or any other stat of your choice. Of course, you can also postpone your decision and allocate your points after collecting more of them." Jay explained calmly, while helping Luna get rid of the slime by freezing and shattering it like he did the first time.
And here she thought that defeating monsters would give her Stat Points; however, after hearing Jay's explanation, hunting for monsters not relevant to a quest seemed pointless now.
"So what will it be? Do you want to use it now or later?" Erik asked Luna, who was deep in thought.
"Hmm... I suppose I'll wait until I have more points."
"I see." Erik nodded.
"By the way, have you checked your status window yet? There must be a new quest given to you now." Jay said, after clearing up the slime.
"[Status Window]."
[Level: 1
Current Quest (2/100): Defeat three Killer Rabbits.]
"Killer Rabbits, huh? They're pretty easy to find here." Jay commented. Because Luna gave permission for Erik and Jay to look at her status window, they saw the new quest.
"How different are they from normal rabbits?" Luna asked, slightly nervous. For her, rabbits were small and cute creatures, whom you would want to cuddle. Therefore, she had even more trouble imagining what the tower rabbits were like, given their name was Killer Rabbits. Were they rabbits with weapons? Were they even looking like rabbits anymore?
"Don't let their appearance fool you. They're more cunning than you'd think. It's wise to kill them as fast as possible once you lock eyes with them." Erik sighed.
"Look, there's already one ahead of us." Jay pointed out. A few trees away from them, there was a small white rabbit. It was as fluffy and cute as Luna remembered them. And at first glance, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The rabbit just hopped around aimlessly.
Until it noticed the trio.
"Get ready, Luna." Jay said as he and Erik moved to the back once more, giving Luna the honor to face it alone.
Despite his words, Luna was still admiring the small rabbit's cuteness. However, she failed to realize that its legs appeared bigger and more toned before it jumped—much higher and more powerful than a normal rabbit.
"Ugh!"
The rabbit launched a kick into Luna's face, sending her to the ground. It landed on her face and balled its small paws. They were incredibly soft and often lured people to touch them, but in this case, they were the object of fear. Like a street fighter, it mounted Luna and began to unleash punches with human-like strength.
Luna managed to throw it off her face, albeit it was already swollen and her nose bloody from the punches. The rabbit was unfazed and landed on its legs, taking on a boxer's stance.
"The moment it jumps again, thrust your dagger forward." Jay advised indifferently, although his friend had just received a beating.
"..."
Luna was dizzy. It hurt. Warm liquid was flowing from her nose. She was a total mess. She wanted to take a deep breath but failed. Her throat stung every time she tried to gulp down her saliva or take in air.
Still, she gripped her dagger with her shaky hands. The opponent was just a rabbit. However, it had the appearance and moved like a real living being. Unlike with the slime, she finally realized that she was about to kill a living being.
A normal person would want to go home, but Luna was different. Going home was the last thing she wanted to opt for, even if she had to turn into an ugly mess from fighting monsters.
"Is she smiling...?" Jay murmured, confused about what there was to smile for in Luna's position.
"Maybe she's a lunatic." Erik remarked, shrugging his shoulders.
The moment the Killer Rabbit jumped again, Luna did as she was instructed and pushed her dagger forward. And to her surprise, she really managed to hit the rabbit. She stabbed it right into its head, killing it instantly.
[You have unlocked the skill [Dagger Novice].]
"Good job."
"Two more to go."
Falling to her knees after hearing that she was not done yet, she looked over to the dead rabbit.
"You can take it with you. Slimes are usually worthless, but a Killer Rabbit could earn you a couple of coins. Just give them to the knights when you leave, and they'll compensate you." Erik suggested, noticing her stare.
"And once you get some money, you can even buy some skills. But magic skills are a lot more expensive than other skills, so maybe after going hunting a few more times, you should be able to afford a simple one." Jay pondered, knowing that Luna was interested in magic.
"Skills..." Luna whispered, glancing at her dagger.
"I just got a message that I unlocked the dagger skill. Is it possible to unlock skills on my own?" she said, hoping that she could save money that way.
"Some skills, especially weapon skills, can be unlocked on your own by defeating enemies with them, but some skills can only be learned by reading the manuals, which you have to buy." Erik elaborated.
Although it was still at zero, Luna's finances inside the tower took a critical hit.
"Your skills will level up and eventually evolve over time as you continue to use them." Jay added.
"E-evolve?"
"For example, just like other weapon skills, [Dagger Novice] will most likely give you a stat and damage boost if you wield said weapon. That boost will grow slowly as the skill levels up, but if it reaches a certain level, it will evolve and give you even better benefits."
Opening her status window, Luna researched her newly learned skill.
[Dagger Novice (Level 1): When wielding a dagger, your dexterity and damage are increased by 2%.]
"I wonder what it will be like later on..." Luna pondered, grinning widely.
"Well, there's no need to think too deeply about your dagger skill." Erik chuckled.
"Everyone has only five slots for skills. So if you exceed those five slots, you have to choose which skill you want to keep."
"What?! I can only have five skills?!"
"Based on your exclusive skill, I'd even suggest focusing on just magic skills." Jay remarked, in thought.
"And what's that now?"
It felt like she was spammed with new information but given that she was new to the life inside the tower, it was only natural that she had to learn so much in such a short span of time.
"Contrary to normal skills, an exclusive skill is unique to each person. Only you possess that skill, and it can't level up or evolve. However, it can be very powerful depending on how the person uses it." Erik replied. Following his brief explanation, he and Jay shortly exchanged eye contact.
"Anyway... Your next target is waiting for you." Jay declared, pointing at the next Killer Rabbit that was approaching them while they were talking.
"Wait, what?!"
Hurriedly, Luna turned around and clumsily took her weapon out before engaging the rabbit.
"That should do for now, right?" Erik asked Jay in a stern tone. Jay, in turn, nodded his head.
And thus, Luna managed to barely finish the second quest as the sun began to set.
[Congratulations! You have cleared the quest!
You are now Level 2!
You have 2 Stat Points. Do you wish to allocate them?]
"I'm beat!" Luna groaned, lying down on the grass. She took in the sight of the setting sun and the sky that was slowly turning orange-pink. Despite it being an exhausting day, she smiled.
In her previous world, she always yearned for this very moment. It was the moment when she finally felt freed from all the shackles that bound her. She was now able to do whatever she wanted, with nothing trying to hold her back.
Her life now felt exciting.
"Maybe I'll treat those two to dinner, after returning." she giggled. She wanted to thank them for teaching her about the tower and how to handle monsters—as a beginner, of course. And even aside from that, she wanted to become closer to them as friends. Erik and Jay may seem mysterious; however, they were not bad people.
What was Jay's past, and what led to him being split into different parts? What was Erik's goal and why was he keeping it a secret? Obviously, they could not tell it to someone they knew for only one day, but she hoped to know in the near future.
"[Status Window]."
Almost out of breath, she called for her status window to pop up again. Before Erik and Jay walked over to her, she wanted to check the next clear.
[Current Quest (3/100): ???]
"What...?"
"You alright?" Jay asked, helping Luna get up.
"Why do you look so confused?" Erik wondered, tilting his head a little.
However, before Luna could question them about the strange display, something even stranger occurred as a dazzling light suddenly shone behind Erik and Jay.
"Greetings, new Challenger. I welcome you to the Tutorial Section of the tower."
Just a second ago, there was nothing there, but now all of a sudden, a woman in a pure white gown appeared from where the light came from. Like an angel, the fair-skinned woman descended on the grass field, her gown floating softly around her. Her long and beautiful blonde hair reached her feet, hidden by her gown, and her perfectly round emerald eyes, peeking through her bangs, gazed at Luna gently.
"A goddess…?"
"I am The Messenger." she declared softly. She emitted a warm aura—almost like a mother—and at the same time, she seemed untouchable. All the strength Luna had left in her body suddenly disappeared. The woman did not appear like an enemy, but even if she was one, Luna doubted that either she or Erik and Jay could muster the power to fight her.
The one calling herself The Messenger... Was she an almighty being?
"Luna Park, you have grasped the concept of quests, and you know how to fulfill your wish. Thus, as the Tutorial Section's Supervisor, I bestow upon you the next quest."
Supervisor? Luna wanted to utter words, but no sound escaped her agape mouth.
"Pass the Royal Knight Selection."
Then, the light surrounding the woman became stronger until she was completely engulfed in that light.
"I wish you good luck." she said. Her voice began to fade mid-sentence, and soon, the light and the woman disappeared from the grass field.
It was silent for one moment, with only the sound of the breeze filling the place.
"So this was a Supervisor...?" Luna muttered, still baffled.
"Scary, right?" Jay remarked, shaking his head.
"Now you know to never get on their bad side." Erik added.
If one were to ask her if she would rather fight a rampaging elephant or a Supervisor, then she would answer without hesitation: A rampaging elephant.
"But the Royal Knight Selection...? Looks like your schedule for the next days will be busy." Jay chuckled.
"Regarding that, will we-"
"Luna." Erik cut Luna off. His tone and gaze were sterner than usual.
"Hm? Why so serious all of a sudden?"
"It's time for us to go our separate ways."
"Huh?"
Her heart sank for a moment. She reflexively looked over at Jay, who strangely did not react at all to those words. It was as if he knew it was coming.
"W-what do you mean?"
"Once the Supervisor appears, it means that the guide fulfilled their role of teaching the new Challenger."
"Congratulations, Luna." Jay said, but his smile did not reach his eyes.
"You've completed the tutorial. Now, you'll be able to survive on your own."
"G-guys...?" Luna called out to them. Her voice was shaky—just like her powerless legs, which gave in quickly. She hoped for them to look back at her, but they were already averting their gazes from her.
"You don't need us anymore."