# The Tutorial is Too Hard
As soon as that thought crossed his mind, the Kim Seon-woo within him flinched. But Ivan ignored Kim Seon-woo's reaction and continued his train of thought.
This is too difficult. Even objectively, recalling Kim Seon-woo's time and imagining the game's progression, it's clear.
Ivan leaned against a tree trunk to rest and sighed.
Just one guy. If I had even one decent squad member, even someone at Dmitri's level, I wouldn't have to fight like this.
Killing a couple of soldiers at the eastern edge, setting traps, sprinting to the western edge at full speed to deliberately create gunfire.
Repeating such tactics for over 30 minutes was exhausting even for Ivan.
The difficulty had doubled since he could only fire a single shot during each engagement. As a result, he had sustained a long gash on his forearm.
Ivan took out his last healing potion, about to pour it, then stopped.
Hmm... since I can bear it, I'll save this.
Taking a moment to catch his breath, Ivan sat under a tree to organize his thoughts. Let's assume this situation is the tutorial right after selecting the character "Isabelle."
I've just passed the character selection screen. Now the lore settings scroll across the loading screen with something like "What's that, you weeb?" and the loading bar is nearly complete.
For a AAA game, there would be a cutscene here. And I have just the right one.
Train terror. Academy cliché.
So, a train terror incident occurs, and she opens her eyes in a pile of dirt. In front of her is an NPC who has been injured in her place.
If I start playing from here, there's a problem.
"How did she escape?"
Escaping from a vehicle buried under soil is problematic to begin with. Let's assume there's some kind of puzzle inside that allows escape when solved.
After that, elite soldiers of unknown origin swarm in?
Without even explaining a single combat system? And the tutorial boss is...
"There was line-of-fire detection."
Thinking about Asidis's case makes it even stranger. His tutorial was simple enough to complete with one hand.
So was this not a combat event but an escape event?
Or maybe it was a defeat event. It could be an event where you're captured after defeat and then escape. There are many games like that.
"No. These guys were trying to kill Isabelle."
The troops' armament doesn't suggest capture. They clearly intended to kill.
That means she shouldn't be captured. Usually, in defeat events, you're rescued by a helper right after combat defeat.
Rescue...?
Helper...?
"Me...?"
Ivan's expression turned cold. His heart sank. Was I the helper?
In other words, was I an NPC?
Ivan forcibly suppressed his pounding heart. Controlling surging emotions was something he was accustomed to. He calmly counted on his fingers.
Was there a character named "Ivan Petrovich" in the original game?
All his experiences—serving in the military, struggling like a dog for 18 years, fighting the Seven Dragon Generals despite being an ordinary person, retiring and establishing an orphanage.
Were all these things already "set" regardless of his will? Were they predetermined?
If so, what fate awaits the "Ivan Petrovich" of the original work? Will he survive until the end? Will he at least make an appearance in the ending scene?
Forcibly cutting off the chain of negative thoughts, Ivan put the healing potion back inside his coat.
There's only one way to find out.
Why the difficulty of this event was such a mess, whether it was truly a situation where one would die without a helper.
He quickly climbed up a tree and headed toward the train.
-Clang! Kachak!!
Sparks flew as the blades clashed. She was at a disadvantage in terms of strength and couldn't gain the upper hand in technique either.
Isabelle gritted her teeth and twisted her blade.
A beautiful deflection, as if taken straight from a swordsmanship manual. The trajectory flowed smoothly without a single error, deflecting the enemy's sword.
It was Isabelle's best. She couldn't land a more beautiful attack than this.
"There are guys like you sometimes."
Aipelos laughed as he parried Isabelle's sword.
"Those who lock themselves in a room and swing sticks alone, having seen something somewhere. Model students who memorize manuals to make faster, more flexible attacks. Hmm?"
"Shut... up!"
"You are wrong, knight of Tilles."
-Kang! Kang!
Her attacks were blocked. Meanwhile, whenever she tried to defend, she always took at least an inch of disadvantage.
Though she hadn't sustained any prominent injuries yet, Isabelle could feel it. She was gradually being pushed into a defensive position.
Her distribution of offense and defense was a mess. She couldn't take another step forward and kept retreating step by step.
And behind her were civilians. Those she was responsible for.
She couldn't retreat any further. It was a dead end, her back against the wall. Isabelle gritted her teeth and swung her sword.
-Kang!
"Isn't swordsmanship meaningful only when it reaches the opponent? Swordsmanship is ultimately just a methodology for driving the tip of a sword into the opponent's body!"
-Kang!
"To think that the daughter of a hero, at that age, has never experienced real combat and ends up like this! I'm sick of the laziness of you Alliance people."
"Shut up!"
-Kang! Kang! Kang!
An angry blade no longer guarantees technical precision.
It's just swung wildly, with the intention of venting frustration.
Aipelos had too much experience to fall for such messy attacks.
-Kachak, Kang!
He entangled the blade and snapped his wrist to deflect it. The sword escaped from Isabelle's hand and bounced on the ground.
In truth, he could have finished it more quickly. But the fact that she was [Hero's Blood] had greatly raised his caution.
The hero, Maximillian, always performed miracles at the last moment.
But now it's over. Aipelos smirked. I've just lost some valuable soldiers for nothing.
"You couldn't protect anyone, Isabelle, daughter of Maximillian. Any last words?"
Isabelle bit her lip as she looked at her fallen sword. It's commendable to be composed in the face of death, but you should be looking at your opponent now. How naive. Aipelos mocked Isabelle as he raised his sword.
Ivan was watching the scene from atop a tree.
He had no intention of saving her. He needed to confirm.
If Isabelle died here, it meant his prediction was wrong.
Of course, there might be games where you get a game over from a tutorial boss. But not in this case. Isn't the opponent too strong to beat with those specs?
But if he rushed in now to save Isabelle, well.
Then he truly couldn't deny it anymore. It would be as good as confirming that the character "Ivan Petrovich" was just an NPC in this game.
So, even if Isabelle died, he didn't plan to intervene.
After all, there were still five more player characters left. If he could find out by sacrificing one, it would be worth it.
Ivan gazed down at Isabelle in the distance, lost in thought.
"You couldn't protect anyone, Isabelle, daughter of Maximillian. Any last words?"
Time slowed for Isabelle. Like a life flashing before one's eyes at the moment of impending death.
The undulating blade, the demon's face full of anger and mockery, the distorted moonlight, her own rough breathing.
Her sword fallen at her feet. Her efforts and time, discarded like trash.
-Pick up the sword.
She heard such a voice. The very old knighting ceremony that Sir Dian August had muttered while unconscious.
Her consciousness sank a little deeper. A vague imagination arose.
Among many people standing in formation, one person kneels.
Stand in the position of the weak and look at those like us through the eyes of the weak.
The reason we take up the sword is not for our bravery, strength, or superiority.
It is simply because it is right. Because it is just, for the cause that must be protected.
A solemn declaration is heard. The knights lined up in the hall all raise their swords at once.
The old man at the front lowers his sword, slowly bringing it down.
Carefully, as if baptizing. With a tap, placing the blade on the head of the kneeling person.
Take up the sword because it is natural.
Take up the sword for your goodness, not your strength.
Again, tap, tap. Striking both shoulders.
Now your name is knight.
Look at those like us through the eyes of the weak.
Isabelle came to her senses in silence, not even breathing.
The demon's blade was falling toward her head. Slowly, yet her body felt even heavier and slower.
And from behind her came sounds of terror and shock, screams, wails.
Stand in the position of the weak and look through the eyes of the weak.
Take up the sword not for your strength, but for your goodness.
The voice still echoed.
Yes, I will. As if entranced, Isabelle reached for the fallen sword. She grasped the hilt.
Her body felt light. As if it had never been like this in her life.
All her muscles flexed flexibly, then gathered with strength.
By the time Aipelos's sword fell just above her head, Isabelle had already assumed her stance.
-Shunk—!
Silence fell. From everyone around. Even the wind.
Even the rustling forest wind couldn't disturb Isabelle's ears at this moment.
The clouds cleared, and the moonlight shone brightly again.
The survivors behind her forgot even to breathe as they stared at the scene before them.
Just above Isabelle's crouched head, the blade had stopped.
And from the back of the large demon protruded a sword blade, like a branch.
"How...?"
Aipelos couldn't understand the situation. He stared blankly at Isabelle standing below him.
Her expression wasn't visible because she was bowing her head. But at that moment, he could clearly perceive it. This kid. No.
This knight had just taken a step forward.
Aipelos laughed dejectedly. First the hero, and now his daughter has pierced my body.
He coughed up blood once and staggered backward.
With a clang, the sword fell from his hand. He stumbled back and then fell to his knees.
"Huff..."
Isabelle also thrust her sword into the ground and knelt on one knee, exhaling deeply. She was exhausted. Completely.
But she had saved them. She had saved everyone behind her.
In the end, she had saved all who survived.
"Excellent."
At the low voice, she quickly raised her head. In the distance, a man was walking toward her with heavy steps.
His expression was unreadable due to his shaggy beard, but his blue eyes shone clearly even in the darkness. That man was smiling.
From his arm dripping with blood and his coat torn by branches, she could tell what kind of battle he had fought and returned from.
She couldn't have done it like that. Hadn't she almost died against just one opponent?
Was this why he said he wouldn't be of help? Isabelle shook her head with a smile.
"The other enemies...?"
"This one was the last."
"That's amazing. Really..."
"Well."
Somehow, with the gaze of someone looking down at a well-grown niece, the man smiled gently.
Isabelle laughed because she thought the expression was too accurate. Indeed, this man seemed to regard her as something like a niece.
"Huh? What are you doing?"
"Treatment."
He was opening the lid of a disgusting confession serum and walking toward the fallen demon.
Phew, thank goodness. Kim Seon-woo exhaled.
That's a relief. Ivan also smiled briefly.
It was just an ordinary early awakening event. The kind included in tutorials.
Isabelle probably killed all the enemies in this forest. Of course, in the process, all the survivors would have been annihilated, and she would have survived alone.
Thanks to his intervention, all the survivors lived. That's fortunate. It seemed the only variable in this world was Ivan himself.
Ivan smiled with relief. That's good. Just knowing he wasn't an NPC was enough of an achievement.
Now there was only one thing left to do.
"What are you...?"
"Treatment."
"Me... why...?"
"I have many questions."
If the difference in tutorial difficulty between Asidis and Isabelle is normal, what level of difficulty distribution do the other children of the Hero Party have?
Should he intervene, or is it okay to observe?
This was just right. Unlike with Asidis, this time the mastermind behind the terror had revealed himself.
How could demons walk so boldly near Pritzenkaya, how many had infiltrated the academy, what they were plotting, and who was sitting at the top.
There was much to find out.
And the Annihilation Squad has many means to satisfy curiosity.