Chapter 1: The Tutorial Tower (1)

What was a Tutorial Tower? It was a tutorial dungeon of a sort that arose when the whole world was suffering from the sudden appearance of monsters. People from all over the world were inevitably drawn to the place called the Tutorial Tower at regular intervals. Only about 20 percent of those dragged into the Tower escaped and became hunters who tracked down monsters.

It had been twelve years since the first hunter who cleared the Tower announced its existence to the world. The world could escape the terror of monsters thanks to the hunters who escaped the Tower. With the advent of hunters, the world changed so much that one could say it had a cataclysm. From the lowest D-grade to the best S-grade, hunters who could eliminate monsters were soon considered the strength of their nations.

In the beginning, some people thought, What makes hunters so great to consider them to be so valuable? However, the appearance of endless monsters and the hunters’ extraordinary powers made the idea that hunters are the strength of a nation true and not a mere joke. With that, the hunters’ services naturally became more expensive.

They raised their prices even more and formed a market by establishing associations and guilds to protect themselves from the state. With the progression of the situation of the world, being a hunter went beyond being just a job to one of the best jobs. Of course, being a hunter meant that you always had to face death, but even so people wanted to be one. The money that hunters earned was beyond imagination. Just by exploring a Labyrinth or a dungeon in one day, Hunters could make twice or thrice—up to dozens of times—the money that an ordinary college graduate could earn by working for a month

Some of the hunters who had high recognition among the public after raising their grades entered the media industry. There, they were treated like idols and entertainers from the past, and earned even more money. This was one of those moments.

“This is Haeyeong Lee from Meet the Hunters! Nice to meet you!”

Meet the Hunters was a program ambitiously prepared by MTC, one of the three local TV stations in Korea. It was a live broadcast in which the general public discussed hunters’ lives and asked them questions. They often invited the Guild Masters of large guilds in Korea. It was an ordinary talk show; however, just by interviewing Guild Masters, Meet the Hunters had recorded a 35.7 percent increase in viewer ratings compared to the week before and was one of the most popular programs on the channel.

In a place decorated like a concert hall, host Haeyeong Lee and the Guild Masters of the Goguryeo, Arang, and Seoul Guilds were sitting in antique chairs on one side of the stage. Soon, Haeyeong introduced them and the program began in earnest. The broadcast continued smoothly. Perhaps because the guests had already been on the show four times, Haeyeong asked questions to the Guild Masters more naturally. Like Haeyeong, the Guild Masters seemed to have gotten used to the cameras and responded more skillfully to the host’s words than they had in the previous episodes.

“…Which is why we of Goguryeo Guild have high expectations for the hunters who entered the Tutorial Tower this time.”

Haeyeong nodded as Seokwon Han, the Guild Master of Goguryeo Guild and an S-grade hunter, finished speaking. Then she spoke directly into the camera. “Okay, let’s finish here with questions from the audience—” Haeyeong glanced at the impending deadline for the end of the broadcast and continued. “We took more time than I thought, so we’ll ask one of the questions submitted to ‘I’m Curious! Top Ten Internet Questions!’ and end today’s episode!”

Haeyeong immediately turned her gaze to the card in her hand. “Now, the question that I’m going to read out for you ranked first among the Top Ten Internet Questions. It reads: They say that there is an ‘advanced player’ who lives in the Tutorial Tower in Korea. Who is it?” After reading the question, her eyes lit up with interest as she regarded the Guild Masters and said, “I’ve also seen stories about the advanced player on the internet sometimes. Guild Masters, do you know about the advanced player?”

It was Seokwon who answered Haeyeong’s question. He spoke as though it had been awhile. “Wow, seeing how they still mention the advanced player, I guess he’s still alive and kicking!”

“Oh, do you know about the advanced player, Mr. Han?” Haeyeong exaggeratedly raised her tone.

However, it was Seoyeon Lee, the Guild Master of Arang Guild and an S-grade hunter herself, who answered. “I don’t think there’s anyone here who hasn’t heard of him. He’s one of the first-generation hunters who was taken into the Tutorial Tower with us.”

“Pardon? With you, Guild Master Seoyeon Lee?” Haeyeong asked, surprised. “Wait, do you mean to say that this advanced player is one of the first-generation hunters?”

Seoyeon nodded. “That’s right.”

Haeyeong gaped. “A hunter from the first wave still hasn’t escaped the Tower?”

Just when Seoyeon was about to respond to Haeyeong’s curious tone, Sihyeon Kim, the Guild Master of Seoul Guild, interrupted. “No, to be precise, it’s not that he’s unable to clear it and leave. It’s more like he’s locked in the Tower.” Sihyeon’s characteristically sharp eyes shone while Haeyeong continued with her questions.

“Locked in it?”

“He is under the Tower’s Curse,” Sihyeon said.

“The Tower’s Curse? What’s that? Never heard of it.” Haeyeong curiously regarded the Guild Masters.

Sihyeon continued talking. “Actually, we can’t exactly call it a curse, because we don’t know what phenomenon this is. But one thing that we can guess is…” He cleared his throat and continued. “Even if he clears the Tutorial Tower like the other hunters, he goes back to the starting point.”

“Pardon?” Haeyeong replied blankly and momentarily looked bewildered, but soon glanced at him and continued talking. “Oh… So you mean to say that this advanced player hunter returns to the first floor of the Tutorial Tower even after clearing it, right?”

“Right.”

“That’s right.”

“Yes.”

Haeyeong nodded at the Guild Masters’ consistent answers and seemed to think for a moment before asking in an even higher tone, “Then the hunter who can’t leave the Tutorial Tower must be extremely strong, right? I heard that hunters at the Tutorial Tower train their stats to the limit except for magic!” Haeyeong ended her question with, “Am I right?”

“Well…I think that his basic stats other than magic must have already surpassed those of a normal hunter by now,” answered Seokwon.

Sihyeon, seated next to him, spoke up. “The hunters who came out of the Tutorial Tower last time and joined our guild said that they saw him clear the Tower in one day.”

“Cl-clear the Tower in one day?”

Seoyeon chuckled unconsciously at Haeyeong’s stuttered words and said, “If he kept clearing the Tower over and over after we left, I guess that could be possible.”

The Guild Masters gave unexpectedly positive opinions despite the absurd comment.

Haeyeong looked flustered for a moment, but then looked at the live broadcast timer that showed they had only two minutes left, and continued. “Then, if that ‘advanced player’ hunter got out by any chance, what grade would he be?”

“Hmm… If he escapes the Tower’s Curse and exits into the present day?”

“Won’t he be at least an A-grade?”

“I think he would be an S-grade?”

“I think he’ll be an A-grade that is like an S-grade. But because he was only in the Tutorial Tower, he would have no magic.” Seokwon and Seoyeon nodded furtively when Sihyeon mentioned magic, which could only be obtained after exiting the Tutorial Tower.

“True. That does make sense.”

“Still, wouldn’t he easily become an S-grade in about a month after coming out of the Tower?”

“That also makes sense. But why are we even talking about it? He won’t be able to leave.”

Seoyeon sighed strangely.

After seeing the Guild Masters in the middle of a serious conversation, Haeyeong realized that there were fewer than thirty seconds on the timer. “Well then! Due to time constraints, we will say goodbye to you here for this week’s Meet the Hunters. Stay tuned for next week!” Thus, the fifth episode of Meet the Hunters ended after successfully filling an hour of live broadcast time.

The Guild Masters saw the audience starting to move. Then, one after the other, they got up from their respective seats and headed for the lounge behind the set.

“Do you think he’s still roaming around the Tower?” Seoyeon wondered aloud.

Sihyeon answered her on the way to the lounge. “Seeing how there are still stories about him, I’m certain that he is.”

“What would it be like if he escaped the Tutorial Tower?” Seoyeon’s tone was different from the one she’d used during the broadcast.

Seokwon stopped on his way towards the break room. “Well. If he comes out…it would perhaps be most effective in pressuring the foreign guilds monopolizing Korea.”

“I know, right?”

“He was stronger than us even when we were in the Tower.”

Seokwon shrugged at Seoyeon’s affirmation. Sihyeon sighed, then spoke while looking at the other two. “What’s the point of saying that? This guy who’s known to others as an advanced player can’t even escape the Tower, like we said on the show just now.”

Seoyeon’s and Seokwon’s expressions turned bitter, and they ended the conversation by nodding.

After Meet the Hunters successfully aired, there was a spoiler post on “Trending Now” on an online fan community site called Hunter Kill.

***

Title: Who even is that “advanced player” who came up toward the end of KYH?

Written by: ilyseoyeon

I watched the live show today and the Guild Masters’ faces turned really strange as they started talking about it. Exactly who is that advanced player for them to be like that? And our Guild Master Seoyeon said he’d be at least A or S-grade. Isn’t it just impossible to be A or S-grade the moment you leave the Tower? Shouldn’t an S-grade be able to blow up at least a mountain with their abilities?

1,232 comments

[asdf]: Our Guild Master Seoyeon? Do you want to die?

>[ilyseoyeon]: wtf is wrong with that?

[LiveGoodLifeYunwon]: Ikr. It is kinda cool. But if you think about it, if a first-generation hunter is still rotting in the Tutorial Tower, he could definitely be an S-grade, seeing as how he stayed there so long.

[OldHandHimself]: I’m a B-grade hunter but two years ago, I watched the advanced player clear the dungeon once and he was the BOMB. There were three werewolves on the 72nd floor, but he caught them all while dancing around. lolol

>[wewe]: Hmm… Bullshit.

>>[DWD]: Mythomania much? Lmaoooo!

>[A-GradeHunter]: Hmm shut up pls. A B-grade hunter in only 2 years? Looks like you’re a regretful hunter.

>[HereAgain]: Mythomania again!

>[DogThatBarksWhenHeSeesMythomania]: Woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof grrrrrr Woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof grrrrrr Woof woof woof woof woof!!!!!!!

[SSS-grade]: I saw him, too. That advanced player bastard isn’t even human anymore. I left the dungeon a year ago but he really is an advanced player. When he kicked from the first floor, he broke through the dungeons all the way to the tenth floor.

>[jjjb]: Hmm, kinda scary.

>[please]: Stop it with the mythomania please!!!

>[WhatIsLife]: But the Arang Guild Master said he was like an S-grade so he would be quite strong, but fuck it. What you say sounds like nonsense no matter how much I think about it.

Many stories about the advanced player popped up all over Hunter Kill, Korea’s largest online fan community.

Meanwhile, on the hundredth and last floor of the Tutorial Tower, a man was breaking the skull of Balrog, the hundredth-floor boss monster, with his bare hands.

CRUNCH!

“Who’s a REAL man?! Me! I’m a fucking MAN! How fucking much? Damn fucking much! I’m a twelve-out-of-ten MAN!”