Insomniac Player

The battlefield grew quiet, not peaceful. It was simply empty.

The last goblin had fallen.

The last wolf had stopped moving.

Broken weapons, torn grass, and monster corpses covered the clearing.

Most of the Players collapsed exactly where they stood.

One woman hugged her spear as if it were her long-lost child.

Another man lay spread-eagle on the ground.

"I’ve decided," he declared to nobody in particular, "adventure is overrated."

Nobody argued.

A soft chime echoed through the forest.

Beep.

A familiar blue screen appeared before every player.

➤[Tutorial Level One Complete.]

➤[Performance Recorded.]

➤[Intermission Initiated.]

➤[Rest Duration: 60 Minutes.]

Another line appeared.

➤[All fatigue accumulated during Level One has been removed.]

The effect was immediate.

Players who had been gasping for breath suddenly sat upright.

Bruised muscles stopped aching. Burning lungs relaxed.

Even their cloudy minds became astonishingly clear.

One by one, expressions of disbelief spread across the group.

"I..." A young woman clenched her fists. "I feel incredible."

A muscular man stretched his shoulders. "My arms don’t hurt anymore."

The Indian guy jumped three times in excitement. "I could fight another hundred goblins!"

John rolled his shoulders; his joints cracked loudly. "Oh!"

He laughed. "My back doesn’t hurt!"

Damien looked at him. "Your back hurt before?"

"I’m over fifty."

"Fair point."

John punched the air experimentally. "Look!"

He flexed. "I haven’t felt this energetic since I challenged my nephew to a barbecue eating contest."

"You won?"

"Of course."

"What happened to your nephew?"

"He still avoids family gatherings."

Damien smiled faintly before checking himself.

He narrowed his eyes, then frowned.

His body... It felt exactly the same.

His arms still felt heavy, his legs were tired, and his shoulders remained stiff.

Even the dull exhaustion behind his eyes hadn’t changed.

Nothing, not a single difference.

He quietly stood up, walked a few steps and rotated his shoulders. Still nothing.

John noticed. "You okay?"

"I don’t think..." Damien hesitated. "...the recovery worked."

John laughed. "You’re joking."

"I’m serious."

John looked him up and down, then frowned. "You really don’t look any different."

Damien opened his profile.

Stamina, still eight.

Fatigue, still there.

No hidden message and no explanation. Nothing.

He silently looked around.

Everyone else looked as though they had just enjoyed the greatest night’s sleep of their lives.

Ironically... The insomniac remained exhausted.

Damien sighed, the weight of fatigue pressing down on him as he regarded the rejuvenated faces surrounding him. "So even in the apocalypse, I’m singled out," he muttered quietly.

He wasn’t even surprised. His body had ignored normal rules his entire life.

Apparently, the System had decided to follow its example.

The hour passed peacefully; some Players practiced with their weapons.

Others exchanged names. A few cautiously searched the nearby area.

John spent forty-three minutes telling anyone willing or unwilling to listen about his homemade barbecue recipes.

Even the goblin corpses seemed ready to leave.

Eventually, as the countdown timer reached zero, the scene shifted once more.

Beep.

➤[Intermission Complete.]

Every Player immediately became alert.

Another notification appeared.

➤[Tutorial Level Two Initiating.]

➤[Objective: Survive.]

➤[Required Survival Time: 72 Hours.]

A brief silence before chaotic screams erupted.

"What?"

"Three days?!"

"You’re kidding!"

Nobody was kidding; the System certainly wasn’t.

➤[Wave Beginning In:]

➤[10...]

Everyone tightened their grip on their weapons.

➤[9...]

John rested his mace across one shoulder.

Damien held the First Blood Dagger; his palms felt damp.

➤[5...]

The forest became unnaturally quiet. Not even insects dared make noise.

➤[1...]

It was night, the system showed the time.

---

➤[Survive Until Tutorial Completion]

➤[Remaining Time: 71:59:54]

---

Damien understood that this tutorial has started at 12 am, just like previous one. The darkness would favoured them, he knew it.

The dense bushes at the edge of the clearing erupted outward, violently disrupted by an unseen force.

A goblin stepped into the clearing, then another, then dozens.

Damien immediately noticed a change in the atmosphere: the tension in the air had sharpened, and a subtle, unsettling energy now permeated the clearing.

These weren’t the same goblins...They were taller, their muscles looked denser, and their movements carried purpose.

Most frightening... their eyes. The yellow pupils burned with savage madness.

A red label floated above each monster.

Goblin Lv.3

"So they have levels now."

Damien didn’t like that. Not one bit.

The first goblin lunged, and the battle erupted again.

Only....This time....Everything was faster.

A Player barely managed to block...The impact forced him backwards several steps.

Another goblin slipped past the frontline, and a woman screamed.

Damien realized with mounting dread that the monsters weren’t merely stronger; their movements demonstrated greater intelligence, their attacks arrived with heightened aggression, and a predatory cunning now radiated from their actions, making them seem far deadlier than before.

John charged. His mace swept across the battlefield.

BOOM

Three goblins flew through the air...Yet... unlike before, two actually stood back up.

"They’re tougher!" John said.

The Pakistani guy shouted. "No shit sherlock!"

Damien instinctively stepped backwards. A Level Three goblin noticed.

Its crazed eyes locked onto him.

"Oh no." Damien gulped.

The creature charged. It was fast, far too fast.

It crossed the distance in a heartbeat.

Damien barely raised his dagger, too late.

The goblin swung.

The crude stone blade crashed into Damien’s forehead.

CRACK

For one horrifying instant... Everything became white, then came the pain. Hot and blinding.

Damien felt something warm pouring down his face; it was nothing other than his own blood.

His knees buckled; the goblin ripped the blade free. Fresh blood splattered across the grass.

Damien couldn’t hear anything anymore. Only a high-pitched ringing.

His vision blurred. Be saw the goblin raising its weapon again.

This time... Damien couldn’t even lift his arms.

A gigantic shadow descended.

BOOM

John’s mace arrived like divine judgment; the evil goblin didn’t survive that.

Its body disappeared beneath the impact.

John dropped to one knee. "Damien!" The older man caught him before he hit the ground.

Blood-soaked Damien’s shirt ;is head rested against John’s massive arm.

Everything felt cold, strangely cold. His vision darkened around the edges.

John’s voice sounded distant. "Stay with me."

Damien tried to answer, but only blood came out.

His lips moved weakly.

John leaned closer. "What?"

Damien whispered. "...I think..." he coughed. "...that one counted..."

John blinked..."What counted?"

"An intentional kill..." A faint smile appeared on Damien’s blood-covered face.

Then his eyes closed, and the world disappeared. Quietness and darkness engulfed him.

Then suddenly

Beep.

A mechanical voice echoed through the void.

➤[Death Confirmed.]

Another notification immediately followed.

➤[Tutorial Protection Activated.]

➤[Player Revived.]

Light exploded.

Air rushed into Damien’s lungs; he gasped violently.

His eyes snapped open; he sat upright so suddenly that John nearly fell backwards.

Damien grabbed his own head. The wound was gone.

Not even a scar remained; only dried blood stained his face.

He blinked several times in disbelief, then looked at John. "...Did I die?"

John opened his mouth, closed it and opened it again. "You were dead enough that I was already thinking about what flowers you’d like."

Damien touched his forehead again. No wound or pain, only the memory.

He remembered everything. The blade splitting his skull, the unbearable agony.

The terrifying moment when his consciousness slipped away.

Every second remained painfully vivid.

A chill crawled down his spine. Revival didn’t erase dying. It merely lets you experience it twice.

Around them, the battle continued.

The monsters hadn’t politely paused while Damien explored the afterlife.

John stood, tightening his grip around his mace.

He offered Damien a hand. "This tutorial..."

His cheerful smile had disappeared for the first time. "...just became a lot less funny."

Damien accepted the hand and slowly rose to his feet.

For the first time since entering the Tutorial, he truly understood the System’s wording.

Death Protection Enabled. Not... Death Disabled.

There was a very important difference.

And Damien had just learned it the hard way.