Insomniac Player

Ten minutes remained; ten minutes sounded short.

It wasn’t short, especially when every second was filled with goblins.

The Horn of the Chief had turned the forest into madness.

Goblins poured from between the trees in broken waves, screaming until their voices cracked. They no longer carried shields properly. They trampled over their wounded, swung at shadows, and charged directly into waiting blades.

The legendary horn had filled them with panic.

However, panic did not always make an enemy run; sometimes, it made them suicidal.

The players were not much better.

They fought like people who had forgotten the meaning of exhaustion.

Rahul’s spear had snapped long ago. He now held a goblin sword in one hand and a broken spearhead in the other, stabbing anything that came close enough.

Imran’s axe had lost half its edge, but he continued swinging it as if the weapon were still whole.

Mark’s clothes had become unrecognizable beneath mud, torn fabric, and purple blood. The man who had once trembled at the sight of a lone goblin now stood atop a pile of corpses, shouting insults at the next wave.

John was somewhere ahead. Damien could not always see him; he could only track him by the sound.

BOOM!

A mace struck something; several goblins screamed.

Then John’s laughter thundered through the dark forest. "COME ON!"

BOOM

"I HAVE TEN MINUTES!"

CRACK

"AND VERY POOR SELF-CONTROL!"

A goblin flew above the crowd.

Damien watched it pass overhead. "That explains a lot," he muttered.

Another wave reached them, the conversation ended, and there was only fighting again.

➤[Remaining Time: 00:07:41]

—

Damien’s legs burned, and his lungs felt raw.

The system’s buffs from the horn kept his mind steady, but they did not make him limitless.

The players were slowing.

Even John’s mace no longer fell as quickly as before, yet the goblins remained endless.

They filled the forest, like the system itself was creating them somewhere beyond the trees.

For every ten killed, twenty more appeared.

For every body that struck the ground, another stepped over it.

A gift from the system. A cruel, violent gift.

Experience without limit, provided they were willing to bleed for it.

Damien’s dagger cut through another neck.

Golden light suddenly burst around him; the warmth washed through his body.

His muscles recovered slightly, and his movements sharpened.

A blue notification filled his vision.

➤[Level Up.]

➤[Level 8 Reached.]

Damien almost laughed.

At the start of the tutorial, Level Three goblins had terrified him.

Now he was killing them faster than he could count.

He had changed; his numbers had changed too.

But numbers weren’t the only difference; he understood combat now, not like John.

John fought through instinct, strength, and an unreasonable belief that every problem could be solved with a heavier swing.

Damien fought through observation, angles, movement, and mistakes. Every goblin revealed how it would die a second before it happened.

A shoulder turning too early, a foot placed too far forward, and eyes shifting toward the intended target are all signs of a beginner.

Damien saw it all, and he acted.

A violent golden flash erupted in the distance, and John roared. "LEVEL NINE!"

Rahul looked toward the giant. "How does he have enough breath to announce it?"

Imran parried a goblin blade. "He stores air in the stomach."

"That is not scientifically possible!" Rahul denied.

"Look at him and tell me science applies."

John’s mace hit the ground; three goblins were launched into the air.

Rahul considered it. "I think you are right..."

Another light appeared around Imran, then Rahul.

Their bodies glowed almost together.

➤[Level Increased.]

➤[Level 8 Achieved.]

Rahul stared at his own notification. "Eight!"

Imran nodded. "Same."

Rahul grinned. "Race you to nine."

"There are five minutes left." Imran tiredly sighed.

"That sounds like fear," Rahul teased.

Mark shouted from behind them. "I reached six!"

For a moment, everyone turned toward him. Mark raised his blood-soaked sword; his face was exhausted.

His hands shook, but he was smiling. The other players cheered.

It wasn’t loud; they were too exhausted for that, but the sound carried through the battlefield.

The timer continued falling.

➤[Remaining Time: 00:01:00]

One minute, the forest floor could no longer be seen.

Only bodies. Purple blood reached Damien’s ankles in the lowest areas.

The smell was unbearable.

Metal, rot, sweat, and smoke. The air itself seemed thick enough to chew.

Damien’s vision blurred. Combining the hours of before and after the world changed, he had not slept for two hundred thirty-three hours.

That alone was normal for him, but fighting for nearly seventy-two hours was not.

Levels, revival, and stubbornness held his body together.

Ten seconds remained.

➤[10]

Damien’s dagger flashed.

➤[9]

A goblin fell.

➤[8]

Another rushed him.

➤[7]

Damien ducked.

➤[6]

He cut through its knee.

➤[5]

John roared.

➤[4]

Purple blood filled the air.

➤[3]

A goblin raised its sword.

➤[2]

Damien prepared to strike.

➤[1]

The world changed; night vanished- not faded, but completely vanished.

Brilliant daylight exploded across the battlefield.

Damien’s eyes burned; he threw one arm over his face and stumbled backwards.

Around him, players cried out in surprise; the goblin’s sword never reached him.

Its body began breaking apart; golden particles peeled away from its skin.

Its weapon dissolved; its eyes disappeared. Then the entire creature scattered into the light.

The same happened everywhere.

Weapons, armor, blood, and broken bones all transformed into glowing particles.

The forest filled with light. Within seconds, the battlefield was empty.

Green grass covered the ground where mountains of bodies had once stood.

The trees were whole, and birds sang from the branches. A gentle breeze passed through the clearing.

Damien slowly lowered his arm. The sudden peacefulness felt more unnatural than the battle.

John looked down at himself.

His clothes remained torn, but the purple blood covering him had vanished.

He sniffed his mustache, then sighed with relief. "I thought that smell was permanent."

Rahul dropped onto the grass. "I would have burned you."

"That seems extreme."

Imran sat beside him without ceremony.

Mark fell onto his back and stared at the blue sky.

No one celebrated, not yet. They were too stunned.

Then blue windows appeared before every survivor.

➤[Tutorial Level Two Completed.]

➤[Combat Performance and Survival Records Secured.]

➤[Intermission Phase Activated.]

➤[Rest Period: 60 Minutes.]

After a while, another notification appeared.

➤[Full Restoration Applied.]

➤[All physical fatigue, mental strain, and accumulated combat exhaustion from Tutorial Level One have been removed.]

Warm light passed through the clearing.

Damien’s body changed instantly; unlike the previous tutorial, the heaviness vanished from his limbs.

The burning in his lungs disappeared, and his mind cleared.

For the first time since arriving in the tutorial, he felt completely rested.

However, the pressure behind his eyes remained; he felt sleepy.

John stood and stretched; his spine cracked loudly. "Oh."

He rotated one shoulder. "Oh, that is wonderful."

Rahul flexed his fingers. "My body feels new."

Imran looked toward Damien. "You still look tired."

Damien touched his face. "That’s just my face."

A third series of notifications appeared.

➤[Survival Milestone Achieved.]

➤[Every surviving Player receives one guaranteed level increase for completing Tutorial Level One.]

Golden light erupted across the clearing.

Every survivor leveled up at once.

Mark gasped as the energy wrapped around him.

Players shouted in surprise; some laughed. Others immediately opened their stat windows.

Damien felt the familiar warmth pass through him.

Level Nine.

Rahul and Imran reached Level Nine as well.

John reached Level Ten.

Before anyone could properly react, another message appeared.

This one carried a golden border.

➤[Exceptional Performance Recognition.]

➤[Players whose achievements significantly influenced the completion of Tutorial Level One shall receive one additional level increase.]

Four beams of golden light descended.

One struck Damien, one John, one Rahul, and one Imran. The others watched.

Damien’s level increased again.

➤[Level 10 Reached.]

They had just adjusted to that when another notification appeared.

Larger and more important than the previous ones.

➤[Class Awakening Requirement Fulfilled.]

➤[Players who have reached Level 10 may now review and select from the Classes made available by their recorded abilities, actions, traits, and achievements.]

Damien’s heartbeat quickened. A class!

The thing they had been fighting toward since the tutorial began.

The system had watched everything.

Every trap, every retreat, every kill, and every decision made.

It would use those actions to decide what Damien could become.

Before he could open the selection window, one final message appeared.

➤[Tutorial Departure Eligibility Unlocked.]

➤[Players at Level 10 or above may voluntarily conclude their participation and return during the current Intermission.]

➤[Warning: This decision must be made before the 60-minute rest period expires. Once Tutorial Level Two begins, departure will no longer be available until its completion.]

The clearing fell silent; they could leave and return home. The nightmare could end.

Alternatively, they could stay; they could choose their classes and enter the next tutorial.

Damien looked around. Several players already had tears in their eyes.

Some whispered the names of family members.

Others stared at the departure notification as though it were an open door.

Mark slowly sat up. "We can go home."

Nobody answered. John looked toward Damien. Rahul and Imran did the same.

For three days, everyone had followed Damien’s decisions.

But this choice was different; this wasn’t about surviving one battle.

It was about deciding whether to enter the next one.

Damien looked at the timer hovering above the peaceful clearing.

➤[Intermission Remaining: 59:47]

Less than an hour to choose a class. Less than an hour to decide whether to leave.

For the first time since the tutorial began, no monster was chasing them.

No weapon was raised, no trap needed to be built. And somehow... Damien felt that this might be the most dangerous decision yet.