On Hiatus: God's Personal Reasons-Chapter 178: #God Tutorial (1)

-Young god and warrior. How dare you defile my tomb! Let me unveil the great adversary beyond the scales that will reduce you to ruins!

Great adversary beyond the scales? What did she mean by—

In the next moment, the scales in her hand shone brilliantly, and a panorama of opposing concepts unfolded before me—light and darkness, life and death, good and evil... beginning and end.

Baaang!

A terrible explosion rang in the air, and a vast, ashen space with no end in sight expanded before me.

Swiiiish! Krrr!

Then, I saw two beasts of overwhelming size, so much so that they could swallow Jamsil Stadium in a heartbeat. They resembled Leviathan and Behemoth.

W-wait, aren’t they...?

I instinctively recognized them as the High-tier Gods who’d requested the Sacrificial Wars with me. Ruler of the Abyssal Swamp and Beast of Deceit and Rapacity. Were they the ones who were going to destroy me?

The giant serpent, Ruler of the Abyssal Swamp, flicked its forked tongue sinisterly.

-We ask only one thing of you! Death to the heretic who dared to blaspheme the gods!

The hippopotamus-like monster, Beast of Deceit and Rapacity, bared its fearsome, jagged fangs.

-Krrr! Indeed! Bring me that young god who stole my sacrifices! I must devour his flesh and drink every single drop of his blood to quell my anger!

Grrrr!

The skies split apart and the ground shook violently at their roars, bringing about natural disasters.

“Do not command me!” Another colossal voice thundered, its power rivaling that of the two monsters. “I’m not your minion! This is simply a mutual pact!”

The owner of the voice stood between the other two gods. However, not only was it the size of my thumb, but it also wore tattered robes that had once been splendid. It didn’t seem to be the slightest bit intimidated by the fearsome gods.

Ruler of the Abyssal Swamp gave it a chilling look.

-You’re arrogant indeed, Emperor, new god of Antrinia. We’re the great malevolent gods, also known as the calamities of the world—

“Cut your long story short! Just fulfill your end of the bargain!

-...Alright. This is the kind of ambition that can get you far. Very well!

The Beast of Deceit and Rapacity glared at him with red eyes so massive they resembled twin lakes of blood.

-Krrr! Emperor, you should be honored that we’re sharing our precious divine powers with a mere mortal like you!

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Baaaam!

Blue and black pillars of light burst from the Ruler of the Abyssal Swamp and the Beast of Deceit and Rapacity, shooting toward the mysterious being.

“Gaaaah!” it screamed in agony, falling to the ground.

I pondered over their conversation.

Antrinia’s new god? “Emperor”? Could this be the same emperor from the empire that attacked the Gayami Nation...?

Ding!

[The innate power Blind Eyes of God has been activated.]

My skill, which was supposed to be sealed, activated on its own.

Tzzz!

Thus, like an elderly man who had a butterfly dream...

[You see the Emperor.]

***

People were trapped in a huge, unidentifiable cave for unknown reasons. There were a hundred of them in total, belonging to a wide variety of age, gender, and races.

-Congratulations. All of you have been chosen as the seeds of god.

-Depending on your choices and play style, you can become a benevolent god or a malevolent one.

-May you overcome all hardships and adversities, survive, and reign as the “god” of this world.

A robotic voice echoed in their mind. It was the same notification message that appeared when I first played God-Maker.

-Starting the tutorial.

Ruuuumble!

With that, swarms of insects began attacking the humans.

“Aaargh! Save me!”

“Eeek! Run, everyone!”

Like hell on earth, humans ran for their lives, trying not to get swallowed by the tidal wave of insects. Somehow, this scene felt familiar, like a déjà vu...

Oh, wasn’t this the same horrifying scene I’d dismissed as a dream before? In that dream, I was one of those being eaten by the insects. Since I was now witnessing it as a memory, did that mean it was real?

It was like an uprising, where insects took revenge on the humans who’d loathed, scorned, and killed them. People fled and hid, sacrificing the dead to survive. Time passed quickly as if being fast-forwarded.

Ding!

-24 hours have passed since the tutorial began.

Once again, the polite message appeared.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

“W-what’s that!”

“Why are we back here?! I ran as far as I could!”

“Waaah! Mummy! I hate bugs!”

Having found themselves back in the cave, the human began panicking.

-There are currently 31 survivors.

Then, another message echoed at them.

The survivors looked around. The number was ridiculously low, since a whopping 70% of the group had died in a day.

“Damn it!”

They fell into despair. However, those who sent them into this hellhole called the Tutorial seemed to conclude that a one-sided fight wasn’t fun enough.

-Survivors of the first 24 hours of the Tutorial are granted an Innate Power as a privilege.

-Innate Powers are granted based on the survivor’s abilities and potential.

-May you overcome all hardships and adversities, survive, and reign as the “god” of this world.

“Huh? I’m burning!”

“My hands turned into blades. W-what’s happening?”

The survivors awakened with special abilities. A former firefighter gained fire-based powers, while a former chef acquired the ability to slash without a knife. Many Awakened with abilities related to their professions or talents. Of course, some had crap powers that were near useless, but the survivors began to have some hope.

More time had passed.

Ding!

-48 hours have passed since the tutorial began.

-There are currently 21 survivors.

Perhaps due to acquiring abilities, even though there were casualties, their survival rate was incomparably higher than day one.

“We can’t go on like this. Let’s pool our information together.”

Rather than panicking, the survivors gathered their wits, trying to figure out how to survive the second day.

“After my business failed, I threw myself into the Han River, but I woke up here instead.”

“Hic, hic, I-I was at the amusement park with my son, when a truck veered off the road and ran over us,” they sobbed.

“I was at the scene of a fire...”

They all had one thing in common: they had died in an accident in real life. Yet, the pain of the insects biting them, the hunger that tore at their stomachs, and the thirst that burned their throats felt too real for them to consider this the afterlife.

“Didn’t that mysterious message say this is a tutorial? We might be able to escape this hell if we complete it.”

“But what exactly is this tutorial?”

“It’s like the first mission you have to complete when you start a new game.”

“Dammit! How are we even supposed to clear it?! Do we have to kill all those bugs that are trying to eat us?!”

“We’ve Awakened like the Hunters, so why don’t we work together.”

Then, a young biology student with broken glasses spoke up.

"Realistically speaking, I think it's impossible. The media exaggerates the danger of army ants, which aren’t actually that dangerous. However, the ants here are on a whole different level, both in the thickness of their carapaces and their strength. I'm not even sure if they’re truly ants. Some of them even have strange abilities like us. It would be wise to avoid them and try to figure out the layout of this cave, rather than confronting them head-on..."

More time passed.

Ding!

-72 hours have passed since the tutorial began.

-There are currently 17 survivors.

Ding!

-96 hours have passed since the tutorial began.

-There are currently 15 survivors.

Ding!

-120 hours have passed since the tutorial began.

-There are currently 15 survivors.

From some point, there were no more casualties. The survivors became more familiar with their abilities and the cave’s terrain, and the attacks from the insects stopped being a threat.

“Waaaah!”

“Hey, Lady! I told you to keep that kid quiet, didn’t I?! Do you want to get killed by the bugs?!”

“I-I’m sorry. Be quiet, Dear. Are you hungry? Have some of this, won’t you?”

“Waaah... I don’t like bugs.”

“Listen to Mummy. You have to eat them to live!”

The lady forced a roasted bug down her crying child’s throat. The man glared at them and spat on the floor.

“Darn it! Worthless pieces of shit! Even their abilities are shit!”

The man was the former firefighter with fire-based ability. At first, he tried his utmost to protect his fellow survivors, but after enduring harsh conditions with little to no food, his humanity began to chip away.

He chewed on a piece of roasted bug. They had no choice since this was their only food source.

“You’ll see. I’ll make sure to make it back alive somehow.”

He could use his newfound powers to attain honor and wealth, like the famous Hunters. All he needed to do was escape from this hell hole and return to the real world! Naturally, he wasn’t the only one with these thoughts.

Now that the bugs no longer posed a threat to their survival, those thoughts were no longer mere delusions. Until then, they needed food to sustain them and something to distract them from the accumulated stress. All the male survivors surrounded the only female in the group, who was comforting her own child.

"Hey, leave the kid and strip. There isn't much time before the bugs come back."

“O-okay...”

She couldn’t refuse. Her telekinetic powers could move only 1 kilogram, and she desperately needed their help to protect and keep her child alive.

The child’s cries, the woman’s screams, and the men’s gleeful laughter rang through the cave. Another type of hell unfolded in that place of horror.

...

...

...

Ding!

-240 hours have passed since the tutorial began.

-There is currently 1 survivor.

Ten days later...

Sss—

The last survivor in that hell opened their eyes.