Chapter 6: Tutorial (6)

First floor boss monster: The Gatekeeper. 

I call it the Patchwork Golem.

Despite the grand title of “Gatekeeper,” it’s not all that strong. Just grotesque in appearance.

It stands about three meters tall. Its body is a mishmash of various creatures’ bones, muscles, and flesh. 

The head resembles a human’s, the legs look like elongated wolf limbs, and the upper body is skinned, showing off raw muscle. 

Its arms are short like a goblin’s. Its teeth resemble the serrated mandibles of an ant.

A jumbled mess of many creatures. 

The reason I call it the Patchwork Golem becomes obvious just by looking at it.

Some people used to call it a T-Rex because of its thick legs and tiny arms, but that’s an insult to T-Rexes. 

The real mecha T-Rex shows up around the 30th floor.

Anyway—

“Whew…”

I stepped out of the resting spot with Yuhana. 

Immediately, the clammy air of the cave and the killing intent exuded by the monsters struck our bodies. 

To me, it was a nostalgic vibe—so familiar I could tap-dance through it. 

But Yuhana clung to me from behind, lips trembling.

She looked even more timid than she did on the first day, when we went to the storage together.

Understandable. 

The longer you stay in any area of the tower, the more frenzied and intelligent the monsters become. 

The first floor, even though it’s a tutorial zone, is no exception. In fact, the speed of change here is the most extreme. 

Probably the tower’s way of saying, “Get out quickly.” 

But only a regressor like me could really take that hint with a thank-you smile.

“You’re okay. Deep breaths. In and out.”

I looked back at Yuhana. 

She placed a hand over her ample chest and followed my advice, breathing deeply.

“Snff… haah… snff… haah…”

After a few seconds, she seemed a little calmer. 

She grabbed my clothes tightly and asked,

“Y-You said there’s a boss monster at the exit, right…?”

“Yeah. But with you and me together, we can definitely take it down.”

“W-What if we can’t…?”

“No need to worry about that. Just give it your best.”

I’d already written out the guide to beating the Gatekeeper in blood.

I could solo it if I wanted. 

But to help Yuhana develop her magical instincts, I needed to stage the fight so it looked like a dramatic win when her magic landed the final blow.

Not difficult. 

Even if I had to put on a WWE match with a mindless golem, I’d done it enough times before. 

I could practically do it blindfolded.

Once we get to the second floor, I’ll send Yuhana off to receive training from the Guild Federation while I go collect a few fortuitous encounters. 

Then we’ll regroup when the timing’s right.

The second floor was a large fantasy metropolis with a fully formed civilization. 

There were plenty of treasures and fated events to discover. I’d have to skip the nonessential stuff and focus on three key items. 

Gathering them all would probably take about a week.

After that, I’d reunite with the now-trained Yuhana. 

Then we’d pick up one more recruit before heading to the third floor. 

That’s when the real climb would begin.

“Si, Siyoon oppa! A-Ants, ahead!”

While I was thinking, Yuhana jabbed my side and shouted.

Just as she said, two soldier ants were standing in our path like gatekeepers.

Kerrrk. Kirrek.

Their serrated mandibles trembled as they let out strange cries. 

These ant soldiers had grown stronger and smarter since the exit opened. 

But greater intelligence doesn’t always bring better outcomes.

Their enhanced senses and upgraded brains gave them the ability to “evaluate.” 

In other words, they could now size up whether a foe was winnable or not.

And how they evaluated me didn’t even need to be asked.

“Move.”

I laced my voice with killing intent. 

The ants shrieked and scurried away.

I tapped my sword’s hilt with a finger and glanced back at Yuhana.

“Shall we?”

“…O-Okay, yes…”

She still looked uneasy, but once I started walking, she quickly followed.

Then she asked something completely unexpected.

“Um… Oppa, can you talk to ants, by any chance?”

I couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Of all the timelines I’d regressed through, that was the first time anyone had asked if I could communicate with ants.

“Let’s be generous about the awkwardness of a first time.”

As long as she’s not throwing fireballs at my back, anyway.

“I’m going in.”

I gave Yuhana a look, trying to appear at least a little tense. 

She swallowed hard, then nodded with fierce determination.

I opened the door and stepped into the boss room.

[Grrk.]

A space so dark I couldn’t see an inch ahead. 

As soon as my foot crossed the threshold, a faint growl echoed in the darkness. 

Then, starting with the torch near the entrance, the torches mounted along the walls lit up one by one.

In an instant, the darkness gave way to light. 

Unlike the crude exterior cave, this chamber was finely carved and polished—smooth walls, ceilings, and floors gave it an eerie, meticulous atmosphere. 

And at the center of it all, lying in a fetal position on a platform resembling a magic circle, was a massive, patchwork mass.

“Damn it.”

I cursed under my breath and drew my sword. 

Cold sweat ran down my back as I swallowed dryly.

It felt like staring down an unstoppable force. 

My instincts were screaming, loud as sirens, urging me to turn and run.

But I couldn’t stay here forever. 

There was a time limit. 

I had to kill this thing as quickly as possible and escape.

“Whew…”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Yuhana exhale, trying to shake off the tension.

I felt sorry for her, but this round might be the one where I had to find the boss’s weakness and die. 

If I died, she’d probably follow shortly after.

But that was okay. 

Just as I had more chances ahead of me, she would get another shot too, whether she realized it or not. 

Even if we died here, I’d make sure we both made it out alive next time.

…That’s what I thought the first time I met this thing. 

Thanks to my perfect memory, I could recall those exact thoughts clearly. 

But emotions… those were harder to replicate.

Still, it was good enough to fake it.

Right now, I wasn’t Baek Siyoon the veteran regressor—I was Baek Siyoon the fresh-faced, just-started-his-journey regressor.

“Hana.”

I tightened my grip on the sword and murmured with solemn resolve.

“Let’s survive this.”

“…Oppa.”

Tears welled up in Yuhana’s eyes. 

But she seemed to realize now wasn’t the time. 

She quickly wiped them away and showed a determined expression.

“Yes. Let’s make it out alive. Together.”

Sorry. 

I already left you to die alone once before!

Die, you shameless veteran self.

I squashed the intrusive thought. 

The tension returned to my body—but along with it came a sense of calm.

[Guuurrrgh…]

At that moment, the Gatekeeper, lying on the floor, began to rise. 

It slowly lifted its massive body, then stared at us with bug-like eyes. 

Its jaws creaked open—and it let out a shriek loud enough to split eardrums.

[GUWAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!]

“Guh—?!”

The sudden sonic blast threw off my balance and made me grimace. 

Yuhana collapsed to the ground, her legs giving out. Sensing the moment, the golem leapt at us.

Shhraaak!

The wolf-like jaws forming its legs opened wide as it soared at us, ready to crush us into paste. 

I clenched my teeth, grabbed Yuhana by the collar, and hurled her to safety before diving to the side.

BOOM!

Yuhana’s scream was swallowed by the deafening crash.

A cloud of dirt billowed into the air, obscuring my vision. 

A gust of wind split the air, and the elongated mandibles of the ant-like creature lunged straight for my waist, ready to cleave me in two. 

I rolled across the ground to dodge the attack, then slashed lightly at the creature’s leg with my sword.

Blood spattered. 

But the wound was shallow.

[Gwoooooarrrk!]

Maybe it felt a sharp pain, because the thing kicked at me. 

I gritted my teeth, raised my sword horizontally, and managed to avoid a fatal blow. 

But I couldn’t completely block the weight behind the strike.

“Guhk!”

My body was flung across the room and slammed into the wall. 

For a second, the impact knocked the wind out of me. 

Pain bloomed through my entire body like my bones were cracking apart. 

I didn’t drop my sword—but even so, I could barely move a finger.

Was this pitiful sight amusing to it? 

The golem twisted its mouth into a grotesque grin and lumbered toward me with its hulking mass.

But I smiled bitterly. I’d seen the countless blades raining down on it from behind.

[Wind Blades]

CRRRRRRRSHHHH!!

A torrent of razor-sharp wind slashed into the golem’s back like thousands of blades. 

The creature let out a shriek of agony. 

Yuhana’s voice rang out sharp and clear through the chaos.

“Don’t you dare lay a hand on oppa!”

Stronger than I expected. 

Her voice brought a faint smile to my face as I pulled myself together.

“You… you’re dead! If you hurt oppa, then you deserve to die! You’re not even worth living!”

…Okay. That was more intense than I expected.

Sure, this was the first time I’d faked taking a hit from the golem, but still—that reaction was a bit much, wasn’t it? 

Even the golem would feel hurt hearing that.

“You bug! Don’t you dare get between oppa and me—just disappear already!”

Yuhana screamed, incanting her next spell with rage in her voice.

[Water Bomb]

[Elemental Fusion]

She instinctively cast two spells at once. 

Her staff glowed at the tip, then launched a water bomb and a beam of rainbow-colored light that pierced through the golem’s head and blew apart its upper body.

SPLURT!

Blood erupted upward, spraying back down in a gory fountain. 

I was drenched in it almost instantly, the stench of iron thick around me.

But I didn’t care about my condition. 

My entire focus was on her—on how much faster her obsession had bloomed this time compared to the last loop.

Her jealousy and possessiveness had always manifested at different times in past loops. 

But this was the first time she’d shown it so clearly during the tutorial phase.

And that could only mean one thing.

“I’m screwed.”

Once Yuhana’s obsession and jealousy awaken, they intensify with each passing day. 

It’s a symptom of her dependency. 

That’s why I always made sure it didn’t bloom until much later, carefully timing the trigger.

But now? 

It had exploded… because I got hit once.

It’s not like I was actually dying. 

This was supposed to be more WWE—maybe she thought we were doing UFC.

This was incredibly unfair. 

Like taking a slightly different route home because you were bored, only to be killed by a flowerpot falling from a third-story window.

[Gwooorrrgh…]

As I slashed the now-exposed golem core with my sword, one thought ran through my head again.

“Oppa! Are you okay?!”

Yeah.

I’m screwed.

That was the deeply considered conclusion I arrived at.