Anxiety. But even if he’s feeling anxious—
“Perception.”
*bing*
That odd sensation takes over Diegi’s senses, and he feels his vision begin to sharpen and focus like a telescope’s lens. Though the sheets of rain that sting his eyes and warp his sight, he’s still able to see, and see, and see, until he sees ‘it’.
And it’s exactly what he feared.
It’s standing there, in the middle of the Marketplace Square’s red-brick floor. A beast. An enemy. A Terry. A fuckin’ Tutorial Monster. WHY!? THEY AREN’T SUPPOSED TO SHOW UP FOR ANOTHER HOUR AT LEAST!
And then Diegi blinks, momentarily giving him an uncomfortably enhanced view of the gunk on the inside of his own eyelids.
Yeah, I could have gone my whole life without seeing that. But, hold on— ‘they?’
They, as in more than one. That’s what Diegi had been thinking, had been expecting. But as he pushes his Perception-Skill-enhanced vision to its limit, feeling the throbbing pressure build behind his temples, he notices that there’s only one Tutorial Monster waiting for him and his allies in the Square. What had happened to all the other beasts in that supermassive horde?
Anxiety. In his mind's eye, Diegi can vividly conjure images of himself covering his eyes and shivering while being forcibly carried to his doom; cringing as the sounds of battle unwilling settled on his eardrums; trying desperately to find someone or something who could guards and adventurers’ deadlock, but not really trying at all; snivelling on the grass of the Paxdom fields; yelling as the infinite dark claws encroached upon his flesh—
Shit, stop! Stop thinking about that! Think about something useful! I can’t freeze up here, not again. If I keep thinking, I can’t freeze up. If I keep going— I’ve gotta react!
Diegi quickly brings his hand back down to his side, temporarily cancelling Perception in order to conserve his meager Stamina. The mix of accumulating Skill Fatigue, hitting his head on the floor, and recalling burning memories combine to give him the mother of all migraines, but that’s not enough to stop him.
This is nothing. You used to get way worse headaches from ignoring Mama’s advice to take breaks by sitting at a desk and playing MYTH all day! And then, doubly so from all the whoopings that came after… but this time, you won't get whooped by Mama or the monsters.
Determined to rectify his past errors, he takes advantage of his relative mental preparedness and draws on the strategies he’d imagined all on his own before coming into contact with the monsters. First, he quickly turns to Linderton and barks:
“Linderton, take out your spear and stand in front of me for a bit. You’ll be the first line of attack, and I’ll— damn it, do you see any sticks around? Sharp ones?”
“What?”
Linderton stands still and blinks as the pouring rain wets his hair and condenses it into a stringy mass. The reason is evident: he’s confused by Diegi’s sudden attitude shift.
“Huh? Why? The storm is scary and all, but that doesn’t mean we have to swing a stick at it or anything. You sure you didn’t hit your head when you took that tumble?”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, I wish you’d take a tumble. Look, there! At the Marketplace Square, don’t you see it?”
At Diegi’s ‘‘‘polite’’’ suggestion, Linderton squints forwards and forms a visor for his eyes with his palm, but either because of the storm obscuring his vision or because it’s simply too far away to see clearly— he turns back to Diegi and shrugs his shoulders.
“Nah, mate. Can’t see nothin’.”
What? Seriously? I mean, sure, I was only able to spot the monster by using Perception, but I thought that was just because of my abysmal Attributes. If it’s really too far away to see for Linderton… how did Gloria spot it when she’s further away? Does her Wisdom level just happen to be that high? No, it’s beyond certain at this point. She’s definitely not the humble farmer she claims to be. But—
*smack*
A double slap to the face, both initiated and received by Diegi himself. He can always sort out whatever problems he has with Gloria later— he’s certain that even if she hangs back from this fight, she won’t run away. If she did flee, he’d expose her secret, and her life would be over as she knew it; regardless of Gloria’s sensory prowess or anything else, he can’t allow anything to sidetrack him from his thinking. He knows how to beat these beasts— he just has to put it all together.
“Listen, Linderton. I know I’ve been acting a little weird, but just trust me. You just have to listen to what I say, and this’ll all go fine— one of those sludgy monsters is waiting for us in the Marketplace Square.”
“—!!!”
At that, the guard instantly snaps to attention, drawing his spear from its sling behind his back in one fluid motion. Then, narrowing his eyes, he keeps his gaze firmly trained on the rain-covered horizon ahead. It’s not as if he entirely believes Diegi just yet, but as a guard, he isn’t neglectful enough to ignore a clear warning from a supposed ally.
“Okay, kid, I’m listening. Tell me more.”
“There’s only one, so we could probably run if we wanted to. But— I’ve been thinking up a strategy, and if we play this right, I think we can kill the entire wave of monsters in one go. We can do it just by taking on this one, right here!”
Linderton’s eyes nearly pop out of his head and he fumbles with his spear, but he quickly reins his reaction in. Still, he can’t help but whisper:
“You buggin’? All of them?! We can really kill all of them??”
Diegi nervously slides a side-eye over towards the Marketplace Square, but without Perception activated he can’t tell if the threat is getting any closer.
Okay, relax. It’s not like you’ll be blindsided, at the very least. I saw it in the North Gate battle, didn’t I? For whatever reason, these game-world tutorial monsters don’t do the whole teleporting-when-you’re-out-of-range thing like their video-game counterparts— if they did, I would have died a lot faster out with the adventurers and guards on the Paxdom Fields. No, not for whatever reason... it's probably because they're glitched. But still, right now, that works to my advantage. If that Terry decides to suddenly approach, I should be able to at least see it coming.
Diegi nods to himself, reassured. Just as he’s about to turn back to face Linderton, however—
“I saw your fall! Are you alright, child?”
“Yeah, I’m fi— huh?”
A new voice reaches his ears even over the storm’s deafening din, and soon a lock of wavy greenish hair comes into the corner of his field of vision.
Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
Oh, perfect!
“Euniline, listen. There’s a monster up ahead, but if we pull off this fight, we can totally wipe out all of these slimy bastards! Stand behind Linderton and heal him if he gets hurt!”
Sticking out his hand, Diegi quickly issues instructions to the baffled older woman, completely disregarding that he’d told her only a short while ago that she wouldn’t have to fight.
“O— oh? I’m willing to help, but as a retiree and a third-rate one at that, my skill in healing isn’t quite high enough to place me directly on the battlefield—”
Euniline bravely tries to convey her thoughts, stuttering slightly as she goes. Pushing through her trepidation, she resolves to provide aid while still owning up to her faults. All in all, it’s a remarkably well-reasoned argument for being made on the spot in such a ridiculous situation, so well-reasoned that it would likely convince even someone as stubborn as Diegi to reevaluate his strategy if he heard it.
So, of course, he isn’t listening.
After scanning the environment with his eyes, Diegi manages to find a rusty old metal rod resembling a crowbar. Though he struggles slightly to hold it properly, he gives it a few practice swings and appears satisfied with his find. Then, turning back to Linderton and Euniline as if nothing had happened:
“Alright, sounds like you’re ready. Everything’s in place. You guys understand your roles?”
Linderton and Euniline blink, taken aback. They had been ecstatic to hear that Diegi knew how to defeat the monsters that had assaulted their city once and for all, but still aren't entirely clear on the specifics of what that entailed. Linderton even breaks his combat form, glancing at Diegi nervously.
“Hold up, mate. I don’t get it, what are we supposed to do? What’s our goal here?”
Huh? Is he stupid or something!? Why won’t he just do what I say? Don’t you understand that I already have this all figured out?
Diegi, pulling at the ends of his hair, decides to spit out one last placating (or so he believes) offer of clarification.
“We’ve gotta move, so ask quickly, alright?! What do you want to know?”
Linderton scratches his goatee for a second before responding.
“Well, first of all, why should I be on the front line? I—”
“Because your class is Spearman and you probably know a few mid-range Skills, and considering the balance of weaponry I saw in the Infirmary Paxdom’s guard is probably designed so that Spearmen fight at the front lines, and if I had to guess I’d say you’ve always been paired up with sword fighters or brawlers so they can handle opponents who get within your stance while you mop up the ones that are slightly further away, and it’s worked til now, and so that’s what we’re going to do now. You guards wear green because it’s the color of vibrancy and action, isn’t it? So get ready to act! Got it?”
“...okay, sure, mate. But, I hate to admit it, I’m still hurt—”
“Just LISTEN to what I say and it’ll go well! You go out, and you fight the monster! Euniline heals you if you get hurt! That's all you need to know! I KNOW this stuff, alright?! I CAN DO THIS! I CAN, alright? Listen to me, to me, TO ME!”
For a moment, Linderton is stunned. Just who is this mysterious, raving boy to know such precise details about his class and occupation? Meanwhile, Diegi’s already shifted his line of vision away from Linderton and Euniline without looking at them a single second longer than necessary, though wrinkles of concentration deform his youthful features and his brows smash against each other like raging waves.
Like I wouldn't be able to answer something like that. I usually played solo, but it’s not like I don’t know anything about MYTH group combat. Plus, that info on Paxdom’s guard! How’s that for well-read? Even if all I was doing is reading flavor text on a screen, that’s what’s going to save lives now, so it was definitely a better choice than cracking open Moody Dick or whatever books my teachers always prattled on about.
Diegi briefly lowers his eyelids, before nodding to himself once again as he breathes heavily to stabilize his nerves.
Okay, I can pull this off. I CAN pull this off.
His shut eyelids waver slightly, before he forces them to stabilize.
I can pull this off— on my own.
_
The tutorial monsters are an infinitely terrifying opponent, with their ability to infinitely revive and duplicate themselves upon being slain. Diegi’s glitch had more than likely messed with their programming and given them quite the insurmountable boost. No matter how strong Paxdom’s defenders may be, they’ll eventually be overwhelmed by the sheer force of numbers. In fact, the stronger the fighter, the more monsters they’ll kill, the more monsters will spawn, and the faster the fighter will seal their own doom. Yes, that unknown duplication ability renders the monsters truly unbeatable.
But if that ability to self-replicate were to be bypassed… then wouldn’t they be just another weak mob?
Diegi had seen it before, but he’d just been too stupid to comprehend it. But it’s amazing what even an idiot can dream up when given an infinite amount of time to just sit and think. He’d realized it while trapped in the fake version of his room: The answer is simple, so simple that it hadn’t even crossed his mind.
Diegi had fought a long, grueling battle against the first tutorial monster. Well, that’s stretching the definition of ‘battle’, but still— he’d only managed to land one strike that had any effect, no matter how slight. When he’d swept the monster’s feet out from under it and sent it crashing to the ground… at the time, he’d thought that he’d done absolutely nothing to the beast, status-wise, but what if he just hadn’t noticed that the attack had left a mark? Literally as well as figuratively.
It all comes together when he considers what happened at the North Gate. In the midst of the chaos, Linderton had confirmed that each tutorial monster had an identical mark scarring one of their shins. Sure, every monster could take damage, but none of them looked the same as another precisely because of the different kinds of attacks they’d withstood. Even though they’d been bruised and battered and hit with just about every attack known to gamerkind, only that one common injury— the shin scar— was present on each and every monster. Only now does Diegi realize why that is.
The difference between his attack and everyone else’s… what had been the difference? A difference in strength? Yes, but not in the way that would make sense; if Rafini’s silver bullets couldn’t put down the monsters for good, Diegi’s kick should have been far too weak to even register as an itch to scratch. A difference in attack type? Not so, as the beasts had been hit with everything ranging from magic to axes to Equo’s bad insults, and none had left a mark like his kick did. A difference in speed? A difference in intent? A difference, a difference, a difference…
There was no difference. The only thing that could even be considered different between Diegi’s attacks and all the rest…
It’s that I’m ME.
When he’d thrown that rock in all his rage and it had somehow blown off one of the beasts’ pinky claws, and then he’d been blinded by a vast amount of flying monster ooze, it hadn’t been a coincidence. That flying black sludge must have come from all of the monsters’ pinky claws— every single one, across that enormous battlefield, flying up all at once. When he deals damage to the monsters, not only is it permanent, persisting beyond regeneration, but it's true damage— dealt to every version of the tutorial monster at the same time. And why shouldn't it be? At the end of day, all the tutorial monsters were just clones of a single original game object.
He gets it now. Automod had been setting up the tutorial so that it specifically applied to him. His mistake before hadn’t been thinking that he was the center of the world— it had, ironically, been thinking that he wasn’t important enough. And, if he’d come to that conclusion, he should have acted on it. At the end of the day, it’s his Tutorial— the only one who could deal permanent damage to the beasts would be an active participant in it. In other words, the only one who could actually kill the beasts and save everyone, would be him.
Before, he’d been too lazy. Too inactive. Too slothful. So this time, he’ll be the opposite. He’ll be active, triply so. He'll never stop thinking and updating his plans. He’ll take control— he’ll make everyone else dance to his tune. And he’ll finish the fight all on his own— And if he’s the one who deals the final blow, then the damage will be transferred from his target to every other monster in the horde, and everything will be alright. He knows his goals are pure; though he wants to survive at all costs, he still really does, in this moment, from the bottom of his heart, want to save Paxdom from the monsters of his own creation. And, unlike before when he hadn't been willing to give any effort, this time he'll give anything to get the job done.
It doesn’t matter if he has others fight for him at first. It doesn’t matter if the one fighting for him was recently gravely injured. It doesn’t matter if the one supporting the fighting isn’t used to working on the field. It doesn’t matter if he had to blackmail everyone around him and dangle the city’s safety above their heads to get them to listen to him. It doesn't matter if he knows that Linderton's about to lose. It doesn't matter if he knows Euniline might not take some time to be able to cast heal spells properly after years of retirement.
It doesn't matter if he knows that right now, faced with this fight against the glitched tutorial monster, there's a real chance they don't all make it out alive.
No, that's not true. It’s not like they’re in any real danger— as long as Diegi’s with them, in his current enlightened state, he won’t let any harm come to them. He’ll find his opening as Linderton fights, jumping in at the last moment to deal a fatal blow with a sword Skill like Lunge. As long as he gets a clear hit on the beasts' neck or head, if he can boost his movement speed and strength with some of the potions he'd taken from the Infirmary, now that he won't be focused on dodging for his life, it should be enough. He’ll strike a killing blow and save them, the city, and himself— he has to.
As long as he plans everything out beforehand, he alone can beat the tutorial monsters. If he combines his experiences with the game knowledge he’s accumulated over years of playing MYTH, he can save this city all on his own, with his own spit and wit. It’s an exhilarating feeling, this sense of competence that courses through his veins. It's the feeling of competence— competence, and nothing else. Absolutely nothing else. He just has to believe, think, and act. Alone, for himself, without relying on others. The others don't need to know his plan, they just need to do what he says.
And it'll all be alright.
In the end, this is what Automod was trying to teach him. It has to be.
_
Diegi opens his eyes, still facing forwards, to gaze out into the rain. He hasn’t banished his fear, but he’s relegated it to the deepest corner of his heart. And so, he stretches his arm forth, with Linderton on his right, Euniline on his left, and Gloria likely right behind him, crying out:
“Let’s do this! Full steam ahead to the Marketplace Square!”
One last time, needing to confirm the enemy’s position, he curls the fingers of his left hand into that familiar 'ok sign' gesture. Then, holding it up to his eye with a flourish:
“Perception.”
*bing*
That familiar, pleasant chime rings out, almost as if it’s cheering him on. Once again, Diegi’s vision zooms towards that red-brick public square, only to find—
Only to find—
“...nothing?”
A chill runs down Diegi’s spine. Linderton and Euniline have already started moving forwards uncertainly, untrusting of the erratic boy but left with little choice but to obey his instructions. He can see them clearly— with his Skill-boosted vision, he could count every hair on their heads. But what he can’t see, out in the distance, is the one thing he’s looking for: the Tutorial Monster.
...make sense. It doesn’t make sense. Make it make sense, it doesn’t— where did it go?!
What with the rain falling all around him and running down his back, it goes without saying that Diegi’s already feeling cold. But still, in this moment, he swears he can feel it... a chill running down his spine.
And then:
*BO– BOOOOOOMMM*
Even over the sound of thunder, he hears the unmistakable *woosh* of air rushing right behind him.
thinking. To be honest, I've never been great at doing that irl. Lesson learned for my next story: choose an MC that aligns with my real-life self a little more. Oh well, I still had fun writing, at least! As always, if you made it here, thanks a ton for reading, and I'll see you next chapapapapapapapa!