A pale-skinned boy with black hair was exhausted as he cooked behind the counter while being scolded by his boss.
"Sauron, hurry up! If you keep wasting that much ingredients, you'll bankrupt me!"
Although Sauron actually loved cooking, the constant pressure from his boss had made him hate this job. While he was thinking about when he would finally escape this place, a loud tearing sound suddenly cut through the air—silencing his boss and everyone else in the restaurant.
Outside the window, a glowing blue-purple portal appeared.
Sauron stared at it in confusion.
Before he could understand what was happening, a glowing message appeared in front of his eyes:
[TUTORIAL QUEST]
[Kill a Hell Hound – Level 1]
Reward: 100 XP
Time Limit: 1 Hour
Penalty: NONE
Note: You will receive extra rewards for each additional hell hound killed.
As Sauron was still staring at the message in shock, a series of loud howls echoed from above.
He slowly looked up.
A dark cloud was pouring out of the portal.
But it wasn't a cloud—it was a swarm.
The "cloud" rapidly spread and revealed itself as a pack of creatures rushing downward.
Sauron immediately understood what the system meant.
Grabbing a kitchen knife from the counter, he shouted for everyone to take something and defend themselves.
But before anyone could react, the sound of glass shattering exploded through the room.
The window broke.
Hell hounds poured inside, tearing through the glass and instantly attacking the nearest people. One of them took a massive bite out of a customer sitting near the window.
Without hesitation, Sauron sprinted toward a hell hound that was feeding on a fallen man and drove his knife into its neck.
A clear system sound echoed in his mind:
[You have killed a Hell Hound]
+150 XP | Defense & Agility increased
Blue light flowed from the dead creature into Sauron's body.
But there was no time to be surprised.
People were already fleeing the restaurant, believing the outside would be safer.
Fortunately, not everyone ran—some grabbed whatever they could find and prepared to fight.
Sauron pulled his knife free, realizing he had drawn attention to himself by killing one of the creatures.
He quickly jumped back. He was faster than he expected.
Taking another knife, he pressed his back against the wall instead of attacking, waiting for an opening.
Four hell hounds remained inside… and seven humans, including him.
At that moment, a short-haired blond man rushed forward and stabbed a nearby hell hound between its ribs.
"Ha! They're not as tough as they look!"
His shout gave others courage, and another person attacked as well—but in seconds, a hell hound leapt and tore out his throat in one brutal strike.
Panic returned instantly.
Sauron realized something important:
Both humans and hell hounds were weak—but a single mistake meant death.
He tried to change strategy and threw his knife at a hell hound, but it missed completely, striking the handle instead of the blade.
"Tch…"
He rushed forward, pulled the knife from the dead hell hound's body, and narrowly dodged another attack.
One of the fighters suddenly stepped in and saved him from being attacked.
Sauron looked around again.
Those who chose to fight were still standing in defensive positions.
But their coordination was weak.
If more hell hounds came, their formation would collapse and everyone would die.
There was no time to hesitate.
"We need to move together!" Sauron shouted.
But no one listened.
He sighed, giving up on convincing them, and focused on surviving instead.
Slowly, the remaining hell hounds were taken down one by one.
And then… silence.
No more creatures came.
Sauron looked outside the broken window.
The street was filled with corpses… and hell hounds feeding on them.
The system message appeared again:
[Tutorial Quest Completed]
Time: 11:32
[Status Window]
Name: Sauron Brell
Level: 1
XP: 200 / 500
Skill: None
Stats
Speed: 3
Endurance: 3
Agility: 3
Strength: 1
Exhausted, Sauron collapsed to the ground.
He checked his phone—no signal.
The man he fought alongside turned out to be a soldier. Sauron wasn't surprised; he was clearly experienced.
Before they could fully understand what was happening, the system spoke again:
[Congratulations. Tutorial completed.]
Rewards have already been granted during the mission.
Everyone's faces turned pale.
"What do you mean… tutorial?"
Before anyone could react—
[No active mission available. You may now travel to "Utopia."]
Note: Progress is easier in Utopia. The system offers a better future there and removes you from this area. You may accept or decline until the next mission.
The message disappeared along with the creatures outside.
Only silence remained.
And streets filled with corpses.
Sauron decided not to go.
He didn't trust the system.
But when he looked around, he saw confusion in everyone's eyes.
That was normal—he was confused too.
When someone asked whether they should accept, opinions split.
One man yelled, saying it was the only logical option, pointing at the dead bodies outside.
The soldier disagreed strongly, calling it nonsense.
But fear slowly won.
One by one, people began disappearing in flashes of light.
Even a child with his family vanished.
Sauron quietly stepped away.
And then—
The system returned again.
[NEW QUEST]
Kill at least one Hell Hound (Level 3)
Time Limit: 2 hours
Penalty: DEATH