Episode 9: Regressed After Only Doing the Tutorial

Episode 9: The Qualification of Transcendence

*

[You have successfully activated the Governing Vessel.]

[No impurities remain in the body to be expelled.]

[The energy of the Conception and Governing Vessels strengthens your vital energy.]

[You have acquired the skill: Reinforcement Circuit (Lv1).]

The moment the Conception and Governing Vessels were unblocked, an intense shiver surged down my spine.

Normally, when this energy flows, it expels impurities and cleanses the body, but I had already achieved a perfectly purified state when I acquired the “ Dawn Body.”

Instead, a new skill was created that further strengthened my vital energy.

“My energy is getting stronger… I should be able to push the output of Dawn Divine Art even further.”

At that moment, a voice filled with mild irritation rang out near my ear.

“Sigh… You really had to do it now of all times?”

Normally, if someone is disturbed during energy circulation, it could cripple them. But I had no such risk—because I trusted Estelle. I was certain she would never harm me.

“It’s only because it’s you. You think I’d do this in front of someone else?”

“Sigh… I don’t know what kind of relationship you think we have, but as long as you know not to do that in front of others, that’s enough.”

Her tone was cold, but It sounded different to me.

“So, what you’re saying is… it’s okay in front of Estelle?”

“Ugh… Do as you please..!”

With a flushed face, Estelle hurriedly turned away and left.

Watching her retreating figure, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“So cute. Seriously.”

That angel—she was undeniably adorable. Extremely so!

***

30 Years into the Tutorial

“Finally… it’s done..!”

Before me stood a massive structure. This wasn’t just a simple shelter—it looked more like a small fortress.

[House of Han Yeomyung (Unique): A house crafted by Earth’s artisan Han Yeomyung using various monster byproducts and minerals, masterfully refined and infused with magi-tech. Still has room for upgrades.]

① Sanctuary of Rest:

Greatly boosts all recovery rates while inside.

② Defensive Barrier:

Generates a barrier in response to external threats. Continuously regenerates using mana.

③ Access Control:

Only those approved by the creator, Han Yeomyung, can enter. (Current approved: Estelle)

④ Grand Mana Cannon:

Consumes mana to intercept external threats or unauthorized entrants.

⑤ Reinforcement Zone:

Grants moderate physical enhancement to approved individuals within a 1km radius.

I had originally planned to build this the moment I reached Intermediate Level 1 in both Blacksmithing and Magi-tech, but it got postponed due to the creation of the Dawn Divine Art.

Only now, with some breathing room, did I finally manage to complete it.

My previous creations were mere combinations and simple alchemy, but this one fully utilized the properties of materials and advanced magi-tech to their limits.

[You have successfully created an artifact of Unique rank or higher.]

[You have acquired the Trait: Artisan (B).]

“Oh, I even got a trait? Nice.”

For someone like me who had no traits until now, even a B-rank was more than welcome. I immediately checked the info.

[Artisan (B): A trait given to creators with exceptional skill.]

① Unique-tier Crafter:

Receives high-level bonuses when crafting artifacts. Slight bonus to the probability of creating Unique+ artifacts.

② Unique-tier Proficiency:

When using artifacts made by oneself, their performance and mastery are significantly enhanced.

‘…Whoa. This is broken.’

The first effect wasn’t just about faster crafting or increased success rate—it actually raised the potential to create masterpiece-level gear.

But more importantly, the second effect. Boosted performance and mastery when using my own creations—that was game-changing.

Since I’d mostly be using gear I made myself, this was insanely useful.

“Well then… let’s test it out?”

I pulled out the [Sword Containing Ogre’s Might (Heroic)] from my inventory.

Swish. Swish.

The moment it touched my hand, I could tell the difference.

Every swing of the blade felt sharper, more balanced—on a completely different level.

I switched to the default tutorial sword and practiced a few swings.

‘…The difference is obvious.’

By feel alone, my performance had improved by at least 1.5 times.

“This is totally broken…”

Now I fully understood why, even after a year of training in the tutorial, it was hard to catch up to others’ one-month progress.

Others probably started with at least one trait.

I had started with nothing—no traits, no talent.

‘But now… it’s a different story.’

I was changing. I was continuously getting stronger.

“I won’t stop.”

All that was left was to keep running forward.

“What are you doing, mumbling to yourself like that?”

Just as I was reaffirming my resolve, a familiar voice called out from behind me. I turned my head and saw Estelle, arms crossed, staring at me.

“Just the usual.”

Honestly, I might’ve been embarrassed if it had been anyone else. But in front of Estelle, I didn’t care at all. She was the one who knew everything about me.

“Sigh… Still the same silly guy.”

She said that, but a faint smile crossed her lips. Then, as if she’d only just noticed my My Home—no, my masterpiece—an expression of shock slowly crept across her normally stoic face.

“This… did you make this?”

“Yeah. My masterpiece.”

I really put my heart and soul into making this.

“You made a Unique-grade artifact with just Intermediate Level 1 proficiency…? And it’s not even a weapon… but a house…?”

“…Did you just call my baby a ‘mere house’? Isn’t that a bit harsh?”

I poured everything into this adorable creation. She had no idea how much effort it took.

“Sigh… I feel like I don’t get a single peaceful day when I’m with you.”

Estelle sighed, pinching her brow. But her eyes couldn’t hide her curiosity.

“How did you make this? Seriously.”

I figured she’d ask that. So I’d prepared my answer in advance.

“Is it really that surprising that I made a Unique-grade artifact with Intermediate Level 1 proficiency?”

She looked at me like it was obvious and gave a nod. I paused to gather my thoughts before speaking.

“Estelle. I’ve been thinking… Is Intermediate Level 1 really the limit to how strong you can get in the tutorial?”

She nodded again.

“System-wise, yes.”

Snap!

I snapped my fingers and pointed at her.

“That’s exactly the problem! Intermediate Level 1 is only the system-defined limit—it’s not an absolute one. The tutorial’s adjustment ends there, but that doesn’t mean you can’t train beyond it.”

Estelle made a conflicted expression.

“That’s… incredibly inefficient. Adjustments are part of the world’s will. Ignoring them and training anyway is just… a waste of time. Besides, once you enter the Tower, you have to build your proficiency from scratch again. There’s no reason to work so hard here…”

“But think about it.”

I looked at her slowly as I spoke.

“Who do you think will improve their proficiency faster—the person who just reached Intermediate Level 1, or the one who trained for another 10,000 hours after reaching it?”

Even a dog at a school for three years would know the answer.

“…The latter, I suppose.”

Estelle reluctantly agreed.

Seeing her reaction, I smiled.

“That’s all I needed to hear. Even if I don’t get the system’s adjustments for now, my efforts aren’t going to waste. They’re just piling up, slowly but surely.”

She still looked unsure, but she had seen me turn the impossible into reality more than once.

“…So, what are you going to do now?”

“First, let’s check out the house together. Aren’t you curious?”

Estelle hesitated for a moment, then slowly nodded. Looks like she couldn’t resist her curiosity either.

“…I am curious.”

At that moment, without hesitation, I picked her up and placed her on my shoulder.

“What are you—!?”

Her startled outcry echoed out.

But if someone as skilled as her didn’t dodge, that was basically silent consent.

“I’ll give you a full tour. Just relax up there.”

“Put me down!”

“Nope.”

“Han Yeomyeong!”

Carrying her as she flailed and blushed, I began introducing my greatest creation, one piece at a time.

And surprisingly, Estelle never got down until the very end.

*

After the house was completed, the quality of my rest improved drastically. Thanks to that, my training time naturally increased. Five years later, I acquired another trait.

[All basic skill proficiencies have reached Intermediate Level 1.]

[All basic skills are consolidated into Intermediate All-Mastery (Lv1).]

[A great achievement, never before attained since the beginning of time. That achievement becomes your strength.]

[Trait acquired: All-Master (S).]

To be honest, I had expected this. At some point, every time I learned a new skill and built up its proficiency, I felt like something was condensing within me.

I had a hunch that once all the basic skills reached Intermediate Level 1, they would fuse together—and that hunch turned out to be right. Just as I predicted.

‘This much, I expected…’

[The path you’ve walked proves who you are.]

[You have acquired the qualifications of Transcendence.]

[You can now obtain Limit Break skills.]

[Skill acquired: Transcendent Mind (Lv1).]

[Transcendent Mind level increased.] ×9

[Transcendent Mind proficiency has reached its maximum.]

[Mental Strength increased by 20.]

[Skill acquired: Transcendent Strength (Lv1).]

[Transcendent Strength level increased.] ×2

[Strength increased by 6.]

This was just what was visible at a glance. In addition, new abilities like Transcendent Agility, Transcendent Stamina, and Transcendent Intelligence had been added.

‘Clear all that.’

Rather than organizing the flood of system messages, it seemed better to check the status window directly.

Besides, thanks to training with Estelle, I could now grasp the condition of my body as easily as looking at my palm. I could feel how much stronger I’d become without needing numbers.

I moved my body lightly. My senses became more precise, and my muscles stirred, ready to unleash explosive power. I could feel each muscle responding with refined accuracy to my movements.

If I applied strength, it would be on a whole new level compared to before. Time to check that power in numerical form.

“Status Window.”

Name: Han Yeomyeong

Title: None

Age: 31

Constellation: None

[ Stats ]

Strength: 26 / Stamina: 26 / Mental Strength: 40 / Agility: 40 / Intelligence: 40 / Magic Power: 20

[ Traits ]

Dawn’s Body (S), Grandmaster (S), Artisan (B), All-Master (S)

[ Skills ]

Dawn Divine Art (Lv4), Emperor-Crushing Fist (Lv9), Sky-Rending Asura Kick (Lv9), Heaven-Defying Cloud Steps (Lv9), Reinforcement Circuit (Lv.MAX), Mind’s Eye (LvMAX), Intermediate All-Mastery (Lv1), Martial Arts (Details), Magic (Details), Sacred Arts (Details), Limit Break Skills (Details)

‘So, it all gets compressed like this.’

All the previously separate skills like blacksmithing, alchemy, medicine, cooking, tailoring, acupuncture… all of them had merged into All-Mastery.

It wasn’t just a matter of compression. They complemented each other, creating a synergy that dramatically enhanced their overall performance.

“I’ve got four traits now… Han Yeomyeong, you’ve made it, man.”

I laughed to myself as I muttered. Thinking back to when I first dropped into the tutorial, I was a completely different person now. Back then, I wouldn’t even be able to comprehend who I am today.

Also, even though I aged seven years, I actually looked younger than I did before entering the tutorial.

“Estelle.”

“Yes?”

She used to answer politely with, “Yes, did you call for me?” but now she just bluntly replies, “What is it?”

Seeing how she changed, I realized that our relationship had grown closer than before.

“Don’t you notice anything different about me today?”

I struck a model-like pose as I asked, but Estelle looked at me with a tired expression and replied.

“You’ve grown a lot stronger… perhaps you awakened a new trait? And… huh?”

Suddenly, her expression changed.

Instead of answering absentmindedly, she observed me closely—finally murmuring as if in disbelief.

“Player Han Yeomyeong… could it be that you obtained the Qualification of Transcendence?”

“I don’t really know what that is, but apparently, yes.”

Just the name alone wasn’t ordinary.

Transcendence.

That word alone carried a profound resonance in the chest. In gacha-type games, “transcendence” was often a feature that exponentially boosted a character’s power.

“For a mortal facing the wall to continuously push themselves and build up their realm… only then is it possible. Come to think of it, you’re like that too, Player Han Yeomyeong.”

For me, facing a wall was an everyday thing. The fact that even goblins were once my ‘wall’ says everything.

“In a tutorial where growth is forcibly restricted, you kept pushing yourself, developed traits, created unique-grade artifacts, invented peerless martial arts, and maxed out all the basic skills.”

Looking back on the path I had taken, I couldn’t help but feel that whatever this “qualification of transcendence” was—it was well-earned.

“Even long-lived races that train for hundreds of years often fail to obtain the qualification of transcendence. It seems that the unique environment of the tutorial made it easier for you. I believe you’re the first to reach the peak and obtain transcendence.”

Being the first somehow makes it feel even better. I’ve become the man who, for the first time in the universe, has obtained the qualification for transcendence at the peak of ultimate mastery.

“But… what’s so good about this? If it’s that hard to obtain, it can’t just be a simple stat boost, right?”

Honestly, gaining a total of 72 stat points at once is already ridiculous, but even so, other long-lived species who’ve trained for hundreds of years have probably acquired greater physical capabilities.

And yet, they still seek the qualification for transcendence. That must mean there’s something more to it than just a stat increase.

“It’s exactly as the name implies—it’s a qualification to reach transcendence. The body escapes the limits of mortality, the lifespan heads toward infinity, and the capacity for mana exceeds its innate limits and expands infinitely. That is ‘transcendence.’ Without the qualification for transcendence, no matter how strong one becomes, they can never enter the realm of the transcendent.”

To sum it up, it’s a qualification that allows a mortal to become a transcendent being like a god or demon king.

“Then what about angels? I heard they have infinite lifespans. Are they all transcendent?”

Estelle shook her head.

“Angels only have infinite lifespans. Their bodies and mana remain bound by mortal limits. Similarly, dragons can infinitely expand their mana capacity, but their bodies and lifespans have limits. Giants are only free from physical limitations.”

So basically, they’re all OP races.

“These kinds of races are usually referred to as Transcendent Species. They’re blessed beings who are born already possessing part of the qualifications for transcendence.”

“Isn’t that way too overpowered?”

Estelle neither agreed nor disagreed.

“It’s true that among dragons and giants, there are some with power rivaling that of transcendent beings. Among angels, archangels are like that too. However, among true transcendent beings, very few are from the transcendent species. Do you know why that is?”

It wasn’t hard to guess. Answers to these kinds of questions are usually hidden in the question itself.

“…Probably because it’s harder for transcendent species to gain transcendence beyond what they were born with.”

Estelle looked at me, seemingly surprised. Then she quietly nodded.

“Correct. The more one is born with, the harder it becomes to reach true transcendence. Especially for transcendent species, it seems like they were designed that way—they’re mostly lazy or lack ambition.”

There had to be some kind of penalty like that. Otherwise, the transcendent species would have completely dominated everything.

“Only those among them who strive to overcome those limits and seek something beyond their birthright become beings like Dragon Lords, Giant Kings, or Archangels.”

There’s only one archangel I know of.

“…Like you, Estelle?”

She flinched. Then, looking a bit embarrassed, she lowered her head slightly.

“I wasn’t trying to brag…”

‘So cute.’

I held back a laugh and returned to the main topic.

“So, does that mean I can transcend?”

“At this point, you’ve only obtained the ‘qualification’ for transcendence. If you gather more power and fulfill the other conditions… you might truly reach the realm of transcendence.”

I’ve already gained the qualification.

So, the rest of the process probably won’t be too hard.

“Looks like I’ll need to train more. My to-do list just got longer.”

I casually stretched my body as I muttered that.

Since all my stats had reached 20, I’d stopped physical training, so my strength and stamina were lagging a bit behind the others.

Now that all my basic skills had been unified into the “All Mastery” category, I just needed to focus on reaching ultimate mastery and physical training.

“You really are… something else.”

A familiar scolding.

But in her tone was a mix of weariness, resignation, and a hint of fondness.

I took another step forward, preparing for tomorrow.

To become someone different than I was today.

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