Transmigrated as a Corporate Manager in a Game - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Damned Tutorial (1)

“…This is.”

I touched the hologram with my hand for a closer look.

[Administrator privileges verified. Please enter your company name.]

I swallowed the involuntary chuckle and, as if entranced, typed something into the hologram.

“Joseon Government.”

[This company name already exists. Please choose a unique name.]

“Administrator Zone.”

[This company name is available. Would you like to use it?]

[Yes/No]

I chose ‘Yes’ from the options that appeared.

A breeze, from who knows where, lightly brushed my face again.

…

The cold air that passed by reawakened my consciousness.

I looked down at my hands.

Then, I clenched my fists.

I could still feel the sensation.

The vivid sensation of clenching my fist.

If this were a dream, it wouldn’t feel so real.

So, I was sure.

‘This is not a dream.’

I looked around once more.

In the corner of my view, there was an icon resembling a mailbox with the number 1 on it.

This time, I touched the mailbox-like icon.

[You have 2 unread notifications.]

.

.

.

[The ‘Foundation’s Star’ recognizes Shin Seongjin as an administrator.]

[The ‘Foundation’s Star’ has successfully quelled your ‘Confusion.’]

“Foundation’s Star.”

I couldn’t forget it, even if I tried.

The ‘Foundation’s Star’ was a reward I earned after clearing 99% of all achievements.

“Then, this place is…”

As if my anxiety became a reality, a grand BGM played, and a video appeared out of thin air, followed by crude paper dolls acting like they were part of a roleplay on the screen.

Monsters were hunting the paper-made humans and cities.

[Trap and manage the creatures that have been released into the world.]

Right after, massive flames erupted, completely mismatching the crude graphics.

[Restore the fragments of the distorted world. The world rests in your hands!]

As the grand BGM concluded, the video faded away.

Suddenly, my head started to ache.

‘I didn’t want to believe it, but…’

One possibility was stabbing through my mind due to that presentation.

‘Have I been possessed by the game KeepWorld?’

It’s not a novel or comic—this was being possessed in a game.

And not just any game, but KeepWorld, a place where hope and dreams don’t exist…

[Administrator, gather points to restore ‘Humanity.’ You cannot return home until all ‘Humanity’ is restored.]

Although the voice guidance tried to drive a nail into my confusion, my mind remained clear.

It’s probably thanks to the Foundation’s Star.

‘By the way, humanity…’

‘Humanity’ is a crucial concept in KeepWorld.

While it literally means “the moral principles of humans,” in KeepWorld, it refers to making the world a place where people can live as humans should.

‘But solving that problem isn’t urgent right now, so I’ll let it go… The Foundation’s Star’s ability is quite useful.’

As I gazed into one corner of my view, information about the Foundation’s Star appeared.

[Foundation’s Star – User ‘Shin Seongjin’]

[You can use the skills of creatures you have collected. (Current collection rate: 0%)]

[You are the one and only ‘Administrator’ recognized by the world. Your mind will never falter.]

[You are an absolute monarch and the guardian of the world. Your words and actions carry authority.]

I already knew all this.

“Hoo.”

I took a deep breath.

Then, I immediately slapped my cheeks with both hands.

This wasn’t the time to focus on these things.

‘If this really is the start of KeepWorld…’

A dry swallow passed down my throat.

“It’s coming…”

I gazed up at the empty air, feeling that the inevitable had arrived.

Perhaps the most important of all—the first tutorial.

[We will now begin the first tutorial.]

As soon as the mechanical voice finished speaking—

Swoosh!

A massive vortex appeared from the monument and grew larger and larger.

Eventually, several tabs appeared, including options for staff recruitment and material support.

[The first tutorial is about material support and staff recruitment. The Administrator may use 100 points to hire ‘staff’ and acquire company management equipment.]

I already knew all this.

Without hesitation, I placed my hand on the monument.

[Administrator privileges verified.]

“…So, to use administrator privileges, you have to touch the monument?”

The method for using administrator privileges resurfaced in my mind the moment I touched the monument, as if I had always known it.

Because of this, I was able to exercise my administrator abilities without any sense of unease.

“Material support.”

In response to my words, the hologram summoned the material support tab.

[The first material support is free of charge. Would you like to proceed?]

[Yes/No]

This time, I selected my choice mentally instead of touching the screen.

‘Yes.’

As soon as I selected my choice mentally, the screen transitioned, and a video played.

‘I don’t need to speak or even touch the screen, huh.’

I barely had time to process this realization before focusing on the screen in front of me.

In the video, a paper doll was pounding away at something.

Clang.

Clang.

Clang.

How long had it been pounding?

[You have acquired a Dull Iron Sword (F-).]

The paper doll proudly raised the dull iron sword it had crafted.

Then, the video ended.

Ping.

A blue vortex spat out the same dull iron sword crafted by the paper doll onto the ground.

An information window appeared as I gazed at the sword on the ground.

[Dull Iron Sword (Grade F-)]

[The blade is so dull that it feels like it will break after just a few swings.]

It was junk.

I hadn’t expected great equipment, but it was better than nothing, so I sighed and picked up the sword.

Then, I touched the monument again to use the administrator privileges.

‘Staff recruitment.’

This time, hundreds of envelopes scattered into the air.

At the same time, the haphazardly scattered envelopes began to flutter.

Ssssshhh.

Not long after, an envelope descended right before my eyes.

The plain brown envelope was so worn out that it was torn in several places.

[Grade 9 Employee ‘Khan’ has become an employee. Please give him a warm welcome and greeting.]

[Grade 9 Employee ‘Khan’ has entered the company.]

[The Foundation’s star has checked the skills.]

[Sixth Sense (LV. 1), Basic Swordsmanship (LV. 1) applies to ‘Manager.’]

I was startled by the sudden notification and the unfamiliar energy coursing through my body.

Then.

“Ahh, ahh!”

I turned my gaze towards the direction of the voice and saw a young man with brown hair collapsed on the ground.

I looked at Khan, who was lying flat on the floor.

A status window popped up.

[Khan Aderhilt LV. 1/2 (Grade 9)]

[Skills]

– Sixth Sense (LV. 1)

– Basic Swordsmanship (LV. 1)

[Attributes]

– Strength (9/19)

– Agility (6/19)

– Stamina (10/19)

– Durability (8/19)

– Mental Strength (8/19)

The number before the slash represents the current stat, and the number after the slash is the growth limit.

Considering that the average stat for a Grade 9 employee is around 8, Khan was the epitome of mediocrity.

As I examined Khan’s status window, my eyes glinted.

‘It seems the target for skill copying doesn’t necessarily have to be a creature.’

Though he was only a Grade 9, he had two skills that were useful enough to make him a valuable employee.

‘If I manage him well, at least he won’t die an untimely death.’

The young man with brown hair who was gazing blankly around—Khan.

I tossed a dull-edged sword towards him.

“Get yourself together. Take that.”

When I spoke and threw the sword, Khan was startled and hastily picked it up from the ground.

“Y-yes?! Who are you, and where are we?”

I remained silent at Khan’s question.

To be honest, both Khan and I were in the same boat.

Though I had arrived a little earlier, it had only been about 20 minutes, so I didn’t have much information to give.

But if there was no information, we could always gather it from now on, and fortunately—

The system started the next tutorial.

[The second tutorial is Creature Containment.]

This time, a vortex labeled “Dimensional Entry” appeared in front of us.

[The company’s power comes from capturing creatures! Manager, please suppress and contain the creature rampaging beyond the dimension.]

Even with the portal open in front of me, I didn’t move.

No, to be exact, I couldn’t move.

‘Not yet.’

This cursed game has difficulty spikes, even in the tutorial.

Some people have an easy stage that clears itself without them doing anything, while others get a tutorial where a creature that can’t be subdued even with a swarm of Grade 7 employees appears.

It’s a game of luck and frustration.

That’s why I had to watch the situation carefully.

[Selecting a world.]

Each time the voice echoed, my heart pounded harder.

‘Please!’

I shouted inwardly, squeezing my eyes shut.

Then, I slowly opened them.

[If you do not enter within the time limit, you will be randomly assigned and automatically enter with the minimum required number of participants.]

I glanced at the portal in front of me after hearing the announcement.

A number was displayed above the portal.

It was the AI’s minimum and final guide.

It showed the appropriate number of participants required to contain the creature.

‘In the early stages when the number of employees is low, this is where fate is decided…’

The number displayed on the portal was 5.

It meant that 5 participants were the minimum required to clear the mission.

But the only people present were the two of us.

Two rookies expected to do the work of five people.

Of course, there was no time to think of a strategy.

When the number of participants is insufficient, the portal forcibly transports all employees in the company.

‘Of course, right now, it’s just me and Khan, so only the two of us will be forcibly moved…’

Before I could even grasp the situation, a blue flash swept through the space I was in.

When I opened my eyes again—

“Ahhhhh!”

“Run! The kobolds are here!”

I saw the outskirts of a village ablaze, with people frantically fleeing in terror.

[(Tutorial) Suppress the creature. Identify and contain the cause of the anomaly attacking the village!]

“Damn it.”

The reality I hoped was a dream unfolded before my eyes.

“K-Kobolds!”

“I don’t want to die. Run!”

Like the story’s opening scene, people rushed past us in a panic.

“Eek!”

“A monster!”

However, none of them paid any attention to us.

“Um, um, what is this…”

Khan, who had been summoned with me, tried to ask the fleeing people, but they ignored him.

– Tick-tock, tick-tock.

I turned my gaze to the sound and saw an icon resembling a digital clock floating in the air.

[04:59…]

The digital clock displayed 5 minutes.

I instantly knew what it meant.

“…A timer.”

I shifted my gaze back to the village.

A heavily armed group of kobolds was ravaging the village.

On the ground, adventurers and kobolds lay dead, tangled together.

Some guards and adventurers were fighting desperately against the kobolds, but it didn’t seem like they could hold out much longer.

The kobolds outnumbered them by far.

Frowning, I looked at the village being burned by the kobolds.

“This is the worst.”