Chapter Two: Beginner's Guide

Because he had already been "baptized" by a previous special event, Luo Hanya was quite calm now. He took a deep breath and surveyed his surroundings, discovering nothing but darkness. At some point, a necklace had appeared around his neck.

It was an ordinary necklace, but because it glowed green, Luo Hanya was able to notice it. He opened the game's menu to check the equipment panel and found that the item was called the Chain of Health Points.

Chain of Health Points
Type: Special Item
Quality: Ordinary
Attributes: None
Effect: Allows you to monitor your health condition
Note: This is simply a unique design by the company. Even without it, you can view your health points in the upper right corner of your game menu.

"What on earth is this about! Why such a peculiar setting? I have no words," Luo Hanya shrugged helplessly.

Just then, the system's voice prompt sounded in Luo Hanya's ear: Main quest has been triggered.

Following the system prompt, Luo Hanya noticed a new quest panel had appeared in the game menu. When he opened it, a new window replaced the original menu, displaying the quest content. The main quest description was extremely concise:

Main quest: Exit the room.

Luo Hanya furrowed his brow. Normally, a beginner's tutorial should be very straightforward, yet this main quest was so brief, without even an introduction. If the quest wasn't exceptionally simple, it could only be exceptionally troublesome. Judging by the game's quirks, it certainly wouldn't be easy.

He thought for a moment. The room remained pitch dark, nothing had changed. "Looks like I can only try heading toward the door," Luo Hanya sighed and moved in the direction where he remembered the door to be.

Based on his previous position, there should have been a mirror in front of him, and the door to his left. He turned left, groped forward several steps, but still didn't touch anything.

Unwilling to give up, he tried walking further, but still encountered nothing.

"Is this because of circular motion?" Luo Hanya recalled a book he had read as a child, which explained the phenomenon of "ghost walls." It said that when someone can't see their surroundings, they feel as if they're walking in a straight line, but are actually moving in a large circle. The book summarized this as circular motion; without a target, every creature's instinct is to move in circles.

"But the room isn’t that big, and the deviation from a few steps is small. How could circular motion happen here?" Luo Hanya was puzzled.

"Could there really be a ghost?" His own speculation sent a cold sweat down his back.

Suddenly, the light returned. The entire room brightened, and Luo Hanya squinted, unaccustomed to the brightness.

"Hm? Where did the door go?" When Luo Hanya opened his eyes, he realized that the room now contained nothing but a large diamond-shaped mirror. The entire space was blank, a despairing white.

"Calm down, calm down, Luo Hanya. This is just a beginner’s tutorial, it can’t be too difficult. Find a clue and you’ll surely get out."

"A clue... Right! The mirror was rectangular before, now it’s diamond-shaped. The mirror must be the breakthrough." Luo Hanya finally recognized the change in the room.

He quickly walked up to the mirror, falling into deep thought. "This mirror is the key, but what should I do? Smash it?"

Suddenly, he remembered a story told by an elder when he was young. According to legend, mirrors can refract souls. If there is a mirror in a bedroom and someone dies there, part of their soul might get trapped inside. Among mirrors, diamond-shaped ones are the most likely to attract spirits, and the chance of trapping souls is highest. Souls trapped in mirrors for a long time may become resentful and turn into evil spirits. Therefore, mirrors should never be placed in bedrooms, especially diamond-shaped ones. If there is a mirror and the owner dies, the mirror must be buried with them to prevent harm.

"So, does that mean... this really is..."

"There’s a ghost!" Luo Hanya stared in terror at the sudden appearance of a "person" in the mirror. The figure had wild, tangled hair, deeply sunken eyes, face covered with blackened blood clots amid deep wrinkles, and wore a tattered white burial robe. The air around him was chilling and dreadful. Such a sinister "person" appearing in this stark, maddeningly white room could easily make anyone faint from fright.

Yet, for once, the usually timid Luo Hanya remained uncharacteristically calm. He gasped for breath and shouted loudly, "Come on! If you want my life, it won’t be that easy!"

Perhaps his powerful aura startled the old ghost; it paused for a moment. Luo Hanya gained confidence, judging that the ghost didn’t have much fighting power, just tricks to confuse people.

But in the next instant, Luo Hanya realized he was completely wrong. The old ghost in the mirror appeared before him in a flash, its skeletal hands tightly gripping his throat, letting out a chilling laugh.

Luo Hanya felt as if iron pincers were crushing his neck—he couldn’t breathe at all. Because this was a tutorial, the pain system was set even lower than normal mode, only about ten percent of real pain. Thus, he still had strength to struggle. His eyes flashed with madness as he clenched his fists and punched the old ghost’s head, but his fists passed right through as if striking air. The ghost, however, casually returned a punch, dazing Luo Hanya. Not giving up, he tried attacking other parts, but nothing worked; it was as if the ghost didn’t exist. No matter what, he couldn’t harm it, while the ghost’s attacks made him feel as if his whole body would fall apart. Even the Chain of Health Points started glowing yellow.

Luo Hanya’s heart sank and he mocked himself, "Who would have thought a genius like me can’t even clear the beginner tutorial of this game?"

Yes, Luo Hanya was a genius. Despite his careless nature and frequent mistakes on exams, he was always the top student in the school. He couldn’t remember everything he read, but retained at least half. Anything he wanted to learn, he could master quickly—even games, where he soon reached expert level. Except for psychological shortcomings, Luo Hanya had almost no flaws.

But this game seemed to be his nemesis. The first special event nearly scared him out of his wits, and now a simple tutorial had him in utter disarray, on the verge of failure.

A sense of defeat he had never felt before flooded his heart. At that moment, it was as if he had lost the entire world. So he gave up resisting, closed his eyes in despair, and stood quietly, waiting for death.

Yet, after a long while, there was still no system prompt. Luo Hanya curiously opened his eyes to find the old ghost still gripping his neck, the pain unchanged, but the Chain of Health Points continued to emit a faint yellow glow, as if everything before had been an illusion.

"An illusion—yes! It’s all an illusion," Luo Hanya murmured, suddenly enlightened.

"From the moment I entered this scenario, I haven’t suffered any real harm. This script is always creating a frightening atmosphere, trying to make me lose my composure. After all that buildup, the old ghost used psychological confusion. Its grip never actually hurt me—the injuries were all self-inflicted. The door’s position never changed. Had someone more attentive played, they’d have realized it right after the darkness fell. Alas, my psychological issues are too great."

Ignoring the old ghost, Luo Hanya began to feel his way along the wall beside the mirror. Sure enough, after just two steps, he found a corner. Continuing along the left wall, he quickly located the door handle. He twisted it lightly, and with a click, the entire room shattered like a mirror, everything returning to its original state.

Without further ado, Luo Hanya walked straight out. The system prompt sounded:

Congratulations, you have completed the beginner tutorial.
Script complete, rewards being calculated.
Gained 100 experience points, 700 game coins.
No item equipment acquired.
Accepted and completed 11 tasks.
Special and hidden tasks completed: 0.
Your script rating: None. No extra rewards.
Gained 50 achievement points.
Achievement points bonus: 50 experience, 300 game coins.
Script clearance reward: Beginner’s Backpack x1.
Settlement complete. Please continue.

All this information appeared in a new window on the game menu. The system prompted: You have leveled up to level two; maximum health increased.

A flash of white light restored all Luo Hanya’s injuries, and everything that had just happened seemed like a nightmare, leaving no mark on him. At this moment, Luo Hanya found himself in an entirely new place.