Noel keeps running and running, the Guide Jelly tailing after him to try and stop him. He runs desperately, believing this to be his ticket out of the tutorial! He runs after the new player, rushes straight to the village, and sprints to the supposed greatness of adventure!

  He's almost there!

  ... however, Noel is immediately stopped, as Noel suddenly runs into some sort of invisible wall.

  His body slams straight into the transparent barrier, his face smashing against the wall itself. The pain comes out of nowhere. He doesn't even realize what happened as his body bounces and stumbles away from the barrier.

  "A-Ah! [Noel]!"

  Noel is, effectively, prevented from running any further down the path. He's punished for trying to take a shortcut, for trying to take a shortcut and bypass this place. It's forced into his head that he can't, as a bright, bright -3 flashes above Noel's head. Compared to how the Sword of Light deals 5 damage to the boar creature, running into this wall doesn't seem bad.

  For Noel, however? It's probably the worst pain imaginable.

  The Guide Jelly said so itself, the trees evolved from people cutting them down. The same logic applies to the stone and the boar. Boars are associated with thick skin, so 5 damage is a drop in the bucket for it. Noel is not a boar. He has less "health" and "defense" than a boar. He's weak. He's pathetic. He can't make the stupid axe. The 3 damage for him is about a thousand times worse than what the sword does to that boar.

  On top of that, the "-3" is such an underexaggeration. Because Noel didn't see an invisible wall, he didn't have time to hesitate or slow down. Noel, essentially, felt the full force of the wall as it just crushed his nose. His nose feels cracked and twisted, maybe even smashed. Running into this wall dealt critical damage.

  And the damage only worsens as "-1" repeatedly flashes over Noel's head, and blood gushes from his nose.

  "Oh, no, oh no...! [Noel], hang in there! [Noel]!"

  Noel aimlessly stumbles back, disoriented from the sudden pain as he sees glimpses of red. Everything feels cold. Everything feels dark. Noel is falling to the ground.

  So far, it's just his nose that bleeds. Though, there's no telling what else of him got hurt. Everything in his head is going haywire as if he possibly has brain damage. Maybe he's missing some teeth, or his neck is cracked, or whatever. Anything's possible.

  For some reason, Noel hears the sounds of the world he left behind. He hears the sound of rain. He hears the sound of cars. He hears the sounds of people just walking past him.

  Above all that, he hears a voice repeat his name again and again. Its voice rings loudly in his ears before fading away. Everything goes quiet as his name echoes, as his name is called again and again.

  The voice continues again and again as everything goes dark and quiet. The voice repeats and echoes his name.

  Noel, Noel, Noel...

  "... Noel?"

  A faint tap on Noel's shoulder, and he blinked a couple of times. Noel snapped out of his little daze, immediately.

  Truthfully, his head hurt like hell. Noel took some time to understand where he was, seeing red seats all around him, black carpeted floors beneath his feet, and a blank and big white screen before him.

  Noel blinked and rubbed his eyes, feeling his greasy hands lightly covered in oil and butter. It slightly helped as his vision cleared up, and...

  ... and he looked at whoever was tapping on his shoulder.

  Right next to him stood a girl with fluffy brown hair, dressed in a white shirt and red plaid skirt. She towered over him with bright blue eyes and a smile of pearly white, looking down at him. Around her waist, a pink sweater with sleeves tied around her front.

  "Movie's over, dork, c'mon."

  Noel took some time, but he... he remembered this as one of his classmates, one of the popular girls. "Ella" was her name, some cute girl who sat in the back of English.

  He remembered this as their first date. He was in a movie theater, and the movie he saw had just ended. So, after thinking about where he was, he stared down at his lap and saw his bucket of popcorn, some pieces still left. "Right... coming," Noel told the girl, getting up from the chair and walking after her. He held the bucket close and started to eat what was left in the bucket.

  "Heh. Head in the stars, eh?" the girl commented, tapping his forehead playfully. "Noel, you silly lil' goober..."

  Noel let out a chuckle. "Y... Yeah, sorry, Ella... I guess the movie was just a little boring. If I didn't know any better, I would've guessed I slept through it all."

  "Fair, though! It was a major snoozefest. Not as good as the first one," Ella told him, reaching into the bucket and grabbing a piece for herself. "And they just keep making more and more, y'know...?"

  "H... Heh, yeah..." Noel awkwardly mumbled as his cheeks went red. When Ella reached for a piece, the girl's hand lightly brushed against his, and Noel... blushed. He felt how... intimate... her hand got.

  It was amazing that a girl like her would give him a shot, really. Typically, girls like her do not spend time with guys like him, and Noel felt his heart fluttering in anxiety. There was a sun in his heart that warmed him up on this most rainy of days, and Noel just... he just went quiet, listening to Ella as they headed to the exit.

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  Right outside the theater, a rainstorm. Noel always loved it when it rains. The clouds being out meant his eyes didn't have to hurt the whole time. It was better when it was cloudy, whenever he had a good excuse to stay indoors and stuff.

  "Mmmh. Downpour out there," Ella told him, grinning. "Shame I forgot to bring an umbrella..."

  Noel smiled at the girl and took a moment to hold his bucket close. "W... Well, we could always, uhm, use the bucket as a makeshift one! Just gotta wear this and get to the car, then drive it close so you don't get wet."

  "Pffft! Noel, a bucket isn't going to keep you dry the whole way there!" Ella exclaimed, grinning at him. "You're gonna get soaked."

  "Well... no harm in trying, right?" Noel answered, putting the bucket on and running for it. He ran out of the building into the rain, scrambling to dash to the car. When he eventually found it, he opened the driver's seat and tossed the bucket into the back.

  His idea left him wet and drenched, but he made it to the car. He made it to the car, and now he could drive the car to the movie theater front to pick up Ella.

  Noel's heart raced, and he felt overjoyed. So he puts his hand on the gear shift, and...

  ... coughs.

  Noel coughs.

  He violently coughs as he wakes up, his eyes opening up as he feels something slimy covering his nose. His eyes blink actively and vigorously, before squinting at how bright everything gets.

  "Y... You're awake! I'm glad you're awake, [Noel]!"

  Noel's eyes look to the side of his head as he sees the Guide Jelly next to him, seeing the jellyfish-mushroom thing once more.

  So that was a dream... a memory of better times.

  Noel sighs... as he feels the breeze brushing against him. The cool breeze blows through his hair and against his pitiful excuse for clothes. The sight of nature is back again, and his eyes look at the color vomit of this natural world once again.

  For quite some time, the Guide Jelly has been resting its appendage over Noel's nose, letting the man's nose sink into its gelatinous material. Noel's nose feels less... broken... in the Guide Jelly's hold, as if his nose has been regenerating for quite some time.

  "Please, don't... don't try that again," the Guide Jelly tells Noel, visibly worried as it looks all over Noel's body for any other injuries. "That is why you must complete my lessons, [Noel]... the [Barrier] refuses to let anyone through unless they complete—"

  "The tutorial, right, okay," Noel speaks in a nasal voice, wincing as the Guide Jelly still has a hold of his regenerating nose. "Could have told me about the invisible wall sooner..."

  The Guide Jelly sighs, both in exasperation and relief. Exasperation at Noel, and relief because Noel's body seems fine. Nothing noticeable except the broken nose, really. All the damage is centered on the nose in particular. It idly sighs and just pats Noel's forehead. "So... to... to get past the barrier, you... you have to—"

  "Summon the axe, chop the tree down, and continue the tutorial, I know. I know," Noel tells the guide. "I just simply can't right now. I can't, okay?"

  "..." The Guide Jelly just lets out a sigh and rubs Noel's forehead gently with another appendage. It tries its best to heal Noel with what little it can do, but it cannot fix his lazy head. "Y... You have to. You have to do it, [Noel]."

  "I have to, yes... but not right now," Noel tells the Guide Jelly. "I don't have what it takes to make it right now. The more you tell me to, the more it just... it just won't happen, okay?"

  The Guide Jelly is about to respond, but it then stops. It stares at Noel in silence, understanding that what it says now will not change things.

  "Seriously..." Noel tells the Guide Jelly.

  Seriously...

  ...

  So... the Guide Jelly focuses with all its might, and a glow of light appears beside them. A large, bright, orange light shaped into a triangle. The Guide Jelly's eyes are narrow and it feels uneasy, but it endures this feeling of shame and finally gives in to Noel's demand.

  Noel watches this, seeing the shape form. Seeing the light, he realizes... the Guide Jelly is making a tent.

  "You wanted a [Tent]. Here is your [Tent]..." the Guide Jelly says in defeat, confirming his thoughts. The Guide Jelly is going against its better judgment and is giving Noel his tent.

  Noel gives a faint smile to the Guide Jelly. It feels... nice. "Thank you. I... I'm glad you're finally seeing reason."

  "... yes. But... but let it be known," the Guide Jelly begins to tell Noel, its voice firm and steady as it lectures him. " I... I will not give up on you, [Noel Nakamura]. I, the [Guide Jelly], have never failed in my objective to prepare those for [Niwaki]. I will not let you be a failure. You will conjure the [Axe of Light], and you will be able to live to your fullest potential in [Niwaki]."

  Noel gives a slow nod. The Guide Jelly's still healing his nose.

  "So, in exchange for your... commitment... to conjuring the [Axe of Light] and continuing on this guide, I am giving you your [Tent]. I will nourish you with what I am able. And I will never... ever... give up on you," the Guide Jelly tells Noel. "Do you accept these terms... these conditions of mine?"

  Noel just stares at the Guide Jelly for a while, blinking and thinking to himself about these. "Terms and Conditions, huh...?"

  In the grand scheme of things, that's... really, the only way. Noel knows that, and that's all he can do. If he's trapped in this invisible prison with nothing to do but follow this fantasy creature's request, then there's nothing else to do but to conjure the axe, to commit himself to conjuring the axe. That's... that's all he can do.

  So... fine. Noel accepts the Guide Jelly's request. "Fine. Okay. Yeah. I accept your conditions..." Noel tells the Guide Jelly. "S'long as you help me live and stuff, I'll try to make the... the Axe of Light."

  The Guide Jelly beams, with stars sparkling from its eyes. "You promise? You pinky promise that you will not give up?"

  "... I promise," Noel hesitantly and reluctantly answers, raising his hand and sticking his pinky finger out.

  The Guide Jelly stretches an appendage out and coils it around Noel's pinky, wrapping around it and squeezing. "Wonderful! Then with this solemn vow, I hereby bind you to the [Terms and Conditions]. May you never give up, [Noel]! And may you find success in conjuring the [Axe of Light]!"

  Eventually, the Guide Jelly pulls its appendages away from Noel's face, the man's face fixed up. Noel is no longer suffering from a bloody nose and is fully healed. The Guide Jelly happily flies up and looks down at Noel with cheer and joy. It trusts Noel's word that he will see this through, that he will find his way to all of Niwaki. And with their pinky promise, the Guide Jelly happily binds Noel to this moral contract.

  Noel gives a faint smile in return. "Right... I won't let you down, guide."

  "Mhmm! Good! Now... I must return to the path. There is a long list of [Players] I must tend to. Do not be disheartened by their progress, I... I simply just need to make up for being inactive for [Four Hours]."

  "Four hours?" Noel asks, blinking at the Guide Jelly in disbelief. "It's been four hours?"

  "Yes, it... I needed to tend to your wounds and your [Bleed] condition, [Noel], and... well, I'm not designed to be a [Healer], so..." the Guide Jelly answers. "A... Again, please do not... do not try to run out of the area again."

  Noel just... Noel just thinks about this for a bit, staring at the Guide Jelly before nodding. "I understand, I'll... I won't try that again."

  The Guide Jelly then floats away from Noel, coming back to the path and standing guard now. It diligently takes its position and readies itself for more new arrivals.

  With that, Noel just... sits for a bit, thinking about things. Thinking about this quest of his, this task.

  That dream...