Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Game or Not a Game (2)

Min-jun looked around, feeling as if he had been possessed by a phantom.

“Where the hell is this……?”

A salty smell seeped into his nose.

Before his eyes stretched an endless, boundless sea, and beneath his feet was a swaying wooden floor…….

No way.

‘It’s a ship?’

He was on the deck of a vessel.

As he looked around from that place, precariously rocked by the waves, another sight entered his eyes.

‘What are all those people?’

It was not one or two people.

Regardless of age or gender, nearly hundreds of people were crammed onto the deck.

“Wh-What is this? Where are we?”

“I’m busy enough to die, so what the hell is this…… Do any of you know anything?”

“Please stay still. Why do you keep clinging to me?”

“Hey, mister! Don’t go that way, it’s dangerous!”

“This isn’t a dream…… What on earth…….”

They were all in confusion.

‘Judging by their state, it looks like those people don’t know what’s going on either.’

From the way they stood awkwardly and murmured among themselves, they all seemed to be in the same situation as him.

‘This isn’t an ordinary ship.’

Min-jun stared at the three sails installed lengthwise in the center of the deck and opened his mouth.

‘Is this a galleon?’

It was not the kind of ship one would see in modern times. It was an old-fashioned vessel that looked as though it would have been used back in the eighteenth century.

The wooden joints creaked as the ship rose and fell, to the point that someone shouted, “Is this a movie set?”

SPLAAASH-!

“Kyaaaak!”

“G-Grab on!”

The moment a huge wave struck the bow, white foam rolled across the deck, and people began falling over with short screams.

“Urgh!”

Min-jun hunched his head down and watched the stern lurch.

When he licked the seawater clinging stickily to his cheek, a salty tang tangled inside his mouth.

‘……This is real.’

Had he finally gone insane after living like a maniac for games? Min-jun had suspected himself that way, but this sensation, at least, was not fake.

‘This is reality.’

There was no longer any room for doubt.

He had never heard of or seen a dream this vivid.

-Honorable Hero Candidates.

A voice like a cave echoing.

“……?”

The people on the deck flinched and froze.

-I truly welcome you for answering our earnest call.

“Who is that? Where is that voice coming from?”

“A broadcast……?”

-I am one hundred fifth existence of the Spirit God, Belphegoro. Unworthy though I am, I manage a small portion of the thunder and lightning that rain down upon this world.

No sooner had those words fallen than the space before them flashed.

CRA-CRAAASH!

The moment the world was swallowed in pale light, a huge bolt of lightning stabbed down into the middle of the sea.

“Kyaaaak!”

“Urgh!”

“Hiiik.”

The roar was so tremendous that even the air trembled, and it sent chills down his spine.

Min-jun limped with his prosthetic leg and crouched in a corner.

‘Even if I’ve gone through all kinds of things in life.’

After the incident where one of his legs had vanished, Min-jun had been confident that nothing else would surprise him.

‘Isn’t this crossing the line a little?’

-Krhehehe!

It was a laugh that seemed to make the sky heave.

-There is no need to be so surprised, Heroes. This one is merely a servant who has come to relay the words of the great Spirit God. Beside you, I am always nothing more than a handful of cloud, wind, and lightning.

Min-jun stuck his head out from the corner of the deck and scanned the direction the voice came from, but all he could see was the endless sea.

The voice was coming from empty air.

-We need Heroes.

RUMBLE-!

Thunder rang out, and the waves began growing rougher.

-You are Hero Candidates personally named by Spirit Ariel through an oracle. You are people with the qualities to change this world. It is not a title bestowed upon just anyone, so please consider it an honor.

‘What the hell is he talking about?’

Min-jun’s brows furrowed.

-As the dimensional rifts collapse, the world is sinking into chaos. A world where order has broken down will hold nothing but terrible chaos.

He understood only one thing: this was a story that did not fit common sense.

-Until now, we have restrained it with our own hands, but we have reached our limit. We have come to need your strength.

“Huh.”

Murmurs spread out.

When the dense sea fog lying beyond the stern of the ship disappeared, dozens of ships following this one came into view.

-We need Heroes. But not everyone can become one. A Hero must, naturally, possess a caliber befitting that name. Therefore, Hero Candidates, compete without retreating a single step. Glory awaits on the road ahead of you.

“……Compete?”

Someone reacted.

-Indeed. Compete.

Belphegoro caught that word.

-The rule of Stage 1, which I, Belphegoro, have created today, is only one thing: hunt and hunt again. In the wild, the strength of the strong is naturally revealed through hunting.

‘Hunting……?’

Min-jun’s surroundings trembled.

-How can one who would be a Hero have nothing but words! The name of Hero does not suit those who fail to produce results. Therefore, Hero Candidates, do not hesitate to use any means or methods.

Belphegoro continued in a low voice.

-I ask only one thing. Please fight until the end.

His words gradually seemed to grow distant.

-And survive until the end.

Black darkness came crashing down, as if the world had collapsed.

***

“Urrrrgh!”

Min-jun thrashed as he was swept up in a sense of weightlessness.

It felt as though he were falling forever through an empty space like outer space.

A streak of light flashed and stabbed down toward him.

‘What the hell is this now?’

As he curled up and narrowed his frowning eyes, the source of the brilliant light gradually entered his vision.

‘A person?’

-Nice to meet you for the first time, Hero Candidate Do Min-jun. I have been waiting to assist with your first progression. The first existence of the Spirit God. I am Ariel, the Spirit of Wisdom.

She was a long-haired woman with both eyes closed.

Light poured from her entire body as though it were made of platinum, to the point that it was difficult to look directly at her.

She held out her hand to Min-jun.

-This is the first oracle granted to a Hero Candidate. I wish you good results.

A golden card was rotating above her palm.

Nothing was drawn on it, but after a moment, a change began to occur.

-Card Open

Images and letters began to be engraved along with a dazzling light.

-D-Grade Class: Cunning Assassin

Cunning Assassin. Beneath that name was engraved a crouching man wearing a black cloak.

-Ability: C

-Potential: D

-Trait: Keen Eyes (F-Rank)

-An assassin armed with cunning. No matter how vile he may be, he survives and obtains results. Even if the journey that lies before him is a thorny path stained with pain.

“What kind of gacha is this all of a sudden…….”

Even in the middle of this chaotic situation, Min-jun’s head worked quickly.

He was quick to catch on when it came to this kind of thing.

‘Somehow…… I feel like I pulled the wrong thing.’

It was not hard for him to notice that his choice was not very good.

Even just from the part about a “thorny path.”

-I will explain the rules of Belphegoro’s “game.”

‘A game?’

He had not misheard.

Game.

She had definitely said game.

-All 5,000 Hero Candidates who answered the 1st Hero Recruitment will enjoy the “Hunting Festival” in a temporarily prepared training space.

“No, wait, what do you mean game…… hunting…… What are you talking about?”

-Final victory will be granted to the person who enters subjugation data for a total of 1,000 monsters.

It was one-way communication.

Apparently, there was no service that answered questions.

Min-jun bit his lip hard and began listening.

-In the case of eliminated candidates, their rankings will be calculated by considering the subjugation data they possess at the end and their survival time. Elimination refers to death within the game, and this has no relation to life in your original world, so please be at ease, Hero Candidate. The ranking required to advance to the next test goes up to 250th place, and the lower 4,750 candidates will have all memories related to this erased and lose their candidate qualifications. Please be informed in advance that rewards will be paid differentially according to your ranking at the time the game ends.

‘There are even rewards?’

Though flustered, Min-jun began engraving the “game rules” flowing from her mouth into his head.

‘Just from what she’s saying, it really is a game.’

-There are many rewards prepared for those who become Heroes. Vast wealth, medicine that can cure any illness or disability, special abilities, contracts with spirits……. Rewards so valuable they cannot be converted into human currency have been prepared, so please do your best until the end.

“……What?”

-This concludes the explanation. You will soon be moved to the location where the game begins, so please brace for impact.

Among the list of rewards he could not even grasp, the part that lodged in Min-jun’s ears was “medicine that can cure any illness or disability.”

‘Any illness or disability……?’

-Initial basic equipment will be provided. I wish you good fortune, Hero Candidate.

A huge light burst out once more.

-May you become the last one standing.

When he came to his senses, his entire body was soaking wet.

“Ugh…….”

Min-jun immediately twisted his face. He had realized that the place where he was lying was a muddy pit in a soggy swamp.

“Damn it…….”

It was unbelievably unpleasant.

He hurriedly crawled along the ground and escaped from the swamp.

“Ptoo! Cough, ptooey!”

He spat out the foreign matter that had entered his mouth and shook off his body.

‘I collapsed at home not long ago, so what the hell is this?’

This was beyond being possessed by a ghost.

How could something like this happen in a world ruled by science?

‘Ah…….’

While hurriedly checking his body, he discovered something strange. It was the clothes he was wearing.

‘Clothes? No.’

The fabric clung tightly to his body, and sturdy leather had been layered over it.

‘Is this armor?’

The leather covering his chest was firm enough that when he pressed it with his fingernail, it immediately sprang back without a trace. It would be enough to block a carelessly swung blade.

Above all, there was this thing at his waist.

Min-jun pulled out the long object.

Shrrrng.

A chilling sound rang out.

‘A sword…… It’s a real sword.’

The finish was shoddy, but it was definitely a sword.

Its length was about ninety centimeters. It was around three times longer than the bayonet he had used in the military.

Because the edge had not been sharpened properly, it was far too dull to cut something, but the tip at least was sharp enough to pierce flesh.

‘This is definitely a weapon with enough lethality.’

Suddenly, he recalled the words about hunting 1,000 monsters or something like that.

‘Just from what they said, this is a typical RPG-style mission.’

But what was he supposed to hunt?

He needed to know exactly what he was supposed to hunt.

He was confused, but he could not stay like this.

‘First, I should move around a little.’

Just as he was about to retrieve the sword and walk forward.

“Huh…….”

He noticed something strange.

“Th-This…….”

His breathing grew rough, and his focus shook.

“Ha, ha, haha…….”

Min-jun ended up laughing as if he had lost his mind.

So much so that all the mysterious things that had happened until now vanished from his head.

“My, my leg, my leg…… Ha, ha?”

His right leg.

Cold grass brushed against its skin, damp moisture clung to it, and the rough, gritty ground was vividly felt one piece at a time through the sole of his foot.

It was a sensation he had forgotten for a long time.

Goosebumps rose all the way to the crown of his head.

“My leg…… My leg…….”

Emotion welled up in him.

He did not want to wake from this dream.

‘A perfectly fine leg!’

He jumped in place, walked, and ran, and it felt as if something that had been lodged in his chest all this time was being released.

‘This is the leg I lost!’

It was a feeling that a person who had never lost a leg could never experience.

Tears were about to flow pathetically from his eyes.

‘But this isn’t my body, is it?’

He noticed it quickly.

His height, skin color, and even his hair length were different.

The bangs that briefly brushed past his eyes were a dazzling brown, too.

‘Then my face must also…….’

When he touched the surface of his face, he felt differences in his features.

Even the sharply raised bridge of his nose was clearly different.

There was no doubt.

‘It’s definitely not my body.’

How bitter.

It was a leg he had regained after so long, only for it to be something like an “avatar.”

Perhaps it was something he had borrowed while playing this game.

In other words, reality was still…….

‘Still, how long has it been since I had a perfectly fine leg?’

The nostalgic sensation made it impossible for him not to run around like a child.

-Elimination occurred.

But his emotion did not last long.

-Eliminated: Jin Mi-young (death by monster)

-Eliminated: Park Jin-su (death by monster)

-Eliminated: Choi A-ra (death by monster)

-Total participants: 5,000

-Current participants: 4,997

The information that floated before his eyes in a translucent window threw Min-jun into confusion for a moment.

‘Elimination.’

Min-jun’s face hardened at once as he stroked his leg. It was not something he could take lightly.

‘Death by monster……. They can’t really have died, right?’

That was probably the case.

According to the woman who had called herself the “Spirit of Wisdom,” this place was practically a virtual space, no different from a game.

The fact that death here did not lead to actual death proved that, did it not?

‘There’s something else.’

Min-jun shifted his gaze downward. Beneath the death information, more letters were faintly engraved.

-Tip: Every hour, all participants’ locations will be displayed.

‘It really is a game.’

Yes.

This was a game.

A game with rewards on the line.

‘It’s worth trying.’

These people could pull off this goblin trick without batting an eye.

The rewards they spoke of were unlikely to be ordinary, either.

‘They might really give me something that can heal my leg.’

-It is exactly 3:00.

-All participants’ locations will be displayed.

Min-jun raised his head.

A notification window shaped like a map was floating before his eyes. He could see countless red dots appearing around him.

‘So these are the participants’ locations?’

The red dots on the radar were spread out sparsely.

Judging by the scale, the farthest ones seemed to be at least dozens of kilometers away from here.

‘Then should I start moving too?’

Smiling at the sensation of his returned right sole, he walked through the squelching mud.

‘It’s not about whether I can or can’t.’

Min-jun’s eyes began to shine fully.

The sword hilt was gripped firmly in his hand.

‘I just do it first.’

He did not lose when it came to games.

That was Min-jun’s creed.