TL: SWAN
PR: Freak_Guy
Chapter 4
“Once you’re discharged, what do you want to do the most?”
This is the most frequently asked question to soldiers approaching their discharge.
And the answers are usually one-dimensional.
“I want to sleep all day at home.”
“I want to have some pork belly with a glass of soju.”
“I want to lie in bed, eat chicken, and watch Netflix.”
They are yearning for the everyday life they took for granted, the freedom they once had and now want to reclaim.
In that regard, Do-hyun was no different.
“Playing games.”
“…What?”
“I want to play games.”
“……”
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For him, gaming was a daily routine confined to a moderately spacious corner of his room, where he had a computer and VR gear.
He desperately wanted to reclaim that everyday life.
At first, his fellow soldiers looked at him with puzzled expressions, but soon they could relate.
“Games? Did you mean God of Savior?”
“Oh, the first-ever virtual reality game? Wow, if it’s that, I totally get it. I want to play it too, going crazy just thinking about it. It was released not long ago, and I got my discharge just to play it.”
“What game is that? You should have said you wanted to play God of Savior.”
“Are you guys planning to rent a capsule room after discharge? Let’s organize a party.”
For people, God of Savior was no longer just a game for geeks or outcasts. It had become a cultural phenomenon and a world of its own. Finding someone who hadn’t played God of Savior was harder than finding a needle in a haystack. Even among older folks, not knowing about it was seen as being out of touch with the world.
Sadly, within the military, there wasn’t a single person who didn’t want to play God of Savior.
“…Is God of Savior really that amazing?”
“Yeah, haven’t you played it? Geez, you’ve missed out on something incredible. Prepare three diapers before you start playing.”
Even the newcomers, who listened to the discussions while smoking cigarettes, couldn’t resist showing interest.
Whenever that happened, those who had experienced God of Savior outside would feel important and start telling epic stories, like they were narrating heroic legends.
Among those in the military, discussions about God of Savior and girls took up more than 90% of their conversations.
Every time this happened, Do-hyun had to test his patience.
“Is it really a virtual reality game?”
“Unbelievable, right? A sequel to Demorck.”
“Who would’ve known it was actually a fully Immersive virtual reality game? Just my luck that it was released exactly when I joined the military. It’s so frustrating, I could cry.”
Do-hyun had never been a believer, but this time, he felt an overwhelming sense of faith. It was as if some divine intervention had prevented him from experiencing it.
And so, while hearing news about God of Savior and enduring the seemingly endless 1 year and 6 months, Dohyun’s discharge day finally arrived.
Clunk!
“…The capsule room, the capsule room is?”
“Oh, you’re here. Your hair has gotten long.”
“Of course, my brother would search for the capsule room as soon as he comes back. When he was a baby, it was always ‘mom, mom,’ but now it’s ‘capsule room, capsule room.’ It seems like there’s no middle ground with you.”
“Mom, you should stop calling him that, anyway, you two are just the same.”
Entering his house, Dohyun ignored the teasing from his sister Hyuna and his mother Chae Misook, focusing on finding the capsule room.
His mind was set on one thing: to embrace the capsule as soon as possible.
The capsule was placed in his room. Two men had helped move it, and boy, was it heavy. Who would’ve thought such a thing could be so heavy nowadays? You could get one at a reasonable price, especially since it was a second-hand model that cost around 400.
“Mom, don’t you know about God of Savior? If you don’t know, you’ll be considered outdated.”
“Oh, this one keeps talking about it on TV all the time, I know. But I’m too scared to play those kinds of games. I guess those people aren’t afraid of those monsters, huh?”
“Mom, Mom, your son is the best at taking down monsters. I’m a real slayer.”
Listening to their conversation with one ear, Do-hyun suddenly stopped in his tracks as he entered his room.
His eyes gleamed with excitement.
“This is the capsule…”
The screen showed a virtual mirror where his current appearance was displayed.
He felt an immense satisfaction, even though he had only bought a relatively cheap capsule after saving up a decent military salary for a year and a half.
Clumsy setup aside, the capsule was a source of pride.
“Now, where should I log in?”
Do-hyun expertly began operating the capsule.
He had watched countless videos to learn how to use it properly, just like he did for Demrock.
He hadn’t studied everything in detail, but he had a rough understanding of the system, thanks to checking it on his way here.
“It has a lot of similarities to Demorck…”
As it was a sequel to Demorck, it was natural for many elements to be similar. The world, cities, and various other aspects had continuity from the previous game. Although many things had changed, the core system was similar, so it didn’t seem difficult.
He had only looked at the basic setup, but there would be plenty of time to explore detailed guides. With one year and six months, he had enough time. God of Savior, being played by one billion people, needed no explanation.
Click.
He activated the switches one by one and finished the setup. Once he put on the helmet-like device, his vision went dark.
Then, a white world appeared.
From that space came the voice of a female artificial intelligence.
“Welcome to the Paradise of Adventure.”
“Please create your character.”
“Gender cannot be changed, but you can customize your hairstyle, hair color, and eye color. Other than that, minor changes that don’t significantly impact the character’s performance are possible.”
Do-hyun looked into the full-length mirror before him.
Inside, his current appearance was revealed, with the essential parts barely covered and the rest exposed.
He had grown a bit, but his military appearance and his fairly plump body were still noticeable.
“It still looks very military-like.”
He had rushed here right after discharge.
He marveled at how his appearance changed with just a simple touch.
“It changes with just a snap. It feels like performing magic. Well, there wasn’t much to change anyway. I just cut my hair.”
Other than that, there was hardly any difference from his real-life appearance.
“There’s not much I can really change, so there’s no need to bother with it.”
Indeed, this was different from Demorck.
In Demorck, where the five senses were absent, you could change not only your appearance but even your gender as much as you wanted. Some skilled players were known to exploit this feature to the fullest, but Do-hyun had no interest in such a cumbersome process.
After finishing the customization, he now looked quite civilian-like.
Satisfied, he looked into the mirror again when the voice rang out once more.
“[Please choose a nickname.]”
“Nickname, huh?”
For those who played God of Savior, choosing a nickname was no trivial matter.
In most games, nicknames couldn’t be duplicated, but in God of Savior, they could.
With one billion players, it was only natural that duplicates would happen.
Though Dohyun should have been cautious, without any hesitation, he shouted:
“Kaiser.”
It was a name he had been using since he first started the game until its service was terminated. Kaiser was as familiar and meaningful to him as his real name. From the beginning, he had never thought of choosing a different name.
“[Is the nickname ‘Kaiser’ correct?]”
“Yes.”
“Nice to meet you, Kaiser.”
“Your hashtag is Kaiser#312543.”
“Character creation complete.”
“Moving to the tutorial zone.”
And with that message, his vision turned pitch-black.
***
“Wow…”
Do-hyun let out a genuine exclamation at the scenery before him.
He was on top of a castle.
It looked like something straight out of a typical medieval fantasy movie.
It wasn’t as breathtakingly beautiful as the landscapes in videos, but the sight of torches lighting up the night, towering castle walls, and the feeling of being on a battlefield made him feel like he had stepped into another world.
The cool night breeze brushing against his body, the smell of burning, the sensation of standing on solid ground, the faint feeling when he wiggled his fingers – everything felt real.
It was as if he hadn’t started playing a game or entered a fantasy world, but instead had been transported there.
“Is this virtual reality gaming…”
As he gazed at the landscape beyond the castle walls, a voice interrupted his thoughts.
“[This is the grim battlefield of the past Aren Castle.]”
“[Please choose a weapon.]”
The voice he had heard during character creation woke him up.
Instinctively, he turned around and saw numerous weapons floating in mid-air. Seeing this system-like phenomenon in such a realistic environment felt awkward.
“[Crude Sword]
– An old and dull sword.
Seems like it can cut people without much trouble.
[Crude Spear]
– An old and dull spear.
Seems like it can pierce people without much trouble.
[Crude Bow]
– An old and worn-out bow.
Looks like it can still shoot about fifty arrows.]”
There were swords, spears, bows, daggers, maces, crossbows, staffs, and more.
Even though there were various weapons available, Dohyun picked up a sword without any hesitation.
“[You have chosen the Crude Sword.]
[You can use the basic skill ‘Strong Strike.’]
[Tutorial is starting.]”
A sword was Do-hyun’s favorite weapon during his Demrock days.
There was no special reason for it.
He simply thought it was the most versatile weapon in all directions, and it turned out to suit him well.
“Here they come!”
As he held the sword, soldiers came running towards him from a distance.
Their urgent expressions and blood-stained armor revealed the tense situation they were in.
The other person, who approached him as if he were annoyed by Do-hyun’s lingering, grabbed his wrist and pulled him forcefully.
“What are you doing here? There’s an urgent situation! Other mercenaries have already joined the battle, so hurry up and join us!”
[Party formed with the Knight Commander ‘Charlie’.]
Party Members:
– Charlie
– Kaiser (Do-hyun’s Character Name)
Thus, Do-hyun was dragged along with the hastily formed party and moved inside the castle.
It was a tutorial event that was common in other games as well.
As he followed Charlie, the scene outside the castle was vastly different. There was a fierce battle raging on, with soldiers and monsters covered in blood and lying on the ground.
The leisurely observation from a moment ago was now replaced with a tense situation.
As they went deeper, the situation became more dire.
Crash!
Roar!
The number of fallen soldiers and grotesque monsters fighting fiercely increased.
There were mercenaries occasionally lying on the ground as well.
“So, it has come to this already… Damn.”
Charlie, who closed his eyes tightly as if his heart was torn, turned his head and urged Do-hyun to move faster.
He was genuinely grieving for the fallen comrades, and it was something that could not be fully replicated with mere data.
“In the end, they allied with those damn monsters… If the rumors are true, they must have made a contract with that ‘monster.’ We need to stop them quickly before it arrives.”
That was the reason he was rushing even without properly grieving for his comrades. If the monster arrived, everything would be over.
And Do-hyun knew who that monster was. He had seen it several times in videos before.
It wasn’t a monster created to be defeated in the tutorial.
“Hurry. We’ll be there soon if we go this way.”
Just as they were descending the stairs and crossing the hallway, Charlie shouted.
Then, it happened.
Shoo-whoosh!
A sound of something slicing through the air made Do-hyun stop, and right in front of him, arrows struck the ground. It was as if the arrows avoided him on their own.
“……!”
Charlie, who was trying to block the arrows with his sword, froze in surprise.
Then, he muttered belatedly:
“Did you avoid them on purpose? No… that’s impossible. You must be lucky.”
It was unreasonable to think that Do-hyun intentionally blocked the arrows, nor could he have stopped and avoided them like that. It made more sense to assume it was just luck.
Kikikik-.
Kirik-.
The ones who shot the arrows were the monsters.
They resembled satyrs but had a distinguishing feature – small horns on their heads, unlike regular satyrs.
There were a total of five of them.
“They’ve gathered here… We have to break through them.”
As Charlie prepared his stance, the monsters also made Kikikik sounds while grabbing their weapons.
Two archers and three with bludgeoning weapons.
It was a challenging combination, and Charlie was in a tight spot since the situation was urgent.
“First, I should…?”
That was when Do-hyun rushed forward.
