Chapter 3
Chapter 3
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: See You Next Time
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[All beginnings happen here.]
“……What’s different about the stele right in front of me?”
Park Jin-seong let out a hollow laugh.
The contents of the stele he’d dug up, even flipping over dirt to check. Damn it. It was no different from the one he’d seen earlier.
‘Why would they put two steles with the same content? And why was this one buried in the first place?’
An Easter egg. Even calling it a secret event hidden by the game devs felt half-baked.
He’d touched it, knocked on it, but no reaction at all.
Or maybe it was something like that?
“Dummy data?”
He’d heard stories like that. During game development, sometimes they don’t delete data they’ve created.
In those cases, it usually wasn’t visible, but the data remained intact.
‘If it’s dummy data, that makes sense. It shouldn’t be visible normally, but since I entered the game world, I can see it. That fits.’
Of course, it could easily not be the case.
Park Jin-seong’s mind raced.
The mere existence of an object invisible in the game stirred a strange tension.
If only he could investigate more closely.
‘No time.’
Park Jin-seong clicked his tongue.
Rumble—.
At that moment, the entire island began to shake with a deep rumble and vibrations.
The early-game sequence flashed in his mind.
‘After this sound…… the Starting Island sinks soon. It submerges rapidly underwater.’
He knew from testing it himself.
If you don’t escape before the island submerges.
……Your character dies.
Pat pat—!
Jin-seong dusted off his hands regretfully and stood up.
He had to get out first.
If he kept digging around the stele, he’d get buried into the ocean along with the Starting Island.
“It’s a shame…… but I can’t just drown. It’s not like I can’t come back.”
Exactly once.
There was a time in DAT when the Starting Island resurfaced.
‘Chrome’s Tower. Right. When the 6th Tower, the Dark Castle, appears, the Starting Island always comes with it.’
Jin-seong moved toward the shore and found the boat placed there.
Grip.
He grasped the oar of the rowboat and stared ahead.
How he’d ended up here. And everything related to the stele on this island.
Nothing was sorted out or understood yet.
“……If I survive until the 6th Tower appears. I’ll come back and check it out. Whatever I’m missing.”
Survive.
Gather information by surviving.
Then…… all the lingering mysteries would get another chance to be uncovered.
* * *
Splash—
Clear weather, gentle currents.
Jin-seong rowed steadily into the cool breeze as he slowly propelled the rowboat away from the Starting Island.
“Didn’t think I’d be rowing a boat myself after entering the game.”
It was an action he’d done countless times in the game, but doing it by hand, crossing the sea, felt entirely new.
“Fighting monsters bloody battles is great, but this vibe isn’t bad either.”
DAT was a game with high freedom.
You could farm or drift on the sea like this.
But that was only true for the early game.
“Still, better enjoy it while I can, right? Isn’t that so, Ketchup Thief?”
“…….”
“Hey. It’s peaceful now, but later you’ll have to fight whether you like it or not. Blood flowing, bones sticking out, huh?”
“…….”
“Of course, I only saw it on screen. But that’s not the point…….”
Park Jin-seong’s expression subtly hardened as he muttered to Ketchup Thief.
“No matter how well you hold out, once Chrome. That bastard shows up on the continent, a bloodstorm will rage. Just like in the game.”
DAT stayed peaceful from the early to mid-game.
But as it progressed to mid-to-late, it grew darker, and by the end, it turned as desperate as a war-torn nation.
Chrome and the demons following him.
To survive to the end in that rapidly changing world, he had to prepare everything he could.
‘For now, I need to survive that tower right in front of me.’
The continent’s shape came into view before Jin-seong’s eyes.
And the massive pillar he’d glimpsed once from the Starting Island filled his sight.
Now a bit closer, its scale felt even grander.
‘……The 1st Tower.’
A colossal tower piercing endlessly into the sky.
He had to survive there first.
Only then could he tackle the next towers in sequence.
“Hey! You bastard……!! You’re alive!”
He’d just reaffirmed his goal and docked the boat at the continent’s pier when it happened.
Someone shouted at Park Jin-seong and came running.
“Manannan.”
He recognized him at a glance. Park Jin-seong unwittingly said the name.
Manannan Lir.
The first NPC you meet if you start as a mage.
Among veterans, he was called ‘Nanni’ or ‘Dwarf.’
Seeing him in person, ‘Dwarf’ was spot on.
He was really tiny…….
“……You okay? How’s your body feeling?”
“…….”
“……What? Why are you like this? Why aren’t you saying anything?”
Jin-seong paused briefly at the voice in his ear.
‘English? Korean? What?’
It sounded clearly Korean…….
Was it okay to just respond normally?
* * *
“Hey.”
“Yeah, man! Why do you keep going quiet?”
It’s fine to use Korean as is. Relieved, he answered.
“Did I keep you waiting long?”
“Nah, not that long…… But more than that, leaving just a single note? Damn it.”
Right. That was the basic setup.
The character in the game had set out to explore during the time the Isle of Skeletons was afloat.
He’d informed his friend Manannan via note, and Manannan had waited near the fishing village out of worry.
‘Sorry about that.’
Unfortunately, the friend Manannan had waited for was gone now.
Regen Petrichio.
In DAT’s official lore, the mage character’s name was Regen Petrichio.
‘……The problem is that I’m inside that body now.’
Park Jin-seong took a moment to organize his thoughts.
Manannan thinking he was Regen.
He wasn’t without the urge to come clean, but he knew it would blow up.
“Why the hell did you go to the Isle of Skeletons? With all those rumors about black magic and stuff…… I figured even if you came back half-dead, I wouldn’t be surprised.”
The place Park Jin-seong had just left was rumored to be connected to black magic.
“You actually explored that hellhole…… Nothing weird happen?”
“…….”
“If you felt anything off, tell me right away. Master’s strict, but his skills are the real deal, you know.”
“Manannan. About that.”
Just mimicking someone else wasn’t easy while listening quietly.
Right when the impulse to spill everything surged.
“No matter what’s attached to you, he’ll fix it. I heard once he even erased a soul possessing someone else’s body.”
“…….”
“Why, were you about to say something?”
“No. It’s not that.”
Erasure.
Come to think of it, these two mages’ master was lore-wise capable of annihilating souls.
‘……Shit.’
If he got found out, it wouldn’t just be messy.
……Regen.
‘From now on, I’m Regen.’
He had to impersonate Regen out of nowhere, but he wasn’t entirely unconfident.
Park Jin-seong knew Regen as well as Manannan did.
Park Jin-seong closed his eyes briefly and opened them.
“The Isle of Skeletons had nothing. Rumors really can’t be trusted.”
Regen answered calmly.
Manannan looked disappointed at the words.
He didn’t know what he’d heard, but it differed from reality, leaving him unsatisfied.
Even if it wasn’t the truth.
“I heard there might be treasures hidden proportional to the danger. Guess that was a lie too.”
“Seems like it.”
“We’re screwed. What’re you gonna do now.”
“Huh?”
“What’s with that chill expression? You stole this boat from Master without permission.”
“……!!”
“Pretty sure he already knows. He seemed pretty pissed…… No gains means no excuses now.”
‘Oh, right.’
That was the plot.
‘That guy’s temper is no joke.’
He’d only been scolded through a computer screen before, but now it was in person.
Sudden worry flooded in.
Regen fiddled with his inventory bracelet.
‘Ketchup Thief, should we offer up a few of the things we brought?’
Right as he seriously pondered bribing with a gift to soften the blow.
“Anyway, let’s go beg for mercy before Master’s lid blows off. Gotta grovel now, what else can we do.”
Manannan said that and pulled a faintly red-tinged paper from his waist.
If things followed the game plot, that was a teleport scroll inscribed with a spell.
Using it would take them straight from the village to the central city.
Rip!
Manannan tore the teleport scroll vigorously.
A magic circle inscribed on the scroll appeared at their feet, and as it rose, Regen and Manannan vanished.
‘This is…….’
Regen thought as he rode the scroll away.
‘The scroll I’ll be using nonstop from now on……!’
Scrolls that would serve as spear and shield to keep Regen alive once he became a scrollcrafter.
Using it for real confirmed it.
No item in this world would be more convenient.
* * *
Blink, and they’d already teleported to another area.
DAT’s main region, a place he’d frequent from now on.
‘Western Middle Street.’
A bit far from the kingdom’s capital, but the central road of the vast Western region.
Regen planned to operate out of this Western area from here on.
Just like always when starting DAT.
‘First, I need to gather some info.’
Middle Street, the Western hub, was fairly lively.
A good spot for acquiring information.
“Hey, where you going? Master’s place is that way. Don’t tell me…… you’re running?”
“Nah. Just wanna buy a newspaper to check something quick.”
“Newspaper? You sure you’re okay? You hate reading ‘cause it hurts your eyes, and now newspapers? Hey, where you—”
Regen brushed off Manannan’s words and walked on.
Toward the little boy selling newspapers.
He had to get every bit of info he could.
Confirm if this world really matched the game Regen knew.
“Get your newspaper! Newspaper here! All the continent’s news in one!”
“Kid, gimme one paper?”
“1 silver!”
“Huh?”
Oh.
‘I got no money?’
Regen whipped his head around to Manannan.
“Manannan.”
“Yeah?”
“Lend me 1 silver.”
“……You forgot it?”
“We’re friends.”
“Friends only when you need something? Fine! I’ll remember this, pay me back!”
Ting.
Easier than expected.
Probably because he trusted his friend Regen that much.
“Here. 1 silver.”
“Thanks! Come again!”
“Wait, before that…… this today’s paper, right?”
“Yup!”
Regen handed over 1 silver, took the newspaper, and scanned it quickly.
[Kernunos Calendar Year 738. November 8th.]
‘……As expected.’
The game’s start date matched perfectly. Not even a day off.
“Manannan.”
“Yeah?”
“The 6th Tower seems tough to climb, huh?”
“You’re really weird today.”
Just in case, he cross-checked.
Manannan looked confused at Regen’s question and replied.
“There’s only 5 towers on the continent? ……Did you hit your head on the Isle of Skeletons? What nonsense is this?”
“……Yeah. 5 is right.”
“……?”
Regen folded the newspaper, handed it to Manannan, and nodded.
‘Timeline matches the game too. Chrome hasn’t appeared yet. My game playthrough didn’t carry over to this world.’
He fiddled with his bracelet absently.
The one who saved this game world wasn’t recorded in history.
Everyone had reset to the starting point.
“The 6th Tower exists. Heh heh. They will surely come.”
“……Pardon?”
It was that moment.
He’d only said it to cross-check.
“That old man’s at it again. C’mon, Regen. No time to waste.”
“Why him?”
“Why? He’s famous for standing by that fountain spouting weird stuff every day. Guess you set him off this time. Let’s bounce.”
“What?”
Regen’s eyes shook violently.
He glared at the middle-aged NPC by the fountain who’d reacted to ‘6th Tower.’
‘That NPC had dialogue?’