Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Adaptation (2)
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The first day I entered school.
The first day I fell in love with someone.
The first day I confessed my feelings to someone.
No matter what it was, for any human being, the experience of a 'first' becomes an unforgettable memory.
Those 'first' memories turn into fragments of reminiscence, embedding themselves deep in the center of our hearts.
They don't dislodge until the moment we close our eyes for the last time, only returning to nothingness when they turn to ashes alongside us.
...Memories that pop into my head sporadically even while showering, reading a book, or sleeping. That's what 'first' memories are.
That's why I still vividly remember the days when life had some 'leeway,' the time when I first played Season Off Fantasy.
The overwhelming graphics and realism. The captivating characters, classes, and story—I was completely hooked on Season Off Fantasy back then.
The first level-up, choosing 'Greatsword Knight' as my main class after much deliberation, the first PVP victory where I howled in triumph. Days filled only with pure joy.
There were so many good memories, but ironically, the one that sticks out the most is the day I first saw the 'You have died' screen.
Having chosen the PVE-specialized 'Greatsword Knight' class, I proudly ventured into a forest teeming with monsters higher level than me.
There, I encountered two trolls.
[Grrrrrrr...]
A massive wooden club gripped in their hands, menacing faces, bodies twice my size, and an overwhelming charisma radiating from them.
...They were terrifying monsters that could make anyone's legs go weak, but back then, I trusted only in my 'Greatsword Knight' class and my still-clumsy skills. Instead of running, I foolishly chose to hunt them.
No matter how PVE-specialized the Greatsword Knight was, I was a total newbie fresh off job change. Taking on two monsters higher level than me at once was fundamentally impossible.
[I'm screwed.]
The moment my greatsword clashed with their clubs, I bitterly regretted my rash decision.
Their strength was far beyond what I'd imagined, and their fluid combo attacks were more than enough to drain my HP bar to zero.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ You have died! [...Fuck.]
That first encounter with the red holographic screen announcing my death, floating in a mysterious void of pure darkness. Those glaring crimson letters and screen etched themselves deep into my brain, remaining crystal clear even now, years later.
...C-grade monster, Troll.
Low grade or not, it was the first thing to give me the word 'death' since starting Sio-pan.
It snapped my greatsword in two with overwhelming power, smashing and crushing human heads like nothing. A monster among monsters, a beast incarnate.
That was the terrifying 'Troll' etched in my memory.
— Graaaaaah!!
"......"
...That's why, even now as Selverion, I never underestimated them. How could I treat lightly the monsters that gave me my first taste of death?
"Here goes."
For proper revenge that day, I extended my hand toward the trolls with due seriousness. The 'Chains of Death and Frost,' now in the form of a greatsword, launched toward them at ferocious speed.
Shaaak!
Selverion's chains passed right through the center of the charging trolls, creating a massive shockwave like a fighter jet's sonic boom.
— Gr, graaah?!
The moment the chains sped through the three trolls like a car on a highway, their forms began to distort.
And then came the horrific screams.
— Gr, graaaaaah!!
The wind pressure from the chains piercing between them tore their bodies apart as if bombs had detonated inside. Their upper bodies exploded beyond recognition, scattering blood and flesh everywhere.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
With dull thumps, the three trolls collapsed one after another. They hadn't even landed a scratch on me, couldn't take a single proper step before becoming half-crippled corpses.
Boom!
"...!!"
The Chains of Death and Frost, having pierced the trolls, smashed straight through the wall of the house behind them before finally halting.
I let out a short exclamation at the sight.
"Whoa."
It wasn't even a direct hit. Just brushing past them, and the wind pressure alone caused all three trolls to explode.
"Impressive..."
Given the level gap between Selverion and the trolls, I'd roughly expected a single normal attack could take them out. But I never imagined mere wind pressure would do it.
Selverion's power was far, far beyond my expectations.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Monster defeated! C-grade monster 'Troll (LV: 180) x3' defeated! Reward: C-grade Magic Stone x3 "Ah."
The screen was a monster defeat notification. The densely packed blue text confirmed I'd one-shot the trolls and revealed what items they'd dropped upon death.
"Item drop system still works, huh..."
I'd thought with the boundary between virtual and reality collapsed, killing monsters would yield no rewards. But the trolls blatantly dropped two items as if mocking my shortsightedness.
"..."
I closed the hologram and carefully picked up the three shimmering purple stones from the trolls' gruesome corpses.
These stones, impossible to find in reality, gleamed beautifully in the sunlight.
"Magic stones..."
They were the cores of monsters—magic stones.
Magic stones dropped 100% upon monster kills, with higher-grade monsters yielding larger, higher-quality ones proportionally.
In-game, they were essential for weapon and accessory crafting, an indispensable item in Season Off Fantasy.
They traded at wildly varying prices in player markets. I wondered how they'd be handled in reality.
"Hmm..."
If the mysterious magical power within them worked like in-game, they'd revolutionize 21st-century Earth's science exponentially.
When that time came, their value would skyrocket.
C-grade weren't great, but thinking long-term, no harm in keeping them.
"...Souvenirs, I guess."
Even if they didn't fetch much later, as the first magic stones from monsters I'd killed as Selverion, they were worth keeping on sentiment alone.
"Hm..."
I stored the magic stones in my inventory and recalled the Chains of Death and Frost that had obliterated the trolls and wall. The greatsword with its red blade seemed even more menacingly radiant than before.
"...Feels kinda lacking."
I muttered flatly, staring at the gleaming chains.
This was my first battle as Selverion, but it barely qualified as one. I'd just stood there and swung once.
...To test passives, skills, and more, I'd need at least two or three more monsters.
"...Let's look around slowly."
I tossed the chains to float around me and resumed walking. Hundreds, thousands of light rifts still hung over Seoul's skies, countless monsters rampaging on the ground.
Early in the transformation crisis, encountering them would be easier than lying down for rice cakes.
With 'Phantasmal Tiara' disguised as a hood and mask, no one would spot me as Selverion. If I wanted, I could test skills and hunt until evening.
"......"
I scanned the neighborhood again. No rift directly above my area, so it was surprisingly quiet compared to distant monster roars.
...Maybe I should venture farther, bracing for soldiers or other players.
"Alright, just to the next housing complex... ...?!?"
— KieeeEEEEEEK!!
...The moment I decided to head a bit farther from my neighborhood, a beastly shriek tore through the sky, as if ripping everything apart.
"What the—."
The loudest monster cry since the crisis began. I tilted my head and looked straight up.
— Kyaaaaah!!
"..."
A massive something, blotting out the sun, flapped enormous wings through the sky before gracefully landing atop a half-demolished apartment under reconstruction, not far from me.
Perched atop the rebar skeleton with stylish poise, a black, winged behemoth spread its wings wide, as if flaunting its majesty, and unleashed another ear-shattering roar.
— KieeeEEEEEEK!!
I examined the beast closely.
"That's..."
Enormous black wings, a sharp unicorn-like horn on its crest, teeth sharp and sturdy enough to crush anything.
...It took no time to recognize it as Season Off Fantasy's quasi-boss monster, 'Dark Wyvern'.
"Dark Wyvern..."
Dark Wyvern.
Average level 1500, measured A+ grade. Excluding stage bosses, it sat at the top of the food chain—a mid-boss-tier upper monster.
Only those who could handle one casually earned ranker status. Powerful, high HP, notoriously tricky to kill.
— KieeeEEEEEEK!!
"..."
...This Dark Wyvern, superior to the regular Wyvern reportedly slain by Fate Guild in Asan, Chungnam, perched on the apartment rebar, roaring nonstop.
As if hoping humans would see it and cower.
"Hm..."
Scratching my chin at the sight, I recalled something from the Season Off Fantasy community: killing a boss-grade monster closes one rift.
Meaning, taking down that one within arm's reach would seal the nearest rift to my neighborhood.
Plus, it seemed perfect as a sandbag for testing Selverion's passives and skills.
"..."
...Most importantly, this neighborhood I'd fled to after my business tanked was full of bottom-tier poor folks—unlikely to own pricey VR gear for Season Off Fantasy.
Odds were, no other Awakeners here besides me. No one else to handle that Dark Wyvern.
Soldiers couldn't be trusted against something dozens of times tougher than kobolds. If I didn't step up, it'd raze my place and the whole area eventually.
...But if I took it down, I'd test Selverion's abilities, close a rift, and protect my home and neighborhood.
Three birds with one stone.
No reason to let that ferocious beast pass.
"...Alright."
With a faint smile, I leaped high into the sky.