Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Chapter 1: Possession
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Baek Yuseong fell deep into thought while gazing at the holographic window floating idly before his eyes.
Setting up a character at the start of a game takes a lot of time.
From customizing the appearance to selecting character traits, these aren't things one can easily decide.
Moreover, this was a virtual reality game that, once started, could take anywhere from a few months to several years to complete.
Based on his experience with the previous game, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the trait selection determined the difficulty level ahead.
Without traits, it was obvious he'd have to wander the streets begging for opportunities and suffer endlessly until he got one. But starting with special traits could get him straight into a famous sect.
Rather than the player begging to join, the sect might shower him with all sorts of elixirs, pleading for him to come to their door.
"My usual style is to start from the bottom and enjoy the game long-term..."
Given that playstyle, it seemed natural for Yuseong not to pick any traits, but there was a reason he was still agonizing over the selection screen.
Five years ago, an incident turned all the blockbuster PC games of the time into ancient relics.
The advent of perfect virtual reality games.
The culprit was the debut title from Real World Inc.: *Virtual Fantasy*.
Despite providing almost no game information—an extreme lack of user-friendliness—*Virtual Fantasy* gained worldwide popularity.
It was stranger if such extreme realism, making it feel like you were truly in a fantasy world, didn't attract players.
Yuseong was one of the many users who started the game.
True to his usual style, he chose to start from the bottom, only to have a hellish experience.
Remembering that ordeal, Baek Yuseong's body shivered.
"Even in realistic mode, I thought a few months of suffering would do it, but who knew it would take five years to see the ending."
That was five years in real time; accounting for the time acceleration, it was a whopping fifty years.
Once started, Yuseong had to see it through, enduring all sorts of hardships before clearing *Virtual Fantasy* and venting his deep frustration in a lengthy review.
Review complete.
He felt relieved.
Real World, which had unleashed virtual reality games with technology so advanced it was hard to comprehend—like torturing aliens—ignored all demands: make adult content, develop other games, create military training programs, and so on.
That had been the case.
[Following News: Real World - New Title *Real Murim* Released.]
"......"
It was just as Yuseong was thinking it might be time to take a break and enjoy real life.
The timing was exquisitely perfect, as if someone had been waiting for him to clear *Virtual Fantasy*.
"No way that's true."
Shaking his head, he pondered for a moment.
'Yeah, honestly, those past five years were the most enjoyable time in my otherwise worthless life. I vented about 5,700 characters' worth in the review because of how much I suffered to see the ending, but think about it—I'm the first player to clear *Virtual Fantasy*'s realistic mode.'
Thanks to that, he gained fame.
He appeared on various broadcasts, sharing his know-how, earning plenty of money, and freeing himself from worries about livelihood.
Though he'd suffered from picking the wrong mode, the gamer in his blood won out, and Yuseong installed *Real Murim* and logged in.
"This time, easy mode all the way. I won't even glance at realistic mode."
That was his resolve, but the new title *Real Murim* had no mode selection.
Just customization and the trait selection screen. Traits could even be selected multiple times.
Was it the gamer's instinct from a lifetime of play, or stick to his recent resolve for an easy ride?
Yuseong ultimately stuck to his recent decision. He wanted to enjoy the game moderately and get back to real life.
Appearance: as handsome as possible.
Since he'd need to learn martial arts, age: as young as possible.
Traits: scooping up multiples of everything that looked good for learning martial arts, skipping only those that seemed like debuffs.
Only after grabbing all the top-tier traits—barely three in *Virtual Fantasy*—did he hit the start button.
Yuseong thrilled at the thought of quickly becoming a supreme master and roaming the murim world freely.
A powerful suction force, like being pulled into somewhere, enveloped him.
'Whoa, the previous game didn't have this sensation at the start. New feature in this sequel?'
It felt refreshing, like only good things lay ahead.
***
Murim warriors visit physicians more often than ordinary folk.
Beyond injuries from training martial arts, sparring and duels are woven into daily life, so the Murim Alliance naturally maintains ties with skilled medical halls.
The Luoyang Medical Hall was the most renowned for skill even among those in Luoyang, where the Murim Alliance was based.
It boasted ten physicians who had passed the hall's notoriously grueling exams.
Among them, the one occupying the first treatment room was a middle-aged man.
Yang Jiheon, one of the younger ones in the Luoyang Medical Hall, which was mostly staffed by elders.
Today, as always, he couldn't hide his pride at the sight of the endless line of patients before his treatment room.
Compared to the tenth room, where the line dwindled to just over ten, it spoke volumes about his skill and prestige.
'To hold the first treatment room in a place that's no less than the world's top medical hall—I'm not tarnishing my master's reputation.'
The patients' cautious demeanor toward him revealed their respect for Yang Jiheon.
A warrior with a long sword strapped to his back carefully set it aside and entered.
"Yang Physician, I'm sorry to bother you when you're so busy. The right arm you treated before felt better but started aching again."
After taking the patient's pulse through his wrist, Yang Jiheon nodded lightly.
"I needled you and prescribed medicine, but it seems you didn't take even a single dose?"
The patient exclaimed in surprise.
"That's... I'm sorry."
"Tsk. It's not something that can be fixed with acupuncture alone. I'll needle you again and rewrite the prescription, so this time, follow it exactly. Treatments have their proper timing—miss this window, and it'll be harder to fix."
The dejected patient left after treatment, and new ones came in for consultations. Some were civilians, others murim folk.
Consultations continued until nightfall.
After smoothly handling patients with all sorts of ailments, Yang Physician turned to the young man who'd been sitting beside him all this time, his voice dripping with arrogance.
"Well? Do you get it now?"
The young man was none other than Baek Yuseong.
Whether due to his nearly 5,700-character epic review, or ignoring the game name progression from *Virtual Fantasy* to *Real Murim*, five years ago he'd ended up possessed into the game world.
Offering a wry smile at Yang Physician's arrogant tone, Baek Yuseong replied.
"I've been greatly enlightened by your skills, Yang Physician. Starting tomorrow, I'll be handling consultations alone, but thanks to you, I've learned much."
"Tsk, you're lucky. Opportunities to observe my treatments don't come often."
"......"
"In my day, I spent five years tending to my master just to learn a single acupuncture technique or prescription. If things hadn't changed this time, when would a young physician like you get to observe my consultations?"
Baek Yuseong nodded along, fueling the old-timer's self-praise—the classic "back in my day" rant.
Once Yang Physician finished boasting, Yuseong seized the moment.
"I believe your master, the Divine Physician, is the world's greatest healer."
Yang Physician beamed.
"People call the Divine Physician, Demonic Physician, and Life-Death Freak Physician the Three Great Physicians of the World, but the Life-Death Freak Physician is a madman from the unorthodox paths who slaughters people on whims, the Demonic Physician casually experiments on humans and only dabbles in poisons. The true physician is my master alone."
"I agree. And I hear you've inherited most of the Divine Physician's legacy."
As far as Yuseong could tell, he didn't know the truth, but piecing together what Yang Physician had chattered about over the past three days, he was undoubtedly the next best after the Divine Physician.
He prescribed boldly for patients, and most left satisfied, suggesting it wasn't far off.
With the Divine Physician in seclusion, this man was the top physician Yuseong could access.
"Hmph, exactly. That's why I hold the first treatment room in the Luoyang Medical Hall."
"So, what I wanted to say is..."
"If you have something to say, speak freely."
Yuseong broached the core issue. He'd been buttering him up for this very day.
"Could you take a look at my dantian?"
"Your dantian?"
"Yes. About three years ago, a problem arose in my dantian, leaving me unable to cultivate martial arts. I tried treating it myself, but my meager skills weren't enough. If it's not too much trouble, could you examine it?"
"You cultivated martial arts too?"
"I learned a bit of family arts. But now I've lost them."
Yang Physician eyed Baek Yuseong with renewed interest.
He'd only thought him sturdy before, but indeed, broad-shouldered and robust— a body perfectly suited for martial arts.
"Hmm, very well. Let me take a look."
"Thank you!"
Yang Physician checked the pulse and circulated internal energy.
Though he didn't formally cultivate martial arts, he'd learned a pure internal energy method from the Divine Physician for qi-healing treatments.
'What bones and meridians... Even the Sword King wasn't this impressive. The meridians are so wide and sturdy. What constitution is this? Beyond my ability to discern. A body born for martial arts—how could something go wrong with his dantian? If it's treatable, I should build ties with him.'
Amazed, Yang Physician moved his energy toward the dantian area.
But after thoroughly probing around Yuseong's dantian, he had no choice but to shake his head.
He found only fragments of the shattered dantian, unrecognizable from its original form.
'I heard my master mention this symptom before. Seems tied to that place—better to keep it hidden for his sake.'
Yang Physician no longer saw a need to build rapport and only explained the current state.
"Unfortunately, your dantian couldn't be healed even by the Divine Physician himself, let alone a great immortal."
"...Is there truly no way?"
"Could you restore a shattered, mostly vanished vessel to its original state?"
Yuseong finally bowed his head.
'If only I were a healer...!'
***
That night, Yuseong had a dream.