Where the Hell Am I?
The moment I opened my eyes, an old game I used to play popped into my head. It had been a while, so I decided to log back in. As my level 100 maxed-out healer character, Elena.
And then—
“What the fuck is this?”
The scenery was completely different from anything she remembered. Elena tilted her head in confusion.
“This is weird. The place I logged out last time definitely wasn’t here.”
She—no, he—had logged out in a completely different spot before quitting the game. Wanting to say goodbye from a place full of memories, he had logged out in the beginner village.
This is seriously strange. When you log back in, you’re supposed to appear where you last logged out.
All sorts of thoughts raced through his mind the instant he entered this bizarre situation.
Did they patch the game while I was gone? Or did I somehow log in as a different character instead of Elena?
Suspicious, he checked his appearance. He pulled a hand mirror from his inventory and looked at himself. Long, flowing silver hair. Doll-like features. Fair skin and a small, delicate frame. A lovable, girl-like appearance stared back at him.
“…It really is Elena.”
Elena. The character he had customized exactly to his tastes. Since he planned to raise her as a dedicated healer from the start, he had deliberately given her a saintly look.
“At least the voice is still the same. Ahem, testing, testing.”
He tested his voice like someone practicing vocal warm-ups. It felt unfamiliar after such a long break, but it was an incredibly sweet, melodic tone.
What now? Should I just look around first?
After thinking it over, he decided to observe his surroundings. If he wandered a bit, maybe he’d find some kind of clue. He looked around.
But—
“It’s just forest no matter how far I go!”
There was nothing special anywhere. Just trees. There wasn’t even any scenery worth appreciating.
“No quests, no NPCs, what the hell is this? Don’t tell me they’re deliberately messing with returning players!”
It was ridiculous to think a game company would send users to a random place just to troll them. Normally such a thing would be impossible, but with this game, the suspicion felt justified.
The virtual reality game Cheonmyeong was far more famous for its insane developer events than for its actual gameplay.
These are the same bastards who once made a giant realistic cockroach the raid boss for an event.
If it was them, it was entirely possible they’d pull something like this just to mess with a long-inactive user.
Are they going to leave me lost in this forest and then suddenly spawn a high-level monster?
Elena felt a growing sense of anxiety. Even though she was max level 100, she was still just a healer. Her offensive capabilities were pathetic.
“I just came back and I already want to log out again. Fuck…”
There was nothing worse than dying right after returning to the game after a long break. He was seriously considering logging out again when—
“Ugh… uuuh…”
“Hm?”
A faint groan reached Elena’s ears.
“Is someone there?”
Thinking she had finally found something, she hurried toward the sound. What she discovered was a woman drenched in blood.
An unknown woman had collapsed, covered in the blood she herself had vomited.
Who is this woman?
Elena looked down at her with a strange expression. A blood-covered woman wasn’t exactly rare in games, but her outfit was the problem.
“Murim?”
Though badly torn, the woman’s clothes were clearly the kind of female martial arts robe you’d see in wuxia films.
When did Cheonmyeong start having outfits like this?
Cheonmyeong was a fantasy game. The default clothing was Western-style, like the pure white dress Elena was currently wearing. There had never been any support for murim-style attire.
Did they really do a massive patch while I was gone? But why murim all of a sudden? Did they add a new region or something…?
Full of questions, she examined the woman more closely. Even covered in blood, she was beautiful. She had long black hair with a blue tint and wore a blue martial robe. Her features were pure and elegant.
“Excuse me?”
“Uuu…”
“What’s your username?”
“Ugh…”
No matter how many times she spoke, the woman only groaned.
If she were a player, she should still be able to talk no matter how injured she is. There’s no pain or anything. Maybe this woman is an NPC?
If she was an NPC, she might be connected to this inexplicable situation. This could be part of some event, and she might be an important related character.
“I guess I should heal her.”
She was the only clue he had found. He couldn’t just let her die.
No matter what’s going on, healing an injury like this is nothing.
His character Elena was a fully specialized max-level healer built entirely around priest-class abilities. In exchange for sacrificing combat power, she possessed overwhelming healing abilities. Before her, no injury or status ailment had any meaning.
Even death itself was no exception.
Recovery.
Recovery
It was a skill that removed not only physical wounds but any related debuffs as well. The moment it activated, the woman’s injuries began to heal at a visible rate. Then her eyes opened.
Beautiful black eyes with a hint of blue stared at Elena before widening dramatically.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Lee Cheongryeo, the Sword Princess.
A renowned female martial artist and one of the rising stars of this region. While most female experts gained fame through their family’s influence, Cheongryeo was different. Her reputation came purely from her own martial prowess.
She had already reached the first-class realm despite only recently passing twenty years of age. On top of that, she was righteous and beautiful. It was only natural that her fame continued to grow.
Everyone agreed that she would one day become a name known throughout the entire Murim world.
But—
“Ugh… ughk…”
That same woman was now dying alone in an unknown forest.
“Cough! Kehuk!”
She lay helplessly on the ground, coughing up blood. She wanted to struggle, but she didn’t even have the strength for that.
Why… why did it have to end up like this…?
Moaning in pain, she recalled how things had come to this.
It had all started when she rejected a certain man’s marriage proposal. Enraged, the man had attacked her. His killing intent had been so terrifying that Cheongryeo had no choice but to use lethal force.
He had tried to kill her, so she killed him in return. It had been pure self-defense. The problem was the man’s identity.
The Sadoryeon. The Wicked Dao Alliance—one of the two great factions that divided the Murim world. The rulers of the unorthodox path and the overlords of this region. The man had been a fairly high-ranking member of that organization.
Since a named expert from their side had died, the Sadoryeon could not stay silent. Regardless of who was truly at fault, they had come to kill her.
Cheongryeo had been stunned by their shameless behavior, but there was nothing she could do. The opponent was one of the two colossal powers that split the Murim. A direct confrontation was impossible. So she fled. And fled. Until—
…I was poisoned.
She didn’t even know when it had happened, but by the time she realized it, it was already too late. As she staggered from the poison, the pursuit squad sent by the Sadoryeon had laughed with vile glee.
Using the last of her strength, she had fled into this remote forest.
But even that desperate escape had been meaningless.
I’ve already missed the window for treatment…
She had been so focused on running that she delayed detoxifying herself. By now, the poison wasn’t even the main issue. Her internal organs had already been destroyed.
Even if a god descended right now, they couldn’t save me. Even if the poison is cured, I’ll still die soon.
Even in the midst of terrible pain, her mind remained coldly rational, as expected of a true martial artist.
How truly unfair…
She was just about to give up on everything and accept her fate when—
“…there?”
Who?
Someone was speaking to her. Her hearing was failing, so the voice was faint, but it was definitely real.
A pursuer?
For a moment she thought of the Sadoryeon warriors chasing her, but it wasn’t them.
“…you?”
What a beautiful voice.
She couldn’t make out the words clearly, but the voice itself was wonderful.
It’s a woman’s voice. The Sadoryeon is full of men.
Had a woman passing by coincidentally discovered her?
It was a stroke of luck amid misfortune, but her fate was already sealed.
This voice… it feels strangely comforting…
She was about to close her eyes for the last time, taking that beautiful voice as her final gift, when—
…Huh?
Suddenly, a warm sensation enveloped her entire body. Something full of vitality seemed to flow through her, wrapping around her from the inside.
What is this? Is this the sensation of leaving for the afterlife right before death?
She had imagined something ominous, but the life force that had been draining from her was instead rising back up.
This is impossible!
It wasn’t a hallucination. Her body was truly healing!
How is this even possible?!
She understood better than anyone just how absurd this was.
My internal organs were destroyed! I was in a state where no one should have been able to save me!
Who was it? Who on earth could create such a miracle?
Beyond shock, Cheongryeo felt reverence. She struggled to open her eyes. The eyes that had seemed like they would never open again finally lifted.
And in that moment, Cheongryeo wondered if she had actually died.
Because the person she saw was far too beautiful.
Hair that shone like it was spun from silver thread. Eyes that seemed to emit light. Skin like fresh milk. Delicate, artistic features and a slender frame. Even the clothing was something she had never seen before.
To a martial artist of the Murim, the pure white dress looked both exotic and breathtakingly beautiful.
A foreigner?
The appearance reminded her of Westerners, yet there was an inexplicable grace about her. Or perhaps holiness.
She doesn’t seem human at all. She’s like a heavenly maiden descended from the sky… or an immortal!
Clean silver hair and white robes. The exotic yet beautiful appearance and attire naturally inspired such thoughts.
This heavenly maiden-like beauty is the one who saved me!
Once she understood the situation, there was no need to hesitate. Cheongryeo rose to her feet with her fully recovered body and bowed deeply to the other party.