Chapter 6
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Synchronization
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Kwaaaa—!
A massive wraith formed from swirling black smoke floated up into the air.
Glowing blue light poured from its empty eye sockets.
A horrific scream, cursing all living things, rang out as if to tear eardrums apart.
-Kieeeek!
If it were my first time seeing it, terror would have made my legs give out.
And it was completely immune to physical attacks.
No matter if you slashed with a sword or stabbed with a spear, you couldn't deal a single point of damage. Pure despair.
But I just smirked at the sight of it.
"Damn, you're noisy as hell."
I pulled out the prayer beads I'd stashed in my pocket.
And tossed them lightly at its forehead, like throwing a baseball.
"Rest in peace."
The moment the beads sliced through the air and hit the wraith's forehead...
Kwarrrrk—
Dazzling crimson flames erupted in an explosion.
The purifying power sealed in the beads clashed with the wraith's evil energy, whipping up a massive firestorm.
-Kraaaak!
It couldn't even scream properly.
Engulfed in flames, it melted away like a snowman in midsummer, vanishing without a trace.
[Hidden Boss, 'Vengeful Wraith' has been purified.]
[You have acquired a massive amount of experience.]
Combat time: 3 seconds.
A disaster if you didn't know how to clear it, but pure sweet bonus stage if you did.
I hadn't done much, but the juicy rewards were just starting.
A pillar of light enveloped my entire body once more.
True to its hidden boss status, the experience reward was insane.
The one and only way to hit level 5 in the early tutorial.
Defeating this guy.
'In the game, whether the beads dropped was pure luck, which sucked.'
But busting through that bullshit probability and getting the reward? Dopamine explosion like no other.
Just like right now.
A system message popped up in front of me.
1. Speed Up (Normal)
2. Stamina Up (Normal)
3. Power Up (Unique)
"...!"
I nearly fell over in shock.
Golden light radiating from option 3.
Not Rare or Magic, but 'Unique' grade.
'No way. This drops here?'
I'd played the game nearly a thousand times, and I'd never once gotten a Unique from a level-up reward.
Probably under 0.01% odds.
Not a miracle—must be reality correction.
No need to hesitate.
I'd planned to go all-in on Speed early on, but with this grade gap? Different story.
A Unique stat boost was at least 10x a Normal one.
Passing this up would be idiotic.
With trembling hands, I selected 3.
[Power Up (Unique) selected.]
[Transcendent power infuses your body.]
[Your body's durability and muscle fiber density are restructured.]
It was then.
"Grrrrraaaak!"
A scream burst out involuntarily.
Pain on a whole other level from previous level-ups.
Crack! Crunch!
It felt like my bones were being ground in a blender all over my body.
Muscles tore forcibly, then knitted back, over and over.
Lava poured into my veins, setting my whole body ablaze.
"Hurk, heuk... Kraaak!"
I rolled on the ground.
Black sludge oozed from every pore in my skin.
All the toxins and waste built up in my body were being forcibly expelled.
They called it body remodeling.
The pain felt eternal, but it lasted just over a minute.
"Haa... haa..."
As the pain ebbed away like the tide, an unbelievable sense of liberation washed over me.
I pushed myself up with trembling hands.
Crack.
"Huh?"
I'd barely pressed down, but cracks spiderwebbed across the solid stone floor.
I looked down at my body.
My loose leather armor was stretched taut, ready to burst.
My gut was gone.
It looked like solid muscle from the outside, but the density packed inside seemed harder than steel.
I clenched my fist.
The air popped with the sound.
'This... is Unique power.'
I'd transcended human limits.
This wasn't fresh out of tutorial level.
With this, I could take on the main game's bosses right now—fistfight them barehanded and win.
"Whew."
I calmed my excitement and checked where the wraith had vanished.
Its legacy shimmered there brilliantly.
[Wraithblade (Magic)]
- A sharp sword brimming with energy that can slice through not just ordinary foes, but spirits as well.
[Specter Leather Armor (Rare)]
- Reduces all physical damage by 20% when worn. Grants one invisibility per day in places without sunlight. Effect cancels immediately upon movement.
Pretty solid weapons and armor.
The armor especially would skyrocket early survival rates.
"Cards from the tutorial too?"
But my eyes locked onto the golden card lying beside them.
[Soul Binding (Unique)]
I picked up the card with trembling hands.
My eyes shook violently as I read the description.
- Binds one possessed item to your soul.
The bound target won't vanish even across dimensions and can exert its power without restrictions.
"Ha."
A hollow laugh escaped me.
Unbelievable option.
Doesn't vanish even across dimensions?
'Doesn't vanish means...'
I could take items from here outside.
And that implied other items had dimension-transfer restrictions unless I used this card.
'Dimensions, huh? Does that mean this place is a different dimension from Earth?'
My mind reeled at the ultra-unreal, sci-fi movie setup, but I refocused on the situation at hand.
'Makes sense, though. If superhuman powers gained in a place like this game space carried over unchanged to boring old Earth, it'd cause chaos.'
[Data has been saved.]
The message that popped up repeatedly in a corner of the system window whenever I cleared a boss or got an item.
This sword, this armor—they were for use only in this place.
But.
'Using this card makes the impossible real?'
Hard to imagine.
What would even happen?
Even this basic potion.
Choi Hyun-sik's deeply gashed arm, blood pouring out, had healed in seconds.
'That's gotta be worth millions, at least.'
My gaze naturally shifted to the gear on the ground.
A spirit-slaying sword, invisibility armor.
'That armor too. Invisibility, man.'
Even in this moment, cursed by my tragic male fate, the first thought was something lewd.
But anyway, any of these items would fetch a fortune.
'No need to use it right away. Save it for something more valuable in the main game later.'
But that was just wishful thinking.
The card's final line read:
- This card will permanently vanish if not used within 10 minutes.
"Tch. Stingy."
No choice.
I activated the card immediately.
[Please select Soul Binding target.]
Faint pillars of light rose over the items on the ground as lists of selectable possessions filled my vision.
From basic recovery potions and rusted daggers to crude spears, the Rare gloves and bow on my hands.
The magic stone from the boss, the fresh armor and sword from the hunt.
All possessions acquired here scrolled long in the list.
"What?"
At the very end of the list.
At the bottom, an unexpected option appeared.
[Physical Status]
"N-No way?"
The moment I saw it, I knew.
This throbbing muscle ache still fresh in my body.
The superhuman physical status gained from body remodeling.
Normally, this enhanced body was limited to this space—returning to Earth would revert me to my shut-in gamer self.
Of course.
Otherwise, the world would already be in total chaos.
So many so-called 'survivors' who went missing and came back alive.
But paradoxically, I could now cause that societal chaos myself.
Just by clicking one option on this list.
'This isn't about picking an item.'
No time to deliberate.
Weapons? Rip 'em apart barehanded.
Armor? Won't need it if nothing hits.
With levels boosting Speed and Power.
I threw shadow punches in the air, lightly testing my transformed body.
'The surest asset is always yourself.'
My grip tightened on the glowing card.
"Target set. Physical Status."
Woooong—
The golden card crumbled to dust and seeped into my chest.
A heavy anchor dropping deep in my soul.
The power flowing through my veins finally felt completely mine.
[Selected target 'Han Yujin's Physical Status' has been bound to your soul.]
[All stat penalties from dimension travel are nullified.]
[Player 'Han Yujin's' physical status has been synchronized across all dimensions.]
"Nice!"
Euphoria surged as I checked the system message.
Penalty nullified.
Others might clear the tutorial and return empty-handed to their old bodies, but not me.
100%.
Every level-up strengthening this body would carry over to Earth at 100%.
'Feels itchy.'
My whole body tingled.
I wanted to get back quick and test everything out.
Whiiiing—!
Space vibrated.
The scenery blurred and smeared.
[Returning to Earth. All tutorial data for player 'Han Yujin' has been saved.]
Return.
Pop!
The world flashed white.
"......"
When I opened my eyes, the familiar dingy ceiling of my studio apartment greeted me.
The fluorescent light's faint flicker.
The whirring of the PC tower on the desk.
The musty room smell lingering at the tip of my nose.
Everything was the same.
As if that hellish time had been one big dream.
Usually, waking from a dream leaves you heavy or groggy.
But not now.
"Whew."
I sank deep into my chair and drew a breath.
Not a dream.
Air filling my lungs so densely, so precisely.
My vision was sharply clear.
I could see every speck of dust between the keyboard keys.
I bolted upright.
Thinking I should wash up, I started to stand.
Habitually gripping the armrest and lifting my butt.
Crack!
"...!"
A dull snap.
The plastic armrest supporting my weight tore off like rotten wood.
My body lurched to the side.
I flinched to grab the desk edge but stopped.
Instinct told me it'd shatter the desktop too.
"...What the hell."
I stared blankly at the broken armrest piece in my hand.