2
Chapter 2
It wasn't long before comments started flooding the post.
[Melee-type Spy: Who's Sanz?]
[Donuts: Welcome]
[Ghoulle: Moon LOL night LOL massacre LOL]
[Shotgun Attack: This guy must have enjoyed DownTails]
[Love Death Nyan: (Watching the newbie with curiosity) Nyan nyan nyan...]
[Holy Holy Knight: Hi there, newbie~]
[Cow Bikini Dance: That nickname is legendary LOL]
└ [Pushung Pashung: You're the last person who should be talking]
It was probably because the nickname was such strong bait. Or maybe just because I was a newbie.
Actually, this is better. It's better than no one noticing me at all.
Riding the momentum, I wrote the next post.
[How do I change my nickname?]
I decided that changing my nickname was a better move than just deleting the post.
Even if I deleted the post, it would still be a headache whenever I posted again if I didn't change the name.
The comments on the second post didn't appear until thirty minutes had passed.
Those were the most anxious thirty minutes of my life. I spent that entire time just refreshing the page.
I felt like I blinked thousands of times.
[Not a Netkama: lol]
- ...
This is so frustrating.
└ [Don't just laugh, tell me]
The reply came back very quickly.
[Not a Netkama: Are you a finger princess?]
Finger princess... was that the abbreviation?
It means someone who acts like a princess with their fingers, asking questions without even trying to search for the answer.
[I don't have fingers]
This isn't a joke. Not only do I lack fingers, but I also don't have toes, eyes, a nose, or a mouth.
I'm just a glowing piece of wood.
[Not a Netkama: This guy is crazy]
[How do I change my nickname?]
[Not a Netkama: Just shut up and read the room]
[What does that mean?]
Is it a new slang term? Or something only used in this community?
I don't spend much time on forums, so I'm not sure.
[Not a Netkama: Just shut up and lurk for three days. Spend three days just reading and reading the room. If you want to survive in this world, you'll need to read a lot.]
[Then will you tell me how to change my nickname?]
[Not a Netkama: 🖕]
After that middle finger, no more comments appeared.
Lurking, huh... Well, all I have left now is time.
Since I don't know when the High Priest named Paya will wake up, it might be a good idea to skim through the community.
There are more pages than I expected.
What if I go back and read from the very first page?
I'm curious about how the first people to arrive in this community felt.
Were they also people who suddenly possessed characters in a game like me?
I blinked to navigate to the first page.
[Spotty: ?] (5)
[Dabudabu: Is anyone here?] (35)
[Jack-o'-Lantern: What is this?] (5)
[Boogeyman123: .] (4)
[Abraham: Where did everyone wake up?] (8)
[Pumopumo: Is this a prank? A cave special?] (3)
[Kim Man-bok: I have just one question. What exactly is a... community?] (7)
Most of the posts were written by people who hadn't grasped the situation yet.
There's even one person who doesn't know what a community is.
Another characteristic... is that there are quite a few comments?
I clicked on Dabudabu's post, which had the most comments. It had a whopping thirty-five.
[Dabudabu: Is anyone here?
I am a 37-year-old male living in Anyang, Gyeonggi-do.
Things are bad, so I'm writing this haphazardly.
I am currently alone in a cave.
I was sleeping at home and woke up here.
At first, I thought it was a nightmare, but it wasn't.
Putting aside the strange armor I'm wearing, the body I'm moving in right now isn't my original body.
I don't even know what I'm talking about. I'm currently controlling someone else's body.
It's the body of a Westerner with blue eyes. Someone I've never seen before.
I can hear strange noises coming from outside.
It sounds like mocking laughter, or perhaps screams.
It doesn't sound like a human voice, and I can't tell what kind of animal it is.
I'm too terrified to go outside.
Is this hell? Are you people, the ones reading this, actually human?
I haven't eaten anything for two days. I don't think I can hold out much longer.
If you see this, please respond. I'm begging you.]
The post was thick with desperation, anxiety, and fear. It was enough to make even me feel heavy-hearted.
I decided to check the comments.
[Spotty: I woke up in a cave too]
[Gustavro: I also woke up in a cave, my body changed, and I've been brought to another place]
[Jack-o'-Lantern: Everyone woke up in caves. What nationality are you? Where is Anyang, Gyeonggi-do?]
└ [Shintobul-i: Anyang, Gyeonggi-do is a region in Korea. The author and I are Korean.]
└ [Jack-o'-Lantern: I'm from Germany. All the text here appears in German to me. The system must be translating the language automatically.]
It seemed that not just Koreans, but people from other countries had also been possessed into this game world.
Most of the comments consisted of people empathizing with the author or asking various questions, unable to fully grasp their situation.
[George: By any chance, did you read a strange email before you went to sleep?]
This comment was the most perceptive of the bunch.
└ [Dabudabu: I don't remember clearly. I think I might have. I checked several emails.]
└ [George: You probably read an email sent from [Survival as a Holy Knight]]
└ [Dabudabu: Oh, I think that's right. It was an invitation from a dead game. I thought it was a prank, so I read it and deleted it.]
└ [George: Now it's certain]
└ [George: I'm going to make a post, so read it]
I scrolled down to find George's post.
It was a post with even more comments than Dabudabu's.
[George: Everyone, listen up.
My name is George Nelson. I am 51 years old and served in the United States Marine Corps for 23 years.
I have figured out the situation and can provide help to you all.
I don't know how much time you have left, so I'll get straight to the point.
Those of you reading this likely woke up suddenly in a cave.
You woke up in someone else's body, wearing strange armor. There's probably a sword and shield lying next to you.
Don't overthink it, just listen. You have become a wandering Holy Knight in the game world of [Survival as a Holy Knight].
Don't ask why, how, or for what reason. I don't know either.
What is certain is that you received an email from the company that operated the defunct game, clicked the white window in the corner of your vision, and found this community.
You probably hear strange noises outside the cave. Terrifying sounds you've never heard before. That's why you're still inside.
As you know, there is no drinking water or food in the cave. You might be able to eat bats or drink groundwater, but it will be very bad for your health.
I am telling you clearly: you must leave the cave before your stamina runs out and you lose the strength to fight from hunger.
The things waiting for you outside are mutated beasts infected by the demonic energy of devils.
The cave has a Guardian Circle engraved to repel demons, so you're safe for a while, but the effect disappears after 72 hours.
Before then, you must steel your resolve and fight those beasts.
The beasts already know you are in the cave. A fight is inevitable.
You must kill them and move to another location while your body is still in good condition.
Fortunately, these new bodies we've received have mastered various combat techniques. As long as your stamina is intact, you can win.
What you do after leaving is also important.
If you see a round creature floating in the air, crouch down before you're spotted.
If you are spotted, leave the area as quickly as possible. Those things are the devil's cameras—CCTVs.
If you stay in the same spot after being detected, you'll be attacked by every nearby creature within minutes.
Just like the game's setting, most areas are occupied by demons or demon worshippers.
Go to a place without people as much as possible. Head into the mountains and find a new shelter.
Don't go anywhere near visible lights. If you see a city or village, head in the opposite direction.
If you go that way, you'll have to fight hundreds of monsters alone.
You can't win immediately after leaving the cave. Even if you go, you must gain enough experience first.
Always cook infected animals before eating them.
I'll say it again. We are wandering Holy Knights, and this world has been ruined by demons.
Survival comes first; everything else comes after.
Kill demons, worshippers, and mutated monsters to gain experience.
Just like the game you know, we only grow stronger by killing monsters.
Good luck to you all.]
In a way, this could be considered the first information and strategy guide of the community.
But no matter how much I think about it, something is weird. Caves? Holy Knights?
Just in case, I looked through the comments.
[Jack-o'-Lantern: Right. Holy Knight. That was it.]
[Shintobul-i: No wonder. I thought the patterns on the armor looked familiar.]
[Dabudabu: Inside a game? I don't really get it. Are you saying someone recreated the game I played in reality?]
└ [Jack-o'-Lantern: Mister. That's not what's important right now. You said it's been two days. Go out and fight before you can't hold out any longer.]
[Full Play: I picked up the sword and shield after reading this. It feels incredibly familiar, like I've used them many times before.]
[Gustavro: Thanks, brother.]
[Spotty: Can we... actually go back home?]
└ [George: Let's not think that far ahead for now. Getting to safety is the priority.]
The next comment was quite interesting.
[Won Bulls: So we've entered a game world. I have a question. Does that mean we all landed in the same world? Or are we in parallel worlds with similar environments?]
I'd prefer it if we were in the same world.
Even after checking all the comments and reading the posts that followed this one, I couldn't find the information I wanted.
Holy Knight. Holy Knight. Holy Knight.
No one seems to question the fact that they all woke up as Holy Knights.
It's as if becoming a Holy Knight is just the natural state of coming to this world.
...Am I the only one who woke up as a totem?
Am I the only Loa?
I think I'm more than just screwed.