Chapter 143
Chapter 143
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 143
Chapter Title: A New Beginning
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“Lee Ji-a.”
[Name selection complete.]
[Please select a starting point.]
[You may choose one of seven regions.]
[Alternatively, Avala Online can recommend a starting point based on the user's personality.]
[Would you like to take the assessment?]
The AI's suggestion.
It was the same assessment Lee Shin had taken, and for a user like Ji-a who wasn't familiar with games, there was no harm in taking it.
It recommended a starting point based on the user's disposition, so there was no downside.
“No.”
But Ji-a shook her head without hesitation. She had decided on her starting point a long time ago.
‘Lee Shin was in the Eteun Kingdom, right?’
He had started in the Eteun Kingdom, and based on the videos he kept uploading, it seemed he was still active there.
In that case, there was no need to consider any other kingdom.
Ji-a answered.
“The Eteun Kingdom.”
[Are you sure you want to start in the Eteun Kingdom?]
“Yes.”
[Starting point has been set.]
[Transferring to the Eteun Kingdom.]
Her vision went white.
And when she opened her eyes again.
She was standing in the square of a gloomy city.
* * *
[You have arrived in the Eteun Kingdom, a realm where corrupt nobles thrive!]
[Check your status window and proceed with the tutorial.]
‘…So this is it?’
After her vision returned, the first thing she saw was the endless blue sky.
She blinked blankly.
Was it because the sense of reality was different?
The game world, now that she was actually inside it, felt far grander than what she had gathered from Lee Shin's descriptions and the videos on his channel.
And it was so vivid.
“……”
*Whoosh.*
The wind brushing past her cheek.
The musty smell of the city stinging her nose.
And even the soft sensation when she clenched and unclenched her hand.
It was all so realistic that it was hard to believe it was happening in virtual reality.
Literally another world.
She had only just begun, but she could already understand a little why Lee Shin loved this virtual world so much.
“……”
Originally, she hadn't planned on starting the game so soon.
She had thought, ‘It would be nice to play with Lee Shin someday,’ but it hadn't been an urgent desire.
Just hearing his stories when they occasionally met at the hospital was enjoyable enough.
That feeling diminished even more after Lee Shin started his channel.
After all, she now had plenty of opportunities to hear about him without doing anything.
So she had thought, ‘Maybe this is fine as it is?’
She had originally wanted to play the game with Lee Shin and become his comrade.
But she figured that even if it wasn't inside the game, helping his channel from behind the scenes could also, in a broader sense, be called being his comrade.
Or perhaps when she could talk to him more easily.
She didn't know when that would be, but she had planned to ask him to play together then.
But.
‘…No.’
Her thoughts had changed recently.
No, they had been forced to change.
It was because Lee Shin, who had always been a loner, surprisingly now had a companion.
…Not a fake companion like herself, whose existence Lee Shin didn't even know, but a ‘real’ one who played alongside him in the game.
Jeong Yu-ra.
A Dark Priest user.
Honestly, she thought she had seen wrong at first.
Lee Shin has a companion?
*That* Lee Shin?
Of course, he had a party member named Arthur before, but frankly, Arthur seemed more like a subordinate than a companion, so it hadn't been that surprising.
If anything, she thought it was just like Lee Shin.
But Jeong Yu-ra was different.
She surprisingly seemed to be on equal footing with Lee Shin.
Like a comrade or a friend.
She was envious, and at the same time, afraid.
She envied someone who could so easily do what she had only ever imagined.
She was afraid that if time passed and Lee Shin gained more companions, there would be no room left for her to squeeze in.
Because the Lee Shin she knew didn't make many acquaintances.
If she wanted to be with him, she had to act as quickly as possible.
“……”
However, she had no intention of seeking out Lee Shin right away.
There was no point in finding him now.
Far from being a companion, she would only be a hindrance.
Or Lee Shin might think, ‘We're not even that close, so why?’
…Of course, as her mother's friend's daughter, Lee Shin wouldn't treat her so coldly, but this was a matter of self-esteem.
She was afraid of being rejected if she just went to him.
She wanted to go to him only after she had become at least as useful as that Jeong Yu-ra or Arthur.
And so, the conclusion was simple.
‘I'll get stronger, then go find him.’
She would get strong enough to be worthy of standing by his side.
It would be a difficult task, given her goal, but she didn't think it was impossible.
She had all the right conditions, after all.
According to Lee Shin, there were three major conditions for getting strong.
First, money.
Second, time.
And the third and final one, talent.
To start, she had more than enough money and time.
She could get as much money as she wanted from her parents, and with the exception of hospital days, she was always at home, so she had plenty of time.
So, what remained was talent….
And she didn't think she was completely lacking in that department either.
Of course, this was her first time playing a game, but it was a virtual reality game.
Depending on the type, real-world experience could be helpful.
‘Fencing.’
It had become meaningless now, but she had learned fencing when she was younger.
It wasn't just a hobby; she had been serious enough to be called promising and had a talent for it.
If even a little of that sense remained, it would surely be helpful.
‘I should check.’
[Logging out.]
On impulse, she logged out for a moment.
Then she pulled a box out from under her bed.
A case covered in a thick layer of dust, a sign of how long it had been neglected.
Inside was the fencing sword she used to use.
She hesitated for a moment before gripping the sword.
*Grip.*
“……?”
She was a little surprised the moment she held it.
Was it always this heavy?
She had almost never been conscious of the weight of this thin blade...
Or had I just gotten that much weaker?
‘…….’
Various thoughts crossed her mind, but she soon shook them off and took her stance.
Her physical strength in reality didn't matter in the game anyway.
As long as the feeling was still there.
*Thwip.*
She stood at an angle, her right side facing forward.
She bent her knees.
At the same time, she pointed the tip of her sword forward and lifted her heels slightly off the ground.
The most basic stance in fencing, one she had practiced hundreds, no, thousands of times.
Immediately after, she imagined a virtual opponent before her and extended her sword.
*Swish! Swish-swish!*
The tip of the sword moved back and forth rapidly.
Her body wasn't what it used to be when she trained, so her speed was much slower.
But in contrast, the movements themselves were still very precise.
“Hoo.”
After a few more tries, she put the sword down.
She was slightly out of breath after moving so little, but despite that, her sense of relief was far greater.
‘…Thank goodness.’
She had confirmed that while her stamina had dropped significantly, her senses were still intact.
In the game, she could raise her physical abilities with stats, so this meant she would have no problem hunting.
Choosing a class would be easy too; she could just pick a warrior-type to take advantage of her specialty.
‘……Good.’
Now that she knew what to do, she immediately logged back into the game.
To catch up to those who were already far ahead, she had no time to waste.
She had to level up as quickly and efficiently as possible.
But she ran into a problem right from the start.
‘……But what do I do?’
How do you level up?
It was her first time playing a game, so she didn't know.
What little gaming knowledge she had came mostly from what Lee Shin had rambled on about….
-Growth? The fastest way to level up is to kill people.
-Items? The fastest way for that is also to kill people and take theirs.
-Quests? The best way is to snatch the ones other people are doing….
‘…No, that's not it.’
That wasn't particularly helpful.
The information she got from Lee Shin was quite detached from reality.
Even as a complete beginner, she knew well enough that wasn't a path a ‘normal user’ could take.
Besides, she didn't really have the confidence to fight other people.
So she had to find a normal way, and fortunately, a system message soon gave her the answer.
The moment she took a step to move, a translucent message appeared before her eyes.
*Tiring.*
“?”
<Tutorial - Help for the Novice Adventurer>
A novice adventurer needs help. Go to the Adventurer's Guild and seek assistance. The guild receptionist will provide you, a novice adventurer, with useful information.
• Quest Reward: Experience, 100 Gold.
‘A guild?’
* * *
The tutorial.
It was an event that Lee Shin, a veteran from the very start, had skipped immediately, but Ji-a's situation was different.
Thanks to Lee Shin's influence, she had an absurd amount of knowledge about PK (...) but knew nothing about the actual basics.
She immediately went to the guild receptionist to hear the basic explanations.
“A new adventurer?”
“……”
*Nod.*
[Your affinity is low.]
[The guild receptionist is annoyed with you.]
“……Tsk.”
“!?”
Of course, as expected of the Eteun Kingdom, the receptionist in the beginner's town wasn't exactly friendly....
Fortunately, it wasn't a major problem.
She was able to hear all the necessary explanations for a brand-new player, like how to open the status window and how to check items.
[You have heard all the explanations for novice adventurers.]
[You have acquired 100 Gold.]
[You have acquired Experience.]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[……]
*Tiring.*
[A new quest has been generated.]
<Tutorial - Training for the Novice Adventurer>
You have heard the basic explanations an adventurer should know, but that is literally just the basics. You still have a long way to go before you can pull your own weight.
Now, find the town's training instructor and lay the groundwork for your growth.
If you participate diligently in the instructor's training and achieve good results, it may influence your future class recommendations.
• Quest Objective: Participate in training
• Quest Reward: Experience and a Novice Equipment Set.
“The training ground is straight to the right after you go out the main gate.”
* * *
[You have arrived at the training grounds.]
[This is your first time entering this area.]
[Experience gained through training will be increased by 50% for 30 days.]
“A new adventurer?”
The training instructor who greeted Ji-a was a female warrior who stood a full two heads taller than her.
“……”
Instead of answering, Ji-a looked up at her with a nervous expression.
In her head, she knew the woman was an NPC, but she looked so much like a real person that she couldn't bring herself to speak properly.
Aside from her doctor, Jeong Hui-seon, and the occasional meeting with Lee Shin, she rarely had proper conversations, so it was only natural for her to tense up without realizing it.
“I asked if you are a new adventurer!!”
“……!?”
But the instructor, perhaps misunderstanding her silence, looked at Ji-a again and asked in a booming voice.
“…Th-that….”
Ji-a instantly fell into a panic!
She mumbled something, but her voice was too quiet for the other person to hear.
“Hmm? Can't you speak?”
“……?”
“……Oh, what a pity.”
[Training Instructor Sera pities you.]
“I didn't realize you were mute……. I apologize for a moment ago.”
“!?!?”
And so, from the very beginning, Ji-a unintentionally found herself caught in a strange misunderstanding.