Chapter 1: Dropped into Another World
Chapter 1: Dropped into Another World
A game festival where you could try out new games.
Having come here, I immediately sought out the booth for Last Fortress first, the most anticipated subculture game.
And as if to ensure my expectations wouldn't be betrayed, the gameplay footage unfolding on the massive display was truly overwhelming.
The sight of a world destroyed by the sudden assault of mutants.
"Woah, fucking insane."
It was so overwhelming that those were the only words that could come out of my mouth.
The ruins of human civilization remaining as mere traces, hundreds of years after its collapse.
The roads and railway tracks still remaining, and the countless mutants roaming atop them.
Even the grandeur of nature, still sprouting green leaves amidst the mutants who had newly taken over the world while humans were trapped in their tiny world.
It wasn't for nothing that it was the most anticipated game among the mobile games coming out this quarter.
"The early access play experience is over here~!!"
Following the words of the staff member cosplaying a character from the game, I headed toward the area lined with smartphones set up for early access play.
[Commander-nim. It is nice to meet you for the first time. Would you please tell me your name?]
The moment I launched the game, a clear and pure voice resonated right away, delighting my ears.
The voice acting was so good too.
[Please select your gender.]
'Obviously female.'
I immediately chose the female commander.
Because raising only female characters in every game is who I am.
The reason I became interested in this game was also for that very reason. It was because they announced there wouldn't be any male characters among the gacha characters.
Now this is a god-tier game.
[Commander Cecil-nim, I see. Confirmed.]
After giving her a name fitting for a female commander instead of my own name, the game began in earnest.
[Commander-nim! Enemies!]
The opening progression was practically an unwritten rule by now.
True to what this game had been pitching, the character showed her back profile during battle.
As if trying to grab gamers' attention even for a moment, her rear view was pretty erotic.
A character clad in black latex that fully revealed her butt line.
Characters doing panchira with the slightest movement, and so on—it was filled with sights that stirred the hearts of male users.
[Commander-nim! Please press me to try using my Unique Skill!]
As if responding to the voice actress's passionate performance, I firmly tapped her hip area.
Then, a cutscene appeared and began showcasing a flashy skill.
"Oh, pretty nice."
It was a cutscene that clearly showed the effort put into it.
Besides, even the character model was beautiful, as if painstakingly crafted.
There was no way I couldn't like it.
[Commander-nim. Current sector cleared. Moving to the next area.]
Moreover, whoever the voice actress was, her voice was so flawless it made me feel like I had actually become a member of this world.
'Is an early access play allowed to be this fun!?'
The more I played the game, the more I loved it.
To the point where I wouldn't hesitate for a second to download it and swipe for gacha trucks as soon as it released.
In particular, I loved the world-building.
A world where humans, now on the verge of destruction, awaken their A-Factors and B-Factors and struggle to protect their small world.
It was a common trope, but I liked things like this.
Because there's a comfort in the reliable taste of a trope without unnecessarily trying to be special.
After finishing the early access play experience—long if long, short if short—I boarded the bus to go home.
For whatever reason, there wasn't a single person on the bus, which allowed me to comfortably sit in a window seat.
'Sleepy.'
The weight of my eyelids felt the moment I sat by the window.
My body must be tired from wandering around so much today.
Kkubeok-kkubeok.
I tried to resist my constantly drooping eyes, but I couldn't endure it at all.
Soon, my vision darkened and my thoughts came to a stop.
[If it's you, you will be able to do it. I will believe in you. Please save this world.]
'What are you talking about?'
"Heok-!!"
At the voice sounding as if whispering in my ear, I woke up with a startled shock.
My first worry was whether I had passed my bus stop.
"Uh..."
However, the sight unfolding before my eyes was so ridiculous that it made the concern of missing my bus stop seem like nothing at all.
The bus seat I was sitting on was rusted to the point where I wondered if it would crumble into pieces at any moment, and all the windows were shattered to bits, allowing the wind to blow inside.
Red dust was even floating through the air to the extent that I could visibly see the wind blowing.
"Where on earth is this...?"
At the utterly unrealistic sight, I unconsciously mumbled to myself.
I had clearly just boarded the bus and fallen asleep for a bit.
What on earth was this scenery?
To look around for now, I stood up from where I was sitting.
Deolkeong!
At that moment, perhaps due to being heavily rusted, the seat I had been sitting on toppled sideways, making a loud noise.
"Huu..."
I covered my mouth and nose with the handkerchief from my chest to keep the red dust out, and tried sliding open the bus's rear door.
"As expected, it won't budge."
The bus's rear door only made a rattling sound and wouldn't slide open to the side.
However, since the rear door was also heavily rusted, it seemed like I could easily break it and get out.
Kwang! Kwang! Kwaang!!
After I kicked the rear door a few times, it broke right off and tumbled onto the ground.
Once I stepped out of the bus, I could tell at a single glance that this place was a forest.
Not the trees sprouting green leaves that I had seen, but trees left with only barren branches.
Still, the weather was cool, feeling more like autumn than winter, but it felt far too early for hibernation.
'Come to think of it...'
I looked down at the ground.
Not an ordinary soil color, but a soil color that looked just like a red desert.
"Fucking hell."
A curse slipped out of my mouth before I knew it.
It was the scenery of Last Fortress, the game I had played the early access trial for today.
Right now, this place must have been a Hive that mutants used as a base until recently.
The ground where a Hive forms gets stained purple, but if the Hive is destroyed or relocates elsewhere for whatever reason, the soil turns red like this.
If left in this state for about a month, it returns to its original soil and the barren forest regains its greenery.
In other words, it means that right now is a point in time not long after the Hive moved or was destroyed.
Assuming I really came into the world inside the game, that is.
Damn it... Is the bus driver okay?
Surely I wasn't the only one on the bus; the driver who was driving the bus must have been on it too.
Seeing how the windows were broken, a mutant roaming nearby might have taken the driver.
Thinking about that gave me a chilling feeling.
Unconsciously, I pressed my body tightly against a tree and moved slowly.
If this really was the world inside the game I knew, walking around defenseless like this was practically a suicidal act.
'Damn it... Even if I awaken... it's useless right now anyway.'
Of all things, it had to be Last Fortress.
Awakeners are divided into A-Factor and B-Factor.
A-Factor can possess offense, defense, utility, and everything else, or possess abilities specialized in one area.
On the other hand, B-Factor possesses strictly supporting capabilities only.
Yeah, that's right.
The reason the protagonist in the game can become a commander is precisely because he awakened this B-Factor.
Those who awakened the A-Factor can easily use basic skills all they want, but they cannot use Unique Skills.
They can hone techniques for handling the weapons they use, but they cannot raise their fundamental physical stats.
Only an Awakener who has awakened the B-Factor can enable A-Factor Awakeners to use Unique Skills and provide enhancements that raise their fundamental physical stats.
It wasn't for nothing that B-Factor Awakeners became commanders to lead A-Factor Awakeners.
And the only thing a man can awaken is the B-Factor.
Even though women can awaken both A-Factor and B-Factor.
That's why I'm saying even if I awaken right now, it's useless.
Because a B-Factor is no different from an ordinary person before accepting an A-Factor Awakener into their party.
[You have awakened!]
"Argh!"
Oblivious to the fact that I was in the middle of despairing, the text stating I had awakened floated before my eyes.
Fucking hell, awakening right now... what good does it do...!
Jeobeok-jeobeok.
I can't just keep despairing forever.
Pushing aside the text saying I had awakened, I slowly took steps forward.
For now, I need to find a safe location and secure food.
If I could reach the Last Fortress where humanity would be gathered, nothing could be better than that, but...
Rather than looking for a place where I don't know the location or how far I have to go, finding a shelter where I can easily obtain food and drink would be better.
Even though mutants have overturned the world, there are still green forests and lands where animals run free.
Meaning it's possible to live in something like small settlements.
*
3 days later.
"..."
By now, I had completely run out of energy to even exhale rough breaths.
I managed to escape the reddish ground and stepped onto soil that had regained its original color, but I couldn't find any water to drink or food to eat.
Teok.
Pushing through numerous trees, a plain area where fields spread out finally came into view.
However, finding drinking water or food here seemed just as far-fetched.
I walked a full day, but the only thing I ingested was a single sip of morning dew I somehow managed to gather and drink.
I did see wild animals like rabbits, but there was no way someone like me, who had lived in a warm and comfortable city, could catch them.
Even more so now, when my strength had drained completely.
"Daaaamn it... Am I dying like this?"
"Huh? A human, not a mutant. It's been a while since I last saw one."
Just as my vision was blurring like that.
The figure of a woman so incredibly beautiful she could be believed to be an angel descended from heaven came into sight.
At least I'm glad I got to see an angel before dying.