Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Dark Destiny Lord
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“Dark… Destiny… Lo… *Pfft*.”
Seong Yu-jin covered her mouth, unable to hold it in any longer. She bowed her head low, but it wasn't enough to stifle her escaping laughter.
Seeing her shoulders shake with laughter, her face flushed red, Kang-seok clenched his jaw. His own face, even redder than hers, he muttered under his breath.
“If you laugh, I'll hate you.”
“But, but… *Pfft*.”
Seong Yu-jin burst out laughing again. Giving up entirely, she clutched her stomach and cackled.
Inside the log cabin.
Across the table, the black-haired woman watching Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin clicked her tongue with a look of pity.
“I'm embarrassed for you, and I'm just a bystander.”
The Player who was the source of all this.
The black-haired woman could see the Players' names.
According to her, a character's nickname appeared in letters of light near the other person's head.
Dark Destiny Lord.
Eloa.
These were Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin's character names, respectively.
After glaring at Seong Yu-jin, who had her head on the table, still hiccuping with laughter, Kang-seok composed himself. He faced the black-haired woman with a forced calm.
“I'm Choi Yu-ra. You were pretty impressive back there.”
The black-haired woman—Choi Yu-ra—suddenly introduced herself. Kang-seok responded immediately.
“Choi Kang-seok.”
“I'm Seong Yu-jin.”
Seong Yu-jin, a smile still lingering on her face—she'd laughed so hard that tears had formed in her eyes—raised her hand slightly and added her name.
Choi Yu-ra looked back and forth between Seong Yu-jin and Kang-seok before asking.
“Were you two playing a fantasy game?”
“God of War Online. Yu-jin was playing Exa Online.”
Kang-seok matched Choi Yu-ra's informal tone with a slightly curt reply of his own. She didn't seem to mind, simply blinking her eyes.
“I know Exa, but God of War Online?”
“It's a fighting game.”
*It'll be hard to get along with this woman. No, I don't really want to.*
Having made up his mind, Kang-seok asked Choi Yu-ra.
“What game were you playing?”
“A game called Gigantes Down. It's a near-future FPS (First-Person Shooter).”
Gigantes Down.
An FPS game set in the year 2060.
Being set in the near future, it featured equipment and technologies not typically seen in modern-day FPS games.
Hearing the game's name, Kang-seok's expression hardened for a moment, and Choi Yu-ra tilted her head.
“It's mainly on console, but there's a PC version too. Haven't you heard of it? You know, the one with the giant robots... Well, if you don't know, you don't know.”
Though she said it was fine, her face showed a hint of dissatisfaction. Seong Yu-jin pursed her lips, and Kang-seok shook his head.
“No, I know it. I've played Gigantes Down a few times with a friend. It's just…”
“Just what?”
Kang-seok didn't answer right away, instead staring intently at Choi Yu-ra's face. She had straight black hair, pale skin, and sharp, beautiful eyes. She reminded him less of a cat and more of a black panther.
Kang-seok lowered his gaze slightly. Below her slender neck, a jet-black, military-style tank top swelled attractively.
Seeing exactly where Kang-seok was looking, Choi Yu-ra's eyes narrowed, and Seong Yu-jin looked inexplicably angry. Kang-seok shook his head.
“So it's not just our looks that are affected, our gender matches our real-world one too?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Surprised by Kang-seok's unexpected comment, Seong Yu-jin asked quickly. Kang-seok jutted his chin toward Choi Yu-ra.
“There are no female characters in Gigantes Down. But Yu-ra is clearly a woman.”
“Not just a woman, a beautiful one.”
Choi Yu-ra added with a grin, and Kang-seok frowned slightly.
He had already confirmed that a character's appearance was related to their real-life looks when he met the three old-timers. But he hadn't known that even gender would be converted to match one's real-world gender.
*'Then again, it would be even more shocking if our gender changed to match our game character.'*
In fact, when he first met Seong Yu-jin, he had briefly suspected she might be a catfish—a male user pretending to be a woman online. But since her name, personality, and actions were all so feminine, he had quickly discarded that suspicion.
*'Anyway, this means I don't have to worry about meeting any catfish.'*
As Kang-seok let out an unconscious sigh of relief, Choi Yu-ra chuckled again.
“Judging by your faces, you two must've been pretty handsome and beautiful in real life. I'm beautiful too, of course.”
Instead of replying, Kang-seok just stared at Choi Yu-ra's face. He even clicked his tongue for good measure.
“What? Not pretty?”
“No, it's not that.”
Bantering like this could go on forever. There were more important things to discuss.
As Kang-seok paused, his lips parting to speak, Choi Yu-ra waved her hand.
“If you're worried about what to call me, just call me Yu-ra. We're already speaking informally, right? I'll call you Kang-seok and Yu-jin.”
It was a straightforward suggestion. Kang-seok didn't refuse.
“Have you been staying in this village the whole time?”
“Yeah, for about a fortnight? The people here are nicer than I expected. And with the zombies showing up lately, earning Kron has been pretty good.”
Choi Yu-ra had been in the village for a fortnight.
Hearing this, Seong Yu-jin spoke up quickly.
“Um, then, Ms. Yu-ra.”
“Yu-ra.”
Choi Yu-ra emphasized, and Seong Yu-jin pursed her lips. After a moment's hesitation, she spoke again.
“Uhm, then, Yu-ra. Did a man and a woman pass through this village about ten days ago? They're Players, like us.”
Kim Kang-san and Park Han-yeong. The two who had left the Labyrinthos dungeon ten days ago.
In response to Seong Yu-jin's question, Choi Yu-ra tilted her head a few times before answering.
“Hmm? I haven't heard anything like that. You two are the first Players I've met since I started staying in this village.”
“So the quests aren't fixed after all…”
Kang-seok said abruptly. Seong Yu-jin and Choi Yu-ra's gazes naturally turned to him.
“Not fixed?”
“No, it seems Kang-san and Han-yeong received a different quest than us.”
This world wasn't a game to begin with.
It was easy to mistake it for one because of the game system and quests, but it was undeniably 'reality'.
Killing monsters didn't drop items or money like in a game. The corpses remained, and there was no such thing as an HP gauge.
This village wasn't a game village either. If it had been attacked by undead day after day just to serve as a quest backdrop for Players, it would have been destroyed long ago.
*'The quests are dynamic.'*
It was more plausible to think that this village just happened to be under attack by undead when Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin left the Labyrinthos dungeon.
And by that same logic, Kim Kang-san and Park Han-yeong must have received a different quest, so it was possible they had headed in a completely different direction.
Seong Yu-jin was quick on the uptake, so there was no need to explain further. Just from Kang-seok's words about Kim Kang-san and Park Han-yeong receiving a different quest, she had reached nearly the same conclusion.
Choi Yu-ra, who had been quietly watching them, asked.
“Hmm, it seems there were quite a few Players where you did your tutorial?”
The way Choi Yu-ra treated Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin was far from surprised or flustered. She had clearly met other Players before.
“We started in a dungeon near here. You?”
“I started right here in this forest. I met a few other Players in the woods, but… you know, right? The difficulty is insane.”
As she cursed, a strong emotion filled Choi Yu-ra's eyes. It was a mix of resentment, anger, and sadness.
Choi Yu-ra stood up.
“Looks like we have a lot to talk about. Let's put that on hold for now and go greet the villagers. We need to say hello to the village chief and the others if we want to get a room and sleep with a roof over our heads, right? We're the heroes who saved the village, so we should get the hero treatment.”
They had followed Choi Yu-ra into the log cabin right after defeating the monsters, so they hadn't had a chance to properly greet the villagers.
Without waiting for Kang-seok or Seong Yu-jin to reply, Choi Yu-ra flung the door open and gestured outside with her chin.
“Let's go.”
Then she walked right out.
Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin reflexively looked at each other, then shared a wry smile. They shrugged and got to their feet.
* * *
“Thank you so much for your help.”
A large old man with a long, white beard grasped Kang-seok's hand and spoke. His hands were so big they felt like pot lids.
“No, we only did what needed to be done.”
Inside the village chief's log cabin.
With an awkward expression and a sheepish smile, Kang-seok recited the cliché line.
Whenever he saw scenes like this in comics or novels, he always thought it was such a canned response, but now that he was in the same situation, he couldn't think of anything else to say. It wasn't like he could just demand a reward for saving them.
Whether he knew Kang-seok's inner thoughts or not, the chief said with a warm expression.
“Ho ho, Lady Yu-ra is the same. All you Players seem to be very kindhearted. It is truly a blessing from the Four Great Gods.”
“The Four Great Gods?”
Kang-seok asked reflexively, and the chief's eyes widened.
“Ah, so you don't know. Then again, Lady Yu-ra didn't either. The Four Great Gods is the collective term for the four main deities who rule over all creation.”
“Four main deities?”
“Yes, the White God, the Green God, the Yellow God, and the Red God. Those four.”
He had definitely heard those names before.
The White God from Durendal's description. The Yellow God mentioned on the Hero's Locket.
Seeing Kang-seok's visible interest, the chief, now excited, opened his mouth to explain further.
But just as the story was about to begin.
“Hey, Chief. How about we save the sermon for later? I'm fine, but Kang-seok and Yu-jin must be pretty tired.”
Choi Yu-ra interjected with a sweet smile. The chief made a few "ah" sounds, then stroked his beard with a slightly troubled expression.
“Uhm… but there aren't really any empty houses in the village…”
“They can share my place. Just give us plenty of extra blankets.”
It wasn't that no one had died in today's undead attack, but that didn't mean an empty house would suddenly become available.
The place Choi Yu-ra was staying was a simple cabin with no real room divisions, so the chief glanced between Kang-seok, Seong Yu-jin, and Choi Yu-ra for a moment before nodding.
“Very well. Bathwater is being prepared, so we will have everything ready for you, including a meal, before sunset.”
“See? You're so easy to talk to.”
As Choi Yu-ra acted cute again, Kang-seok let out an involuntary chuckle. He quickly covered his mouth and spoke to the chief.
“Then we'll be heading back for now.”
“Yes, I'll see you later. I'll send my son to let you know when things are ready, so please wait a little while.”
Once again, Choi Yu-ra opened the door, and Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin followed her out of the chief's house.
“A bath.”
Seong Yu-jin muttered quietly as soon as they left the house. She even placed her hands on her cheeks and giggled.
“A bath in warm water.”
She said it twice, that's how happy she was. It was a 'luxury' she couldn't have even dreamed of for the past ten-odd days.
The word 'bath' excited Kang-seok too, but he was even more moved by the word 'meal'.
He didn't know much about the villagers' food culture yet, but it had to be better than the poor meals in the Labyrinthos dungeon.
As Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin got lost in their own fantasies, Choi Yu-ra chuckled. She casually slung an arm around Seong Yu-jin's neck and asked.
“Do you have a change of clothes? Underwear and all that.”
“Y-Yu-ra.”
Blushing at the mention of underwear, Seong Yu-jin glanced at Kang-seok. Kang-seok pretended not to hear, and Choi Yu-ra continued.
“I got a few sets from the villagers. They're pretty sturdy and nice. They should be fine to wear.”
“Okay.”
Seong Yu-jin timidly nodded and lowered her gaze. Choi Yu-ra pinched her cheek. From the way she acted, you would think they had known each other for years.
“This is random, but that's not Korean.”
Kang-seok said as soon as they got back to the cabin from the chief's house. Seong Yu-jin immediately picked up on it.
“You mean the language the people here speak?”
“The language is different. But we can understand it. They also understood me without any trouble when I spoke Korean.”
Because the meaning was understood the moment he heard it, it was hard to recognize it as a foreign language, but it definitely wasn't Korean.
A completely separate language.
And yet, they could understand each other. It was even possible to pick up on subtle nuances, which said it all.
The letters of light he saw right after leaving the Labyrinthos dungeon had told him the number 370,000. Perhaps Players had been summoned not just from Korea, but from other countries as well.
*'So there won't be any communication problems with them either.'*
How was something like this possible?
It was a question with no answer, no matter how much he thought about it. Kang-seok changed the subject.
“Are the undead attacks frequent?”
“This is the third time since I settled in this village. The men say undead started appearing all over the forest about a month ago.”
At Choi Yu-ra's answer, Kang-seok did some mental calculations.
“A month.”
Three attacks.
He didn't know anything about this world's information and communication systems yet, but that was more than enough time for news to have spread outside.
“Is there no army around here? Or a proper nation?”
It was hard to believe that humans this civilized would only live clustered in small village units.
Since the village was being attacked, it was reasonable to expect help to come from a powerful group nearby.
Instead of answering Kang-seok's question, Choi Yu-ra went off on a tangent.
“You've been pretty inquisitive since a while ago.”
“I'd say this is a natural level of curiosity.”
“Heh, we had a guy like that in our group too.”
Choi Yu-ra, who had muttered quietly as if in reminiscence, seemed surprised by her own words and quickly raised her head. She glanced at Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin, then said with forced cheerfulness.
“Anyway, let's rest a bit. You guys need to check your quest rewards and all that, right? We can ask for details later when the chief's son comes. Come on, I'll show you where the bath and toilet are.”
“Okay.”
Pouring out a torrent of words, Choi Yu-ra pulled Seong Yu-jin toward a shed-like building next to the cabin. Kang-seok considered following for a moment, but then changed his mind and leaned his back against the cabin. He focused his mind and summoned the letters of light.
[Quest Cleared]
[Quest MVP: Choi Kang-seok (Male)]
[Number of Villagers Killed After Battle Engagement: 2]
[Number of Villagers Injured After Battle Engagement: 4]
[Flesh Golem Defeated]
[Quest Success Rate: High]
[Quest Clear Reward: 600 Kron]
600 Kron could secure 144 hours of remaining survival time, which meant six days' worth.
*'Still, it feels a little disappointing.'*
Of course, he couldn't compare the Gnoll King Aden with a Flesh Golem. Considering the difficulty, 600 Kron was actually a pretty good reward.
After checking his remaining Kron, Kang-seok dismissed the letters of light. Instead of listening to Seong Yu-jin and Choi Yu-ra chattering inside the shed, he focused his attention elsewhere. He spoke aloud.
“The seven World Quests.”
The story the letters of light had told.
Clear all seven World Quests to see the 'ending', and you can return to your original world with the power you've gained here.
*'Can I really go back? To my original world.'*
The faces of the deceased Kim Nam-yeong and Ahn Jae-min came to mind.
370,000 people. Among them, only about 10,000 were expected to pass the tutorial.
[Remaining Survival Time: 709 hours, 02 minutes, 17 seconds]
Kang-seok squeezed his eyes shut.