Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Different Perspectives
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Kang-seok blinked. He couldn't help but ask again.
“What did you say you could see?”
“W-Weapon attack power.”
Seong Yu-jin answered, her face filled with fear. Her voice trailed off, as if she thought Kang-seok was angry with her.
It wasn't a special move command.
She could see the weapon's attack power.
Kang-seok's mouth fell open.
“Tell me more.”
“Pardon?”
“What you saw. You said it was the weapon's attack power, right?”
His tone was almost forceful, but he couldn't help it. Seong Yu-jin, who had instinctively flinched, hurried to speak.
“Durandal. Two-handed sword. Attack Power 193. Holy attribute. Attack speed decreased by 5%. Durability infinite.”
As if reciting a poem, Seong Yu-jin stared into the empty air and rattled off the words, then glanced at Kang-seok to gauge his reaction.
The weapon’s name and attack power. Even its detailed stats.
Kang-seok was stunned.
First, because Seong Yu-jin was saying she saw something completely different from what he had. Second, because even in this situation, he found her incredibly beautiful.
He could deal with the first part, but the second was hardly relevant right now.
Shaking his head once to clear his thoughts, Kang-seok took back the sword—Durandal—that he had given to Seong Yu-jin.
He was disoriented by the rapid succession of events, but now was the time to move. The sounds of his fight with the monster might attract another one.
Once he prioritized his actions, his mind calmed down somewhat. After taking a deep breath to compose himself, Kang-seok extended a hand to Seong Yu-jin, who was still cowering and watching him warily.
“Can you stand? I think we need to get out of here.”
“J-Just a moment.”
Seong Yu-jin awkwardly got to her feet. She nearly stumbled several times, but it didn't seem like she had injured her leg. It appeared the shock had simply made her legs go weak.
“We should probably rest for a bit… Let's go further inside.”
Kang-seok supported Seong Yu-jin and took a step forward. He’d wondered if he might have to carry her on his back or in his arms, but thankfully, she managed to follow along well enough with just an arm around her shoulder.
‘The Dark Destiny Lord is in the low 170-centimeter range… so she must be around the mid-160s?’
Kang-seok glanced at Seong Yu-jin out of the corner of his eye before looking forward again. Thanks to the scattered torches, the path ahead wasn't dark.
The corridor was nearly at its end. Kang-seok spoke calmly.
“There's a monster's corpse up ahead, but it's already dead. So don't worry.”
At the word ‘monster,’ Seong Yu-jin flinched again and her body tensed, but only for a moment. She nodded once, then squeezed her eyes shut and followed Kang-seok's lead.
Kang-seok moved past the monster and toward a corner. He helped Seong Yu-jin sit behind a large sarcophagus that seemed to be part of the floor, then slumped down himself.
He was exhausted.
The reality of the fight with the monster hit him anew.
What was that thing? Had he really been transported into a game?
His head spun, and he was thirsty. The mental fatigue made him feel overwhelmingly sleepy.
But he couldn't sleep. Kang-seok glanced to his side. Seong Yu-jin was sitting with her knees drawn to her chest, her eyes still closed and her face frightened.
Several minutes passed in that state.
Once again, it was Kang-seok who broke the silence.
“When I came to, I was in that hallway. I was looking around and heading up when I heard you scream. What about you?”
Seong Yu-jin clutched her head with both hands. He worried she might start crying, but thankfully, her voice was surprisingly steady when she spoke.
“I woke up in a small, windowless room. I saw my clothes and laughed to myself, thinking it was a dream. Then I opened the door and went out… and that monster was there.”
It seemed Seong Yu-jin knew no more about the situation than he did.
Kang-seok stretched out his legs and asked again.
“Hey, sorry, but could you tell me more about what you said earlier?”
“Pardon?”
“The weapon's attack power. You mean its stats just popped into your head?”
When Kang-seok himself had held Durandal, he had seen a special move command. But Seong Yu-jin had seen the weapon’s stats. That was a pretty significant difference.
“Um… and a description, too.”
“A description?”
Seong Yu-jin hesitated, opening and closing her mouth a few times. It wasn't that she found it difficult to answer, but rather that she seemed to be considering how to phrase it.
“You know… how game items have text about the weapon's origin and stuff? The things developers put in for the lore junkies.”
Her words grew strangely faster toward the end. Kang-seok chuckled in spite of himself at the term ‘lore junkies,’ then once again drew the sword—the one Seong Yu-jin had called Durandal.
“Try reading it.”
Seong Yu-jin took Durandal without difficulty. Despite it being a rather heavy-looking two-handed sword, she didn't seem to struggle with its weight, suggesting she was stronger than she looked.
Her gaze drifted upward as if searching her memory, and she spoke in a low voice.
“The sword of Knight Roland, born and raised in the Duchy of Avalon. It is rumored to be a divine sword personally forged by ‘Knut, the God of Swords,’ but the truth has not been verified. It is one of the ‘Thirty-Seven Holy Swords’ recognized by the ‘White God Cult,’ possessing the power to slay evil and vanquish demons. It is also said to rival the hardness of ‘Stormcaller,’ the divine sword of ‘Legendary King Thunderstorm,’ who is the foremost of the Thirty-Seven Holy Swords. Its whereabouts became unknown after the death of Knight Roland.”
Knight Roland.
Knut, the God of Swords.
The White God Cult.
The Thirty-Seven Holy Swords.
Legendary King Thunderstorm’s divine sword, Stormcaller.
After mentally reviewing the proper nouns, Kang-seok asked again.
“It just appeared in your mind, right? A feeling similar to recalling a memory.”
“Uh… yes. It just came to me the moment I held the sword. There's a lot of information, so it seems I have to concentrate to recall the specific details, but…”
Seong Yu-jin’s voice suddenly trailed off. Her eyes, which had been darting around, fixed on Kang-seok. She leaned forward slightly and spoke.
“You… Kang-seok, you saw something ‘different’ from me, didn't you?”
If he had only wanted to confirm ‘what she saw,’ he wouldn't be acting like this. No, his asking again in the first place had been strange. Besides, hadn't he mentioned something about arrows at the beginning?
Kang-seok wasn't surprised by the fact that she had seen something, but by the fact that she had seen something different.
At Seong Yu-jin’s sharp observation, the corners of Kang-seok's lips turned up ever so slightly.
‘She’s smart.’
This wasn't a normal situation. It was a state where confusion, anxiety, and tension made clear thinking difficult, yet she had deduced that from just a small clue. It meant she was fundamentally intelligent—or at least, that her mind was working properly.
Kang-seok nodded.
“I saw a command.”
“A command?”
“A special move command.”
Seong Yu-jin blinked. Her expression showed she didn't quite understand.
Kang-seok shrugged and explained again.
“In my case, I didn't see the weapon's stats or its lore like you did. Um… I know this sounds crazy, too, but let me ask you one thing.”
At the word ‘crazy,’ Seong Yu-jin’s earlobes momentarily reddened. She was probably recalling what she had said earlier. Her expression was so cute that he felt a sudden urge to tease her, but unfortunately, now wasn't the time.
Kang-seok asked with a serious face.
“What game were you playing right before you came here?”
“Huh? Oh, um…”
At Kang-seok's question, Seong Yu-jin looked blank for a moment, then swallowed hard and said.
“Exa. Exa Online.”
He thought he’d heard of it. No, he was sure he had.
“Uh, um… I’m pretty sure…”
But he couldn't quite recall what kind of game it was. Ever since the PC package game market had collapsed, it was no exaggeration to say that Korea was flooded with MMORPGs. Countless games were released every year.
‘Exa. Exa Online.’
He had a faint memory of it. He was sure it was the one with an ad featuring a young, cute, scantily clad girl. That’s why it was supposedly popular with a certain demographic…
As Kang-seok trailed off without a quick reply, Seong Yu-jin’s lips formed a slight pout. She mumbled in a somewhat timid voice.
“It’s not a dead game. It still has a decent number of users. Most of the persistent perverts have quit by now. Well, it is still a tiny bit lacking in content, though.”
Lacking in content.
He got the gist. Kang-seok clapped his hands lightly and nodded.
“Ah, that one. Exa. Right, Exa Online. I remember now.”
“Mm, yes.”
Seong Yu-jin pressed her lips together again. She seemed a little offended. But now was not the time to worry about such trivialities.
“Anyway, that's your character, right? The way you look now.”
This question was just as important as what they saw when holding a weapon.
Seong Yu-jin looked down at her own limbs and blushed. She pulled her knees tighter to her chest to cover her torso and replied.
“The outfit is. I didn't realize it when I saw it on the monitor, but these clothes are just too… too…”
With her shoulders and arms covered by a thick officer's coat, the pure white bikini underneath only served to accentuate her figure. Even now, as she hugged her knees to cover her torso, her pale white thighs and the smooth lines of her legs wrapped in over-knee socks were highlighted instead.
Feeling a bit awkward himself, Kang-seok deliberately looked away.
He had transformed into a likeness of the Dark Destiny Lord.
Seong Yu-jin had transformed into a character from Exa Online.
Had they been pulled into a game world, just like in a fantasy novel or a comic?
But there were too many inconsistencies to believe that.
No, in the first place, it was impossible to immediately accept such an absurd story.
‘Even though I just fought a monster.’
He had fought a monster and defeated it using a ‘skill.’ The monster’s roar, its blood, the sensation of stabbing it with his sword.
“Excuse me.”
Kang-seok's head snapped up. Perhaps because he had been thinking about the monster, his gaze was different from before.
Seong Yu-jin flinched for a moment but then gathered her courage and asked.
“What game were you playing?”
It was a natural question given the flow of the conversation. Kang-seok answered immediately.
“War God Online.”
“Pardon?”
“You know… that game Girls' Generation advertised a while back.”
The commercial that War God Online had poured a fortune into for its fifth anniversary, betting the game's survival on it.
At the time, there were rumors that they would be using Girls' Generation, the hottest idol group, so all the War God Online users, starved for new players, had been filled with such high expectations.
But the resulting commercial was the epitome of cringe. A disastrous ad that the Girls' Generation fan club officially designated as a dark chapter in their history.
Even now, it was a deep wound, with videos of it occasionally linked on humor forums, bringing a bitter taste to the mouths of War God Online's old-timers.
But it was, at least, the most famous thing about the game to the general public.
Seong Yu-jin blinked as if she didn't understand, then suddenly clapped her hands together.
“Ah! That dead game… I mean…”
She quickly cut herself off, but it was too late.
Fidgeting, Seong Yu-jin hurriedly bowed her head. Since she herself was sensitive about her game being called dead, she probably assumed he would be too.
“I'm sorry.”
Letting go of her knees, Seong Yu-jin quickly bowed her head. Kang-seok gave an awkward laugh.
‘Well, it is a dead game.’
Now that the servers were down, he couldn't even deny it.
“Uh… um… y-you're not mad, are you?”
Seong Yu-jin asked timidly. The way she smiled awkwardly while watching his reaction was so pretty that Kang-seok couldn't help but blush slightly.
‘So this is why MMO players spout that nonsense about voice buffs and what not.’
He used to curse them as lunatics when he heard them say that having a girl on voice chat during a raid made things more fun, but he could now understand their sentiment, just a little.
“I'm not mad. I mean, it really did die, after all.”
“It did?”
Seong Yu-jin asked, surprised. Kang-seok shrugged.
“The last day I played was the day the service ended… when was that?”
Kang-seok suddenly raised his voice and leaned in close to Seong Yu-jin. Startled by his sudden movement and question, Seong Yu-jin let out a small gasp and pulled back, but he didn't stop. He grabbed her shoulders and spoke in a rush.
“I mean the last day you played the game. For me, it was December 31st, 2017. Between 11 PM and midnight.”
“Oh… me too. I-I think I heard the New Year's bell while I was playing.”
Seong Yu-jin quickly answered despite her confusion. Kang-seok's eyes narrowed. He habitually licked his lower lip.
“So the starting point is the same, at least.”
They had come over on the same day. December 31st, logged into a game at the very end of the year.
He was playing War God Online.
Seong Yu-jin was playing Exa Online.
What about people who were logged into other games at that time? Had they also been dropped somewhere here, transformed into their player characters?
“E-Excuse me…”
“Hm?”
When he snapped back to reality, he saw Seong Yu-jin, blushing and flustered. Moreover, his face was far too close to hers.
For a moment, Kang-seok almost moved his face even closer, but he managed to lean back just in time. He let go of her shoulders and spoke a little awkwardly.
“Sorry. I didn't mean anything by it.”
“No, um.”
Seong Yu-jin lowered her gaze slightly. She pursed her lips shyly, then bowed her head and said.
“Thank you for saving me.”
The thanks was a little belated and out of the blue, but that made it feel different. It meant she hadn't forgotten to express her gratitude.
A warmth spread through Kang-seok's chest, and he grinned.
“I'm glad you're safe.”
“Yes.”
Seong Yu-jin lifted her head, and her eyes met Kang-seok's.
She was beautiful. To be honest, she was stunningly beautiful.
He'd woken up transformed into his game character. He was trapped in some unknown dungeon and had already fought a monster.
But it wasn't like there was a rule against a little flirting.
Seong Yu-jin naturally averted her gaze. She leaned her back and head against the sarcophagus again and muttered in a small voice.
“I wish this was all a dream. Or a real game.”
“If it were a game, we would've gotten experience points for killing that mob earlier.”
When Kang-seok spoke jokingly, Seong Yu-jin let out a small giggle.
They couldn't just wallow in depression after being thrown into this unknown place. They had to somehow find the strength to overcome the situation.
‘But experience points?’
Now that he said it, it made a certain kind of sense. In a place where he could see special move commands and weapon stats, it wouldn't be strange for experience points to exist.
Experience points.
The resource needed to level up in games with growth elements.
Could such a thing exist here?
[Would you like to check your remaining Kron?]
“Huh?”
Kang-seok blinked at the text that appeared in his mind. The sensation was similar to when he had seen the command.
“Kang-seok?”
“Just a second.”
Kang-seok raised a hand to silence Seong Yu-jin and focused on the message in his head. He wondered how to respond before speaking aloud.
“Check.”
The thought became the command. The text in his mind promptly changed.
[Remaining Survival Time: 716 hours, 39 minutes, 17 seconds]
[Current Kron Balance: 1,000 Kron]
[* 1,000 Kron can be used to purchase 240 hours.]
17 seconds became 16 seconds. The displayed time was decreasing, like grains of sand falling through an hourglass.
Remaining Survival Time.
The smile vanished from Kang-seok's face.