Chapter 2 - Tutorial (1)

I close my eyes.

And ask myself again.

If this is the opening of a very, very unforgiving game, what should I be doing right now?

'First, assess the situation and gather information.'

Whew. I feel a little more clearheaded.

Reminding myself of the first task I'd set, I slowly opened my eyes and checked my surroundings again.

Unfortunately, nothing had changed.

"..."

I was still in a forest clearing.

The darkness around me was still lit by flickering torches rather than LED streetlights.

Above all, no matter which direction I looked, the place was still crawling with muscular barbarians...

"Congratulations, young warriors!"

Fuck. So my eyes weren't playing tricks on me after all.

I don't know what they're doing huddled together in the dead of night, but their expressions are quite solemn.

Is that middle-aged guy in the center their chieftain or something?

Well, that probably doesn't matter.

"As of today, you shall leave the sanctuary and become true warriors!"

I closed my eyes, letting the chieftain's words go in one ear and out the other.

I'm no doctor, but if I had to diagnose myself, I'd say I'm experiencing a blackout.

I don't know why I'm here.

"Now, come forward one at a time and choose a weapon that suits you!"

So let's give this a try.

What was I doing just before this?

Wondering if something had gone wrong with my brain, I carefully retraced my steps, and the memories soon came back.

I'd been playing a game.

I'd been right outside the final boss room, and I'd activated the portal, barely containing my excitement. Then messages suddenly popped up about the tutorial being complete and a transfer beginning, followed by a burst of brilliant light. And...

When I came to, I was here.

Somehow, I'm even more confused than before.

"Karaq, third son of Vanon, step forward!"

I decided to check my physical condition first.

Nothing hurt, but you never know.

With that thought, I lowered my head—and froze.

... What the hell is this?

"A two-handed axe! Excellent!"

The hands I looked down at were absurdly large. And, astonishingly, they moved just as I willed them to.

While I was at it, I checked the rest of my body. What a sight.

Not only was I shirtless, but tattoos of every shape and size covered my bulging muscles.

... No wonder I was at eye level with everyone, despite how huge they all looked.

I tried to sum up the situation.

Actually, there wasn't much to sum up.

Somehow, without even knowing it, I'd become a barbarian.

"Karaq, third son of Vanon! You are now a warrior!"

Kidnapping, a hidden-camera prank, a psychological experiment, and so on and so forth.

I immediately strike those possibilities and others like them from my mind. With things this bizarre, indulging in wishful thinking and forcing the evidence to fit would be foolish.

It's more productive to accept what needs accepting and move on.

What's happening to me right now is something science and modern knowledge can't explain.

Even aside from this enormous body, there's more than enough evidence.

"Next!"

First, the language that barbarian is speaking isn't Korean, English, or Spanish.

It's a language I've never encountered in any form of media in my life.

The problem is, I can understand it as naturally as my native tongue.

As though the knowledge has been etched into my brain.

"Aynar, second daughter of Pheneline, step forward!"

Second, this situation is familiar.

You might wonder what the hell I'm talking about, but it really is.

Everything felt unfamiliar at first, but once I'd collected myself a little, a strange sense of déjà vu set in.

"You've chosen a sword! A fitting choice for someone as clever as you!"

Young barbarians choosing weapons one by one.

That's the only thing they have in common, but...

It reminds me of the opening of [Dungeon and Stone].

To be precise, this was how the game began if you chose 'barbarian' from among the various races.

But is this really a coincidence?

The game I'd been playing when that mysterious light swallowed me was [Dungeon and Stone], and even my main character was a barbarian.

"Aynar, second daughter of Pheneline! You are now a warrior in your own right. May the blessing of 'Raphdonia' be with you!"

'This is fucking insane...'

I gave up on sorting through the remaining evidence.

Raphdonia.

That single proper noun the chieftain had just mentioned made all of it pointless.

I now know where I am.

Inside the world of the game I've played for nearly ten years.

"D-Dungeon and Stone."

Huh? Who's this guy? Why's he saying my line for me?

I glanced sideways at the barbarian beside me and stiffened. Even at a glance, he was different from the others.

"Wh-what is this? Why am I here...?"

His breathing was ragged, and his eyes were full of confusion.

He knows [Dungeon and Stone], too. Could he be in the same situation as me?

I felt the need to find out, but unfortunately, I never even got the chance to try.

"Who just spoke!"

The voice was so loud it left my eardrums aching and my head momentarily dazed.

Not for long, of course.

Seeing the chieftain looming over me snapped me right back to my senses, though I had no idea when he'd come over.

"Was it you?"

The instant he asked, I shook my head. Then I naturally turned toward the barbarian beside me.

I acted so quickly I impressed even myself.

Rather than pressing me, the chieftain shifted his gaze to the barbarian next to me.

Sorry, but it really was you who spoke.

"Was it you?"

"Huh?"

"I asked if you were the one who just muttered something."

Only now did I notice something troubling about the chieftain's expression. It didn't seem to be just because someone had been talking...

"Oh, you mean Dungeon and Stone? But... why?"

The guy still didn't seem to have picked up on the atmosphere.

"So it was you..."

The chieftain gritted his teeth, and a brief flicker of regret crossed his eyes.

Seized by an inexplicable sense of foreboding, I unconsciously took a step to the side.

Then the guy tilted his head and asked,

"This is some kind of event, right? Oh, was figuring it out too quickly a prob—"

I couldn't even see what had swept past.

Something flashed, followed by a chilling sound.

SHICK

That was all it took.

A fleeting instant passed, and his head hit the ground with a dull thud and rolled away.

A sight so brutal it seemed unreal.

My eyes relayed exactly what they'd seen to my brain.

"..."

Someone's head had been cut off right before my eyes. I could see bone and cross sections of muscle. Something white splattered onto my face along with blood and bits of flesh. What is this? Fat?

Hmm. I'm not sure.

It's not as shocking as I'd imagined.

I didn't feel nauseated like people in movies or comics, nor did I lose my mind insisting it all had to be a dream.

SPURT!

Even as I watched blood fountain from a person's neck, only one question filled my mind.

Why on earth did the chieftain kill him?

"An 'evil spirit' has possessed the soul of Orm, son of Kadua. Young warriors, erase every word that evil spirit just uttered from your memories!"

The moment I heard the chieftain's words, the information naturally fell into place.

Fact one: I'm an evil spirit.

Fact two: If anyone finds out, I die.

Fact three: One wrong move, and that could have been me.

Once I reached that conclusion, a chill ran down my spine—a spine that hadn't so much as tingled when a man's head was cut off.

"Vulkan! Take the body to the temple at once and report what happened!"

"What will you do about the coming-of-age ceremony?"

"We will continue!"

Blood had been spilled, but the coming-of-age ceremony continued.

Perhaps this sort of thing was common here. Not a single person so much as batted an eye, including the young warriors around me.

Was it because I'd played so many unforgiving games?

No one had told me, yet I understood exactly what I needed to do.

—Complete the coming-of-age ceremony safely without letting anyone discover that you are an evil spirit.

A more helpful game would have displayed a message like that.

Etching my updated objective into my mind, I forced my body to stop trembling. Then, using the others' behavior as a guide, I arranged my expression to match.

No one can sense anything off about me.

To them, I apparently amount to an 'evil spirit' that has stolen someone else's body.

"Next!"

As my thoughts reached that point, my heart sank.

"Serum, fourth son of Cenik, step forward!"

I don't know my name.

This is a serious, life-or-death problem.

If I stand around when my name is called, I'm bound to look suspicious.

"Next!"

Of course, they might simply assume I'd misheard and let it slide.

That would certainly be far more likely.

But whether I can be sure is another matter entirely. What if they don't? What if the chieftain gets suspicious and starts questioning me?

I won't be able to answer anything.

"Next!"

Had my anxiety triggered some hormones in my brain?

Baselessly optimistic thoughts began surfacing.

Weak thoughts like, 'If I'm called last, it won't matter that I don't know my name, will it?'

"Next!"

I was pathetic.

Rely on luck?

When I've never been lucky even once in my life? Just look at how I got dragged here while playing a game.

For someone like me to get through this crisis, I need a plan with much better odds.

"Next!"

That was why I kept observing my surroundings.

Keeping my chin pointed straight ahead, I watched and rewatched the others' expressions, movements, and habits.

As I did, an idea came to me.

"Next!"

Of course, this method wasn't a hundred percent guaranteed either.

But I had little time, and I made my final judgment.

This was the path that gave me the best chance of survival.

"Next!"

"Next!"

"Next!"

Names continued to be called.

Each time, I counted off roughly two seconds in my head.

I'd repeated this eight times when it happened.

"Bjorn, son of Jandel, step forward!"

At last, the moment I'd been waiting for arrived.

Two seconds passed after the name was called, yet no one moved.

The instant I registered that, I stepped forward. Then I walked toward the chieftain with my shoulders proudly squared.

THUD

It's not that I'm unafraid.

Even now, as I take these steps, I'm not certain that's my name.

THUD

If my judgment is wrong, that lunatic chieftain will find me suspicious and abruptly stop me.

Then he'll ask, "Who's your mother?"

I won't be able to answer.

But...

THUD

I didn't hesitate.

Even with my heart pounding, I steadied my breathing and kept stepping forward.

The reason was simple.

I'd judged that this gave me the best odds.

"Young warrior, choose the weapon you desire!"

In the end, my choice was right.

There wasn't a trace of suspicion in the chieftain's gaze.

His eyes were as warm as when he'd addressed the other young warriors.

Suppressing a strange surge of excitement, I steadied my breathing.

I'd survived.

* * *

Not even ten minutes had passed since I'd opened my eyes.

But I'd accepted the reality before me for what it was.

Some people might find that strange...

But there's no point denying it.

This isn't a dream.

'Bjorn Jandel.'

From now on, I have to live under this name.

No, not just the name. I have to become this barbarian completely.

I don't know for how long.

Whether it's even possible to return home, and if it is, what I need to do...

I still don't know any of it.

Well, I do suspect I might be able to go back if I fulfill the game's victory conditions.

But it's too early to conclude even that.

Honestly, I hope that isn't the case.

I mean, I haven't even beaten the 2D version yet. How am I supposed to beat this in real life?

I might have to spend the rest of my life here.

"..."

That made choosing a weapon important.

I worried that dragging things out might arouse suspicion, but I carefully examined the weapons one by one.

One-handed swords, two-handed greatswords, maces, iron clubs, spears, harpoons, two-handed axes, flails, large hammers, and so on.

There wasn't a single bow or staff.

These barbarian bastards gave no thought to easy-mode classes like healers, mages, or archers.

Given their racial traits, that was only natural.

"Bjorn, son of Jandel! Choose your weapon already!"

As I took longer to choose, the chieftain began urging me along.

I gathered my thoughts one last time.

Barbarians have no innate aptitude for magic whatsoever, but in exchange, they possess powerful physical abilities.

That was why, whenever I developed a barbarian, I always gave them a melee weapon and placed them on the front line.

I'd tried a bow barbarian out of curiosity, but it wasn't much good.

They always showed their true worth in close combat.

And within that role...

'This one.'

After much deliberation, I chose my weapon.

"Hmm."

The chieftain, who'd greeted every choice with admiration and praise, gave an odd reaction for the first time.

I could understand how he felt.

"Bjorn, son of Jandel! You are now a warrior!"

I'd chosen a weapon no one else had picked.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the dark room where the brilliant light had faded.

「Synchronization complete.」

「Character information and Daily log will be recorded and transmitted to the Moderator.」

The fan in the powered-down computer begins spinning, and light spilling from the monitor illuminates the empty room.

But the computer does not boot normally.

BEEP-BEEP-BEEP, BEEP-BEEP, BEEP—

Stuck on a black DOS screen, text types itself out in time with the beeps, as though an error has occurred.

「You have safely completed the coming-of-age ceremony.」

「You have equipped new gear.」

「Total Item Level increases by +12...」

「...」

As though someone were typing in real time even now, those sounds alone echo softly through the room without its owner.

On and on, without end.

「Bjorn Jandel」

Level: 1

Physical: 25 / Mental: 35 / Ability: 1

Item Level: 24 (New +24)

Overall Combat Index: 67 (New+6)