Chapter 2: "Do You Want to Commit Suicide?"
The anger subsided quickly.
In its place came fear.
"What should I do? What am I supposed to do?"
He was scared.
He had no idea where he was or how he ended up here.
Just as Han-bin was pondering, something suddenly appeared before his eyes.
「Guideline activated.」
It looked like a screen made of light.
Sentences appeared on it, written in Korean, so there was no difficulty in reading.
「This is a pseudo-world, Selha Ratna. You have reached this world as a 'Chosen One'.」
'What the hell? A Chosen One?'
Han-bin blinked dumbly.
The text continued.
「You have been selected as a 'Suitable Candidate'. Your objective is to survive and grow in this world. We wish you success.」
Then the so-called guideline disappeared.
"Uh… so that means…"
Thinking back to what had happened in the light, reviewing the message, and piecing things together, it meant this:
Some unknown people had kidnapped him, thrown him into an unknown world, and left him there however they pleased.
The anger that had just settled erupted again.
"Hey! You sons of bitches!"
He screamed at the top of his lungs and threw stones at anything nearby.
After causing a commotion for a while, Han-bin tried to calm his breathing.
"Hah…hah… calm down, calm down…"
Getting hysterical wouldn't change anything here.
Whether he liked it or not, he had to stay composed.
The guideline had said it clearly: survive and grow.
"But…"
He looked up at the blood-red sky and muttered helplessly.
"What exactly am I supposed to do here?"
Sitting there idly wouldn't improve anything.
Han-bin decided to inspect his surroundings.
He also noticed a change in himself.
'My clothes… they've changed.'
When he was in his room surfing the internet, Han-bin had been wearing only a tank top and underwear—typical attire for a recently awake, living-alone Korean man in his twenties.
But now, he was wearing full black clothing, including shoes.
Not modern clothes, but medieval European-style attire.
'Looks like something out of a fantasy movie.'
Luckily, it wasn't uncomfortable.
Examining his clothes, he pondered.
'Survival, sure… but what do they mean by growth? I'm already grown! I've even been to the military. What more growth do they want?'
Another message appeared.
「You can gain experience points and level up through various battles with powerful monsters. Follow the guideline's instructions to grow your abilities.」
"What nonsense? Am I trapped in some VR game?"
「This is reality. The guideline system takes a similar form for the convenience of suitable candidates.」
Thinking back, the conversation in the light had mentioned something similar: artificial, contrived…
"But they want me to level up? Then what level am I at now?"
「Ryu Han-bin: lv. 1
Owned Skills: None
Strength 21, Stamina 17, Recovery 13, Defense 12, Peripheral Vision 5, Reflexes 7, Agility 8」
He hesitated.
He didn't know if these were high or low stats.
'Are these just average numbers for an adult male?'
He asked more questions.
"Who sent me here? What's a pseudo-world? What is this Selha Ratna?"
No response came.
Even after asking several other questions, the guideline remained silent.
Instead, this message appeared:
「The 'exploration' function of the guideline allows acquisition of information on nearby objects.」
He examined the surroundings: rocks, shrubs, and so on.
"What's that rock? That tree? Why is the sky so red?"
Still, nothing happened.
'I don't know what anything is.'
He sighed.
'What happens now? Will I be reported missing? My parents will worry… what about my friends?'
As he wandered aimlessly, he passed a slope and spotted a small stream.
"Huh?"
Seeing water, thirst struck him immediately.
It had already been hours since he fell into this strange world.
"But can I even drink this? Will it upset my stomach?"
「Drinkable. Will not cause stomach upset.」
"Oh!"
Han-bin was relieved.
This guideline system was actually helpful, at least somewhat.
He scooped up water with both hands and drank eagerly.
"Ah… feels like I'm alive!"
But ten minutes later…
"Ahhh…ugh!"
…He got a stomachache.
"You said it was drinkable! You said it wouldn't upset me!"
Clutching his stomach, Han-bin writhed in pain and frustration.
The guideline appeared in front of him again.
「Code error. Correcting error. Drinking not possible. Side effects: stomachache.」
The message quickly degenerated into garbled characters.
「옭유부잨탈수용가....」
Then vanished.
Even in pain, he gaped in disbelief.
It was like when a computer crashes.
Suddenly, the voice from the light echoed in his mind:
Ah, a mistake.
There was an error in the guideline…
Eh, one person won't matter. Hundreds exist; it won't be noticed.
So the people who dropped him here at random didn't even make sure the guideline worked?
With a deep sigh, he cursed aloud again—words he had already said dozens of times today.
"Damn it…"
After writhing for a while, the stomach pain finally eased.
Han-bin muttered anxiously.
"What now? Survive, huh… I should probably find a place to sleep or something to eat."
But what was there to eat?
The surroundings were desolate.
Only small shrubs and moss in rocky gaps were visible.
No animals, not even insects.
'They just want me to starve?'
Then, a menacing sound.
Ryu Han-bin turned around, startled.
"Huh!"
On a distant high rock stood a large black dog, its eyes glowing red.
"What the hell is that?"
「Species: Demon Dog (Ma-gun). lv. 1
Lowest-tier monster in Selha Ratna. Combat ability comparable to an unarmed adult male.」
Roar!
The demon dog leapt.
Before he could react, Han-bin's arm was bitten.
"Ughhh! It hurts! It's gonna kill me!"
He swung his remaining arm wildly, trying to survive.
By luck, his elbow hit the demon dog's head.
The dog released his arm and backed off, growling.
Crawling on the ground, Han-bin wrapped his arm, realizing he had to stop the bleeding.
Yet, strangely, no blood appeared.
'Was I even bitten?'
Seeing the demon dog bare its teeth again, he realized:
'…Its teeth are blunt?'
Every single tooth looked worn down, like someone had filed them.
Even its claws were blunt.
'What the hell…?'
The demon dog charged again.
Realizing biting wouldn't work, it started striking with both front paws.
Bang! Bang! Thud!
Han-bin curled up and rolled, narrowly avoiding death by blunt force.
A rock fell into his hand.
With a scream, he struck the demon dog.
"Die, you son of a—!"
Bang!
It staggered.
Again, he struck.
"Die! Die! Die!"
Bang! Bang! Thud!
Humans were tool-users. The rock's solidity surpassed the demon dog's skull, and it fell, bleeding.
Grrr…
A message appeared over the corpse.
「lv. 1 Demon Dog defeated. Experience gained: 13」
「Current experience: 13/135」
Han-bin didn't stop.
Too furious to care about the guideline, he continued hitting the corpse with rocks, cursing and cursing.
"Die… you son of a—!"
By now, he didn't even know who he was cursing: the dog, this world, or the demon who dumped him here.
He just cursed relentlessly.
"Son of a… son of a… son of a…"
'Stay calm. I must stay calm.'
Only after a long time could Han-bin finally regain composure.
'This screwed-up world is real. If I die, it's over.'
For a fleeting moment, he wondered if dying would send him back home.
But realistically, the people who did this wouldn't be so kind.
He steeled himself.
'I will survive! No matter what it takes!'
Then the guideline appeared.
「Suitable candidate's will to survive confirmed. Combat abilities activated.」
「Select combat ability.」
「Warrior: Available resource, aura. Engages in close-range combat using various martial arts.」
「Mage: Available resource, mana. Performs magic to execute powerful ranged attacks using six elements.」
「Spirit Caster: Available resource, prana. Uses healing arts to mend self and allies, reshape the battlefield, and perform auxiliary offensive spells.」
「Magic Swordsman: Available resource, force. Combines martial arts with unique magic sword techniques for both ranged and close-range combat.」
'So I'm supposed to pick one of these?'
Originally, Han-bin preferred warrior-type characters.
He liked melee combat over magic users—at least in games.
'Nope, I don't want close combat!'
After just fighting a dog with raw brute force, he wanted nothing to do with melee.
"Mage!"
「Rejected. Your talent is insufficient.」
The mage option disappeared.
'What? I can't just pick it? I need talent too?'
Panicked, Han-bin stammered.
The remaining three options—Warrior, Spirit Caster, Magic Swordsman—glowed.
"Then… Magic Swordsman…"
It was a hybrid class, potentially more versatile.
"Magic Swordsman!"
「Rejected. Your talent is insufficient.」
"…."
He felt like crying.
Only Warrior and Spirit Caster remained.
"Spirit Caster… that looks like a healer class…"
He had never liked healer types in games.
'But in real life, maybe healing would be more advantageous…'
"Spirit Caster!"
「Rejected. Your talent is insufficient.」
"Damn it."
He slumped.
There was only one option left.
「Warrior ability selected.」
"Don't call it a selection. No choice at all…"
The guideline continued to prompt:
「Select basic equipment for the warrior.」
Icons for swords, spears, axes, shields, etc., appeared.
He liked long swords, but the spear had range advantages.
'Long-range is better!'
'I'll take the spear!'
「Long sword selected.」
"What the hell?"
He gaped.
"I chose spear, not long sword!"
「Error code detected. Correcting…」
The text broke apart, and a sword fell from the air.
「Basic equipment, Long Sword granted.」
Again, an error…
"…."
After a brief silence, Han-bin's anguished cry echoed across the red sky.
"When did I ask for this!?"
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