Should I Kill Myself? (1)
The anger quickly subsided, and fear took its place.
“What do I do? What should I do?”
It was a scary thought. He didn’t know where he was or what had happened.
It was just a moment since Ryu Han-bin had all these fleeting thoughts in his mind. Suddenly a bright light appeared in front of his nimble eyes.
[Guildline Activation]
It was a screen made of pure bright light. On it was a single sentence, written in Korean.
-This is a parallel world, Selha Latna. You have come to this world as the ‘Chosen One’
“What the hell? The chosen one?” Ryu Han-bin blinked his eyes like a fool.
Few moments passed, and the sentence changed.
-You have been selected as a ‘Suitable Person’. The goal is to survive and grow in this world. I wish you all the best.
Once Ryu Han-bin had read the second sentence, the screen of light disappeared in an instant, without any further instructions or warnings.
“Eh, so……”
Ryu Han-bin tried to piece together everything that had happened before he ended up here. Sadly, there was no concrete answer which he could muster as an explanation. Was he kidnapped and suddenly dropped in this unknown place?
The anger within him, which had only just subsided, burst out once again.
“Hey! You bastards!”, He shouted loudly and aimlessly threw a stone which he found near his foot. Due to his ferocious uproar, Ryu Han-bin struggled to breathe.
“Huh huh, I must calm down, let’s calm down…”
He realized that making a fuss here, would not change anything. Whether he liked it or not, he had to stay calm.
-Survive and grow
It was clearly written in the Guideline.
“But…..how…?”
Looking at the blood-red sky, Ryu Han-bin wondered, “What am I supposed to do here?”
***
Ryu Han-bin decided to look around. He realized that nothing would make sense if he just sat and wondered.
Realization dawned on him that he had changed.
“Come to think of it, my clothes have changed.”
When he was online in his room, Ryu Han-bin was only wearing a running shirt and shorts, as if he had just woken up. But now, he wore a proper black top and bottom, and a pair of shiny shoes. It wasn’t a completely modern outfit but inspired by the medieval European fashion.
“It’s like an outfit from some fantasy movie.”
It wasn’t very uncomfortable.
Ryu Han-bin pondered while looking at his clothes, “Survive and Grow? I don’t even know what it means…. When will I finish growing? Is there any way to grow even more for a guy who has already been to the army?”
The screen from before appeared once again.
-You can try to level up after acquiring experience points through battling powerful monsters. Follow the instructions in the guidelines to grow your skills.
“What!? Did I get stuck in a virtual reality game?”
-It is reality. The guideline system takes a similar form for the convenience of the suitable person.
When I think about it, a similar story was mentioned before from the voices in the light. I used to think that it was fake.
“What’s my level right now?”
-Ryu Han-bin: Lvl. 1
Equipped Skill: None
Strength 21,
Stamina 13,
Recovery 13,
Defense 12,
Vision 5,
Reflexes 7,
Speed 8.
Ryu Han-bin contemplated for a moment. He didn’t know if his stats were high or low.
“Should I think of my stats as the average male persona?”
He perpetually thought of several questions and sought answers as his mind was flooded with varying questions, thoughts, and emotions.
“Who sent me here? What the hell is a parallel world? What is this Selha Latna?”
There was no response. His mind wandered off to several more questions, but there was no immediate answer.
Instead, a message popped up.
-You can get information about any target using the Guideline’s ‘Search’ function.
As directed, Ryu Han-bin searched for surrounding objects like rocks and shrubs.
“What is that rock?”
“What is that tree?”
“Why is the sky so red?”
But, there was no response.
“So, it doesn’t know anything, huh?”
A sigh came out of his mouth.
“What’s going on now? Am I reported as a missing person? My parents must be worried about me. What will my friends think about me?”
Just like that, Ryu Han-bin continued to walk aimlessly. After passing a slope, he saw a small stream.
“Huh?”
He felt a growing thirst in his throat as soon as he saw the water.
“But can I drink this water? What if I get a stomach ache?”
-Potable. No stomach ache will be induced
“Oh!”
Ryu Han-bin was irritated. Still, he thought this Guideline system was quite helpful. He was relieved and drank water with both of his hands, in a clear hurry, like a little pup.
“Ah, I feel like I’m going to survive!”
And about 10 minutes later.
“Ah, uuugh!”
……He got a stomach ache.
“You said it was drinkable! You said I wouldn’t get a stomach ache!”
Grabbing his belly, Ryu Han-bin struggled with pain and resentment. The guidelines flashed and rose before Ryu’s struggling eyes.
-Code error. Error correction. Water not potable. Side effect: Stomach ache.
The screen suddenly glitched, and the letters were broken, followed by a strange electronic screech.
-The one who is going to……..
And the peek went off.
Even in pain, Ryu Han-bin was stunned and opened his mouth wide.
“What is it? Is it like a computer crash?”
Suddenly, a voice was heard in his mind.
-Ah, I made a mistake.
-There is an error in the guidelines.
-Well, only one mistake, it should be okay. There are hundreds of them. No one will find out, right?
So, not only were people being dropped in this strange place, but even the Guideline was broken?
With deep lamentation, he uttered words which were in his thoughts and tongue, several times today.
“I’m doomed……”
* * *
After a long struggle, the stomach ache finally got better.
Ryu Han-bin muttered gloomily, “What should I do now? To survive? Should I get a place to sleep or something to eat?”
But he didn’t know what to eat. It was a desolate place. Far in the distance, there was a singular object of peculiarity; a small sword stuck between a range of mossy rocks.
There were no animals or creatures to be seen anywhere.
“Will I starve to death?”
He was speechless.
‘Rrrrrrrrr…….’
Suddenly there was an ominous sound.
Surprised, Ryu Han-bin looked back.
“Ugh!”
On a high rock far away, a grotesquely large black dog opened its eyes and stared at Ryu with a menacing gaze.
“What the hell is that?”
[Race: Demon Dog. Lv. 1]
Selha Latna’s lowest-class monster. Having equal combat power to an unarmed adult male.
WHOORGH!
The dog growled and charged forward. Ryu Han-bin got his arm bitten even before he could do anything.
“Arrrgh!”
It hurt like hell! The pain was killing him!
He swung his other arm wildly in an attempt to fight back. Luckily his elbow hit the dog’s head.
The dog backed off and growled in return.
‘Rrrrrrr………’
“Uh……”
As he crawled on the ground, Ryu Han-bin quickly wrapped his arm. He thought he would stop the bleeding in the meantime. However, there was no sign of blood.
It just hurt.
“Didn’t I get bit?”
The moment he saw the dog growling and revealing its teeth again, he noticed the reason.
“……Ah! His teeth are blunt.”
The dog’s teeth were worn as if someone had ground it on purpose. When he looked closely, his toe nails were the same. They were also blunt.
“It doesn’t make any sense……?”
The dog rushed again towards a shocked Ryu Han-bin.’
GARGH!
Perhaps he realized that it was not fun, and this time, he started to smash the ground with his two front paws.
Smack! Smack! Smash!
Evidently frightened, Ryu Han-bin rolled around the floor. At this rate, he couldn’t be bitten, but he would definitely be beaten to death! By a stroke of luck, Ryu Han-bin stumbled upon a rock as he rolled around. He struck the stone furiously.
“Hey, son of a bitch!”
BANG!
It worked. The dog staggered. Then he hit it again.
“Die! Die! Die!”
Smash! Smash! Smash!
Indeed, humans were always dependent on tools.
The stone’s firmness surpassed the skull of the dog, crushing it with force and blunt trauma. Blood was drawn, and with a faint growly, the dog finally died, albeit in pain.
‘Grrrr……’
A message appeared above its body.
[Lv. 1 Fighting Demon Dog Obtaining 13 EXP.]
[Current EXP: 13/135]
Ryu Han-bin didn’t stop. He couldn’t dare to see the guidelines. In extreme excitement, he continued to hit the body of the dead dog, hitting and swearing furiously.
“D-die….you bastard……”
It was unclear who he was swearing at. Was it the dog, the world, or the devil that threw him into this shit……?
He kept cursing and swearing.
“Bastard…… bastard…… bastard…….”
* * *
“Let’s stay calm. I have to be calm.”
After a while, even his own reconfirmations weren’t working. Ryu Han-bin could barely calm down.
“This damn world is real. If I die, it’s over.”
He thought he might go home again if he died. But at this rate, he didn’t think that it was possible. And so, with this realization which sunk in slowly, he regained a sense of determination.
“I will survive! I’ll survive at all costs!”
Then, another series of guidelines appeared.
-Will and determination to survive has been confirmed. Combat ability is activated.
-Please choose your combat ability.
-Warrior: Available resource, Aura. Use various martial arts to fight within close range.
-Mage: Available resource, Mana. Use magic to create a powerful long-range attack of six elemental attributes.
-Spiritist: Available source, Prana. You can use healing techniques to heal yourself and your allies’ wounds, reshape the battlefield, and use secondary attack techniques.
-Dark Swordsman: Available resources, Force. Combining martial arts and unique martial arts, you can fight at long and close range for prolonged periods of time.
“So I should pick one of these?”
Originally, Ryu Han-bin was a warrior type. Rather than shooting magic from afar, close-range characters were more to his taste. But that was only in the game.
“I don’t want close combat!”
He didn’t want to fight at close range again after his fight with the Demon Dog. Game and reality were different things.
“I choose Mage!”
-Rejected. Your talent is insufficient.
The Mage option was no longer available.
“What? I can’t even pick what I want? Do I need talent as well?”
Seeing that response, Ryu Han-bin was in a state of disarray. In the meantime, the guidelines flashed over the remaining three items. Warrior, Spiritist, and Dark Swordman
“Well, then I will take……”
Come to think of it; it would be more advantageous to have hybrids that can do various things.
“Dark Swordsman!”
-Rejected. Your talent is insufficient.
“……”
He felt like crying as now there were only two options left: Warrior and Spiritist.
“Spiritist, huh, by the looks of it, seems like a healer or something…….”
Originally, he didn’t even play the healer class in games. It didn’t suit his taste.
“But if it’s reality, wouldn’t the healer be more advantageous?”
Considering this thought, he made up his mind and announced, “Spiritist!”
-Rejected. Your talent is insufficient.
“Damn it.’
Somehow he knew it would turn out like this. Ryu Han-bin dropped his shoulders in grief. In the end, there was only one option left.
-The warrior class has been selected.
“Don’t say I selected it. You didn’t give me any choice.”
-Please choose a basic weapon.
Various weapon icons such as swords, spears, axes, shields, etc., emerged at the screen’s bottom. Originally he liked the long sword type. But that was because the long sword looked cool, but……
“The long-range is the best, after all!”
If the same thing happened again, it would be advantageous to fight from a distance.
“I choose Lance!”
-A long sword has been chosen.
“What, Dude?”
Shocked. Ryu Han-bin was left with a gaping mouth.
“No, I picked a lance. What are you talking about now?”
-Error code occurred. Starting to repaaaaiiiiii…..
The letters glitched, creating radio static that rung in his ears, and from above, a long sword fell in front of him.
-Basic weapon, Long Sword obtained.
That was it.
Another error appeared…….
“……”
After the interlude of silence, the cry of a young man filled with resentment echoed in the red sky.
“When did I ask for thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiissss!!!”
