Chapter 91 Player (3)
Player (3)
It's been 5 months since I woke up in this other world.
If we include the days I spent in the labyrinth, it feels even longer.
A lot has happened during that time.
I killed a person for the first time, and I killed monsters. I've done many barbaric things to survive.
But is my essence as a modern person still intact?
Click, clack, clack, click, thud!
As soon as I finish entering the password, my pinky finger naturally presses enter.
And I flinch as I realize one thing.
'This is... my body?'
It's not the rough and thick hands of a barbarian.
It's not the body of a warrior with broad shoulders and muscles like rocks.
It's Lee Hansu's body, 175 centimeters tall, average weight, with soft flesh and skin.
That's when...
"Ah, shit!"
I feel like the ground is collapsing, and my body is being sucked somewhere.
When I come to my senses, everything is pitch black.
It's not unfamiliar since I've experienced it often in the labyrinth, but...
Click.
With the sound of a switch being flipped, my surroundings brighten up.
Surprisingly, I'm in my room.
My room, Lee Hansu's room, where I used to enjoy games before being dragged here.
'...So what's the point of all this?'
I first check my surroundings.
Bookshelves, computer, a slightly yellowed bed...
I go outside and check the kitchen, living room, and bathroom, and everything matches my memory.
'Ah, then could it be that too...?'
I hurriedly open the refrigerator door.
For some reason, it's filled with nothing but chilled cans of cola.
I wonder what kind of arrangement this is, but I don't think about it too deeply.
How could I possibly resist this?
Click, hiss-
A sound that makes me feel refreshed just by listening to it.
I could endure everything else, but I've missed this so much. I quickly pour it into my mouth, worried it might disappear before my eyes.
But...
'Damn it.'
I can't taste it.
There's no sharp sensation that feels like it's splitting my throat in half.
It just feels like a tasteless, odorless liquid is going down my throat.
That's when...
Ding-dong-
The doorbell rings.
I check the intercom, and there's a blonde, white woman.
It's probably not a religious solicitation, right?
Just as I'm about to say, 'Who are you?' in my usual tone, I realize my mistake and speak again.
"Who is it?"
I judge that she might be able to figure out that I'm a barbarian from my tone of voice.
'But why does it feel so awkward?'
It feels like there are thorns in my throat even though I just spoke normally.
Soon, I hear a response from the other side of the intercom.
[I'm SoulQueens, the guide for Ghostbusters. May I come in?]
Hmm, I didn't know it was this kind of system.
I quickly open the door before I offend her.
But what's this?
"Um, why are you walking into the wall?"
"Ah, was that a wall? To me, it just looks like white space."
Is she talking about the space I saw earlier?
It seems like there are some mysterious rules at play in this spiritual world.
As I roughly give her directions and guide her to the living room, the woman lets out a gasp.
"You're amazing. Usually, you can at least faintly see the shape."
"Shape?"
"This place. Maybe you..."
"You can just keep calling me 'you'."
"...If you insist."
As promised in the letter that guaranteed anonymity, the woman doesn't show any disappointment at my indirect refusal.
"Anyway, this space is a manifestation of what you imagined. The place that your inner mind thinks of first. It usually becomes the space that you feel most comfortable in psychologically."
"So?"
"It's usually visible to others. Although there are some people with strong defense mechanisms, you can still recognize the shape to some extent..."
The woman looks at me with a strange expression.
Fan? What is she talking about?
Just as I'm about to ask in detail, the woman continues her explanation.
It's about how to use the community.
"Alright, then I think I've told you everything I need to. I'll be on my way now, so please feel free to use it. If you have any problems, send a 1:1 message!"
The woman with the nickname SoulQueens then leaves.
I'm alone in the room again.
Having completed the tutorial, I browse through the community without much difficulty.
[20s, 30s Men Only]
[American Union]
[Beastmen Gather]
[Wizardry]
[Chat Room]
There are several chat rooms currently active.
I guess I can choose any of them and enter to chat with the people there?
It's a futuristic yet fantastical system.
'There are even rooms with rank restrictions and passwords.'
I choose a random room to enter as a test, to get used to this place.
[Newbie Room]
It's a unique room where only people who have been in the community for less than a year can enter, not a rank restriction.
I chose it because I thought there would be many people similar to me.
Click.
The moment I double-click...
A bright light emanates from the monitor.
And just like the day I woke up in the barbarian's body while playing the game...
When I come to my senses, I'm in an open space.
________________________
Click, clack, clack-
A bonfire is burning fiercely in the center of the clearing, like a campfire.
There are about a dozen people standing around it.
They're all men.
Well, how many women would play this perverted, hardcore game?
“Oh, a new person!”
Gazes gather as I appear.
White, yellow, black.
There's more racial diversity than I expected, but...
After living in the other world for a few months, I first feel a sense of kinship as people from the same hometown.
Is it the same for them?
“Which country are you from?”
“Ah, Korea.”
“I see! Welcome!”
I look around and observe my surroundings.
There’s no racism, and the atmosphere is one of genuinely welcoming a newcomer.
‘Is that thing above their heads their nickname?’
Letters are floating translucently above people’s heads.
A black man in a neat suit approaches me and speaks.
“It’s a bit bare, right? We haven’t gathered enough points to decorate yet. I’m DarkMan, the room owner. Could you please turn on nickname display and introduce yourself?”
“Nickname display?”
“You must be new to this room. Just think ‘I agree’. In this community, thoughts and intentions have power.”
Thoughts and intentions have power...
So I just have to do it like using an active skill?
‘Nickname display.’
As I say that inwardly, people’s gazes turn towards the top of my head.
It seems like they can see my nickname now.
But...
“Hello, I’m Elfnunna.”
The moment I reveal my nickname, thinking it’s an anonymous space anyway...
“.......”
“.......”
An eerie silence falls over the clearing.
And after a moment...
“Elfnuna?!”
“Crazy, the person who wrote the stat guide?”
“Uh... wasn’t that person from the game company?”
“As expected, that person was Korean! I knew it!”
“Excuse me! Is it true? Is it really you?”
For some reason, a commotion breaks out.
However, before I can grasp the situation, I quietly exhale a deep breath.
‘Whew...’
What is this again?