Survival Story Of A Sword King

Will you commit suicide? (1)

As his anger subsided, a terrified Han-Bin took a look around. He wondered where he really was. Unanswered questions popped into his head. “I don’t know where the hell I am… How did all this happen? What should I do? What should I do?” he mumbled on, scared. Just then, a screen made of light appeared in front of his eyes. It was the guideline. Relieved that the inscription on it was in Korean, he read: “This is the world, Selha Ratna. You have reached this world as the ‘chosen one’.” Hanbin blinked in disbelief. The screen now had a new message: “You have been chosen as a ‘suitable person’. The goal is to survive and grow in this world. I wish you all the best.”

And just as it had appeared, the guidelines screen vanished into thin air, leaving a stunned Han-Bin. He tried to make sense of everything that had happened so far. It felt surreal. The lights room and everything that happened there, and now this. He had been abducted, moved across worlds at the desire of some, like a nameless pawn intended to please? Triggered by the thought of being helpless, he lifted a rock and cast it afar. It wasn’t enough. Infuriated, he picked up and threw every rock within reach, no matter the size, till he was out of breath—screaming at the top of his lungs: “You son of a bitch, take this!”

Panting, he sat down, trying to gather himself. His military training had now come back to him. “First,” he thought, “I have to calm down. Nothing good will come out if I break down. Nothing will change.” The guidelines were clear: survive and grow. Sounds like a plan. Only, where was he supposed to survive and grow? The blood-red sky was reflected on his face as he looked up in agony: “What is this place?” he muttered hopelessly…

* * *

Just as it occurred to him that sitting down was pointless, he realized he was in an entirely different outfit. This morning he had woken up in a T-shirt and shorts, much like a college student, unlike the Korean etiquette requiring young men in their twenties to be dressed properly even in their sleep, wearing pajamas. Much to his surprise, he was in black tights and shirt, and even wore shoes. Even though he felt like a character out of a fantasy film, in a medieval European setting, he was quite comfortable in these clothes. For an experienced military man, survival was key. Growth came with it. How much more of it did he need was unclear.

As if it interacted with him, the screen appeared yet again: “You can try to level up after acquiring experience points through various battles with powerful monsters. Follow the instructions in the guidelines to advance your skills.”

“What bullshit are you talking about?” he yelled. “Am I stuck in a virtual reality game?” he asked again.  “It is reality. The guideline system will adjust to suit the fitter.”  He paused. The voices from the light room echoed in his head: artificial match… it very much sounded like the same story.  Survival… growth…level up? “So, if I have to level up, what is my standing now?”  The indication on the screen was crystal clear:

「Ryu Han-bin: Lv.1

Skill: none

Strength 21, Stamina 17, Recovery 13, Defense 12, Body Vision 5, Reflexes 7,

Quickness 8.」

He wondered whether this was high or low ranking. Could he take this as the level of an ordinary male? And what was a Selha Ratna? He was full of questions. He had to know more. The only way to survive. But, no matter how much he enquired, the guidelines had gone silent.  At last, a message appeared:

「You can get information about the target by using the ‘Search’ function in the guideline.」

A glance around him revealed more rocks, shrubs, and a few trees. Bare rocks with the red sky in the background. No answer as to why it was so, either. Aimlessly he started walking, feeling sorry for himself, wondering if his parents thought him missing or his friends noticed his absence. Past another slope, he noticed a small stream. Thirst overcame him as he faced the water. Surely it was normal to feel this way. He must have been several hours in this new world. Yet, was it safe to drink?  “Drinkable. No upset stomach. Five.” The guideline proved to be useful. He gulped down as much water as he could with both hands. “I should buy this!” he exclaimed contentedly.

To his resentment, ten minutes later, he suffered, rolling on the ground, holding his stomach and screaming in pain, repeating ironically: “It’s drinkable. My stomach isn’t upset!”

The guidelines beeped in flashing warning sounds:

「Code error. Error correction. Not drinkable. Side effects: upset stomach. 」

Suddenly, the guideline changed message:

「You are dehydrated. 」

And went off, much like an idle computer screen. Amid his pain, the voice from the lightroom came back to him:

– Oh, I made a mistake.

– An error indication appeared in the guideline.

– Ah, it is only one. There are hundreds of them; one cannot be accounted for…

So people were simply dropped into this world without even the security of a proper functioning guideline.

He couldn’t help but spit out the same words that had come to his lips numerous times today: “Damn”…

* * *

It was after countless hours of groaning with a stomachache that the pain finally subsided. His survival was at stake. He had to move fast; find a place to sleep and something to eat. Desolation lay everywhere he looked. How could he risk another attempt at eating something?

Besides, only moss in rock crevices was visible. No animals, not even insects. Suddenly, an ominous sound was heard in the distance, “Ugh!”

Ryu Han-Bin looked behind him in surprise. There, on a high rock, a black dog with eyes wide-open growled at him threateningly. “What is that?” he asked, and immediately the guideline flashed:

「Race: Demon Dog (魔犬). Lv. 1

Selha Ratna’s lowest-level monster. It has the same fighting power as an unarmed adult male.」

Before he could react, the demon dog charged at high speed and attacked him. As he grabbed his bitten arm, in pain and anguish, he swung his other arm to defend himself, hitting the dog on the head. The dog released him and backed up. Han-Bin had to think fast. He had to stop the bleeding and eliminate his enemy. However, somehow, there was no blood—just pain.  As the dog prepared for a second attack, Han-Bin realized that its teeth were blunt. And then it hit him. That its nails were the same. This was deliberately done to both parts of the dog.  He had no time to think it through. The demon dog attacked a second time, seizing him with its two paws.

Puck! Puck! Ferbbuck! As Han-Bin rolled on the floor, crouched and frightened, he grabbed a rock and drove it home to his opponent’s head. “Hey! You son of a bitch!” he laughed bitterly and kept hitting the dog. “Die, die, die!” he yelled and kept hitting.  Han-Bin did not stop till its skull was crushed open, and the animal lay on the ground motionless.  A message appeared over the body.

「Lv.1 Demon Dog. You have acquired 13 EXP.」

「Current EXP: 13/135」

Han-Bin did not stop. He did not care about the guideline. The demon had to die. He kept on the madness, hitting, cursing, spitting on the dog. “You have to die! You son of a bitch…” it was unclear whether he was referring to the animal, or the world, or the devil that had sent him there… “Pup, pup, pup…”

* * *

Though his military training would dictate for him to calm down, a disturbing thought filled him with hope.  What if he died? Would he then be returned home? Was this the answer to everything? No! Not a chance that the vile people that had put him through this would ever cut anyone loose. He had to make it. “I will survive! I will survive at any cost!”

The guideline came up again:

“We have confirmed the will and determination of ‘the fit for survival’. Combat ability is unlocked. Please choose a combat ability.”

「Warrior: available resources – aura. Fight at close range using various martial arts. 」

「Mage: available resources – mana. Using magic, they attempt a powerful long-range attack with six attributes. 」

「Spiritist: available resources – prana. You can use healing techniques to heal yourself and your allies’ wounds, change the battlefield to a preferable shape, and use secondary attack techniques. 」

「Magic Swordsman: available resources – force. You can fight at a distance and at close range by using a combination of martial arts and a unique magic sword style. 」

“Are you asking me to choose one of these?” he asked hesitantly.

Originally, Ryu Han-Bin was a warrior type. Rather than just shooting magic from a distance, the close-up characters that felt the hand’s taste were his preference. So, he opted for the last one.  “I hate close combat!” he declared. He had never wanted to engage in close combat. The demon dog incident further solidified this opinion… Game and reality were different. “I choose mage!”

“It was rejected. Your talent is lacking.”

The wizard item has been picked off. What? It was an option, was it not? Did one need to have talent too? Panicking, Han-bin became impatient. In the meantime, the guideline was flashing the remaining three items—Warrior, spiritist, magic swordsman. “Well, if so, then the magic swordsman…” Considering it, it seemed that a combination of various abilities and skills would be more advantageous. “I choose magic swordsman!”

“It was rejected. Your talent is lacking.”

“……”

Han-Bin wanted to burst into tears.  There were only two items left, a warrior and a spiritist. “This spiritist, no matter how much I look at it, it sounds like a healer or something…” Originally, a healer was not his cup of tea, not even when playing a game. But when it came to reality, the healer could prove advantageous. In fact, if he had his limbs attached, he could still easily swing his weapon without being a warrior. “I choose spiritist!”

“It was rejected. Your talent is lacking.”

“Damn it.” His shoulders drooped while he suspected all this happened for a reason. In the end, there was only one option left.

「Warrior has been selected.」

Even the word choice was removed, leaving Ryu Han-Bin with no other option than the one the guideline repeated in the prescribed phrases.

“Choose a warrior’s basic armament.”

Various weapon icons such as swords, spears, axes, shields, etc. appeared at the bottom of the screen. Originally, he liked the longsword line. But that’s because the longsword looked cool. However, a longer range was more practical.

“The long range is the best!” If the same thing happened again, it would be advantageous to fight from a distance. “I choose the long spear!”

“The longsword has been chosen.”

“What, dude?” awestruck, Ryu Han-bin was left with his mouth wide open. “No, I picked a long spear. What are you talking about now?” he insisted.

「An error code has occurred. Beginning correction work… … .」

The letters shattered, and a blade fell from the air.

「Basic armament and long sword are provided.」

“Another error appeared…” he repeated aimlessly.

“……”

After the interlude’s silence, the cry of a young man filled with resentment echoed in the red sky.

“I never asked for this!”