Chapter 2

Escape (1)

The dark floor. The musty smell of dust.

I blinked a few times and lifted my head, which had been hanging low.

"Ah~ Can't even get a sip of alcohol around here, damn it."

Next to me, a bald man with a fierce expression muttered something.

Around me, people in similar attire were squatting in a line.

It only took a few seconds to realize that their attire was prison uniforms and that this place was a prison.

Their hands and feet were all bound with thick chains, and I could see the tightly barred iron bars in front of me.

Moreover, the semi-transparent blue barrier shimmering beyond the bars—what was that? Something that would only appear in a fantasy... What the hell is this?

Creak.

My condition wasn't much better.

I looked down blankly at the heavy iron shackles on my hands and feet.

'What the hell... exactly...'

I couldn't understand the situation at all, so I tried to recall my memories.

I was definitely sitting in front of the computer, playing Lasa just a moment ago.

When I fused the Chaos Box, an amazing 10-star skill popped up, and then... Ah, right. Suddenly, my vision went dark, and I lost consciousness.

And when I opened my eyes again, I was in this state.

The memories before and after were clear, but the situation was still confusing, making me even more bewildered.

I narrowed my brows and looked around again.

"What are you staring at, kid?"

The bald man next to me, who met my gaze, growled fiercely.

I asked him.

"Where are we?"

The cold voice that slipped out between my lips surprised me.

It wasn't my voice, and it was in a language other than Korean.

"What? What the hell are you saying...?"

I stared at the man who was swearing in disbelief.

He flinched and then reluctantly answered.

"Where else, in the damn transport ship."

"Transport ship?"

"Did you just wake up from a nap? We're heading to Achemon, the damn place that's the grave of prisoners."

Achemon? The grave of prisoners?

I immediately recalled the familiar name. I almost blurted out, "What?" because it was the name of a place in a virtual world, not in reality.

A place in the world of the game I knew so well.

"Hey."

"What now?"

"Are you talking about the maximum security prison managed by the Kingdom of Lognar?"

"Why are you asking such obvious questions?"

"Is this... this world not Earth but the continent of Lakironia?"

The man now looked at me as if I were a lunatic.

"What a lunatic... Did you suddenly go crazy?"

Muttering this, he slowly moved away.

I also closed my mouth and fell silent.

I didn't need to ask more; I finally understood what was going on.

Especially when I saw the numbers floating above the heads of the prisoners, including the man next to me.

【Lv. 48】

【Lv. 51】

【Lv. 45】

Level indicators.

Unbelievable, but it seemed I was inside the game, in the world of Lakironia Saga that I had just been playing.

There was no other way to explain the current situation.

The vivid sensations I was experiencing clearly told me that this wasn't a dream.

'And this... this isn't even my body?'

It would have been nice if there were a mirror, but even without checking my face, I could tell it wasn't my body.

The skin color, voice, and physique were all different, and I felt a strange sense of alienation in my body.

Possession? Did I possess a game character? How could such an absurd thing happen?

"..."

I quickly calmed my confusion and decided to first understand the situation of this body.

I had obtained enough information from the short conversation, so it wasn't difficult.

Transport ship, and Achemon prison.

As the man said, it was a place where prisoners were buried alive, a well-known location in the game's main story.

'A place where you can't even dream of release or escape, where you spend your life in harsh labor and biological experiments until you are drained of all your blood.'

It seemed I had possessed one of the prisoners being transported to that harsh place.

Why did I end up in such a body... and who, for what purpose, put me in this dog's life situation?

It was pointless to ponder; I needed to focus on immediate survival.

At that moment, a sudden mental dissonance.

'Why am I so calm?'

I suddenly found myself in the game, and suddenly became a prisoner being transported to a prison.

In such a situation, it wouldn't be strange to be in a panic, unable to regain composure. That would be normal.

But I quickly assessed the situation and was already thinking about how to deal with the immediate crisis.

The disturbance was brief; the current emotion I felt was not fear or terror, but a bit of confusion and curiosity.

I usually considered myself a fairly rational person, but... was I really this calm in such an absurd situation?

Boom!

Suddenly, a heavy explosion echoed.

The space shook violently as the explosions continued. What was happening now?

Confused prisoners got up from the floor and started murmuring.

"Damn, what's going on? What's happening?"

"It sounds like something exploded above."

As the ship's vibrations continued, the prisoners' gazes turned to the bars. They all looked like startled rabbits.

The blue barrier surrounding the prison was gradually losing its light and becoming blurry.

Finally, when the barrier completely disappeared, someone shouted.

"…The suppression field is gone!"

As if this shout was a signal, cracking sounds echoed everywhere.

The prisoners were breaking the restraints on their hands and feet.

"Ha! What is this? The magic power is really back!"

"Freedom! Let's tear everything apart!"

In an instant, the prisoners, who had regained their freedom, started to run wild in joy.

I watched the sudden chaos blankly. It was a superhuman force.

'Tearing through the iron like it's paper... '

Crack!

The prisoners who tore through the iron bars one by one started to leave the prison.

I remained seated, watching the scene helplessly.

I knew the situation was serious with the explosions and the shaking ship, but I had no option to escape.

'Damn it.'

I cursed inwardly, looking at the restraints that wouldn't budge no matter how much I tried.

The strength of this body seemed to be at a normal level, similar to my original body.

So, unlike the other prisoners, I couldn't break the restraints by force.

Boom!

Another explosion echoed, this time very close.

A prisoner who was leading the way to the exit was thrown back and smashed into the wall.

His chest was a massive hole, and his body was unrecognizably crushed, dead on the spot.

The other prisoners were shocked.

"Enjoying yourselves, you bugs? Where do you think you're crawling to?"

A sinister voice accompanied the entrance of an old man with white hair.

He was so massive that the bulky prisoners looked like children next to him, exuding a mountain-like presence.

"Die...!"

A few prisoners who rushed in without thinking met the same fate as the one who was smashed into the wall.

They were crushed like meat lumps by the old man's fist, which he swung like swatting flies.

He didn't stop there and started to slaughter the remaining prisoners.

A speed and destructive power that far exceeded human limits.

I couldn't even follow his movements with my eyes; all I saw was a red fountain of blood and the prisoners' bodies exploding one by one.

It was an incredibly unrealistic scene. Could human bodies shatter so easily like fruit?

Boom!

One of them was thrown near where I was sitting, splattering blood on my face.

The prisoners were annihilated in the blink of an eye, unable to resist or escape.

I had guessed the outcome as soon as the old man appeared. Because...

【Lv. 91】

...I could tell from the level indicator above his head.

He was a monster on a different level.

No matter how many prisoners, who were at most in the 40s or 50s level, gathered, they couldn't touch him.

In Lasa, as in most RPGs, the greater the level difference, the harder it is for combat to be established. Numbers were meaningless. With a level difference of dozens, it was impossible...

'Damn.'

The gruesome scene, the thick smell of blood.

Wiping the blood from my face, I cursed inwardly again.

Suddenly finding myself in the game, becoming a prisoner on a transport ship, something exploding, chaos breaking out, and a monster old man suddenly appearing and slaughtering the other prisoners.

Too many things happened in a short time.

The only thing I was sure of was that my life was now more precarious than a rotten rope hanging over a cliff.

"Hmm, so there was one who stayed still?"

The old man, who seemed intrigued, approached me, shaking the blood from his fist.

He looked down at me as he entered the prison through the broken iron bars. I looked up at him silently.

In fact, I couldn't escape the restraints, but I had a tiny hope that he might spare me for not running.

But it seemed to be a futile hope.

A cruel smile appeared on the old man's lips.

"You have an interesting look in your eyes. I don't want to kill you, but... the situation is what it is."

A giant hand, as big as a palm, was placed on my head.

Even just that felt like my head would be crushed.

If the old man applied even a little force, my skull would shatter, and that was about to happen.

Am I going to die? Just like this?

'...In such a meaningless way?'

In the midst of this, my mind was still thinking calmly.

Maybe, if I die, I'll return to the original reality?

It's not impossible. But I couldn't throw away my life so easily, like in a game.

'...!'

In a flash, I recalled something as I desperately searched for a way out.

The last moment before entering the game.

The Chaos Box, fusing everything about the character, and the skill that popped up as a result.

[Instant Death]

Ignores all types of effects and instantly kills the target. Can be activated when in contact with the target, with no restrictions on the target.

Could it be?

I was possessed right after the fusion was completed.

I had no certainty, but this was a life-or-death situation where I had to grasp at straws.

"I am Garton of the Quan family. If you have any last words, I'll hear them."

I met the old man's gaze and spoke softly.

"Die."

At the same time, the hand on my head slipped away.

Boom.

The old man's massive body fell to the ground like a broken doll.