Chapter 2. Into the Game (2)

I carefully examined the appearance of the tutorial boss.

The guy was literally broken down and couldn't move. This was because he wasn't a living person but a golem animated by intricate magic.

The problem was why he was broken down.

I could understand the reason when I got closer.

'It's old. I didn't notice from a distance, but there are cracks everywhere and the corrosion is severe.'

The armor was so cracked that it barely maintained its shape.

It seemed as if it had been left here for a long time.

At least for several hundred years.

"......"

I examined the tutorial boss with a sterner expression and then looked behind him.

While it was fortunate that we didn't have to fight, I was worried that the stone chamber elevator behind him might not work.

After passing the tutorial boss and opening the door to go inside, I saw an altar.

At the center of the altar was a stone slab, which was also covered in dust.

It seemed to have been left untouched for quite some time.

I naturally stood on it.

As I stepped on it, the place where I stood sank, and soon the giant stone slab I was on began to vibrate and rise.

Fortunately.

This is still working properly.

'I thought it would be hopeless if this elevator didn't work too.'

Standing on the stone slab that started to rise, I was lost in thought.

In the game, when you ride this stone slab elevator and go up, you can see the outside world for the first time.

Under the pouring sunlight, the vast and beautiful scenery of the fantasy world unfolds.

The green fields, the distant forests, and the snow-capped mountain ranges stretching even further.

Mysterious flying dragons soar in the sky, and the fields are filled with the sounds of insects.

The spirit, which had been worn out, was not only healed but also overwhelmed with waves of emotion.

The scene, full of the unknown and romance, was a privilege granted only to those who had succeeded after challenging the tutorial boss several times in the dark and damp underground chapel.

The moment they taste it, people forget the hardships they initially endured.

And they end up thinking this.

I'm really glad I started this game.

It's a symbol of taking the first step into this world, something you can only taste after challenging and succeeding.

It was an experience I would never forget, and the biggest reason I became immersed in this game.

The excitement I feel now is a result of that experience.

The world, beautifully rendered by the game's graphics, is now a reality. How beautiful will it be?

'Soon.'

The stone door will soon open above, and light will pour in.

And I will be able to feel that emotion again.

That's what I thought.

Clunk!

Until the elevator suddenly stopped.

'What?'

I checked to see if the elevator had broken down, but it hadn't.

The reason it stopped was simple.

There was no more way to go up.

I stretched out my hand above my head.

I felt the hard texture of the rock at my fingertips.

'The stone door won't open?'

The stone door, which should have opened automatically as I ascended to the ground, didn't budge.

The elevator was working fine, but the stone door was broken!

So, to summarize the situation:

I'm stuck between the closed stone door and the elevator, unable to do anything.

And a new problem has arisen.

The oxygen in this area is gradually becoming scarce.

'Wait a minute. Does this mean I can't move at all?'

The thought that I might die without doing anything made me panic.

"Open the door!"

I clenched my fist and punched the stone door.

*

Bang!

Loud gunshots echoed through the dark alley.

Two groups were facing each other, engaged in a fight.

One side was firing guns unilaterally. They were all gang members with fierce looks and tattoos on one arm.

The ones fighting against them were workers who had set up barricades using a large factory as their stronghold.

The situation was turning in favor of the gang. They had more numbers and better weapons.

"Ah!"

"Those crazy gangsters! There are too many of them!"

"Hold the line! If we lose here, it's over!"

The workers had built barricades using all kinds of debris to stage a sit-in, but they were no match for the gang members armed with firearms.

The number of injured workers, hit by stray bullets, kept increasing as time passed.

"Damn! How could you even hire a gang?"

At first, it wasn't a big deal.

One of the workers was seriously injured in an accident at the factory, but the owner didn't give him any money and kicked him out.

Enraged, the workers went on strike and occupied the factory to prevent the steam machines from being operated.

But a problem arose.

The employer, instead of negotiating, hired a gang to attack them in the middle of the night.

It was a sudden ambush, and the workers, despite their desperate resistance, were helpless.

"Kill them all! The employer needs an example!"

The gang leader glared at the barricades and gave the order.

They didn't care about killing people for money, as it was a common occurrence in this city.

In such a secluded place, the police (yard) wouldn't show up, so no one would be held responsible for the incident here.

Knowing this, the gang members could shoot without hesitation.

However, the workers' resistance was more intense than expected.

They knew that if they were pushed back here, they would be finished.

They lived day to day, barely making ends meet, so if they fled, they would starve to death.

A worker with a family had no choice but to resist desperately.

"Push! Kill them all!"

"Stand firm! If we lose here, our families will die on the streets!"

The desperate resistance of those trying to hold the line and the relentless push of those trying to break through reached a critical point.

Boom! Boom!

A ground-shaking sound began to be heard from somewhere.

It sounded like a drum beating or a bomb exploding.

No one in the chaotic scene could miss the sound.

"What is that?"

"Is it an earthquake?"

The gunshots stopped, and the fight temporarily subsided.

The gang members shooting and the workers fighting to the death behind the barricades were all puzzled.

The ground-shaking sound continued.

The intervals between the sounds became shorter and louder.

It felt like the source of the sound was getting closer.

Everyone could tell where the sound was coming from.

"Underground?"

The sound was coming from underground.

Boom!!!

Immediately after, the ground exploded. A massive cloud of dust rose, and some gang members were thrown and rolled on the ground.

The gang was taken aback, mistaking it for a bomb set off by the workers.

The striking workers were equally surprised, thinking the explosion was caused by the gang.

A heavy silence fell over the scene as the dust from the explosion slowly settled.

Only then did people notice a man standing in the center of the dust cloud.

"What is that?"

The gang leader frowned and muttered.

The man who suddenly emerged from underground was wearing an incomprehensible outfit.

"Knight?"

He was wearing silver armor. It was clearly armor, despite being covered in dust.

He had a sword at his waist and a shield on his back.

Though uneducated, he recognized that this was the outfit of a 'knight,' now extinct.

The question was why this strange man suddenly emerged from underground.

"You, what are you, you bastard!"

A confused gang member, startled by the sudden appearance of the knight, aimed his gun and shouted.

The black-haired knight, who had been staring at his fist, turned to look at the gang member aiming at him.

His pitch-black eyes were unreadable.

The moment he met those deep, dark eyes, the gang member felt an inexplicable fear.

"Die!"

Bang!

He pulled the trigger instinctively.

The single-action revolver spat fire from its barrel.

At that moment, everyone imagined the same scene in their heads.

The knight falling, bleeding.

At that moment, the knight moved.

Clang!

The knight drew his sword from his waist with lightning speed and sliced through the incoming bullet.

Of course, no one saw the bullet being sliced.

It was dark, and the knight's sword was too fast.

All they saw was a spark in the air.

And the bullet, cut in half, rolling on the ground.

*

I took a deep breath of the cool outside air, feeling a sense of relief at being alive, and calmly organized my thoughts.

Something is off.

What's off is my clenched fist.

To survive, I instinctively punched the stone door. In a normal situation, my fist might have shattered.

But my fist left a mark on the stone door, creating a crack.

'How thick was the stone door?'

In the game, the stone door was quite thick.

Yet, I broke it with my bare hands. The amount of soil and debris scattered showed that a significant amount of earth had covered the top of the stone door, which I had also blown away.

'But my hand is fine.'

I looked at my fist.

Suddenly, I thought:

My character in the game was a 99th cycle wandering knight.

In this game, each cycle resets equipment and money, but one thing remains.

The character's stats.

As the cycles progress, the monsters also become stronger, so the playable character inherits the stats.

Naturally, after 99 cycles, I was a max-level wandering knight with no more stats to increase.

Of course, that doesn't mean I could dominate the game. The bosses were just as strong, and the game's difficulty was high, so I often died.

'But if I came here in the 99th cycle state,'

What level of physical ability do I have now?

"You, what are you, you bastard!"

At that moment, someone shouted at me.

I turned my head to see a weasel-like, despicable-looking man aiming a gun at me.

...Wait. A gun?

I opened my eyes wide.

This is a medieval fantasy open-world RPG.

Yes, 'medieval.' And of course, there shouldn't be guns in medieval times.

'No, more importantly, the clothes and the buildings around here are strange.'

This place should be a pristine, undeveloped natural area.

But now there are buildings, and a large factory is visible on one side.

Even if the chimney isn't emitting smoke, common sense tells you it's a factory.

This looks more like the 19th century than medieval times.

While I was thinking this and staring at the gun, the weasel's face turned pale.

Before I could understand why, he shouted in a fit.

"Die!"

His finger pulled the trigger. My whole body tensed.

At the same time, time seemed to slow down.

No, time didn't slow down. More accurately, my thoughts accelerated, making it seem like time was moving slowly.

And I knew this skill.

A skill that makes time seem to slow down.

A skill that analyzes the enemy's pattern and helps you block or dodge, favored by beginners.

Of course, it has its limits.

The slowed time lasts less than three seconds and can't be used consecutively.

But now, this skill had activated.

The gun barrel spat fire, and the bullet flew in slow motion.

I watched it and naturally drew my sword from my waist.

I don't know why. My body just reacted naturally.

Holding the basic longsword, I swung it at the incoming bullet.

A perfect, unshaken sword stroke cut the bullet, which then rolled on the ground.

Good heavens. Cutting a bullet with a sword.

I muttered in disbelief at the scene I had just created.

"What is this?"

I looked around.

Dozens of eyes were staring at me in disbelief.

Oh.