Chapter 6

Chapter 1 Oh, Happy Day! (6)

***

There is a saying, "A blessing in disguise" (塞翁之馬, sa-ong-ji-ma).

It means that the good and bad in life are unpredictable, and current misfortune could turn into future happiness...

"Is this... my character?"

This is just too much to handle. While I may be naive about the world, I never imagined that my future would be as solidly bleak as the trash in front of me!

A glass body, mentally weak. A character with no future as a warrior or a mage. Now, the only hope left is to become a diplomatic character, relying on smooth talk to survive...

- Mukaba: Hahaha

- Jokass: Damn, hahaha

- Ganjanggeiba: As expected, GG! Always thrilling!

All the settings were complete, and the character that appeared before my eyes completely shattered that last thread of hope.

The ideal warrior I had dreamed of, a true warrior who seemed a million light-years away from any diplomatic or social appearance.

- Speed Wagon: Really, there's no hope.

- Highweinauchoman: Hahaha, I almost died laughing.

- Mukaba: The appearance was the only hope, but it's gone too, hahaha.

- Holy: Well... I don't know much, but is appearance really that important? It seems like it is...

"Of course. It's really important."

The professor, who seemed to have completely given up, explained with a hollow look in his eyes.

"GG is a game with a lot of realism, as that hipster old man always says.

Think about it. A well-dressed handsome man smiling brightly and saying, 'Let's talk, shall we?' versus a man like this character, grinning and saying, 'Hehehe! Hey! Let's talk!' Which one do you think would be better for negotiations?"

- Holy: Oh.

"Exactly. Of course, the most important thing is the character's traits, but appearance also has a significant impact on gameplay."

I summarized it briefly, but the influence of appearance is broader than you might think. It determines the direction of all conversations with NPCs and plays a major role in things like likability.

Just as Holy, who had been listening quietly, began to understand the importance of appearance, Speed Wagon seemed to have realized something else and spoke to me.

- Speed Wagon: That's not the problem right now.

- Professor: ?

- Speed Wagon: You have a glass body, with a fixed durability of 90.

"Right."

- Speed Wagon: A fixed durability of 90 in any situation means that when the surface area increases, the durability per unit volume decreases. Your body is already large, so the durability per unit area is low. As your body grows over time, it will decrease even more.

"!!!"

- Holy: Oh no.

- Piwa Huayao: That means...

- Gwalegananya: Hahaha, not just glass, but thin glass, hahaha.

- Speed Wagon: Roughly, it's like the difference between easily breakable regular glass and a lab cover slip.

- Jokass: Ah, this body? It's called 'balloon muscle.' Don't touch it. It hurts.

- Highweinauchoman: It looks like it will pop at any moment. (It really does pop)

"Ugh..."

I have no more energy to feel despair. My character is truly a complete piece of trash.

The character creation phase was complete, and my gaze, which had been on the 2-meter-tall giant, returned, raising my viewpoint.

[Character synchronization complete]

[Rescuer, please save the Gedroyts continent...]

- Gwalegananya: Goddess: Is this... the Rescuer?

- Chao Le Qi Duo Ji: GG's future is dark.

The laughing gallery's words faded away, and as my consciousness floated, I made a resolve.

'One month, just one month. I'll only do profitable quests and then quit!'

Whoosh!

The blinding light faded, and finally, I could step on the ground with my new body.

***

“Sigh... Haah...”

Hmm~ This refreshing air. How long has it been!

The wind is blowing. Not the dusty wind, but a cool and clear breeze. The green leaves in front of me rustle softly in the wind, and the gentle chirping of birds tickles my ears.

The beauty I can never experience outside. I definitely felt like I had entered the world of Gedroyts.

"First... how did I even start?"

Just creating the character felt like I had accumulated a year's worth of stress. Hmm, I can't let this happen. If I don't pull myself together, I'll die in no time. Focus!

- Highweinauchoman: What will you do first?

- Chao Le Qi Duo Ji: Obviously, check the bag first.

- Jokass: What are you talking about? With a body like this, you should immediately do some manual labor and buy a Stoneskin spellbook.

"Let's be quiet, okay? I'm already overwhelmed from the synchronization."

The first thing to do is check my status. I looked at my body. The clothes, almost rags, were made of what seemed to be high-quality fabric before they were torn and dirtied. Even the shoes, covered in mud, still retained a decent shine.

'[Illegitimate son of a fallen knight family]... So, it seems I come from a better family than I thought.'

This is bad news. If the family was that good, the enemies who destroyed it must also be powerful.

- Jokass: Is this a growth phase?

- Speed Wagon: The character sheet said 20 years old.

- Ganjanggeiba: 20 years old? How is this a fresh-faced college student? He's a master of the wild.

From my perspective, I seemed to be about 190 cm tall. Swinging my arms and legs, I could see that my arms and legs were already well-defined, which, as someone who had raised a warrior character before, was quite satisfying.

If only the maximum durability wasn't fixed at 90.

Click!

“Ahh! What the hell!”

I was stretching to loosen up and swung my arm forcefully. My fingertips touched a nearby tree, and my wrist was immediately sprained.

“Ugh, what, what is this? My wrist is sprained just from touching a tree while stretching? Is this for real?”

- Highweinauchoman: 'Carefully selected trash character'

- Ganjanggeiba: 'A masterpiece crafted by skill and luck'

- Gwalegananya: 'Masterpiece'

These people are really enjoying themselves.

"Shut up! I'm stressed! I need to check my status and make a plan! Status window!"

==========

Log/info

Name: ???

Class: Undetermined

Race: [Human]

Gender: [Male]

Origin: [Illegitimate son of a fallen knight family]

Age: [Growth phase (20)]

+ Traits: [Curiosity], [Magical aptitude], [Shining gaze], [Glass body], [Mental weakness]

+ Log

+ Item: ㅁ / ㅁ / ㅁ / ㅁ

==========

Chanting the command word, a semi-transparent window appeared before my eyes. This simple text box is the status window provided by the game. The unique aspect of this game's status window is that it only displays information the player knows.

When you first enter the world, you are given no information at all. Not even your name, class, goals, or the year, date, or time. Nothing.

"Let's see... Even with a random start, they should at least give some basic items. Please, let there be splints!"

The item window showed four slots filled, indicating something was in my pockets. Feeling through my bloodied, tattered clothes, I found a piece of rolled-up cloth.

[Contaminated bandage x 4: Bandages made to stop bleeding and prevent infection, but contaminated due to poor storage]

"Bandages. Not bad, but having four bandages? Can I make do with just these?"

Since I had plenty of bandages, I thought I could find a sturdy branch, place it on the sprained area, and tie it down.

Crack!

“Ahh! It hurts! It really hurts!”

I tried to break a branch with my hand, but my palm was completely scraped off.

[Item: Contaminated bandage x 2]

Swish, swish, swish, swish...

Sprained right wrist. Bloodied left palm.

What I did since the game started: Stretching. Breaking a branch.

“This is not right. This is... This is really not right! It's absurd! A body that can't even break a branch! How am I supposed to save the world with this!”

- Ganjanggeiba: Hahaha, so you were thinking of clearing the game with this body?

- Jokass: The professor is still a boy, with dreams in his heart.

- Speed Wagon: You need to change your mindset. Think of your body as a glass sculpture, not the one you're used to.

“Glass... sculpture...”

Looking at the muscular body that seemed to overflow with strength, I sighed.

***

With a sigh, I lowered my expectations and felt a bit more at ease. I decided to approach it like a 24-hour infiltration mission. Noise means reaction, so I moved quietly and slowly.

To make a splint, instead of using force, I decided to use my weight. I wrapped my remaining bandages around my arms and legs, climbed a thick branch, and carefully shook my body.

Click! Crack!

“It’s done! It’s broken-aaaah!”

Boom!

“Gah!”

Acquired: Sturdy branch x 3, left shin fracture.

“It didn’t even reach my waist!”

Look at my current state. Right wrist fracture, left leg fracture, left palm scraped off. Two of my limbs are completely unusable, and one is hard to move freely. All this happened while trying to find a sturdy branch for a splint.

The professor picked up the sturdy branch that had fallen to the ground.

Ding!

[Item: Sturdy branch

A branch broken from a common tree. It can be used as kindling or a walking stick.

+ Player knowledge correction: ‘Good grain and decent strength. It could be used as a weapon.’

One-handed blunt weapon / Attack power 3 / Durability 45]

“Huh...”

Player knowledge correction refers to the knowledge the player already has, not what they observe in the world, which is reflected in the status window. From my previous experience raising a two-handed warrior in World 2, I had slightly improved my blacksmithing skill, which is now reflected here.

“Durability 45? Half of my body’s durability?”

My body has a durability of 90, so if I had the strength to break two of these sticks simultaneously, I could fold my waist in half.

“Ha, really. I’m not even angry anymore...”

Swish, swish

Crack!

Ding!

[Improvised contaminated splint x 2: Made by tying unprocessed wood and contaminated bandages. It won’t provide significant healing, but it can prevent the condition of the fractured area from worsening.]

“Well, it’s done somehow.”

Two of the three branches I obtained by breaking my leg were used as splints for my arm and leg, and the remaining one was held in my uninjured hand as a walking stick.

My arm and leg, wrapped in bandages and splints, and my tattered clothes with a makeshift walking stick. I looked like a defeated soldier.

“Let’s head to the village first.”

Just breathing is this difficult. If a stray dog appears on the road, I’ll be torn apart alive, and my 500,000 silings account will be gone.

My whole body ached so much that my head was shaking, and the throbbing headache was so severe that I couldn’t think.

“Let’s hurry.”

Thud, creak.

Thud, creak.

The professor limped toward the distant city walls.

Finally, the adventure began.

***