I closed my eyes and asked myself: If this is the start of a very, very unfriendly game, what should I do now?
First, I had to grasp the situation and gather information. I could feel my mind slowly clearing. Remembering the task I had set for myself, I slowly opened my eyes and checked my surroundings again. Unfortunately, nothing had changed.
«...»
The facts remained: I was in a forest clearing; the light illuminating the darkness was not an LED streetlight but a flickering torch; and there were muscular savages everywhere I looked. Damn, my eyes definitely weren't fooling me. I don't know what these people were doing here in the middle of the night, but they seemed dedicated.
«Congratulations, young warriors!» shouted one of the men in the center of the crowd.
Is that man the tribal chief? I thought. Well, it didn't matter.
The chief continued. «Starting today, you will leave the sacred land and be reborn as true warriors!»
I closed my eyes, letting the chief's words filter through one ear. I'm no doctor, but if I had to self-diagnose, I'd say I was on the verge of fainting.
«Now, step forward one by one and choose the weapon that suits you best!»
I tried to think... what had I been doing right before this? As I retraced my memories, it hit me. I had been playing a game. I was standing before the final boss room and had activated the portal. Then, messages appeared saying the tutorial was complete, followed by a bright light and a "transmission" sequence. When I came to, I was here.
«Sal Karak, Fanun's third son!»
I needed to check my body. I didn't feel any pain, but you never know. I looked down and immediately stiffened.
What... what is this?
«A two-handed axe! Excellent!» the chief shouted.
The hands I saw were so large they looked vulgar. Surprisingly, they moved according to my will. I looked at the rest of myself—it was a spectacle. I was shirtless, my rough muscles covered in tattoos, and I was at eye level with these giant humans. I tried to organize the information. No, actually, there was nothing to organize. For some reason, I had become a savage.
«Karak, Fanun's third son! Now you are a warrior!»
Kidnapping, a hidden camera, a psychological experiment—I immediately erased these possibilities. It would be foolish to cling to false hopes. It was more productive to accept this reality and move on. What was happening to me couldn't be explained by science.
«Next!»
The language they spoke wasn't Korean or English. It was a language I had never heard in my life, yet I understood it as naturally as my mother tongue. It was as if the knowledge had been hard-coded into my brain.
«Step forward, Ainar, second daughter of Fenelin!»
Secondly, I was used to this. It sounds absurd, but as I regained my senses, I felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
«You have chosen a sword! A good choice for an intelligent warrior like you.»
The young barbarians choosing their weapons... I had seen this before. It was exactly like the intro to Dungeon and Stone. Specifically, when the "Barbarian" class was selected, the game always started like this. Was it a coincidence? The game I was playing when the light swallowed me was Dungeon and Stone, and the character I was playing was a barbarian.
«Ainar, Fenelin's second daughter! You have become a warrior. May the blessings of Rafdonia be with you.»
What the...
The name "Rafdonia" confirmed everything. I knew exactly where I was. I was inside the game I had played for nearly ten years.
"Dungeon and Stone," I whispered.
"Huh? What? Why are you speaking for me?"
I froze and looked at the savage next to me. He looked different from the others. His breathing was labored, and his eyes were wide with panic. He knew the name of the game. Was he in the same boat? I wanted to ask, but I never got the chance.
«Who just opened their mouth?!»
The chief's voice was so loud it pierced my eardrums. My mind went blank for a moment. When I looked up, the chief was staring in our direction.
«Was it you?» he asked, his gaze landing on the man next to me.
«Excuse me?» the man stammered.
«I asked if you were the one who just muttered.»
The chief's expression was peculiar—dark and intense. He wasn't just annoyed by the noise.
«Oh, you mean Dungeon and Stone? What about it?» the man asked, clearly not grasping the gravity of the situation.
«So it was you...»
A flash of pity crossed the chief's eyes before his jaw tightened. Sensing an incoming omen, I instinctively stepped back.
The man tilted his head. «Is this some kind of event? I figured it out pretty quick—»
I didn't see the movement. Something flashed, followed by a sickening slide sound. A head fell to the ground with a dull thud and rolled. It was so brutal it felt unreal. I could see the cross-section of the neck, the bone, and the muscle. Something white splashed onto my face along with the blood.
Is that... fat?
I wasn't as nauseated as I expected. I didn't lose my sanity. As I watched the blood spray from the stump of his neck, only one question remained: Why did the chief kill him?
«An evil spirit resided in the soul of Oreum, son of Kadua. Young warriors, erase the words that evil spirit spoke from your memories.»
The moment I heard those words, it clicked.
I am in a game.
If I am revealed as an outsider, I will die.
That head on the ground could have been mine.
«Vulcan! Take the corpse to the temple immediately!» the chief barked. «The ceremony will proceed!»
The "coming-of-age" ceremony resumed as if nothing had happened. No one else even blinked.
[New Quest: Complete the coming-of-age ceremony without being discovered as an 'evil spirit.']
If this were a "friendly" game, a message like that would have appeared. I forced my body to stop trembling and copied the stoic expressions of those around me.
«Next!»
Then, my heart sank. I didn't know my name. If I didn't step forward when called, I'd look suspicious. If I stepped forward at the wrong time, I'd be dead.
«Next!»
I watched the others. There was a rhythm—about two seconds between the call and the warrior stepping out. I counted the names. Eight more went by.
«Step forward, Bjorn, son of Yandel!»
This was it. Two seconds passed. No one moved. I took a deep breath and stepped forward, shoulders squared, walking toward the chief. Every thud of my heart felt like a drum. I wasn't 100% sure the name was mine, but it was the most logical choice.
The chief didn't reach for his weapon. Instead, he looked at me with the same "warmth" he showed the others.
«Young warrior, choose your weapon!»
I had survived.
I looked over the weapons: one-handed swords, maces, greataxes, hammers. No bows, no staves. These barbarians didn't care for range or magic. They were front-line tanks.
«Bjorn, son of Yandel! Hurry, choose!»
I knew the stats. Barbarians have zero magic talent but massive physical growth. In the game, I always put them at the very front. After a moment of deliberation, I reached out.
«Hmm.»
The chief, who had praised everyone else's choices, gave a confused grunt. It was understandable. I had chosen the one thing no one else wanted.
In a dark, silent room worlds away, a computer monitor flickered to life.
[Character and journal information recorded. Sending to administrator...]
The fan whirred. The screen remained black, save for a few lines of code and a rhythmic beep.
[Coming-of-age ceremony: Successful.] [Equipment updated.] [Total item level: +24]
Bjorn Yandle
Level: 1
Physical: 25
Spiritu: 35
Special abilities: 1
Item level: 24 (New +24)
Overall combat power: 67 (New+6)