Chapter 4: Is This for Real? (1)  

FLASH!

‘Huh? What is that?’

A lightning flashed in front of my eyes. The unexpected flash of light made me open my eyes.

“What the heck?”

I could only be surprised after seeing the scenery around me.

I was outside. I was actually in the plaza of a foreign village where a lot of people were walking back and forth.

I’m sure I was laying down in my room at the goshiwon, so where is this?

The even weirder part were the people’s outfits. The majority of them were wearing clothes that looked like rags, and every so often, I saw people with golden armors and even robes like magicians.

It felt like they were cosplaying a village in a video game. It was especially similar to Royal Roader that I enjoyed so much.

When my thoughts got to that point, I suddenly became wide awake.

“Ah! Royal Roader!”

Now that I think about it, this scenery, I’m very familiar with it. It looks very similar to when I first started playing Royal Roader.

No, it is exactly the same.

‘That square is Titan Square, that shop is Dooshik’s Mineral Store, that alley is the path to the training ground……’

No matter where I looked, it was exactly the same. This village was Titan Valley, the first village I logged into when I started playing Royal Roader.

My appearance was also the same. I was sitting on a bench wearing a shabby looking grey, casual outfit. On my side was a worn out leather bag.

I looked inside the bag.

It was a magical bag with a total of 32 inventory slots. There were 5 rye breads and 50,000 won worth of coins each taking up an inventory slot.

‘Even this is the same!’

Everything was the same as when I first started Royal Roader. Even the unit of currency was the same.

Royal Roader used the regular Korean won for currency.

‘Then maybe even the stat information……?’

Once I thought about stats, the related information automatically popped up in front of my eyes.

[Kang Hwi Ram – Level 1]

Dexterity: Beginner 0%

Strength: 12

Agility: 7

Stamina: 2

Intuition: 2

Magic: 2

Vitality: 2

Mana: 8

Health: 28

All of the stat information, including dexterity, was the same. Even the terribly low beginning amounts for each stat was the same.

What the heck is going on?

I suddenly remembered about the Marble of Wishes I gained for defeating the Demon Heros.

My wish was written as ‘Royal Roader’s renewal as reality.’

I shook my head. Even if that was my wish, how could Royal Roader be renewed? Even more, how could it be renewed as reality? Finally, for all that to happen and then me coming into it to play the game myself?

This does not make any sense.

Then am I dreaming?

“OW!”

It’s definitely not a dream. How could the feeling of pinching my thigh feels so vivid. Plus, the fresh scent of the forest that is invading my nostrils, the clear view of the Titan Mountains that opens your pupils extremely wide, and the loud chatter of the people walking back and forth!

Each and every one of those were extremely clear and vivid. I could not believe this was a dream.

Either that, or I was dreaming a really vivid dream.

It was a mess inside my head. I could not do anything.

The thing that I was most worried about was that I didn’t know how to return to reality. It might be a terrible and miserable reality, but at least my family was not far away.

I sat there with a blank expression for a while.

But as time passed by, I started to slowly calm down. Then I came to a single conclusion.

‘It doesn’t matter if this is a dream or reality. The important thing is that I cannot just sit here and do nothing! I need to do something.’

No, I wanted to do something.

Royal Roader was my life’s only source of happiness and joy. Didn’t I end up inside that same game?

Even though I could not feel any type of skills, my heart was beating wildly in anticipation.

Reality? Family?

Of course I must return.

However, it’s not like I would be transported back by sitting around doing nothing. Rather, I need to actively search around to gather knowledge and expand my horizons to figure out a way to get back home.

Where should I start?

I did not have to ponder for a long time. No, there was no need to debate anything. All of the scenario was the same as Royal Roader. That means that I just need to follow exactly in the footsteps I already took once before. I just needed to progress on the road to becoming Royal Roader’s strongest character.

‘I guess I should first head towards the Batoom Mines.’

Of course I wouldn’t replay all the mistakes I made before as well. There has to be some kind of growth the second time around.

When I first started Royal Roader, I suffered a lot because of a lack of rye bread. I even got scammed by an NPC because of it.

I headed to the nearby grocery store. I remember using this grocery store frequently when I was playing Royal Roader.

“Welcome. What can I get for you?”

“How much is your rye bread?”

“Each one is 300 won, and a set of 30 is 7,000 won.”

Even the prices were the same.

“Please give me one set.”

I received the rye bread and put it in my bag.

There is a protection magic on the bag which makes us able to store food in it without spoiling for a long time.

Next, I immediately headed for the Batoom Mines.

Last time, I needed to talk to the NPC merchants passing by to find it, but I didn’t need to do that this time. I already knew where it was.

‘It’s over there!’

[Batoom Mines]

The name of the mine, location, and even Batoom, the old-fashioned miner, were all the same as the game. I remember his face because I saw him so many times.

“What can I do for you?’

“I came to mine for minerals.”

“You know that only people under level 10 are allowed inside, right?”

Even the level restriction was the same.

Around 1000 years ago, there was an invasion from the Demon World. At that time, caves similar to the mines worked as passageways to the Demon World. Because of that, they called forth a divine power to create a force field. That way, a force field was also created on the other end of the tunnel located in the Demon World, preventing any monsters higher than level 10 from entering this world.

It’s information that was written on the Royal Roader homepage.

“I’m level 1.”

“Great! Go into tunnel 7. You can use these equipment.”

I received a single safety helmet and a pickaxe from Batoom.

[Old Safety Helmet]

Durability: 5/12

Defense: 4

Restriction: Strength 4

[Old Pickaxe]

Durability: 11/20

Attack: 5

Attack Speed: 5

Restriction: Strength 7

I needed to verify something before I entered the mines.

“Is the supervisor for tunnel 7 Bae Doochi?”

“That’s correct. Do you know Bae Doochi?”

“No. I’ve just heard of his name. Then Old Man Jonnan must be there too.”

“Should be.”

I was relieved. Things would get complicated if I could not meet Jonnan.

I cautiously entered into the mine.

‘Wow! This is no joke!’

The environment in the tunnel was the worst. Putting aside the fact that it was narrow and dark, there was a lack of oxygen, making it difficult to breathe normally. I felt like I was marching in the military with gas masks on.

No, it was actually much worse. It was so bad I even felt like I would die like this.

The more I thought that way, the more I became extremely confident that this was not a dream. There was no way things would feel this realistic in a dream.

I did not stop walking.

I was afraid, but I had to overcome it. If I backed away right now, my life would just turn back to hell. Rather than letting that happen, it would be better to die in this underground tunnel.

‘Would I really die? If I persist, then I will win!’

After I walked for a while, I finally saw the sign.

[Tunnel #7]

‘Here it is!’

I went into the tunnel. There were seven miners diligently swinging their pickaxes. (TL: 7 miners? I can’t help but think of the 7 dwarfs singing as they mine)

‘That person is tunnel supervisor Bae Doochi.’

He was known for his hawk eyes and strong physique. Just by looking at him you could tell that he was overflowing with power.

‘That elder is Jonnan.’

An extremely skinny old man who was hunched over.

He was someone who was like a family member to me in the game. Should I say he was my soul’s partner?

Of course, right now, I had to pretend that I didn’t know him. Jonnan needed to be thrown away by Bae Doochi in order to become my person.

“My name is Kang Hwi Ram. Please take good care of me.”

“I am the tunnel supervisor Bae Doochi! Work hard and don’t cause any issues. If you do that, I won’t kick you out.”

After exchanging simple glances with the other miners, I headed to one side of the tunnel.

I took a deep breath with the pickaxe in my hand.

This was not just simple mining. If it is the same system as Royal Roader, mining is equivalent to training your sword skills. If that’s the case, you have to focus even if you are swinging it just once. Clicking the mouse and physically doing it myself is completely different. That’s what I need to do to not waste any strength and quickly upgrade my stats and dexterity.

I did a lot of shoveling and mining in my military days. You may not believe it, but I was actually part of the Shovel division in the Chungsung Brigade, which is known to be the greatest infantry unit in Korean history. Within the brigade, I was an artillerist in charge of the 105mm cannons. (TL: The Chungsung brigade was a unit that took down the North Korean forces with less people and supplies during the Korean War).

The specialty of the shovel division was digging a ditch for the artillery whenever our eyes were open. We had to dig a ditch large enough to cover up the 105mm cannon.

Because of that, whether it is a shovel or a pickaxe, as long as it was a tool related to digging, I can proudly say I’ve reached the master level.

‘Choke up on the shaft when you are lifting it up and then use the swing of your hips when you strike down. Then you can use only a bit of strength to deliver a strong impact. Haaaaaa!”

Clang! Clang! Clang!

‘As expected, I won’t die.’

The sound of the rocks breaking was refreshing. Every time the pickaxe hit the rock, I could see the damage written in red writing.

Confirming the damage with my eyes made me feel less fatigued.

I focused all of my thoughts on mining.

I would say it was about 30 minutes later?

CLAAAANG! An especially clear and refreshing sound that was different than before came out. The damage was also written not in red, but in green.

[4]

‘Yes! This is what I’ve been waiting for!’

Translator : Miraclerifle

Proofreader : Miraclerifle