NOVEL ONLINE FREE Ch. 1
Chapter 1: Tutorial (1)
“Huh!”
The first thing I, Taehoon, felt upon regaining consciousness was pain.
A searing agony, as if my entire body were being scorched by fire, coursed through me. My blocked breath rushed in sharply, and cold sweat drenched my entire body.
“Hey! That guy over there’s awake too!”
“I’m coming right now.”
“Bring more bandages and potions! What? We’re out? Don’t give me that nonsense! I saw a ton in the storage earlier!”
I looked around.
What’s all this noise?
I was lying inside some sort of tent.
All around me were patients wrapped in bandages, reminding me of a field hospital.
Where the hell am I…?
My memory was blank. I couldn’t recall why I was here or what I had been doing before.
After racking my brain, the only thing that came up was the name Cha Taehoon.
But why was I in a place like this?
Did I get kidnapped by the military or something?
“Hey.”
Lost in confusion, I was interrupted by someone approaching.
It was a man who looked to be in his early forties, with spiky black hair. His body was covered in scars, and he wore chainmail armor with a sword hanging at his waist.
Yes, armor and a sword.
Cosplay?
I thought that for a moment but quickly dismissed it. For some reason, his face felt oddly familiar.
“Are you coming to?”
“…Yes.”
“Hm.”
The man stroked his chin, deep in thought.
“Do you remember anything about the current situation?”
“…Well.”
I shook my head. Even when he asked a few more questions, my answers were the same.
Unable to respond to any of them, he sighed and muttered, “Ha… As expected.”
“It seems he’s lost all his memories.”
A woman approached from behind him.
Judging by the cross-shaped armband on her arm, she seemed like a medic.
“It’s fortunate he survived an instant-death attack, but in this state…”
“There’s no time, so I’ll explain briefly. You’re a mercenary under the Orion Empire, and we’re currently under attack by unknown monsters.”
The man, as if truly pressed for time, began rattling off words like rapid-fire.
“I’m Gerard, the leader of the Alpha Mercenary Corps. Your name is Artier, and you’re part of the Alpha Mercenary Corps. Got it?”
Gerard? No, Artier?
The moment I heard that name, my entire body stiffened.
Artier is the name of the protagonist in
An RPG game where players fight to protect the world from monsters that appeared one day. It was a game I played often.
And Artier was the protagonist of that game.
Did I somehow end up inside the game? And I’m Artier?
“Hey, you okay?”
“…”
“Artier!”
“I-I’m fine.”
“Don’t zone out. A mercenary’s gotta earn his keep, right?”
Gerard turned and spoke.
“I heard you don’t have any physical injuries. Let’s move quickly.”
As I watched Gerard start walking, I instinctively followed.
“You don’t remember, but you spent all the advance payment you got on equipment upgrades. If you’d died, that’d be one thing, but since you survived, you’ve got to work.”
As we exited the tent, I saw countless people bustling about.
“Hurry and move! Check the cannons and transport the arrows!”
“We don’t know when those things will come, so stay on guard!”
“How far along is the evacuation?”
I looked around. Soldiers were repairing broken walls and moving arrows. Seeing the cracked walls, it wasn’t hard to guess what had happened.
What’s that?
Wooong.
The shattered walls were being restored, as if time itself were rewinding.
The soldiers weren’t carrying arrows by hand. They were using magic to move piles of arrows.
Yes.
This was a world where magic was so commonplace that even ordinary soldiers could use it.
“As expected…”
“What’s that?”
“N-Nothing.”
“Hurry up. Time’s tight.”
Gerard kept moving forward as he spoke.
I followed silently behind him.
No doubt about it. This feels like the world of the game I used to play. But why am I here?
I tried to recall as much as I could.
But all that came up were fragmented memories of attending university and enjoying games on my days off.
“…Huh.”
No, there was one thing I remembered.
If you clear this game, your wish will come true.
For some reason, that single phrase lingered vividly in my mind. It sounded absurd and unrealistic, yet I felt an odd certainty.
I have to clear the game?
Artier was the protagonist of
Right now, he was just a lowly mercenary, but depending on how the story progressed, he could rise to become the Mercenary King or even the Emperor of the Orion Empire.
Of course, if I make the wrong choices, I could die a meaningless death.
“Artier, are you listening?”
“Yes?”
“Get it together. You still lose focus when the explanation drags on.”
Gerard looked at me with a hint of exasperation before continuing.
“We need to assess the scale of the monsters. You’ll head out through the drainage channel for reconnaissance. Get ready.”
“Tutorial…”
“What’s with the muttering?”
“N-Nothing.”
Gerard stared at me intently, but I couldn’t say anything. It wasn’t something he’d understand even if I explained.
I can’t believe the tutorial is actually happening.
Though the sudden situation was disorienting, I didn’t think I’d fail to clear the game.
I had seen the ending of
“Stop mumbling nonsense and take this.”
Gerard summoned armor and a sword from thin air and handed them to me.
“Your original equipment got completely wrecked during your first mission. Shame, considering you’d even upgraded them.”
“Yes…”
“I’m lending you some temporary gear. It’s standard issue, but it’s better than nothing.”
“Thank you.”
I took the armor and sword.
The armor, made of cheap leather, had frayed stitches here and there, and the sword had nicks along its blade.
[Worn Leather Armor (Common)]
Defense: 5
Option: Fire Resistance -5%
[Worn Iron Sword (Common)]
Attack: 1~3
Option: Critical Hit Chance -15%
Even the status window pops up?
I donned the armor and strapped the sword to my waist.
“We leave as soon as the sun sets. Move quickly.”
“Yes.”
Soon, we arrived at the drainage channel. Mercenaries were waiting there, each holding their weapons.
“Captain, what took you so long? Is the rookie okay?”
A tall woman with a long ponytail and sharp eyes asked.
“His body’s fine, but it seems he’s lost all his memories.”
“What? So he’s forgotten all the beautiful memories with us and the 30 gold he borrowed from me?”
“Jeina, I told you not to mess with the rookie about money.”
“Obviously, I’m kidding. As if I’d have 30 gold.”
While Gerard and Jeina talked, I looked around.
Jeina, Deiker, Dina, Ben. All of them were mercenaries in Gerard’s corps.
Seeing them in person feels different.
Unlike me, who seemed like a newbie, they were seasoned mid-tier mercenaries skilled at handling missions.
“The sun’s setting, so let’s move out. Our goal is to scout the enemy’s camp or habitat. This is a simple recon mission, so avoid combat as much as possible. Understood?”
“Yessir.”
“Let’s go!”
“Jeina, Deiker, take the front. Dina and Ben, stay with me in the center. And Artier.”
“Yes.”
“You stay at the rear and follow. Can you handle that?”
Unless we were ambushed, the rear was the safest position. He was clearly looking out for the rookie.
I hesitated for a moment before nodding.
“Understood.”
“Then we’re off. The stench might be bad, but bear with it. I’ll make sure you get extra pay.”
As the drainage channel’s gate opened, we stepped inside. Contrary to Gerard’s warning, there was no foul smell.
“Ugh, it stinks.”
Jeina, however, was plugging her nose, grimacing at the faint fishy odor.
“So, what the hell are those things? To think we don’t even know the identity of creatures that turned a tenth of the empire’s territory to ashes in just two weeks.”
Deiker asked as we trudged through the channel.
“If we knew, we wouldn’t be here.”
Gerard replied with a sour expression.
The monsters were first spotted in a remote territory of the Orion Empire. According to merchants, not a single survivor had escaped that region.
“They’re probably not native to this land.”
“No kidding, who doesn’t know that?”
“The exit’s in sight.”
“Alright. Time to head outside the castle.”
Creak.
As the old mechanism groaned, a dark forest came into view beyond the channel.
“Urk!”
But before we could advance, Deiker, who was at the front, collapsed.
“Ambush!”
Blood spurted from Deiker’s neck as something burst through the entrance. A spider-like creature, its entire body pale white.
These were the absolute evil of this game world. Monsters whose sole purpose was to kill humans.
In the game, they were never given a proper name, but players called them one thing.
Hellmorph.
They were, quite literally, hell itself.
Shunk!
While I stood frozen, the Hellmorph tore into Deiker at the front, then slammed Jeina, who had charged at it, into a nearby rock.
“Gah!”
It happened before Ben and Dina, standing in the center, could even raise their weapons.
“Damn bastard!”
“Don’t get reckless!”
Clang!
Gerard drew his sword and stepped forward, causing the creature to pause its attack for the first time.
“Hup!”
Gerard unleashed a fierce gust of wind, sending the Hellmorph flying.
“Got it!”
“No! It’s a ranged attack!”
The creature, flung backward, fired a barrage of unidentified liquid from what seemed to be its mouth.
“Captain!”
“Ben! Raise your shield!”
Ben rushed forward, holding up his shield.
A translucent barrier enveloped Gerard’s group.
“Come and try me!”
Boom!
“Guh!”
Ben had shouted confidently, but the barrier shattered under a single attack from the Hellmorph.
Another attack followed immediately.
“Ugh, uaaagh!”
Ben raised his shield in panic, but it was a futile gesture.
Thud!
Ben’s form collapsed helplessly.
“Fall back!”
“But that bastard!”
“Get a grip! We can’t beat that thing!”
Gerard’s orders were correct. The problem was that the monster was faster.
A third barrage was fired, heading straight for them.
“Damn it, get behind me!”
Gerard lowered his stance, preparing to deflect the incoming projectile.
At that moment.
‘Move’.
My arm, which had been still until now, twitched for the first time.