Chapter 1: Prologue
Humans, demi-humans, monsters.
These three races have divided up the vast land of Eunasia.
Despite humans owning most of the territory, every ten years, they face waves of monsters that try to take over their land.
During these times, countless monsters march over the horizon, threatening the borders of the powerful human kingdom.
In order to protect their territory, humans must brandish their weapons while monsters seek to steal what is rightfully theirs.
If the humans fail to stop them, they will have to abandon everything they’ve ever known–their villages, their families, their treasures, and their food.
All they can do is pick up their weapons and fight.
“Kill them all!”
“Die, you filthy monsters!”
On the vast plains known as Gami-an, monsters, and humans clash in a bloody struggle that leaves the ground soaked with blood.
As they fight, countless lives are lost, and the fields of the plain become a colorful mix of the dead.
But amidst this chaos, there is a quiet, secluded place on the outskirts of the plain, where a lone boy confronts a small goblin.
“Die, you bastard!”
The boy, who lacks even a decent set of armor, thrusts his spear into the goblin with all his might.
Swoosh!
The wooden spear pierces through the goblin’s weak skin.
The goblin screams in agony and retreats, but unfortunately, the boy’s weak strength and shoddy weapon are not enough to kill the goblin outright.
“Kiiieeeek!”
“Argh!”
Instead, the goblin lets out a piercing cry and strikes the boy’s arm with its rusty dagger, injuring him.
“Aaargh! My…my arm! You dirty goblin scum!”
Feeling the excruciating pain in his arm, the boy drops his spear and stumbles backward.
As the boy tries to retreat, the goblin approaches him, ignoring the spear wound on its belly.
The boy is defenseless, his only weapon lying on the ground, and the goblin is closing in.
With a deafening screech, the goblin sneered and cackled at the boy, eyes bloodshot with the madness of war.
The rusty dagger in the goblin’s hand glinted menacingly as he raised it high, threatening to bring it down on the helpless boy. The fear of losing his life made the boy reflexively shut his eyes, too young to handle the idea of death.
But at that moment, something miraculous happened.
[You Have Awakened as a “Player”]
BOOM!
A sudden explosion jolted the boy back to reality. As he cautiously opened his eyes, he was astonished to see the goblin’s head lying on the ground, spewing green blood all over the dirt.
“Are you okay, young one?” A knight in blood-stained plate armor appeared by the boy’s side, his voice resonating through the chaos of the battlefield.
Stunned by the knight’s sudden appearance, the boy struggled to form words until the knight spoke again, “Hmph, you look too young to be here. How old are you?”
“Fif-fifteen,” stammered the boy.
“Fifteen? Did they draft a mere child like you to fight? Ridiculous!” The knight grumbled, displeased at the idea of children being forced to fight.
“Sorry, boy. If it weren’t for the monster wave, you wouldn’t be here.” The knight sighed, his eyes filled with regret.
The monster wave, was a catastrophic event that occurred every ten years, forcing all kingdoms to unite and fight against the monstrous hordes threatening humanity. No one knew why the wave happened every decade, but one thing was for sure: if the monsters were not stopped, humanity would perish.
In times of crisis, even young boys like the one before the knight were drafted to join the fight. However, the boy surprised the knight with his resilience.
“I don’t regret being here,” said the boy, his voice shaking from the pain in his arm.
“What? Why not?” asked the knight, surprised.
“Because… because if I don’t fight, who will?” The boy looked up at the knight with a determined glint in his eyes.
The young boy’s eyes were still glowing with a fiery intensity as if he hadn’t just narrowly escaped death.
“Is that so? I like your passion, but it’s useless if you’re dead,” the knight said, patting the boy’s head, which the boy didn’t seem to appreciate as he clenched his teeth and glared at the knight through his fringe.
“…How can I become as strong as you, sir?” the boy asked, his voice wavering with a mix of hope and desperation.
Knights possessed a mysterious power called Aura, which allowed them to use strength beyond human capabilities. The boy wanted that power too. He struggled even to face small monsters like Goblins with his current strength.
“To become stronger… what’s your name, boy?” the knight asked.
“Kaiyan. My name is Kaiyan,” the boy replied.
“Well, Kaiyan, if you want to become stronger, work hard to become a knight. Even commoners can become knights if they excel on the battlefield. If you become a knight, you can become strong like me,” the knight said, his tone more sympathetic than encouraging.
Perhaps he was reminded of his own childhood, as he looked at Kaiyan with a penetrating gaze.
“But first, you have to survive on the battlefield,” the knight added before giving Kaiyan’s shoulder a reassuring pat and walking toward the heart of the battlefield.
‘Knights.’
The ones who stood at the forefront of the battlefield, slaughtering monsters.
Kaiyan watched the knight’s back with awe and respect.
“Oh, I seem to have heard…”
Kaiyan suddenly remembered the voice he heard earlier, which was muffled by the knight’s words.
[You have awakened as a player.]
“Player…”
But he couldn’t finish his thought as another Goblin appeared in front of him, ready to attack.
“Gahhh!”
Kaiyan tightened his grip on the spear and focused solely on the monster before him.
“I have to kill them all.”
His hands shook with anger, and he approached the Goblin step by step.
“All of these monsters…”
The crude wooden spear shook violently in his hands.
“Must die.”
This is a new Novel, the third Korean novel here. I hope you enjoy it.Please let me know what you think about the novel by reviewing it here or on NovelNexts.