One Man Army

One Man Army – Episode 3: [Chapter 2] Coming back (2)

From the recollection of his memory, he was sure he remembered about Sword & Magic in 2007. It was inevitable the moment Sword & Magic started showing signs of detriment and handing over its best game position to Eternal Life(EL).

Even though it hadn’t happened yet, 9 months later from now, exactly on September 2027, Sword & Magic decided to carry out its 4th big scale patch… but it caused Sword & Magic to go from Sword & Magic to Trash & Magic.

The company Sword & Magic had a number of small mistakes after the big scale patch, and it collapsed after EL, which was called the revolution of DN virtual reality game, became popular.

However, it hadn’t happened yet, Sword & Magic was still the best game presently.

The point, Sang Hyuk was paying attention to, was one changing point which was included in the 4th big scale patch, what turned Sword & Magic into Trash & Magic.

The changing point was hated a lot by users because it was too sudden, but it was really sweet information for Sang Hyuk.

Sang Hyuk who was wearing the headphone VR machine called the basic interface of the dream network skillfully. Indeed, the users who were new to DN couldn’t do this kind of thing.

The room was covered with white and where Sang Hyuk was standing was called the ‘D-Room’. Simply, DN was a huge intranet to bring all the virtual reality services all over the world together.

Normal users could log in from all sorts of virtual reality services through this personal D-room where Sang Hyuk was standing at. They could log in to Sword & Magic, which Sang Hyuk was logging in, also through this room.

Of course they had to pay 70 dollars monthly, which was a pretty big amount for using the room for Sword & Magic. Despite there being a couple of  free virtual reality services, they were mostly watching promotions or having other billing systems, so it was better to pay to use at DN.

And, even though the price of the usage fee seemed expensive, it was cheaper than EL’s usage fee which costs 120 dollars.

Because Sang Hyuk had already bought a gift card and charged it on account, he paid 70 dollars easily and logged into Sword & Magic.

The game in DN, especially, RPG games like Sword & Magic had long and complicated tutorials. However, this kind of tutorials didn’t mean anything to Sang Hyuk.

He skipped tutorials easily and logged into Sword & Magic.

Basically, Sword & Magic was made well.

That’s why it maintained its best game position of the DN for 3 years. But it was really hard for new users to catch up to existing users.

Of course Sang Hyuk was not thinking about catching up to existing users’ levels.

In any case, the reason why Sang Hyuk was playing the Sword & Magic was to make lots of money in a short time frame. Sang Hyuk had decided this himself in person, it wasn’t a random decision from the beginning.

Ironically, his decisions were decided based on experience from the workplace and working as hard as a slave for 5 years.

Sang Hyuk chose an archer, which was the highest basic muscular strength and quickness 1st job, and ‘Pan wood’ as his start point ,which was located in a mountain area and  was not often chosen by normal people, smiled bitterly as soon as he logged in.   

“Everything about this felt like hell then… but It is quite the beautiful scenery now.”

All memories about Sword & Magic in Sang Hyuk’s memory weren’t good. This was due to the fact that he was forced to play the game, not because he was interested.

To talk about this story, he had to talk about an accident which will happen 10 months later.

When Sang Hyuk was 3rd grade in highschool in a previous life, unfamiliar people visited at the orphanage where he was staying. As he remembered, they had name cards with long job titles such as  ‘Child requiring protection standing alone helper’.  

Of course he realized that the name card was groundless later, anyway, they got attention from children who had dark futures like Sang Hyuk at the moment.

They tested all children who were going to leave from the orphanage in a year by saying they were helping the children who required protection gain independence.

The very test was measuring the VRA(Virtual Reality Ability). They told children who might be a good business based on the test that there was a decent job with enjoying the game and making lots of money, and handed them contracts.

Of course the contracts were hare-brained slave contracts, but all they were saying sounded sweet for young children like Sang Hyuk and  young children signed on the contracts without any concerns.

Especially, the staffs at orphanage encouraged them to sign, they didn’t doubt it at all.

Thinking of it now, they were really bad adults, indeed, it wasn’t fair considering Sang Hyuk met bad people rather than good people.

Of course Sang Hyuk made child requiring protection standing alone helpers, no trash workers in DN workplace, surprised at his incredible score from the test.

Sang Hyuk just signed by being excited with kind words from those people even though he didn’t know what it was.

And, he had to move residence to their workplace in the name of getting the job without even finishing 3rd grade in highschool.

He didn’t need to talk about the story after that.

For 5 years exactly from then, Sang Hyuk worked like a slave, not being able to go out often. If the police didn’t get a report about children working like slaves, kidnapped and almost used in human trafficking, they wouldn’t have raided the place and he would work like that for a longer time.

He was taken at 19, released at the age of 24 years old from the workplace. The trash people at the workplace forced him to work harder and harder because his talents were much more outstanding than other children.

Because of the accident, he felt free and comfortable now, but Sang Hyuk lost his brilliant talents from it.

Anyway, he had to start over everything when he was 24 years old because of this hellish experience.

Even though the terrible memories of his 5 years there, at least he remembered everything well what he learnt during the time.

He couldn’t forget them even if he wanted because he learnt them more intensely than ever to survive the situation.

“I used to gather medicinal herbs to avoid getting hit by the trash people or to get food….Now, I have to do it for to make money?”

What Sang Hyuk did in Sword & Magic for 6 months was gathering medicinal herbs. Every workplace had a different way to make money. The people at his workplace of which he was taken to, knew well about all the medicinal herbs response points in Sword & Magic.

Sang Hyuk went around crazily to gather medicinal herbs based on it.

The areas that had medicinal herbs were mostly over level 30 areas and people who had 2nd jobs could go into those areas, but the moment Sang Hyuk hit  level 10, he began walking around in these areas.

The reason why it was possible was the talents Sang Hyuk had.

Sword & Magic was easy for early level ups similar to other RPG games. Sang Hyuk achieved level 10 after only 5 hours since he logged in the game. It was possible because unlike the users who had to adjust to their movements in the beginning, Sang Hyuk started hunting proficiently as soon as he logged in the game.

Sang Hyuk didn’t want to level up after more than level 10 because it took a much longer time to level up from level 10. Sang Hyuk who reached a minimal level to gather medicinal herbs quickly moved to Pan wood cliffs zone, which was one of three best beautiful scenery areas.

Pan wood cliffs zone was the area which even the Sword & Magic’s highest level 70 users  couldn’t go around easily. There were no monsters ever. Exactly, it was the area that people easily died by rolling down when they made a mistake because the topography was really dangerous. That’s why even monsters didn’t live in the area.

Indeed, high level users acting up with relying on their skills and character’s physical abilities used to be killed in a fall.

Even almost level 70 users did that, of course lower level users felt the area was a forbidden area.

The reason why Pan wood was the most unchosen area among a number of start points was that there were a lot of cliffs zones like that. But, Sang Hyuk headed to cliffs zone without a hitch even though his level was just 10.

In most cases, it seemed crazy, but it wasn’t in the least for Sang Hyuk. He had experienced going around these cliffs zone since a long time ago even at level 10.

“I remember vividly when I came here.”

WHOOSH, THAK!

Sang Hyuk jumped to opposite cliffs easily and held onto the bulge of cliffs strongly.

As sticky as though he had glue on the tips of his fingers, Sang Hyuk hung on cliffs really easily. If normal users tried, they would already have rolled down, but he was climbing cliffs very proficiently.

The reason why it was possible was that he had very outstanding and sensitive control ability, strong enough to  deliver all energies to the tips of his fingers unlike normal users.

That was the dignity of the VRA 350.

“There…and there…”

He came up with response points of medicinal herbs ,which he didn’t remember exactly at the beginning, when he went in person as expected. As it was the points that was developed by Sang Hyuk himself after adjusting to the cliff areas, not offered by the workplace, it wasn’t in danger of getting stolen by others.

In spite of it being a very dangerous zone, it wasn’t a big deal for Sang Hyuk. Even if he was killed by his mistake, he didn’t have anything to lose.

Because his level was under 10, the level didn’t go lower,  he didn’t lose any items. Nothing would be lost, Sang Hyuk could climb the cliffs even more drastically.

If so, why didn’t other under level 10 users try this challenge? It was also a simple reason. They couldn’t even move a few steps at this kind of cliff zones.

At first, VRA 350 wasn’t easy to obtain for just anybody.

Even though there were ones who had this number, they couldn’t be gathering medicinal herbs.

Thus, that meant that the job gathering medicinal herbs which Sang Hyuk was doing now was a job only for Sang Hyuk.

Sang Hyuk moved around climbing the rugged cliffs with bare hands. Because medicinal herbs which Sang Hyuk was collecting were rare items, he could earn quite a lot of gold with selling them.

Of course if he exchanged gold collected like that to cash, it was bigger and better money than his part time job. But, that wasn’t his purpose.

Sang Hyuk wanted to do something with the gold he sold.

And, he was trying to hit the jackpot through the work.

The jackpot other people would never be able to do.

There was a jackpot which only Sang Hyuk, who knew the future, was able to do.

He thought of this first and started gathering extra medicinal herbs when he started Sword and Magic.

A change happened at the 4th big scale patch 8 months from now. Because Sang Hyuk knew this change, he knew well about what he had to do at this moment.

Sang Hyuk appreciated the scary scenery the moment after he climbed to the high cliffs to get 2 Nine Leaves Red Grass, which cost 100 golds each.

“Kuh… This feeling… I really missed.”

Sang Hyuk knew about how dangerous this job was. However, it made him crazier to think about when he lost his brilliant talents and he couldn’t do anything even though he wanted to play.

“But, this is like child’s play compared to EL.”

Sword & Magic was a well made game, but it couldn’t compare to Eternal Life(EL).

EL was like the best boss of the virtual reality games.

‘I have 8 months to the patch….I will collect as many as I can until then!’

After appreciating the scenery for awhile, Sang Hyuk put the Nine Leaves Red Grass into his bag and started climbing cliffs again.

The old Sang Hyuk climbed the cliffs hard while being forced by others, now, he climbed cliffs hard of own his will.

Sang Hyuk returned to the past with a new chance, his new life was earnestly starting once again from the present.

< [ Chapter 2 ] Coming Back(2) > end

Translator : Joyce Gim