Chapter 2

I rushed forward. The Garden of Peace was located within the castle, so it wasn’t far away.

“Oo~ ro-ro-ro-ro!”

A height nearing two meters. Shoulders that seemed to be over 1.3 meters wide. Muscles bulging all over his body. This green monster resembled more of a combat weapon than a living creature as he swung a heavy axe weighing over ten kilograms.

‘I can’t block it.’

Although I possessed a well-trained physique, engaging in a strength contest with such a monster was impossible. If I tried to confront it head-on, my defense would crumble, and I’d end up tumbling across the ground. So, I observed him closely—his gaze direction, tensed muscles, rotating joints, and shifting weight onto his right foot.

And just as I predicted…it swung at me.

Whoosh!

As the iron ax sliced through my hair, I felt the intense wind pressure against my skin. The orc’s eyes widened when its attack cleanly missed me.

Shunk!

My sword pierced its neck.

“Grrk! Grrr! Ugh! Urgh!”

Surprisingly, instead of collapsing and writhing on the ground, it flailed around wildly with its ax. Its tenacity was impressive, but not enough to overcome a fatal wound to the throat.

Thud!

The body hit the ground—a clean victory for me. However, there was no time to celebrate.

“The hide…”

It couldn’t be compared to the soft, limp skin of humans. The orc’s hide was so tough that I almost lost grip of my sword.

A regular arrow wouldn’t penetrate this.

Even if hit directly, they could continue fighting unless struck by a quarrel shot from a crossbow. And these monstrous creatures…

“Oooo-ro-ro-ro!”

“Ooo-ro-ro!”

“Hahaha! Humans! Human beings!”

“Oro-ro! Run, ruuuun! Ooo-ro-ro-ro!”

…were pouring out of the pillar of light.

I immediately sucked in a breath and yelled, “All knights! Lead the villagers to retreat immediately! Get as far away from the pillars of light and regroup at the training ground! I repeat, regroup at the training ground!”

As my voice boomed, the soldiers, who were initially indecisive between fighting or fleeing, began evacuating with the villagers. Despite being a small feudal domain with only around 3,000 inhabitants, our soldiers were well-trained due to their disciplined regimen.

Half of my subjects had gone through job changes from bandits to mercenaries and now soldiers, following me as I progressed along the tech tree from bandit leader to mercenary captain to Lord. Among them were the elite of the elite, so skilled that they could be considered soldiers. With our two knights directing their actions, even amidst extreme chaos, these elites managed to form ranks and begin retreating with the villagers.

“Haaah!” As an orc charged at me with extra force, I purposefully yelled louder while striking its neck. The words appeared above the head of the fallen creature as it collapsed, spraying red blood everywhere:

Vulcan Orc Warrior (Advanced)

This is insane. Is this really some kind of game?

The absurd hypothesis emerged again as I remembered that logging out would allow me to return to Earth.

‘No. It isn’t.’

However, I immediately shook it off. I was also a man from South Korea. There was no reason for me to confuse reality with virtuality, having experienced both real life and online games. Moreover, this vivid experience spanning 20 years couldn’t be replicated by mere games or dreams. My clear understanding of the situation at this very moment proved it.

‘In other words…this is beyond just a game.’

I established two premises within my mind:

1. Ardenia is a real world.

2. However, a game system has been applied to Ardenia.

As these thoughts crossed my mind, something suddenly struck me.

‘This is like…the stage from the textbook.’

Approximately 70 years ago, in other words, 2019. The peaceful Earth faced an unprecedented crisis when mythical beings descended from the distant universe and initiated the ‘End Project’. Over six billion humans were dragged into a horror-themed game. From infants less than one year old to elderly people on the brink of death, everyone became a ‘Player’ forced to participate in this horrific game.

To clear each stage, they had to endure terrifying hunger by eating their own flesh, kill grotesque monsters, and avoid savage traps that could cost them limbs if they let down their guard for even a moment.

It was obvious but humanity, accustomed to peace, didn’t have the strength to overcome this terrible adversity. It was such a horrible trial that the human population decreased from over six billion to less than five hundred million. From a cosmic perspective, Earth-34 should’ve been doomed to destruction.

Yes, it would’ve happened if not for ‘him’.

A transcendent being with extraordinary lineage, who blossomed all possibilities within each stage. Without the great and magnificent Game Master…

‘Wait. Wait a minute… This is somewhat different from the stages? It isn’t horror-themed… Above all else, there don’t seem to be any other players besides me.’

Crack!

Despite my complicated thoughts, my body moved busily:

Punch! Crack! Stab!

I struck their necks, severed Achilles’ tendons and pierced hearts. The way they looked at me, their shifting center of gravity, and muscle movements…the angle of their feet told me how they would attack. The strength and vitality of the orcs were truly amazing, but their skills were primitive. They used swords, axes, and even spears, but there was no deception or feints. It was easy to deal with them by simply disrupting their breathing and breaking their stances.

However…

“Ooo~ro-ro-ro-ro!”

“He is strong! This human warrior is strong!”

“I will kill him!”

“No! I will kill him!”

Orcs continued to emerge from pillars of light. While I killed one, ten more appeared; while I eliminated ten, a hundred took their place. Despite felling countless orcs, it felt like we were being overwhelmed. After barely fighting for just over ten minutes, my castle grounds were teeming with green monsters.

“Seriously, how many of these things are there?!”

At a glance, there seemed to be well over a thousand orcs. Considering only around 3,000 people reside in my feudal domain, facing off against a horde that could individually challenge ten soldiers was overwhelming. And still, more orcs kept emerging from the columns of light. It was impossible to estimate how many more would follow.

I need to escape.

Fortunately, while I was drawing their attention, all my soldiers, retainers, and villagers were able to escape. It would’ve been impossible if the orcs had either swiftly surrounded us or aggressively pursued the villagers, but instead of acting systematically, those beastly creatures mindlessly flocked towards me where the commotion was loudest.

Of course, this didn’t mean that the villagers escaped unscathed.

“Damn it. My feudal domain… The villagers…”

My anger boiled within, but both rebuilding and seeking revenge required me to survive first. Taking deep breaths, I surveyed my surroundings.

By now, over 2,000 orcs had emerged from the pillars of light. If they managed to surround me, it would be fatal. Just as this thought crossed my mind…

A chill ran down my spine!

[Inexplicable Combat Divination] warned me of impending attacks. However, not all attacks could be avoided despite divination. The range was very wide and above all, it was too fast.

Bam!

A tremendous impact caused my vision to turn black for a moment.

Clunk!

By the time I regained consciousness, I found myself rolling on the ground.

“Ku…ugh?”

As I groaned and lowered my head, I saw a double-edged axe embedded from my right shoulder down to my midsection. Naturally, my ribs were shattered, and my lungs torn, causing blood to rise up in my throat.

“M-my… God. What is this…”

Observing my surroundings, it seemed that the flying axe had struck me, propelling me over five meters before crashing onto the ground. It displayed an unbelievably monstrous strength.

“Grrk! The human is dead!”

“Aww, too bad! I wanted to kill him!”

“Oh, Captain has arrived!”

The orcs were murmuring amongst themselves as their opponent emerged, having thrown the axe through the pillar of light.

Stomp!

Each step was heavy. The orc towered at 8 feet tall and resembled not so much a humanoid but rather a bear transformed into a magic beast.

Vulcan Orc Berserker (Rare)

Hamrom

“Dammit, what kind of axe… Ughh…flies like this…Ughhh!” I coughed up blood continuously. My injuries were severe; even without further attacks, it would be difficult to survive. With such wounds, there was no escape unless I fled immediately. It felt like being cornered with nowhere to run, even if the sky itself collapsed.

“Cough! L-Lo-Log…”

But there was still a way out for me.

“Logout!”

Whish!

The viewpoint suddenly soared up to the sky. The continent shaped like a Go board was briefly visible before everything turned dark.

“Pushit!”

“Huh?”

I saw the confused expression of the vigil, his face covered with blood. He couldn’t accept the sudden change in circumstances. He stared blankly at me and raised a hand to wipe away the blood on his face. His bewildered eyes seemed to trigger an earthquake.

“No…what is this? Why suddenly blood… Corporal Han? Ah, no, there’s no time for that—wake up! Wake up! Everybody, get up! Corporal Han is dying! Call the duty officer!” he screamed.

Blood poured forth as soldiers began stirring one by one. As I observed all this happening…

“Crazy… it actually worked…”

Then, I lost consciousness.

When I woke up, I faced a Westerner in his early 30s with short hair.

“Are you awake? Okay. How many fingers?”

“Three.”

“Keep watching my fingers.” Saying this, he moved his hand several times before writing something on a chart and becoming irritated. “What is happening at this hour? Why do I have to perform surgery at such a difficult time when I only earn 4 million won per month?”

As I heard his grumpy voice, I raised my upper body. The simple movement caused enough pain for me to break out in cold sweat, but considering the injuries I sustained, it wasn’t much.

‘Wow. Earth is truly great.’

In this medieval land, even one arrow could leave you crippled for life and, if lucky, cause months of suffering. Having lived here for 20 years, this medical service felt like nothing short of a miracle to me. Our great medic’s healing abilities were said to surpass even those of the continent’s two renowned priestesses.

“Thank you, First Lieutenant Thomas. Honestly, I thought I was going to die.”

“Dying? Not that easy! How can anyone die in the middle of the barracks? By the way, what happened? It looks like you took a hit from something resembling a large axe… Was it some sort of farewell ‘discharge bread’ since you’re leaving tomorrow?”

“What kind of crazy person would make discharge bread like this…” I chuckled nervously, shaking my head. The fact that such jokes could arise showed how extreme the situation must have been.

“Well, there are indeed many who’d love to chop me with an axe.”

My smiling face surprised First Lieutenant Thomas. “What, were you joking now? And you said thank you to me? What is this, crazy dog? Did you become human just before your discharge?”

The words of the astonished First Lieutenant Thomas made my face flush red.

‘Looking back now… it makes sense that I heard such words.’

In my childhood, I was always filled with anger. The source of this anger was arrogance, thinking myself as special. How could I not be angry when reality was a mess despite having high ideals?

I…

Did not fit with the world where I grew up.

‘It was still stormy even after reaching adulthood.’

Rather, I wished I had been born during the Three Kingdoms era. Rather, I wished I had been born in the dark world under a dictatorship. I wanted a world where wars never ceased, where law and order had collapsed, forcing everyone to struggle against each other.

It wasn’t because I enjoyed such a life but rather, I desired a world where my existence had meaning.

However, Earth was far too peaceful and stable. In this tranquil world, feeling lost, I wandered for a long time causing harm to many people.

And now, after twenty years…

Having faced countless evils in the raw medieval land, I realized how naive and pathetic my previous thoughts were.

“I…”

I continued, explaining my realization.

“…was just too young.”

”…”

In the sudden silence, I turned to see First Lieutenant Thomas with his mouth agape.

“What’s wrong?”

He responded, “You’re right on target, aren’t you?”

”…”