‘Stat Window’
When he muttered what had been weighing on his mind, a system window appeared over the pitch-black darkness. It was the very stat window he had grown sick of staring at while playing Elix.
[Do Sehyun (before Awakening)
Race: Human LV.1 Grade: E]
– Type: None
– Attribute: None
– Health 8/8
– Mana 7/7
– Attack Power 6
– Defense 5
[Skills]
– None
There was nothing. On top of that, both attribute and type were “None.” This must have been the penalty for not having Awakened. In other words, he had to survive with nothing but the frail characteristics of a human being — a hopelessly disadvantageous condition.
As it stood, the moment he entered a dungeon and ran into a monster, he would die a dog’s death.
Baek Dohyun was a problem, but judging from Lee Jaeyoung’s lack of reaction, he had no intention of Awakening either. If the three of them ended up grouped together, it would mean certain annihilation.
Sehyun closed the stat window and shut his eyes again. After everything that had happened today, his body already felt like it had the flu. He did not want to complicate things further. Maybe tomorrow it would feel better. If not, maybe he would wake up laughing that it had all been a dream.
How did it come to this? Only sighs without answers escaped him one after another. And yet, as though he still had not been burned enough, none of it felt real. The fog-shrouded place they were in did not feel real. Nor did the reason they had been called here, nor what they would have to fight.
He barely managed to glance at Lee Jaeyoung, who was clutching his clothes as he tried to sleep. His nose stung and he forced the feeling down. For some reason, the red portal he had left behind in the white space kept gnawing at his mind.
What should I do. That was the only thought repeating in his head before he unknowingly drifted off to sleep. Tears pooled at the corners of his eyes, trembling precariously, but in the end, they did not fall.
“…What is this.”
Sehyun blinked drowsily, forcing his hazy eyes to focus on what was in front of him. But he could not quite make out what it was. Only belatedly did he realize his body would not move, and then he recognized that what he was facing was a wall.
As soon as he understood he had been sleeping plastered against the wall, frustration welled up. On top of that, someone was pressing their foot into his back, pinning him down. He barely managed to twist free, and only then could he identify the culprits behind this miserable situation.
The first was Gwak Junghan. The second was Lee Jaeyoung, crushed by Gwak Junghan’s bulk. Evidently, Jaeyoung had shoved Sehyun away in a desperate attempt to survive after losing space to Gwak Junghan. His method, however, had been terrible — not only pushing with his foot but nearly suffocating Sehyun in the process.
Why of all the open space did both of them have to take his? He did not understand, but watching them snore away, he could not even summon his anger.
“…Should I threaten them to expand the house a little?”
Would they even do it if he asked? They had probably given him this place with the intent to screw him over in the first place. If it were that easy to fix with a word, they would not have crammed four people inside. Sehyun could only shake his head with a sour face.
Meanwhile, he could not help but envy Baek Dohyun, sprawled comfortably across a wide spot all to himself. Sehyun even considered going over to sleep there, but his throat was dry. So he got up instead.
The light slipping through the cracks in the door showed it had already been morning for some time.
Opening the door, fresh morning air filled his lungs. He stretched as he walked across the quiet village square toward the well.
Drawing water and scooping some up with a wooden dipper, he took a drink that jolted him awake with its icy chill. After drinking, he sat on the edge of the well and looked around the village. The cluster of huts clinging together stood out starkly in the fog.
No one was in sight. The villagers must still be asleep. Fog surrounded the settlement so thickly that nothing could be seen beyond it. Whether Billwill had deliberately assigned them this place or not, it was certainly a location hard for enemies to find.
Breathing in the crisp air, it finally started to sink in. Seoul’s air had never been like this. It was never this quiet. There, the smell of sewage was more familiar than damp earth.
He could not even remember the last time he had the leisure to clear his head. This serene stillness — he could not recall when he had last indulged in such peace.
He sat there for quite some time until a primitive-looking creature lumbered out and began to climb the small belfry standing in the center of the village. Judging by its appearance, it was the village chief’s Daegong. It squeezed itself up to the great bell, seized a hammer, and began pounding it.
Before long, people came stumbling out as if a disaster had struck. The hut Sehyun had been sleeping in was no exception.
“What, what is this!”
“What’s going on?!”
“Is something happening? Huh?”
Sehyun, still seated on the well’s edge, observed the gathering crowd carefully. Most were men, though there were a few women scattered among them — about ten percent.
Elix had always been known for its extreme realism in appearance, not cuteness. And since characters could not be chosen, it was common to end up with avatars like Kim Gapjun’s Australopithecus form. So much so that if someone landed a normal human appearance, people joked they had already succeeded. It was a fatal flaw of Elix.
Perhaps because of this, accessibility for female players was low. The women here were likely ones who had tried the game out of curiosity but found it ill-fitting. Though not necessarily — after all, two of the world’s top ten ranked players were women, which was astonishing even considering that women made up only about ten percent.
“Hyung! Hyung, when did you come out? I woke up and you weren’t there, I was so startled…!”
Lee Jaeyoung came running breathlessly from afar, his face pale. Sehyun felt a pang of guilt for sneaking out without waking him. Behind him was Gwak Junghan, face blue as always, following at a run.
“I was thirsty, so I came out early.”
“Hyung, are you okay? No… how did you sleep? Was the spot… did I maybe push you out…?”
“Sehyun-ssi. I am sorry, truly sorry. I must have been out of my mind in my sleep.”
“It’s fine. These things happen. Jaeyoung, I’m really fine. I slept well, really.”
It seemed they had rushed out in a panic as soon as they woke. Considering they had both taken over others’ space and huddled together, Sehyun could understand.
And then there was Baek Dohyun, yawning leisurely as he strolled over — the true winner here. Sehyun even thought about asking him to switch spots next time. But before he could, the Australopithecus-like Daegong was herding people toward the platform next to the chief’s house.
“Everyone, head to the platform.”
Following the crowd, still clueless, Sehyun stood and walked. At the platform stood Kim Gapjun, already in a green outfit — the mark of the village chief.
“Everyone, wipe the sleep from your eyes and look at me. Let’s do this quick.”
As people sheepishly cleaned themselves up, Kim Gapjun stood with his hands clasped behind his back, wearing a bored expression. Once their appearances looked more decent, he drew in his chin and belly and strode forward.
“I’ll say this once, so listen carefully. Anyone who asks again later will get their asses beaten. First, the food procurement group will operate in three teams, supplying breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We’ll rotate daily. You know what rotation is, right? Same goes for the other teams, so take it in.”
Rotation my ass. Rotation, not “roteration.” Sehyun muttered to Lee Jaeyoung that it was just nonsense.
“The cooking team will be one unit. We’ll make a spot by the well for you to prepare and serve three meals a day. Hm… the problem is ingredients. The errand team will be six groups, heading into the forest three times a day to fetch whatever they can. Bring back anything.”
“What do you mean, anything…?”
“Trees, rocks, herbs, fruits, whatever! If you see animals, catch them and bring back meat. If it’s in sight, grab it.”
The errand team’s role was literal resource gathering — collecting whatever was needed for the village to grow. Sometimes they brought back animals too, so it was usually staffed with combat types who had strength.
“Now the magic stone team’s the problem… let’s see, twenty people, so five each… yeah. The magic stone team will be divided into four units. You’ll get your assignment chart from the Daegong. They’ll start tomorrow, so be ready. Everyone else, get moving! Food procurement team! What are you standing around for? Want us all to starve?”
At Kim Gapjun’s roar, the villagers glanced at each other and began to scatter. But just then, something seemed to strike him, and he called them back again.