Chapter 2 - Chapter 1: Entry #1
Remake.
Old movies, music, games and novels were recreated again.
Joo In-gong, who had his university admission tests right around the corner, took a deep breath. The black bag in his hand contained a game that had just been released today.
A remake of Knight Saga, Knight Saga: Re.
Knight Saga was Joo In-gong’s favourite game. Due to the fact that it was the best hit of the production company Taro Soft, there were rumours a remake wouldn’t come out unless Taro Soft was in a crisis. Yet, to everyone’s surprise, a remake was released unexpectedly.
It wasn’t just a remake. The number of playable characters increased from two to twelve and it was changed from a regular RPG to a virtual reality game.
In-gong stared at the virtual reality device, which had artificial settings, that he had been given as a gift and took a deep breath with a pious expression.
He had cleared Knight Saga more than 10 times, so there was nothing he didn’t know about the characters, special items, hidden events and so on. However, this wasn’t Knight Saga but Knight Saga: Re.
In-gong was happy to read the manual. He checked the website every day but there wasn’t much new content revealed. However, true fans enjoyed small things like this.
Knight Saga was a story about two sides, humans and demons. The protagonist on the human side was Locke, who was born and raised in a temple. The main character on the side of the demons was Zephyr Ragnaros, the son of the Demon King.
Either way, the progression of the game was similar. The main character travelled around the world levelling up, collecting items and gathering subordinates to achieve their purpose.
The purpose of Zephyr was to unify the Demon World and Human World as the Demon King, while Locke’s purpose was to slay the Demon King and save the Human World.
Yet, in Knight Saga: Re, the number of characters that could be played had increased significantly.
On the demon side, it was possible to choose other princes and princesses who were originally Zephyr’s rivals. On the human side, it was possible to choose Locke’s companies or rulers of other countries.
After reviewing the newly added characters, In-gong gazed toward the virtual reality device that was reminiscent of a white tube. Knight Saga: Re had already been installed.
'OKay, shall I play lightly for eight hours today?”
In-gong laid his body down in the virtual reality device and was surrounded by a bright light.
&
The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was a roof. Even though it was dark, he was able to see due to the sunlight coming from a hole in the wall.
The boy who was lying down on a folding cot, In-gong, slowly raised his body.
And he smiled with satisfaction.
‘Indeed, an RPG hero should always start by waking up in a bed.’
After nodding his head several times, In-gong looked around. His mouth dropped open with admiration.
‘Wah, aren’t the graphics perfect?’
The various items in the tent looked real. Moreover, the textures of the cushion and blanket in his hands were vivid.
Although virtual reality games had long been commercialized, virtual reality didn’t embody real reality. There were limitations to the technology.
‘Did Taro Soft consult an alien?’
In-gong muttered as he admired it.
He started touching objects like a person who had just started playing a virtual reality game.
Then when he was looking like a fool...
"I am going inside!”
A voice was heard from outside the tent. In-gong looked up with surprise as a huge man entered the tent.
“Oh.”
In-gong was impressed.
The man had well-developed shoulders, arms that reminded him of a gorilla, green skin that couldn’t be seen in humans and lips that peeled back to expose some canines.
He belonged to the orc species that often appeared in games with a fantasy genre.
However, In-gong wasn’t impressed that the man was an orc.
Just like the items in the tent, the orc seemed real.
‘This is almost...no, isn’t it completely diligent?’
He would have believed it was real if it weren’t for the mini map and various menu buttons in the corner of his vision.
"What are you staring at?”
The orc gruffly asked and In-gong replied bluntly.
"No, the graphics are cool.”
“Graphics?”
The orc tilted his head and asked. In-gong once again felt admiration.
‘Wah, we can even exchange conversations?’
The development of virtual reality and artificial intelligence were in completely different areas. It was possible to implement realistic graphics through diligence but it was difficult for realistic artificial intelligence to be created with modern technology. Therefore, he couldn’t actively have conversations with the NPCs that appeared in virtual reality games - only pre-determined questions were asked in accordance to certain keywords
Yet the orc before In-gong had responded to the word ‘graphics’. He might have been designed to react like that to all unspecified keywords but that was still great.
‘Did Taro Soft begin torturing aliens? Why weren’t these facts advertised?’
Was the marketing aimed at surprise?
‘Hey, this doesn’t really matter.’
In-gong decided to enjoy the game. The game was as great as expected, so he would just enjoy playing it.
In-gong came to that conclusion and looked at the orc.
‘I am nervous.’
The orc in front of him seemed so real, he couldn’t open his mouth easily. In the end, In-gong coughed several times before speaking.
“Hum hum. My name is Joo In-gong. What is your name?”
He was awkward about introducing himself, thanks to his name.
The orc frowned at In-gong’s question and muttered something. He couldn’t hear it very well but it seemed like a curse.
‘This bastard, just because my name is Joo In-gong.’
Having artificial intelligence was a good thing but In-gong still didn’t like it. No, it would have been nice if a pretty girl, not an orc, had appeared in front of him. A succubus, succubus or succubus.
However, the orc wasn’t frowning because of In-gong’s name. The orc scratched his head and muttered.
"Carack. I told you that yesterday. And isn’t your name Prince Shutra?”
Shutra Ignus. He was the ninth child of the Demon King. He was one of the 12 characters that could be chosen in the game.
'That reminds me, I didn’t get to pick my character. Does everyone have to play a demon the first time?’
In-gong recalled the story of Knight Saga: Re that was originally from Knight Saga. He was a prince who was a bit weak and had no power. He was like Yan Baihu from the Three Kingdoms series.
“I will be waiting outside.”
The male orc, Carack, clicked his tongue and turned around. In-gong stared at the back of Carack’s head.
'I didn’t want to start with Shutra.’
He didn’t have any dissatisfaction with Shutra himself. His style was just on the other side.
‘Can I change the character?’
Knight Sage: Re was a remake but it wasn’t the same exact game as Knight Saga. There was no need to select a difficult character on the very first gameplay.
'Would Taro Soft really make the first gameplay a fixed character? There might be a bug or it is my mistake.’
If it was a fixed character, it ought to have been either Zephyr Ragnaros or the warrior Locke who were the main characters.
‘I will save and exit the game to search up some information’
The game was just released today but there should be information about the characters.
Moreover, if it was really a bug, Taro Soft would have posted an emergency announcement.
In-gong reached out and touched the menu button located in the corner of his vision. A white light then unfolded before him.
[Name: Shutra Ignus]
[Age: 14]
[Species: Gandharva]
[Occupation: Protagonist]
[Uniqueness: Prince/ Conquest Knight]
[Level: 1]
Strength: 5
Intelligence: 5
Agility: 5
Talent: 5
Persistence: 5
Durability: 5
Mental Power: 5
Magic Power: 5
Charm: 5
‘As expected from the Yan Baihu of Knight Saga. All the stats are poor.’
An ordinary village person A would have 10 stat points, so his stats were poor considering his age.
How could a prince be weaker than Villager A?
'By the way, my occupation is a protagonist? Is this really a bug?’
In-gong frowned as he gazed at the buttons next to his status window.
“Eh?”
There was no save or load button. In-gong swallowed his saliva and gazed at the menu window again but it was useless.
'Crazy, there is no button to end the game.’
In-gong urgently tried to call the menu of the virtual reality device itself, however, it didn’t work.
The system button for forced termination specific to the device wasn’t shown.
‘Calm down. Calm down, In-gong.’
In-gong took a deep breath and counted sheep in his head.
‘There are two possibilities.’
First of all, he was trapped in a virtual reality.
There was an incredibly deadly bug involved with Taro Soft’s software.
From a practical point of view, this was the only possible answer. That possibility wasn’t bad for In-gong. If that was the case, there was a chance he would be rescued.
However, In-gong was concerned about other possibilities.
This wasn’t a game but reality. Just like a novel or comic book, he had entered the game world or a game-like world.
It really sounded crazy. He couldn’t say it despite playing many games.
Yet, there was a reason for In-gong to believe it.
‘It is too real.’
The surrounding sights could only be described as reality.
The orc, Carack, showed intelligent behaviour.
In-gong had said it before.
No matter how much virtual reality games had developed, this level was unreasonable. Could he swallow his saliva and sweat in a game?
In-gong thought it was just a game but the graphics and artificial intelligence indicated that it might not be.
He took one step forward and looked at himself.
There was another more crucial reason.
‘I’m not a Korean.’
He had a conversation with the orc without thinking but now that In-gong thought about it, he hadn’t been speaking Korean. It was a strange language that he shouldn’t have understood.
After covering his face with both hands, In-gong sighed and took off his pants. The reason wasn’t to suddenly expose himself. In-gong took off his underwear and looked at his lower body.
‘There isn’t a mosaic.’
Knight Saga: Re was a game for people 17 years and older but the laws banned showing genitalia. However, his genitalia could clearly be seen.
‘Ah, please.’
In-gong put on his underwear and pants again with a despairing expression and sat down on the bed.
‘No, if I entered a game, then it should be another game! Eroge, eroge, eroge...damn!’
In-gong counted sheep again and tried to think positively.
‘Yes, at least I’m not a monster character like an orc or ogre. Even if he was referred to as Yan Baihu of Knight Saga, he was still a prince. Someone born with a gold spoon.’
There were many positive aspects.
The characters were introduced on the homepage and Shutra was a handsome person. He couldn’t see his face but his arms were thin and white like a girl’s, so his face must have changed as well.
‘In the worst case scenario, if I have to live here, at least I am a prince. Okay, it isn’t bad. In that sense, it is like winning the lottery. I have regressed to 14 years old!’
He had an infinite power of positivity. The endorphins were squeezed out forcefully but it was enough to bring peace to In-gong’s mind and body.
But as the excitement subsided, rational thoughts entered his mind once again.
‘What happened to Shutra in Knight Saga?’
He was the competitor of the main character, Zephyr, who defeated his opponents and became the devil.
In short, Shutra was Zephyr’s enemy. So, of course, in the game-
'The Day of the Massacre! A forced event!’
While Locke was an orthodox warrior, Zephyr was an orthodox Demon King. Zephyr was a cold blooded person who killed all his siblings during the event, the Day of the Massacre.
‘He was a madman who killed those on his side as well as his competitors.’
Anyway, if he remembered correctly, Shutra had been hiding. Yet, Zephyr traveled around the entire Demon World and found him.
‘How old is Zephyr now? How much time is left until the Day of the Massacre?’
There was no answer. Right now, he had too little information. He didn’t even know where this place was.
"A naoshu?”
A ringing voice was heard outside the tent. In-gong tapped his cheeks lightly and stood up.
He didn’t know if this was a game or a world that was like a game but he decided not to worry about it for the moment.
Right now, he needed information.
In-gong prepared his heart and exited the tent.