Return To Player - Chapter 2

002. Role Playing Game (1)

TL: Yuidren and Kyue

PR: Kyue

“Ugh!”

I exhaled a rough breath as I opened my eyes wide. Perhaps due to what just happened, my whole body was covered in sweat.

After some time, I looked around and took a deep breath.

“…I actually went back.”

What caught my eye was my old college campus. It was a decent school that was known for it’s beautiful campus and natural scenery.

Seeing so many people busily walking around with classes, everything felt abnormal.

Before this ‘game’ happened, this world used to be so peaceful.

“The status window still won’t open.”

Even when I tapped the air with my finger, there was no reaction.

In other words, those guys haven’t come yet.

I was sitting on the bench, looking calmly at the blue sky. I couldn’t even remember how it felt to be this peaceful.

“What are you doing over there?”

I heard a familiar voice.

Turning back, I saw a pretty girl with long black hair standing still, staring at me from afar.

She was a familiar person.

“Han Jisoo.”

“Yes?”

There was this inexplicable feeling that I caught. Jisoo was a girl I got close to during my time in college. She skipped a year in highschool and was a year younger than me, but whenever I sat alone she always spoke to me.

We were close friends, and she was a kind person, so even until the end she talked with me.

Was this all I could remember about her?

“What’s wrong? Is there something on my face?”

“It’s nothing.”

When I answered her, Jisoo who was looking at my face said, “aren’t you tired from gaming all night? If you keep doing this, your semester grades won’t be looking so good.”

“It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine.”

It’s because next semester won’t even start.

Sitting next to Jisoo, I asked her, “what’s the date today?”

“What? It’s August 17th.”

Hearing Jisoo, I tilted my head down.

August 17th.

Indeed, this is when we first got the system message.

It said it’ll let me restart the game from the beginning, and it truly returned me to the day this all started.

“What’s wrong? No way, you didn’t forget the date because you played games all night?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

I literally played a game that risked my life.

Someone who has just seen it’s end. Although it was a shitty one where everyone but me died.

“That’s not good for your body. You should pay a bit of attention while you’re playing games.”

“Alright.”

Jisoo was the type of person who liked to take care of others. She was the only one who came up to me and talked with me while I took the Assa line.

I was very grateful to her.

“Anyways…”

It looked like Jisoo was about to speak, but she frowned as she spotted someone.

“I think I’ll have to go.”

Her gaze landed on a quite handsome college student. He was someone I knew, Lee Jonghyun.

Someone who kept flirting with Jisoo, and mocked me as a gamer.

‘What happened to this guy again?’

I don’t remember seeing this guy getting out of here, so it was likely this guy couldn’t even clear the first stage.

“No, there’s no need to move.”

“Oh, why? Didn’t you hate meeting him before?”

Did I? To be honest, I don’t really care now.

Back then, I truly was hopeless. If I was ignored or left out, I would just accept it and do nothing to change it. I accepted that this was my fate.

Anyways, most of them were inconsiderate but I don’t remember much now.

Jisoo frowned as she crossed her arms.

“Either way I don’t like him. It’s annoying when he starts talking to me, so let’s move.”

Jisoo who was talking started looking around for a place to move to, but at one point she stopped.

“…What’s that?” She muttered blankly.

Those words gave me a sense of doom. No, it felt a little different from the doom that I’ve felt.

‘That’s right, those words were the beginning.’

Just like that day.

After playing games the night before, Jisoo approached me while I was resting on the bench just like this. And after exchanging a few words, Jisoo said, “What’s that? Are they filming a movie here?”

Yes, just like that.

Somewhere on the campus, green-colored monsters started crawling out of the ground.

And as people walked passed, those monsters started laughing and grinning.

People who got curious after seeing the monsters started gathering one by one near them.

“Wow, what’s this?”

“Are these costumes?”

“How small do people have to be to wear them?”

These people each spat out a line to the green monsters.

Some of them even reached out to grab the green monsters.

“Let’s go watch as well.”

Jisoo grabbed my hand. In the past, this hand was also grabbed and I went to see the green monsters as well.

I shook my head.

“Wait.”

“What?”

“If you wait a little while, you’ll know.”

People started murmuring and gathering near the green monsters, and after a short while, the small green monsters were covered by the crowd of people.

“I’m curious though…”

Jisoo leaned over to see the green monsters through the cracks between the crowd of people.

However her curiosity did not last long, as red liquid stained the ground.

“Huh?”

People started running away screaming.

“Ahhhhhhhh!”

“It stabbed a person! What is that??”
A green monster, commonly known as goblin, held a rusty blood-stained sword.

In front of the goblin was the guy who was stabbed, wriggling in pain.

“Wh-What are those? Are they actually monsters?” Jisoo asked as she tightly grabbed my arm.

“Something isn’t right, we need to run!”

Before Jisoo could finish shouting, roughly 10 or more goblins crawled out giggling maniacally. These goblins attacked anyone nearby them, and because of how sudden this was, people ran away screaming.

However, that was a mistake.

These goblins had less strength than the average adult, so they liked preying on the weak. And by turning your backs to the goblins was the same as asking to get killed.

“Kiikii, kekek.”
A goblin was approaching us as well. Ready to kill us with its rusty sword.

For goblins, murder isn’t a hunt, it’s a game. This is why when goblins kill people, they laugh.

“Sehan oppa!”

Sehan, it’s been a while since someone’s said my name.

Jisoo ran next to me while I was sitting.

Ah, this was the figure I remember.

10 years prior, as I was frozen, Jisoo hugged me and protected me and her bright red blood covered my body.

‘That’s right.’

The first death I saw was that of my friend, Jisoo. While she was stabbed by a sword, she told me to run.

‘I ran away and left that Jisoo.’

Fucking douchebag.

I let out a curse.

I started to move my still body. This is when the message sounded.

[The game will start soon]

[Synchronizing before game starts]

I clenched my fists as I heard my 2nd chance starting.

There was no more cowardly Kim Sehan.

I am the solo player that has seen the end of the world.
‘This time it’ll be different.’

[1st clear privilege allows you to access and purchase from DLC shop]

[1st clear privilege allows you to inherit remaining points from the 1st round]

[1st clear privilege has granted you access to ‘Community’. Please use it once synchronization completes]

Several messages popped up, but I ignored them all.

It was more important to deal with the swiftly approaching goblin.

‘This time it won’t be like the first.’

This was a 2nd chance that I barely managed to get after all.

I won’t repeat the same tragedy twice. This was the promise I made to myself at the beginning of my 2nd chance.

“Kwak?!”

As I abruptly rushed towards the goblin, it let out an embarrassing high-pitched cry.

The goblin swung its sword towards my neck, but I avoided it and twisted his arm in the process.

Crack!

“Kiiiiek!”

When the goblin’s arm got twisted, it loosened its grip on the sword and it fell to the ground. While falling to the ground, I grabbed the sword and pierced its neck.

Fwish!

“Hahh.”

The sense of tearing and piercing flesh. If it was the me from the past, I would be vomiting. However, now I’m numb to it.

[You have killed the goblin of the first stage]

[300 bonus points will be awarded]

‘Good.’

You need points to raise your stats or to buy various items you might need or want. You can get them by clearing quests or accomplishing certain achievements. Or you can be sponsored by becoming a god’s avatar.

‘Wait a minute.’

I recalled the message I heard as I was rushing towards the goblin.

‘Did it not say that I would inherit the remaining points from the 1st clear?’

After buying the 2nd chance package, there remains 700,000 points.

I opened my status window nervously.

[Name: Kim Sehan]

[Points held: 700,300]

“The fuck.”

I let out a curse.

On my status window were the remaining 700,000 points from the previous round.

Oh my god, with this I can max out my stats. Of course, there is a cap on the maximum stats you can have each main quest, but still with this many points I can max out my stats several times and still have a generous portion left over.

‘Or buy items you need from the point shop.’

Either way, this’ll be immensely useful.

But…

‘It wouldn’t be good to raise my stats quickly.’

If I do max out my stats, the difference between me and normal players would be way too big.

Especially when the game has just started.

Moreover, I might catch the god’s and GM’s attention, causing them to think I’m strange, thus observe me more vigilantly.

If that happens, then my main quest will be affected and from then on, whenever I do something, there will be large restrictions on me.

“S-Sehan oppa?”

While I was thinking about how to use my points, Jisoo asked with a trembling voice, “What is that over there? What’s going on?”

Jisoo was not looking at the goblin that I just killed.

This was because there wasn’t just one goblin.

“Move! I told you to move!!”

“What are these monsters!?”

It didn’t even take 10 minutes for this peaceful campus to turn into a mess.

I could hear screams from everywhere and see people running around.

And seeing them being chased by small monsters was an awful reality.

I didn’t care to respond to Jisoo’s questions.

This was because even if I didn’t explain it, she’ll soon find out herself.

[Synchronization complete]

[You are invited to the game of gods]

“Huh?”

Jisoo opened her eyes wide open.

It wasn’t only Jisoo who heard this. The people running away from the goblins all heard the same message.

[You have all become players and must complete the main quest]

[In the case you fail to clear the main quests, this world will fall]

[For more information, please refer to ‘Help’]

That was the end of the message. And of course, it was hard for people to accept such a one-sided message.

“W-What do you mean?! That this is a game?!”

“Ahh, save me!”

“Ah fuck!”

This surrounding area was a mess.

There were people shouting at the sudden message, and those fighting against the goblins.

“Sehan oppa… what is the meaning of this?”

Jisoo asked me with a blank face.

If she was smart enough, she would’ve probably figured out the situation that we were in to an extent.

“You heard that right? It’s exactly as they said.”

I pointed my finger towards the sky.

“It’s a story where some people far above the sky turned our world into a game board for us to play on.

“Game board…? What do you mean?” Jisoo asked with a confused face.

Yes, this is how most people would react.

They wouldn’t be able to understand what’s happening to their world.

However, if you can’t understand your situation, you’ll die.

Since this is the reality this world has become.

“This strange sound you just heard. This notification window, can’t you see it?”

“I-I can see it.”

Jisoo slowly nodded and looked around.

The scenery I first saw.

Jisoo was now looking at it with me.