ITSG 02

Episode 2

The Beginning

At first, I thought death had finally come for me.

In the darkness that dyed my vision black and my fading consciousness, the only thing I, who had been given a terminal diagnosis, could think of was just that.

I even thought it was a relief.
Compared to the excruciating pain I felt daily, it was utterly peaceful.

But…

‘Huh…?’

How much time had passed?
Gradually, my consciousness returns.

My vision is still pitch black.

But the sensation transmitted from my fingertips and toes, the memories awakening my mind.
Even though I’ve never died and don’t know what death is,
my body and mind still tell me I am alive.

‘Just what in the…’

No matter how much I try to trace my last memory, I can’t figure out what happened. The only thing I barely recall is using an item in Black Desert.

How much time passed after I lost consciousness.
I’m momentarily confused, not even knowing if this is the hospital room I was in.

As my eyes gradually adapt to the darkness, the information they convey forces me to panic once more.

“Where is this?”

Geometric patterns covering the walls, floor, ceiling—every direction—and a cavity radiating coldness as if proclaiming its emptiness.

The place I opened my eyes to was neither the cramped hospital room I’d lived in all my life,
nor the uncomfortable bed,
nor the hospital I thought I’d never be able to leave.

It was a massive stone chamber I’d never seen before in my life.

No, I should correct that.
I know this place.
More precisely, I can’t not know it.

Because, well…

‘The Ancient Stone Chamber?’

This was the tutorial space of Black Desert, which I played hundreds of times while trapped in my hospital room.

A dream…?

Surely, I’m not still unconscious and dreaming?
Maybe I am. Even while preparing for the raid for so long, I often dreamed about the game because I was so focused.

But…

The realism is too intense for a dream.
No matter how much I pinch my cheek, I don’t wake up; instead, the pain tells me this isn’t a dream.
If it’s not a dream, is this reality? Then, did I enter the game world?

No matter how much I try to accept the situation before my eyes, I can’t understand it, and my head throbs. Right then…

-Hey…

From within the darkness, someone—something—spoke.

-Hey, are you awake now?

‘Something‘ is more accurate than ‘someone.’
The darkness undulates like a heat haze at the edge of my vision.

Coalescing and billowing like smoke, the darkness slowly takes shape and eventually floats like a clumsy cloud.

-Kik-kik! Sleeping like the dead, and now you finally wake up? Do you know how long I’ve waited?

The one speaking to me is this very cloud.
Floating as if alive, with red eyes opening, the creature continues to speak as if glad to see me.

-But… what’s with that look? Why are acting like you don’t know me? You haven’t forgotten, have you?

It doesn’t even have a mouth, yet it speaks.
An entity never seen in reality, much like this space.
But I know what this creature is called.

“B-Black Spirit?”

Black Spirit.
An NPC in Black Desert and the entity that first meets gamers, helping them adapt.

-See, you remember! My waiting was worth it!

Its form, its creepy laugh, its dialogue that oddly seems happy to see me—it’s exactly as I saw in the game, not a bit different.

The Black Spirit shook its floating body side to side, showing its joy.
As it drew near, scattered black smoke touched my body.

A light, cool sensation.
Not a bad feeling at all.

Unconsciously, I reached out and brushed the Black Spirit; the smoke composing it scattered and coalesced repeatedly.

Can I really consider this just a dream…?

Strange and alien, yet undeniably vivid sensation.
After staring dazedly at the spirit for a moment, I shook my head side to side.

‘Right, regardless, this isn’t a place I know.’

Whether this is a dream, inside the game, or even an afterlife experience,
adapting as quickly as possible is more productive than not accepting the situation.

I’m not the type to dwell deeply on problems beyond an individual’s control anyway.
If I were, I wouldn’t have been able to cope since receiving the terminal diagnosis.
An ordinary mindset can’t endure a terminal life.

‘Let’s put aside figuring out where this is for later.’

Once I accept the situation, my confused mind calms down.

Right, whether I’ve become a brain in a jar,
been abducted and made a test subject in virtual reality,
actually died and am experiencing the afterlife,
or truly entered the game world… what does it matter?
It’s wiser to think ahead.

Thanks to harsh mental training since childhood, I usually don’t even react to most things, but this scene was just too outlandish.

However, organizing my confused mind didn’t improve the situation.

Because if this is truly the reality I’m in…

‘Then destruction is approaching.’

Because Black Desert is a world destined for destruction.

No, to be precise, it’s more accurate to say it’s already infinitely close to destruction.

A world ravaged by a prolonged great war and a plague called the ‘Black Death.’
Even with half the population dead in this bleak situation, war clouds hang heavy everywhere, and monsters infest every corner, while cultists worshiping destruction summon evil gods, gradually tainting the world.

To use a metaphor, the worldview is flooring the accelerator toward destruction?
To put it more bluntly…

‘I’m fucked.’

If this world precisely follows the game’s setting, then I’m right in the middle of that destruction.

But more than that…

‘Th-this is my body…?’

Pushing complex thoughts to a corner of my mind, I felt various parts of my body.

A firm body with no excess fat, muscles bulging on arms and legs.
A body so healthy and vibrant you couldn’t even jokingly call it sickly. A sigh of admiration escapes me.

How much had I longed for a healthy body all my life, confined to a hospital room?
How much had I dreamed of being free, even once, inside that small room?
I truly thought it was an impossible dream…

Perhaps because I’m moved by this newfound vitality.
A vague sense of anticipation fills my heart more than the anxiety of facing a hopeless worldview.

I want to go out.

Not with my sickly body, but with this healthy one.

I want to go out.

With these sturdy legs, I want to swiftly tread the world I’ve so long dreamed of.

Just as that thought crossed my mind…

-Now the time has come… I’ll watch over you from beside you until the contract is fulfilled.

As if sensing my thoughts, the Black Spirit, which had been quietly watching me, rippled and uttered a meaningful statement. The spirit gradually grew fainter.

-Kik-kik… Well then, good luck.

Simultaneously.

-Gr-gr-gr-groooooan!

Behind me, the stone chamber door opened with a heavy sound.
Light slowly expanded its domain through the crack.
As if the world was opening its arms to me, it was a beautiful sight. I slowly rose to my feet.
That light was too dazzling.

“Aaaargh!”

Running through an overgrown forest is extremely difficult.

The damp, slippery earth steals your balance in a moment of carelessness.
The tangled grass and branches not only obscure your vision but also hinder your path, leaving large and small wounds.
Getting lost is also a given.

Especially, running without a map in the Forest of Seclusion, home to numerous monsters, is practically suicidal, but Ethan had no time to think.

-Kreeek! Kree-kreek!

If he doesn’t run, he’ll lose his life—how could he care about such things?
Ignoring the vicious cries, Ethan ran with all his might.

“Huff… hah… huff…”

Chasing closely behind were Imps, monsters that are practically the native bosses of the Forest of Seclusion.
Despite their childlike size, these creatures, as swift as beasts, followed close, mocking Ethan.

-Kya-kya-kyak!

Faces resembling humans yet grotesque, with noses large and crooked enough to occupy half their faces. If malice were kneaded together, such monsters might be born.
Imps are famous for their cruel nature, matching their repulsive appearance.

His companions said they skin people alive…
He also heard human skulls are excellent decorations for Imps.
It’s easy to imagine the horrific fate if caught.

“They said my luck was good today…!”

Where did it go wrong?

Was it getting his fortune told by the peddler who came to the base camp, frustrated by the lack of progress in the excavation?
Being tempted by the words of good luck and sneaking out for exploration alone without his team?
Or luckily discovering traces of a ruin and venturing deep into the Forest of Seclusion alone?

Maybe it was wrong from the start, joining the excavation team upon hearing news of traces of an ancient ruin.

“Hah, hah, huff…! Hah!”

Ethan barely managed his breath, rising to his throat, and ran forward.
But could he really escape the Imps this way?

Of course not.
Outrunning monsters native to this place with human legs?
Fighting them would be one thing.
Shaking them off by running is impossible.
The problem is the number of Imps is also large.

Maybe one or two, but even from the corner of his eye, he could see over a dozen.

He’d been lost for a long time.
Not only had he gone deep in excitement after finding traces of the ruin,
but running frantically while chased by Imps left him clueless about his location or which way to run.

“Help! Someone!”

Thus, all Ethan could do was desperately call for help.
Hoping his colleagues, who must be looking for him somewhere, would find him.
Even though he knew he’d gone too deep into the forest for them to find him.

-Thud!

Perhaps because his legs gave out.
Adding insult to injury, Ethan’s foot caught on a tree root, and he fell clumsily.

-Kee-kee-keek!

The Imps burst into laughter at the sight.
Ethan’s desperate struggle was mere entertainment for them.
Saw-like teeth protruded between their horrific faces.

“Damn it…”

Ethan, barely standing, drew his dagger but soon realized its futility.
The number of Imps approaching him as he stopped was far greater than what he’d glimpsed.

An utterly exhausted body and a forest with no escape.
There was no way out now…

‘Huh? What’s that…?’

But then, Ethan’s searching gaze stopped somewhere.

A ruin?

An artificial structure visible between the dense trees.
A structure seemingly carved smoothly from a large rock—it was the ruin he had been so desperately seeking.
What meaning could this have, but…

‘No, if it’s there…!’

If it’s an ancient ruin, there must be an entrance.
If he could just get inside, maybe he could find a place to hide.
Clutching that vague hope, Ethan forced his body toward the ruin.

Should it be called fortunate?
As he pushed through the thickly tangled vines and neared the ruin, an entrance appeared, just as Ethan expected.

The feeling of finding a way out after agony.
Just as Ethan was about to step into the ruin…

-Thwump!

The feeling of a cold blade entering his body, and…

-Kya-kya-kyak!

A vicious laugh.

An Imp that had already closed in thrust a dagger into Ethan’s side and laughed, baring its teeth as if observing his reaction.
Not like Ethan’s tired steps could have put much distance between him and the Imps anyway.

Imps are intelligent monsters.
Though not comparable to humans, their cunning and vile actions born of maliciousness sometimes surpass humans.

-Kee-kee-keek!
-Kya-kyak!

So, the Imps deliberately waited.
For Ethan to struggle somehow.
To cling to the hope of escape.

That futile hope, and the despair-filled expression on a human’s face when it’s crushed—that was the Imps’ entertainment.

To them, Ethan had long been nothing more than a toy.

-Crash-thud!

Ethan, with the sword still in him, tumbled into the stone chamber.

“Grh…!”

A numb pain running down his spine.

“Goddamn it…”

Lifting his head while lying face down on the cold stone floor, he saw Imps had already followed him inside and surrounded him.

-Kya-kya-kyak!
-Kee-kee-keek!
-Kree-reek!