ITSG 03

Episode 3

Encounter and Power

It was after the Black Spirit disappeared and I rose to head outside. I stopped my steps at the strange presence I sensed outside, and someone entered the stone chamber. Or, to be more accurate, fell in.

Crash-thud!

A man, as if forcibly pushed, fell inside and rolled limply across the floor. For some reason, a sword was embedded in his side, and he groaned in pain. Though momentarily curious about this sudden encounter, my question was soon answered.

-Kik-kik-kik-kik!

About the size of a child.
Grey-skinned, with an unusually large, conspicuous nose—ugly, goblin-like monsters followed the man into the chamber.

‘Imps?’

Immediately recalling their name, I understood the situation. It seemed the man had been chased by Imps and fled here. Despite looking like just horrendously ugly dwarves, they become quite troublesome in numbers. A man in light attire without proper weaponry would have a hard time dealing with them.

-Gyahk! Kya-kya-kyak!

The Imps, drooling foul-smelling saliva, slowly approached the man. Already, over a dozen Imps had entered the chamber. It was clear that if things continued, he’d meet a horrific end. Hiding quietly, I observed the situation coldly.

‘Something’s off…’

That’s because even I, having played the game hundreds of times, was experiencing this for the first time.

Originally, the start of Black Desert is very simple. The player, found in the stone chamber with amnesia, receives a request from the excavation team and solves problems while searching for memories.

So, waking up here,
encountering Imps in the stone chamber who you’d normally meet in the forest,
and meeting someone in crisis like this—it was all different from the game.

And very subtly so…
Is it not exactly like the game?
Or did I wake up at a different time?
Or is this a world different from the game?

For a moment, questions arose one after another, but I quickly cleared my mind. The situation before me was too urgent to ponder unanswerable questions.

-Kyak!
-Kee-kee-keek!

The Imps pointed at the man sprawled on the floor, mocking him. They brandished their weapons, threateningly swinging them in the air. A vile act meant only to inflict humiliation.

Their ugly smiles, repulsive forms, and blood-stained weapons were captured perfectly by my eyes. A vividness on a different level from what I saw beyond the monitor. Perhaps because I was tense from the sight, my hands naturally clenched.

What’s somewhat fortunate is…

From what I’ve observed so far, the Imps haven’t noticed me yet. They seem so engrossed in their new toy that their surroundings aren’t on their minds. Then, perhaps it would be fine to hide in the darkness and wait for them to leave.

Rationally, that was the right choice.

Facing numerous monsters in this place, surrounded by walls with nowhere to go, is a life-risking endeavor.
And the basis for risking my life in combat here, now that this is undeniably reality, was far too insufficient.

‘If I die here, what happens?’

An unfamiliar new body, motor skills that must surely be rusty, an unfavorable location, and being outnumbered.

And yet.
What stirs my heart despite that is…

‘Still, it’s worth a try.’

An inexplicable confidence.
And the fact that those monsters’ behavior is unbearably grating.
Even while lying in a hospital room waiting to die, in the game world, I always acted solely as my heart desired.

So, if this truly is the world I know…
My choice was obvious.

I quietly picked up the sword lying nearby.

The given chance is only once.
While they still haven’t noticed my presence, at the peak of their carelessness.

Strength entered the hand holding the sword.

“Goddamn it…”

Sensing death, the man spat out a curse.

“I hope you all choke on it.”

As if those words were a signal, the Imps gathered around him. Holding my breath, I approached from behind them.

“Now that it’s come to this, I won’t be satisfied unless I take at least one of you with me.”

-Kyak!

The moment an Imp lunged at him simultaneously…

-Swish!

I severed its neck.

-Fwoosh!

With a gushing sound, the lead Imp’s head was cleanly severed. The spreading blood dyed everyone present with panic. Ignoring their gaze, I immediately twisted my waist and slashed the creature right beside me.

-Shwak!

Kicking up the body of the Imp slashed from left arm to waist, its entrails spilled onto its kin.

-Kyaaaah!

Only then did a scream mixing fear and anger erupt from among the creatures that finally grasped the situation. I stabbed my sword into the mouth of the one screaming the loudest and sent its head flying.

The fishy scent of blood filling the stone chamber.
Amidst the successive screams, my mind was oddly cold and clear.

‘The numbers haven’t decreased much yet.’

The situation is still unfavorable.
Already, I can see some have distanced themselves, looking for an opening.
For now, they’re panicked and can’t even retaliate properly, but once the confusion subsides, I’ll be the one skewered.
So, I press the attack without missing this opportunity.

I charged into the midst of them.

-Kyak!

Even in their shock, the Imps thrust their swords at me, but instead of dodging, I grabbed the one next to me and used it as a shield.

-Slash-slash-slash!

Pushing the instantly shredded shield forward, the bodies of the Imps unable to pull their swords free toppled backward.

-Crash-thud!

All that remained was to plunge my sword into their defenseless bodies.
One by one, I cut them down.

One, parrying a sword.
Another, charging with my body.
One more, kicking up an Imp I’d stabbed in the thigh…

Just as I was focused solely on cutting them down…

“H-hey! You there…! They’ve all run away! It’s okay now.”

At the urgent voice, I turned my head. The man, holding his side, had risen from his spot and was repeatedly bowing his head to me.

“Thank you! I really thought I was done for…”

Perhaps because I was so tense, only then did my surroundings start to register.
The corpses of Imps scattered about, the blood staining the floor,
and even the Imps scrambling to escape through the narrow door outside, looking dazed.
The stone chamber, once in turmoil, was now quiet.

“Alright, alright, let’s move quickly. Hey, you there! What are you doing standing still?”
“What, is the ruin going to run away if we go slowly?”
“What did you say? You’ve been resting all this time and still have the leisure to talk?”
“No, sir. Going. I’m going.”
“Hey, be careful with that equipment!”

The excavation team selected by Jarette Dormongatt, daughter of the Heidel Lord and a Serendian royal, consisted of experts counted among the best in continental archaeology.
The ancient ruins they had excavated alone numbered in the dozens, not to mention recovering lost records.
Listing their achievements would be endless.

But just as their reputation was about to become meaningless due to hitting a dead end for months in the excavation she sought,
the team was bustling with energy for the first time in a while.

The reason was that the long-sought Ancient Stone Ruin, which had shown no clues for ages, had finally been discovered.
It meant these people, who had been idly twiddling their thumbs for months, finally had something to do.

Perhaps that’s why everyone was putting effort into excavation preparations, and even the faces of those grumbling about being rushed showed pleased smiles.

“But how was it discovered this time? There were no clues, and we searched this area for ages without finding anything.”
“You still haven’t heard? Ethan discovered it himself while exploring the Forest of Seclusion alone.”
“What? That place, alone? He’s completely insane!”
“Keke, it’s a miracle he’s not dead. But I heard he also picked up some strange person.”
“A strange person?”

In the current excitement over the long-awaited good news…

“No, it’s true!”

Ethan put down his beer mug on the table and shouted.

The only restaurant at the excavation team’s camp, always on-site for digs, was packed.
It served as both a diner and a tavern, and as the team’s lounge, so it was usually crowded, but today it was for a purely different reason.

“Ethan, you expect us to believe that?”
“Ah, lies should have their limits. Did you eat some strange mushroom and have hallucinations?”

Because Ethan, who had disappeared for days without leave, had returned.
And with good news.

Surviving in the Forest of Seclusion, teeming with monsters, was amazing enough, but discovering a ruin too?
So, the excavation team members’ attention was naturally focused on him.

“When I was cornered, hiding in a dark corner of the ruin, I thought I was done for.”

Ethan began explaining, waving his hand as if recalling the situation.

“The Imps that chased me inside alone numbered close to twenty. I thought I should at least struggle and take one or two with me to avoid disgrace.”

His eyes were more serious than ever, but…

“But then! My savior appeared! He cut down the Imps in a single stroke, and those vicious creatures were so shocked they ran away. It was incredible.”

The response was laughter.

“Hahahaha! No matter how I think about it, you clearly inhaled some hallucinogenic mushroom spores in the ruin. Otherwise, you wouldn’t tell such an unbelievable lie.”
“No, do you know that twenty Imps, according to the guard manual, require at least a squad to subdue? Lately, they’ve become more ferocious and harder to exterminate. How could one person defeat them?”
“Ah, I didn’t take you for such a braggart. At most, it must have been one or two stray Imps separated from the group.”
“You didn’t hit your head, did you? You need medicine, not alcohol.”
“Hahahaha! That’s right!”

Ethan felt like his insides were bursting.
He had merely recounted the facts as he experienced them, yet being treated like a madman was so unfair it was unbearable.

But their reaction wasn’t strange.

Imps, despite their small size, are monsters with considerable intelligence.
They can wield weapons, use tactics, and even have a hierarchy among themselves.
Even if individually weak, when they gather in numbers, the guards have to step in to stop them, so it’s hard to believe someone alone defeated many Imps.
Even Ethan himself would have dismissed it as a lie if he hadn’t experienced it firsthand.

That’s how remarkable the martial prowess shown by the man who saved Ethan was.
So, being frustrated that even his savior was lumped together and treated as a strange person was even more infuriating.

Ethan looked at the man sitting beside him.
He seemed lost in thought, perhaps unaware of Ethan’s feelings. His attitude, the aura he naturally exuded—it seemed nobility dripped from his very features. A completely different feeling from the intimidating presence he had in the stone chamber.

‘What could he be thinking so deeply about…’

Feeling overwhelmed at the thought of clearing up this misunderstanding, Ethan let out a small sigh.

In the boisterous restaurant, I was organizing my thoughts.

Because not only had I been dropped into this unknown world out of the blue,
but with my new body, the battle with the Imps, all these events happening in succession, my mind was a mess.

‘It’s subtly different from the game.’

Especially after the recent battle, I couldn’t be sure if this was inside the Black Desert game or just a similar world modeled after it. Though at this point, what’s the use of distinguishing that…
But I couldn’t help being subtly bothered.

‘Because Black Desert is a worldview where destruction is scheduled…’

Plague, war, factions causing chaos everywhere, and the evil gods descending by sacrificing it all.
Considering the situation, the entire continent is in such a total mess it’s almost despair-inducing.

That means I, with this single body, must resolve the continent-wide war, plague, and the pouring evil gods.
If I leave them be, what follows is clearly the end.

I thought I’d gained a new life, but now I have to worry about immediate survival. Guess there’s no such thing as a free lunch.

What’s somewhat fortunate is that my new body is astonishingly healthy.

‘Even though I moved my body that intensely for the first time, there wasn’t a single bit of discomfort.’

I’m someone who, in a tiny hospital room, never even properly moved my body, let alone held a sword. That means defeating the Imps was purely thanks to this body’s performance.

‘This seems to surpass merely being ‘healthy.’ How strong is this, exactly?’

Just as I was pondering the past battle with that question…

“Hey, mister! They say you’re that strong?”

A giant of a man stood up from across the restaurant and spoke to me.

“Ethan’s been talking so much I got curious. Want to have a match?”
“Hey, Deacon! What are you doing to my savior?!”

He rolled up his sleeves and approached boldly.
Just looking at his massive arms, thick as a person’s head, he seemed quite strong.

“What’s so weird? If it’s true, Ethan. So I’m personally verifying it, right? What’s the big deal about fighting me for someone who single-handedly defeated twenty Imps?”
“Aren’t you going to apologize quickly? He saved my life! What, you plan to test him?”
“Apologize for what? We’re just having a simple exercise. What did I do wrong?”

Even though the flustered Ethan stood up to stop him, it was futile.

“You think so too, right, mister?”

Pushing Ethan aside, the man strode forward and looked down at me.

“Better to show it directly than talk until your mouth hurts.”

His mouth laughed heartily, but his eyes were full of disbelief. The man called Deacon seemed to find Ethan’s explanation very dubious.

“Savior! Ignore Deacon’s words! No need to push yourself, just go to the quarters…”
“Go where? Mister, aren’t you going to say anything?”

Well, as Deacon said, his proposal wasn’t bad.