Chapter 3
Where Is This Place?
“What… is this place?”
Surely, I should have arrived at a space where I could customize my character.
But the moment I pressed the “Complete” button, a desert straight out of a documentary appeared, leaving me dumbfounded.
“Is it because it’s a beta and some features are missing? No, even so…”
Even if customization was unavailable due to this being a test, there should have been at least a brief background explanation, or a story introduction.
Or at least a tutorial about how the game system differs from the previous installment…
But there was nothing. No messages, no NPCs to explain the situation, nothing at all.
Only the wind carrying grains of sand brushed across my body.
“It’s probably a bug, right?”
Chills ran down my spine as though I were in the opening scene of a novel.
I calmly examined my character’s body.
Since I hadn’t customized it, it should have been assigned a default body and appearance by the game—unrealistic and generic.
But my character had an ordinary body, the kind you see in everyday life.
A belly protruding from eating but not moving, pale skin from rarely seeing the sun, calloused hands from long hours of studying with a pen.
The character wore only the basic clothes and shoes provided by the game, yet its body looked exactly like mine in reality.
Feeling as if I were dreaming, I slapped my cheek hard.
Smack!
“Ah!”
Unlike in the previous game, where my senses were dulled as if only half-awake, I felt a sharp sting on my cheek.
If there were no problem at all, I might have been impressed by the advanced technology.
But to see a game character identical to my body and feel real pain… I felt nothing but fear.
“No, no… it can’t be.”
Trying to escape the reality I didn’t want to face, I summoned the game system.
Just like the Tip I had seen before falling into the desert, a translucent system window appeared before my eyes.
The system window had five buttons:
-
Status Window – to check the character’s job and traits
-
Guide – to view Tips seen so far
-
Settings – to adjust message appearance, sounds, and language
-
Bug Report – to report glitches
-
Logout – the most important button
I pressed Logout immediately to calm my anxiety, but
“…damn it.”
As expected, nothing happened.
No matter how many times I pressed it, it was like pressing a broken button—no response at all.
Maybe the game system itself had crashed? I tried the other buttons; only Logout was unresponsive.
Could sending a bug report save me? I tried sending one diligently.
A message said it was sent, but no change occurred even after time passed.
I even used the safe word from the manual, but the BDC didn’t end, and I didn’t return to reality.
‘No way…’
I remembered the subtle warnings from the staff, the documents included in the BDC, and the Tip that popped up the moment I pressed the Customize button.
‘I’m screwed.’
I didn’t know if the game company had sent me into this world like in a novel, or if I was trapped due to a bug, but one thing was certain:
Whatever the case, my life was in danger.
Realizing that, cold sweat ran down my jaw and fell to the ground.
I tried to calm my pounding heart and the fear-clouded mind, looking for anything that could help me survive.
But around me, there was only a desert straight out of a documentary.
Not a trace of civilization could be seen.
“How am I supposed to survive here?”
I’m not some survival king who can beat a crocodile or shark with bare hands and eat it for protein.
I’ve only ever fired guns in virtual reality games.
I had only seen survival techniques for a desert with no living creatures in videos—I didn’t know a thing about how to actually survive here.
Just like on the first day at training camp, hopelessness weighed on me.
Then, in one corner of my vision, I noticed something faintly shimmering.
‘An oasis?’
It looked like an oasis straight out of a painting.
I scanned the horizon for others but found nothing else.
“Damn it…”
With nothing around me and only my body, I had no choice but to head toward the oasis.
By my estimate, hours passed as I followed the mirage through the desert.
The oasis, which I had thought I could reach quickly, didn’t get any closer.
Walking on the hot sand under the blazing sun without a drop of water, my body began to fail me.
My skin burned red and began to peel, leaving a stinging pain.
After staying up all night finishing assignments, my entire body felt heavy, and my head wouldn’t function properly.
The sand gripping my ankles drained my already limited stamina, making it hard to even breathe.
‘I should’ve agreed when Changwook tried to get me to exercise.’
Game characters could run endlessly and only needed a minute of rest before moving again. Why was my body so useless?
‘I wish there was some shade, or a cactus, to block the sun.’
Was this cursed desert some kind of death zone?
There wasn’t a plant in sight, not even an insect.
Half-fainting, staggering toward the mirage, I suddenly fell with a thud.
“Ugh!”
My foot caught something hidden under the sand, and I collapsed.
I had no strength left to move and fell headfirst, but the sand absorbed the impact, so it didn’t hurt much.
Brushing sand from my head and face, I raised my head slightly to see what tripped me.
“…Huh?”
I discovered something I hadn’t expected.
It wasn’t my leg or a rock.
It was a metal canteen, half-buried in the sand.
‘Of course there’s probably no water inside.’
Surely no one would leave a perfectly functional canteen in this desert.
Still, I forced myself up and grabbed it, holding onto a small glimmer of hope.
Splash.
I heard the hopeful sound of water.
It felt heavier than I expected, and the liquid sloshed inside as I held it.
If I didn’t drink soon, I’d die.
But just as I opened the canteen to drink…
“Ugh.”
A foul smell rose from its opening.
The water had spoiled after being left in the desert too long.
“Damn it.”
I had hoped… now I’d have to throw it all away?
Just as I stared disappointedly at the water, I remembered my character’s job.
“Maybe I can do something with alchemy.”
In fictional works about alchemy, people can do impossible things with it.
The problem was:
‘Can I even use it?’
I didn’t know how to use alchemy, and I didn’t know if my character’s abilities had transferred to me in reality.
‘I have to be able to.’
If I couldn’t, I’d be like a worm slowly dying on asphalt.
Biting my lip, I pondered how to use alchemy and whether it even existed.
[Tip: To use alchemy, three conditions must be met.]
“There it is!”
The Tip confirmed I could use alchemy, and I eagerly read on.
[1. You must be familiar with the materials and objects you will handle.]
“Materials? Ah, right…”
That’s why I had chosen the ‘Enlightenment’ trait, which cost 30 points…
“So, how do I use traits?”
My path still seemed uncertain. Then another Tip appeared.
[Tip: Traits are divided into active and passive. To use an active trait, you must wish to use it and act according to its nature.]
The explanation was long, but I understood immediately.
I focused on using Enlightenment on the canteen, opening my eyes wide and staring at it.
Suddenly, a message window appeared, displaying information about the canteen.
[Stainless Steel Canteen (250mL)]
A factory-made stainless steel canteen.
Though left in the desert for a long time, its aluminum durability keeps it usable.
Currently contains [Water (rainwater, spoiled)]
Disassembling yields a small amount of stainless steel.
[Water (rainwater, spoiled)]
Originally clean rainwater sterilized for over six hours in sunlight, but now spoiled after prolonged exposure.
Drinking may cause illness such as stomach pain or diarrhea.
“If I drink this as-is, I’ll die in the desert.”
Dehydrated and overheated, getting a disease that depletes water would be fatal.
“So… how do I use alchemy?”
I muttered, frowning, and the second condition appeared.
[2. You must imbue the object/material with mana.]
[You can get system help on your first attempt to use mana.]
[Would you like system help? Yes / No]
“I thought I couldn’t use it.”
Relieved that the system would help, I pressed “Yes.”
Thump.
My heart raced as if I were pumping a rusty machine for the first time in years.
A tingling sensation spread from my heart to my fingertips—not blood, but an unfamiliar thing called mana.
I focused on how the mana slowly moved from my body into the canteen and into the water, then read the third condition.
[3. Imagine the desired effect and inject mana until the effect completes.]
[Tip: If imagining the effect is difficult or complex, you can use the auxiliary system to fine-tune the alchemy.]
[Use auxiliary system? Yes / No]
“No need.”
I pressed “No” and imagined the spoiled rainwater becoming drinkable.
Mana flowed into the canteen, dissolving into the water and transforming it.
Bubble… bubble…
The water, once somewhere between jelly and liquid, boiled like lava, releasing white steam.
The smell was worse than when I had opened it before.
The water level gradually decreased as the transformation continued, stopping when roughly half remained.
The system’s help ended as well.
“Phew.”
Just turning the water into drinkable water exhausted me as if I’d done intense exercise.
This was my first time using alchemy, and I could intuitively tell that three times a day would be my limit.
‘I wanted to use alchemy to make a resting place or transportation in this desert…’
Escape seemed difficult without outside help.
Shaking my head to clear gloomy thoughts, I checked the canteen with my trait.
[Pure Water]
Purified water created by alchemy.
Quickly quenches thirst and can be used as potion ingredients.
Even without the system, the clean water looked fresh and clear, and my earlier despair vanished.
‘I wish I could drink it all…’
I only took enough to wet my parched mouth.
Swallowing slowly, I soothed my dry throat.
The little water quickly disappeared.
“Phew.”
Even a small amount revived my dehydrated body slightly.
Feeling a bit better, I looked at the oasis I had set as a goal.
It remained in the same direction but had come slightly closer.
“Good, it’s not just a mirage.”
Hope of survival renewed, I headed toward the oasis.
As I got closer, traces of humans began to appear—empty pots, dented cups—useless to me, but evidence of civilization.
Using my trait, I walked for a long time toward the oasis until I discovered a strange object.
[Mummified Upper Body (Human)]
The upper body of a human turned into a mummy.
The human’s lower body was cut off, and exposure to the desert environment for a long time caused mummification.
“A corpse?”
I had seen corpses in games, but seeing one in reality stiffened my body.
I quickly scanned the area with my eyes.
[LNT-1G]
An original firearm made by a novice blacksmith.
Due to design flaws and technical limits, it has low performance and frequent malfunctions.
Some damage exists, but it is usable.
Disassembling yields metal alloy and gun parts.
Currently loaded with 4 rifle bullets.
[Rifle Ammo]
Standard rifle bullets.
Disassembling yields metal and gunpowder.
Seeing these items indicating a battle, I crouched and scanned the surroundings.
[Booster Boots (Consumed)]
Single-use boots for short bursts of speed or brief flight.
Consumed upon use.
[Blue Adhesive (Used)]
Quick-hardening glue for metal, also used to disable machines.
Fortunately—or unfortunately—there were only scrap, trash, and corpses around, no other traces.
“This isn’t the next game’s world.”
I had doubts at first, but seeing my previous equipment used and abandoned here confirmed it was the world of the previous game.
“I’ve never heard of a desert like this.”
I didn’t want to approach the corpses and stepped back, thinking.
Buuuuuu…
I heard the sound of a helicopter.
Startled by the familiar sound of civilization, I looked up at the bright sky.
No helicopter, not even a cloud, could be seen.
Buuuuuu…
“Hmm?”
The sound continued, so I scanned my surroundings.
I didn’t know if it would help or harm me, but if they found me, I could escape my fate as a desert-bound worm.
“Could it be them?”
After scanning tirelessly, I spotted a black object.
The thought of escaping this cursed desert brought a smile to my face.
“Over here! Here!”
I shouted and waved toward the black object.
Though it was obvious they would see me, I wanted to be noticed sooner.
“It’s coming.”
The black object quickly approached me. Relief surged.
“Damn it.”
When I saw what it actually was, I cursed.
The black object I had thought was salvation was, in fact, a grim reaper sent to hasten my demise.
