Episode 3
003. Breathing Exercise
Thump-thump.
His heart beats.
Geumsom’s heart, starting to run wild on its own.
It was perhaps a natural reaction, having obtained an unbelievable title.
But there was no time to get drunk on just one title.
Rather, his shoulders only felt heavier.
Now he had to move.
That is, if he didn’t want to despair under the ashen sky again seven years later.
“Shall we check things out first?”
Geumsom forcibly calmed his excited heart.
The reason he chose Neman Village.
He had to check that ‘possibility’ mentioned fleetingly by a comrade right before the destruction.
“The others are already gone.”
Looking around the square, the players who had just been marveling at 《Lepione》’s amazing realism and getting overly excited were already scattered to the winds.
It seemed everyone was moving busily to accept quests and hunt monsters to level up as quickly as possible.
In ordinary games, that’s important.
Getting ahead faster than anyone.
Things like preemptively taking hunting spots before others could be considered know-how, if anything.
But.
‘《Lepione》 is different. It’s not like other games where just hunting monsters solves everything.’
In other games, hunting monsters and leveling up quickly is important, but not in 《Lepione》.
One must recognize that this is another ‘world’ where people live.
Not just a programmed game, but like a real other world.
Geumsom smiled bitterly.
His past self too had been solely obsessed with hunting monsters and leveling up like them.
But this world wasn’t that simple.
This was another ‘world’ that lived and breathed, and relationships with the people living here were paramount.
Even hunting the same monster, the experience gained differed depending on whose request you took and why you hunted it, if you clearly recognized it.
Of course, 《Lepione》 doesn’t tell you this.
‘It’s a damn unfriendly game.’
《Lepione》 doesn’t even tell you such basic facts.
A laissez-faire management system leaving everything to the player’s autonomy.
A game shaped solely by player choices.
Of course, basic tutorials are provided, but just following those would never make you a master.
Because countless secrets and hidden elements are concealed.
Geumsom knew those secrets.
And one of them.
He was about to check it now.
‘Opposite the village, the path.’
Instead of heading into the village following other players, Geumsom moved his steps in the exact opposite direction.
The most remote corner of the village, out of players’ sight.
There, an old man sat before a shabby hut, staring blankly into the distance.
An old man from his past life, whom many players tried talking to but received no reaction, dismissed as just a background NPC.
But Geumsom knew.
That this old man was the starting point of a hidden quest obtainable in Neman Village.
‘He’s here! Just as Yeom Tae-hoon said, he’s here!’
Seeing the old man, Geumsom smiled.
Truthfully, he wasn’t sure.
But seeing the old man still in his place as he had said, he felt relieved.
The words of Spear Demon Yeom Tae-hoon, who defended the last line of defense, came to mind.
“- Damn, I didn’t meet that old man until after level 200. The quest reward wasn’t bad, but… the old man’s true value wasn’t that. If, just if… if I had met that old man when I first started 《Lepione》, my spear would have walked a completely different path than now. For me, and for that old man… that would have been better. Well, it’s all in the past now.”
Spear Demon Yeom Tae-hoon.
Level 442 right before the destruction.
One of humanity’s strongest spearmen, Yeom Tae-hoon.
Even with skills ranking among the top rankers, he regretted not meeting that old man sooner.
Of course, meeting that old man doesn’t solve everything, but it was certainly a huge help for Geumsom.
Moreover.
‘He said it didn’t particularly help the Spear Demon. Because he solved the old man’s quest when his level was already too high.’
There’s nothing to feel sorry about towards Spear Demon Yeom Tae-hoon, who defended the last line.
So he could proceed with the old man’s quest with a clear conscience.
‘However… I can’t do it right now.’
But talking to the old man right now would be useless.
Because a special ‘key’ is needed to open his firmly closed heart.
Taking the old man’s existence into his eyes once more, Geumsom turned his steps away without hesitation.
His goal was clear.
The strongest blacksmith.
And the All-Master beyond that.
To fit the first piece of that grand plan, he headed to the village’s shabby training ground.
Towards another arrangement mentioned by Spear Demon Yeom Tae-hoon.
The training ground was bustling with novice players awkwardly striking dummies with wooden swords or spears.
Geumsom passed by them and approached a middle-aged NPC standing with his arms crossed, wearing a displeased expression in a corner of the training ground.
‘Spearmanship Instructor, Bark.’
Just one of countless NPCs he passed by in the past.
But now, to Geumsom’s eyes, his information felt different.
Former Royal Knights.
Lost one leg in battle and retired, returning to his hometown Neman Village and teaching recruits as a pastime.
Has strong pride, but tends to treat ‘Outsiders’ who access the game as immature youngsters just playing for a day or two.
“Hmph, another scoundrel added. What are you staring blankly at? Did you come to learn how to hold a spear or something?”
Bark scanned Geumsom up and down and spoke curtly.
His eyes held blatant annoyance and disregard.
Around them, several players were already being rejected by Bark and grumbling.
“Hey, can’t we just skip dialogue or something? Telling me to get lost for ignoring his words? Is this for real! Shouldn’t we protest to the game company?”
“What kind of NPC doesn’t give skills? This doesn’t make sense. Then how are we supposed to hunt! Shouldn’t they at least tell us something else!”
“This is insane, was the spear the wrong choice? Should I find a place that teaches other skills?”
“Hey! It’d be faster to find another place than waste time here. Let’s go!”
Players’ laments could be heard.
Players who treated the NPC like those in other ordinary games and got rejected for skill training.
Of course, Geumsom wouldn’t be rejected like other players.
“I’ve come seeking to learn spearmanship.”
At the polite answer, the corners of Bark’s eyes twitched slightly.
As if surprised by a polite Outsider.
But that was it.
His attitude towards players was still curt.
“You want to learn spearmanship? I’ve seen hundreds of brats like you swing spears like toys and then give up. Still, if you want to learn, let’s see your concentration at least.”
Bark looked Geumsom up and down, then snorted and lightly kicked an old wooden spear leaning in the corner with his foot.
“See that dummy over there? The red dot drawn on its solar plexus. Pierce the exact center of that dot 1,000 times consecutively, without a single mistake. If you miss by even 1mm or hesitate in the middle, you start over from the beginning. Think you can do it?”
The moment Bark finished speaking, a system message appeared before his eyes.
A welcome message.
[Normal Quest: Bark’s Test]
– Content: Spearmanship Instructor Bark of Neman Village wishes to test the shallow resolve of rookies. Pass his strict test and prove your qualifications.
– Success Condition: Hit the dummy target 100 times.
– Reward: Basic spearmanship Skill Set]
Unlike Bark’s words, it seemed passing with 100 hits was considered success.
Actually, succeeding at 1,000 hits seemed like something even Bark didn’t expect.
That’s how low Bark’s expectations for Outsiders seemed.
Other players nearby who heard the conversation buzzed.
“Crazy. 1,000 times consecutively? Are you kidding?”
“He just says 1,000, but if you actually accept the quest, you just need 100 successes. But the problem is even 100 isn’t easy! I failed at 17. That thing’s damn finicky.”
“If you fail at 99, isn’t there any mercy? When do you start over from the beginning?”
“Excuse me? Spearmanship is trash! That’s a waste of time, I’m telling you! I heard other villages teach archery well…”
The players’ complaints weren’t wrong.
Even in virtual reality, human concentration has limits.
Performing repetitive actions without error was close to impossible for anyone not a machine.
But a faint smile formed at the corner of Geumsom’s mouth.
Because he had no intention of merely doing 100.
He intended to do as Bark said.
Perfectly 1,000 times.
Only then could he get what he wanted.
He didn’t come here just to get a basic spearmanship skill set.
‘Compared to the process of forging equipment… 1,000 times is laughable.’
Geumsom, who experienced humanity right before destruction, the age of ruin.
When carving the bones of a god-slayer or refining the heart of the last extinct ancient dragon, he had to strike over 10,000 hammer blows into the precise location without a single millimeter of error, without wasting a single gram of force.
With each swing of the hammer, he had to endure pressure as if the fate of all humanity weighed on his shoulders, as if his heart was shriveling.
A single mistake.
It didn’t end with just the material being ruined.
His failure meant a hole being punched in humanity’s final line of defense.
It was a shortcut that accelerated the death of comrades, humanity’s defeat, and the world’s destruction by one step.
Compared to that, 1,000 spear thrusts now?
Too easy.
Absurdly merciful.
Failure?
You just start over from the beginning.
This old wooden spear won’t break, and the dummy won’t disappear.
The world won’t perish, and beloved comrades won’t cough up blood and die before him.
This wasn’t training; it was closer to rest.
This mission was too easy for Geumsom.
A light warm-up compared to the hellish days of the past.
No, it was merely a breathing exercise.
“Can’t do it? If you can’t, don’t whine like the others and get los—”
“May I begin?”
“You’ll do it? Y-yes, go ahead.”
Geumsom lightly adjusted his grip on the wooden spear Bark had tossed to him.
The rough, crude sensation of wood in his hand.
It felt like the sensation he had grown sick of in the age of ruin was reviving.
Bark, who was about to say something, also couldn’t say anything more upon seeing Geumsom.
Because the atmosphere of Geumsom, who had accepted the quest, felt like a completely different person.
‘What kind of look in his eyes…’
Seeing Geumsom’s gaze, Bark somehow felt a chill down his spine.
Because an aura reminiscent of a veteran who had been through countless battles on the warfront emanated from him.
But Geumsom had no interest in what Bark was thinking.
He simply.
Stood before the dummy.
Took a deep breath in, then slowly exhaled.
The surrounding noise faded away; only the red dot drawn on the dummy’s solar plexus came clearly into his vision.
Thwack-!
The first thrust.
The spear tip pierced exactly the center of the red dot.
Bark’s eyebrow twitched almost imperceptibly as he watched.
