Dark Fantasy Guide for the Summoner - Chapter 1

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 1.
Express Circular Train Armand Train I
Do you enjoy games?
If you do, how much do you enjoy them?
Let me answer for myself, at least.
[Warning!]
[If you hear knocking from the window, immediately draw the curtains.]
[Do not forget. The place where you are now sitting is inside a train hurtling at sixty kilometers per hour.]
I suppose I enjoyed it far more than I thought I would.
Judging by the fact that I’m seeing hallucinations like this.
“Hah…….”
I inhaled slowly, then exhaled.
After repeating it several times, I looked ahead.
The message window was still there.
‘Damn it.’
So I really am seeing this.
“……If you hear knocking from the window, immediately draw the curtains.”
I murmured the message that floated before my eyes, and an incredulous reply came from across the compartment.
“Have you been drinking?”
“…….”
“Or is this some kind of joke?”
I lifted my head and looked at the one-eyed man.
Above his head, text floated.
[Companion, ‘Derek’]
It was an unrealistic sight, yet paradoxically, that absurdity awoke a peculiar sense of reality in me.
“Would you believe me if I said it was a serious joke?”
“Ha.”
Derek let out a snort.
“Listen. Do you know how fast the Armand Train goes?”
“……Sixty kilometers per hour, I think?”
“Right. You know well. Fast as a galloping horse at full speed. And it never tires, maintains a steady pace. With a fuel refill, it can run all day long. You might say it’s the very essence of Magical Engineering.”
“Impressive.”
“But why are you spouting nonsense about windows and such? Especially right now…….”
My gaze and Derek’s naturally turned toward the window outside.
It was the dead of night, yet the rattling window outside was somehow bright.
Not the brightness of dawn.
The night sky still shimmered with twilight, and a full moon hung between dark clouds.
Catching the moonlight was an enormous lake—and I swear, I have never seen a lake so vast in all my life.
‘This isn’t real.’
Just taking in the landscape filled me with that certainty.
The train was hurtling along a track laid across that very lake.
“See? Not even those accomplished wizards would dare chase a train running across a lake like this.”
That would be true.
If whatever knocks on the door is human.
“Now that you understand, get some sleep. Stop spouting nonsense in the middle of the night……. Damn it. I’m so tired I could die—what kind of stupid joke is this?”
Unfortunately, it’s not a joke.
Not if this train is called the Armand Train, its destination is the Forest of Eternity, and the lake we’re crossing now is called Horizon Lake.
“Ah! Don’t forget to do your patrol before you sleep. If you skip it, that bastard will throw a fit again.”
Patrol?
Ah.
‘A tutorial for learning the basic control keys.’
If that’s the case, I can’t skip it.
I rose from my seat with reluctance.
“I’ll be back soon, so don’t you dare open this curtain.”
“Are you still going on with that joke?”
“Joke or not, if I say don’t open it, then don’t open it. Understood?”
Derek’s face bore no tension, and he grinned.
“Think about it. I’m going to sleep now.”
“…….”
I wanted to urge him again two or three times more, but before I could finish speaking, Derek had already wrapped the blanket around himself with lightning speed, and…….
Before long, the sound of snoring filled the cabin.
Could anyone really fall asleep that quickly?
“……Rot in hell.”
In the end, I drew the curtains myself before stepping into the corridor.
Clack…….
The dark train corridor was lit only by a handful of flickering bulbs.
As I walked slowly through the space consumed by shadow, the absurdity of my situation began to settle over me at last.
Thirty minutes since I opened my eyes in this inexplicable place…….
I was almost certain now: I had been transported into the Forest of Shadow.
* * *
Creak…….
I walked down the darkened train corridor.
With each step, memories of the Forest of Shadow……the game itself surfaced one by one.
An indie game made overseas.
A roguelike dungeon RPG.
The lore and worldbuilding were remarkably expansive.
Judged by these metrics alone, it might seem like a decent game, but the reality was far different.
Let me enumerate the flaws of this wretched title…….
An atmosphere dark enough to merit a dark fantasy classification.
Mediocre graphics paired with abysmal optimization.
Genuinely unsettling horror direction.
And above all, a difficulty so punishing it would make you curse.
Consequently, even when the concept art or trailers drew new players, most abandoned it within days.
Even the rare times word of mouth sparked interest, it faded just as quickly.
And so the Forest of Shadow became a game only those in the know understood—a fate common enough for such titles.
‘It became a plaything for hipsters unsatisfied with famous games, basically.’
In other words, someone like me.
‘So what?’
How exactly did I end up sucked into this game?
I tried to recall my last memory, but my mind felt fogged over, murky.
To be honest, I’m still bewildered.
Could I be dreaming? Or was this some kind of hidden camera event?
Creak…….
But my suddenly altered appearance and Derek’s attitude—impossible to fake—denied that possibility.
More than anything, the landscape and tactile sensations around me felt far too vivid to be mere set dressing.
“Sigh…….”
Stop acting like an idiot. Get yourself together.
The situation is already upon you. It’s past the point of wondering if this is a dream or not.
If I can’t accept it even now, that’s nothing but denial of reality.
‘Besides, I don’t have the luxury to entertain such thoughts.’
The Forest of Shadow has multiple starting points.
It’s not entirely random, though—they vary based on the player’s chosen race, character background, initial stats, age, and gender.
There are hundreds of variations, certainly.
But if you’re starting on a speeding train, in the role of a stoker…….
‘Race: human. Gender: male. Age somewhere in my twenties. Initial stat distribution…….’
Knowing the formula, I could work backward from the results, and my current state became deducible.
Not that understanding changes anything about my situation.
‘Damn the Armand Route.’
It’s also called the Instant Death Route, or the Wall of Lamentation.
The reason is simple.
Among all possible starting points, this route has the highest probability of death.
Thinking of what was about to unfold, a chill ran down my spine.
‘……What do I do?’
I racked my brain, but no clear strategy came to mind.
In the end, I checked my physical condition and the state of the train before heading back.
“…….”
But when I returned to the cabin, an eerie silence hung unnaturally heavy over the room.
The interior was unusually bright, so my gaze drifted toward the curtains.
“Damn it.”
The curtains I’d clearly drawn before leaving were now swept wide open, and moonlight poured silently through the gap, settling softly onto the seat.
[Scene: The Corpse — Derek (Deceased)]
One-eyed Derek lay dead, his tongue grotesquely elongated and hanging down to his chest, his face drained of all color.
Then—
Tap, tap, tap.
Someone knocked on the train window.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————