Player of a Ruined World - Chapter 2

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Player of the Ruined World – Episode 002
I raised both hands and checked myself first.
The tape wrapped around my forearms, shins, and biceps remained intact, and my clothes and shoes were unchanged.
‘My bag.’
Fortunately, my bag was still there too.
“What, what is this? Where are we?”
“Oh no! Everything’s soaked!”
“What on earth!”
People rose one by one from the cold asphalt, shielding their heads with both hands and beginning to look around frantically.
None of them could accept their current situation.
Bewildered people stumbling about in confusion.
Among them, I swallowed a short breath.
“This can’t be real.”
This was… the opening episode of No Way Home that I’d played for two years.
The protagonist arriving at the city after breaking through torrential rain with zero visibility.
The episode where one must hide in a nearby building while pushing through thick fog and zombies.
That was the opening episode of No Way Home.
Whoosh—!
I ran without looking back.
As if the sky itself had torn open, the relentless downpour and thick fog reduced visibility to less than twenty meters.
The moment I started running, several people began chasing after me, shielding their foreheads with their hands.
“Eek! It’s raining so hard!”
“Hey! Where are we going?!”
“I don’t know! We just need to get inside somewhere!”
Young women who appeared to be friends shrieked continuously as they ran through the rain.
I glanced back briefly—they were running in the same direction as me.
‘Damn it…’
They didn’t know.
What kind of world this was.
Gaia herself had explained it, but they probably hadn’t paid proper attention.
Gripping the baseball bat in my hand tighter, I ran in the opposite direction from where the women were heading.
If they kept screaming and running like that, they’d naturally provoke ‘them.’
“Grrr… Kack!”
“Hack! Cough-hack!”
Obscured by the rain’s noise, bizarre sounds echoed from within the fog.
Like scraping a throat, unsettling and spine-chilling sounds that gnawed at the mind.
‘Where are they?’
I could hear the sounds clearly, but I couldn’t visually confirm the creatures’ forms.
My legs trembled.
I had to somehow push through the fog and reach the Safe House, but the truth was…
‘Is this the right direction?’
There was no minimap like in a game, nor did a solid line indicate which way I should go.
Was I supposed to evacuate on my own?
Though it was based on a game, it differed starkly from any game I knew.
I had no idea.
I didn’t know where to go, but… right now, running was my only option.
Soon enough, this place would transform into Hell.
Splash—splash splash! Splash—!
“Kaaaaaahhh!!”
A blurred human silhouette came rushing toward me, its upper body convulsing grotesquely.
Something appeared before my eyes in an instant due to the poor visibility.
The moment I saw its gaping maw clearly, my eyes went wide and I swung the baseball bat.
Crack—!
With a dull sound, it collapsed right there.
The creature—once human, now with a caved-in skull—began trembling violently across its entire body.
“Kyaaah!!”
“W-what?!”
“H-he hit a person! That bastard just swung at someone’s head!”
“Are you insane?! What are you doing?!”
The people watching the scene began murmuring in alarm.
I… ignored their curses and stared at my trembling hands.
The dull sensation I felt when striking the skull.
The sharp impact transmitted through my palms.
‘Get a grip.’
I clenched my fists tightly and shook my head vigorously.
This wasn’t the time to indulge in sentiment.
Whoosh—!
I plunged back into the mist.
“Hey, you bastard! Where are you going!”
“That asshole hit someone and is running away!”
“Where’s the police?! Police! Call the police!”
“Why isn’t my phone working?!”
Those people didn’t understand.
What situation they were truly facing.
There was neither time nor reason to explain it to them one by one.
I wasn’t a hero, nor was I their guardian.
I myself could barely accept the current situation—how could I convince them?
“Grrrrr…”
The creature with the crushed head then staggered upright, its upper body swaying.
Several people fearlessly approached it, asking if it was alright and helping it up.
Crack!
“Kyaaaaaaah!!”
After that, all I heard were screams.
The screams of people mixed with curses born of terror, desperate cries choked by fear.
“Huff, huff, huff… huff!”
The farther I fled from the scene, the more the cacophony of chaos faded beneath the sound of rain.
Damp shoes and a rain-soaked coat.
A backpack bouncing with each stride and sheets of rain obscuring my vision.
My heart pounding wildly and alarm bells ringing in my mind.
My peaceful everyday life, the world I knew… it no longer existed here.

* * *
“Cough!”
I pushed back the surging zombies with a baseball bat, running without pause.
With visibility barely reaching twenty meters, even running at full speed was difficult.
Zombies popping up unexpectedly made my heart drop in shock several times over.
So focused on the situation that I couldn’t even blink despite the torrential downpour.
Constantly scanning my surroundings, I ran through the mist that obscured where it led.
How long had I been running like this?
The faint silhouette of a building began to come into view in the distance.
My breath was already at the limit.
Regardless of where this place was, I needed to hide first and catch my breath.
As I drew near, the building’s exterior became increasingly clear.
-Sindong Apartment, Haengdang-dong.
The text written on the building’s outer wall.
Seeing the text at the complex entrance, I couldn’t close my gaping mouth.
“…What?”
The No Way Home I knew never featured Korean place names or apartments.
So why was this here….
“Grrrrr….”
Followed by the sound of a throat being scraped from within the mist.
I’d think about this later—for now, I needed to hide.
I forced my leaden feet forward with great effort.
I ran toward the apartment’s common entrance visible just ahead and pushed open the glass door.
Was it because the power was out?
I pushed with all my strength to the side, and I could feel the common entrance door sliding open smoothly.
The moment I entered, I closed the door again and headed toward the stairs leading to the second floor.
“Huff, huff, cough! Gack-! Huff….”
I had no strength left to run.
Gasping heavily, I collapsed onto the stairs.
Is this what they mean when they say the sky is yellow?
My heart pounded wildly, showing no signs of calming down anytime soon.
I need to calm down.
I have to calm down somehow.
I wrapped my face in both hands and repeated deep breaths over and over.
“Damn it….”
A curse that flowed unconsciously from my lips.
What is this?
What on earth is… what kind of situation is this?
I couldn’t organize the current situation in my head.
As I mentioned earlier, Korea never appeared in No Way Home.
Then what if… what if what I killed wasn’t a zombie?
No, that was definitely….
‘It was a zombie.’
Veins as bluish-purple as those afflicted with varicose veins spread across its entire body.
Lifeless skin and tattered flesh included.
That was definitely… a zombie.
Besides, there’s no way that many people would be collapsed on the street without even an umbrella.
Some were still in their pajamas.
‘If this is a background update….’
Yes, that sentence was in the Gaia System’s explanation.
It said: Background update in progress.
Did they apply No Way Home’s background setting to Earth?
Terraforming, something like that?
If so, that explains it.
The place where I was summoned was the game’s starting position, and beyond a certain range, they must have set it so that the actual Earth’s geography and background appear, just like the apartment appeared before me.
In other words, the real episode begins now.
But out of all the places, why Haengdang-dong?
Because my home address is here?
Perhaps because my mind was in disarray, one thought led to another endlessly.
Ding-!
[Congratulations! You have completed the starting episode.]
[You arrived at the shelter before the game explanation and episode description proceeded, so bonus points are being awarded.]
[Points Awarded: 500]
At that moment, a System Message appeared before my eyes.
A blue system window like those seen in computer games displayed itself following my gaze.
[Would you like to check the unchecked starting episode settings?]
“It’s the episode where you break through the rain and hide in the shelter.”
As I answered while catching my breath, another message appeared not long after.
[Did you participate in the closed beta?]
“If you’re talking about Battlesteam games… then yes.”
[Please enter your Battlesteam account ID and password.]
[ID: ]
[Password: ]
Input fields materialized before my eyes.
They wanted me to enter my ID and password?
Since my resident registration number and personal information were entered when I created the account, my details would remain in the system.
So… were they verifying whether I was a closed beta player based on login access?
Perhaps there were special privileges for closed beta players.
Steadying my trembling heart, I entered my ID and password.
[Verifying your account information.]
[Verification complete.]
[Welcome! Player Baek Doyun.]
[Bonus points are being awarded to closed beta players.]
[Bonus Points Awarded: 1,000]
[Checking games cleared by Player Baek Doyun.]
The verification process proceeded with a “Loading” message displayed.
After waiting roughly two minutes,
[Player Baek Doyun has played Last Odyssey, Giant Punisher, and No Way Home.]
[Creator BJ Gaia expresses gratitude to Player Baek Doyun for playing all three games prepared by Battlesteam.]
[Bonus points are being awarded.]
[Bonus Points Awarded: 1,000]
[Player Baek Doyun has cleared all three games! Clear points and special privileges are granted!]
[Bonus Points Awarded: 1,500]
[Press the confirm button to check your special privileges.]
Following the instructions, I pressed the confirm button, and the System Message before my eyes glowed brightly as another message appeared.
[Title—Battlesteam Honorary Player]
[Congratulations! Honorary Battlesteam Players receive access to the Coin Shop.]
[Coins are awarded upon clearing episodes, and you can purchase items starting from 5 coins.]
A shop that only I could use had been created?
Collecting my bewildered thoughts, I stood up from my seat when another message appeared.
[Congratulations! A 3D terrain map is provided as a special privilege.]
Pzzzt—zzzt—
Along with the announcement of the 3D terrain map, sparks began erupting in brilliant flashes before my eyes.
In the moment I raised my hands to shield my face in shock, a rectangular mechanical device shot out from that location.
Something that resembled a smartphone.
This is a map?
[Player registration is complete. Please select the desired character ability.]
[Whisper—The Whisper ability is necessary to share information with allies.]
[Shooter—Maintains vision even through mist, and allows clear sight as if in daylight even in dark nights.]
[Healing Factor – Can treat all wounds except those caused by viral infection. This ability is essential for survival.]
[Maker – A master of equipment crafting and enhancement. This ability is absolutely necessary for survival.]
[Buster – Physical Enhancement]
No Way Home contained a total of five playable characters.
Right, if this is the world of No Way Home, then I need to inherit the character abilities as well.
Unlike ordinary zombie games, the difficulty was absurdly punishing for this very reason.
When the characters are exceptional, their adversaries must be equally so.
Every character had strengths and weaknesses, with some excelling in the early game and others in the late game.
I’ve played this game and witnessed its conclusion.
For someone like me, the choice was already predetermined.
“Give me Buster’s ability.”
[Will you select Buster (Physical Enhancement)?]
“Yes.”
[Profile registration complete.]
Whoooosh—!
As I finished selecting my character, my player information materialized in brilliant blue light.
[Player Information]
[Name: Baek Doyun]
[Age: 28]
[Class: Buster (Physical Enhancement)]
[Title: Battlesteam Honorary Player]
[Stats: Health 5, Strength 5, Agility 5, Endurance 5]
[Available Points: 4,000]
[Available Coins: 1]

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