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Join the ServerI checked the calendar and lay there blankly for about an hour.
No matter how long I waited, reality did not change.
It was the same even when I pinched my cheek.
If that was the case, what about a slightly stronger shock?
Smack!
“Oww!”
I slapped both cheeks hard, but still nothing changed.
All that happened was my reddened cheeks throbbing.
“So it’s not a dream, for now? What the hell is going on, seriously.”
If it were a dream, I’d hoped it would end the moment I got hit by the truck.
I wanted that to be the moment.
But the reality was ten years ago, before I even started Unreal World.
It was right before my high school graduation, when I was agonizing over how to live my life from then on.
All the memories of Unreal World that I had clung to for ten years had vanished into thin air.
“Ha, this is really absurd.”
A full ten years.
Since I was thirty, that meant I had devoted one third of my life to the game.
No, to be honest, I don’t even remember much from before age ten, so it was practically like giving my entire life to it.
And that life of mine had disappeared so meaninglessly.
“But seriously, what kind of regression is this? Even though I’m flustered, it’s not like I was betrayed or had anything unfair happen to me?”
I had read novels about regression or return in the past.
Of course, since I was the number-one ranked player, I could certainly be considered a protagonist, but I didn’t have any grand goal like those protagonists in other novels.
From the start, I was a guild master respected and admired by everyone, a top-ranked player.
Because everything was perfect.
Although I myself wasn’t happy in the least.
“Is this an opportunity?”
I didn’t know how it happened, but the clear fact was that I had regressed ten years.
If so, then I should immediately buy the lottery numbers from ten years ago, Bitcoin, stocks—
“No way I’d remember that. Damn it!”
As soon as I escaped student status, I had devoted my life to the game.
There was no way I’d remember something like lottery numbers from ten years ago.
No, nobody, not even someone else, would remember such things.
In other words, what remained for me was, after all—
‘Unreal World.’
The world’s first and best virtual reality game.
Only Unreal World remained.
***
[Connecting to Unreal World.]
[Whatever you desire.]
[Welcome.]
“Wow, this brings back memories. Right, ten years ago the login message was this, wasn’t it?”
By this time, Unreal World had already been released to the world.
People who enjoyed it as a hobby, those who wanted to make money—countless players had flocked in from day one.
But I was just a third-year in high school, about to graduate.
I had started the game fairly late because I hadn’t even decided my future yet.
‘My balance is enough.’
The house and money inherited from my deceased parents.
It wasn’t generous, but it was enough to get by for about a year.
Since I knew quite well how to make money in Unreal World anyway, I immediately ordered a game capsule.
[Please create your character.]
“Just apply basic corrections to the appearance. Keep the name as my real name too.”
[Please choose your starting point. The nations of Unreal World are—]
“Skip. The Difaran Empire.”
[Understood.]
I set everything like character info and starting point exactly as before.
It would feel strange if the appearance or name of the character I had used for ten years changed.
Besides, even if I kept it the same, no one would recognize me.
I quickly skipped over other minor settings too.
After all, they were all things I already knew.
If I truly had regressed, looking closely wouldn’t change anything.
[Welcome to Unreal World, Lee Chang.]
Fwoosh!
The view before me momentarily darkened.
Shortly after, my field of vision gradually expanded.
A clear sky without a single cloud, and refreshing air.
It was Unreal World, the best virtual reality game that reproduced all five human senses.
“Welcome.”
“Hello, Mr. Dustin.”
“Huh? Oh, yes.”
‘Just as expected.’
I looked around and saw a multitude of scarecrows and players striking them.
Outside the fence, a few white rabbits hopped about.
It was the Difaran Empire tutorial training ground, exactly as it was ten years ago.
“Ahem, looks like you got information elsewhere. Anyway—”
“I just need to train with those scarecrows and come back, right? Inventory.”
“Huh? Th-That’s right…”
A 2×2 meter inventory window, decently sized.
Inside was a practice wooden sword of moderate size and a small piece of bread.
The most basic items provided to beginners.
“Status window.”
[Lee Chang]
Level: 1
Class: Trainee
Fame: 0
Strength: 10 / Agility: 10
Vitality: 10 / Wisdom: 10 / Dexterity: 10
Satiety: 50 / 100
The status window was also utterly ordinary.
“Scarecrows, huh. This brings back memories. Shall I show off a little?”
Crack!
After loosely cracking my knuckles,
I strode toward the nearest scarecrow.
***
“Sigh. Most kids these days already come with information, so I hardly have anything to explain.”
“Another one, Mr. Dustin?”
“Yeah. Probably watched some Tube or whatever and came.”
Dustin was one of the few supervisors in charge of the tutorial training ground.
He was sighing again today.
Until a few months ago, every trainee who came here had eyes full of curiosity.
How proud it had been to teach those people and watch them grow.
But lately, he couldn’t find anyone like that.
Probably because those who had already graduated from the training ground were spreading information.
“Cheer up. They’ll come crying to you after they swing at the scarecrows a few times anyway.”
“Haha! True. You can’t learn how to hold or swing a sword just by watching!”
“Of course.”
Dustin regained his smile.
All the trainees who had come so far were like that.
They would confidently go up to a scarecrow, only to come back with sore palms and a frown.
Then he’d give a hearty laugh and teach them how to hold the sword or the basic attack stance.
“Alright, let’s have a look!”
“It’s that guy, right? His stance looks pretty decent.”
“Haha, that doesn’t mean much. No way a scarecrow will so much as flinch from someone awkwardly copying—”
CRASH!
“…Huh?”
It broke.
A scarecrow that would normally remain intact even after dozens of strikes from an ordinary trainee shattered in a single blow.
“Mr. Dustin? What in the—”
“Ah! Right. It must have been a scarecrow that had already run out of durability from other trainees hitting it. That happens sometimes.”
“Haha, I guess so? I mean, those scarecrows look flimsy but they’re pretty sturdy.”
CRASH!!
Crack!
“….”
“….”
Another scarecrow shattered from the trainee’s strike.
It looked brand new by all appearances.
Dustin, still not ready to give up, composed himself and spoke again.
“H-Haha! What a coincidence! That trainee is wasting all the luck he’d need for a lifetime in one place!”
“R-Right?”
But.
Bang!
CRASH!
CRASH!!
“….”
“….”
The trainee began destroying every single scarecrow in the tutorial training ground, one after another, each with a single blow.
***
[Skill ‘Sword Mastery Lv 1’ has been created.]
[Due to excellent form, the proficiency of Sword Mastery increases rapidly.]
[Sword Mastery’s skill level has increased.]
[Sword Mastery’s skill level has increased.]
“As expected, it works.”
Unreal World was a game with a fairly thorough reflection of reality.
No matter how much skill you had, the efficiency of swinging a sword haphazardly versus swinging it with proper form was worlds apart.
For example, one of the swordsmen who was a ranker before my regression had been an active kendo player in real life.
But even he probably couldn’t take down a scarecrow in one hit like this.
‘No matter how well reality is reflected, a game is still a game.’
I was the number-one ranker before regression, after all.
Besides, I had handled not only swords but also magic, alchemy, and spirit magic.
I was confident that I understood the combat system better than anyone.
That was how I could shatter a scarecrow in one hit even with a level 1 body.
By hitting the weakest vital spot with the right amount of force in the right direction.
CRASH!!
[You have shattered 100 scarecrows in the tutorial training ground.]
[Achievement ‘Scarecrow Slayer’ acquired.]
– All stats +2
– Fame +100
“Just as I thought.”
I hadn’t obtained this before, but I knew about it since it was a well-known achievement.
A madman who, before my regression, had planted himself in the training ground for weeks, doing nothing but hitting scarecrows.
It was the achievement he’d earned.
Of course, I had no intention of staying for weeks.
Anyway, I had achieved my goal with this.
I smiled with satisfaction and turned back toward Mr. Dustin.
“Huh? What’s up with that old man?”
It hadn’t even taken ten minutes to break all the scarecrows.
In that time, his expression had become really strange.
He was staring blankly with his mouth hanging open, as if he’d seen something unbelievable.
Moreover, his gaze was fixed on me.
Anyway, since I needed to complete the quest, I walked straight up to him and spoke.
“Mr. Dustin, I’ve finished my weapon training.”
“Huh? R-Right. Yes.”
[Tutorial quest ‘Weapon Training’ completed.]
– Due to achievement exceeding expectations, the reward level increases by one stage.
‘So this applied even in tutorial quests.’
The achievement system was one of Unreal World’s famous core features.
If achievement was lacking, rewards would be reduced or disappear, and affinity with NPCs would drop.
Conversely, high achievement increased rewards and raised affinity with NPCs.
“Here, take this.”
“Thank you.”
[Acquired ‘Well-Maintained One-Handed Sword’.]
Normally, the reward for the first quest in the tutorial training ground was a ‘Rusty Old One-Handed Sword’.
True to its name, the sword I received from Mr. Dustin looked rough, but its edge was fairly sharp.
“By the way, how on earth did you do that! Even I would have trouble shattering those with a practice wooden sword in one hit!”
“Ah…”
‘So that’s why he was like that.’
The face that had been blank just moments ago was now brimming with life.
Apparently, seeing me smash the scarecrows in one blow had stunned him.
What would be a suitable answer to satisfy him now?
After a moment’s thought, the answer came quickly.
“I guess it’s just talent.”
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