1 Chapter 1: Chosen One
I'm Seok Jin-woo, I'm 23 and I''ve been living independently since I graduated college. I work at my uncle's gas station to feed my self and help out my family, and since Dad's a Sergeant and Mom's a housewife, all I can do is help my little sister, Jin-ah in her studies.
I've always been aimless, unable to find my purpose... I don't know what I should dream of... All I can thrive for is protecting my family... I don't even know if they still have faith in me... Oh well~
Today is April 8th of the year 2125 here in South Korea , we humans have developed so much, we've never given up on improving, we've always been persistent to know more. We invented so much technology to help us live our lives, heck there's even a bowl for constantly heating ramen so that it won't get cold... Oh man, the future's truly here!
"JIN!WOO!!", shouts my ever-so-loud uncle. "YES! SIR! UNCLE SIR!", quite a reply of mine. Even after years, he hits me like a coconut falling on my head, it hurts~
"Go take charge up front, " he says. "I'll go check our stocks.", "Got it, boss!", ahh~ finally, some fresh air.
*rumble*
"What's goin' on out there?", I say out of curiosity, probably another celebrity.
*RUMBLE*
Then it got dim. "Hmm? Why is it so dark suddenly?".
*BANG*
When I peeked, I saw a huge monster about to trample on us...
*CRASH*
"Run!", "It's gonna explode!" says the passers-by.
*BOOM*
.
.
.
"Did I die? Is this heaven? It's just an empty void, though...", I thought. All I can remember is that huge monster about to step on us. "UNCLE!! What happened to Uncle Sung?! Crap! Did he die too?", I exclaimed.
*PING*
A light blue screen appeared, "Huh? Why's there a screen here?", I said. I stuck my hand out to it, and it went through, I tried looking around it, but it was following me. It had something written on it. I said, "Seok Jin-woo; Age: 23; Level: 1; EXP: 0; Abilities: Elemental magic (S+), Supreme Swordsmanship (S+), Advanced magic (S+), Forging (S+), Authority (F); Stats: HP: 100000000/100000000, Mana: 500000/500000, Strength: SS, Agility: SS, Mana Capacity: S+, Magic Power: SS, Reaction: S+, Defense: SS; Title: Strongest, Chosen One, Player".
"Chosen One? Whatever, this floating screen is confusing enough...", I said, looking at it. "Authority? On what?"
*PING*
Another screen appeared,
Another screen appeared, it was purple, and it said, "Welcome, Seok Jin-woo! You may call me 'X', I'll be your assistant. First of all, this empty space is your 'workspace', you can do anything in here. Second, the reason you're here, is because you're the Player, which gives you this workspace. You are part of 'Project Level Up', a system developed by God, to help you humans, as well as the other races. Currently, your authority is still too low, so you may only know a few details. You can ask me anytime, just call my name, this also works for your workspace."
I was confused, why was I chosen? Why did God do this? So I tried to ask, "Hey, X!"
*PING*
"You called?"
It heard me, so thought it was a person. Anyway, I'll just asked away, "Am I dead?"
*PING*
"No."
"Are you human?", I asked curiously.
*PING*
"No. I'm an automated support system made for you. I was developed with artificial intelligence."
That explains most of it. "What does this blue screen mean?", I asked.
*PING*
"That's your status window, it displays your stats, abilities, skills, and titles. You can click your abilities and titles to see their details."
"Really?", I thought, so I tried clicking [Chosen One], and it said that I was chosen by God, and I was given the ability [Authority] and the title [Player]. When I clicked [Authority], it said that I can access more details of certain things, and that its level rises proportional to my own level. This is going to be a bit complicated, I don't even have any combat experience, all I have is a bit from mangas, animes, and video games. Then I thought of my workspace.
"Can I use my workspace to simulate a battle?", I asked.
*PING*
"Yes, would you like to do it now?"
"Yes, please.", I answered, thinking of what will happen.
Then the workspace started to take form of a huge white room, it had no walls, nor anything beyond the horizon. Then a monster appeared, it was huge, and scary.
"GRRRRRR"
"What is that?! Is this supposed to train me?! It's suicide!"
*PING*
"That's a boss monster, and yes, that's your practice buddy."
"Practice buddy?! That monster thinks of me as food, you dimwit!", I complained.
*PING*
"But this monster is suitable for your current stats, is it not?"
"Forget the stats! I don't even have a weapon! How am I supposed to fight that?!", I complain once more.
*PING*
"Oh yeah~, I forgot."
*PING*
"Here!"
*SHING*
"This'll be your sword, it won't break so don't worry."
"You want me stab, THAT?!", I complain for the third time.
*PING*
"This is perfect for experiencing direct combat against monsters. Once you defeat it, your now qualified as a hunter with stats of that caliber, and since your survival right now is scarce, you'll be revived everytime you get killed, and forget about eating, your body's metabolism is halted here, so you won't need to eat. So, I'll be reading a book or something, so good luck! Stay strong, boss!"
"Hey! Get back here!", I said, while wondering if X got a sense of humor while being with me. He probably adapted to me, since he was created to assist me, but I just left him be, I had a bigger problem to handle anyway, that monster was way too much for a beginner to handle.
"Damn it, I guess I'll have to.", I said, encouraging myself to face it. "Come here, bastard!", I shouted, thinking I'll just punch it at something vital, like his eye.
*ROOOOAAARRR*
Then...
*SPLAT*
...I got split in half.
"AAAAARRRGH!!", I scream in pain.
*PING*
"Scanning..."
*PING*
"Scan completed!"
*PING*
"Reviving player..."
*WOOOOSH*
"Player revived."
"Ugh, my head hurts...", I said, shocked of being alive, despite seeing my corpse lying on the floor, split in half. The pain when I died, the horror of seeing myself dead, it was all new to me, I had never thought of suffering like this.
Time has passed, I still haven't been able to kill that monstrosity, but I won't give up, if I can't even handle this, then I won't be able to protect anyone. I just need to kill this one monster. "Please... I wanna go back...", I thought, homesick and desperate. I picked up my sword, and got ready to swing...
*ROOOOAAAARRR*
I swung my sword with all my strength. "I just..."
*SLAM*
"...want to get out of this hell hole."
*PING*
"Congrats, boss! I knew you could do it!'
"Finally...", I thought. Exhausted as I may be, I have never felt more relieved in my entire life.
*PING*
"I'll transport you back now!"
"Mom... Dad... Jin-ah... I'm coming back...", I thought, about to cry. Then I saw a faint light, slowly growing until it filled me entirely.
*SWOOSH*
*PING*
"We're back now, boss!"
I was glad to be back, but when I saw the city almost destroyed, I got worried, I've been away for too long.
