Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 0

Prologue

I’ve loved games since I was young.

The reason was simple.

Since I was always in the hospital, there was nothing else to do but play games, and as time passed, games gradually became a part of my life.

But anything gets boring and tiresome if you do it for too long.

“Ugh, seriously… Is this AI decision-making for real? Why is it healing that guy over there?”

At some point, no matter what game I played, it wasn’t as fun as it used to be.

It wasn’t a matter of genre, whether it was MOBA [Multiplayer Online Battle Arena], RPG, or FPS [First-Person Shooter].

The games that came out every year all felt like trash. The stories and world settings were all similar and cliché, and the systems lacked depth.

I wanted a game with something more special.

That’s when I discovered [Dungeon & Stone].

Tap tap. Click, click.

The genre was single-player RPG.

It was an overseas indie game.

It didn’t support Korean, and it used 2D pixel graphics, which were rare these days.

To be honest, it was far from my taste.

Still, since it was free, I installed the game with the mindset of just trying it out, and soon I was completely immersed in it.

“Wow, I almost died because of that cleric bastard.”

It was a unique game in many ways.

If a character died, you had to start over from the beginning.

NPC [Non-Player Character] companions were essential for game progression, and despite being a side-scrolling game, it had an incredibly high degree of freedom.

The skill system and world setting were also appealing, and the story was interesting even though I read it in English.

Most importantly, this game had an unknown special something.

Tap tap, tap tap tap.

At the time, I was a social service worker newly assigned to the subway, and I began to delve into [Dungeon & Stone] in earnest.

It wasn’t easy.

The battles in this game weren’t simply about HP/MP [Health Points/Mana Points].

Even with full health, one wrong decision could erase a character you’d spent three months developing.

“…Let’s go.”

After more than two years of not even reaching the mid-game, I swallowed my pride and searched for 攻略(gonglyakbeop) [strategy guides].

Since it wasn’t searchable on Korean portals, I had to translate and read English articles, but even that wasn’t very helpful.

There weren’t many users overseas either, so there were few related posts, and they weren’t very informative.

I had a much better understanding of the game, having seriously explored it for two years, than those who played it for a month or two and called it a 망겜(manggem) [a ruined game].

So, I stopped looking for strategies.

“Up three times, left four times, down once, left twice, up six again, right four times. And avoid the trap at the end… Okay.”

After all, wasn’t this the game I finally found after searching for something enjoyable? I decided to see it through to the end on my own, no matter how long it took.

And….

“Hoo.”

That’s how I’ve come to this point.

「Gate of the Abyss」

My character is now standing in front of the portal that leads to the final boss room.

Of course, I’ll probably have to come here a few more times before I see the ending. It’s not a game where you can beat the boss in just one try.

Nevertheless, I can feel how nervous I am from my stiff fingertips.

“The final boss, huh….”

It might not be a big deal to someone else.

But it took me a whopping nine years to get here.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that I spent my entire twenties with it.

When I was discharged from social service, when I went back to school after a long time to apply for reinstatement, and when I received the acceptance letter from the job I wanted after graduation.

I was always playing [Dungeon & Stone].

「Enter?」

As I moved my character closer to the portal, a prompt asking if I wanted to enter appeared.

Of course, I pressed YES.

But since it was the final boss room, a seemingly important message popped up one more time.

「You may not be able to return.」

「Are you sure you want to enter?」

It was an unnecessary production from a player’s perspective.

Would I not enter at this point?

「Yes / No」

I pressed Yes, and the screen transitioned to a loading screen.

Looking at the black monitor, I focused my concentration.

How many patterns will this guy have? What are its attributes? It’ll definitely have an instant-kill move. Hmm, let’s not think about succeeding on the first try and gather as much information as possible. I might have to completely overhaul my character build or party composition.

My brain, stimulated by excitement and anticipation, was only thinking about the final boss.

So, I was late to notice.

「You have reached the abyss.」

「Tutorial complete.」

Tutorial complete?

No, more importantly, why is it in Korean? Wasn’t [Dungeon & Stone] only supposed to support English?

「Starting transfer.」

At the same time as I sensed the strangeness, a bright light burst out.

The light was so intense that I couldn’t even think it was coming from the monitor.

“Ah, shit! My eyes!”

Everything turned white in an instant.

I heard ringing in my ears, and I felt an unknown heat on my skin. My mind quickly became hazy, as if I had been given an anesthetic injection.

I was usually confident in my ability to handle crises, but at this moment, I had no idea what was happening.

Flash-!

I felt the light grow even stronger, and then I lost consciousness.

And when I opened my eyes again.

I was a barbarian in the game.