That night. In a large hut were gathered the men who led the great turtle tribe. In the middle of the hut, a wood fire was burning brightly, giving warmth to the people.
There was a chieftain, 'The Hunter of the Forest', a shaman and healer, 'Big Mouth', a womanizer, 'Flower on the Tree' who practically led the women of the tribe, and many others.
People shared a pipe and smoked it to purify their souls. And as the hut filled with cigarette smoke, the tribal council began.
The 'Hunter of the Forest' opened his mouth with a heavy expression as he looked at the people.
"When the men of the tribe went out to hunt, the Pequot tribe invaded the land and disturbed the peace. And the few people who remained in the village were killed by them. Let us take a moment to commemorate their deaths."
"······."
The Great Turtle Tribe was a tribe where everyone was related and everyone was one family. The people inside the shack were all looking at 'Big Mouth' with deep sorrow.
'Big Mouth', who had gone to a sacred place to pray in order to get to know the white person who had appeared in the village better, stepped forward and started singing the song of the soul's resting place.
"Creator God! Lead them to the resting place of their souls! Let their lives be remembered forever in our souls!"
After a while, the tribal council continued late into the night with various topics discussed. The spring hunt was successfully completed, and a new settlement was established.
This time, it was decided how to bury the victims of the Pequot warriors. And we were having a deep conversation about what to do about the Pequot tribe.
"Now that our village has been discovered, the Pequot tribe is sure to invade again. I think it would be better to ask our neighboring tribes for help, and find the Pequot tribe first and destroy their village."
A few older people nodded in agreement with the tribal elder's opinion. However, there were those who opposed that opinion.
'Flowers on a Tree', which practically leads women, has stepped forward.
"Blood begets blood. And even if we receive help from our neighboring tribes, there is no guarantee that our people will not die in the war with the Pequot tribe. There will certainly be casualties. And I hope you will note that although our village was attacked and suffered casualties, more Pequot warriors died."
One of the women who attended the tribal council said, as if agreeing with her opinion.
"After ten winters, the earth is much weaker than before. And I think we can no longer delay the planting season. Rather than going to war with the Pequot tribe, it would be better to move to a new settlement as planned."
There were also various other opinions. The position of a chief is one where he listens to what the people have to say. The 'Forest Hunter' who hosted the tribal council listened to their opinions in silence without saying anything.
And as time went by, the opinion that they should move to a new settlement began to prevail. At that moment, thinking that they had had enough conversation, the 'Forest Hunter' stepped forward.
"······Raise your hand if you disagree with the idea of moving to the settlement as planned."
"······."
There was not a single person who opposed it.
"Then, let's move to a new settlement."
After the 'Hunter of the Forest' made his decision in front of everyone, he moved on to the final topic.
"Before we move to the settlement, we talk about the white man who has shown great favor to our tribe."
"······."
When the story of the white man came up, the hut fell silent for a moment. Everyone seemed to have a lot on their mind, so no one opened their mouth easily.
At that moment, 'Flowers on the Tree', who was grateful that the white man had saved her daughter, raised her hand.
The 'Hunter of the Forest' looked at her and nodded.
"You may speak."
'Flowers on a Tree' calmly spoke her thoughts while sitting.
"······If it weren't for him, all the women of the tribe, including me and my daughter, would have been taken as slaves to the Pequot tribe. There are only five good young warriors in the village. If the white man hadn't taken care of most of the Pequot warriors and distracted their attention···, perhaps I and the women here wouldn't be in this hut. So I think I should wait until the white man, the big guest of the tribe, comes."
I agree with her opinion, but some people questioned it.
"I also want to welcome the white man as a great guest. However, I can't guarantee that he will return to the village. According to other people, the white man left without saying anything."
"Yes. As I said before, we can't delay the planting season any longer. We can't just wait here, not knowing when he'll return to the village. And the white man might have returned to his tribe."
"Sleep! Anyway, it is an unchanging fact that I have received great favor from the White Man. So I would like to set a time limit for how long I will wait for the White Man."
"Good idea. And if the white man has a connection with our tribe, then we will meet again someday, according to the will of our creator, Ke Tanu Tuwit."
The people inside the shack nodded in agreement with the last comment. Except for one person. The 'Hunter of the Forest' said as he looked at the 'Big Mouth' who was keeping his eyes closed and not saying anything.
"You have a big mouth! Finally, I want to hear your opinion on treating the white person."
'Big Mouth' opened his eyes, which had been closed, to communicate with various spirits.
Flash!
The 'big mouth' with pupils covered in whites of the eyes began to speak very slowly and clearly as if prophesying.
"The white man is brave, wise, and intelligent. He is also the lonely one, and he will lead us into the new world."
"······."
After a brief silence, 'Big Mouth', whose eyes had returned to their original state, opened his mouth again.
"My ability is limited to this point. For reference, here's my opinion······."
Everyone in the tribe listened to his words. And as time passed, the tribal council ended.
* * *
Three nights passed by in a flash. The sun was rising, slowly illuminating the world covered in forest.
Gulp!
I sat on a branch with my back against a large tree and opened my eyes to the hungry sound coming from my stomach.
Today, as always, I stayed up most of the night with my eyes wide open listening to the cries of unknown animals here and there.
"I don't even know where I am. I'm hungry. I want to wash in hot water. I'm going crazy."
Until now, I have only eaten fruits like wild strawberries and blueberries that grow in the forest.
"The atmosphere was quite friendly to me, but was it better to stay there from the beginning? No. I should at least check it out."
I got up from my seat, dragging my heavy body, and carefully climbed down from the tree that was quite tall. After stretching by moving my body from side to side, I hesitated for a moment and shouted inwardly with a look of doubt in my eyes.
'Status Window!'
I blinked with a very bewildered expression, unable to close my mouth.
"crazy."
I couldn't believe it even though I saw it with my own two eyes.
"Why am I seeing a status screen that looks like something you would see in a game?"
[Lv 0. Lee Cheon-il]
[Affiliation: None.]
[Characteristic (0/8)] [Ability]
Strength: 11
Agility: 6
Stamina: 12
Wisdom: 5
[Beginner Combat Skill]
I just stood there blankly for a while. Hotel terrorism, bear attacks, unknown people and intruders. I was half out of my mind from the series of incidents and accidents, and when I saw the game system, I had another mental breakdown.
To be honest, my head was full of confusion. I took a deep breath and tried to calm my excited mind as much as possible.
"Okay! Don't panic, let's think calmly."
Before the attack, I took a shower and put the necklace around my neck. And then I opened the game I had downloaded on my phone.
"Come to think of it, doesn't the status window look familiar?"
It was similar to the status window in a game I've been playing recently. But something was different. There were a few stats that I was familiar with.
Suddenly, the nightmare I had a few days ago flashed through my mind.
[A fatal error has occurred in the game.]
"The game window is visible because of a fatal error? That makes even more sense."
No matter how rationally I tried to think about it, I couldn't accept what was happening to me. At that moment, a necklace bought from a Native American caught my eye.
Especially the pendant.
"Why is the color like this?"
The pendant, which had been a brilliant jade color, had become almost colorless.
"Since when has it become like this?"
As I continued to fiddle with the pendant, my doubts grew deeper as time went on.
"Whew! I really don't know what the hell is going on."
I shook my head vigorously and looked at the status window in front of me naturally. There was a message at the bottom of the status window that had not yet been acknowledged.
[Congratulations! You have reached level 1 as the first person to log in.]
[You will receive a special reward. Check it out now.]
"You want me to check it now?"
I was so nervous that I couldn't even speak properly. To be honest, I was afraid to check. No, I was scared. I wonder if this strange situation is all true...
Another long sigh escaped me.
Phew!
I turned my head and looked at the hill.
"Let's check from there first."
I walked with heavy steps towards the lower hill rather than the mountain.
* * *
"Fuck! It's not there."
No matter how hard I searched, I couldn't find a city with any buildings or structures. Looking around, there was nothing but trees and forests on the seemingly endless land.
And the river and sea visible in the distance.
"Where on earth am I?"
He stood there for a while with eyes full of disappointment. Now that my anxious feelings have turned out to be true, I don't know what to do.
"I was definitely in the hotel."
I never wanted to admit it, but I lost consciousness in a collapsed building due to a terrorist attack. That was the last memory.
Common sense would suggest that I should be dead or badly injured in the ruins of a building and unable to move. but···
When I woke up, I saw a bear like the one you see at the zoo in the middle of the forest. Honestly, that doesn't make sense.
"I'm going crazy. Seriously!"
I found myself once again in a deep labyrinth, clutching my head. Then I turned my head and slowly looked around again.
At that time, my gaze stopped at the river flowing far away into the sea. I opened my eyes wide and looked more closely.
"The Hudson River?"
He immediately shook his head with a puzzled expression.
"This is New York? No."
The river you see there looks similar to the Hudson River seen from the Statue of Liberty, but it's completely different.
"I'm not crazy."
A ridiculous laugh, as if I had gone crazy, kept bursting out of my mouth. But that doesn't mean this place wasn't the world I played in the game.
Because the world in the game is a fantasy medieval era ruled by wizards and knights. After a while, after much thought, I got up from my seat.
I don't know exactly where this place is. I was cautious, but the only clue I knew was... The text in the message is American black bear.
"American black bear... Anyway, I heard it's somewhere in North America."
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Pequot Tribe - A tribe living in Connecticut. 'Pequot' means 'destroyer'. The Pequot tribe was the same tribe as the Mohawk tribe, but the Mohawk tribe later split off.