The fish that should have been in the harpoon was nowhere to be found, no matter how hard I looked. And at the same time, laughter erupted from all sides.
"Poohahahahaha! A really big two thousand days! What are you doing, acting like you caught a big one?"
"You're only good at fighting, but you're not good at hunting. Hahahaha!"
"Your posture is a mess, and throw it with less strength. Haha!"
The warriors of the tribe I had become friends with spoke one by one. In particular, the 'fast-footed deer' laughed heartily at my poor hunting skills.
"Hahahaha! A very big two thousand days! Did you come to our tribe to make me laugh? Keep making me laugh in the future. Hahahahahaha!"
'The Stubborn Bear', who had been following me around since I won the long rock throw, also laughed loudly and spoke in a dull tone.
"Ah···big one···Cheon-il! He···is stronger than me! But he···cannot hunt! Haha! But I···follow the ah···big one···Cheon-il!"
Even the normally blunt 'Brave Wolf', although he didn't show it on the outside, smirked and showed his yellow teeth at my poor hunting skills.
'It's my first time, so that's understandable. But it's still embarrassing.'
I felt a little embarrassed and ashamed. In particular, the 'Forest Hunter' who was watching me clicked his tongue and shook his head.
'I can't just sit still like this. I have to make up for this mistake.'
I ignored the laughter of the tribesmen and moved cautiously in silence to find my next prey.
'Okay! It's him!'
Once again, the harpoon in my hand shot into the water.
Phew!
'Damn! Another empty promise.'
There wasn't any. The fish I was aiming for avoided my spear and leisurely disappeared. Meanwhile, the other warriors continued to hunt big fish.
And I harpooned five times, but still never caught a fish.
'This is driving me crazy. Why isn't it working?'
At that time, the 'Hunter of the Forest', who was watching from the side, seemed to be feeling a little frustrated and gave some advice.
"The water is different from what we see. We need to be aware of those subtle changes."
"······hmm."
'Different? What's different? Water?'
As I was mulling over the advice he gave, my mind suddenly opened.
'That's right. The depth of the water reflecting sunlight was different from the distance seen with the eyes.'
I once saw on YouTube a tribe hunting fish with spears. A tribal hunter who explained in detail the secrets of hunting fish with a spear, with Korean subtitles.
I thought back to what he had said and this time I took a more cautious stance. No, I tried to imitate his hunting stance as much as possible.
'You need to target a wider area to take distance into account.'
Meanwhile, the 'Forest Hunter', who had advised him but had not expected much, suddenly widened his eyes at the changed attitude of the 'Very Big Two Thousand Days'.
'What? Am I imagining that he looks like a much more experienced hunter than before?'
At that moment, the 'very big two thousand days' swung down the harpoon with great force, as if a white-headed eagle had snatched a fish.
'Got it.'
but··· The 'Forest Hunter' frowned deeply in disbelief. I felt the gazes pouring down from all around me and shouted in joy.
I felt something fluttering at the tip of the spear. It feels completely different from before. As soon as the harpoon was pulled out of the water, a large fish was pulled out.
"Got it!"
Congratulatory messages came from here and there.
"I finally got it! Congratulations!"
"A very big two thousand days! It feels a little late, but well done!"
"A very, very, very strong man… Cheon-il! He caught a fish! But… he broke the spear with his strength!"
At the same time, a notification sound was heard indicating that the quest had been completed.
[Tiring!]
[Quest completed.]
[You will receive 40 experience points as a reward.]
My joy was short-lived, and I looked at the chief with an embarrassed expression as I looked at the horribly mangled harpoon.
The 'Forest Hunter' bit his lip, sighing in patience as his head throbbed.
"A very big two thousand days! Have you never used a harpoon before? If you use too much force, the harpoon will break."
I answered in a small, crawling voice.
"···yes."
* * *
As the sun set, the tribesmen and I returned to our hut after finishing our fishing hunt. I had a late dinner of corn porridge and grilled meat while checking off the quests I had completed for the day.
[Quest: Hunt fish in cooperation with the tribesmen.]
[Reward: A certain amount of experience points.]
[Quest completed.]
[You will be given 120 experience points as a reward.]
"I thought I gained quite a bit of experience, but I still haven't leveled up."
Pitter-patter!
Finally, I chewed on the remaining meat.
"I think I'll level up after completing two or three quests."
After finishing my meal, I took some time to tidy up while lying down in bed.
"Hmm! I can't find anything like vinyl or plastic no matter how hard I look."
Of course, those things weren't in the village. Just in case, I visited the river here and there for a few days. I had been searching the riverside area, hoping to find or find something like a plastic bottle floating down the river.
But, unfortunately, such things never caught my eye even once. I guessed cautiously, my hand on my chin.
"Hmm! Not the future."
I asked the tribesmen, with whom I had become very close, again about modern objects and buildings. But, no one knew that.
Even the oldest mountain elder in the village.
Phew!
There is no way to explain my current situation without going back to the past. Otherwise.
"It could be that we were stranded on a remote island, far from civilization."
I had no choice but to approach this reality I was in cautiously.
"The conclusion is... we have no choice but to continue investigating."
I never gave up on going back to Korea. I slowly looked back on my past memories and analyzed them carefully. There was a terrorist attack at the hotel, and I was swept away by the rubble of the collapsed building and ended up in an unknown, strange place.
and···
.
.
I took off the necklace around my neck and looked at it carefully with eyes full of doubt.
"Why did the pendant fade?"
It occurred to me that maybe what I saw in my dream wasn't a dream, but reality. A mysterious energy enveloped my body as I fell into a cliff of unknown depth...
"Even if it was a dream, it felt strange."
There was no one around me who could clearly answer my questions. I kept sighing as if I was feeling suffocated. Pendant, terror, mobile game.
It was not possible to pinpoint just one or two causes.
"If all of that happened simultaneously···"
Nothing was certain. However, I can only speculate cautiously. After a while, still wandering in the labyrinth and unable to find the cause, I quietly turned on the status window.
"Anyway, in order to return safely to Korea, you have to use the game system well."
I thought calmly and thought that it would be difficult to survive by going through this forest alone right now. For the time being, I decided that it was best to stay in this town and develop my abilities.
* * *
After a tiring day, the sun has risen again. I woke up with blurry eyes as the sunlight streamed in through the tree bark surrounding the hut.
At that moment, a heavy voice was heard from outside the shack.
"Ah ...
Still half-asleep, I yawned deeply and let out a small complaint in Korean.
"There's no separate alarm. What's this ominous feeling that I won't be sleeping in late again?"
For several days, the 'Honest Bear' started coming to the shack at dawn, saying he wanted to become strong like me.
"Ah···big one···thousand-one! Get up···right! I will go in and wake···up!"
"I'm up. Wait. I'm going out."
"I get it!"
Even though he was annoying, I didn't hate or dislike the 'honest bear'.
"You seem to be fine on the outside, but why do you stutter so much? What's the matter? I'll have to ask the rising moon later."
After a while, I was followed by the 'Stubborn Bear', the 'Swift Deer', and several warriors. And the children followed from a distance.
After I finished running, I did some stretching. Then, we practiced fighting fiercely against imaginary enemies.
One! Two!
Slam down, kick back!
This time, a combo attack!
The warriors of the tribe, including the 'Stubborn Bear' and the 'Swift Deer', tried very hard to imitate my advanced skills.
However, since there was no foundation, it was difficult to imitate it exactly. At that moment, the 'swift deer' let out a ragged breath and complained.
"A very big two thousand days! Is there nothing easy? What you are doing is too difficult."
At those words, the 'Honest Bear' became enraged.
"Ah···there is a reason why this···big···Cheonil···is so strong! You···shouldn't talk and just work hard!"
"hmm!"
I, who wanted to enjoy practicing alone, was lost in thought for a moment.
'If you practice like this, it will only be a hindrance.'
As I was looking around at all the troublemakers, a good idea occurred to me.
'Okay. It may be a bit early, but as someone who will become a world champion in fighting, it wouldn't be a bad idea to build a gym in advance.'
perhaps··· It could have been an impossible dream. But I didn't want to give up hope of going back to the world I live in.
'I will definitely go back.'
As I secretly smiled slyly, the quick-witted 'fast-footed deer' flinched and took a step back.
"What's with that smile just now? It feels like your intentions are somewhat impure."
"huh?"
I ignored the words of the 'fast-footed deer' as if I didn't understand and set the tone in front of everyone.
"Okay. Come here. Everyone."
"······."
The children were the first to approach me at my gesture. Next is 'Honest Bear' There was no doubt in his eyes about me.
"Fast deer! Learn from me. Don't you like it?"
Even though I spoke their language awkwardly, the 'fast-footed deer' understood like a ghost.
"You don't want to learn? That's not true···"
The 'fast-footed deer', who was still looking at me with a suspicious look, reluctantly approached me with timid steps.
"Ahem!"
He glared with an indifferent expression and set the mood once again.
'It works.'
Everyone looked at me with nervous expressions. I opened my mouth slowly as if I had made a big decision.
"Fighting skills. Me. Learning?"
Before I finished speaking, the children and warriors shouted out their strong desire to learn my martial arts skills.
"I want to learn!"
"I want to become a strong man like the very big Lee Cheon-il!"
"I want to become a great warrior!"
"Let me know if you need anything."
'The swift deer' also noticed and spoke with a trembling expression.
"It's best to be fast, but… it wouldn't hurt to learn fighting skills if you want to survive in war."
Phew!
Anyway, the atmosphere was created naturally.
'What should I call you? Teacher? Ambassador! I feel weak. Director? Not bad.'
I opened my mouth again, thinking about a title.
"Okay. I'll teach you fighting skills."
The children and warriors cheered with excitement.
"Quiet."
"······."
"From now on. I. am. calling. the director."
As expected, the children were the first to answer loudly and powerfully.
"Yes, sir!"
"Sir! No, sir!"
"Yes, sir!"
I frowned without realizing it.
'This is driving me crazy. I told you it's not soy sauce, it's enema.'
At that moment, a notification sounded in my head, triggering a new quest.
[Tiring!]
[Quest has been activated.]
[Quest: Raise a warrior. (0/5)] [Reward: A large amount of experience.]
'Suddenly? You're telling me to raise a warrior out of nowhere?'