After some time,
I woke up, staring at the sky. It was still dark out, with stars faintly twinkling above. For a moment, I wondered if I'd somehow ended up on the terrace, drunk, and fallen asleep there. I hadn't moved an inch yet, trying to piece together the hazy memories.
I pushed myself to remember—five or six bottles of beer, a lot of food, finishing that novel, and then starting a new PC game. But I didn't recall coming to the terrace, let alone sleeping on such a hard surface. As I shifted slightly, planning to get up and make some tea, something unusual caught my attention—a forest stretched out in front of me. I froze and looked around. All I could see were trees, and I was lying on a flat rock in the middle of what looked like a dense forest.
My first thought was that I might be in some kind of VR game, but I didn't own a VR set. I tried to process what was happening. How did I get here? I glanced up again and blinked—there were two moons in the sky. That's when it hit me: I must be dreaming. That would explain everything. Maybe I'd fallen asleep on my chair, passed out from too much beer, and now my mind was just creating a vivid dream about the game.
But for a dream, this felt incredibly real. The cold morning wind brushed against my skin, the ground beneath me was solid, and the smells of nature—fresh leaves, damp Earth were unmistakable. I stepped off the massive flat rock, easily 7 feet wide, and wandered towards a nearby tree. When I touched it, I could actually feel the texture of the wood. Bark rough against my fingers, the cold moisture from the morning dew sticking to my skin.
"How do I wake up?" I muttered to myself. I clenched my fists and tried closing my eyes tightly, hoping to snap out of it. When I opened them again, nothing had changed. I even slapped myself lightly, but the sharp pain that followed confirmed that this wasn't going to work. I was still here, in this mysterious forest. I checked my body—I was wearing the same green shorts, white T-shirt and slippers that I had on before. Nothing had changed.
One thought crossed my mind: maybe if I went to sleep in this dream, I'd wake up back in my room. But the problem was, I didn't feel tired at all. Another more drastic idea popped into my head—what if dying in the dream would wake me up? But I quickly brushed that off. I wasn't desperate enough to try something that extreme.
As I kept looking around, my eyes landed on another large rock, similar to the one I had woken up on. When I walked over, I couldn't believe what I saw: my entire computer setup—monitor, keyboard, mouse, and even my phone, charger, and headphones—all laid out neatly on the stone surface. And next to them, my grandfather's old watch.
I hurriedly picked up my phone, hoping it would work. I pressed the power button, and it turned on, but the battery was down to just 2%. The time showed 5:23 AM, and the date read 10th February 2024. But there was no network signal at all. I scrolled through it for a moment, but before I could do anything useful, the phone died, the screen going black for good. Great. Now I was stuck without any way to call for help or figure out where I was.
Frustrated, I tried turning on the computer, but as expected, it wouldn't boot. So, I grabbed the one useful thing I had left—my watch—and slipped it onto my wrist. At least that was still working. Now what?
As I was looking around, a sudden chill ran down my spine. I quickly turned, my eyes scanning the bushes nearby. Something was moving within them. I cautiously approached, trying to see what it was. Then, out of nowhere, a small, golden deer-like cute creature emerged. It was slightly bigger than a rabbit, with a single crystal-like horn that shimmered in a faint blue hue. It looked really cute and fluffy. For a moment, I was captivated by its beauty. But then it noticed me.
Its eyes turned a menacing shade of red, filled with fury. I suddenly remembered details from the game—the creature was a bloodthirsty monster, known for hunting and devouring people. Its mouth opened, revealing chainsaw-like teeth, and saliva dripped to the ground in anticipation. Without warning, it charged at me with terrifying speed, aiming to impale me with its sharp horn.
I barely dodged in time, sprinting toward the large rock. The creature was fast—unnervingly fast—and it came at me again, but I managed to evade it a second time. Then, to my horror, the deer stopped and closed its eyes. A realization hit me: this monster could use magic.
Panicking, I ran toward the rock, hoping to take cover behind it. But before I could reach safety, a sharp pain shot through my arm. The creature had conjured a rock and flung it at me with magic. My hand throbbed in agony, and I stumbled, unsure of what to do.
I knew I had to fight back, but how? My mind raced. In desperation, I grabbed the HDMI cable from my PC setup—it was about a meter long. I had no weapon, but I wasn't going to die here.
As the creature prepared for another magic attack, I sprinted toward it, dodging the rocks it hurled at me. With all the strength I could muster, I jumped onto its back, wrapping the cable around its neck before it could bite me. It thrashed violently, trying to shake me off, but I held on tight, pulling the cord as hard as I could.
The creature began to choke, wriggling in a frenzy, desperate to free itself. I wrapped my legs around its body, refusing to let go. It couldn't breathe, and after a few more moments of struggle, blood began to pour from its eyes and mouth. My hands and clothes were quickly soaked in its blood, but I didn't loosen my grip until I felt its body go limp beneath me. Finally, it was dead.
I shoved the lifeless body away from me, gasping for breath, my chest heaving. Blood covered my hands, and I could still feel the cable digging into my palms. I had killed it. I had survived.
After the battle for my life ended, I sighed with relief, lying on the ground before slowly standing up. I stared at my blood-covered hand and the lifeless body before me. Tremors ran through my hands, not just from the physical exertion but from the stark realization of what I had done. This wasn't a game; it was real. I had taken a life to save my own, and now I had no way of returning to my world, my family, or my friends. Guilt washed over me as I struggled to accept the weight of my actions. Tears welled up, and I sank to my knees, unable to hold back the grief and sorrow that engulfed me. How could I have survived by ending another life? I longed to be back with my mother, safe from this harsh reality.
For nearly an hour, I remained there, crying and grappling with the harsh truth of my situation. The forest around me seemed to echo with the weight of my despair. Eventually, a resolve began to form within me. I couldn't change what had happened, but I could control what I did next. I had to find a way to survive in this world and, somehow, find a way back home.
As I sat there, lost in thought, a memory surfaced from when I edited the game's files. There had been a menu with options—save game and exit game. With a flicker of hope, I whispered, "Menu," and a transparent, silver coloured display appeared before me. My heart raced with disbelief as I realized I could interact with it. However, to my dismay, there were only three options: player status, map, and game shop. The second and third options were locked, inaccessible to me. When I tried to touch the first option, my hand passed through the screen. Frustrated, I tried speaking instead, "Status," and another transparent screen appeared.
I stared at the display, hoping for answers, but my initial hope deflated when I realized there was no straightforward way to save or exit this world. Despite the setback, a flicker of determination sparked within me. I would survive. I would find a way back, no matter how daunting the path ahead seemed.
I stood still in the forest, gazing at the status screen in front of me. The screen was divided into four sections.
In the first section, my photo was displayed prominently. The second section contained my basic information:
Name: Samir Chhimpa, Age: 25,
Race: Human, Gender: Male,
Job: Warrior (Kshatriya), Titles: [Otherworlder, Free Citizen, Cheat Master] ,
Eye Colour: « Brown », Level: 01
Experience: 23/200
The third section outlined my attributes:
Attribute Points: 10
HP: 117/117 +, Energy:
Strength: 85 +, Magic Power: 70/70 +,
Defense: 79 +, Prana Energy: 60/60 +,
Agility: 72 +, Divine Energy: 0 +,
Intelligence: 59 +, Abyssal Energy: 29 …
Luck: 4.8/10 (cannot be increased with points)
In the fourth section, my skills as a warrior were listed:
Skill Points: 1
Strong Body Lv 0 +
Magic skill Lv 0 +
Support and Healing Magic Lv 0 +
Summoning Magic Lv 0 +
Taming Lv 0 +
Appraisal and Storage Lv 0 +
God's Power Lv 0 +
I looked at my status plate a few times, wondering about the titles: Free Citizen, Otherworlder, and Cheat Master. The first two titles made sense since they were probably given by the game, but the third title, Cheat Master, piqued my interest. Did this mean the cheat I added actually worked?
Curious, I spoke, "Cheat Master." Nothing happened. I tried "Otherworlder" and "Free Citizen," but still, no response. After several attempts, frustration got the better of me, and I angrily punched at the status screen. My hand landed on the title Otherworlder, and to my surprise, it worked, displaying a description.
I muttered to myself, "What the hell, now it works with touch?"
Anyway, I started reading the info:
Otherworlder:
"This title is given to those who have been transferred to a different world under the scam of a mischievous god who loves to mess with the lives of ordinary people. However, as you've been brought to this world, you are granted certain privileges, such as a Beginner Pack, which includes knowledge of Rasvani language in Jambu continent – the land of berries which is commonly used in this land, the Map skill and the Game Shop in your menu. In the Game Shop, you have access to your personal inventory with five slots, which are filled with items from the Beginner Pack. Activate Beginner Pack - Yes/No?"
After reading that, I was filled with anger. Some "shitty god" decided to play with people's lives like this? How did this so-called god even deserve that title? I didn't know, but at least I had been given something useful. Without hesitation, I activated the Beginner Pack.
Once activated, a massive amount of knowledge about a new language flooded my mind. I stood there, stunned, as my thoughts raced like a wild horse. I couldn't believe it—learning a language like this seemed unreal. I tried speaking a few phrases, and to my surprise, I could comfortably write them out in my mind. After a while, as my thoughts settled, I realized I now had an entire structure of the language—its grammar, vocabulary—right at my disposal.
I felt a rush of happiness and a bit of pride at learning a new language so effortlessly. At the same time, I couldn't help but feel a little sad, thinking about how much I had struggled to learn English. Once my mind finally calmed, I decided to open the map. I opened the Map in the menu. It was at Level 0 and could be upgraded up to Level 15. Each upgrade required map points, and I had been given 1 point initially. To upgrade it, I'd need 1 point per level, and I could earn points by leveling up. After reaching Level 10 I will get another map point, I would need to increase 10 levels for each additional point. At Map Level 1, I could see a 1-kilometer radius, which was quite helpful.
Next, I opened the Game Shop, which contained nine potions in total.
>Three were HP potions (Low, Medium, High grade).
>Three were low grade Energy potions: one for Mana, one for Prana, and one for both.
>The last three were combined potions for HP, Mana, and Prana (also Low, Medium, and High grade).
Each potion was priced in different game currencies, which could be obtained by uploading the bodies of dead monsters. I also had five inventory slots, and inside them were:
1. An Armor set with an Iron sword that could increase some of my attributes
2. Three books one in each slot:
> The first book detailed Basic Weapon mastery & Fighting techniques
> The second book was about Basic Energy Management
> The third book was on basic Potion-making.
3. 30 silver coin
After seeing all this, I felt a bit relieved. There was something to work with. Since I don't know about this world's currency details then how much these 30-silver coin would hold its value, I was bit confused. After thinking for a while I clicked on the Free Citizen title.
Free Citizen:
"A commoner human who is not a slave and does not have official citizenship of any country. Free citizens either live in country towns by paying outsider taxes or survive in the wild, dealing with monsters."
Reading that, I realized why I was in the middle of a forest. It made sense now. But it was time to see if my hack had worked. With a mix of excitement and anxiety, I clicked on Cheat Master.