Chapter 2
“Huh?”
Within a few seconds, Baeksan snapped back to reality. However, she didn’t realize she was standing and just collapsed to the ground, scraping her knees.
“Ouch!” Baeksan muttered, clutching her knees.
“…..?”
At the same time, she realized she was wearing shabby clothes, no, robes.
As she looked up in the unfamiliar situation, the vibrant market street unfolded before her senses as if it were a lie.
“It’s cheap, it’s cheap! Blue Moon Fair, only for one day! Selling rare treasures from the north today!”
“The circus will be opening soon! Please come in, spectators!”
“Pumpkin candies for just 1!”
People bustling around, giggling laughter, the savory smell of something being grilled.
A festival? No, more than that…
The problem was that Baeksan remembered seeing this scene before.
Wasn’t this from “Another Saga”?
Certainly, it was the same street she saw through the screen of her phone.
The shape and color of the roofs, the shadow of the palace in the distance, the patterns on the square floor.
Everything was identical. “A game? Am I inside a game right now?”
The astonishment was momentary. There was something even more surprising.
[Hans]
A farmer. Ordinary. Likes skewers.
[Animated film]
The farmer’s daughter. Skilled in pottery.
[Aster Horn (Agent of Tyrants Sogd)]
Pretending to be a clown at the circus, but actually a spy for the Soreuk. Investigating the internal affairs of Orquenina during the festival.
Baeksan’s head was spinning.
“Why do people have name tags above their heads?”
***
Baeksan sat crouched in a corner of the festival street, silently observing the people.
No matter how much she thought about it, there was only one answer.
“I’m dead. And I’ve crossed over into Another Saga. I don’t know why. And to top it off, it seemed like I was sold an odd ability along with it.”
Baeksan moved her head smoothly to gaze at a gray city mouse rummaging through the trash can. Then, a translucent window popped up.
[Gray City Mouse]
Excited for the festival. Likes rotten cakes.
“…I don’t really care about the mouse’s taste preferences. But I had no choice but to accept the information provided.”
“Sigh…”
Baeksan sighed and looked out at the crowd. Honestly, confusion was the strongest feeling. It might have been better to just die.
To live again, and this time in a strange world, felt disorienting at first. But she quickly shrugged off the feeling by cursing at the sky as usual.
“Thinking about these things only makes me depressed. Why me, of all people.”
She had long been immune to such distractions. There didn’t seem to be any other options. Everyone was born to live like this.
“More than anything, was my previous life, Inferno Stage, really?”
Suddenly, frustration surged within her.
“I’ll live differently this time, even if it’s dirty and fierce!”
She wouldn’t die from overwork anymore. The goal of this life was to prosper.
Thinking like that, she felt she could enjoy the sudden life in the game world.
Moreover, with this ability, surely…
A smile crept onto Baeksan’s lips.
[A quest has been issued.]
“Huh?”
[Hope for players who have suffered great trials and wish for the world to perish. The system assists players in ‘creating a ruined world.’]
“Huh?”
(MAIN QUEST)
Cause the world to perish.
– Success: Attain divinity.
– Failure: ???
“……”
No. What the hell, X.
Blinking her eyes and looking again several times, the words remained unchanged. Baeksan barely recalled her final thought before dying.
“This damn world, just perish already!”
No. That wasn’t supposed to apply after it was transferred!
“Abandon quest!”
[Not possible.]
Damn!
Baeksan grabbed her head and screamed.
I should have wished to win the lottery as usual, why did I wish for destruction!
With no one to blame but herself for her foolish wish, Baeksan forced herself to take a deep breath.
“This isn’t the time. As a seasoned orphan with outstanding adaptability, I should be able to handle this.”
Baeksan calmly examined the quest window.
“First, this attainment of divinity.”
If she succeeded in the quest, she would attain divinity. It seemed great for herself, but what about others?
If the world perished, people would die too. Dreaming of becoming a god in the new world at the cost of so many lives?
“He must be crazy.”
Next was the penalty for failure.
What does “???” mean?
Baeksan narrowed her eyes.
At least, it wouldn’t be death. The system promised to help me.
That’s somewhat fortunate.
As someone who had already experienced death once, the sensation was horrifying enough to never want to experience it again, even though Baeksan’s vision had briefly turned black.
During that time, she felt as if she had passed through something incredibly scary and dreadful.
Suddenly, chills ran down her arms, and Baeksan shuddered.
“At least it’s just the tutorial stage, so the penalty for failure isn’t too severe,” she thought to herself.
But she didn’t particularly want to succeed either.
“What should I do about this?”
A deep sigh escaped her lips.
After contemplating in place for a while, she realized it was a problem she couldn’t solve immediately, even though there was no deadline.
However, since it was a game, there might be a way to abandon the quest somewhere.
She wasn’t very familiar with “Another Saga,” but she vaguely remembered there being temples.
If the deity here wasn’t some flying spaghetti monster, they might be able to help Baeksan.
“Well, for now, adaptation seems to be the priority.”
Baeksan stood up, straightened her robe, and delved into the crowd, feeling that this was now her world.
—
As Baeksan wandered the streets, she familiarized herself with how the system window operated.
Names or windows didn’t automatically pop up. They were faintly visible at first, but became clearer when she focused on something or thought about it.
For example:
[Pumpkin Candy]
Cheap candy made from solidified pumpkin syrup.
[Yeva]
Hans’s donkey. It has a filthy temperament and is looking for a chance to escape.
That’s how it worked. The abundance of information made her easily tired.
“It would have been nice if there was an OFF function.”
Despite feeling embarrassed, Baeksan tried shouting “OFF!” but unfortunately, it seemed there was no such feature.
While strolling through the streets, Baeksan reaffirmed that she had indeed entered “Another Saga.”
The timing seemed a bit premature compared to the game’s background, as she could gather from people’s conversations.
“I heard that recently, strange fog has been descending on the mountains, causing trees to wither and die.”
“Do you know the reason?”
“Probably the ‘Jangdok’ (a toxic vapor that arises from damp and hot ground) disaster.”
The plot of the game ‘Another Saga’ isn’t that complicated.
Jangdok descends from the northern and western mountain ranges, bringing various disasters and monsters along with it.
The protagonist, a farmer by origin, becomes angry at the demons causing havoc and heads to the mountains. Along the way, they solve the disasters and gradually become known as a hero. That’s the basic outline of ‘Another Saga.’
Despite the impending disasters and the descent of monsters, the world isn’t particularly harsh or difficult to live in.
Just by observing the streets, one could easily grasp that it’s a highly prosperous society. And even when the main game starts, this atmosphere doesn’t change much.
So, what’s the conclusion?
“The monsters are for the protagonist to handle. I’ll just exploit or avoid situations with my ability.”
