AN: Well, I had some time on my hands, so I decided to write a second chapter. I'll hold for applause.
…
Done? No? Too bad.
Anyway, enjoy the second chapter!
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Dialog Cheat Sheet
Emphasis
Game Text
[Activating game ability]
SHOUTING
Cutting someone o- short
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Mmm. What was I worrying about? South Korea is great! I mean, pizza of all toppings paves the streets, the rain changes to a different soda brand every day, and video game stores have sales every day! Even better, apparently I'm the reincarnation of some mythical god of badassery, fertility, and knowledge, so I have a kickass harem of beauties, most of whom are even bi! This is absolutely fucking amazing!
Wait…
I only like cheese and sausage pizza, not all kinds. And I hate some soda brands, so why would I like it to rain all of the different flavors? And, while a harem would be amazing (especially the bisexual part), I'm pretty sure I couldn't keep up with over twenty nymphomaniacs, even with godlike stamina. Two words: refractory period.
Something's not right here.
Godammit, it's a dream, isn't it?
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Sigh. Dream world, why couldn't you be more attuned to my tastes? Then I wouldn't have noticed something was up, and I wouldn't have woken up two hours early.
Feh, I'm in high school now. Again, I mean. I'm above this kind of childish crap. Wait, no I'm not!
"Jee-Han, time to get up!"
Holy sh- Be still, my beating heart.
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Right, over the years many previously-unsolvable mysteries have divulged their secrets to my more refined mind. And others have remained as stubborn as a Shounen hero protecting his not-love interest. For example, the naming conventions of Korea are now the height of simplicity to me, relatively speaking. It's like Japanese; you introduce yourself family name first, personal name second. You refer to those older than yourself, strangers, and those you wish to show respect to with the family name. Personal names are for those younger or familiar to you. Or when there's a group of people with the same last name, I suppose. Korean for the Simple-Minded didn't cover that very well.
But enough monologuing about subjects I already know! Not much has changed in the past… decade? Well… I'm eighteen now and I was six before… Eh, close enough.
I would love to brag about how I've become the pinnacle of humanity, using the memories of my past life to become a physical and mental god in school. But that would be a lie, and I don't lie without significant motivation. I'm still kind of short and lean, while remaining stubbornly unchiseled. My default expression is still called a blank glare by most and I still tend to ignore gossip, news, major world events, etc. The only real changes in my life are videogames and Shin Sun-Il.
Sun-Il is like an STD; if you don't get rid of him quickly, he's there for life. That's not to say he's a constant source of embarrassment and annoyance. Just most of the time. He still has that fucking forest green hair and dopey expression. As it turns out, he is a martial artist, nationally ranked. If he decides to go to college before taking over his family's gigantic dojo/manor, he's doing it on a sports scholarship. Or his family might pay for it, I'm not sure about his material wealth. I should really stop bitching about him. I mean, he's stuck by me all these years and is probably the closest friend I've ever had, in either life. So, onto my one true love!
Videogames. In my previous life, I was a fan, but never really had the time to devote to it. Lack of natural skills and lack of time to cultivate them via hard work meant that I was fonder of the written word. But now, they're pretty much my afternoon plans, after homework and housework. RPG, FPS, MMO, RTS, I've played them all, though RPGs will always hold a special place in my heart. They're the first game I ever played, and Korea is absolutely packed with them! North America's gaming markets tend to favor FPS and RTS formats with RPG elements. In Korea, it's the other way around. All this means that I've become a bit of a fanatic, even though I'm only ranked in the top half of most leaderboards.
So, all in all, my life… what the hell is that blue glow?
I let my eyes refocus on the world around me, and absolutely didn't squeak in fright when I saw the glowing blue panel in front of me. What the fuck is that!? Hologram? No, there's a bit of resistance when I push my fingers through it. Illusion? Doubt it; most illusions are caused by a combination of atmospheric abnormalities and abnormal physical condition, creating a blurry, indistinct image that the brain resolves into something it's not. This panel is pretty fucking clear, isn't wobbling, and interacts with two of my senses. Wait, there's writing on it.
A quest has been created.
Uh, what? Quest? And why does it look like a status window out of a game?! Screw it, let's just push the Accept button and see what happens.
Quest Alert
Time for School!
The Gamer must get to school or be listed as absent.
Time limit: 1 Hour
Reward: 50 XP
Failure: Possibility of decreased trust with Mother, arrest, and lowered marks
Accept Decline
Another window. Joy. This… I take it back, this is an illusion. I must not be getting enough sleep, or be abusing drugs in my sleep or something. I wonder what would happen if I hit Decline? No, no, don't go wondering about the delusion, Jee-Han. Just play along and everything will be fine.
I hit Accept and got pulled on my slacks. Why do I not have to take off sleeping pants, do you ask? Because I sleep in my boxers to save precious sleep-time! Muhahahaha!
"Is everything alright up there?"
Shit, got to work on not accidentally vocalizing my thoughts.
"Ah, fine, mom!"
"Well hurry down, I fixed a quick breakfast for you."
Better dress swiftly, then. I sniffed the blue collared shirt hanging in my closet; good to wear, fortunately. I hurriedly knotted on the standard and crimson school tie that only comes down to my sternum, what the fuck were the uniform designers thinking?!
Time head downstairs and wolf down a delicious breakfast. Mothers truly are the most amazing creatures on Earth, aren't they?
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I watched mom pull the last few sausages out of the pan before slipping them next to the piece of toast on a plate. When I showed a preference for Western cuisine as a kid, mom took it upon herself to learn and master a variety of western recipes, even though she doesn't enjoy the food much herself. I think it was that act that convinced me to truly accept her as my new mother.
She hummed a cheerful tune as she doled a more traditional Korean breakfast of stew and rice for herself.
Mom's name is Han Junk-Sook. She might be forty, but she looks to be in her mid-twenties, at her worst. She wears her mid-length blue hair in a single low ponytail, with long bangs framing her face. Usually, she wears a modest dress, but she's added a plain apron for cooking breakfast today. We share a friendly if casual relationship. I'm usually outside the house or wrapped up in schoolwork (or videogames), while she is either cleaning, cooking, going to the local gym, or reading a romance novel. Not much chance for bonding, considering she was fine with giving me space and I was an independent person even before reincarnation.
I waited for her to seat herself and take the first bite before digging in. It's basic etiquette, alright! Mom spent a lot of time pounding that into my thick head, so she damn well expects it to be used.
I looked up and noticed the time. Shit, I was going to be so late. I hastily crammed the last bite of toast and a bit os sausage in my mouth before waving goodbye to-
?
LVL: ?
Han Jung-Sook
… what is that? It almost looks like one of those floating identifiers that hovers over characters' heads in MMOs. What's with those question marks? No, wait, I promised that I would ignore this until it goes away. So… just grab my book bag and run like hell, I suppose?
Yeah, that seems to be the sanest option at the moment.
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Huff.
Puff.
Hah.
God am I out of shape. Barely twenty meters away from my front door and I'm out of breath. At least no one's around to witness my embarrassing stamina. That would hurt my reputation as the school gigolo for sure! Sigh. If only.
Jeez, where is everyone? This street usually has at least a few people milling in doorways or along walls. Or hurrying to school, like I am.
Quest cancelled
Eh? So the fuck what? Wait, wait, remember that you don't care. Just keep…
What.
Before me was a large crossroads, with colorful buildings and two streets branching out before me. But that wasn't what caught my interest.
On top of two opposing buildings were two figures. On my right was a redheaded schoolgirl, or someone who likes to wear dress shirts, formal skirts, and orange ties on schooldays. To my left was… a Man in Black, complete with sunglasses and moussed hair. But what was truly unusual about them were the identifiers above their heads.
Soul Blaze Fist User
LVL: 32
Kwon Shi-Yun
That was the redhead. I guess she comes from a family of martial artist pyromaniacs. Nice of her to choose her hair color and superpower for my convenience. I wonder if she has a short temper, too?
Black Summoner
LVL: 46
Hwang Sung-Gon
How the fuck did the- no, no, NO! I refuse to think about this or get involved! Just back away slowly and- Fuck!
My foot wouldn't move and, when I looked down, it was apparent why. A black piece of slime latched onto my leg. The slime pulled me skyward until I was hanging upside-down over fifteen meters above the ground.
Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuckity-fuck, fuck, FUCK!
After going through a short panic attack, my mind calmed and I was able to notice I was eye level with the MiB. Wait, they're having some witty pre-battle banter. I hope. It's better than a conversation about how to dispose of me, at least.
"I've heard of martial arts which rely on burning one's soul. I've been told that such a risky technique grants great power. I didn't realize that it would allow you to defeat my summon."
Shut up! Let me down you psycho! Oh, and thanks for not discussing my death.
"Shut it."
Hah, knew I preferred redheads! Oh, she's still talking.
"Why did you attack me?"
"Merely a test. Great things are coming and I wanted to be sure you were prepared."
… that is the most BULLSHIT reason I've ever heard.
"That is enough talking, I believe. Let us now converse with actions, not words."
Oh, he's one of those "people communicate best by beating the ever-loving shit out of each other" people. Great. Gah, the slime's jiggling me now. Like to play with your food first, pal? Well let me get something clear: I will eat you before you even get to nibble on me, capiche?
"And if you even think about running away, this unfortunate boy will meet his demise."
I knew I preferred the redhead, and not just because she's hot! But how to get out of this situation. I tuned out the sounds and smells of a human flamethrower punching a… an albino Cerberus!
No, wait, ignoring that.
Right, so this slime seems to be a viscous fluid able to reshape itself and alter its density, but not change states from liquid to solid or gas, judging how my fingers can dimple the slime's body near where it's gripped me. So… can I tear it? May- oh, what now!?
A skill has been created through a special act.
Really? What's so special? And *ping*, really? Get better sound effects.
Through continuous observation, a skill to find the target's information, [Observe], was created.
Skill? Observe sounds kind of useless right now, unless it gathers information I'm unable to know through my experimentation. You know what, let's try it. If it works, this game shit is real. If it doesn't, I've gone insane and desperately need psychiatric help. So… how do I activate it? I've already thought it, to no effect, so maybe I speak it aloud? Worth a shot.
"[Observe]"
Black Slime LVL: 16
HP: 1200 MP: 500
A slime that lives in the Demon World. I keeps its Demon Energy inside to strengthen its body.
Okay. There is no way I knew this beforehand. And games tend to say slimes are residual magic animating sewer residue, so I didn't make it up. So this game shit is real.
Yay, I'm not crazy!
No, my life is now a videogame!
Wait, is that good or bad? Gah, focus!
I think redhead and MiB were talking again, but I ignored them in favor of trying to free myself. So, maybe if I tore along the bottom, gravity would do the rest before the smile can regenerate.
Nope, not even my best efforts- another alert. This better not be a regular occurrence.
A skill has been created through a special act.
Ooh, what now? The last one was… pretty useless, but I'll probably have a lot of fun with it after this.
A skill that uses excessive strength, [Rip], has been created.
Hah. I'm pretty sure my strength is low, even statwise. Maybe this will give me the edge to get free? Temporarily buff my strength or something?
"[Rip]"
Hah! A chunk of the bastard tore off!
"[Rip] again, bitch!"
Alright, free!
Wait.
Aren't I really high in the air? Oh, a refreshing breeze against my- PAIN!
I think that I made a small crater when I landed. Wait… no, no I didn't. Damn. Eh, at least I'm alive and unharmed, except for a bit of aching.
Right, now to get the hell out of Dodge!
Oh, wait, I forgot about the damn slime. Or Black Slime, now. Is it going to bar my path?
Why, yes, yes it is. By jumping over five meters to my location. Fuck.
Oh, and it created a crater when it landed. I'll die if I get hit. Double fuck.
Good news, though! It's already at ~90% HP!
Triple fuck.
Alright, let's see if we can go around.
Holy shit, no! The thing has lightning-fast speed and impressive range. Hm, takes a bit to recover, though. And it seems to set its course a bit before launching itself, so it's possible to dodge. Eh, what now?
[Observe]'s level has risen by 1.
Really? Wow, [Observe] is really easy to level up. Okay, so let's see if the pattern hold true. If so, [Rip]ping bits of it after dodging the Black Slime's attacks would be a pretty easy way to kill it. Just have to avoid getting too cocky by remaining in range when the Slime recovers.
"Come get some, shithead!"
Okay, maybe that was too harsh. It is trying to kill me, in my defense.
Dodge, observe, dodge, observe, dodge…
Wait, didn't [Observe] level up? Does that mean it gives more information?
"[Observe]"
Black Slime LVL: 16
HP: 1200 (1100) MP: 500 (500)
A slime that lives in the Demon World. I keeps its Demon Energy inside to strengthen its body. It moves slower than a running human, but jumps with surprising agility. It requires a brief period of rest after leaping.
I bet those numbers in parenthesis represent the Slime's current HP and MP. I'll just assume that this isn't an elaborate delusion and that this is all true and accurate. So [Rip] does about 50 damage per use. Another 22 uses will bring it down is that holds true. Ugh. Maybe [Rip] will level up so it does more damage.
Dodge, [Rip], dodge, [Rip], dodge, [Rip], dodge, [Rip], dodge, woah!
Slime nearly got me there. Misjudged the recovery time. Ooh, status window!
[Rip]'s level has risen by 1.
Excellent! Let's continue the pattern, [Observe]ing it every couple hits to monitor it's HP.
Black Slime LVL: 16
HP: 1200 (980) MP: 500 (500)
So a damage increase of 10 each? Nice.
Black Slime LVL: 16
HP: 1200 (845) MP: 500 (500)
Variable damage? I guess it was luck the first several blows dealt the same amount of damage.
Black Slime LVL: 16
HP: 1200 (603) MP: 500 (500)
Critical hit! Seems to approximately double damage.
Black Slime LVL: 16
HP: 1200 (447) MP: 500 (500)
Guess [Rip] LVLed up again. Those two attacks did about one hundred more damage than I anticipated.
Black Slime LVL: 16
HP: 1200 (289) MP: 500 (500)
Alright, four more hits and it's done for! I think the Black Slime has a weakness to [Rip]. I mean, two level ups double the damage output, which is utterly ridiculous.
Black Slime LVL: 16
HP: 1200 (59) MP: 500 (500)
Awesome, another critical! I think. This game's damage calculation seems kind of wonky.
Gained 1290 XP.
Holy shit, that's way more than the quest gave. Wait, why am I so enthusiastic about this? Am I turning into a fight maniac? God, I hope not.
Your LVL went up by 1!
Hell yes! Wait… does this mean I get stat points? Wow. I wonder what the stats are. Oh man, if one is INT, I am so pumping the hell out of it!
Eh, what's that sound?
I turned around just in time to see the redhead punch through the thorax of a giant praying mantis. Way to make me feel emasculated. Sigh. I suppose she is, like, 28 LVLs above me. I won't begrudge her beating the shit out of a giant bug.
Now, where's the MiB? Not on the roof, not down here with me, not in any of the street- holy shit!
I leaped backwards and assumed a defensive stance, belting out a warning cry. She didn't react to my, uh, "mad skillz."
Now that I can get a better look at her, I don't believe she goes to school after all. The blouse, normal-length tie, and skirt look like part of a uniform, but she's wearing red fingerless gloves and tennis shoes that destroy the formal image the Korean schooling system loves to project.
Okay, the staring is starting to creep me out. Those honey brown irises bore into my normal brown with all the grace and subtlety of a sledgehammer. I am surprisingly not embarrassed by the attention; she is very beautiful and such a woman staring at me would at least make me a little flustered. You know what, fuck it, I'll ask what that was about.
"You. What are you?"
Eh? What a rude way to ask something. And I'm human, obviously.
"Human. Male. A little irritated."
Nice comeback, Jee-Han!
"An ordinary person couldn't have defeated that creature. So, what are you?"
Wow, interrogating a guy just out of a life or death situation. She has the empathy of a rock. A particularly callous rock. That sounded funnier when I thought of it. What answer would she accept, anyway? Videogame character? She'd call bullshit on that.
Though she did punch through a giant, presumably man-eating praying mantis. Maybe I should give her the benefit of the doubt. Not until she offers basic courtesies first.
"It's rather rude to interrogate someone without giving your name, isn't it?"
"Give me yours, first."
Bitch. I take back anything complimentary I said about her earlier.
"Fine. I am Han Jee-Han, high school student. You are?"
Maybe I should have given her a fake name. Nah, if I ended up giving her my real name later, it could damage trust. Besides she's giving…
"What the hell, lady!?"
Who gets someone's name, ignores the request for their name, and runs off!?
"Your name and face: I memorized them."
She then hopped onto the rooftops. What is this, Ranma ½?
Wait, what did she mean by what she said earlier?! That doesn't comfort me! Just the opposite! Alright, calm down. So the cunt apparently memorized your real name and face, what's the worst that could happen? Oh god, so many terrible, terrible things.
My pity party was interrupted by a crack appearing in the sky. It was spreading pretty quickly, letting beams of pure light through. What's behind tha-
I was blinded when the cracking, but invisible dome suddenly gave way, flooding my eyes with light. It took half a minute for my vision to start recovering and several more for the spots to disappear.
When I looked around, several people were now occupying the formerly-deserted street. What the hell just happened? Was that dome-
"Hey, what are you standing around for? Your school started ten minutes ago."
Godammit, I'm late.
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So, what do you think? A lot bigger than the first chapter, no?
I'm not going to commit to an update schedule, since my life's pretty hectic, but I'll try to update at least once a week.
Also, while the early scenes mirror the manhwa, that's only because there's not a lot of room for variation. I've modified the dialog, sequence of events, and even skill effects in an effort to keep this interesting for newcomers and veteran fans of The Gamer.