Where was this place? A dream...?

[I’ve been waiting. I knew you would come.]

Who? Why were they waiting for me?

[To save me… no, the world. You are the only one I can believe in.]

How did they know me? Additionally, suddenly wanting me to save the world?

[Please.]

The entire world was white and fuzzy—dyed all white like an eraser had gone through my head.

There was another voice in my ears. [May the protection of the stars be with you.]

“Uhhh! No!” I woke up in a peaceful forest where birds chirped. “A dream...”

No, it wasn’t a dream. I pinched myself a little bit. Indeed... this definitely wasn’t a dream. I was currently in a virtual reality world. Yes, this was a world called Arkstar.

[You have been playing the game for two hours.]

Two hours...? Did I fall asleep for that long?

“Ugh.”

I raised my hand to my temple at the sudden headache. After a while, the pain eased slightly and I hurriedly looked in every direction. Then...

“...?”

I was at a loss for words. One by one, birds and animals appeared from the foliage. They met my eyes and all of them started to kneel. In cases like snakes and birds with no knees, they just bowed their heads.

...What was this? Once again, I wasn’t a king. I was merely an ordinary father and grandfather with two sons, one daughter, and four grandchildren. It was burdensome and I quickly got up. Then all the animals started to disperse. It was pretty ridiculous to see them all moving so busily. This somewhat felt like bullying...

My mood was strange. It felt like everyone else knew about me. It was hard to put such feelings into words. I didn’t know anything about myself... it was funny.

“First, I’ll look for a nearby village.”

In fact, according to Jeongdo, I should’ve opened my eyes in a place called Mulan. But it seemed that I had fallen into a strange place. Although I didn’t understand the reason why...

“What happened to Psyche and the old man?”

There was no way for me to know. I definitely remembered the last place breaking down. They seemed to be desperately trying to get me out of there and it probably meant...

“Are they dead?”

My eyes closed as I recalled it. I didn’t want to believe it but it was more likely than not. They let me escape and were probably isolated in that space. However...

“They must not be dead.”

It must be so. I could only ask them questions if they were alive and not dead. Why was such a divine message issued? What did it mean to save me and why call me the real king? I had to ask them this. I stopped for a moment and called out the status window like my grandchildren had taught me.

[Status Window]

[Name: Jackson

Level: 1 [Nameless] Adventurer

Heavenly Star: Monarch of Brilliant Promise

Strength  1 (+20) / Agility  1 (+20)

Fitness  1 (+20) / Knowledge  1 (+20)

Stat Points:  0]

Monarch of Brilliant Promise...

Sure enough, it wasn’t a dream. I scanned the status window and then opened my inventory.

“This...?”

[Sealed Star Fruit]

[Luminosity: 0

Usage Restrictions: Monarch of Brilliant Promise.

A fruit with the power of the Big Dipper.

Only those who have been chosen by the seven stars can eat it.

It is currently sealed and can’t be eaten.]

A fruit with the power of the Big Dipper but it was sealed? The Star Fruit didn’t look like a fruit. It looked like a basalt stone that I had seen on Jeju Island.

“It will be hard for me to eat.”

It seemed I had to undo the seal first. I just didn’t know how.

“Gaia gave me such a thing...”

I didn’t know why but I couldn’t throw it away. I cherished Psyche’s last words because I felt like I had to do so. Thus, I put the Star Fruit back in my inventory and walked through the foliage. How long did I walk? I started to hear sounds in the distance.

“This is the place.”

There was a loud man shouting like he was doing business, a delicate female voice asking for someone to hunt with, and the sound of children laughing and chatting. It was a village that felt peaceful but wasn’t lacking in anything. I walked toward the man holding a spear at the entrance. “Excuse me, is this Mulan?”

“That’s right. Is this your first visit?”

As expected, this was Mulan.

“Yes. I came to meet the village chief. Where can I go to meet him?”

“You came to see the village chief? He lives on the mountain to the south of the village. You’ll find it easily if you look out for a smithy with a hammer-shaped sign.”

“Thank you, young man.” 

With a small bow, I left behind the young soldier and stepped toward the village.

“A cheap goblin warrior’s mace!”

“All my quality leather armor are being sold at half price!”

“A hot sword made by the best blacksmith! Come visit!”

It was boisterous solicitation similar to a market. I stood and slowly watched Mulan. It was the first time I had seen such architecture. It felt like I was in a rural village in Europe. I frantically searched the busy alley and realized I was lost.

...Damn. My damn ‘poor sense of direction’ nature wasn’t fixed no matter how old I got. I sighed and talked to the middle-aged man who was doing business next to me. I saw that his name was green and this seemed to be indicative of the NPC that my grandchildren mentioned. “Excuse me, do you know where the village chief is?”

“Um....? This must be your first time here. Haha. If you go over there to the right, you’ll see a fountain. Go straight from there and you’ll arrive at Mount Smir. Just go there.”

“Thank you.”

“No problem. Haha. Come back later if you need potions.”

“Yes, I will.”

I bowed toward him and set off on my way again. All the people on the road were young people. I couldn’t find anybody my age. Most of the older ones were adults in their 40s. In my eyes, they were also young people so I snorted and walked past.

“It is a game that many kids play. An old man like me can’t even get it. Hum!”

I walked with one hand behind my back and saw the fountain that was mentioned earlier.

...Did I go right here? Or was it left? Thus, I got lost again.

* * *

Good mountain, good water, and good air! It was Mount Smir in the south, which was where the chief of Mulan was said to be. I filled my eyes with the scenery of this place as I walked with my hands behind my back.

...It was a new world. It was hard to experience this pure rural feeling in the era of urbanization. When I was young, there were places like Heaven Lake but after a few years, there was a New Village Movement and they were buried over time.

“I want to sit here and soak it all in.”

I had a refreshed face as I looked forward to seeing the village chief living here. The place I arrived at was a smithy, a small hut with a hammer sign hanging from it. I carefully knocked on the door.

Knock knock!

“Come in~!”

I opened the door and saw a big old man with a few strands of white hair hammering away. I couldn’t help smiling at the thought that I had finally met a peer.

“It is nice to see you. I am Chen, the village chief of Mulan. Why did you come looking for me?”

“I was told I could get a weapon here.”

“Ah, you must be a new adventurer. I didn’t know because you look a bit old. Follow along, I’ll give you a weapon.” He headed for a wall full of weapons in the next room. They looked rusty and not as good as Jeongdo described. “Take one that you like from here. They aren't that good but they are perfect for novice adventurers like you who are traveling for the first time. I’ll go out now. Pick one and then come find me.”

Chen spoke and left the room.

I contemplated on the weapons on the wall and picked them up one by one. There were many types but I was more comfortable with a dagger, so I looked for a dagger that fit my hands.

[Rusty Chen’s Dagger]

[Rating: General

Durability:  100/100

Physical Attack Power:  15

A dagger made by Mulan’ village chief, Chen. It is rusty and won’t last long.]

...This was good. I swung the dagger on the spot and started to muster my senses. The sound of it cutting the air was sharp and fine.

“It is useful.”

I didn’t know how long it had been since I held a knife. In fact, it was almost routine to use a dagger when I was a child. No, let’s not think about this. It wasn’t a good memory for me. I shook my head and left the room to see Chen hammering. I approached him. “I picked the one that I like. Now that I have a weapon, do you have a request for me?”

...There was one thing I hadn’t said.

“Do you want me to catch goblins?”

“Huh? How did you know? I want to ask you to kill 50.”

At the same time, the quest window opened.

[Chief Chen’s Request]

[Difficulty: F

Mulan’s village chief, Chen, has asked you to wipe out the goblins as his first job for you. It is said he is worried because the numbers were getting too high these days.

-Completion Conditions: Hunt goblins 0/50.

~It is recommended to have a party of two or more.]

It was as Jeongdo said. By the way, how did that guy know all of this? He was doing something like this instead of studying... tsk tsk. No matter how I looked at it, my grandson was ditching his studies.

“I’ll have a conversation with Jeongdo later.”

“Huh? What did you say?"

“Nothing. I’m going to wipe out the goblins.”

“Thank you. Please.”

[The quest has been accepted.]

I accepted the quest and headed straight down Mount Smir. I entered the square and found the fountain crowded with people. Many people started soliciting me as I descended the mountainside and I frowned when listening to their loud voices.

...Groan, it was really noisy. As I got older, I found that I preferred quiet places. Should I spend the rest of my life in a quiet and comfortable place, rather than a noisy one? I hurried to the east forest that Jeongdo had told me about. He said there were fewer goblins out there. I passed through the gates and arrived at the forest. Shortly after, I found a group of goblins.

“Hmm, let’s see.”

I pulled the dagger out of my inventory and then threw it vigorously at a goblin. The dagger flew and pierced the goblin’s heart.

[Experience has been acquired.]

The goblin died without even letting out a short scream and I was dumbfounded.

“It died so easily...?”

I remember the message earlier in the tutorial about all my stats being raised. Perhaps this was the reason? At this moment, more amazing messages started to appear in front of me.

[The S-grade route will receive preferential benefits.]

[All experience is doubled.]

[The proficiency of all skills is doubled.]

“Ah...”

I had forgotten for a while. The capsule that I got from arguing with those damn doctors had a preferential service.