Ch.2Chapter 2. Convenience Store Worker Becomes a Totem (2)

Chapter 2. Convenience Store Worker Becomes a Totem (2)

Comments quickly appeared on the post.

[MeleeSpy: What’s a Sans?]

[Donuts: Welcome]

[Ghuulr: Moon lollight lolMass lolacre lol]

[ShotgunAttack: This guy must have enjoyed Undertale]

[LoveDeathMeow: (Watching the newbie curiously) Meow meow meow…]

[SexualPaladin: Newbie hi hi~]

[CowBikiniDance: Your username is legendary lol]

ㄴ [PushingPulling: You’re one to talk]

It was probably because my username was so provocative. Or maybe because I was a newbie.

That’s actually good. Better than no one seeing it at all.

Riding the momentum, I wrote another post.

[How do I change my username?]

I figured changing my username would be better than deleting the post.

Even if I deleted the post, I’d still have problems whenever I posted something if I didn’t change my username.

It took 30 minutes before someone commented on my second post.

It was the most anxious 30 minutes of my life. I kept refreshing my post the entire time.

I must have blinked thousands of times.

[NotACatfish: lol]

– …

That’s infuriating.

ㄴ [Don’t just laugh, tell me]

The reply came very quickly.

[NotACatfish: Are you a finger princess?]

Finger princess… is that short for something?

It means someone who asks questions without properly searching first, like their fingers are too precious to type.

[I don’t have fingers]

This isn’t actually a joke. I don’t have fingers, toes, eyes, nose, or mouth.

I’m just a shining piece of wood, nothing more.

[NotACatfish: You’re crazy]

[How do I change my username?]

[NotACatfish: STLF]

[What’s that?]

Is that slang? Or something only used in this community?

I don’t use online communities much, so I’m not sure.

[NotACatfish: Shut up, Lurk For three days. Just read posts and observe for three days. If you want to survive in this world, you need to read a lot.]

[Will you tell me how to change my username then?]

[NotACatfish: 🖕]

The comments ended with that raised middle finger.

Lurking, huh… Well, all I have now is time.

Since I don’t know when Paya the priest will wake up, it might be good to browse through the community.

There are more pages than I expected.

Maybe I should start from the very first page?

I’m curious about what the first people who came to this community were like.

Were they also people who suddenly found themselves in a game like me?

I blinked to go to the first page.

[SpottyDog: ?] (5)

[DabuDabu: Is anyone there?] (35)

[JackieLantern: What is this?] (5)

[Boogeyman123: .] (4)

[Abraham: Where did everyone wake up?] (8)

[PumoFumo: Is this a hidden camera prank? Cave special?] (3)

[KimManbok: I have just one question. What is this… “community”?] (7)

Most of the posts were written by people who hadn’t figured out the situation yet.

There’s even someone who doesn’t know what a community is.

Another characteristic is… the high number of comments?

I looked at DabuDabu’s post, which had the most comments. A whopping thirty-five comments.

[DabuDabu: Is anyone there?

I’m a 37-year-old male from Anyang, Gyeonggi-do.

The situation isn’t good, so I’m writing this incoherently.

I’m alone in a cave right now.

I went to sleep at home and woke up here.

At first, I thought it was a nightmare, but it wasn’t.

Never mind the strange armor I’m wearing, the body I’m moving right now isn’t my original body.

I don’t understand what’s happening either. I’m controlling someone else’s body.

It’s the body of a Westerner with blue eyes. Someone I’ve never seen before.

I hear strange sounds from outside.

They sound like laughter, or maybe screams.

They don’t sound human, but I can’t tell what kind of animal it is.

I’m too scared to go outside.

Is this hell? Are you people who see my post actually human?

I haven’t eaten anything for two days. I don’t think I can hold out much longer.

If you see this, please respond. I’m begging you.]

It’s a post filled with the writer’s desperation, fear, and terror. It was heavy enough to weigh on my heart as I read it.

Let’s look at the comments.

[SpottyDog: I also woke up in a cave]

[GustaveBro: I also woke up in a cave, my body changed, and I came to a different place]

[JackieLantern: So everyone woke up in a cave. What country are you from? Where is Anyang, Gyeonggi-do?]

ㄴ [LocalProduce: Anyang, Gyeonggi-do is a region in Korea. The writer and I are Korean.]

ㄴ [JackieLantern: I’m from Germany. All the text here appears in German to me. It seems this place automatically translates languages.]

So not just Koreans but people from other countries have been transported into this game world.

Most of the comments were from people who didn’t understand their situation well, either sympathizing with the writer or asking various questions.

[George: Did you happen to read a strange email before going to sleep?]

This comment was quite perceptive.

ㄴ [DabuDabu: I don’t remember clearly. I think I might have. I did check several emails.]

ㄴ [George: You probably read an email from “Surviving as Paladin”]

ㄴ [DabuDabu: Ah, that sounds right. It was an invitation from a failed game. It seemed like a prank, so I read it and deleted it.]

ㄴ [George: That confirms it]

ㄴ [George: I’ll post something for you to read]

I scrolled down to find George’s post.

It had even more comments than DabuDabu’s post.

[George: Listen up, everyone.

My name is George Nelson. I’m 51 years old and served in the United States Marine Corps for 23 years.

I’ve figured out the situation and can help you.

I don’t know how much time you have left, so I’ll get straight to the point.

If you’re reading this, you probably woke up suddenly in a cave.

You woke up in someone else’s body wearing strange armor. There’s probably a sword and shield placed next to you.

Don’t think it’s strange and listen carefully. You’ve become a wandering paladin in the game world of “Surviving as Paladin.”

Don’t ask why, how, or what. I don’t know either.

What’s certain is that you received an email from the game company that shut down the service, clicked on the white window in the corner of your vision, and found this community.

You probably hear strange sounds outside the cave. Terrible sounds you’ve never heard before. That’s why you’re still in the cave.

As you know, there’s no water or food in the cave. You could eat bats or drink groundwater, but it would be very bad for your health.

Let me be clear. Before your strength runs out, before you lose the power to fight due to hunger, you need to get out of the cave.

The creatures waiting for you outside are beasts that have mutated due to demonic energy.

The cave has guardian markings that repel demons, so you’re safe for a while, but that effect disappears after 72 hours.

Before then, you need to steel yourself and fight the beasts.

The beasts already know you’re in the cave. The fight is unavoidable.

While your body is still in good condition, you need to kill them and move to another location.

Fortunately, these new bodies we’ve received are trained in various combat techniques. If your physical condition is good, you can win.

What happens after you get outside is also important.

If you see round creatures floating in the air, duck down before they spot you.

If you’re spotted, leave the area as quickly as possible. They are the demon’s cameras, CCTV.

If you’re spotted and stay in the same place, within minutes you’ll be attacked by all creatures in the vicinity.

As in the game’s setting, most places are occupied by demons or demon worshippers.

You need to go to places with as few people as possible. Go into the mountains and find a new shelter.

Don’t go anywhere near lights. If you see a city or village, go in the opposite direction.

If you go there, you’ll have to fight hundreds of monsters alone.

You can’t win in the state you’re in right after leaving the cave. If you must go, gather enough experience first.

Always cook infected animals thoroughly before eating them.

I’ll say it again. We are wandering paladins, and this world has been destroyed by demons.

Survival is the priority, everything else comes second.

Kill demons, worshippers, and mutated monsters to gain experience.

Like in the games you know, we get stronger by killing monsters.

Good luck.]

This could be considered the first information/strategy post in this community.

But something seems off no matter how I look at it. Cave? Paladin?

I checked the comments just in case.

[JackieLantern: Right. Paladin. That’s what it was.]

[LocalProduce: I thought the emblem on the armor looked familiar.]

[DabuDabu: In a game? I don’t understand. Is someone recreating a game I played in real life?]

ㄴ [JackieLantern: Sir, that’s not what’s important right now. You said it’s been two days. Fight your way out before you get too weak.]

[FullPlay: I picked up the sword and shield after reading this. It feels very familiar. Like I’ve used them a lot before.]

[GustaveBro: Thanks, brother.]

[SpottyDog: Can we go back home?]

ㄴ [George: Let’s not think that far ahead for now. Safety comes first.]

The next comment was quite interesting.

[OneWolves: Entering a game world, you say. I wonder. Did we all fall into the same world? Or did we fall into parallel worlds with similar environments?]

I’d prefer if we all fell into the same world.

Even after looking through all the comments and reading posts written after this one, I couldn’t find the information I wanted.

Paladin. Paladin. Paladin.

No one questions why everyone woke up as a paladin.

As if becoming a paladin when coming to this world is natural.

…Am I the only one who woke up as a totem?

Am I the only Loa?

This seems really fucked up.