-Chapter 2: Deserted Island (2)-
TL: Hanguk
'Is this the work of a wild animal?'
I tried my best to keep my composure as I sorted through my belongings.
Fortunately, nothing was missing.
However, the disorderly scattered belongings were obviously man-made to anyone's eye.
It wasn't as if the wind had toppled them over.
Even though I suspected it was the work of a wild animal like a boar, I did not rule out the possibility of 'human interference'.
'Even though Wolgwang Island is deserted, it's not a forbidden island.'
There might be someone else on the island besides me.
It could be a fisherman, or maybe a camper.
What is certain is that it would be very troublesome if it's the work of a human.
Because a person who messily goes through someone else's belongings can never be normal.
'I'd rather it be the work of a wild animal.'
What I wanted was a fun survival video, not a mystery or horror thriller.
As I was thinking about how to deal with this situation, a good idea came to me.
'Let's fly the drone.'
I decided to explore the island using the drone I rented to take landscape shots.
If I use the drone, I'll be able to see if there are signs of anyone else besides me.
So I looked for the drone bag, but then...
-Grrrr.
Suddenly, I heard a beast-like sound from behind.
When I turned my head, I saw a dog approaching me from the abandoned village.
'Why is there a dog on a deserted island?'
The moment I saw the dog, a wave of relief and perplexity hit me at the same time.
I felt relieved knowing that the likely suspect messing up my belongings was not a human.
However, I felt perplexed because it looked like a wild dog.
It's a relief not to deal with a human rummaging through my belongings, but a wild dog is just as dangerous as a boar, so I have to be careful.
'Who on earth abandoned a dog on a deserted island?'
There are a lot of crazy people in the world.
If you can't take care of it, you should give it up for adoption, not let it loose on an island like this.
I slowly retreated to avoid exciting the wild dog.
I learned that it's best to naturally leave without turning your back when you encounter a wild animal.
But since dogs don't like making eye contact, I subtly averted my gaze.
-Grrrr!
However, not all of these techniques work.
If the wild animal is hungry or in its mating season, it can attack immediately.
Just like now.
-Growl!
"Damn it!"
The wild dog started to charge at me.
I hurriedly searched for a place to hide or something to deflect it with.
Then, a piece of trash, a net, one of the most common items on the deserted island, came into view.
'Can I catch it by throwing this?'
Catching a agile wild dog with a regular net, not a fishing net, would not be easy.
But since there's no other way, I spread the net on the ground in hopes that the dog would trip over it, and I grabbed another net to throw.
-Thump!
"Ugh..."
When I raised my head, the distance between the wild dog and me had narrowed to about five steps.
But instead of the approaching wild dog, I noticed something strange and gasped.
'Why does it seem so large?'
The size of the dog filling my vision was by no means normal.
It was the size of a bear, just with the appearance of a dog.
Even though it was running on all fours, its eye level was similar to mine.
'Is this even possible?'
I quickly tossed the net I was holding and pulled out my jungle knife.
A monster like that could easily bite off my neck.
Forget about animal protection, first, I need to survive.
-Swish!
As the net came down, the giant dog quickly lowered its posture.
The net just swept its back, causing no damage.
However, I didn't panic and waited for the moment the dog would get out of the net.
As soon as the face of the dog who had passed through the net was revealed, I stabbed it with my jungle knife with all my might.
“Argh!”
A tremendous backlash was transmitted to my right hand holding the jungle knife.
It was a natural outcome because I had stabbed a high-mass beast charging at me with a knife while standing still.
I was breathless, and my right hand holding the jungle knife was in severe pain, as if the bone was broken.
-Growl! Grr! Grr!
I gritted my teeth and desperately got up.
When I checked the situation of the giant wild dog, it was bleeding quite a lot from one eye.
The giant dog was barking fiercely, but it was not a direct threat, only intimidating.
The reason was that the net I had laid on the ground had tangled up the dog's legs, unintentionally trapping it.
'No wonder it didn't bite.'
The tip of the jungle knife was not sharp enough, so it didn't cause as much damage as I thought.
So, I was ready to be torn apart, but this can only be seen as a divine intervention.
-Howl! Woof!
The wild dog barked loudly, even though it couldn't move.
Like it was determined to kill me.
'Is this really a dog?'
There's no way a dog can be this big.
And it's not like there are wolves living on Korean islands.
No, to begin with, even wolves wouldn't be this big.
It's a real monster.
-Thump!
Then a ominous noise came from somewhere.
- Thud thud!
- Howl! Woof!
The huge wild dog caused the net to begin to rip.
There was nowhere to hide nearby, and no time to trap the creature again.
It seemed like the net was going to burst open at any moment.
Now I had to make a choice.
"I'm sorry."
In the end, holding the jungle knife with my left hand, since my right hand was injured, I stabbed the giant wild dog's neck.
-Thud!
The sensation of the blade sinking into flesh and then hitting hard bone transmitted to my fingertips, and warm blood splattered on my face.
The previous attack's pain from the collision was so great that I didn't have room to pay attention to anything else, but this time it was different.
I was startled by such an obvious sensation.
I backed off, taking my hand off the jungle knife.
-Huff... huff... cough.
Then what I saw was the giant wild dog slowly dying.
Its rough breathing gradually weakened, and the glaring eyes slowly clouded over.
Soon after, I confirmed that it had stopped breathing altogether and slumped down on the spot.
"Damn, what's happening."
I came to a deserted island to film a survival video, but the survival I wanted wasn't a game of survival where blood was splattered and my life was threatened.
With my head bowed, I, who was calming my emotions, looked at the creature, not knowing whether it was a wild dog or a wolf, with a sorry heart.
"Huh? What?"
But what I saw was not the carcass of a giant beast covered in blood, but...
It was a spectacular display of blue light dust scattering all around.
-Rustle.
A scene that was too bizarre and beautiful to be real
I was dumbfounded with my mouth wide open, wondering what was happening.
"What, what is this?"
Forgetting the pain coming from all over my body, I quickly stood up and approached where the giant beast had fallen.
All that was left on the ground were the torn net and the jungle knife rolling on the ground.
There was no trace of the beast anywhere.
Even the blood that had splattered here and there had evaporated.
‘I feel like I've been enchanted.’
The continuous pain in my right hand was the only proof that what I had experienced was not a delusion.
But the strange phenomenon didn't end there.
[ ]
Because a translucent 'blue rectangle' appeared in front of my eyes.
Out of nowhere, for no reason, a blue square that couldn't be reached even if I stretched out my hand, existed in front of my eyes like a hologram.
"....What is this now?"
Have I gone mad?
I can't understand the current situation.
Slapping my cheeks and pinching my thighs didn't change anything.
[The update has been completed. Some of Earth's systems will be transformed as of now.]
And soon, letters began to fill the blue rectangle.
Finally, I realized that the blue square was something like a smartphone's message window.
Once a message popped up, a waterfall of unknown information poured down.
[Waypoints have been created everywhere.]
[Safe zones have been created everywhere.]
[Special terrains have been created everywhere.]
[Special resources have been created everywhere.]
[Monsters and NPCs have been created everywhere.]
Looking at this, I thought.
'Mother, Father, is this schizophrenia?'
If this is a symptom of schizophrenia, everything makes sense.
That I'm crazy and seeing things.
So I took off the action cam I had been wearing on my chest and replayed the video...
-Howl!
"Huh?"
Isn't the battle with the giant wild dog clearly recorded?
Could these videos also be illusions created by a delusional disorder?
As I pressed my forehead and wore a serious expression, new messages continued to pop up in front of me.
[The experience and rewards of the monsters you have killed during the update will be calculated.]
[You gained 100 experience points for killing the Grand Dire Wolf.]
[You gained 500 experience points for being the first to kill the Grand Dire Wolf.]
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
[Your 'injuries' and 'status abnormalities' are all healed as your level has increased.]
[You have acquired stat points. Open the status window to distribute your stat points.]
Messages that remind you of a scene from a game.
I chuckled at them, and as if to tell me there was no need to be shocked, blue light began to envelop my body.
Surprisingly, the pain in my right arm and minor injuries seemed to have healed due to the light.
"......"
Thanks to that, I couldn't simply dismiss these strange phenomena as mere mental illness.
I quickly pulled out my smartphone from my pocket and connected to the Internet.
[Am I the only one seeing strange letters in front of my eyes?]
[There's chaos in our apartment building! Screams everywhere!]
[A pack of wolves in the city? What’s happening? Don't come to the S Department Store in Gangnam! You might become wolf food!]
[Both 112 and 119 calls are down!]
[What is this beast? An escaped monkey from the zoo? But why is its skin green?]
Then, I was able to confirm the panicked state of people.
They, like me, were being attacked by something and receiving unidentified messages.
On SNS, desperate requests for rescue from people in emergency situations made me realize the seriousness of the situation.
And as the chaos reached its peak, a disaster text message arrived with a loud alarm.
-Ding Ding! Ding Ding!
[Simultaneous terror attacks]
[We ask citizens to refrain from going out, and those outside to quickly evacuate to a safe place.]
I know that I'm mentally sound.
But wouldn't it be better if my mind isn't sane in such a crazy situation?
"Does this make sense?"
A situation too absurd to be reality.
Why is this happening?
There must be a reason for this incident or accident, but it was not easy to understand.
Could this be a senseless crime, like a mad god playing a senseless prank on humans?
I moved my gaze to the message window floating in the air, while rubbing my temples.
In the meantime, new content had been added to the message window.
[Rewards for Killing the Grand Dire Wolf.]
-You have acquired 15 coins.
-You have acquired 2 Grand Dire Wolf skins.
[Additional rewards for the first-time killing of the Grand Dire Wolf will be given.]
-You have acquired 75 coins.
-You have acquired a Wolf Sword.
Following the level up, even items come out.
It's not a game, and I let out a hollow laugh.
‘I should call Captain first, to come and pick me up?'
Forget about the filming , I need to get off this island first.
I called the captain of the fishing boat that had taken me to Wolgwang Island.
[I'll call you back.......ugh! Mon, monster! Ahh! Cough!]
I could hear their screams even over the phone.
"Captain! Captain, are you okay!? Captain!"
-Beep Beep Beep.
I need to go home quickly, but it looks like I'm screwed.
*****
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