The Mist Vol 1 Chapter 6

Vol 1 Chapter 6

Holding back the tightness in his throat, he took another step.

It didn't hurt. It wasn't heavy. His leg was no longer a useless piece of wood that ached.

Damn it, to be able to walk so easily like this.

To be able to run so easily like this.

He had wished even in his dreams for the day to come when he could walk and run like this again.

And so he walked again, kept walking, slowly getting faster, until finally he started running like a madman through the entire town.

"Hahahahaha! Hahahahaha!"

He kept running around laughing, not caring whether other people pointed at him as if he were crazy. It was so moving that he couldn't bear it without doing so.

And just as Yoon Seok-ho had guaranteed, he became immersed in this game that was more real than reality.

That day, he spent three hours just running around in circles until he ran out of stamina. He decided to play again tomorrow and logged out. Although he had wasted a day on unnecessary actions, for him it was a day filled with more emotion than anything else. It was enough just to have experienced THE MIST with his whole body.

When he got up from the capsule after logging out, he saw the clock that hadn't advanced much, true to the 3:1 game-to-real-time ratio. The statement in the capsule manual that "it allows you to play the game in the most comfortable light sleep state by adjusting brain waves" wasn't a complete lie, as he felt refreshed as if he had slept well. However, strangely, his body felt a bit tired and achy.

This... Could there be a problem? He searched for the sender's VT mail address in the capsule package.

[ Sender: Mr. Yoon Seok-ho. (VT MAIL: [email protected]) ]

He wasn't sure if they really thought this was a proper address when they made it, but it wasn't funny at all.

"Computer, send an email to this address."

After a few seconds of the computer booting up, a white screen with a blinking cursor appeared in front of him.

"I've tried playing THE MIST. I'll try to accept the new life you mentioned then. However, I'm not feeling well after using the capsule once, as if it might be defective. Is there a problem somewhere? Please reply quickly. ...Alright. That's good. Send it like this."

[ Message sent. ]

"Phew..."

He wasn't sure what he would gain from that game in the future, but one thing was clear.

He would probably continue playing that game, if only for the reason that he could walk freely under the clear sky without receiving anyone's gaze.

His right leg, which had become heavy again as if waking from a dream, throbbed with pain.

The next day, after logging in again, he slowly walked around exploring the surrounding information.

His starting point was a small city called Asgar in the eastern part of the Mist continent. The overall atmosphere was fitting for a lively fantasy world, and the users who had flooded in on the first day of the opening seemed busy enjoying the world of Mist in their own ways. Even though only a day had passed since the opening, it looked much more stable than yesterday.

The shops were bustling with no room to step, and the streets were overflowing with people heading out through the city gates. Among them, there were some who seemed to have already raised their levels quite a bit. Walking among them, he thought about what he should do in Mist.

First, a weapon shop caught his eye. Seeing it suddenly reminded him of old times. In the past, when he played games, he always held a sword. Even though it was a remote control method, his control, honed by kendo in reality, was quite good, and he was often mentioned when counting the top experts in the game.

However, after the accident, he never held a sword again.

He was afraid of swords because he had become terribly disappointed with the world. During the year or so when he was groaning in pain from his broken body and torn heart in the hospital, he would have a fit just seeing the character for 'sword' in kendo. People expressed sympathy for the national high school kendo champion in such a state, but that only made him feel more miserable.

During rehabilitation training, he tried to pick up a sword again in an attempt to somehow return to his former self, but his hands trembled like an alcoholic's, and he couldn't hold the sword. He dropped it, and dropped it again, and eventually gave up because his leg hurt too much to pick it up.

He was an infinitely weak and lacking person. The former self who could aim for even a single point in time with precision was gone. He realized then that there was no way in this world to return to the already passed past. And finally, even the master who had taught him for a long time withdrew with a regretful expression, and after that, his sword never saw the light of day again. Now he could walk, and was walking as if in a dream, but that didn't mean he had the heart to pick up a sword again...

After glancing at the weapon shop like that, he looked at the swords displayed inside from a distance and turned around without any lingering attachment.

"Excuse me, can I ask you something?"

He stopped one person among the passersby who looked relatively friendly.

"Yes?"

"Where should I go if I want to become a mage here?"

"Oh, that."

The man who had initially looked at him uneasily, as if claiming he was also a beginner, soon brightened up as if it was a question he knew.

"It's a bit hidden from here, but if you go north from the central square, there's a Wizard Tower. It's quite eye-catching, so you'll find it right away."

"I see, thank you."

"No problem. Well then, I'll be going!"

Leaving that person behind, he walked for about 5 minutes to reach a large square with a fountain, then looked around. Indeed, he could see a tower rising higher than the surrounding buildings on one side.

"Is that it..."

As he got closer, he realized that the Wizard Tower was much larger than he had thought. It seemed to be about 5 stories high, and its width looked as wide as a large building. Admiring the geometric and delicate patterns drawn on the exterior walls, he entered. Inside, it was very dark as sunlight didn't reach and there were hardly any lights. Even though it was a game, this place smelled of books and ink.

However, strangely, there wasn't a single person in this place that should have been crowded. Though puzzled, he continued down the corridor and entered a large hall. But there was no sign of people there either. Only a few flickering lights were attached to the walls.