First Wave: Where We Are.

In-Su pressed his back against the wall as he peeked around the corner, trying to see if there were any monsters lurking around ready to jump on him. But all he could hear was an unsettling silence throughout the hallway. It was much worse than screaming and the sound of monsters killing humans because it made In-Su think he was the only one left in this school.

Taking a deep breath, In-Su quickly rushed toward the stairs. He didn't dare hold on to the railing that was covered in moss and vines, not wanting to get poisoned in case the ecosystem was filled with toxins that could kill him instantly.

"Shrieeek!!!"

In-Su's body jerked forward when he felt a searing pain in his bicep. He looked at his arm and saw a Traads manage to bite him. Groaning in pain, In-Su tried to pull the monster away from his arm, but the monster's body was too slimy, and his fingers kept slipping off. "Ugh! What the hell?! How is this thing so slimy?!"

In-Su clenched his teeth as the monster started to munch on his muscle. Eyes glaring at the Traads angrily, he suddenly slammed his side against the wall, squishing the monster against the wall and his body.

Breathing heavily, In-Su looked at his bloody left arm. He could see the chewed meat almost reaching his bone, and his arm started to go numb, making the male panic. He needed to do something, or he was going to lose his arm forever. His left arm was his dominant one, and he needed it.

"I-I'm a healer, right?! C'mon! Do some healing!" In-Su put his palm over his wound, trying to concentrate on something inside him, whatever it was that could help him heal his wound. "Fuck! Come on! Heal!" As soon as those words came out of In-Su's mouth, a bright golden light emanated from his hand, covering his whole arm. To his astonishment, he saw his wound start to heal.

The once-missing meat started growing at a fast pace, and then his skin started to grow over the healing muscles and meat, leaving nothing behind as if he hadn't just been attacked.

[You Unlocked An Achievement: What Do You Mean It's Unlimited Food? and I Understand It Now.]

[You have reached LVL 2]

"...What is wrong with that achievement?" In-Su deadpanned at the two achievements he received. "Ugh, but I finally leveled up. If this is just like a video game, I think I receive some skill points."

In-Su crossed his arms over his chest as he stared at the notification. "So... uh, status open?"

[Status Info]

[Name: So In-Su.]

[Age: 23.]

[Body: 42 inch (chest) and 35 inch (waist)]

[Money: 60 Silver]

[Role: Healer]

[Stats]

[Intelligence: 20] [Wisdom: 20] [Speed: 18] [Confidence: ???] [Charisma: 20] [Reflexes: 17] [Offense: 16] [Defense: 17] [Stamina: 19]

In-Su stared at the screen for a moment before he wrapped his arms around himself, looking around nervously. "What the fuck?! Why would they put my measurements in it?! How did they know?! What else do they know?!" In-Su shivered in disgust at the thought of whoever was behind all this knowing everything about his body.

"Ugh...." He tried to shake it off before moving on to his stats. "Let's see... are these all my stats? It's good stats... I have everything over 15... wait, why is my confidence a question mark?" In-Su furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "I don't see my mana either... is it separate? Uh, let's try this... Skills?"

[Skills]

[Mana: 198/200] [Heal: -3] [Heal (group): -6] [Buff (strength): -19] [Buff (speed): -16] [Buff (summon): -14] [Buff (ultimate): 20] [Ultimate: ??? (reach LvL 13)]

"...So, I have healing and buff skills..." In-Su muttered as his shoulders dropped. It seemed like he really was the side character based on his skills, but then he remembered something. "Wait, does it really matter? I'm here to survive, so it doesn't matter what role I have! Hahaha, right! Healers are important too! I need to make sure everyone survives!"

This is the word of someone in denial. Please don't be like him and embrace your own life proudly. Keep your head up. You are strong.

"Anyway!" In-Su looked around his surroundings, recognizing that he was on the third floor in the south wing. If he remembered correctly, Si-Woo's class was on this floor.

But seeing the hallway, he wondered if he was actually in his school building. Red light shone through the broken window, moss covered the walls and floor, small flowers bloomed all over where the blood was, and vines crept down from the cracks in the wall. He could see both monster and human corpses scattered around the hallway.

He wondered if there were others who chose the roles and were fighting against the monsters based on the wounds on the bodies.

In-Su stepped over the body cautiously, the sound of blood squelching under his shoes making the male grimace slightly. He could see the green blood mixing with the red, probably human blood.

"Shrieeek!!"

In-Su let out a gasp when he felt something crash onto his back, causing him to fall face first onto the floor. He couldn't even recover from the fall when he felt a pain shoot up his shoulder. "Argh!!" Screaming in pain, In-Su squirmed around before mustering up the strength to push whatever was on his back off him.

"Screech!"

A small green monster with leather armor stumbled off the male, its lanky fingers gripping a bloodied dagger.

"U-ugh... G-goblin..?"

In-Su instantly recognized the monster as it was a common creature in any fantasy genre.

Breathing heavily, In-Su held his bleeding shoulder as he tried to scoot away from the monster. But that seemed to give the goblin a chance, and it lunged at In-Su.

"Fuck!" Without thinking much, In-Su swung his uninjured arm, punching the goblin on the head. Much to the male's surprise, he landed the punch and sent the monster crashing into the wall.

"...Wait... right! I did do military service back in the day." In-Su laughed to himself before he lunged toward the monster, grabbing the goblin's head and repeatedly slamming it against the wall.

"How. Dare. You. Stab. Me!!" Letting go of the monster, In-Su shook the green blood off his hand, looking down at the limp body with a green blood puddle underneath it.

[You have defeated Goblin LvL 1]

[You Received 5 Gold]

"....Damnit..." In-Su kicked the body away from him. "All these muscles and I'm a healer...." Hand hovering above his shoulder, In-Su used the healing spell to heal himself.

Wiping his face with his sleeve, In-Su decided to leave and try to find another human being.

"Krieeek..."

"Ah."

Standing at the end of the hallway was a group of goblins, growling at him angrily after witnessing him kill their comrade.

"Well, fuck."

Without hesitation, In-Su quickly ran in the opposite direction. He wasn't dumb enough to wait there and let the goblins attack him. No. He knew too much about goblins to just stay there.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!!"

Turning around the corner, In-Su didn't bother to use one stair at a time, jumping over two stairs instead. He groaned when he shouldered the wall, unable to stop himself due to the bloody floor.

"Aah, fuck!" In-Su quickly bent down just in time as one of the goblins jumped at him, causing the small monster to crash into the wall.

"Haaah....Ah!" In-Su's victory was cut short when another goblin jumped at him, followed by another one joining. "Shit! Get off!" In-Su tried to push the two goblins off of him but tripped over his own feet.

In-Su's body hit the floor, and the goblins quickly pinned his arms down, grinning darkly as the other goblins stalked closer to him.

"Ugh! Damnit!" In-Su struggled against the goblins, his face turning pale and sweat covering his skin.

'I-I can't die here!'

In-Su closed his eyes when one goblin jumped at him, aiming the dagger at his chest.

"Gheck!!"

Someone kicked the goblin away before it could stab In-Su in the chest. "In-Su!!" A familiar voice made In-Su snap his eyes open.

Si-Woo stood over him, hand reaching out toward the other male. The two goblins that had pinned him down lay on the ground bleeding.

"Si-Woo..." Relieved to see his friend, In-Su grabbed his friend's hand, allowing him to pull him up to his feet.

Si-Woo pulled In-Su into a hug as he sighed in relief, patting the other male on the back before pulling away.

In-Su saw Si-Woo holding a sword in his right hand. "Did you accept the role?" he asked.

Si-Woo looked down at his weapon. "Ah, right. It gave me the Paladin role." Si-Woo spun his sword around and showed it to In-Su.

Si-Woo's weapon was a broadsword with an exceptionally wide blade. The blade had a dark, swirling pattern, reminding In-Su of a cosmic void. The cross guard featured a hollow center and a sharply diamond-shaped design with pointed edges, mirroring its pommel. Adorning the rain guard were jewels that radiated regality.

"How about you?" In-Su flinched at Si-Woo's question, looking away from the male nervously.

"....Healer...."

Si-Woo stared at his friend. "Pfft-" The dark-blue-haired male pointed at In-Su with his free hand as he laughed loudly. "Healer?! Dude, seriously? Hahaha, all those muscles and it makes you a healer?!"

"Shut up!!" In-Su felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment.

"Haah... damn, guess I have to protect you, huh?" Si-Woo wiped the imaginary tears away.

"Ugh..." In-Su blinked in surprise when he saw Si-Woo's arm. Blood soaked his brown shirt, and he could see a gash peeking from his short sleeve. Reaching out, In-Su put his palm over Si-Woo's wound, making the other male flinch slightly. A warm glow coated In-Su's hand, and Si-Woo's wound started to heal.

Si-Woo looked at his healed arm before grinning thankfully at In-Su. "Healers are important too in this situation." In-Su huffed.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't pout, it's weird."

"I'm not pouting!"

Si-Woo chuckled lightly before patting In-Su on the shoulder. "C'mon. We can't just stay here forever."

In-Su rolled his eyes before quickly following Si-Woo, heading to the second floor.

"So, do you think... we got teleported to another world or..."

"...Or our world got teleported to another world," In-Su finished, stopping to look outside the window.

Si-Woo's grip on his sword tightened slightly. "Damnit... I don't know why, but I have a feeling that all of this... it's like a video game..." Si-Woo's finger pressed the empty air, making a hologram screen appear in front of him.

[Status Info]

[Name: Lee Si-Woo.]

[Age: 22.]

[Body: 38 inches (chest) and 32 inches (waist)]

[Role: Paladin]

[LvL: 4]

[Money: 300 Silver, 70 Gold]

[Stats]

[Intelligence: 20] [Wisdom: 20] [Speed: 21(+1)] [Confidence: 20] [Charisma: 18] [Reflexes: 19] [Offense: 21(+1)] [Defense: 18] [Stamina: 20]

"...Go to hell." In-Su stared at Si-Woo, jealousy clearly written on his face at his friend's stats.

"Harsh, but we're already in one." Si-Woo waved his palm and the screen disappeared.

"Aside from my impressive stats, doesn't this remind you of a video game? Like, this system gives us roles. A role in a fantasy setting."

Si-Woo raised his sword, eyes narrowed slightly. "This system gave me the role of Paladin..."

"Yeah, the worst Paladin ever. There's not a bone of justice in you," In-Su bluntly said as he walked past Si-Woo.

Instead of being offended, the male just grinned at In-Su's insult. "Fuck yeah! I get to kill monsters and cast spells!"

The two males stopped walking when they heard growls and heavy breathing around the corner. Raising one hand, In-Su silently told Si-Woo to stand down while he peeked around the corner.

There, at the end of the hallway, just a few steps away from the stairs leading to the first floor, was a group of goblins and a large monster In-Su recognized as a Hobgoblin.

"There are five goblins and one Hobgoblin, it has a greatsword as a weapon."

Si-Woo smirked as he put his hand on In-Su's shoulder, pushing him forward and making the male gasp. "H-Hey!"

"Relax~" Si-Woo spun his sword around as he walked casually toward the enemies. "Let me handle this."

In-Su blinked once, but Si-Woo had already disappeared from his line of vision. "Wha-" Si-Woo appeared in front of the group, and with one swing of his sword, he instantly killed five goblins.

"Wow...." In-Su gasped in awe.

"Graaah!!" The Hobgoblin raised its weapon and swung it toward Si-Woo.

Si-Woo jumped high in the air, avoiding the attack. Stepping over the Hobgoblin's head, he stabbed the sword on top of its head, making the monster shriek in pain, but Si-Woo didn't stop. He pushed the sword deeper inside the monster's skull, green blood sputtering out of the wound and splattering on his face.

The Hobgoblin stopped squirming around to get Si-Woo off it. Its body tilted back and crashed on the floor, unmoving.

[You defeated 5 Goblins [LvL 1] and 1 Hobgoblin [LvL 3].]

[You Received 75 Gold]

Si-Woo pulled out his sword and swung it to get rid of the blood. "And done!" He jumped off the monster and grinned at In-Su.

"I know you do Kumdo, but that's next level..." In-Su approached his friend, stepping over the dead monsters.

[Kumdo: The Korean adoption of modern Japanese Kendo]

Si-Woo shrugged, "I think it's because of my role as Paladin. My body seems lighter and stronger than usual. I just know what to do."

Both of the males walked down the stairs, but they stopped when they heard whispers and chatter inside one of the rooms.

In-Su put his arm out in front of Si-Woo, shushing the male as he looked around. He then pointed at the classroom where he heard the noise coming from.

Si-Woo nodded his head before he approached the room, hand reaching out toward the door. The two looked at each other before Si-Woo slid the door open.

Swish.

Si-Woo tilted his head to the side, avoiding the arrow flying toward him. Eyebrow raised slightly, he looked inside the room to see the surviving students inside.

"A-ah... I-it's In-Su and Si-Woo!"