WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Alyo

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Surviving as a Warrior in a TRPG World ◈

Chapter 1: Death and Reincarnation

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'How did things end up like this?'

Lying in his hospital bed, Ujin stared out the window with a miserable expression and muttered to himself.

'I never did anything terrible or lived a reckless life...'

Ujin had just turned thirty. He was a young man who had lived uprightly and diligently since childhood, with decent looks and a good enough personality.

He had not been the best student, but his grades had been good enough to get him into a four-year university in Seoul. Then he joined a mid-sized corporate group, worked diligently, started seeing someone at the office, and had been on track for a smooth path to marriage.

'Did I push myself too hard...?'

Had he thrown himself too completely into work for marriage and promotion? Absurdly, one day, half a year before his wedding, Ujin had been diagnosed out of the blue with terminal cancer. Now he was simply waiting to die.

As he blankly watched the world outside for a long time, his smartphone alarm rang. He weakly picked it up and checked the message.

『Honey. I'm sorry.』

"..."

Being told he would die in the prime of his life was painful enough. Today, the woman he loved had broken up with him in the cruelest possible way, and Ujin felt as though his head might split apart.

"Ah... If I'd known this would happen, I should've at least lived recklessly like everyone else..."

What had his career even been worth? Ujin had spent each day of his youth grinding himself down just so he could live without shame.

It was the sort of life others might praise, but with death so close, he realized he had never been generous with his own desires. He regretted it.

Knock, knock.

"...?"

At the sound of someone knocking on his hospital room door, Ujin looked over in confusion. When it opened, he saw a former classmate he had not seen in a long time.

"Jeongch... No... Seoljeongie?"

"Haha... It's been a while. And... that wasn't my nickname, was it? Just call me Jeongchung like you used to. Like in high school."

"Uh... Okay... Jeongchung..."

Seoljeongchung, roughly meaning a “setting freak.” For short, people called him Jeongchung or Seoljeongie.

He had earned the nickname in high school because he loved D&D-style games so much that he pestered their classmates into playing Tabletop Role-Playing Games every single day.

Seeing him suddenly appear before him, Ujin was both puzzled and glad.

"How are you feeling?"

After they caught up for a while, Jeongchung abruptly handed him something, saying it was a gift.

"...Books?"

"Yeah. Setting guides and all kinds of Tabletop Role-Playing Game rulebooks... plus the scenarios I've written."

"...You're still into this stuff?"

Seoljeongchung had been obsessed with Tabletop Role-Playing Games in high school, and it seemed he still enjoyed them now. Ujin asked with a faint, mocking smile.

"Yeah. There's nothing wrong with enjoying this just because I've gotten older, is there? It's better than drinking and smoking. Don't you think?"

"No... Still, at your age... Hmm..."

Out of habit, Ujin almost began lecturing him about life. Then he saw the IV in his arm and the hair cancer treatment had taken from him, and he fell silent.

'Who am I to judge anyone...?'

Over the years, the only thing Ujin had truly enjoyed for himself was the occasional drink. He realized he had no right to laugh at his friend.

"Want to give it a try? Back then, you were the only one who never really joined us. I always regretted that. Even more now that you're sick."

"...Sure."

Ujin vaguely recalled his high school days, his friends gathered around desks and playing Tabletop Role-Playing Games with Seoljeongchung.

'Trying it once can't hurt.'

He did not have much time left anyway. Instead of acting cynical, Ujin decided to open his mind to the childish "game" he had mocked.

"Let's stop here for today. The nurse has been giving me looks for a while. Visiting hours are over."

"...Already?"

"Fun, right?"

He did not want to admit it, but Ujin realized he had gotten so absorbed in the game that he had lost track of time. The world Seoljeongchung had created was incredibly compelling.

"Let's play again soon."

"...You'll come again?"

His old friend, who would not have been surprising to dislike him for looking down on his hobby in school, spoke to him warmly. A strange feeling filled one corner of Ujin's heart.

"Read some more of the rulebooks and setting guides. They look simple, but the more you learn, the harder and more fun they get!"

"...Got it."

At the sight of his classmate still acting like a child, Ujin smiled faintly and accepted the books he had brought.

After Seoljeongchung left, Ujin flipped through the books to pass the time. Before long, he found himself overwhelmed by the enormous scale of the setting.

"Wow... He wasn't messing around. He made background lore this deep...?"

Just skimming the table of contents was enough to give him an idea. All sorts of gods and worlds, gods and civilizations ruling other dimensions, races and technologies with different levels of development in every dimension, and more. Before Ujin could even properly read a single section, the sheer scope left him speechless.

"Ha... So that's why everyone was so obsessed."

Admiration was one thing, but reading the whole thing was another matter entirely.

The setting guide was as thick as a brick. He could barely turn a few pages before the medication dragged down his eyelids.

That night, Ujin fell asleep while reading. Whenever he woke up, he opened the book at random and looked only at entries that seemed interesting. In the end, all he managed to read properly was the beginning of the first volume.

And the "soon" Jeongchung had mentioned never came.

Starting the very next day, Ujin's condition deteriorated rapidly, and the hospital completely banned visitors other than family.

In the end, those few hours were the first and last time he played with Jeongchung.

He considered finishing the setting guide, but even that was difficult. The pain worsened every day, and the medication grew stronger. Ujin felt the words slipping past his eyes before he could read more than a few lines.

The setting guides remained stacked beside his bed, taking up space. All Ujin could do was stare at their covers to soothe his regret.

'Ah... I didn't get to finish it...'

He had not even gotten to fully enjoy the world Seoljeongchung had made, yet as time passed, Ujin felt his body reaching its limit.

Seeing him suffer, the hospital staff realized his final moments were approaching and administered a narcotic painkiller. Under the effects of the powerful drug, Ujin gradually grew dazed, his eyes slowly closing.

'What a shame... I only got a taste of it.'

"Then this time, I'll let you enjoy the real thing."

'...?!'

Just as he repeated that wish to himself, a familiar voice struck his ears. Even through the haze closing in on his mind, Ujin felt himself snap awake.

Though he could barely control his body, he desperately turned to inspect the corner of the room. To his astonishment, Seoljeongie was there in the hospital room, even though visitors had been forbidden.

'How did he get in here...? No... Wait...'

As his mind clouded over, Ujin realized something he had forgotten all this time, and a chill ran down his spine.

'What was Seoljeongchung's actual name...?'

To his horror, Ujin realized he could not properly remember Jeongchung's name, or even his face.

He wanted to open his mouth and ask at once, but strength began to drain from his dying body. In the end, Ujin had no choice but to close his eyes as death came for him.

"...Huh?"

He was certain he had died. Yet when he opened his eyes again, Ujin looked around in bewilderment.

'...A wheat field?'

Absurdly, Ujin realized he was standing in a golden wheat field rather than a bleak hospital. He looked around with a blank expression, completely confused.

"Gerik! Keep working! You only just started, and you're already slacking off!"

"...?"

Someone suddenly shouted at him, and Ujin turned in that direction without thinking.

'A farmer...?'

A thin, irritable-looking middle-aged man wore filthy, shabby linen clothes and a cloth headscarf.

Perhaps from years under the sun, his face was covered in wrinkles and age spots. The sight only left Ujin more confused.

Flick!

"Ow!"

As he stared blankly at the man, someone flicked him hard on the forehead. Clutching his head, Ujin looked toward the person who had struck him.

"...Hey. Father's talking to you. If it's too hard, at least pretend you're working. I'll stay behind and help make up what you miss."

'...Older brother?'

The young man whispering to him was fairly tall but thin-looking. Ujin grew even more bewildered.

That feeling did not last long. The face of the "father" reddened, and it looked as though he might grab a club at any moment. Ujin swallowed his questions and began cutting wheat with his sickle as his "older brother" instructed.

"I understand it's hard since it's your first day. But don't get under Father's skin. It's harvest season, so he's more on edge than usual."

"Huh? Y-yeah..."

Still confused, Ujin quietly did as his "older brother" told him.

It was work he had never done before, so he was awkward beyond belief. Unexpectedly, though, his "family" did not scold him too harshly.

'Was I reincarnated...?!'

After cutting wheat for some time, looking around and collecting his thoughts, Ujin realized he had been reincarnated in someone else's body.

'I look like I've only just entered puberty...'

Jet-black hair and bronze skin. He was fairly tall, but his body was thin, likely because he had not eaten properly.

'Could this be... the Tabletop Role-Playing Game world?!'

At first, he thought the powerful narcotic had made him hallucinate. But as time passed and nothing around him changed, Ujin's imagination grew bolder. Eventually, he realized this was the setting Seoljeongchung had created.

'What the hell is that guy?'

The impossible situation shocked him all over again, but the "father" roaring at the top of his lungs in front of him was terrifying. Ujin quietly focused on his work.

"Gerik! I'll let it slide because it's your first day, but if you pull that crap again tomorrow, you're dead!"

"Yes..."

Ujin lowered his head and answered meekly, looking frightened as Father grabbed him by the collar and shouted.

"Gerik. Are you okay?"

"Huh? Y-yeah..."

The older brother who had protected him and two other young men who appeared to be his siblings spoke to him. Ujin carefully answered while hiding his expression.

'The owner of this body is Gerik...'

Using the name he had heard amid the confusion and the situation around him, Ujin gradually pieced together what was happening.

"Good work today. Have some mushroom soup."

"Oh! Thanks, Mom!"

Thick grain porridge and hard bread were placed in front of each family member. It was a shabby meal, obviously stretched to seem more filling, yet the family devoured it like a lavish feast.

"Huh? Brother Gerik, are you full? Want me to eat yours for you?"

"Hey, you little brat. Is that what you say to your brother after he's been working all day? Eat your own food."

When the youngest eyed Gerik's meal, the second oldest brother scolded him harshly and protected Gerik's portion.

"Eat up, idiot. You'll be starving to death once night comes."

"Y-yeah..."

At the second oldest brother's blunt but considerate words, Gerik quietly began dipping the bread into the soup and eating it.

'Blegh...'

Accustomed to the bold flavors of modern food, Gerik was appalled by the terrible taste. He desperately hid his expression, cramming down bread and soup as he muttered inwardly.

'This is the military... I'm in winter survival training right now...'

Perhaps recalling the garbage military meals from winter survival training helped him get the food down.

'If I don't eat, I'll definitely die.'

Gerik was not stupid. He understood that he had been reincarnated in another world and that he was the child of a poor farmer. Realizing the importance of nutrition, he desperately forced down the food.

'Infection, starvation, disease...'

History had taught him how many people those things had killed in premodern life. Gerik hated the disgusting meal, but for survival, he kept eating and eating.

'A second life...'

He should have despaired at what was essentially a fall into the life of a lower-class farmer, but he remembered his previous life, cut short by terminal illness. Gerik was grateful for this second life.

'I swore I'd be grateful for anything if I could live again. Complaining makes no sense.'

Who knew? If this really was the world Jeongchung had created, perhaps, depending on what Gerik did, he could become a hero or a superhuman.

The vague but possibly real hope kept Gerik from sinking completely into despair. Thanks to it, he was able to endure his difficult life in another world little by little.

"You're pretty good with a shovel!"

"Yes..."

Baron had been irritated by his third son, who could not even use a sickle properly. But when Gerik proved he could at least dig drainage ditches well, Baron relaxed a little and praised him.

'I was damn good at shovel work in the military, and it's actually helping me here...'

He had complained that military service would never be useful in life, but in this one, it had become somewhat useful. Gerik continued digging with a dumbfounded expression.

Footnotes:

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