Wolves of Hader

Clack clack.

Clack clack.

A faint sound drifted into my ears as I dozed.

I was lying down somewhere.

My eyes wouldn't open easily.

A strange smell of spices.

No, was it perfume? Someone seemed to have sprayed a strong fragrance, but it was closer to a stench than a scent.

The floor was soft. It felt as if I was curled up on my side and resting my head on my mother's lap.

But I was nearly forty, so it couldn't be Mom. I didn't have a wife or a girlfriend either. Then, who was this woman?

Clack clack.

Clack clack.

Wasn't this a car?

An uncomfortable vibration rising from below. Occasionally, I'd hear an animal's heavy breathing.

Even with a blanket over me, I was still somewhat cold.

Where on earth was I being taken?

Had I been kidnapped by a rival guild member?

But my body wasn't tied up.

My body wouldn't listen to me properly, so I just lay there in the same posture for a while.

I couldn't move a single finger, nor open my eyes. Still, it wasn't like I was having sleep paralysis. It just felt like I was paralyzed.

Hee hee hee ing.

A horse's whinny?

Did I fall asleep inside the game instead of reality?

When I fell asleep in-game, I always woke up in reality.

But why was it so cold?

My body trembled uncontrollably, and I had chills.

At that moment, a warm hand grasped mine.

"You've woken up. Just hang in there a little longer."

A hand patted my back.

I wanted to ask who it was, but my lips wouldn't move. Yet the voice was gentle, a bit youthful sounding. Wasn't I kidnapped?

"Elder sister, how much longer?"

"Don't fuss. Even the youngest is enduring it well."

"I'm just asking how much longer."

"I don't know. It's my first time going there too."

"Tsk!"

What on earth was this situation?

So, there were three people in this space including myself.

A boy sat across from me, and next to me was the girl they called elder sister.

Right now, my head was on that girl's lap.

Did that make me the youngest here?

Was there ever a story like this in the game?

No way. [Rac] wasn't a game to begin with. Suddenly, a strange world like virtual reality appeared, and people went in to have adventures.

Over time, various systems were created.

The world of [Rac] didn't have things like data or servers.

People discovered, combined, and researched things in this world on their own, creating every aspect of Rac.

Does that mean the world of Rac is reality?

Half right, half wrong. The world of Rac itself was extremely real, but even if I died while hunting there, my real self on Earth wouldn't die.

You could only enter by wearing the virtual reality device, the [Sinker], and if you took it off, you'd return to your real self.

You couldn't see the sinker in Rac, but if you touched your face, you could tell you were wearing it.

No one knew who created [Rac], and there wasn't even a company profiting from it.

You couldn't go there in the flesh, but it was presumed to be another world connected to Earth.

One day, I could enter that strange world, so I did.

There were unknown fruits and beasts, so I explored.

Then it spread that even if you died while hunting, it didn't matter in reality.

After that, more and more people gathered. Merchants sprang up, people built buildings and claimed land as their own.

The first person to stake their claim was considered the owner.

There were no laws or authorities to enforce them, so at first it was lawless chaos.

It was mayhem.

If you wanted to protect what you owned, you had to become strong. That's how combat skills started being created one by one.

As years passed, even international organizations were formed, and because of the highly valuable resources in Rac, disputes and wars broke out.

Politics, economics, diplomacy, and so on—a new human civilization was born.

Therefore, it was impossible for someone to inject role-playing into Rac.

There were no servers or data, so how could you insert a storyline like this?

In the beginning, there wasn't even a human race in Rac.

"The coach has stopped."

"What?"

Screeech.

I heard the sound of a window opening.

At the same time, a chill swept in.

"What's going on?"

"The lead carriage's wheel fell into a pothole!"

"Should we help too?"

"No, miss."

"When will we arrive?"

"It'll take another half day!"

"Alright."

Screeech.

The sound of a window closing and a sigh.

Where on earth were we going?

Actually, where we were going wasn't the issue; I simply couldn't make sense of my current situation.

If this wasn't a kidnapping, then someone was 'acting' right now, but for what reason?

Judging by the low temperature, we couldn't be far from our guild's territory.

Only three guilds worldwide had pioneered regions close to the arctic. Unless this was another continent.

Had the American guild in this area kidnapped me?

Or... but the way they spoke.

I suddenly got chills.

It sounded so natural, I hadn't noticed, but it was clearly a language I'd never heard before.

It sounded like Latin, but it was completely unfamiliar.

What on earth was going on?

Everything was a mystery, my body was paralyzed.

No matter how rationally I tried to think, I couldn't make a judgment.

Unbelievable things were happening.

What had I been doing just before this?

Why had I ended up in this situation?

I tried to calmly clear my chaotic mind.

This morning.

Yes. The morning before all this happened.

Around seven, I was contacted by the Manufacturing Division 2 manager.

The Chinese Guild Alliance had ambushed our guild's territory.

Having survived countless battles for twenty years, I was unfazed.

I figured the Chinese guys had overreached after losing their war with the giant American guild.

So I went to work and met with the president for a brief conversation.

Officially, he was the master of guild [Black Sword].

Since the guild had grown to the size of a major corporation, we all just called him the president.

After a quick strategy meeting with him, I went to the office of the manufacturing division I was in charge of.

My job these days was to check on the progress of skills or manufacturing methods my staff were researching.

Ah, I was the vice president of the guild's manufacturing division.

I took the position six years ago, and I took great pride in growing the guild to its current size.

Under my command, we created four of our guild's ultimate techniques.

The berserker's [Solemn Rage].

The defender's [Shield Wall].

The archer's [Judgment of Light].

The buffer's [Overwhelming Frost].

Other guilds around the world developed similar things, but the ones our guild created were on another level.

Every combat skill was formidable in its own right.

And various manufacturing methods that built up the guild.

I started as a warrior, then became a mage, and eventually invented the buffer role.

After becoming head of manufacturing, I devoted myself solely to crafting.

In the early days of discovering Rac, we formed a guild, expanded our power, and created such skills, so it was natural we became Korea's top guild.

I was one of the key contributors too.

Those who didn't know Rac just thought it was a game, but it wasn't that different from real society.

The leader of a large guild was like a head of state. The territory we controlled was even larger than the Korean Peninsula.

I was one of the guild's twelve directors, and had to shoulder all of this.

I hadn't even gone to university, so who was I to be an adviser?

The president endured because he had the qualities of a 'king'.

That's how we held meetings in the morning.

Suddenly, I was notified of a successful healing potion production.

Because the ingredients were rare, I was also told to form a special expedition.

After lunch, the directors gathered.

They were founding members, and were called the Legendary Twelve.

Our guild had twelve combat classes, and these twelve essentially invented those classes.

All our guild's warriors were strong, but the Chinese had too many people.

When we were being pushed due to fatigue, the twelve directors decided to personally join the battle for the first time in ages.

So we gathered and fought.

Each of us twelve was a legion unto ourselves.

Each skill was that overwhelming.

Guild secret techniques—ultimate moves, and the distilled essence of twenty years.

Skills we didn't even teach others unless they were direct disciples. The completed methods for each skill were true treasures.

I'd known for a long time that other guilds targeted our combat skills and crafting secrets.

I figured that was probably the real reason behind the Chinese invasion, regardless of who was pulling the strings.

But I never imagined those maniacs would attack us in real life.

In the middle of the fight, chaos broke out inside the building.

With the noise of battle, it was hard to hear, but vaguely...

"Move the lab files first!"

"They're about to breach the server room!"

"Security team! Hurry and get the directors to safety—"

That's as far as my memory went.

I tried to take off my sinker to see what was happening—

But suddenly, a light burst before my eyes.

And then, I awoke in this situation.

What on earth had happened?

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
It's compelling not gonna lie.
It appears the MC had become a baby...
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】