I Became a Swordsman in a Dystopia

Familiar text appears before my eyes.

[Conditions Met]

[Difficulty: Legend]

[Ending: Annihilation]

[Play Time 127:35:27]

A sigh escapes, a beat slower than usual.

“Finally…”

A combination of letters I’ve seen countless times.

But this time feels different.

Because the difficulty is different.

The highest difficulty level – Legend.

The end-game content still discussed in the half-dead community, deemed impossible to clear.

“I actually did it.”

Before the moment slips away. 

I grab a screenshot. 

Just a little habit of mine. 

Always gotta save my trophies.

“Hah.”

I’ve been staring blankly at the screen after taking the screenshot.

How long has it been?

A sense of regret creeps in.

“Hmm…”

Is there not even an ending credit roll for clearing the final difficulty?

The screen, no different from other difficulty levels, feels somewhat disappointing.

‘Apocalypse City, I’ve sunk 7 years into you already.’

This is the end to a game I’ve been mindlessly playing. All these feelings fade away, leaving nothing but bitterness.

‘Maybe it’s time to quit.’

My thoughts grew unnecessarily deep.

But at that moment-

Ding!

“?”

[Continue: Y / N]

What’s this?

A system message I’ve never seen before appears.

A system message that shouldn’t exist in a game where play ends immediately upon character death.

What could it be?

It’s somewhat bewildering.

However, there was no hesitation in making the small decision to click.

The mouse pointer moves habitually toward ‘Y’.

And what appeared next was…

Ding!

[Achievement Rate 100%]

[Achievement Rate 100% Reward: Additional Trait Points]

[Achievement Rate 100% Reward: All Traits Unlocked]

“I didn’t know there was this kind of Easter egg?”

It was a message saying all traits have been unlocked.

Then the trait selection screen opens.

Could there really have been traits still remaining?

A strange excitement courses through my entire body.

It’s been a while since I felt this kind of anticipation.

‘It’s getting late but…’

I quickly scan the numerous traits. 

Traits – characteristics that shape the game.

While there aren’t any traits that would break the game’s balance to an absurd degree…

Clearly, how you combine the traits determines the direction of the game.

Changes are visible before I even scroll down.

[Trait point: 50pt]

The promised additional points. 

A whopping 50 points.

“Wow.”

Considering that the easiest difficulty gives 15 trait points, this is at least triple.

It’s incredible.

Next, I scroll down, searching for these supposedly added traits.

Scroll Scroll

How many times did I scroll?

“Oh?”

I take back what I said earlier.

This much could shatter the balance entirely.

[Legendary Sword Talent: -50pt]

– A tragic genius born in the wrong era. Grants overwhelming talent with all blade-type weapons. Activates hyper-perception when using bladed weapons.

[Legendary Shooting Talent: -50pt]

– A fortunate genius born in the right era. Grants overwhelming talent with all firearms. Activates hyper-perception when using firearms.

[Humanity’s Ultimate Weapon: -50pt]

– Possesses the most exceptional physique in human history. All physical abilities start at maximum. Increases the upper limit of maximums.

Three traits in total.

I feel both amazement and admiration.

These are traits I’ve never seen in hundreds or thousands of playthroughs.

While the “overwhelming talent” is hard to grasp…

Hyper-perception?

And what about Humanity’s Ultimate Weapon trait’s maximum physical abilities from the start? If it even increases the upper limit beyond that, it’s something that can’t be replicated even by combining three or four decent traits.

This kind of thing…

‘I won’t be able to resist trying it out.’

There was no need to measure this and that carefully.

My eyes move to the trait points.

Available points: 50pt.

However, each of these newly appeared major traits costs -50pt.

They’re arranged so that only one can be selected.

‘Just pick one?’

No, that’s not what I’m thinking.

Points can always be increased.

Like a pathological habit, the optimal combination is already forming in my mind.

If I combine several things led by the Legendary Shooting Talent, surely…

The mouse pointer’s movement stops momentarily.

“Hmm…”

Legendary Shooting Talent?

Yeah, that would be the optimal combination for clearing the game.

But…

The exclamation mark floating above my head says no.

My mind quickly starts combining something else.

“With this much, other builds should be plenty viable too.”

The deliberation takes precedence for a moment.

“Well, let’s at least set it up.”

Yeah, just to see how it looks…

First, I scroll down to the negative traits.

Negative traits are debuff characteristics.

Selecting these traits adds debuffs but gives bonus trait points in return.

To take the newly unlocked top-tier traits, I need to increase points first.

[Gun Phobia (Warning): +22pt]

– Has a phobia of firearms. Falls into panic when equipping firearms.

[Implant Incompatible (Warning): +17pt]

– Body rejects implants. Cannot modify body with implants.

[Damaged Immune System (Warning): +10pt]

– Body’s immune system is damaged. Greatly increased chance of contracting diseases. Greatly increased chance of becoming infected when in contact with mutants.

[Dyslexia (Warning): +11pt]

– Cannot read text. Cannot proceed with learning and reasoning. Significantly impacts gameplay.

[High Basal Metabolism: +4pt]

– Extremely high basal metabolic rate. Gets hungry easily. Requires more food intake for survival.

[Poor Vision: +2pt]

– Has poor eyesight. Decreases firearm accuracy.

Click Click Click Click Click

Select.

“Is this enough points?”

[Current Traits]

[Trait Points: 116pt]

I gotta admit.

These aren’t traits for clearing the game.

This game primarily revolves around firearms.

While melee weapons can be significantly helpful…

Clearing with only melee weapons borders on impossible.

Beyond that, traits that sacrifice so much… 

Taking ‘Legendary Shooting Talent’ and investing the bonus points in useful traits would be better.

Yet emotion overrules reason. 

I select traits purely for enjoyment rather than victory.

[Legendary Sword Talent: -50pt]

– A tragic genius born in the wrong era. Grants overwhelming talent with all blade-type weapons. Activates hyper-perception when using bladed weapons.

Select.

[Humanity’s Ultimate Weapon: -50pt]

– Possesses the most exceptional physique in human history. All physical abilities start at maximum. Increases the upper limit of maximums.

Select.

I scroll back up to check my remaining points.

[Trait Points: 16pt]

16pt.

The final piece to complete this puzzle was already decided.

[Mechanical Cardiopulmonary: -15pt]

– Rarely tires. Might appear machine-like to others.

“This is it.”

Mechanical Cardiopulmonary.

A trait as straightforward as its simple description.

In-game, stamina governs all.

This is precisely why firearms must be the main weapon.

In the game, any movement consumes stamina, and when depleted to a certain level, movement slows or stops entirely in exhaustion.

A trait that raises that stamina to an absurd level.

If we break through the stamina wall and build upon two overpowered traits…

Couldn’t I do the kind of play I’ve always wanted to try?

An eccentric combination that completely forsakes firearms.

“Swordsman build… complete.”

One bonus point remains.

“Hmm.”

An awkward remainder.

‘Should I raise the driving skill trait?’

With that thought, I scroll up again.

And discover something I missed.

[■■: -1pt]

A trait costing exactly 1 point, with garbled text.

‘Is this a bug…?’

Probably an unimplemented trait.

Still, since it’s a positive trait, it should help.

This isn’t a tryhard run, and it’s the last one, so even if there’s a problem, it’ll just be a memory.

The selection is complete.

And.

“Phew.”

I turn my gaze to the ceiling with a deep breath.

A slight fatigue washing over me.

“What time is it…”

Looking at the clock, it’s already 4 AM.

Dawn will break soon.

For a second, I hesitate.

The fatigue accumulated from clearing the highest difficulty is already considerable.

But the hesitation didn’t last long.

That whole “just gonna set it up” excuse? Yeah, that’s long gone.

“Just this last one.”

Along with hesitation, the magic words flow out as if spat.

“Just this one, for real.”

And I mean it. 

Almost.

Having already cleared the highest difficulty, I planned to quit the game without regrets.

Can’t really keep playing a game that ate up half my 20s.

“For the last time.”

I set the name.

[Name: Kyle Han]

The same name every time.

At some point, I habitually stuck to this name.

After tying the final knot with the name, the mouse pointer moves toward the play button.

Click.

Bzzt.

The moment I pressed it, my stream of consciousness was cut off.

Then…

Darkness.

* * *

Ding!

[Survive the Confirmed Apocalypse.]

[Difficulty: LAST]

[Name: Kyle Han]

[Legendary Sword Talent], [Humanity’s Ultimate Weapon], [Mechanical Cardiopulmonary], [■■]

[Gun Phobia (Warning)], [Implant Incompatible (Warning)], [Damaged Immune System (Warning)], [Dyslexia (Warning)], [High Basal Metabolism], [Poor Vision]

-Stress Level: 0-

Cold sweat trickles down my back.

I wondered if it was a dream, but it’s not.

All my sensations are too clear for that.

“…”

Through blurry eyes, I see the familiar cityscape. Streets packed with bright holograms between sky-high buildings. 

Either I’m tripping, or this is that game’s prologue screen.

“…Apocalypse City.”

The name just slips out.

Apocalypse City.

Literally, the city of endings.

There’s no need to recall the game’s explanation.

If things flow according to the game’s story, everything will be explained within hours anyway.

Naturally, my gaze shifts to the towering building ahead.

What I want to confirm is the time.

Through my blurry eyes, I can faintly see the hour and minute hands of the central tower clock racing toward 12 o’clock.

A bustling city just before noon.

People everywhere. 

Everyone is too busy to care about some guy spacing out.

And here I am, feeling like I’m drowning.

What is this?

What exactly is going on?

Regardless of such thoughts, 

“Time remaining… 3 minutes.”

Words that flow out unconsciously.

Please. 

Please don’t let it happen.

Lowering my gaze, I catch my reflection in the transparent glass.

My vision is still blurry, but I can roughly make it out.

Black hair.

Shabby clothes.

A doppelganger looking similar yet different from the actual me

Countless thoughts begin to consume me.

Stuffiness and breathlessness hit all at once.

At that moment.

“Huh? What’s going on?”

A passerby’s muttering.

Along with it, a chain of thunderous sounds breaks out.

CRASH!

In a situation like this, three minutes wasn’t very long.

“Wow… that’s a big accident!”

People who don’t yet know what reality has unfolded stare blankly at the chain of collisions happening before their eyes.

What amplifies this panicked situation even more is the sky.

Even planes begin to fall.

Only then do people seem to realize something and fall into chaos.

“What’s going on!”

“Move! Get out of the way!”

“R-Run!”

“L-Looks like a blackout!”

“The lights aren’t working either!”

The city that had boasted its splendor through holograms and neon signs instantly stopped working along with all the cars in the streets.

Even in broad daylight, without its lights the city looked as grim as something from the dark ages.

And right now, I’m probably the only one who knows why.

“…Mega Flare.”

The largest sunspot explosion in human history.

The aftermath sent solar winds crashing into Earth’s magnetic field, creating an EMP(electromagnetic pulse) that fried every electronic circuit it touched. 

First sign was all the electric cars dying and crashing. 

Then the planes started hitting the ground. 

But that’s not even the worst part. 

This is just the beginning. 

Soon that cursed solar wind is going to start churning out mutants. 

And those mutants are going to produce the infected. 

And like some twisted blessing on all this doom, the most beautiful aurora lights up the sky. 

Just another strange effect of Earth’s magnetic field colliding with the solar wind.

T/N: Simple explanation for game idiots like me:

It’s basically a survival game where you’re trying to stay alive in a city that’s about to go through an apocalypse. Think like Resident Evil but in a modern city.

When you start the game, you get to build your character by picking “traits” – kind of like picking your character’s strengths and weaknesses:

Good traits (like being super strong) cost points

Bad traits (like being afraid of guns) give you extra points to spend

It’s like a trade-off system – take some weaknesses to get more cool abilities