The quest board looked like a fantasy job listing site — only way more terrifying. Wooden boards covered in slips of parchment, each neatly stamped with the guild's seal, fluttered faintly in the breeze from the open doors. Adventurers of all shapes and sizes crowded around it, muttering, picking quests, laughing. Some wore armor polished enough to blind him; others looked like they hadn't bathed in a week. Jae-hyun stood there, slouching slightly, trying to look like he wasn't a complete fraud who'd almost died running from a wolf yesterday.
His eyes darted across the quests.
"Kill three goblins."
He snorted. "Yeah, sure. Let me just take my trusty… air fists into goblin territory." He folded his arms. "Next."
"Escort caravan through monster territory."
He didn't even hesitate. "I'm not even qualified to escort a grocery cart through traffic."
"Clear out sewer rats."
He wrinkled his nose so hard it felt like his face was folding in on itself. "That's… that's literally pest control. No. Not happening. I did not get isekai'd for rat duty."
Every quest seemed to scream, Please die horribly while armed adventurers laugh at your corpse. His eyes kept scanning. His stomach growled again, loud enough that the tall warrior beside him shot him a side-eye. Jae-hyun coughed, pretending it hadn't happened.
Then his gaze landed on salvation.
Quest: Gather 15 Moonpetal Herbs
Reward: 8 silver coins
Notes: Found in fields east of Ironspire. Watch out for boars.
His eyes widened. Flowers. Glowing flowers, at that. That sounded safe. Non-violent. Low effort. His kind of pace.
"Oh-ho-ho… yes," Jae-hyun muttered, plucking the slip off the board like he'd just won the lottery. "Finally. A quest tailored for weaklings like me. Flower power, baby."
He strutted back to the receptionist's desk, waving the slip like it was a VIP ticket to survival.
"I'll take this one," he said with forced confidence.
The receptionist raised one perfectly skeptical eyebrow. "Moonpetals?" She looked at him as if he were trying to order a children's menu item at a fine restaurant. But she stamped the slip anyway. "Bring the herbs back before sunset. Payment upon delivery. Good luck."
"Luck," Jae-hyun muttered, tucking the slip into his pocket. "Yeah, that's exactly what I don't have. Thanks for the reminder."
The eastern fields stretched out under a sharp blue sky that looked far too peaceful for a death world. Grass reached his knees, rippling in waves as the wind swept through. Distant farmhouses dotted the landscape, their chimneys coughing faint smoke. The air smelled fresh—cleaner than Seoul's car exhaust-laced oxygen by a mile. For one brief second, Jae-hyun thought, Wow, maybe this place isn't so bad.
Then he caught himself.
"Nope. Stop that. That's exactly how characters die in horror movies. The second they say 'this isn't so bad,' bam, eaten alive by swamp trolls."
Still, he pushed forward. His shoes crunched over dirt paths and wildflowers. After maybe fifteen minutes of wandering, he spotted them: pale-blue flowers growing in clusters beneath the shade of an old twisted oak tree. Their petals glowed faintly, shimmering like they were lit from within.
He crouched down, fingers trembling slightly, and pulled one carefully. As it came free, the faint glow flickered before dimming entirely in his hand.
[Moonpetal Herb Acquired: 1/15]
Jae-hyun's lips curled into a smug grin. "Hah. Easy. Look at me. Professional herbologist. Peak adventurer material. Bet my classmates are fighting demon generals right now, and here I am… picking flowers. Who's the real genius here?"
He carefully plucked another. Then another. One after the other, slipping them into the rough cloth sack they'd given him at the guild. His sack slowly filled. With every herb, a smug satisfaction bloomed inside him. He even started humming.
"This is the kind of quest I was born for," he muttered. "Low risk, low effort, low chance of embarrassing death by wolf bite. Ahhh. What a life."
That's when the rustling started.
He froze mid-hum. "…Please just be the wind."
The rustle grew louder. Grass swayed unnaturally. Then, with a loud snort that rattled his bones, a massive boar lumbered out of the brush. It was bigger than any boar he'd seen in a textbook or zoo documentary — easily the size of a small car. Its tusks gleamed like polished ivory, sharp enough to skewer him in a single thrust. And its eyes glowed faintly red, pulsing with unnatural light.
Jae-hyun's jaw dropped. "…Oh, come on. I pick flowers for five minutes and the universe decides to throw in a mid-boss?!"
The boar lowered its head, pawing the ground. The earth shook slightly.
"Oh, great. A death-pig tutorial miniboss. Of course. Because clearly the goddess wants me to die humiliated in a field of daisies."
The boar snorted, steam rising from its nostrils.
Jae-hyun raised his hands helplessly. "Okay, wait, timeout! Can we, uh, talk this out? I'll give you half my herbs. Two-thirds. You like salads, right?"
The boar answered by charging.
"OH NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE!" Jae-hyun's legs moved faster than they ever had during gym class. He bolted, his arms flailing comically, weaving through the tall grass as dirt flew behind him. The boar thundered after him like a freight train, tusks cutting through the air.
His lungs burned. His vision blurred with panic. He barely managed to hurl himself behind a large boulder just before the boar slammed into it. The impact cracked the stone, echoing like a gunshot. Pebbles rained down around him.
He clutched the rock, gasping for air, his heart hammering. "Yep… yep… this is how I die. Not even to a wolf. Not to a demon. Not to some epic dragon. Just… barbequed by bacon."
The boar snorted furiously, circling. It pawed the earth again. Jae-hyun pressed his back against the rock, whispering, "Please… please get bored… go eat grass… go home to your boar family…"
Finally, after what felt like hours but was probably three minutes, the beast snorted one last time and lumbered away, vanishing back into the brush.
Jae-hyun slumped against the boulder, sweat dripping from his chin. His sack of herbs was still clutched in his hands. He laughed nervously, his voice cracking. "Hahahaha… wow. Almost died to a salad mission. Amazing. This is my life now."
Then, his vision shimmered. A faint glow appeared.
[Level Up!]
Name: Jae-hyun
Level: 2
HP: 110 +8
Mana: 55 +4
Strength: 12 +1
Agility: 13 +1
Luck: 0.1
Skill: Minor Copy (F Rank)
Exp: 3/30
He blinked at the panel. Then rubbed his eyes. Then blinked again.
"…I leveled up… from picking flowers… and not dying to baconzilla?" He laughed harder, holding his sides. "What even is this system? I swear, this world runs on memes."
But he couldn't deny the small rush of pride blooming in his chest. He had survived. He had leveled up. He hadn't embarrassed himself too much.
"Alright," he muttered, standing shakily. "Herbs: acquired. Pride: slightly restored. Trauma: ongoing. Time to cash in before another boss pig decides to ruin my day."
By the time he staggered back into Ironspire, the sun had already dipped low, painting the streets orange. Farmers and adventurers moved through the gates, carts creaking with goods, children chasing one another between stalls. The smell of bread, meat, and smoke made his stomach growl violently.
He dragged himself into the Adventurer's Guild and all but dumped the glowing herbs onto the receptionist's counter. She looked up, mildly surprised, then quickly counted them.
"Fifteen. Complete." She slid a small pouch across the counter. "Eight silver. Congratulations on your first successful quest."
Jae-hyun opened the pouch and stared. Silver coins gleamed faintly, catching the light of the guild's lanterns. His hands trembled.
"Money," he whispered reverently. "Actual money. Do you understand how many instant ramen cups this could buy?"
The receptionist raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
He tucked the pouch carefully into his pocket, clutching it like treasure. Then his grin faded slightly.
I can't keep winging this. I don't know the rules here. Levels, stats, quests, monsters… it's all just a fever dream. If I don't figure this system out, I'm dead the second something harder than a wolf shows up.
He clenched his fists. "I need information.
He looked up at the receptionist. "Hey… is there a library in this city? Somewhere that explains… you know… all this?"
She blinked, adjusting her glasses. "The Grand Archive. East sector. Though most people don't bother unless they're mages or scholars. Why?"
He forced a casual laugh. "Oh, you know. Just… exploring the world. Hahaha. Totally not clueless or anything."
She gave him a look that said I don't believe you, but I also don't get paid enough to care.
As he walked out into the fading light, coins jingling in his pocket, his stomach growled again.
"Alright," he muttered, smirking. "First food. Then library. Time to figure out this damned world before it kills me."