FRSBS 02

Chapter 2

The sky was clear, yet the sun was nowhere to be seen.

An endless meadow stretched as far as the eye could reach.

Before me lay a real sword.

And across from me — a doll, staring silently in my direction.

The choice I made was simple: step back, slowly, and run.

‘Don’t show it my back.’

I could more or less guess why the doll had thrown me a sword.

It was the artifact’s nature.

I’d likely been dragged into some unknown dimension — and unless I completed the “task” written in that floating message, there’d be no way out.

‘But can I really defeat that thing a million times?’

Even if it was weak enough to take down easily, challenging it without food or supplies was suicide.

Seeing that the doll didn’t attack first, I still had a window of opportunity.

‘Let’s check the surroundings first.’

I moved away carefully, scanning my environment.

Defeating the doll could wait — survival came first.

‘Should I… take the sword?’

In a place like this, a weapon was indispensable.

But the sword might also be the trigger.

The message had told me to defeat the doll, and the doll had thrown me this blade.

If I picked it up, it might take that as the signal to attack. So grabbing it carelessly was a risk.

‘Back away first. Slowly.’

One step. Two steps.

The further I retreated, the closer the doll crept.

‘So it’s not going to let me leave easily.’

The doll stopped when it reached the sword it had thrown, picked it up, and tossed it back toward me.

Thunk.

Then it did it again.

And again.

By the fifth time, I realized there was nothing here that could be used as food — only endless grass stretching to the horizon.

‘No food. No exit either.’

No place to hide, no supplies to survive. That left only one path forward.

[Defeat Sword Doll 1,000,000 times 0/1,000,000]

“….”

Not a hundred. Not ten thousand.
A million.

I had no idea how strong that doll was, but standing around doing nothing wouldn’t change anything.

‘If I’m going to die anyway, I might as well struggle.’

Half-resigned, I glanced down at the sword.

Then, after another moment of hesitation, I picked it up.

Creak! Screee!

As soon as I gripped the heavy one-handed sword, the doll let out an eerie metallic screech.

The blank-faced figure that had been standing still now lifted the wooden sword it had been holding.

“Hah.”

I inhaled quietly.

Could I really get out of here alive?
Just how strong was that doll?

The thought barely crossed my mind when the doll lunged at me.

Clang! Clack!

Steel clashed, and the fight began.

[Defeat Sword Doll 1,000,000 times 0/1,000,000]

After about thirty minutes of fighting, I learned one thing — no matter how hard I hit, the doll wouldn’t fall.

Even slashing with a real blade left no marks. The doll merely staggered a step or two as if struck by force, then immediately regained balance and counterattacked.

‘There has to be a weak point….’

As I desperately searched for one, I managed to trip it and saw a strange mark carved into its back.

‘There?’

I brought the sword down on that symbol —

Boom!

The doll exploded into dust.

[Defeat Sword Doll 1,000,000 times 1/1,000,000]

I’d found the rule.

Strike its back — it disappears.

‘This thing’s not even D-rank. Maybe I can do this.’

If someone around 200th place at the Hunter Academy could manage this, it couldn’t be that high-level.

For the first time, I felt hopeful that I might escape the artifact.

But—

Creak! Krrk!

“Ugh!”

The next doll appeared a few minutes later, and that hope vanished instantly.

‘Wait— this one’s way stronger!’

The difference was clear. The new doll was faster, its movements sharper — and it fought with entirely different technique.

‘What is this, a B-rank now? How is that even fair?’

Even its swordplay had changed — no longer textbook form, but an unpredictable, chaotic rhythm.

It felt like facing a completely different opponent.

Clang! Clang!

“Wait, time out—!”

Too late.

I was beaten senseless, pummeled into the ground with the doll’s wooden sword.

Every time I got up, I was hit again. When I dropped my sword, it struck even harder.

I lost count of how many times I got beaten down.

At some point, I noticed something strange.

‘Wait… I’m not bleeding?’

Despite the brutal blows, my body showed no injuries at all.

I felt the pain, but there were no cuts, no fatigue, no hunger — nothing.

Time was impossible to track without the sun, but it felt like half a day, maybe more.

Yet I still wasn’t hungry.

‘Artifact power, huh…?’

If it truly was an artifact, it could explain this — a virtual space where pain existed, but no hunger or exhaustion.

But why would something like that be on the Academy’s rooftop?

Creak! Creak!

“Agh!”

The doll’s relentless attack cut short my thoughts.

I couldn’t afford reflection when it was constantly beating me with that sword.

If this wasn’t an artifact, my skull would’ve been crushed long ago.

Being able to survive the pain made it even worse — like dying endlessly without dying.

Still, over time, I started to adapt. I learned the new doll’s attack patterns, dodged, countered — and finally, I won.

[Defeat Sword Doll 1,000,000 times 2/1,000,000]

“Only two…?”

It had taken this long just to defeat two dolls.

And before I could even sigh—

Creak! Clang!

Another one spawned.

[Defeat Sword Doll 1,000,000 times 15/1,000,000]

Each one fought differently, changing styles constantly.

Even after falling thousands of times, I could barely land a single clean hit.

To strike its back, I needed perfect victory — flawless dominance in every duel.

Luck couldn’t do it.

But with every battle, my skill improved.

I wouldn’t starve here, and my body wouldn’t break.

[Defeat Sword Doll 1,000,000 times 126/1,000,000]

The only question was — could my mind endure it?

To fight endlessly against ever-changing opponents… with no rest, no sleep, no escape.

The only respite was the brief moment between each doll’s defeat.

No normal person could endure that.

Then again, I’d never been “normal.”

[Defeat Sword Doll 1,000,000 times 1,000/1,000,000]

“One thousand.”

Far from falling apart, I found myself more focused than ever.

That was my nature.

And the way I’d lived all my life.

A man born without talent, who survived only by effort — someone like that doesn’t crumble easily, even under endless pain.

[Defeat Sword Doll 1,000,000 times 5,603/1,000,000]

Grab sword.
Fight.
Win.
Repeat.

There was no fatigue, no hunger, no rest — only the goal.

[Defeat Sword Doll 1,000,000 times 22,059/1,000,000]

The end was still nowhere in sight, but I didn’t despair.

My progress was visible — every victory a tangible number rising before my eyes.

Through countless duels, my swordsmanship evolved.

[Defeat Sword Doll 1,000,000 times 62,000/1,000,000]

I felt… accomplished.

It was a kind of fulfillment I’d never felt in real life — not the fake satisfaction of grades or rankings, but something pure.

There were no comparisons here. No one to measure against.

Only me and the sword.

[Defeat Sword Doll 1,000,000 times 410,300/1,000,000]

When I reached nearly half the target, anticipation grew.

What kind of swordsmanship would the next doll show me?

Each battle revealed new techniques, movements beyond any textbook.

A place where I could focus on nothing but the blade.

Anyone else would have gone insane by now.

Ironically, I found peace.

[Defeat Sword Doll 1,000,000 times 840,041/1,000,000]

Immersion.

That strange magic that makes humans lose track of time.

Like a gamer lost in obsession, I fought and fought, no longer watching the numbers — only the blade, the movement, the kill.

Slash.
Thrust.
Sweep.
Strike the back.

That was all.

Until finally—

[Defeat Sword Doll 1,000,000 times 1,000,000/1,000,000]

[Congratulations! You have cleared the Training Chamber (Swordsman)!]

[Returning user to original location.]

The goal that once felt impossibly distant — achieved.

“….”

I was back.

The rooftop.

The same spot I’d been standing before getting sucked in.

I looked around, flexing my fists, tapping the ground with my foot.

“Did I… really come back?”

Trying to confirm reality, I turned toward the storage shed.

It was locked tight again.

If I could just see that cube, I could prove that everything in the meadow had been real.

But with the door sealed shut, I couldn’t.

As I stood there, hand resting on the doorknob, lost in thought—

“…Juhyeok?”

A familiar voice came from behind.

“Instructor…?”

I turned — my homeroom instructor stood there, looking half-relieved, half-angry.

It had been so long since I’d seen another human face, I didn’t know how to react.

The instructor rushed over and grabbed my arm.

“You! You’ve been hiding up here all week without showing up to class?”

“…Huh?”

“I know your grades weren’t great, but skipping classes like this? What were you thinking?”

His voice was firm, but his expression was full of concern.

He wasn’t joking — and this wasn’t the kind of man to make up stories.

A whole week.

I had spent what felt like an eternity inside that place…

But in the real world, only seven days had passed.