The Truth of This World
One day, a voice like that came from Jeong Chan-ho's phone.
"The truth of this world is a game."
Jeong Chan-ho thought it might have been a mistake in the game screen, but there was nothing on the phone. No apps were open. The phone started speaking on its own.
"What the hell is this? Did it break?"
Jeong Chan-ho tapped the phone on his palm, following the primitive belief that electronics fix when hit. From his primitive response, it was clear that he didn't consider this a major emergency. After all, there was no one to call.
"This is not a broken phone, Mr. Jeong Chan-ho. This is the word of God."
Now it was an emergency.
"What the fuck is this? How did you know my name and call? Hey, you crazy bastard. What did you do to my phone that I can't even press the call button and it connects unilaterally? Do you want to eat beans?"
Jeong Chan-ho was thinking of hacking as the most reasonable interpretation of the current situation.
But he didn't know how this happened, and what could he do about it even if he knew? The important thing was who was on the other side of this phone.
The phone's voice beyond the anger showed no sign of panic.
"Do you remember when you confessed to your partner in elementary school fifth grade and made her cry, leading to bullying?"
"Huh.."
Jeong Chan-ho couldn't say anything and took a sharp breath. It was because the phone's words were true.
Among the traumas scattered in Jeong Chan-ho's life, it was one of the dirtiest memories, one of the five fingers.
"You, who are you? How do you know that? Are you someone I know?"
"I know Mr. Jeong Chan-ho. But Mr. Jeong Chan-ho doesn't know me. I am simply delivering the will of God to you. That should be enough. If you don't believe it, I can tell you about the remaining trauma among your five fingers. Would you like that?"
"...."
A chill ran down Jeong Chan-ho's spine. It wasn't just that this voice knew his trauma or that it was some fake religion talking about the voice of God.
This guy used the expression "one of the five fingers" for the trauma.
As if reading Jeong Chan-ho's recent thoughts.
Jeong Chan-ho looked up at the ceiling. Of course, the sky wasn't visible, and no one could see into the room with the curtains drawn.
Yet, he couldn't hide the unpleasant feeling of being watched, which was unbearably creepy.
After barely calming the anxiety and fear, Jeong Chan-ho said.
"Let's hear it first."
The voice overlapped. As if he had known this would happen.
"I did this even though I knew it was rude. Because performance is important to gain trust."
The phone continued.
"With this, you will believe my words. Of course, it doesn't mean you believe everything I say, but at least you can guess that some supernatural power is involved."
This wasn't a prediction, but an explanation.
This phone was explaining Jeong Chan-ho's mind. And the explanation was accurate.
This was also performance.
"Since Mr. Jeong Chan-ho understands, let's get back to the main topic. The essence of this world is a game. Not metaphorically, but in the true sense."
//
There is what is called the simulation hypothesis.
Explaining it would take a long time, but simply put, this world is a virtual world created by a superior being, and we are beings like NPCs.
It sounds plausible at first glance, but since there's no way to verify it, it's just some imagination called a hypothesis.
"So, is that hypothesis true?"
"Yes. I said I was a god earlier, but strictly speaking, it's a bit different. The one who created this world is actually just an ordinary person with no achievements in his own world. However, at least the influence he can exert on this world is on par with a god himself."
The god of this world being an ordinary person with no achievements in the real world.
It was a fact far inferior to the absolute feeling the word "god" carries.
Well, that didn't matter anyway. The important thing was.
"Huh, so the god is sending me a message. Why?"
"From now on, we will start the game."
Jeong Chan-ho didn't know how to accept this.
Start the game? From now on? Then what was the history of this world until now?
The phone read Jeong Chan-ho's thoughts and answered.
"When starting a simulation game, there's a loading time to set up the game's settings and call them, right? That's it."
"...."
Humanity's history until now... game loading?
No, not just humanity's history, but the history of the earth and the universe... loading?
"..Then is the world hypothesis like that from 5 minutes ago?"
It was a hypothesis originating from Japan, right? The world was actually created 5 minutes ago, and what we perceive is just manipulated memories.
"No. From the perspective of the real world, it might be as short as 5 minutes, but at least from this world's perspective, it's about 13.8 billion years. At least the people who lived before Mr. Jeong Chan-ho actually believed they existed and then disappeared."
Jeong Chan-ho was confused. It wasn't because he couldn't understand the phone's words. It was just,
"Then isn't that a waste?"
Why create a world for one game, and even need to recreate the world in fine detail from the past?
"It's trivial. A small investment for realism."
How far could he believe this absurd statement? Jeong Chan-ho was confused.
"Believe everything."
There was no freedom of thought.
"Huh, then what I want to ask is..."
"You are curious why you are telling this to yourself."
It was the correct answer, but saying it so categorically made it feel a bit awkward somewhere.
"The reason is that you have been selected as the avatar of the God, the Player."
"Eh? Avatar?"
"Yes. You may not have noticed, but the Player is already with you, Mr. Jeong Chan-ho. He is living and breathing with the same emotions, knowledge, and thoughts as you. For real-feeling play."
"I, I don't quite get it. The me from before and the me now..."
"There will be no difference. The Player has not made the decision to erase your personality. The Player wants to enjoy the world he created from the perspective of the natives of that world. You just need to move according to your free will. That is the Player's wish."
The confusion kept accelerating.
More than the story that this world is actually a game world, the absurd idea that a god is with him, his body? soul? anyway, it resonated more.
"Let me say it one more time. Don't be uncomfortable. Your job is only one. Just enjoy the game, this world."
"...."
A flood of information pushed in without any consideration.
Jeong Chan-ho pondered for a moment, but there was no point in having thoughts that couldn't determine a direction on what to do.
In the end, Jeong Chan-ho, who concluded that it was just troublesome and no answer, asked the phone in a somewhat submissive voice.
"Then, what if I don't want to do it?"
"What would you do if your avatar in the game you were supposed to play had a bug?"
"Wouldn't you just delete it and create a new avatar?"
Jeong Chan-ho felt a chill as if a cold knife had been stuck in his spine.
This wasn't just blackmail.
"You don't have to be so afraid. Rather, you can be happy to have been chosen for such a wonderful role. I declare that you are a chosen human. That is the case in this world."
"Uh.... By the way, tell me one thing. So, what is this play? What is the game content?"
If it was post-apocalypse or hero story, he definitely couldn't handle it.
Even if success was guaranteed and there was a chance to get pretty girls, his mental strength wasn't strong enough to overcome hard trials and tribulations.
Considering Jeong Chan-ho's failure-ridden hikikomori life.
"You don't have to worry about that either. You won't have to see painful faces. To be precise, it's a kind of operation game."
"Huh, is it like some tycoon game?"
"Exactly."
Tycoon.
Young people these days may not know, but there was a time when games with that name were popular.
Operating a small store or running a theme park.
They were games with small fun and a subtly addictive taste.
That would be fine. After all, the protagonists in those games were all CEOs in some sense, weren't they?
Compared to a cornered hikikomori, it was success, success.
Thinking that way, Jeong Chan-ho's heart felt a bit lighter. The crazy idea of creating a world by playing a tycoon game was absurd, but... well, he had the scientific ability to create a world. In this world where such useless waste is tolerated. The real world.
"Then, what do I operate? Do I have to decide that too?"
"Freedom is guaranteed, but the subject is set. You can't go against the game's name."
It was good news that the subject was set. Rather, without a subject, creativity would drift.
Jeong Chan-ho asked the phone what the name of this game was.
Then the phone answered,
"Common Sense Alteration Tycoon."
"....."
What the hell is that.