SnowFlake (1)
A year had passed since my brother went missing. He vanished while I was in the military, so I couldn't even properly investigate what happened. My only blood relative—dead or alive, I had no idea—and the Ministry of Defense wouldn't let me discharge early. My brother just disappeared from his room one day without a trace. After my discharge ceremony, I took the bus home alone and waited for him again. It was winter, and the empty house felt especially frigid. The boiler was broken for some reason. Nothing worked. In the end, I couldn't do anything but sit on the dust-covered mattress and sigh.
Deep down, I already knew my brother was dead. I didn't know when, where, or how, but it was time to accept it. If he was coming back, he would've by now. He wasn't returning. From here on, I had to take care of my own life. I stopped by the bank to cancel my military savings account, came home, and booted up the dusty laptop to look for job openings. It was my brother's old machine. That's when I noticed an app in the corner of the desktop wallpaper.
Dwarf Stone. A game I'd never heard of. Judging by the simple yet elegant pixel tile graphics, it was a knockoff roguelike imitating the classic masterpiece Dungeon Crawl: Stone Soup—aka Stone Soup or Doljuk. 'Even he played something like this before leaving.' Dwarf Stone... The name alone reeked of pretentious hipster garbage. Still, since it was the game he'd been playing before he disappeared, I felt an urge to try it out. If his character was still there, I wanted to see it. A chuckle escaped me unbidden. Back when we were kids, we'd fight over the single computer, both insisting we needed it for gaming... then delete each other's characters and end up in real fistfights. I always won, of course.
'Where's the character he raised... Lv.8 Barbarian ElfArcherPanties?' What a nickname... He named it well. I took a moment to check out the burly barbarian warrior he'd built. Naturally, it didn't resemble him at all.
Begin your run.
I hit game start to begin my first run. I didn't want to mess up and kill his character—that'd be depressing—so I made a new one of my own. First run.
You died to rats on Layer 1.
"Huh?" What the hell? My character died in three minutes flat. Dying on Layer 1, which should be a tutorial? What kind of insane difficulty curve was this? The thought flashed through my mind, but I figured it was just newbie mistake since I didn't know the game. Second run.
Begin your run.
I was getting the hang of it. No way I'd die that pathetically again. This time, skip mage—go warrior, strong from the start. Real men split enemy skulls with an axe, right? Second run.
Ambushed in your sleep. You died.
"What the fuck?" Died in my sleep? I didn't even know how. More absurd than angry. What kind of game is this? Third run, immediately.
Begin your run.
Don't solo—recruit party members. Party play! Such romance! Trust your back to reliable comrades in perilous labyrinths... Third run.
Raped by a Layer 1 brigand. Sanity collapsed. Suicide.
"Fuck!" I yelled at the innocent laptop. I trusted my back, but not like that! Why are humans enemies on Layer 1? Why reveal anal virginity status? Why the brutal insanity debuff?! This was pride now. Would I clear Layer 1 to 2, or kneel to this bullshit game?
Begin your run.
Fourth, fifth, sixth... eighth run.
You descended to Layer 2 of the labyrinth.
"Cleared it!" I whooped and jumped from my chair. Not really cleared, just reached Layer 2, but the rush was immense. 'God game.' Snapping out of it, dawn light filtered through the window. I'd forgotten my depression—my brother's absence was why I started—and dove in too deep. Reality crept back. I shook my head hard. 'Keep going for now.' Ignore real life, click the screen. What monsters on Layer 2? Huge floors—same here? Changing backgrounds? How strong could I grow? Best party recruits? Combos? What boss and rewards at the end? Excitement built.
Begin your run.
Dwarf Stone: Bonds with comrades blooming in a kingdom cursed by the labyrinth! 8 races, 8 faiths, thousands of tactics from skill/item combos! High-quality pixel tiles and freedom like a real adventure! Even learn enemy etiquette and respect! ...And all those great features dumped in the toilet by sheer unfriendliness. Permanent character death. Randomized dungeon layouts per run. Overloaded memorize-everything systems. Probabilistic mutations. Traps. Divine punishments. Troll companions. Harsh taxes. Sky-high prices. Retrieval squads popping up randomly. Absurdities you die to if you don't know. Never hands you easy wins for threats. Endless brainpower in bullshit situations for optimal calls. 'Gets manageable once you're used to it.' I struggled early too, but community guides turned me into a pro gamer. Blindly following wasn't my style, though. I spent ages comboing races, jobs, faiths, skills, items for my perfect build. Early survival, mid flexibility, late peak. DPS or tank as needed. No weaknesses. And just now, that party crushed the final boss for the ending.
Good Bye.
You returned to the surface with the Dwarf Stone.
The eight heavenly gods acknowledge your feat.
The kingdom trapped by the labyrinth is finally freed.
You are this world's savior.
Credits rolled. Soon I'd post a polished guide for my new build on the community. Pay it forward. But first... savoring the afterglow, I closed my tired eyes. Exhausted from all-nighter to ending. 'Damn fun.' Well-made game. Now I got why my brother played. Negative emotions crept back. Joy only in gaming. 'Where the hell did you go...?' Forced my mind elsewhere. Credits ended, back to main menu. One thought hit: 'One more run?' Clock said 9 AM. Too early for bed. Quick run perfect. Slight build tweak. New character: Human race. No job. No faith. Stats heavy on strength/health. Talents: mostly melee weapon skill, bit of spellcasting trigger. Looks random but manly enough—save. Hit start.
■ Run commencing
Familiar opening played.
"Shall we hear that story again?"
"The dwarf without a playmate is a loner."
"His only game is digging in the dirt."
"Waited long for someone to hold out a hand,"
"But now can't trust those who do—"
Skipped with any key as usual. Monitor exploded in blinding light. "Gah!" Eye-searing—new? Light did something; vertigo overwhelmed my senses. Instant. Consciousness faded before panic set in. Monitor log continued.
Actual game start.
Uploading consciousness...
.
.
.
.
Complete.
A cold water drop hit my forehead. Eyes snapped open. Chills pierced my body. Something's wrong. Reflexively tried to stand. Exactly that—tried.
Clank! Shackles binding my wrists to the floor yanked me back to cold stone. Sudden pull wrenched my wrists. Hurt. Not dream sensations. Sewer stench stung my nose. Looked around: cold stone walls everywhere. Iron bars like for prisoners on one side. Colder. Outside: identical cells lined up. Medieval prison. Oh, torches on walls—not electric lights.
'Kidnapped?' Locked away somewhere. Without other evidence, I'd assume that. 'My hands... too big.' Snake tattoo on right hand back. Not rocket science—this wasn't my body. I know my body best. Definitely not original.
"Young friend, save your strength. Sit still."
A ragged Western-looking man opposite me—shackled like me—spoke. Five others in the cell, same ragged look, chained to floor. Medieval prisoners? Brain raced. Not bragging, but crises make me calmer. Finished thinking, opened mouth.
"You talking to me?"
Deliberately aggressive. Checked standing attempt: huge build. Thick wrists, tattoo. Match the look. Better than polite and underestimated. 'But not Korean?' English-ish, but off. Totally new language. And I spoke it fluently.
"Yeah, who else?"
"What business of yours?"
He called me 'young friend.' Strangers. But knew more than me. Keep talking for info. He just sighed, no annoyance.
"Nah... no business. Just, we're all dead soon anyway. Why waste energy early?"
'Dead soon?' Wanted to demand explanation, held back. Too suspicious. Contextual reply.
"So just wait?"
"Yup. Or planning jailbreak? Flee Balatia to underground city? Forget it. No different."
'Balatia, underground city.' Useful info extracted. Sat as advised, no wasted energy. Head spinning. No matter how... Possessed a game character.
Game possession story. Fantasy subgenre: protagonist becomes character from game they played. Similar: book possession into story character. Broadly isekai. Clues galore: weird light on game start, medieval Western prison, wrong body, alien language... 'Balatia.' Dwarf Stone's kingdom trapped by labyrinth. All pointed to possession into Dwarf Stone character. Question: 'Who'd I possess?' Original started straight on Dungeon Layer 1. No prison intro. Divergence. Can't cope without knowing. 'Fucking unfriendly game.' Lamented inwardly. Just in case, whispered softest: 'Status window.'
'Why DCInside instead of status?' Dizzy. Posts all depressing, aggressive. Every user seemed mentally ill. Different vibe. 'But good for info.' All possessors like me—no need to guard... Carefully posted. Thoughts typed it—no suspicious looks from inmates.
[Author: ㅇㅇ(0.910)]
Waited. Comments flooded.
'Damn, no useful comments.' Then a PM arrived.
Replied to 'Fractal' immediately.
Trustworthy? No choice.
What? Stranger, no face/name—low trust. But just turning head. No big risk. Did it. Locked eyes with a prisoner. Woman, blackish-blue hair over one eye. Dark, cold aura—dangerous, unapproachable. But eye contact: her lips quirked up. PM pinged.
Shh. Before I spoke, she pressed finger to lips. 'Talk via community?' Casually looked away, focused there.
Worst case. Possessors worse off than thought. Ally also prisoner.
'That's what "dead soon" meant.' Haha. Beyond bad—could it worsen? Possession usually rich noble youngest or academy freshman... Not death row scum awaiting execution in cold prison.
Fuck. For real.