For Whom the Bell Tolls

Ending rewards. Among the content unlocked after the story within the game reaches its conclusion, these were one of the rewards players could obtain. Naturally, since they existed at the very end of everything, they often possessed exceptional performance, functionality, and design. Their rarity was high, which in turn meant unique gameplay experiences and the self-satisfaction that came from collecting them. Whatever the case, it was clear that gamers now had a reason to strive for fragments of data. But not everything was positive. Some corrupt developers who sought to dominate players' psychology used this system to commit rather malicious acts.

Spamming endings. Splitting rewards by ending. If you wanted a specific item, you had to invest that much time. It was a terrible trick designed to increase playtime, which essentially turned the game into labor. Having to face increasingly stronger hidden bosses with each playthrough was already tragic, but unfortunately, human malice did not stop there.

A reward condition that collectors obsessed with content would call hell. Satisfying every condition was essentially a form of torture reserved exclusively for completionists. And tragically, I was one of those collectors being ground down because of it.

"I seriously thought I was going to lose my mind."

That was exactly how it had been until just moments ago. By completing every ending, I had finally met the conditions to receive the final ending reward. It had truly been a long, arduous, and difficult journey. That was why someone might say:

"Couldn't you just manipulate the memory or registry to unlock them instantly?"

"If you use a program released by the developers, you can collect everything right away. Why bother?"

"If it's that hard, wouldn't it be better to give up collecting and just delete the game?"

Perhaps those were realistic suggestions. But there was only one answer to them. I simply enjoyed it. Just as one likes a person, I liked the game, that was all. The sense of accomplishment and romance gained through effort made the pain worth enduring. Moreover, while rewards generally referred to material things, the final reward was far from that. It was not some consumable fragment of data.

Rewards that would make the game more colorful. They even provided the ability to customize things however you wanted, rather than being stuck with the predetermined protagonist. This was exactly what I had been looking forward to.

It basically meant there were a lot of bugs. But that did not matter at all. I clicked the start button beneath the logo that read Gray-Zone. A character customization window appeared, allowing me to adjust everything except gender. Since it was my first time setting an appearance, I poured my heart into every detail despite my lack of skill.

The long customization process finally ended. What appeared next was the window for setting stats and traits. Since this was where the core of gameplay would be determined, I rested my chin on my hand and stared at it intently. What should I raise? What should I set high? What should I focus on? Many thoughts crossed my mind, but it did not take long to realize that worrying was pointless.

'It's New Game Plus, so I have infinite points anyway.'

I could invest them however I wanted. Every stat soared without hesitation, passing through the ranks of Dullard, Inferior, Average, Excellent, and Genius, reaching the maximum of Genius. Perfect. Then my gaze moved to the character traits, of which I could select up to three. There were countless traits, so it seemed like I would have to think carefully, but I had already finished deliberating on this part long ago. I scrolled down immediately and chose three traits.

It was truly a beautiful choice. Especially for someone like me who suffered from decision paralysis, there could be no better option. After some self-praise, I moved on to the next step.

'Name setting... Age can stay at default... Birthplace is America anyway, so I'll just pick something at random.'

Perhaps it was because of my impatience to play the game, but parts that did not matter were quickly skipped or set carelessly.

After finally pressing the save button, a new save file was created along with the sound of a bell. Now, loading this save file would start a new game. With anticipation, I moved my mouse.

But clicking the button never happened. When ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I looked at my phone due to a rough vibration, a DM had arrived.

"Ah..."

A message I had hoped would not come. Ironically, it had already arrived, and I had even seen it. It seemed today was not a day meant for enjoying things alone. With a deep sigh, I shut down the computer. I got ready to go out and stepped outside. I told myself I would play the game when I returned later. It was a promise for the near future, but that resolve would not be kept. Not long after, I died in a traffic accident.

Gray-Zone. The name sounded grand, but in reality, it was just a game set in a modern fantasy world where all you did was beat up monsters. As was typical with such games, the world was on the brink of destruction, and the story and common goal revolved around the protagonist stopping it. A roughly capable heroine with no connections. Roughly beating up wild monsters. Roughly beating up villains. Roughly showing off in cutscenes. Roughly overflowing with loot. Roughly beating up evil organizations. Roughly either a dog-like ruin or a dog-like success. It was truly a simple ARPG narrative. Simple enough even for someone like me, who was more interested in fun than story, to understand easily.

But regardless, the actions required to progress the story were quite complex. Gray-Zone had multiple endings. To fulfill their conditions, you had to collect specific items or complete specific quests. Naturally, there were all sorts of things, including happy endings that required defeating ridiculously difficult hidden bosses and retrieving hidden items. And all of these processes could be summarized in one sentence: No matter how interesting a game's ending was, it did not help one's real life in the slightest.

If you thought about the purpose of games in the first place, you might ask if that was not obvious. However, I was not talking about the moment of relieving stress and gaining satisfaction right now.

"Children, what is this ugly green creature in the picture~?"

"""A fat orc!"""

"Then who are these cool people here~?"

"""Hunter uncles!"""

"You're all so good at this! Then finally, what is this~?"

"""A World Gate!"""

After dying, I found myself in the game world. My birthplace was not America, the main setting, but Korea. The time period was over twenty years before the main story. I was not even a main or supporting ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠character, nor an extra or NPC. In other words, to summarize: I had somehow entered the game world, but I was nothing more than an ordinary person, with almost no usable elements available to me.

It ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was strange. Far too strange. Usually in novels, when someone possessed a body, they were given all sorts of perks. Overpowered abilities, exceptional talents, or the plausibility to charm people. If not that, then—

"Sh*t... status window..."

The words I had just faintly muttered. Sadly, it was a futile act. The result of praying for something magical was nothing more than waking from a dream that had been repeating for years. No sign, no sound, no interface, nothing at all. It was truly pitiful. Because it meant ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I had truly been given nothing.

"Waaah..."

If only I had something like a time esper ability. Why on earth was I not the protagonist who was good at fighting and magic? I would not even mind a gender bender, so please let me possess the protagonist I customized. Or at the very least, possess an extra from the game. Even a third-rate villain who fights the protagonist would be fine. I could even do well as a porter for the protagonist's party. Of course, NTR gender bender corruption is a bit much, so please exclude things like a childhood friend who is a girl. But no matter how desperately I prayed to suck on that honey, nothing changed. Only a child who could not even use magic properly. Soon, there would only be 'Kang Sian,' who would suffer through the duties of a student.

"Life is dogshit."

"Little Kang Sian, we do not use that kind of language."

A useless possessor in the hunter world. Or rather, I was not even sure if this counted as possession.

Anyway, even in my second life, I was destined to suffer through college entrance exams.