Transmigrated to Romance Fantasy Hell
Romance fantasy, whether movies or dramas, wasn't a genre I usually enjoyed. Especially not novels. The overall tone and story progression were just full of shit I couldn't wrap my head around.
Some people say it's nice to escape harsh reality now and then, diving into that sweet vibe for a mood boost. ...........That's the problem. I have no fucking clue what that "sweet vibe I occasionally crave" even feels like.
Thinking back, my life's trajectory never really allowed for that crap. From boys' middle school, boys' high school, right after graduation straight to the army—my world was always swarming with dark, sweaty dudes.
So, does that mean there's something wrong with me for living a life so far from sweetness? Nah. If anything, it's my brother's fault.
That crazy bastard obsessed with working out, to the point his taste in food was totally warped compared to normal people.
"Ah! This creatine tastes so damn sweet today."
"Bro, what's creatine?"
"It's the magic potion that unlocks your potential, kid. The human body is fragile as fuck—it won't even let you reach your limits easily, let alone surpass them."
"Limits? Why bother surpassing them?"
"'Cause the god of martial arts is a salty motherfucker."
"????"
"Heard it somewhere—ain't it badass? The lonely path of the natural. Wanna offer up some sweat and tears today too? Heh heh heh heh."
I can still vividly picture my brother as a middle schooler, muttering to himself while shaking some weird liquid in his portable water bottle with one arm.
Yeah. Maybe my life's standards got twisted pretty early on because of him.
Sweetness meant creatine. Weekends were split upper/lower body days. Crying meant muscle loss... By the time I snapped out of it, all the people around me who fit were exercise maniacs. No way my brother wasn't a big part of that unbelievable fact.
"Leg day today?"
"Youngchul's hitting the gym later to update his squat 1RM. Let's go watch."
"You not competing?"
"Nah, getting bored. Maybe try jiu-jitsu."
"Heard of plyometrics? It's the ultimate functional training king..."
"Wanna learn some martial arts? Our gym master was raving about you last time."
"Know what kendo sanbae-dan means? One round of kendo?"
From the neighborhood bros I met thanks to my brother, to middle/high school classmates, even the seniors and juniors I got close with in the army—they were all the same breed.
Movies? Comedy, action, thriller. Meals? Seolleongtang, spicy pork stir-fry, pork cutlet. Friday nights? Gym without fail...
It must've been around then. My body sent out an unconscious SOS to escape this thick, musky alpha-male rut. Fuck, try watching something else for once—something like that.
One day, on a webnovel platform where I occasionally peeked at murim stuff, there was a massive promo for one novel. My finger unconsciously clicked the first chapter.
"Oh?"
And just like that, I fell headfirst into a sweet story totally unlike my life so far.
The Lady Monopolizes All Attention
Shortened to LadyMonopoly, this was the top-ranked romance fantasy novel on the platform at the time.
A romance fantasy packed with all types of male leads—from princes to knight captains—who'd shatter mountains and part rivers just to impress the protagonist.
Not exactly a story to hook a workout junkie like me, but honestly, the plot didn't matter. What grabbed me was the vibe.
The sweetness. Not just the main leads, but key side characters—even rare bit players—finding their pairs and starting flirty little romances. That pink-tinted atmosphere.
Fuck, a world like this exists!
Addicted to that ticklish full-body buzz, I started buying and bingeing chapters.
But that immersion-born bliss didn't last long.
"Ah... this ain't it..."
Shit kept tripping me up.
"Hold up. Is this describing an armbar?"
Forget the sloppiness—the author's knowledge of exercise was straight-up wrong!
"Even in a mana-filled world, you gotta make it anatomically sound! At that angle, the elbow goes upward—how the hell does it not break no matter how you bend it! If it doesn't break, why call it 'snapped'! It doesn't make physical sense!"
As a gym rat, the frustrating bits weren't just one or two. From overall muscle activation during training to the sequence and combos in human combat.
The descriptions were so goddamn butchered, immersion shattered.
If you don't know, just gloss over it! Or skip describing it altogether! Why touch a topic you're clueless about!
When the frustration killed all the sweetness the story offered, my itchy fingers finally got to work.
Tap tap... tap... tap tap...
For the first time in my life, I left a comment.
"Whew."
After dropping a nearly 5,000-character wall of text, I wiped the sweat from my brow, feeling relieved.
"Hope they get it now? Maybe I should've explained more for a total newbie... Links would've helped, but that might be overkill?"
It was already overkill. Hell, maybe up to then it was fine.
The author's reply hit, and like a fool, I crammed in the rest I missed—complete with links—finishing with a whopping 10,000 characters in replies.
I should've sensed the creepiness in that second author reply. Show it directly? How? What the fuck?
With those words, the sky went pitch black.
".....................Huh?"
I'd fucking transmigrated into this goddamn world.
The Lady Monopolizes All Attention—or LadyMonopoly—unfolds in an insanely sweet world.
Beyond the main male and female leads, a colorful cast of characters pursue romances or flings in their own corners. Like the saying, "A hundred people, a hundred kinds of love"—even brief mentions show diverse relationship flavors.
Thrilling forbidden love between a thieves' guild master and knight captain. Fresh, innocent romance between rookie mercenaries and scholars. Weird mentor-apprentice dynamic in the magic tower. Secret senior-junior fling at the imperial academy. Fiery sparks between swordsman and mage, and so on...
Maybe that's why almost no characters get depicted as unhappy. Even as the heroine hogs all the male leads' attention, most folks are grinning and giggling in this world.
At least up to where I'd read.
Brutal wars? Gruesome battles? Back-alley slaughter? Court power struggles? Desperate mercenary clashes? Bizarre, cruel bloodbaths by assassins, cultists, criminals?
That shit's mostly off-page reports, or vaguely mentioned in army/noble training scenes. Almost never direct depictions.
That's why it fucking sucks.
Springing up—knowing full well someone out there is swooning over a flirty love letter, dreaming of a sweet date.
"Uwaaaaaah! I'll kill them all!"
While someone else is surviving a living hell not even properly mentioned in the story.
"If I get back, I'll really murder that author bastard!"
Thud thud thud!
Yeah. Thud thud thud thud thud thud!
I'd transmigrated.
To this dogshit horrific island mentioned only in passing in the novel.
In this world, it's a massive island east of the continent, in what's called the Dead Sea—crawling with beasts and monsters.
This ridiculously vast island gets name-dropped early in LadyMonopoly like this:
—Haha, this is embarrassing. Yes, that's right! The fool who blew up Monster Island for the safety of all you lovely ladies here? That was me.
Yeah. A sub-male lead whose hobby is clearing frontier monsters to impress women at balls.
That damn prick spits those lines early on, meaning he's about to explode this island soon.
In other words, every living thing here—including me—is about to vanish without a trace.
"Uwaaaaaah!"
I have to escape this island before then.
Which means.
I have to survive, no matter what.
"Kirruk! Kerik! Kerruk!"
"Kweeeee!"
"Kikikik! Kickkekkeeeek!"
"Guooooh!"
"Kwang! Kwoooong!"
In this accursed place where trolls, goblins, orcs—even ogres—form some twisted ecosystem.
"D-don't follow me, you fucking monsters!"
In the body of a test subject, freshly awakened.