Welcome to Horizon
Kim Ganghan stroked the unfamiliar face in the mirror. No matter how he looked, it wasn’t his face. He was in a new body.
“Hah… this feels too real to just be a dream.”
The dark circles under his eyes that plagued his real-life gamer life were nowhere to be seen. In their place sat a handsome young man with sharp, piercing eyes.
But the truly impossible part was the flood of text right next to the face.
Name: Oh Jinhwan
- Level: 1 - New notifications have arrived.
Oh Jinhwan? He had heard the name before.
‘Definitely the villain who pops up in the game novel thanks to luck.’
Examining the appearance closely, it matched the descriptions from the original novel perfectly.
“What exactly are these notifications?”
His own voice sounded strange as it came out, and the text in the mirror began to move in an eerie, unnatural way.
New Beginning
- You have entered the world of the game novel through sheer luck. - Oh Jinhwan is an outstandingly talented young man. However, in terms of the story’s progression, he was supposed to vanish entirely.
- I believe that with your abilities, Kim Ganghan, you will be able to alter Oh Jinhwan’s fate in this world of the game novel through his body.
- Show off the swagger you once shouted at the author through Oh Jinhwan’s body.
- Reward: Return to the original world, ???
“……”
Kim Ganghan could not even utter a single word. He was simply too stunned.
‘Just who the hell is this so-called author?’
To actually send him into the world inside the novel.
It made sense now, at least. Kim Ganghan had transmigrated into the body of Oh Jinhwan, a character from the novel.
“……No rejection option?”
A new notification appeared in response to his voice.
Your Goals
- Oh Jinhwan is the typical character who lived a failed life. - Improve Oh Jinhwan’s life and, going even further, reach the highest position in the world of the game novel thanks to luck.
- For the first goal, begin the main game of the world of the game novel, Horizon. - For the second goal, achieve great accomplishments one step ahead of the protagonist.
New notifications have arrived.
Begin Horizon.
- You have come to conquer the world of the game novel. For now, begin the game Horizon as your first step.
- Reward: 100,000 won - Clear Oh Jinhwan’s debts.
- Oh Jinhwan once tried his hand at streaming but failed. He was scammed out of a huge sum by a generous viewer and ended up with massive debt. Clear all of it.
- Reward: Health stat bonus - Improve Oh Jinhwan’s health.
- Oh Jinhwan is naturally sickly. Improve his health as much as possible.
- Reward: Healing potion recipe book
‘What the hell is this…?’
Quests flying at him like they were in a game.
The first one made sense. But the second and third were completely absurd.
‘Anyway, this guy is supposed to be sickly?’
Kim Ganghan stared at the Oh Jinhwan in the mirror.
He had decent coloring and was undeniably handsome. Yet he was supposed to be sickly. That didn’t add up.
‘I was supposed to look even worse originally.’
Kim Ganghan frowned. He had no idea what was going on.
But what was clear was that something was off.
***
After grasping the situation, Kim Ganghan decided to investigate everything about Oh Jinhwan and the world he now lived in.
‘It looks similar, but it’s a different world.’
For starters, this place was still Earth. The nations were the same, as were civilization, culture, and race. Everything was mostly identical.
But it was definitely a different world.
‘Brands, companies, the tiniest details were all different.’
Technology seemed a bit more advanced. In Kim Ganghan’s original world, VR games were about as far as it went.
But here, full-dive VR games that used to exist only in fiction had already been commercialized.
‘First, I need to buy a VR headset if I’m going to follow the quests.’
Kim Ganghan sighed deeply.
Currently, Oh Jinhwan’s assets consisted of a single room for a 1,000 won deposit and 40,000 won monthly rent. He also had about 30 million won in cash.
‘From what I’ve investigated, the debt is 100 million won.’
That meant 1 million won every month.
‘If I spend recklessly, I might starve to death in this unknown world.’
First, 10 million won would go toward the headset.
‘Equipment isn’t that important.’
High-end capsules were comfortable and had far better synchronization rates. Plus, they never broke.
‘First, order the capsule…’
Right now, Kim Ganghan had two weapons. The first was the quest itself and Oh Jinhwan’s healthier body. The second was the knowledge from the game novel he had brought with him from the outside world.
If he used both of these weapons skillfully, he could fulfill the author’s mission. It would be difficult, but not impossible.
‘Debt isn’t really a big problem.’
A complete gamer addict would talk like that! But it wasn’t quite the same.
In the first place, this wasn’t about throwing money around mindlessly.
The one difference between this world and reality was that game items and assets were legally recognized.
‘In the original novel, the protagonist even bought a Seoul apartment with game items.’
Stocks and coins were also on his mind. But he quickly gave up. Companies and items changed in this new world, so putting in money carelessly would lead to him ending up on the streets. He didn’t even have seed money.
“Well, the plan is roughly set.”
Grow in the game, earn money, and use that money to pay off the debt.
Kim Ganghan immediately stood up.
“Come on, let’s see just how well virtual reality has developed.”
***
“Installation complete.”
“Thank you.”
Several days later.
Kim Ganghan stretched in the new one-room apartment he had just acquired.
“So this is it.”
A silver, streamlined capsule sat in front of him. That tiny capsule cost the price of an entire small car. Yet Kim Ganghan felt no regret. After all, what was the point of buying a car? There were reasons to ride one, but the main draw was personal satisfaction. In that sense, he was perfectly happy with this device.
‘This is the first time I’ll experience it.’
He had reached the top of Dragon World in VR. But there was always something missing. Every time his chest tightened beyond the goggles and every time he fell during a boss fight, he felt the lack. Could a true virtual reality game fill that void?
“Connection.”
Kim Ganghan inside the capsule spoke. A swallowing sound came from his throat, then faded away. In the next instant, his vision turned completely white. Two message windows appeared before him.
- Brainwave registration for Horizon has been completed. - You have surpassed the horizontal line.
The vision suddenly opened up, and his body moved. Kim Ganghan widened his eyes and looked around.
‘Oh…’
Everywhere was filled with blinding white light. Only Kim Ganghan stood there.
“This is seriously amazing.”
It wasn’t just the vision. Even push-ups or jumps gave real sensory feedback, like in reality. It felt so real that one might question whether he was actually connected.
“No, this isn’t the time.”
Kim Ganghan immediately began the process. He selected his character and starting point, then listened to the continuing tutorial. Of course, he hadn’t chosen anything randomly.
‘In the original novel, it said the beginning of this village was the best.’
The protagonist of the world of the game novel, Flush. His luck was literally off the charts. He would obtain rare items or probability skills just by tripping on the road. He was the hero chosen by the era.
That guy’s verified “lucky spot” was in Kim Ganghan’s mind.
‘I can’t make a mistake.’
Kim Ganghan followed his memories and completed every step. Because of that, when he saw the final message, he paused for a second.
- All tutorial processes completed. - Please set your nickname.
Nickname? So, “Fafnir.”
After a moment of thought, Kim Ganghan answered. Fafnir was the number-one name in the Dragon World PVE rankings. It shone as the top in PVP.
- Set as ‘Fafnir’. - You have surpassed the horizontal line. - You have entered the world of Horizon.
Paf. Brilliant light blocked his vision again. When the light faded, Kim Ganghan, or rather Fafnir, opened his eyes.
“……Wow.”
He couldn’t help but let out a stunned exclamation.
***
- You have arrived at Clover Village. - You can interact with quests and NPCs, level up, and use skills. - Nothing has been determined yet. - Open up a new world and fill your pages with your own records.
A message appeared in front of the people who had arrived at the village. But the villagers had no time to check.
The village square was filled with admiration and excitement! People showed all sorts of reactions.
“Wow, I can really move however I want.” “Yo~ jump!” “This is me…?” “Wow, I really can move.”
They touched their bodies and tried out exercises, or even skipped a few steps.
“The village chief greeted me, right?” “Yeah, yeah. I just did.”
“Then let’s go straight south. The fastest way is to catch the rabbit and turn into a fox right there.”
Some people were already following their own guides they had heard or seen and heading out immediately.
“Looks like I’ll have food now that the villagers are gone.” “Wow, my eyes are wide open! I can see without glasses…”
“Sigh… sigh…”
“Hey, how much is this skewer? Three coppers? Give me ten!”
Some people were just enjoying the brand-new world itself.
‘It’s exactly like the original novel’s content.’
Given that it was made with science and technology that outpaced the era, it felt more real than reality itself. Having tasted a world like that for the first time, it was no wonder people were so excited. Of course, Fafnir was excited too.
“Hoo.”
Fafnir took a deep breath. The clear air of the countryside path, the breeze brushing his cheeks, everything flowed smoothly without any sense of dislocation.
‘So this is a game…?’
If real VR games were like Gangnam ramen, this was a level above bulgogi ramen! He felt a difference beyond what he had expected just by trying it.
‘This is amazing!’
The author is so disgusting he wants to kill him. But separately from that, this game itself…
‘It’s really well made.’
After thinking that, Fafnir recalled the original novel. He thought about the reactions of the users inside the world of the game novel. And the plot of the original novel.
‘I guess everyone was just hunting.’
While looking at the website guides, they hunted, hunted, and hunted again! They threw everything they had into getting to a big city as fast as possible. That was only natural.
The quests given in the village were…
‘It really said they were disgustingly boring.’
If it were like being dropped as a foreign laborer into a real rural village, that was exactly the feeling of the starting point with that title.
“Hey, can I get some eggs?” “I need to shear the wool, but I’m busy with something else. Can you help?”
“Help me clean the stable! It’s urgent!”
Quests that were sweet-sounding when phrased nicely and stank when said the other way! Even the rewards were tiny: a little experience and a few coppers.
- Quest completed. - Acquired 2 eggs. - Acquired 3 coppers. - Quest completed. - Acquired old broom.
He had worked under the scorching sun all day. And all he got was eggs and a broom?
‘Even a real rural farmer wouldn’t do this kind of thing.’
The fight between the dragon and the knight shown on TV screens. The great magician who single-handedly overturned the board of a large-scale battlefield. Anyone who saw those images would never think to give them chicken poop and weeds.
‘Except for Flush, everyone just hunted for that reason.’
In many other beginner villages, that choice had been correct. No matter how much they struggled, they only got experience and favorability. In fact, high-level players couldn’t even enter this village anymore. It was useless to build favor with the training ground instructors!
But this village was a little special.
‘There’s a reason the original protagonist came here.’
A hidden piece that couldn’t be obtained in other starting points. In the original novel, this village was one of the places that hid it.
‘In the first place, with normal methods, you could never catch up to Flush.’
Fafnir acknowledged it. Flush was the king of luck. He picked up rare items on the road and gathered elite quests from every village he visited. Even heirs of large corporations or big spenders from overseas gave up in front of him. There was no way to catch him through normal means.
So he used his “guidebook” to the fullest.
‘That way, when I get back to reality, I can confront the author.’
Getting the reward was just a bonus. For the glorious future and to prove his skill, Fafnir picked up the scythe.
“Do you need help with weeding?” “Oh, the farming work is really tough right now… Could you help?”
“Of course.”
The moment a mad farmer was born in Clover Village.