A New Beginning
It was one of those days when I was ten years old. That day, I discovered the game I would devote my life to: New World Academy.
Among the many virtual reality games out there, it was the greatest masterpiece that had reshaped the entire gaming landscape. Its high-performance AI felt indistinguishable from real people, paired with an extreme degree of freedom. The realism, enhanced by fantasy elements, made it feel like stepping into another world entirely.
As the title suggested, the game’s main story revolved around the academy. Yet the freedom was so vast that players could push the main storyline without ever setting foot inside its halls. This revealed one of New World Academy’s most unique settings: the main story was essentially a tutorial that played out before the real game began.
Once the tutorial ended, players no longer controlled the protagonist. Instead, they created their own custom character. That was when the true features unlocked—things like PVP against beings from other dimensions (in other words, other players) or raid systems for hunting boss monsters together.
There was, of course, one small downside to creating a new character. You could no longer use the protagonist’s powers from the tutorial. That made sense, though. The tutorial protagonist became an NPC the moment you started fresh.
But it wasn’t purely a loss. It also meant you could learn entirely different abilities instead. Unlike the tutorial’s fixed skill path, you could now build whatever combination you wanted. Just imagining yourself wielding the flashy skills of all those captivating characters while progressing through the main story… how thrilling was that?
Thanks to this system, New World Academy never grew stale in PVP. New skill combinations appeared constantly, offering fresh surprises in every match.
“Seriously… are you a monster?”
“That’s what I wanted to say.”
The colosseum where PVP took place. Ranker battles weren’t held in the ordinary arena—they happened in the Sky Arena, a dueling ground suspended high above the clouds. Right now, two men stood there precariously, both beaten to hell.
“I’ve thought it before, but you really are more of a monster than I am.”
“Hearing that from the former number one feels pretty good.”
“Let me correct myself. This seat belongs to you now.”
Ten years after starting New World Academy, I had finally defeated the number one ranker in PVP and claimed the top spot. Without a stroke of luck, I would have lost again. If we fought once more, the position would return to him in no time. So for this brief moment, I wanted to savor the victory.
“Excellent work, challenger.”
A knight in pure white armor, golden wings fluttering behind him, spoke to me. The man who had defended the number one rank all this time extended his hand.
“From now on, you are the Apex of this place.”
“Man, your whole concept is absolutely killer.”
I returned a small smile and clasped his hand. The former number one dissolved into dust and vanished. In that instant, a new Apex was crowned.
As my opponent disappeared, every wound on my body vanished as if it had never existed. The battle had ended, and my condition was fully restored.
I stared blankly at the hand I had shaken and murmured, “I really won.”
I had reached the pinnacle of the game I’d started playing at age ten. More than half my life had been spent with this title, so the emotions surging through me defied description. With trembling hands, I frantically took screenshots, desperate to preserve the moment.
Crackle.
“Huh…?”
While saving the screenshots, the sky suddenly began to shake. Then, like a mirror shattering, large and small cracks spiderwebbed through the air.
Damn it. Not again.
Anyone else might have panicked, assuming the game had glitched. But I had seen this many times before, so I waited calmly.
At least it waited until after the fight. That’s something.
If it had happened mid-battle, I would have been furious. I gazed at the fractured sky for a moment before a game warning appeared in front of me.
Logging out due to critical user condition.
My vision flickered. Even as the system forced me out, I kept staring down at the Sky Arena until the very end.
Beep.
Screen black.
My sight went dark in an instant. My entire body grew heavy.
Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep…
With the familiar mechanical tones ringing in my ears, I struggled to lift my arm and remove the game device. The familiar hospital ceiling came into view.
When I tried to sit up, every movement demanded tremendous effort, as though heavy stones were chained to my limbs. Sweat broke out across my body.
“Urrghhh…”
In the game I had soared freely. In reality, even crawling felt impossible.
I sat up, leaning against the bed while catching my breath. Suddenly, something surged up from inside me. I clamped a hand over my mouth.
“Cough! Cough!”
Beep… Beep-beep… Beep…
My body convulsed. Pain stabbed through my throat. When I slowly lowered my hand, it was covered in dark, blackened blood.
I routinely pulled a tissue from the bedside dispenser and wiped it away, then pressed the call bell for the nurse. In my other hand, I held the New World Academy headset I had just removed.
“First, transfer those screenshots to my phone…”
My calm tone made it hard to believe blood had just poured from my throat. But this had become routine long ago. There was no shock left, no special feeling. It was simply everyday life.
My vision had grown even blurrier than before. I frowned while fiddling with my phone, then frowned again as another surge rose inside me.
What the hell? I already coughed it up.
Normally, once I spat it out, the rest of the day passed without much pain. So why now…?
The instant I realized something was wrong, I raised my hand and covered my mouth again.
“Keuk! Cough!”
It poured out.
This was different. Completely different from before. The abnormal volume of blood running down my hand. The pain that felt like knives stabbing through my entire body past my throat. I curled up, trying to suppress it, but it was useless.
“Ugh…”
I really feel like I’m going to die…!
I had endured many kinds of pain before, but I could confidently say this was the worst I had ever experienced. Even the car accident hadn’t hurt this much. Was this what it felt like to be killed?
My vision blurred rapidly. My breathing grew erratic.
Shake. Shake. Shake. Shake.
Ding.
Even as my body screamed in agony, the phone notification rang out cheerfully, completely indifferent to my suffering. The message that flashed onto the screen somehow appeared crystal clear despite my failing eyesight.
“Haak… haak…”
I could barely breathe, let alone move my hand.
If no selection is made, automatic approval will occur in 10 seconds.
10… 9… 8…
Beep…! Beep-beep! Beep! Beep-beep!
“Kyaaak! The patient!”
“I’ll get the doctor!”
“Patient! Patient!”
7… 6… 5…
The nurses who rushed in saw my state and began moving frantically. The once-quiet hospital corridor exploded with noise as someone sprinted toward me. The white coat and familiar face… Ah, it was my attending physician.
“Hurry, get the—!!”
“Doctor, the patient’s—!”
“Right now, move—!!”
4… 3… 2…
Their voices gradually faded. The pain that had tormented me vanished as well. My eyelids grew heavier, and the increasingly frantic movements of the people around me made me realize instinctively that death had drawn right up to my side.
Just moments ago the pain had been unbearable. Now a warm, distant comfort washed over me—the kind I had never felt even once after the accident.
1… 0…
Approved.
May you have a pleasant journey.
“Arise…!”
Did I just hear something?
At first I thought it was my imagination. Then confusion set in. Hadn’t I been on the verge of death in the hospital just now? I remembered it all with perfect clarity—the blood at the corner of my mouth, the relentless pain, the doctor and nurses rushing about in panic. And finally, the warm peace that replaced the agony as I slipped into nothingness.
Did I… survive?
Our doctor really was incredible.
“…You have to wake up.”
I’m a patient, yet someone’s been shaking me since earlier…
“Wake… up…!”
Shake. Shake.
The sensation of my body being shaken finally made me lift my head. Yes—I lifted my head while lying face-down. Normally one would be lying on their back.
“Hurry up and get out. It’s your turn now.”
“Huh?”
“You really are something else. How can you sleep on a day like this?”
What was going on? Where was I? And who was this person? More importantly, how was I even moving like this?
“Number 71! Is he not present?”
“Number 71?”
Why were all the people around me staring? As if I were number 71… Wait a second.
This feels familiar.
The familiar black uniforms. The occasionally recognizable faces. And the man with the scar near his eye who had just called for number 71.
“Number 71, Zeon!”
Zeon. That name was incredibly familiar too. After all, Zeon was the name of the character I had created.
“Is this… a dream?”
“It’s not a dream, so just get out there already!”
The kid who had woken me grabbed my arm urgently and shoved me forward.
“I understand that you’re nervous, but compose yourself and come forward.”
The natural charisma radiating from him made me nod before I could think. Gray hair, a scar by the eye, and those fierce golden pupils.
Wait. Was that really Garein?
“Place your hand on the central gem.”
The enormous device Garein indicated held a blue, glowing crystal. This situation… It had been a long time, but I was certain. This was the entrance ceremony for New World Academy.
And the figure reflected in the shining gem was the character I had created myself. It was unmistakably Zeon’s body.
Did I really enter the game?
Otherwise, none of this made sense. The sensations were far too vivid to be a dream, and if I had died, a situation like this shouldn’t have been possible at the moment of death.
For now, stay calm and deal with what’s in front of me.
Whatever had happened, it wasn’t a bad situation for me. Right now, handling the immediate circumstances took priority over figuring out exactly what was going on.