The Rotten Water of Simulation Ruin

Republic of Korea's forsaken orphan, twenty-five-year-old part-time hell, Kim Minseong. That was the phrase that defined me. Of course, there was one more label for me in the online world.

'The ultimate rotten player of that godawful trash game Simulation Ruin.' Yeah, that's right—the rotten water of Simulation Ruin, a game whose name alone reeks of decay. That's me.

To sum it up, it's your standard setup: pick the crown prince or princess, romance the saintess or saint, and save the world. Pretty ordinary game, right? But the reason I'm called the rotten water is something else entirely.

I'm the only one who uncovered the happy ending routes in this insane game where every path leads to a bad end or total annihilation.

"Today's session was fun too."

Honestly, in this crazy daily grind where I had no ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠clue how to keep going, that game was the one ray of light. I'd played it so obsessively that I'd memorized every line of dialogue, every event—but it was still fine. The routes were ridiculously plentiful, and finding the happy endings no matter which way I twisted them was more thrilling than I'd expected.

No one who played this game would have dreamed that even the tiniest details could make or break the endings... Yeah, probably not. Things like... well, I'm too beat right now. I'll figure it out after some sleep.

"Hey, you lazy brat! Do you know what time it is? You gonna ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sleep all day till the crops wither and die?!"

"Gah...!"

I jolted upright at the sudden bellow right in my ear. Shit, who the hell?! Who's yelling? That psycho next door again, screaming even though he knows my place has zero soundproofing while I'm gaming and he loses his shit?

Smack!

As I tried to get my bearings, an older woman marched over and started whacking my back like there was no tomorrow. It hurt like a Master Touch burger patty slamming into me...!

"Wh-who are you?! Why are you hitting me...!"

"Who? Your mom, that's who!"

What the—? Me, a heavenless orphan with no parents, hearing this nonsense?

"Ugh, must be dreaming 'cause I was wiped out yesterday. Yeah, pulling a 12-hour shift then gaming for 4 hours before crashing was nuts..."

Smack!

"Kyaak!"

No, but this hurts way too much for a dream!

"Get your head straight or I'll toss your breakfast! You hear me?!"

I dazedly watched the fuming middle-aged woman storm off, and only then did I snap out of it enough to look around.

"...Where the hell am I?"

The spot I'd woken up in was a tiny, cheap semi-basement room with zero soundproofing and mold creeping up the walls.

And what was this straw bale thing? My bed? It looked like it'd wreck my back worse than the cheap bed in my old one-room...

"Huh, surprisingly comfy though...?"

This unexpected fluffiness—it was like a Serta mattress! Rock-solid comfort... Wait, that's not the point.

The bed aside, the walls looked ancient, but the place felt way cozier and more lived-in than my old dump—clearly touched by human hands.

"Theo, you better come out or your mom's gonna lose it for real!"

A low but booming voice drifted through the cracked door from the woman who'd called herself Mom.

"Uh, um... excuse me...!"

"Huh? 'Excuse me'? Even for a rude punk like you, calling your dad 'excuse me' is a bit much, don't you think?"

Creeeak— In walked a man as plain-looking as the woman: black hair, black eyes, dressed like your classic farmer.

"D-Dad...? Father...?"

"Suddenly 'Dad' and 'Father'? You lost your mind? Weird dream or something?"

Dream? Which reality—the soul-crushing one I'd endured forever? Or this one?

"Anyway, come eat. Breakfast first, then work."

Still clueless, I let this "Dad" drag me to the table, where a hearty breakfast was laid out. It'd been ages since someone served me morning food, so yeah—dream or not, I'd eat then wake up. I shoveled it down like a starving man...

"You little shit! You're slacking worse than ever! Keep that up and the rice'll die, you hear?! Didn't your dad teach you?!"

Smack!

"Ow! That hurts...!"

Dream or reality, no time to figure it out. Lunch was nearing, and I'd wasted half the day on farmwork with zero results—no escape from the labor that kicked off right after breakfast.

Shit... This is give and take, huh. Got fed? Now pay up... Fine, skip lunch and bolt.

Lunchtime rolled around, everyone heading inside to eat. My stomach was screaming, but I bolted to a nearby hill to scope things out first.

From what "Mom and Dad" said, this Theo guy wasn't exactly diligent ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠anyway, so I figured I wouldn't catch too much hell.

Wandering the village, I pieced together some facts.

First: This wasn't a dream. I jumped in a stream, rolled down a hill—nothing but pain, no waking up.

...The Master Touch-level sting from morning should've clued me in without the dramatics. Guess slow brains mean suffering bodies.

Next: Clothes, house styles—too similar to Korea at first, made me think rural back home. Nope.

Snagged an abandoned newspaper from a bench: mentions of the Empire, Holy Empire. Straight out of a novel or game I'd seen in Korea.

"..."

And the kicker...

"Fuck, why'd it have to be Ruin?"

Frontflips, backflips—no doubt, this was the world of Simulation Ruin.

Empire? Holy Empire? Common tropes. But matching names, saintess details? No coincidences with other games or novels.

Usually, isekai dumps you where you're expert. And my only deep knowledge? Simulation Ruin.

So they tossed me here. Fine by me—who am I?

"The rotten water, duh."

Ultimate rotten player. Mastered every ending. Knew every happy route element.

Isekai'd into Ruin? Hell yeah, jackpot.

But here's why I'm despairing:

...So why'd they stick me as...

"If you're isekai'ing me, shouldn't it be as one of the protagonists?!"

All my memorized dialogue, events, endings—protagonist POV only! Useless otherwise!

Wait, is it? Hidden true protagonist twist?! Yeah, gotta be! Even I didn't know that element!

Whoa, holy shit! Perfect timing! I call myself true protag and boom—awakening! Yes, this is what I wanted!

"Okay! Yes! Show me now!"

Alright, let's see this badass true protagonist status window!

Name: Theo (Kim Minseong)

Age: 20

Job: Villager

...?

Hold up, something's off here, right? Yeah?

"Ha, knew it!"

Phew... No way a villager #1 status window has zero stats. Me? Possessor! Isekai protags get stat explosions and cool windows!

...So, what the hell changed?