Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Became the Gallery's Only Reptile
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Looking at the reviews here, there's a suspicious game.
When exploration of all areas reaches 100%, you're summoned by the goddess.
When you've slain every type of monster, you're summoned by the goddess.
If you clear the game without dying once, you're summoned by the goddess.
When you've collected all characters, you're summoned by the goddess.
If you max out skills in one field, you're summoned by the goddess, and so on.
A mysterious game where you're summoned by the goddess for all sorts of reasons.
Its name is [Protect the Earth's Hero!]
Because the name is so long, people call it Jijiyong or GG Yong. This game is a typical hero tale.
The hero summoned from Earth by the goddess saves this other world—a story so familiar it's cliché.
But didn't someone say the familiar taste is the scariest?
Its familiarity makes it easy for anyone to pick up and get hooked, drawing people in instantly with high-quality character illustrations, diverse minigames, and a story that leaves you in awe.
Now, here's the question. Why did such reviews spread about this game Jijiyong?
You can tell from the game's start—the tutorial.
As explained earlier, the protagonist of this game—in other words, the player character—is someone summoned from Earth by the goddess.
The goddess summons the player in her temple and says this:
"Wh-where is this? And how do you know my name?!"
"Craido Continent. Goddess Raine. That name..."
Right. The player in this game has been pulled into the game they were playing!
Through a few dialogues, the player learns about the dangers of this world and is asked by the goddess to take the Hero class and save it!
"Feats... you say?"
And then a bunch of choices pop up.
Yeah, you get the idea from here, right?
These choices are the reason the goddess summoned the player—and the truth behind those shady reviews.
The tutorial reveals that the player achieved specific feats in the game, and the goddess saw hope in them and summoned them.
There are various achievements, and depending on which one you pick, they have big and small effects on the game.
For example, picking the achievement for slaying all types of monsters gives intimidation against all monsters, extra damage, and better kill rewards than usual.
Of course, there are downsides to achievements too.
Like starting off hostile with other races if you pick the above one.
So users gathered and shared info like this.
With so many players, strategy guides multiplied in real-time, letting people enjoy the game in new ways, and even non-players got interested and started playing after seeing them.
A perfect virtuous cycle—truly a beneficial situation.
As the player base grew, communication naturally exploded in variety.
It was natural to see tons of posts like this using lighthearted jokes.
But who could've known.
That the content of that post, dismissed as a joke, was real.
"Shaak..."
'Fuck.'
Honestly, at first, I had no idea what was happening.
I was just playing the game when suddenly my vision flashed, and I was trapped in a cramped space suffocating my whole body.
No sensation in my arms or legs, pitch black ahead—nothing visible.
God, how shocked I was back then...
Pure instinct to escape drove me to thrash around until I finally broke out of that mysterious space, and only then could I grasp the reality.
Why no sensation in arms and legs? Because I don't have any right now.
Why couldn't I see and felt suffocated? Because I was inside an egg—nothing to see, of course it's suffocating.
Yeah. I wasn't born human. I was born an animal.
One that hatches from an egg! Without arms or legs!
"Shaak."
A snake!!
Why the hell did I suddenly become a snake? I was definitely playing the game...
It was beyond confusing—I even denied reality, calling it a dream, not real.
Until this alert popped up, that is.
"Shaa?"
'Hero Gallery?'
Like an interface from the game, it suddenly appeared before me and dropped a gift.
A gift called the Hero Gallery.
"Shaa?"
'What is this.'
It was just a regular gallery.
The only differences: content written on a transparent blue window in mid-air instead of a monitor, and the content subtly different from a normal gallery.
'Is there something here to fix my situation?'
If so, I should check the gallery posts first.
But how?
I don't have hands. Or feet.
'Maybe with my thoughts?'
If not, I'll have to use my head to poke.
Thankfully, unlike my worries, I could browse the gallery posts just by thinking.
"Sha, shaa?!"
'Wh-what is this.'
The photo of that cat too, and names like Lilith or cat's boss Ullika in the comments—all familiar.
Because they were characters from the game [Protect the Earth's Hero!] that I enjoyed before ending up like this.
'Why are those guys here.'
I read through the rest of the comments and moved to another post.
'Game. Not game stuff, right?'
But the reactions feel too real for that.
Like they're posting from personal experience.
Same with other posts.
All about Jijiyong, and the people here post like they live in the game.
'Did I get pulled into Jijiyong too?'
Why?
What did I even do??
'...Let's make a post.'
If so many people are in the same boat, at least one must know why.
Problem is, I need arms to write, and I don't have any.
Clicking and reading works with thoughts, but writing doesn't.
"Shaa."
'What now.'
My body's just a head, long body, and tail.
'Wait. Tail?'
Flick. Flick.
I test moving a part I wouldn't normally have.
Right. Left. Right again. Left.
My tail moves easily as I intend, lighting up my eyes.
Yeah, no arms? Use the tail to type!
Of course, first I need to set my name here.
'Name? A name.'
I glance at my current body.
Classic snake: no arms/legs, slithers along.
For some reason, the last boss I killed in the game comes to mind.
Though that one was an imoogi, not a snake, and way bigger than me.
'Alright. Decided.'
If this is Jijiyong, even a mere beast like me has a chance to grow.
Powerful spirits can shapeshift into humans, right?
The pinnacle spirit a snake can reach? Obviously a dragon.
'Yeah. Name it this.'
Name decided.
I diligently wiggle my tail and write a post.