Nyangster Call

There was once a man who led an utterly ordinary school life. His family was harmonious, he had enough wealth to live comfortably for life, and his relationships with friends were good. Like everyone else, he graduated from elementary school, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠then middle school. All that remained was to take the KGSAT like any other examinee and graduate high school.

But then a great trial befell him.

With dead eyes, the man glanced at the photo frame on the wall showing his family. Father, mother, older brother, little sister. And notably absent from among them was his own picture. The situation still felt like a dream, utterly unreal. Strangely, no tears came.

There were tons of visitors and reporters at the funeral home, but none of them registered in his eyes. As evening fell, he headed to the study room out of habit. He picked up his pen and solved Korean language problems. Select the emotion of the speaker that fits the situation: grief-stricken, desolate, lamentable. None of the choices were right. So he opened the next workbook. Math this time. Calculate the length of the following suspension cable. Banghwa Bridge was 2,559 meters long, and the car was going 60 km/h, so if they'd passed just 150 seconds earlier or later, the accident never would have happened. Naturally, no answer in the choices.

Fury boiled up, and he hurled all the workbooks out the window. Only then did he realize they'd been freed from their narrow confines. As if possessed, he headed to the Han River. Any bridge would do. By chance, his footsteps led him to Mapo Bridge, infamous as a suicide hotspot.

The man gripped the railing tightly with both hands. Just as he lifted one leg over—meow~ came a cat's cry.

"Ahaha... did I interrupt...?"

A woman cradling a silver cat. She scratched her head awkwardly, then blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"Uh... um... wanna go see a late-night movie with me?"

Only then did the man break down sobbing like a lost child. The woman's hand patting his back felt as tender as his mother's.

The man had plenty of friends. But it didn't take long to grow closer to this woman than any of them. Going to movies became routine; they even napped together on campus under cherry blossoms in full bloom, feeling the breeze. The cat she raised soon birthed five kittens. They cried and laughed together like family, leaning on each other in days so fun and happy that anyone would envy them.

And he thought it would last forever. Until the woman confessed through floods of tears.

"The truth is... I'm terminal..."

She admitted the woman who'd saved him at the Han River had stopped there to end her life too. With a trembling voice, she thanked him for unforgettable memories—and apologized for the unforgettable pain.

"Carry the fact that I existed in this world in your heart and live on. I want you to keep being happy even without me."

Another life snuffed out meaninglessly. The beam propping up the tower of his life finally gave way, and his existence came crashing down with it. He holed up in his room, living like a shut-in wreck. He cried all day, laughed all day. Starved for days on end, then gorged until he vomited. Then his eyes caught an outdoor ad for a VR game.

She'd truly loved World of Arceria. He'd hated games and never understood her hobby. Lamenting his situation now that she was gone, he started playing. No special story to clear it. He jumped straight into ranked matches, slaughtering players indiscriminately. It felt a bit relieving in those moments, but that was it. He didn't care about wins or losses, just kills—and his rank kept climbing. Feeling limits on his main account, he naturally drifted to Nightmare mode. There, a cat beastkin greeted him.

He idly imagined what it'd look like blending her and the silver cat. Adella's cheeky expression ignited a fire in his chest. If he couldn't save her in reality, he'd save her in the game. After hundreds of attempts, he thought he'd finish Part 1 with her—but it always ended in her suicide. Was it fate's prank? Her dying ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠words echoed what his lover had left him.

There had to be a way to save her. No, he had to. If he couldn't even save one game character, his life had no value. But run after run, he realized Adella was structurally doomed to die. That suspicion hardened into certainty in the VIP spectator seats.

His obsession with Adella—born from his lover—had reached madness, but he had no strength left even for anger. Day after day, remembering his departed love, he bumbled around with Adella as usual. Then one day, a savior appeared.

People worldwide had already tried saving her. At first, he didn't believe the streamer's declaration. Endless attempts had only revealed specific conditions for varied interactions with Adella—nothing more. Even NoName surely couldn't save her.

But...

Nyangster Call shut off the capsule power and arduously hauled his slumped body upright. Meow~ The kittens were already scratching at the door, mewling for food. He cradled the silver kittens tenderly and let out a soft chuckle.

"I've cursed the heavens countless times, wondering why everyone I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠love leaves me. I thought no one in the world was more miserable than me, over and over each day."

He couldn't touch the Adella on stream as a viewer, but gazing at the flustered cat-eared girl glancing around filled him with overwhelming emotion.

"How could I be happy while carrying you in my heart? Back then, I couldn't understand your words at all... but now, I think I get it a little."

No need to watch NoName's stream anymore. She'd surely defeat Mephistopheles and save Adella. Nyangster Call—Lee Hyun-seo—exited the capsule and called his cousin first. The one who'd rushed to his side after the family accident, full of worry. He'd ignored recent calls and felt guilty. Too long holed up; so many people he hadn't updated. This was his first step back into society.

Adella had skyrocketed to stardom in an instant, but now wasn't the time for fan meets. The black mist slowly cleared, revealing Mephistopheles.

"Have you finally mustered the will to bet?"

Mephisto evoked a cold northern noble: thick lines, angular jaw, sharp aquiline nose. Silver hair cascaded to his waist; brushing one side behind his ear revealed piercing purple eyes gleaming faintly. Black shoes, black suit pants, black gloves—the only contrast was his white dress shirt, top button undone as he murmured low.

"Humanity's history is a chain of strife. To claim what they desire, humans fight, steal, and ultimately kill. In strife, there are no eternal victors or vanquished, so how tragic the lives wasted without meaning?"

The foul mist vanished, blue sky shining through. Yet with each step the demon took, plants withered and crumbled to ash.

"I shall become your god. I will grant the world eternal peace and rest. So give me Yggdrasil."

Politely extending his hand. But his eerie gaze fixed on my laurel crown, ring, and necklace woven from laurel branches. On his offered hand gleamed a sinister black bracelet.

Here, handing over laurels doesn't strip their stored growth stats. It's a gimmick granting bonus stats per laurel given. Obviously, giving all means instant game over—so caution. More laurels amp Mephisto's power, but for those craving a high-difficulty finale, it's a challenge. For me—relying on mid-circle magic, closer to mage than healer—this was fatally disadvantageous.

So I took his hand, shook it lightly up and down—a handshake in lieu of a gift. The demon blinked in stunned idiocy.

"This is...?"

Mephisto opened his fist to inspect the "gift" from the handshake, then scowled.

What he picked up wasn't the lush green leaf I'd secretly hoped—just a dull metal lump. Disappointment flickered across his face.

Fwwoom— boom!

"Gahk!"

The demon's right hand exploded off entirely, spewing white smoke.

"It's sodium, but not ionic—so no salty taste."

Fighting starts the instant bodies touch—that's the ancient northern tradition, right? First things first: check if the enemy regenerates. Always key intel.