Chapter 1
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: It's Coming. My Era!
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Effort never betrays you.
That's either a fairy tale for kids who don't know the world yet, or a lie spewed by those who already have everything.
At least, that's what the world had taught Han Yujin by age twenty-five.
Hiss—
The electric kettle's boiling water shattered the silence of the quiet studio apartment.
I dumped two packets of yellow Maxwell House Mocha Gold into a paper cup.
Water right up to the logo's top line. Teaspoon stir: three times left, three times right.
Slurp.
"...Perfect."
The sweet tang on my tongue and the bitter slide down my throat in perfect golden ratio.
In this godforsaken world full of variables, this was the one guaranteed reward I could control and trust.
This single cup of coffee was the start of my day—and my only sanctuary.
I mechanically chewed on stale convenience store kimbap while side-eyeing the news window in the corner of my monitor.
[Breaking News: Simultaneous disappearances worldwide, dubbed the 'Abyss Phenomenon.' Missing persons approaching 300,000...]
The anchor on screen was ranting like the world was about to end any second.
People vanishing into thin air while walking down the street, entire subway cars gone without a trace.
The government declared a state of emergency, folks were hoarding supplies and panicking like it was the apocalypse.
Coronavirus. Then the Russo War.
Now mass disappearances.
Next up, nuclear war maybe? Who knows.
But to me, it was just some distant tale from another country.
My life, stuck in this room, wouldn't change whether the world ended or not.
"Sigh, born in the wrong era. Wrong damn era."
I closed the news window without a second thought.
Reality sucks.
No matter how hard you struggle, rewards are random, and the rules are rigged for the elite.
My life? Always background, extra number one.
The protagonist is decided from birth.
So I escaped.
To the one world where effort never betrays: inside the monitor.
That's when a weird game caught my eye.
Dungeon Odyssey
[You start with nothing but your underwear.]
[Death means all data erased.]
Unfriendly to the point of malice.
A hardcore roguelike in this day and age?
But that last line poked at my bored trigger finger.
[Dare to challenge? You could be the protagonist.]
Protagonist.
Those three words bewitched me. I hit 'New Game.'
"What the hell... They expect anyone to beat this?"
My 2D dot character died the second it started.
Traps, monsters, falls, poison.
The screen overflowed with the developer's sadistic malice.
Normal folks would've cursed and deleted it.
But.
Tap, tap, tap.
My right index finger drumming steadily on the desk while gripping the mouse.
An old habit of mine.
Signal that my brain's kicking into gear, patterns emerging.
'Looks unfair, but there's a way through.'
I died. And died. And died again.
A thousand deaths turned to data, data to the perfect guide.
My 'stubbornness' and 'analytical skills'—useless in reality—were my deadliest weapons here.
26 hours straight.
No sleep, five mixed coffees holding me up, I finally saw the tutorial's end.
Tutorial Clear
Exploration Rate: 100%
"Haa..."
I sank into my chair.
A thrilling shiver raced down my spine.
Dopamine surging through my veins—this was the only time I felt alive.
"Yeah, a game needs this level of challenge to taste right."
I gazed at the screen, basking in satisfaction.
This was just the tutorial.
Beyond it, the real game. What hell—or what rush of rewards—awaited?
Swollen with anticipation, I reached for Enter.
Fzzzt—
The monitor flickered red.
Not a glitch.
Pixels smeared like ink, spilling out black to swallow the whole room.
"Wh-what the...!?"
Vertigo like space twisting.
Pressure like giant claws yanking my nape, dragging me somewhere.
I blacked out without even a scream.
"Ugh..."
I woke to pounding headache, greeted not by monitor glow.
Damp, musty earth smell.
Cool, rough stone under skin.
Crackling ears, acrid smoke.
I slowly sat up.
Vision blurry, then sharpening.
Unfamiliar stone cave.
Worn torches flickered at intervals on walls; their light glinted off mysterious beast bones scattered on the floor.
And.
"Kyaaah—!"
"Wh-what is this?! Where are we?! Who are you people!?"
"Don't look! Wanna get sued or something?!"
Around me, three others besides myself.
Naked as the day they were born, covering privates, screaming in panic.
I was naked too.
Biting cold wrapped my body, but instead of yelling, I blankly scanned around.
'Kidnapped? Or... a dream?'
No, too real—the stench of dirt too strong, stone too icy.
Instinct kicked in: right index tapping thigh.
Tap, tap, tap.
Suppress panic, think rationally.
This space's layout.
Torch positions on walls.
Geometric tile patterns on floor.
I've seen it before.
No, more than seen.
My gaze locked on a corner: mossy wall, one faded brick.
Suddenly, game screen overlaid reality in my mind.
Starting point I'd seen hundreds of times in 2D dots.
Its details photorealized chillingly before my eyes.
"Ha..."
A short, disbelieving laugh escaped.
Unbelievable, yet undeniable.
The [Dungeon Odyssey] tutorial map I'ded sleepless for 26 hours.
I was smack in its middle.
'No way... This is the mass disappearance everyone's talking about?'
Vague memory of survivor interviews.
Pulled to some weird space, killed monsters, came back—crazy talk.
Didn't interest me, so I hit 'Don't show similar content,' kept my feed clean.
Clicked it every time something popped up.
'Should've paid more attention.'
Something hot surged from deep in my chest.
Not fear of the unknown.
'Ahh...'
My lips twisted up on their own.
Sounds insane, but I felt relief.
No—ecstasy.
Reality where effort gets no reward.
Unfair, luck-based garbage world.
That boring tutorial's finally over.
'My world has finally arrived.'
I stood.
Wove through stumbling people, straight to the corner wall, no hesitation.
"H-hey! You nuts? Strutting naked in front of girls... "
A potbellied guy called out, but not worth responding.
Palm flat on that exact brick from memory.
Hard, cold texture under fingers.
Grind—
Dull mechanism groan; wall rotated, revealing hidden nook.
Inside: worn leather armor, rusted shortsword, crude spear, dust-covered.
"Bingo."
My hunch was spot on.
No longer unknown.
A test with answers, just for me.
I donned the leather armor like old habit.
Harsh leather scent invaded nostrils—but smelled like perfume.
Shortsword on belt, spear in hand.
Only then did my anxious heart calm, balance steady.
Click.
Armored, I turned.
Three dumbstruck faces in view.
Them shivering naked; me geared up.
That tiny gap silenced them completely.
"Um, excuse me... Where'd you get those clothes?"
A fit, well-kept woman asked cautiously, earlier fire gone.
Instead of words, I nodded chin toward pitch-black rear.
"Want clothes? Dig through those rolling skeletons back there."
"Huh? Skeletons...?"
"Or stay naked. Your call."
My voice was dry.
I turned from them, gripped spear firmer.
"H-hey! You can't hog 'em all! Share some..."
The guy approached, indignant.
I shot him a cold glare, spear tip to his throat.
"Eek!"
"No time for whining. Wanna live? Get your head straight."
"Wh-what're you talking about?! Die?!"
Then.
Kieeeek—!
From the deep-shadowed passage, a grotesque screech scraping eardrums.
Three faces went sheet-white.
They backpedaled instinctively.
But I didn't budge.
Gripped spear tighter, stared into dark.
Tap, tap.
Finger drumming spear shaft sped up.
Footstep intervals, numbers, speed.
All matched my mental data.
3 seconds.
No, 2.
I curled my lip, murmured low.
"It's coming."
Vomit-inducing polluted bluish-green skin.
Gleaming red eyes emerged from the dark.