A New Beginning
The words poured out of me before I could stop them: “This is why Koreans just aren’t cut out for it. When your cousin buys land, your stomach churns. When your childhood friend makes it big, everyone starts whispering!”
Everyone nodded, murmuring in agreement. “That’s right. Kim Juho the player has given away so much, and he’s worked so hard to train the next generation of young talents.”
“Exactly. This time we need to set an example. I can’t stand watching someone succeed while I stay buried here!”
“Damn it…”
I couldn’t hold back any longer and hit post. I couldn’t bear to see Kim Juho on the television again. I could skip the soccer games, but whenever he showed up on variety shows, the old pain flared up and I had to write it down. Every fact, every scar he left on me.
But the reaction was nothing like I expected. People didn’t just doubt me—they dug. The Netizen Detective Corps went full investigative mode, cross-referencing every detail across the internet. Posts kept piling up, narrowing the search until they were circling in on the right middle-schooler.
Time was running out. There were only so many students in that single grade. Someone had to be in there. They were bound to find me…
I had nowhere else to turn. No friends from middle school. No one I could call. Only one name came to mind.
I didn’t want to reach out to Lee Naeun. I hated how this looked. But the situation was too heavy. I typed a careful message and explained everything. Asked her for help.
Her reply was short and final: [I’m sorry. I don’t remember any of it.]
That last spark of hope died.
I was finished. I was…
Ding. Ding.
“Ugh…”
The bell dragged me out of bed. My pillow was soaked with the tears I’d cried earlier. I sighed, long and heavy. “I won’t live like that again.”
Even after waking, the ache in my chest lingered. But this time it would be different. I’d recorded everything Kim Juho had done. If the same moment ever came back, I would make sure…
—Path to the Wolf Den—
[Cain, what happened today?]
[Huh?]
[You looked kinda down on the way home…]
[Nothing big.]
To an ordinary middle-schooler it would have been huge. To me? Not even close. No cheating involved, no monsters to fear. Even if things went sideways and my grades dropped, it wouldn’t matter. High or low—my life didn’t hinge on that number.
[Better hunting without NPCs, right?]
She seemed worried. Seolhwa had been talking more than usual lately.
[Yeah. I can hunt without giving them money.]
After weeks of nonstop grinding, we’d both hit level 17.
Name: Cain
Level: 17
Job: Head of the Household
DNA: Gambler
Strength 26 • Agility 25 • Vitality 30 • Intelligence 23 • Charisma 16
[Cain, look ahead.]
I closed the status window and scanned the path. “Why are there so many people?”
[Let’s go.]
Seolhwa took the lead, sprinting forward. Dozens of NPCs—some I’d never seen before—moved through the village. Especially the fully armed ones who definitely weren’t villagers.
[Mercenaries, please take care of us.]
[Haha. Don’t worry, Village Chief. First time for you, right?]
[Exactly. Make sure you clean up the wolves properly this time too.]
[Yes, sir! Just the drinking alcohol when we get back to the village, okay?]
The situation was serious. The village chief had clearly hired mercenaries to exterminate the wolves.
[What do we do?]
[We have to join in too.]
Once the mercenaries finished, the wolves would be gone for a while. We’d have to wait until they came down from the deep forest. So I approached the chief.
[Would you like us to participate in the wolf extermination?]
1. I’ll join. (Reward: 1 Gold)
2. No.
I picked option 1.
[Seolhwa, go talk to the chief and join the extermination.]
[Got it!]
Minutes later, a large group of mercenaries and village youths marched toward the wolf den. Seolhwa and I followed right behind.
And then the extermination began.
The newcomers were strong. With them alone, the job would have been finished easily.
[Seolhwa, take as many as you can.]
[Yes!]
We weren’t officially in their party. Any experience we got had to come from us killing directly. We started with the closest wolves and dispatched them quickly. No need to worry about agro anymore—others were already handling the nearby ones.
[Cain, look at the mercenaries. They’re ridiculously fast.]
[Push harder.]
Watching them slaughter wolves made my stomach tighten. Every wolf they took, the less there was for us.
So the operation wrapped up faster than planned.
…
[Great work. Here’s your 1 Gold.]
The village chief handed over the reward.
[Cain, we leveled up.]
[Me too…]
The sudden wolf-extermination event had us level up sooner than expected. Still, I wasn’t happy. No wolves left in the den meant the hunt was over. What now?
“Sigh… what do we do…”
I had no idea when the wolves would come down to the village. Going deeper into the forest wasn’t an option—stronger creatures lived there.
[You fought well.]
A mercenary had caught up and spoke to me.
[Thinking about joining a mercenary group?]
1. Yes, I’ll join.
2. I’m not interested.
Since it was a mercenary group… I remembered the beginner guide I’d read for the old Hero game. In the early stages, joining a party was normal. But this world wasn’t kind to the weak, and it wasn’t just easy monsters.
So we needed something solid to lean on. Guilds created by players would be good, but in the very beginning of Hero there were none to trust. Other options existed—mercenary, hunter, guard, soldier companies. Mercenaries were popular because they faced monsters often, leveled up quickly, and offered high freedom. We could work with a group or take solo quests.
[What should we do?]
Seolhwa looked at me with the same question.
Mercenaries weren’t a bad choice—especially now that the wolves were cleared.
[Accept.]
[Yes!]
I chose the first option.
[Smart choice. To register as a mercenary you need to go to Rion Castle. Want to come with us?]
1. Together (4 hours)
2. Separately.
It was already past noon. Four more hours of gaming… but we had no choice.
[Seolhwa, we’ll have to stay up all night.]
[Understood…]
Who knew what we’d run into on the way. Wolves, monsters, even bandits—everything threatened us.
[Green Grape Mercenary Corps, depart!]
We left the quiet village we’d stayed in for more than a month. In this smartphone era, a month of constant play would have been massive growth. But in Hero, it barely took us out of the beginner village. After this, leveling would get easier—thanks to Human Games allowing cash for game currency later. We wouldn’t have to grind for one Gold like this.
Clop. Clop.
A cart loaded with supplies rolled ahead. The mercenaries spread out around it. Seolhwa and I followed from behind.
[Cain, this is my first time going to the capital.]
[Don’t worry. The city is safe with good security.]
[Yeah.]
Thanks to the mercenaries, we reached Rion Castle without incident.
Rion Castle—
[Whoa…]
[It’s huge…]
The center of Rion Territory. The moment we stepped inside, the streets were packed with people.
[Cain, there are too many.]
[Stay close to the cart.]
[Got it.]
In regular games the largest cities never had more than a hundred NPCs. Here, just on this street, there were over two thousand.
Hehehihing.
[This is the mercenary headquarters. Follow me.]
We entered and signed up with the Green Grape Mercenary Corps.
[Joined Green Grape Mercenary Corps.]
Green Grape Mercenary Corps
Leader: Grape
Operating Area: Rion Territory
[You can participate in quests received by the corps.]
[You can take individual quests. (The corps takes a small cut.)]
[Seolhwa, let’s wrap this up.]
[Yeah… I’m so tired…]
It was already 5 a.m. I shut down the computer and collapsed onto the bed. “Ugh… so tired. Just one hour…”
…
“Oppa, get up! Why are you still sleeping?”
“Huh?”
I’d slept in. Hye-mi, my little sister, shook me awake after finishing her school bag.
“Oppa, I’m going to school! Don’t sleep anymore!”
“Okay…”
I barely made it home, still half-asleep, and got ready for school. Arrived at the classroom and passed out on my desk.
Sweet dreams…
Sweet dreams…
Sweet dreams…
Knock.
“Huh?”
“Lee Doun. How long are you planning to sleep?”
“Teacher?”
The homeroom teacher stood beside my desk.
[After class, come to the office.]
[Yes…]
I didn’t even hear the bell. I slept straight through the third period and two more hours. My body felt lighter because of it.
Ding. Ding.
Class ended. I followed the teacher to the office.
“Doun-ah, your parents know you got a perfect 100 in every subject.”
“So?”
What did that have to do with me?
“They’re really upset.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“You might have to take a retake.”
“Can’t be helped… When?”
“Friday after school.”
“Okay. Can I go now?”
“Sure.”
If I’d known it would be this much trouble, I should have missed a few questions on purpose. A student who never studied had somehow scored a perfect 100. The parents’ complaints must have been intense.
“Sigh…”
Even though I was this calm now, when I got to high school I studied hard…
In middle school I never had the mental energy for it. I was too busy just surviving day by day.
School violence had eaten away at my body and mind. Where was I supposed to find the strength to study?
I just endured at school and ran from reality at home.
“So this is how it is… Even the retake has to be 100.”
Even if they suspected me, the result wouldn’t change. I was sure I could get a perfect score on a harder test.
The rumor that I was taking a retake spread through the school. But my behavior didn’t change. I spent class time half-asleep. A few teachers noticed, but I ignored them. Thanks to the perfect score and the retake announcement, they left me alone.
I slept more peacefully than before.
…
On the way home, I waited by the school gate for Eunhye. But I ran into Naeun first.
[Doun-ah.]
[Huh? Naeun-ah…]
[You’re taking a retake, right? It’s okay?]
[Yeah. No choice.]
[Hang in there… I’ll go ahead.]
[Yeah. Be careful.]
Naeun walked quickly out of the school gate and climbed into her academy car.
After she left, a while later Eunhye came out.
[Doun-ah, are you okay?]
[Haha. I’m fine.]
Having someone worry about me made me feel warm. Someone outside my family actually cared…
Was this what normal life felt like?
What had I been doing all those 35 years?
[Doun-ah, want to study at a café?]
[Huh?]
Eunhye usually hated crowded places, yet she was suggesting one with me.
That made her words even more precious.
[It’s fine. I’ve studied enough.]
[Liar…]
[Haha…]
Mistake.
Eunhye knew exactly what I was doing. She’d been with me during most of my awake hours.
[Doun-ah, if the level is stressing you out, I won’t hunt until the retake.]
[No, I’m really okay. Let’s hunt as soon as we get home.]
Eunhye just looked at me worriedly without answering.
The worry about the retake had faded. Instead, my mood lifted.
[Eunhye, thank you for worrying about me.]
[Huh? No…]
We walked and talked all the way back to our apartment building.