Chapter 1
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: The 31st Horse Overturns the Game Board
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Swish—
‘Huh?’
What on earth was making him keep having this dream?
Kang Seol had the same dream again today.
Magnificent structures built atop the clouds.
The Eternal World had clearly ended yesterday, yet here he was, still wandering through it today.
That said, today wasn’t entirely the same as yesterday. There was definitely something different.
‘Why… is there no one here?’
In this place, at least, he was quite popular.
Whenever he breathed in the air of this world through his dreams, others would always come to greet him without fail.
But today, no one came to meet him.
An ominous sensation crept up his back.
Why?
Why was that?
Kang Seol only realized the reason when he reached the central plaza. A figure wearing a lightning mask greeted him.
“Ah, the protagonist has arrived!”
“Grab him!”
‘Wh-what’s going on!’
Seeing them charge at him, Kang Seol sensed something was terribly wrong and immediately turned to flee.
Bzzt-crackle!
But a ring of lightning shot from somewhere and wrapped around his neck, binding him.
“Gaaahhh!”
The pain searing into every joint felt like it would burn his brain to ash.
“Where do you think you’re running?”
“You vile human…”
“You’ve been deceiving us all this time, haven’t you?”
As Kang Seol collapsed to the ground, the masked figures dragged him into the plaza.
Thud.
Like a criminal, he crumpled, and curses and mockery rained down on him.
“To think I’ve been talking with scum like you!”
“How dare you converse with us on equal terms?”
“What were you all doing while this worm of a human was defiling the Heavenly Realm!”
“Who let this thing through in the first place?”
“Kill him! We have to kill him!”
“Kill it!”
Even amid the dizzying mental isolation, Kang Seol clearly heard their cries to kill him.
‘Just yesterday…’
His close friends from yesterday now stabbed daggers into his heart.
“Why… why are you doing this…”
“Are you seriously asking because you don’t know? How dare a pathetic human sneak into the lofty Heavenly Realm and pretend to be a god?”
“That’s…”
“Enough. I don’t want to waste more words on it. Just kill the thing…”
It was wrong.
Their eyes were consumed by madness, turned blood-red, and they weren’t listening to a word.
As Kang Seol tried to respond in horror to their talk of killing him, a figure wearing a large-eyed mask stopped observing and shouted.
“Now hold on—I’m against that!”
“What? C-Cordon…”
Cordon was one of the more influential ones among them. Kang Seol had sensed it subconsciously during their conversations.
Anyway, Cordon abruptly stood up, approached Kang Seol, and shoved the others aside.
Backlash followed, of course.
“What do you think you’re doing, Cordon?”
“Don’t tell me you’re trying to deceive us too…”
“Whoa, whoa, everyone seems a bit too worked up. Calm down, please.”
“Ahem… cough…”
Why was Cordon taking his side?
Kang Seol harbored a sliver of hope.
Maybe this guy could resolve the situation.
But that was a huge mistake.
“We can’t very well spill human blood in the Heavenly Realm, can we? No one disposes of filth in their own bedroom.”
“W-well, that’s true.”
“Then what do we do?”
“Allow me to suggest. We send it…”
Cordon grinned wickedly.
“back to where it belongs?”
“Wh-what!”
“You think that makes any sense?”
“Of course, just sending it back might feel like letting it off without punishment… but has everyone forgotten what day it is?”
The masked figures erupted in agreement with Cordon’s words.
“Right! Today’s when the harvest begins!”
“So… sending it back means…”
“Exactly. It’ll return to where it belongs—down on the earth—and die writhing like the worm it is, as an offering to madness.”
“Hahaha! Perfect! We can’t sully the Heavenly Realm with its filthy blood.”
“I’m for it! How dare it crawl up here without knowing its place? Let it cling to the dirt and die like the bug it is!”
“Cordon, you’re wise as ever! This way, we can even teach it a lesson—about its true place, daring to mingle with gods as an equal.”
Cordon wasn’t protecting Kang Seol. He’d just chosen a method to inflict even greater suffering.
Kang Seol couldn’t speak.
For some reason—whatever trick these self-proclaimed gods had used—his body wouldn’t move.
Then, a voice burrowed into his mind.
- Snowman, can you hear me?
It was Cordon’s voice.
- Your true identity has been exposed. No time for long explanations. I’ll just tell you what you need to know.
Kang Seol wanted to ask Cordon.
Who are you?
Why are you helping me?
What happens if I die in this dream?
While deftly misleading the gods with cunning words, Cordon continued relaying info to Kang Seol.
- The world you lived in will become a different one starting today. The worlds are merging as planned—your world and the Eternal World, Pandea.
What was this nonsense?
‘Worlds… merging? How?’
- To reclaim their weakened power, the gods chose madness over faith. Your hardships and stories will now be sold off to other gods in exchange for madness.
‘What does that even mean!’
- Snowman, there’s only one way to save yourself and your kind. Reach the final adventure: Ascension. Standing out as much as possible during it will help. Madness is what the gods need to regain their power, but it’ll be useful for you too.
‘Reach Ascension? Me? That’s impossible. What are you even…’
- Note that if you speak of Heavenly Realm matters aloud, the gods will have cause to intervene. And you’ll definitely die. Be wise. Good luck, Snowman. Hope we meet again someday.
With that, Cordon grabbed Kang Seol in one hand.
“Hahaha! Now, let’s see this worm squirm to its death…”
“Wait! Sending it back like this…”
Before the momentum shifted, Cordon swiftly hurled Kang Seol below the clouds.
Clutching the horrific sensation of freefall without wings, Kang Seol was banished from the Heavenly Realm.
Whiiiiiish—!
“Oh… already tossed it.”
“Eh, doesn’t matter.”
Cordon chuckled in response.
“Now, shall we watch the harvest of madness? O noble gods.”
“Heh… good.”
“Finally, we can reclaim our power.”
Kang Seol’s mind felt utterly hollow.
An empty sensation.
It stemmed partly from his fall from the heavens, but also from the aftershocks of panic after experiencing something so monumental.
‘They were… real gods?’
To think those beings from his dreams actually had substance—true gods.
Confirming the lightning ring that had choked him moments ago was gone, Kang Seol rubbed his neck.
Having brushed death, he let out a sigh of relief at still being alive, then looked around.
Dark.
The whole world was dyed black.
“...What?”
[The Eternal World is being applied... 97%]
[Eternal World application complete.]
[Welcome to the Eternal World, Pandea.]
[A total of 7,900,021,232 lives have joined the Eternal World.]
[Moving to character setup space.]
[Please set your character's abilities.]
[The first adventure will begin shortly.]
Seeing those messages, Kang Seol understood Cordon’s words.
It all made sense.
The Eternal World he’d enjoyed for 17 years made sense.
His 31st final horse was none other than himself.