Chapter 2

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Translator: Ryuma

Chapter: 2

Chapter Title: The 31st Piece Overturns the Game Board (2)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

'What the hell is going on?'

Kang Seol was utterly bewildered by the system message. It wasn't just the message—he had every reason to be thrown off by the environment around him as well.

Beams of light rained down from all directions, and silhouettes shaped like people flickered into view.

They weren't clearly visible, and no sounds reached him, but their every motion screamed panic.

"Are we... all caught up in this together?"

A horrifying thought—one he desperately hoped was just a delusion. What if the entire world had been dragged into this mess?

After all, reality turning into a game was on a whole different level from having a bizarre dream.

Cordon's parting words to him.

The cryptic message finally made sense.

And conveniently, the Eternal World demo had ended just yesterday.

"Did everyone get pulled into the Eternal World?"

It was a reasonable guess on his part.

The culprits were probably those gods who'd yammered away in his dreams every night.

'They weren't just figments of my imagination...'

He'd dismissed them as illusions haunting his sleep, but they were real gods after all.

Racking his brain, Kang Seol started piecing together the nagging doubts one by one.

'No, the very fact they showed up in my dreams was suspicious to begin with...'

He'd brushed it off because he figured none of it was real.

But their existence was undeniable now.

Without that, none of this could have happened.

Kang Seol stared blankly for a moment before a laugh burst out of him.

"Puhuhu... Did they trick me? Or did I trick them first?"

To be fair, he hadn't revealed his true self because he saw no reason to drop the mask.

Looking back, it was a blessing he hadn't. If his identity had leaked before harvest season, the gods would've ripped him apart just like they wanted.

'Bugs... Is it that infuriating for me—a mere human—to view the world on the same level as you?'

Having grasped the rough situation, Kang Seol let out a hollow chuckle. The eerie part was how his mouth curved into a smile while his eyes remained ice-cold.

His heart was stained with disappointment, betrayal, and inferiority.

But the sharpest pang—the one hammering his chest—was rage. He'd nearly thrown away his life without a fight.

'You guys... that impressive?'

The only reason he'd come close to dying was because he was human.

That was it. Nothing more.

'My humanity pissed you off that much... In that case...'

A chilling glint flickered in his eyes—the gaze of someone who'd hardened their resolve.

'Then I guess I'm justified in raging that trash like you call yourselves gods?'

Kang Seol was obsessed with the Eternal World.

Maybe to the point where he didn't just want to traverse it with words or dice—he yearned to adventure there in the flesh.

Amid the negativity, a bizarre excitement bubbled up endlessly, proving it.

He was looking forward to this.

The fact that he could keep doing what he excelled at—what he could only get better at—stirred his emotions.

And through it, he could reach the gods.

He'd wring answers from them to his earlier questions. Somehow.

Kang Seol didn't fancy himself a hero.

Saving humanity? Ensuring his race's survival?

Those things held zero appeal for him.

He didn't crave the spotlight in real life, and grand ideals like that had no place in his world.

Yet there was one reason he'd push for Ascension: proof of his existence.

"Me, die like a bug? ...Is that so?"

How could he reach the gods?

Cordon—the one who'd preserved his life—would know the way.

For now, the only path that came to mind was heading toward Ascension.

Kang Seol decided to focus on his immediate surroundings. Future plans could wait until he'd escaped the threat.

What filled his vision was the character creation screen, packed with lines of text.

'This character setup screen... It's identical to the Eternal World I know.'

The only difference was rolling dice versus speaking commands.

In the Eternal World, you set up your character before the game began.

It was like transplanting an RPG onto a board game, but this step took up the largest share of importance.

'Screw up character creation in the Eternal World, and everything goes to hell.'

"A good start is half the battle" rang true here. Reality divided people into gold spoons and dirt spoons based on birth; games couldn't escape that either.

'Character, huh... In that case...'

Kang Seol licked his lips.

Truth be told, the demo's end had left one character untested.

'Yeah. Let's go with that.'

The other characters he'd played and verified relied too heavily on allies. Solo potential was limited, with crises galore.

Real-life death traps, even.

He'd overcome them with ingenuity each time, but it was never easy—and no guarantees this time around.

'A character that can reach Ascension without any wild cards.'

The one he was about to create perfectly embodied that mindset.

Kang Seol first eyed the job selection.

Eternal World jobs had a unique twist.

They weren't divvied up simply as "swordsman" or "mage."

You could pick both for a magic swordsman or deep-dive a mage path like his previous Snowman run, drilling into one discipline.

'Basically infinite freedom.'

Anything was possible—that was the Eternal World's hallmark.

'Problem is, too many options mean traps.'

Not every job was perfectly balanced. Some were favorites; others faded into obscurity.

"Mage... Summoner... There it is."

Summmoner.

A middling job amid dozens, hundreds of options.

Pros: Versatile from a relatively safe spot.

Cons: Nothing standout.

With so many jobs, ones with sharp personalities thrived everywhere—because they had niche necessity.

Summoner didn't make the cut.

Jack-of-all-trades in dealing, healing, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠support: that was its reality.

'Of course, that's when clueless players pick it.'

If Snowman chose Summoner, there had to be a reason.

Anyone who'd played like Kang Seol would say the same.

'Now... where's the school...'

Summmoners weren't one-note; they branched in multiple ways.

The first major fork in character creation: the school. What summons would you specialize in?

'Beasts, divine beasts, spirits, golems, undead...'

Over ten schools.

Even without choice paralysis, it'd take an hour to mull.

Kang Seol spotted one tucked in the corner.

'Found it.'

Shadow Summoner.

Shadows permeated not just summoning schools but magic, dark magic, swordsmanship, martial arts—everywhere.

Yet aside from swords, no one touched the shadow attribute.

'Weak in early and mid-game. Not even strong late-game.'

Attributes that burned, tore, froze.

Shadows? Wrong skill path, and you got half-baked powers.

Hence, abandoned.

'Others never realized the synergy between shadows and summoning.'

Selecting Shadow Summoner as his job, Kang Seol finished the rest in a flash.

'Stats all-in on wisdom. Crafts: cooking and insight. Nickname...'

The nickname brought a crescent-moon smile to his lips.

The 31st—and final—character.

No better fit.

"Snowman."

"Ugh..."

Kang Seol—Snowman—shook his head as he came to.

Completely oblivious to the unidentified entities peeking in and chattering.

"...Forgotten Moon Ruins?"

He remembered it now.

The adventure designed to help new players adapt to the Eternal World.

'Ah... but this one.'

It was a problem.

Great as a solo intro adventure, but the difficulty was downright vicious.

'You just keep taking hits as you push forward, right?'

If you weren't a rogue-type job or didn't pick the 'Trap Disarm' talent, the traps everywhere shredded your HP.

'Damn it... This screws over casters...'

Shadow Summoner was a pure caster.

Chanting spells with sluggish, larva-like movement.

'And I dumped all my free stats into wisdom...'

If he'd known Moonlit Dance was first, he might've picked something else—no wisdom dump either.

But knowing the first adventure meant knowing the world was becoming the Eternal World.

If he'd known that, he'd have lived life differently—no diligent savings or anything.

"First things first: status check."

The base stats started at 10.

He'd dumped the extra 10 free points into wisdom.

"This won't be easy..."

A ragged robe and a gnarled staff.

His getup screamed anything but nimble.

Status check done, Kang Seol took action.

'First... enter the ruins.'

An overgrown makeshift garden.

Moonlight bathed it.

Swoosh.

Crossing the ruined outdoor garden, Kang Seol reached the ruins' entrance.

"What's dream and what's real anymore..."

Probably a meaningless distinction now.

'Talk about a real game piece on the board. Now... what were the choices here?'

He absentmindedly tried to recall the original options.

Then something utterly unexpected happened.

"Hm?"

'The choices... are visible?'