The Nerds' Dream Made Real
The world of GM had been a headache from the moment of its birth.
Hard as it might be to believe, this game had started from the massive success of a famous soccer simulation title.
—Wow, they threw this together and it still blew up?
—I don’t get it. They just took real players, slapped together some rough stats, ran it through a simulator, and suddenly money was printing itself.
Users could manage their favorite athletes however they liked and build the dream squad they’d only ever imagined in their heads. In real life they were basement-dwelling keyboard warriors, but inside the game they became the owners of clubs packed with the world’s greatest stars.
Through that success, the developers learned one crucial truth:
The essence of a nurturing simulator.
They tickled users’ deepest wishes and raked in cash by the truckload. But their imagination didn’t stop there…
These people were the so-called nerds, a rare breed, and eventually their dark influence reached even the subcultures they truly loved.
—Who would win between Superman and Batman?
—Fuck it, can we make an Assemble vs Justice game already?
—Shut the hell up, you idiot! Listen. Potter is heresy! Only Tolkien is truth!
—Yeah, anything below Dragon Man is trash.
Who’s stronger?
The ultimate fanboy debate.
It was the kind of childish argument elementary school kids would have. Grown adults spitting and pointing fingers over something so ridiculous should have been embarrassing… yet—
—It’s stupid as hell… but it’s awesome!!
—Let’s do it right now!
…To some people, this childish argument was their entire life. At least, that was true for the nerds gathered here.
They didn’t need anything else. These overgrown children who loved comics and cartoons more than wealth and glory immediately quit their company that very day.
All for the sake of fun.
They compiled every superpower the world had ever imagined.
Occult, heroes, the Force, mana, magic, qi, martial arts, mysteries…
They built an arena just for them.
Gates, raid parties, rival battles, Guild War League, national team competitions…
That’s right.
The world of GM that Lee Shin now inhabited was a place where the childhood dreams, fun, and fantasies of fully grown adults had been brought to life.
Guild War KOREA League 1
VS
Finals Round 7 – ‘Raid Battle’
Ignis’s Star Palace – Fire Spirit LV7.
Walls of roaring crimson flames surrounded them on all sides. The sky, the ground, the walls—everything burned in a red-hot hell.
At that moment, a group of people kicked off the flames and hurled themselves straight into the inferno.
Whoosh—!!
An unbearable wave of heat slammed into the raid party.
For a brief second their formation wavered.
That was when one man shot out from the group like a bullet.
I’ll buy us time. His posture seemed to scream exactly that. His figure blurred for an instant, then light began to swirl violently around him.
One hand on the sheath. One hand on the hilt.
The moment his eyes flashed, a surge of mana rippled outward.
The light exploded. The white radiance that had been struggling to break free was finally unleashed.
What began as a faint flicker ended in overwhelming brilliance. The white light multiplied in an instant and spread across the entire area.
A white fracture appeared in the flame-filled field.
It looked like a spiderweb, like a net, and also like an electronic circuit.
The white light that spread in every direction refused to be swallowed by the crimson flames. It claimed the space itself, then literally deleted the fire spirits that had been surrounding them.
The rest of the party immediately reformed their ranks and charged forward. Toward the end of this hell.
Guild War Korea Finals – Final Round 7
“Raid Battle” – Day 14
“Guild War Korea Finals, final Round 7. This is Day 14 of Kirin Guild’s ‘Raid Battle.’ In every metric—time record, monster count, you name it—Kirin Guild holds the advantage. Analyst, your thoughts?”
“Exactly as expected. Look at this. The ‘Rival Battle’ is a PvP format where you retire the opponent. On the other hand, the ‘Raid Battle’ is the gate-clearing content we’ve been doing since the beginning—a literal PvM format. As I’ve always said, experience is the most important factor in raid battles. And the Ten Thousand Kings are the final boss of experience. This isn’t even a contest.”
The situation unfolded exactly as the commentator described.
The man at the front, the Ten Thousand Kings, raised his hand to the sky, and the formation changed in an instant.
Massive tanks wearing full plate armor appeared on both sides of him.
Tower shields as intimidating as the three men’s enormous physiques formed the first defensive line.
In the second line, close-range dealers including the Ten Thousand Kings supported the sub-tanks, while long-range dealers with high speed and evasion spread out like wings, dispersing as much incoming fire as possible toward the third-line supporters.
Diamond formation.
It was the standard of standards, the formation that pursued absolute stability, and people guessed the Ten Thousand Kings’ intention was simple:
No tricks needed. We win by playing it straight.
And in truth, it was a very accurate assessment. Even though they had been dragged all the way to the final Round 7, Kirin was the guild that had held undisputed first place in the league, possessing Korea’s strongest roster.
So everything should have been fine if they kept going like this. It should have been…
But the Ten Thousand Kings seemed to have other ideas. The moment he gave another hand signal, brilliant light flooded from the rear line.
“As expected from the Ten Thousand Kings, very wise. Solidifying the formation with standard—huh? Wait, what??”
“Kirin’s third line is moving! What is this? Are those… buffs? Yes, buffs! Bless, Haste, and various body enhancement buffs are being applied to the entire raid party!”
“Are they going for a full sprint?! Is this really the right call?!”
While the diamond formation pursued extreme stability, the moment buffs were applied the story completely changed.
The chariot of light stepped on the accelerator.
Even when waves of flame crashed down, they charged straight through.
Even when fire spirits threw themselves at them, they kept running.
It was brute force, yet they crushed everything that stood in their way and raced toward the end beyond the flames.
“They’re fast. So fast. As expected of Kirin! That destructive clutch play truly lives up to their name as Korea’s strongest guild!”
“Hmm. Logically speaking, the final sprint should be saved for right before the boss room. That’s where the difficulty spikes the most. But if they burn their sprint this early… I’m not sure. I really can’t tell if this is the right move.”
Despite everyone’s concerns, the raid party finally entered the last corridor.
A straight-line field unfolded before them, radiating destructive heat.
Every elite and champion monster that had been scattered across the field—even the mid-boss Fire Knight ‘Skollkia’—stood with greatswords raised, guarding their master’s palace.
There was nowhere to run.
Now it was a head-on fight.
However, the brilliant light enveloping the raid party had already begun to fade. The buff effects were reaching their limit, and an entirely different level of flame now threatened them from the front.
The moment everyone had feared.
The chariot of light dismantled. The front line opened, and Kirin Guild finally revealed the secret weapon they had kept hidden until now.
A woman with hair even darker than the roaring crimson flames.
Kirin Guild’s next-generation ace. The Flame Queen.
The flames surrounding her began to writhe violently.
More fiercely than the fire spirits themselves. No—perhaps in this world, when it came to the ‘fire’ attribute alone, she was absolute. In the blink of an eye, she dominated the entire field.
The natural enemy of fire is a stronger fire.
The moment she decided to end this race, the flame terrain that made up the corridor suddenly twisted and began devouring the fire spirits instead.
“Another legend! Kirin Guild had stumbled due to the absence of the Mountain King and struggled heavily in the early season!! But they are strong. They are still strong!!”
“Twelve-time Guild War Korea champions! Five-time Guild War Asia champions! Guild War Champions winners! From the moment of their birth, Kirin Guild established Korea’s absolute dynasty! It looks like they have no intention of stepping down from the throne this year either!”
Before the swirling waves of flame, time records became meaningless.
It no longer felt like a simple victory or defeat. It felt like watching the beginning of another chapter of history.
The already legendary Ten Thousand Kings, the Flame Queen who was about to become a legend herself, and the immortal dynasty of Kirin that would continue its reign for yet another year.
Total time: 3 hours and 47 minutes.
When the Flame Queen’s final sprint—which had been edited down to just over ten minutes in the broadcast highlight reel—finally ended,
the doors to the deepest chamber of Ignis’s Star Palace, the Grand Hall, opened at last.
And there, seated upon the throne and gazing down at them, was the boss of Ignis’s Star Palace.
The noble lady, Agni.
Agni’s crimson dress seemed to set the entire surroundings ablaze.
And what waited after this was…
Will be revealed in 60 seconds!!
…a monster born of capitalism.
* * *
Click—!
The old CRT television, now dark and lifeless, reflected Lee Shin’s complicated expression. His body trembled slightly.
“Insane…”
Thump. Thump.
His heart pounded wildly. It swelled with grandeur.
The extreme imagination of the world’s greatest nerds was unfolding here as a live reality show.
“Haha, if the guys on the community saw this they’d lose their minds.”
Jealous? Then get struck by lightning and reincarnate too!
Having enjoyed this world his entire life, this overwhelming emotion was only natural for Lee Shin.
The situation that perfectly recreated the war of superhumans known as GM.
The sight of 2D characters he had only ever seen on a monitor now moving and fighting in real time.
This world that had dragged the realm of the incomprehensible down into the domain of capitalism!
It was truly a new era where every dream he had ever had became reality.
Especially now, watching the finals with his own two eyes, Lee Shin felt pure awe. The scale of the emotion itself was on another level.
“They control difficult-to-manage gate raids through a structured system called the Guild War League.”
“The government benefits from transparent distribution of magic stones, civilians get entertainment, and hunters gain massive salaries, fame, and popularity. Everyone wins.”
The greatest show on earth, created to satisfy everyone’s needs.
“Guild War League.”
Yes. This was exactly what he had been longing for.
Vitality surged through Lee Shin’s entire body. Enough to make even a dying man snap his eyes open.
He had only one goal.
Lee Shin had zero doubt that ‘this time too’ he would carve his two-character name at the very peak of the stage of dreams. Just like when he had been called the teacher of all users.
“First, I need to find a suitable lower-league guild. One with history and tradition, but now fallen…”
“To leave a strong impression on everyone, I need a big step. Something with real impact! Recruiting is the only way…”
“One major signing, the rest filled with prospects. That should be enough for the lower league… So then?”
Inspiration flooded in as fiercely as his motivation.
To be honest, the plan had been completed long ago.
There was no way a veteran like Lee Shin would have created a character without even deciding on its direction.
Ever since he realized this world was the world of GM, the plan had been revised dozens of times. It could not possibly be more perfect.
What Lee Shin needed right now was just one single step.
If he could take one step—just one—out of this stifling room and beyond that wall into the real world, a new legend would be written.
Lee Shin licked his lips.
He was thirsty.
Like a bear that had stayed in its cave for a hundred days eating only garlic and mugwort to become human, at first he had tried to endure using the character ‘patience’ his predecessor had left behind, counting every second.
But the moment he witnessed with his own eyes the world he loved so much—Kirin Guild, the Ten Thousand Kings, the Flame Queen—his patience, which had already reached its limit, completely collapsed.
“Guess I have to go out.”
In the mirror, Lee Shin was already rising to his feet.
‘Guild Management Window’ is currently deactivated.
Please create a guild.