Chapter 1
Chapter 1
The weather was unusually good.
Between medieval-style buildings stood an old wooden structure that reeked faintly of mold.
The sign above it read: Adventurer Guild.
The rotting wooden boards creaked constantly, as if complaining about their own existence.
“……”
A man entered through the door and stood silently in front of the counter.
As the flickering lamp cast shifting shadows, an old man wearing glasses looked up.
“Oh, it’s you.”
The old man greeted him casually.
“Take a seat for a moment. I’m quite busy right now.”
Busy?
The guild hall was practically empty.
Only a few low-ranking adventurers were picking quest papers. There didn’t even seem to be any proper clerks working.
And yet the old man told him to wait without explanation.
“How long will it take?”
But power was very honest in this world.
And right now, the man was not in the position to demand anything.
“Why are you acting like you don’t know? Sit down. I’ll call you when it’s your turn.”
“…Understood.”
The man had no choice but to sit at an empty table.
Even as he walked that short distance, his leg limped noticeably.
A faint trace of contempt and mockery crossed the old man’s eyes.
How much time had passed?
The creaking door suddenly burst open, and the guild instantly became noisy.
A one-eyed man with a long scar across his face walked in, smelling of sweat and dirt.
“Oh! Ban’gan, you made it back!”
The old man, who had been indifferent to the earlier visitor, rushed over the counter as soon as he saw the one-eyed man.
The man at the table looked over as well.
He knew him. A well-known figure in these parts.
Ban’gan. The so-called One-Eyed Ban’gan.
A veteran adventurer with 15 years of experience, and the leader of a fairly respected party.
The old man’s reaction made sense.
“Quit the greetings and give me the money.”
Ban’gan shouted irritably and threw down a heavy pouch.
Inside were dozens of monster heads, proof of dungeon clearance.
The old man hurriedly brought out a sack of gold coins.
Then Ban’gan’s eyes landed on the man sitting at the table.
“…? Siu? That you, Siu?”
“…Shit.”
The man cursed under his breath.
He really didn’t want to run into him.
“Ha! Damn, long time no see, huh? Your face looks better than before.”
Ban’gan walked over and greeted him like an old friend.
Or maybe it was mockery pretending to be friendliness.
His large hand patted the man’s head with annoying familiarity.
“You’re still alive, you cockroach. Damn resilient bastard.”
The man’s name was Siu.
A man who had survived ten years in this hell where people died daily.
A stubborn cockroach clinging to life.
But none of that mattered anymore.
Siu was already a worn-out adventurer.
And today, he had come to end that ten-year life.
“League of Fantasia”
A massively popular online game that shook Korea in the 2010s.
Top PC café ranking for five straight years.
Its world championship, the “LOF Cup,” was a global event…
Or it should have been.
In reality, it was just another mediocre game.
A dungeon-crawling RPG set on the continent of Astria.
The goal was to recruit and train randomly generated NPCs and conquer the Seven Great Calamities.
Over a thousand NPCs, deep interactions, massive maps, endless builds.
You could only meet about 10% of all NPCs in a single playthrough.
Which meant endless replay value for those who got hooked.
But despite all that, the game was never truly popular.
Because of this:
Name: Ban’gan
Level: 30
Class: Warrior / Assassin
Weapon Affinity: Dagger / Sword
Strength: 40 Agility: 5 Intelligence: 25 Stamina: 15 Charisma: 5
Skills: Dagger Throw, Split Slash, Long-distance Urination
This was the problem.
All NPC stats were randomly assigned.
Each level gave 3 stat points, randomly distributed among five attributes.
Skills were also random.
Ban’gan was a hybrid warrior-assassin.
His high Strength was good.
But his Intelligence was wasted.
And his Agility?
So low that Dagger Throw was worse than throwing chopsticks.
And Long-distance Urination…
Nobody knew why that even existed.
Still, thanks to Split Slash, he managed to survive.
Gameplay boiled down to repetition.
Recruit decent-looking NPCs.
Assign roles.
Send them into dungeons.
Pray for stats.
Pray for skills.
Repeat endlessly.
And when Siu opened his eyes…
He was inside that world.
Not as a pro player.
Not as a chosen one.
Just someone who fell asleep while casually playing.
He had survived ten years here.
Now thirty-three.
No hidden skills. No special builds.
Just an average, slightly useless all-rounder.
But he had one useful ability.
He could see other people’s stats.
That alone kept him alive.
Stick to the strong. Kill the weak.
But that was his limit.
In this world, seeing wasn’t enough.
To survive dungeons, you had to be strong.
And he wasn’t.
Not after that accident.
A stupid act of loyalty—trying to save a friend—ended with his leg crushed by an orc.
Not amputated. Just ruined.
And so, he retired.
No farewell. No gratitude.
Just a guild telling him to leave.
All he had left was his severance pay.
Maybe 5,000 gold, he thought.
Enough to start over.
Maybe.
“Hey, unemployed bastard, what are you doing here?”
Ban’gan’s voice pulled him back.
“…Retiring. I’m here for my severance.”
He said it.
And hated it.
Ban’gan laughed.
And the others did too.
After some time, the old clerk finally handed over a pouch.
It was tossed casually.
Gold coins rolled onto the floor.
Ban’gan even picked some up…
And pocketed them.
“…Is this really all?”
1,000 gold.
Not small, but not enough.
“Show me the calculation.”
“No permission from the guild master.”
“Then bring the guild master.”
“Stop causing trouble and leave.”
Siu’s anger flared.
“Give me my money!”
The guild erupted.
A loud voice draws attention.
Adventurers gathered, watching.
And Ban’gan stepped in.
“If you’re crippled, be grateful you got anything.”
That was it.
Siu was forced out with 1,000 gold.
Ten years of life.
Worth a single pouch of coins.
“…What the hell am I supposed to do with this?”
A night in a luxury brothel would burn it all.
A casino would eat it slowly.
But he wanted something else.
Something meaningful.
And there was only one option left.
Even a cripple could do it.
If he was willing to give up everything.
He turned back.
“I’m starting a guild. Bring the papers.”
“……”
For the first time, the old clerk was silent.
And Siu signed.
900 gold vanished instantly as founding fees.
A wooden plaque was made.
“Siu Adventurer Party”
Ten years of his life…
Burned into wood.
“…Not bad.”
Not a bright future.
But an interesting one.
One month later.
“Adventurers wanted! Looking for adventurers!”
Siu was now broke.
Living in a tiny five-pyeong office provided by the guild.
Recruiting daily.
But no one decent came.
Either too expensive or too useless.
Money was running out.
Then—
The door creaked open.
A blonde woman in a maid outfit peeked inside.
“…Is this Siu Adventurer Party?”
“…Yes. We don’t hire cleaners.”
“I’m Elene! I want to become an adventurer!”
“…In that outfit?”
A maid.
Wanting to be an adventurer.
Siu smiled.
“Welcome. We accept anyone.”
And so it began.
The system flashed.
“Congratulations on your first member! Reward granted.”
A six-eyed dice appeared.
Skill obtained:
“Dice of Fate”
“You can reconstruct another person’s fate.”
“…Oh.”
Siu stared at it.
A strange feeling crept in.
Like something had just begun.