Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Return
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As on any other day.
The sun hung high in the midday sky, yet the heavens above were an ominously blood-red.
The people at the outpost bustled about as always, enduring another grueling, meaningless day.
Woojin, transporting weapons due to backlog duties, glanced up at the foreboding sky, lost in thought.
'How long do I have to stare at that damn sky... Sigh... I want to go home. This expedition will fail too, won't it...'
The 33rd expedition to defeat the Demon King.
If this one failed, who knew how much longer they'd have to wait.
Even those who had given up hope couldn't help harboring a sliver of wishful thinking.
That was when it happened.
"!!! "
The sudden voice echoing in his mind caused Woojin, mid-transport of weapons, to halt and focus intently.
The same reaction rippled through everyone at the outpost, Woojin included.
Clang-
Stunned by the astonishing news, Woojin dropped the weapons he was carrying to the ground.
"We... we did it?! The expedition succeeded!? No way! This is huge! We can go home now?!"
Woojin wasn't alone.
As others realized the expedition's success, cheers of joy erupted everywhere.
"We did it!! We really did it!!"
"I-Is this real? It has to be real!!"
"I knew it!!"
Before they could even savor the joy, the voice continued.
In that moment of choice, Woojin made his decision in an instant.
'I have to go back! No question! This place and I don't mix! Surviving this long was pure luck!'
He hesitated briefly at the mention of reset, but it wasn't a bad deal for Woojin.
As a production class, the only skills he'd leveled in ten years here were production-related.
In this godforsaken world, flying through the skies or breathing fire with magic were tales from afar for him.
His deliberation lasted a split second. Woojin instantly decided to return.
And he had a compelling reason to go back to Earth.
The moment he steeled his resolve, the system alert he'd grown sick of over ten long years popped up before his eyes.
This time, though, it was more concise and joyful than ever.
"F-For real?"
This was the moment he'd waited for and dreamed of for ten years.
Realizing the countdown meant he had 48 hours to decide—a system courtesy—Woojin ignored it and immediately selected 2.
At that instant, a blinding light engulfed him. Woojin squeezed his eyes shut as his heart raced with anticipation of home.
'I'm... I'm going back! For real!'
But then, one forgotten thing flashed in his mind.
The people he'd shared highs and lows with for a decade.
In his haste, he'd forgotten even to say goodbye.
'Wait, hold on? Damn it!? I didn't even say goodbye?'
Too late. The status window never allowed take-backs, as always.
Thus, without bidding farewell to his comrades, Woojin surrendered to the intensifying glow that forced his eyes closed, embarking on his return to Earth.
Returning to Earth took longer than expected.
Woojin floated alone in a vast white void, staring at the solitary system window hovering there.
'Fine, I'll take what I can get.'
Even so, he couldn't shake his regret over not saying goodbye.
'Anyone but the Elder... I should've at least said something to him...'
Regret gnawed at him, but Woojin soon let it go.
There were only a handful of Koreans in this world anyway. No chance of crossing paths back on Earth.
Thinking that eased his mind a bit.
'They'll all go back and live well.'
It had been ten years since Woojin arrived in this world.
This was the world of Another Real World, the MMORPG boasting over 100 million users worldwide that he'd played a decade ago.
He'd bought the capsule for his brother, but at his urging, Woojin had tried it once on a whim.
And Another Real World was mind-blowing.
The capsule delivered electrical stimuli directly to the brain, creating the illusion of experiencing an entirely new reality.
Woojin loved it. Escaping his stifling daily life to tread new continents and adventure thrilled him.
But perhaps due to his innate cowardice, combat—killing monsters in the game—was too much for him.
After all, Another Real World prided itself on vivid immersion.
The brutality of monster slaying was grotesquely realistic, surpassing reality itself.
Splattering blood, flying flesh, spilling entrails—it repulsed him.
One might think no play without combat, but Another Real World boasted immense freedom.
There were plenty of ways to enjoy it sans fighting.
Like production classes.
Blacksmiths, chefs, appraisers, jewelers, sculptors, artists, and more.
Beyond combat jobs, countless production professions existed in Another World.
By chance, Woojin uncovered a hidden class and became an Enhancer.
As a hidden class, it was tough to level, and enhancement's abysmal success rates made high levels a nightmare.
Still, Woojin stuck with it.
The Enhancer class suited his tastes surprisingly well.
Just infuse mana into weapons or armor and attempt enhancement. Done.
Success or failure? Pure luck.
Good luck meant selling high-enhanced items for tidy profits.
But that was back when it was just a game.
Two years into service.
A month after Woojin started playing.
For unknown reasons, some users worldwide found themselves trapped inside the game world.
Woojin was one of them.
The so-called veterans quickly grasped the situation and realized countless other Earthlings had been pulled in too.
They eventually deduced the purpose and the way back.
Another Real World had 100 million total users.
10 million peak concurrents.
0.1%—10,000 people—were dumped into this hellish world.
Some might've dreamed of novel-like isekai adventures, but those with such leisure all perished.
By the final expedition, only 3,000 combatants and 1,000 producers remained.
Over half the Earthlings had died.
Modern folk softened by peace struggled to survive constant war, battles, and monster invasions.
Woojin's innate timidity kept him cautious—ever cautious.
Testing bridges before crossing meant avoiding anything remotely risky.
Plus, his unique enhancement skill among Earthlings.
In-game, it seemed trivial, but in reality, it was incredibly efficient.
+1 enhancement boosted item performance by 10%.
Realizing this, Woojin contributed to the return effort for survival, raising his skill to reliably hit +3.
Combatants loved it.
In-game +3 seemed meh, but here? Reality.
30% gear boost could turn the tide in life-or-death fights.
Woojin was the sole Enhancer among trapped Players, skyrocketing his value.
That skill let him survive, fulfilling top Players' demands by enhancing set quotas daily for combatants.
But now, that tedious life was over.
'I'm going back. I'm going home!'
"Finally!"
His body shimmered like a heat haze.
Intense nausea hit as he felt his consciousness shifting somewhere.
As the vertigo subsided, Woojin cautiously lifted his eyelids.
'What? Why's it so dark?'
But he soon realized why.
'Oh, right. Inside the game capsule.'
Hiss-
A moment later, the capsule hissed open, revealing a familiar ceiling.
"Ugh..."
Woojin struggled to sit up.
Ten years passed, yet nothing had changed.
"Haha..."
A hollow laugh escaped him.
A musty old villa with one room attached.
He was back in the home he'd lived in ten years ago.
"I-I'm really back! Hahaha! I'm really home!!! I'm back!!"
Has he ever laughed this hard since birth? He shouted at the top of his lungs.
But as he tried to climb out, his body wouldn't obey.
'Lying in the capsule for ten years? Feels heavy.'
As Woojin checked himself over,
a familiar voice came from behind.
"H-Hyung?"
In that instant, time seemed to freeze as Woojin slowly turned.
The reason he absolutely had to return.
His brother, Sangjin.
Sangjin had watched his brother enter the capsule a year ago and never emerge.
At first, he understood.
'Yeah, Hyung needs to enjoy himself too. He's always working for money...'
His brother was the breadwinner.
The sole protector for brothers Woojin and Sangjin, their family just the two of them.
To play the massively popular Real Another World among friends, Sangjin had begged Woojin relentlessly.
Scraping together a used capsule felt like owning the world.
But guilt crept in over the strain on their meager finances.
So he recommended it to his brother.
This game would surely be an escape for his workaholic Hyung.
Sangjin's hunch was spot on.
For the first time, experiencing a new world occasionally brightened his brother more than before.
But he never dreamed this would happen.
That day was the first time Hyung pulled an all-nighter gaming.
Sangjin thought it odd but shrugged it off.
Then that night, shocking news hit TV.
People worldwide entering game capsules and not waking.
Not my brother, he thought.
But the world wasn't so kind.
Orphaned brothers, freshly adults out of the orphanage.
Tough times, but Hyung insisted on studies, supporting Sangjin.
He'd endured school solely thanks to that.
News of his brother vegetative in the capsule left Sangjin screaming in despair.
A year later.
Finally, his brother stirred.
Woojin, gaunt from relying on the capsule's life support, grinned at Sangjin.
But his words rang brighter than ever.
"You rascal? Long time no see?"
"H-Hyung!!!!!"
Blood ties, their only kin in the world.
Few could grasp the brothers' emotions in this moment.
Tears streaming, Sangjin rushed to Woojin.
Yeah, Hyung's back. Come here, you punk!
But brothers gonna brother?
Unthinkingly, Sangjin's fist flew.
Thwack-!
"You bastard! Do you know how worried I was?!"
"Gah! You little shit... Punching your brother after ten years?"
Sangjin winced.
Punching Hyung fresh off a year comatose.
Wait—ten years? Had lying a year driven him mad?
"Hyung, you okay? But ten years? What're you talking about? You've been out a year. Wait, not the time. Hospital first, Hyung."
"What? A year? Not ten?"
"Yeah, a year. Just shy, actually. About 350 days."
Come to think of it, Sangjin's face hadn't changed much from ten years ago. Still that 20-year-old look.
'Then me?'
Woojin bolted to the bathroom mirror.
Thinner, sure, but not a 35-year-old man—a 25-year-old youth stared back.
Ten years there, yet he'd aged only one here.
"What the hell is this..."