Chapter 1
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: The Beginning
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In the primordial world.
Celestials and Demons were different races from one another, but they never trifled with humans.
There was a time when they respected each other and kept to their own territories. But that peace didn't last.
Relations between the Celestials and Demons soured, sparking war between them.
The two factions descended upon the human realm—the buffer zone between them—to wage their battles. Countless villages were wiped out, and innumerable lives were lost.
Unable to bear the sight any longer, God descended and halted the war between the Celestials and Demons. He commanded them to submit to the humans who had been sacrificed.
"Submit to the sacrificed humans."
The Celestials and Demons, unable to bow to humans who were weaker than themselves, sent avatars down to the mortal world to serve them instead.
They dispatched their very own avatars to the human realm.
Those beings were—
Valkyries.
And that was how the Valkyries came to be—the entities humans now wield like their own limbs.
Valkyrie.
I skipped the opening ad for my mobile game and dove right in.
It had been over five years since I started playing. Not that it was some groundbreaking title—it was just another cookie-cutter gacha game.
You progressed through the story with beautiful female Valkyries and summoned more along the way. Unlike most games of its kind, though, the devs kept things fresh with steady updates and solid management. They even rolled out genuinely fun content, and before I knew it, five years had slipped by.
I fired up the game and opened my Valkyrie roster. Every slot was unlocked. And not just unlocked—all of them had hit max promotion and final evolution.
A ton of new Valkyries had dropped over those five years, but I'd shelled out real cash every time to max them out.
The real hook? The tantalizing artwork. Being a game aimed squarely at guys, every Valkyrie was female, and the illustrations were top-notch.
Push them through final evolution and max out affection, and you'd unlock even the 19+ rated ones. Thanks to that, I'd collected every last illustration in my roster.
All told, I'd dumped around 200 million won into this game over five years. Heavy spending, no doubt about it.
Am I loaded? Hardly. I'm just your average office drone crashing in a goshiwon.
Still, pulling in about 4 million won a month at a mid-sized firm ain't bad. No real hobbies or anything, so most of my paycheck went straight into the game.
I barely touched my vacation days, obsessing over work and Valkyries instead. Unused leave pay added up nicely, fueling my single-minded pursuit.
Luckily, the game had a pity system, so my spending eventually paid off in efficiency.
Valkyries ranged from SSR down to D rank. Collect ten duplicates of a D-rank, and it'd evolve to C. Repeat the process through B, A, SR, and finally SSR.
The pity system kicked in once you hit SSR on a unit—no more dupes after that.
Since I'd been whaling from day one, I'd already SSR'd every low-tier Valkyrie. That made pulling new SSRs a breeze.
Well, not exactly a breeze—they were the only ones dropping for me.
5,900 won got you 3,000 diamonds, enough for a 10+1 pull. Without pity, it'd be a nightmare, but it saved me, letting me collect every type.
That was just for SSR evos. Affection items were separate purchases, tailored to each Valkyrie's preferences—pricey stuff.
Then there was gearing them up. Thankfully, just weapons and armor, but no pity there either. In the end, gear ate up even more cash than Valkyries. Five years of bare-minimum living expenses, dumping the rest of my salary in.
Staring at my roster filled me with pride. Call me crazy for blowing 200 million over five years, but this was my treasure.
If I asked someone, "Have you ever been that devoted to another person?" I'd say my Valkyries were that for me.
Mom would smack me upside the head for saying it, but with no plans to marry anyway, why hoard cash? No regrets.
These days, updates didn't demand the same spending, so I could start saving now.
No quitting the game, but at 28, I'm not ancient yet. Grind a bit, and by 40, I could own a place.
Never been big on spending or girls, so it was doable.
That's why today, of all days, I'd taken leave and shown up at Gocheok Dome.
One reason only.
The Valkyrie devs were hosting a cosplay event here.
Usually glued to my desk staring at a monitor... but not today. A chance to see my favorite characters in the flesh? No way I'd miss it.
The plaza was already buzzing with guys like me, big cameras in hand, milling about. Cosplayers posing everywhere for shots.
Five years in, and the game still had legs.
"Whoa!! It's Ariel!!!"
Someone shouted nearby. I turned and saw a red-haired warrior woman in full gear—impeccable cosplay that hugged Ariel's signature curves perfectly.
Heh... you mortals... Ariel ain't the hottest Valkyrie...
I smirked as the crowd swarmed her.
"Elysion!!!"
From the other side, a blue-haired mage appeared, drawing another rush.
Ariel and Elysion—top SSRs in performance, killer illustrations. Most popular by far.
Sigh... not yet...
My resolve held firm.
"Dryer!!!!!!"
A shout from behind. A black-skinned Demon archer, bow at the ready.
Ariel and Elysion were Celestials; Dryer was Demon. Super popular too. Her outfit was a nightmare—more skin exposed than covered.
Ahem... well... she nailed it... pretty much... cough...
I scanned her up and down in a flash, heart skipping a beat. But still no sign of my fave. Honestly, without hearing she'd show, I wouldn't have bothered with leave and trekking here.
"What? What's that cosplay? Looks good, but who is it?"
Murmurs rippled toward another newcomer. High quality, but no one recognized her.
"Gasp!!!"
I whipped around—and my heart stopped. There she was... my one and only...
A woman in simple light armor, spear in hand.
Her name? Spear Soldier. D-rank Spear Knight. C- and D-ranks didn't have names.
But I knew hers.
Sua. Evolve a D-rank Spear Knight to SSR, and her true name unlocks.
Plain but honest face. Slender yet sturdy arms and legs. The first Valkyrie I pulled when I started hooked me for life.
Fancier, flashier ones came later, but she was the most beautiful to me. Her final evolution revealed her true radiance.
This cosplay stopped at A-rank, though—hadn't seen the full thing.
Fair enough... even A-rank's a huge commitment.
Spotted a forum post about someone cosplaying A-rank Sua. Low views; I was probably the only upvote.
Stumbled on it while searching Spear Knights—already buried.
Messaged the poster carefully: You really coming?
They confirmed. I took leave on the spot.
And now, seeing her in person... I almost wanted a touch. Yeah, that'd land me in cuffs quick.
But backing out? No chance. Once-in-a-lifetime shot.
Sua stood alone. Great cosplay, but no Ariel-level hype.
Up close, her face came into sharp focus.
My god... even the face... spot-on...
Breath caught—she was my ideal incarnate.
"Um... excuse me... mind if I take a photo?"
I mustered my courage and approached.
"Oh! Are you... the one who messaged me??"
"Y-yeah! That's me. I'm Kai."
"Haha! You actually came? I wasn't sure anyone would care about this cosplay..."
She beamed at me, like she'd been waiting.
"No way... you're amazing... I never dreamed I'd see real-life Sua..."
"Sua??"
She tilted her head.
"Oh! Evolve the Spear Knight to SSR, and you get her true name: Sua."
"Huh... cool. So you've seen her final evolution, Kai?"
"Y-yeah...?"
"Too bad you won't get the final-evo cosplay then."
"Nah, no regrets! A-rank Sua's got my heart pounding already..."
I waved it off. Truth was, even D-rank would've floored me.
"How about seeing SSR Sua up close and personal?"
"Huh? For real?"
"Sure. Just step into the game yourself..."
"Wait, what...?"
Her weird words barely registered before her finger touched my chest.
The instant it did, dizziness hit like a truck. Nausea roiled.
What... the hell...?
The world spun wildly, collapsing to a point—sucking me in.
Then blackness took me.