Chapter 1
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: A Mundane Dawn
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6:57 AM.
He turned off the game.
Yoo Jin-seong slipped his phone into the pocket of his work uniform.
He stood up from his chair and stretched his arms high toward the sky.
Crack, crack.
His stiff body screamed in protest.
He gave it a light stretch.
"Ah... so damn tired..."
He got to work.
He worked for Daehoon Precision, a tiny SME that produced and shipped mechanical equipment parts. He'd been on the production line for a year and seven months now.
'Busy as hell.'
No time to even catch his breath.
Forget tea breaks—he barely had time to hit the bathroom.
The factory in this rural Chungcheong Province village was perpetually short-staffed, a constant headache.
Few hands, mountains of work—the tasks were no joke.
'Exhausted.'
The labor wasn't brutally intense. Just moderately tough.
But the hours were endless.
He clocked in by 7 AM and dragged himself out at 8 PM. That was the routine.
Thirteen straight hours was plenty to wear down any body.
And it was six days a week.
'Haa, this shit tastes like crap.'
At least the food could be decent.
But the company meals were so awful they killed his appetite.
Midway through eating, he cracked open a cup of spicy beef noodles and slurped it down.
'Yukgaejang... starting to get old...'
It only tasted good at first.
'Gotta switch to Wang Ttukkeot.'
After the meal, he caught a quick nap. Spent the afternoon hustling nonstop.
Only when the world had turned pitch black could he finally break free.
'Off work!'
His body felt like a thousand pounds of lead. He just wanted to crash at the dorm.
But a coworker grabbed him, forcing him to stop.
"Maknae-ya, let's grab a drink."
It was one of his coworkers, a hyung.
"Sorry. I'm beat."
"Come on, don't bail. I'll cover it. Just one quick round."
"......"
"Dinner was trash today. Meat and soju."
"...Fine."
It wasn't the word "meat" that swayed him. Absolutely not.
He just couldn't say no without feeling awkward. That's all.
'Haa, drinking with hyung always gets intense...'
Kim Kwang-woo could hold his liquor. At least three bottles, easy.
Chugging with hyung was fun enough. The problem was tomorrow.
Hangovers from hell.
"Eemo, pork belly for two and a bottle of soju, please."
"Right away, sir. Just a moment—I'll bring it out quick."
"Oh, and some miso stew too."
They settled at a nearby grill joint.
"Pour me one."
"Sure, hyungnim."
Kim Kwang-woo knocked back a shot before the food even arrived.
Emptied his glass.
"Hey, maknae, sorry to ask, but could you do me a solid?"
Kim Kwang-woo asked cautiously.
"Payday's the day after. Think you could spot me two mil? I'll pay you back next month with interest."
"...Why?"
He couldn't help but ask.
"Need cash in a hurry."
"Sorry. Can't do it."
"Ah, don't shut me down like that..."
"Really sorry. I'm strapped too. I'd love to help, but my salary might as well not be mine."
His take-home was 2.8 million won.
150k for living expenses. 500k to savings. The rest went to loans and family.
'Two mil... that's like seven months of my pocket money...'
Truth be told, he couldn't even swing 200k, let alone two mil.
Not that he'd lend it even if he could.
'Do I look like a pushover? No way I'm getting that back.'
Illegal private toto betting was Kim Kwang-woo's favorite pastime.
Obsessed, he'd already racked up loans.
Most of his paycheck went straight to repayments and more bets.
Lend him two mil? 99.999% chance it'd vanish into toto hell.
"Haaa... this is bad... really bad..."
"......"
"Maknae, come on. It's urgent."
"......"
The mood plummeted.
"Haa... alright... whatever. Let's just eat."
He slammed back a shot.
Dipped the crispy pork belly in ssamjang and shoved it in his mouth.
Chewed away.
The vibe was funeral-level gloomy, but his tongue was in heaven.
Honestly, pork belly was always insanely good.
And after so long without, it tasted like honey.
Cool soju chased the greasy bliss.
All the day's grind melted away.
"Any chance you could loan me some?"
"Pardon?"
Another unreasonable ask.
"Credit score's too low. No dice."
"Why?"
"Family stuff's complicated."
"Ah..."
Yoo Jin-seong's credit was in the gutter.
Borrowed 55 million, paid back 35 million.
Still 20 million left hanging.
His parents, running a small business, had taken out loans in his name.
It could've gone well. But it tanked hard.
Now he was covering the payments in their place.
"Great meal."
He drank just enough to feel a pleasant buzz.
Ate his fill of meat, stuffed to the gills.
Kim Kwang-woo's face, though, was gloomier than ever.
'Not my problem.'
Yoo Jin-seong looked away.
Kept his words to a minimum.
Getting nosy could invite trouble.
Best to stay quiet.
'Man... our company hyungs... straight-up pathetic...'
His coworkers, the hyungs.
Every last one had issues.
Kwang-woo hyung: gambling addict and alcoholic.
Ji-seong hyungnim: married, but obsessed with hostess bars.
Jae-gu hyung: camgirl fanatic, ramen every meal.
The rest were no better.
'Tsk, pissed they can't squeeze cash from a broke guy like me...'
Like today.
Not just Kwang-woo hyung.
They all tried slyly hitting him up.
From 100k to 3 mil.
Reasons galore.
Gambling, hookers, donations, in-game cash, loan juggling—you name it.
'Never lent a dime.'
He walked the road home. The night breeze was chilly.
'Hyungs look broke... so why am I broke?'
He worked his ass off.
Lived frugally, still poor as dirt.
Never late to work once. Even half-dead from sickness, he clocked in.
Never spent over 50k on food a month. Never dropped more than 30k on games.
V-card intact—no date expenses. Nightlife? Way too pricey to try.
'...Game time.'
He fired up the Era of Success app.
'Jealous.'
The growing character made him jealous.
'So jealous.'
The money-printing character.
'Jealous. Super jealous.'
The one landing a pretty girlfriend.
'Ah, seriously jealous.'
For the first 30 seconds of playing, he envied the character.
Once immersed, he projected onto it and felt good.
Before he knew it, he'd reached the dorm. A small, rundown place.
Showered clean with hot water in the communal bathroom.
Flopped onto his bedding.
'Ah, comfy.'
Cozy as hell.
'Sleep.'
He wanted to game for an hour.
But he was wiped, boozed up, and had work tomorrow.
Had to survive the next day, so he forced his eyes shut.
'Ah, wanna make it big. Earn stacks. Get rich. Land a hot girlfriend...'
Yoo Jin-seong was out cold in under 20 seconds.
Exhaustion had piled up to where he conked out the moment he lay down.
In the midst of deep sleep.
[Launching Era of Success.]
[Work hard, grow, and seize success.]
A strange voice echoed.
Something bizarre materialized in the air.
But it didn't reach the deeply sleeping Jin-seong at all.
The alarm blared.
"Ugh..."
He tossed and turned. Grabbed his phone from beside the bed and killed the alarm. Sat up.
"So tired..."
Mind and body felt leaden. Stomach churning.
Just two more hours. That's all he wanted.
'Thirsty.'
He pressed a water bottle to his lips and chugged.
"Hah..."
The brutal thirst eased.
"Huh?"
As he went to set the bottle down, Jin-seong froze solid.
His pupils quaked violently.
Something weird was there. A hologram floating in midair.
[Please select a Talent.]
His brain stalled. He spaced out. Couldn't close his mouth.
Just stared blankly at the hologram for ages.
'What... the hell is this?'
A dream?
'No... not a dream... this is real.'
A hallucination?
Had he finally lost it?
'Yeah... gotta be nuts.'
No other way a random hologram pops up.
No matter how he sliced it, seeing the "Era of Success" start screen wasn't normal.
He seriously pondered checking into a psych ward.
'But...'
Psych ward aside.
'Wonder what happens if I touch it...'
Curiosity piqued.
Out of 300 options, Jin-seong tapped the 81st.
That was the one his character picked first.
Tap. A sound effect. New text appeared.
[Talent selection complete.]
[Can bestow 'Talent' on self or others.]
[Select target for 'Talent':]
178 options.
Himself first, then family, friends, coworkers.
Like a man possessed, Jin-seong tapped number 1 without thinking.
[Bestowing Athletic Talent on Yoo Jin-seong.]
[Achieve 100 athletic-related Achievements.]
He bumped into Kim Kwang-woo.
The world had changed overnight. Era of Success had become reality.