Chapter 1: The Final Victory

Losing was worse than dying.

It was my natural instinct.

Winning, by any means necessary, was the most important thing.

Maybe that’s why, from a young age,

I was always known as a troublemaker, someone who would constantly fight.

I never avoided a fight if it came my way.

The problem started when I was in elementary school and my parents died in a car accident.

I ended up living alone with my older brother,

who was six years older than me, and that was when I truly went off the rails, earning the reputation of a problem child.

My brother was different.

He was much more perfect and brilliant than I was.

He fought desperately to protect his only remaining family, his younger sibling.

Was it less than a year after our parents passed?

The kid, with whom I had a bad relationship, made a derogatory remark.

Naturally, I beat him up mercilessly.

In that moment, I wasn’t thinking about what would happen afterward; I just swung my fists without hesitation.

Thanks to that, the kid lost two of his front teeth, and his nose was smashed in.

A disciplinary committee was held for school violence, and the police visited the school.

My brother, who was still a high school student,

was summoned to the principal’s office, where he had to kneel and apologize to the kid’s parents.

As I watched my brother’s back, I realized something for the first time.

Sometimes, there are fights that you just cannot win.

The kid’s parents clicked their tongues and said:

“That’s why kids without parents are so messed up.”

All I could do was clench my fists and suppress my anger.

That day, on the way home, I apologized to my brother.

He smiled and asked:

“How’s school?”

“…It’s fine. It’s boring. It’s not fun.”

“Do you have any friends?”

“…Not really.”

“I see.”

How pathetic I must have seemed.

My brother was going through hell for me, yet I, his younger sibling, was whining about how much I hated school.

If I were in his shoes, I would have honestly felt disgusted.

But my brother was different.

“Then, try thinking of other paths.”

“Other paths?”

“Like drawing or sports. You don’t have to be obsessed with studying.”

It sounded convincing, but pursuing art or sports didn’t seem like a good idea given the circumstances.

To put it bluntly, we didn’t have the money for that.

“Gaeul, I want you to live happily. It doesn’t matter what it is, just find something you can really enjoy.”

Something to enjoy.

Was there really such a thing?

“Or, how about gaming? You’re good at it.”

“Gaming is just gaming.”

“If you’re really confident, you could try becoming a professional gamer.”

“Hmm…”

It was true, gaming didn’t require the kind of money other activities did.

Honestly, all you needed was a good computer.

“Well, I’ll think about it.”

I think that was when I first started dreaming of becoming a professional gamer.

I’d always been confident in my gaming skills.

Because of my competitive nature, I always tried to win, no matter what.

And once I had the concrete goal of becoming a pro gamer, my skills skyrocketed.

By the time I reached middle school, I became famous as a top-tier player in the game,

and by high school, I was eventually scouted as a trainee for a professional gaming team.

The day I received the offer, my brother and I had a small celebration.

Everything seemed to be going well. I thought I was on the path to success.

That was, until I heard the news that the game had failed, just three days into my stay at the training dorm.

I opened my eyes.

The damp humidity that clung to my skin as I woke up was refreshingly sharp.

The vivid dream and the intense shock it left me with made me feel strangely happy.

“…Of all times, why did I have that dream?”

I mumbled to myself, rubbing my eyes.

Has it already been five years?

Back then, I truly understood what it meant for the world to collapse.

It was true that the popularity of the game had started to fade.

I had expected that even if I made my pro debut,

it would be hard to earn enough money to live comfortably for the rest of my life.

But who could have guessed that it would fall apart so easily?

A series of misfortunes piled up, but the most decisive factor was the game’s developer’s poor decisions.

They released a new game out of nowhere, claiming it was going to be their masterpiece,

completely neglecting and abandoning the existing game while investing everything in the new project.

By doing so, they missed the golden opportunity to solve problems and the game ultimately failed.

As for the new game? I don’t even know what happened. I really wish I did.

“Sigh…”

With a heavy sigh, I rose from my spot.

Stretching my body, I quickly checked my condition.

Fortunately, it seemed like I had spent the night without any issues.

I didn’t like the damp cave environment.

But considering the circumstances, this place was as good as a five-star hotel compared to what I usually had to deal with.

I raised my wrist to check my watch.

• Participant 28 is currently on a killing spree.

As expected, the game was still going on, even in the middle of the night.

If I let my guard down for even a moment, I could end up losing my head without even realizing it, stuck in a deep sleep.

That’s why, for some time now, I haven’t been able to sleep deeply.

The slightest noise or movement immediately puts me on high alert.

In that sense, it annoyed me that the dream I had last night happened to be at the very last moment.

I chewed on the leftover roasted rabbit I had salted the night before.

After taking care of breakfast, I grabbed the spear I had placed next to my bed and began to move.

It was time to leave.

I cleared away the bushes and branches I had used as camouflage and stepped out of the cave.

The first light of dawn had just begun to break, painting the sky with an enigmatic hue.

A pale fog was steadily approaching, visible even beyond the dense forest.

If I had woken up even a little later, I would have been on my way to the afterlife.

A new day had dawned.

I was still in the midst of the battlefield, where I had to survive until I became the last one standing.

That’s right.

I had entered that damn new game world.

Even five years later.

The war had started four days ago.

Out of the 66 participants, only 4 remained.

One of them, an elderly man with a beard, was walking slowly through the forest.

He kept his hand on the sword at his waist, moving cautiously and scanning his surroundings as he advanced.

He had received intel that an enemy was within a 5-meter radius of this area, which is why he had come here personally.

The old man’s sword had already absorbed countless amounts of blood, making it incredibly strong.

The important thing, however, was that it still hadn’t quenched his hunger for more.

His sharp eyes rapidly scanned the area. Had the enemy already fled?

If not…

At that moment, a blood-curdling scream echoed through the still forest.

“AAAH!”

It came from nearby.

The old man froze for a moment. This could be a trap to lure him in.

However, it was also an ideal opportunity to eliminate an enemy.

If the fog continued to advance, the battlefield would inevitably shrink.

As more participants are forced into a smaller space, the number of uncontrollable variables increases.

Naturally, it’s best to reduce the number of competitors as quickly as possible.

Ultimately, the old man decided to head toward the source of the scream, despite the possibility of a trap.

Above all, he was confident he could win in any situation. Without hesitation, he ran forward.

Soon, the old man arrived at the origin of the sound and clicked his tongue.

He was already too late.

There was a man slumped against a tree, his chest wide open and blood spilling from his body in a pool.

There were no other wounds besides the hole in his chest. Had he died from a single blow?

From the size and shape of the hole, it looked as though he had been pierced by a spear.

Just then, a voice came from behind the old man.

“You’re lucky. I can’t believe you actually came because you heard the scream.”

“Did you do this on purpose?”

“Of course.”

A cold and cynical female voice.

There was no trace of battle tension in her voice just a calm, almost nonchalant demeanor.

But the old man didn’t seem rattled by it.

Despite having been ambushed, he wasn’t the least bit flustered.

“I’m sorry, but you’ll have to die. ”

“Still, I’m grateful. Thanks to you, once I deal with you and the last one, I’ll be the victor.”

“Huh? Oh, you haven’t checked? It’s just the two of us left.”

“…What?”

He had clearly checked before the scream, and there were still four participants remaining.

So, what that meant was that,

in the brief moment after hearing the scream and coming here, someone else must have been killed?

Could it be possible for anyone to kill another in such a short amount of time?

The woman had to be just as skilled to survive this long.

The old man put aside any thoughts of complacency and resolved to give his all from the start.

There was no point in continuing the conversation it would only play into her pace.

He braced his legs and prepared to enter battle immediately.

Now!

He pushed off the ground and leaped forward, twisting his body to quickly assess the situation.

Finally, he saw the woman behind him.

Her smooth ebony hair and pale skin.

Sharp eyes with a hint of a triple eyelid, and a small mole under her left eye.

She exuded a cold, decadent charm.

Her outfit matched her image, predominantly black,

and she held a smooth, simple spear in her hand.

She had the kind of appearance that could stir the hearts of many men,

but that wasn’t important right now.

The old man couldn’t hide his surprise when he saw her.

No matter how much he studied her, he couldn’t find a single opening.

“What are you doing?” she asked lazily, then added, “If you’re not coming, I’ll just go first.”

As soon as the old man saw her move, he realized who the winner of this war would be.

‘She’s a complete monster.’

The old man’s corpse, with his head blown off, was in front of me. I averted my gaze.

Now, I was the only one left standing in this battlefield.

That means I am the victor of the war.

Soon, an alert appeared on my watch.

• Congratulations!

“Congrats my ass.”

The watch alarm sounded again shortly after.

• You’ve achieved 100 victories! Would you like to receive a commemorative reward?

Finally. At last.

I had waited for this day.

It had taken five whole years, but I had finally done it.

“Yeah.”

• Please state your wish.

“…Send me back to the original world.”

• Wish confirmed.

To think that the wish I had desired for so long was granted so easily.

It was so surreal that I almost thought I was dreaming. But it wasn’t a dream. It was reality.

Soon, my body was engulfed in bright light and began to rise into the air.

Overcome with joy, I shouted from the depths of my heart.

“Damn this game! I’ll never play it again!”

The world soon turned white, and at some point, I lost consciousness.

When I came to, it was raining heavily from the sky.

I barely managed to lift my head and surveyed my surroundings.

The old, kitschy signboards unique to our country caught my eye.

I never imagined these signs would be so moving.

I had truly returned to the present.

I had escaped that cursed game world.

Was it because I was so overwhelmed with emotion?

Or maybe I had been out cold while being drenched in the rain for so long?

For some reason, my body wouldn’t cooperate. I couldn’t get up.

No, it wasn’t just that.

Yes. The only reason I couldn’t move right now was one thing.

I felt the presence of someone walking right next to me,

and then my ankle was suddenly grabbed.

“Eek! What, what is it!? A homeless person? Or, oh no… a zombie!?”

“…I’m hungry. Can I get some food?”

“Ugh. A homeless person…”

Why the disappointment?

Did you expect me to be a zombie or something?