NSE-Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Everyone has at least one game that defines their life.

For Woo-jin, that game was ‘Gate Hunter.’

Gate Hunter was a virtual reality game set in a modern hunter-genre world. Graphics that seemed a decade ahead of the competition, a vast open world, and on top of that, NPCs that reacted just like real people.

“Crazy. Did they torture an alien to make this?”

“The combat’s no joke, either. This is seriously insane.”

“And it’s not even online, but a single-player package? Hold on. I’m checking out!”

Released back when he was in his teens, the game had caused a sensation. At its peak, the daily download count alone went past several million.

‘But in the end, it flopped.’

The reason was simple.

It was too difficult.

〈(Tip) Death returns everything to nothing. Cherish your life!〉

The phrase that appeared first when starting the game.

Gamers who looked down on this phrase went through absolute hell.

Because there was only one life in the game.

[Park Si-woo(Protagonist, Starting Character)]

[Traits: Swordsmanship Genius]

[Strategy Difficulty: ★]

[Recommended Class: Swordsman]

[Fastest Clear Rankings]

[1. Cuckoo Pingpong – 365 Days]

[2. Hello – 533 Days]

.

.

[Park Si-woo User Board]

―Why is killing the five tutorial goblins so hard? Is it normal to be endlessly regressing here??

―Totally normal lolol. Just grind hard for one month straight lol

―He’s a swordsmanship genius, so why the hell does he get sliced up by goblins!

―Ah lol maybe your brain isn’t the genius part lolol

―Ah, shit. Said one wrong word and got sent back to the Starting Town lol. This bastard is one star?

―Two years of playing Si-woo, and one mistake left me in my underpants lolol What am I supposed to do lolol

―Reset life starting from zero, congrats congrats congrats congrats

Even the protagonist, the first character available to play, took a year before news of the first clear came out.

A brutal difficulty to the point that clearing it was impossible with ordinary talent.

And Han Si-a, the second character you could unlock and play……

〈(Tip) To become an excellent Mage, you must know how to control your Mana well.〉

[Han Si-a(Heroine)]

[Traits: Magic Genius]

[Strategy Difficulty: ★★]

[Recommended Class: Mage]

[Fastest Clear Rankings]

[1. Cuckoo Pingpong – 401 Days]

[2. Hello – 703 Days]

.

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[Han Si-a User Board]

―Ah, fucking hell lol how the hell do you even use magic lolol

―Teacher…… I want to use magic so badly……!

―Breaking news! Fireball manifested on the 20th run, a gr★eat suc★cess!

―Talent bugs are so fucking annoying. Downvoting. 🖕🖕🖕

―Crapademy exam, 30th run. Another total failure this time lolol

―Ah, I really can’t take this anymore!

Let alone hunting monsters, most users dropped out of the ‘Academy’ course, where you had to feel Mana yourself and manifest magic to graduate.

It was no wonder that users who kept repeating the endless regressions began leaving one by one.

Now, fifteen years after the game’s release, only a tiny handful of users still played Gate Hunter.

And no wonder, since many games that were much easier, had better graphics, and offered vicarious satisfaction had been released. It had now become half a nostalgic memory of a game.

‘Aside from freaks like me, there probably aren’t many left.’

He logged in from inside the capsule.

[Welcome, Cuckoo Pingpong!]

[Here is the list of currently playable characters!]

[1. Park Si-woo(★)]

[Fastest Clear]

[2. Han Si-a(★★)]

[Fastest Clear]

[3. Namgung Min(★★★)]

[Fastest Clear]

[4. Seo Ye-rim(★★★★)]

[Fastest Clear]

[5. Kim Min-woo(★★★★★)]

[Day 1,832 in progress.]

“Ugh, I’m so sick of this.”

Woo-jin grinned after seeing the character list. Those five lines contained fifteen years of Woo-jin’s life, completely intact.

Fortunately, Woo-jin was a case whose life had taken off thanks to the game.

Because the personal stream he had run while playing Gate Hunter had literally blown up.

Woo-jin, clearing the infamous game in the shortest time.

His streams gave users great vicarious satisfaction, and thanks to that, donations poured in generously, changing his fortunes.

Raising his fame as the world’s top virtual reality gamer was a bonus. That remained true even now that Gate Hunter’s popularity had faded.

Because even those who didn’t play themselves watched Woo-jin’s walkthrough videos while grinding their teeth. By now, he could make a living for the rest of his life even without playing.

It was a game that had taken every kind of vulgar curse, but for Woo-jin, it was like a lifelong benefactor.

“I’m definitely seeing the ending today.”

Kim Min-woo.

Difficulty, five stars.

This guy, known as Gate Hunter’s final character to clear, had a difficulty so irritating that curses really burst out.

[Kim Min-woo(Eldest Son of Ilseong Group)]

[Traits: Diamond Spoon, Talentless, Arrogant, Slothful, Coward, Lecher, Crybaby, Freeloader]

[Strategy Difficulty: ★★★★★]

[Class: Swordsman]

[Objective: Hunt the Dragon Lord within 3 years of game time.]

The eldest son of Ilseong Group, ranked number one in the domestic business world.

A character who was trash in everything except this one thing.

〈(Tip) Kim Min-woo is a character with a stronger ego than anyone. Please respect his opinions!〉

“Damn bastard.”

He recalled the starting phrase he had seen so many times it made him shudder.

All five characters had their own way of being cleared.

Kim Min-woo was the same.

Having a strong ego.

He only learned what this meant after he started.

This guy was a character who directly ‘intervened’ in the player’s actions.

The way he intervened was simple.

For instance, if you tried to enter a Gate……

[Kim Min-woo refuses to enter!]

―A Gate? Why would I go into that dangerous place? I’ve already Awakened, so that’s enough. Items? I can just splurge money on those, right?

[Kim Min-woo refuses to act!]

―You want me to eat an Elixir and strengthen my body? Nope. I heard it hurts like hell. I absolutely can’t stand pain.

[Kim Min-woo refuses to train!]

―Ah, building Skill proficiency is so fucking annoying, seriously. I live and eat well without doing crap like this.

What was sadder was the fact that even if you somehow made him train like crazy, he couldn’t get beyond the level of a mid-tier Awakened. Because he was horrifically talentless in every field.

On top of that, why was he so full of fear?

The memory of meeting the early boss was still vivid.

[Kim Min-woo is seized by extreme fear!]

[All Stats decrease by 50%!]

[All Skills are sealed!]

[He refuses all combat actions and flees!]

―Eeek! Run away!

[You have died.]

[Game over.]

Three years of game time.

No matter how he planned an optimized route, he couldn’t come up with a way to hunt the Dragon Lord.

How on earth was he supposed to beat the final boss in three years with a guy like this?

The reactions on the user board from those who watched that day’s stream were mostly similar.

―Watched the walkthrough stream and this bastard Kim Min-woo is a real legend lolol

―This thing is a Swordsman? Turns out Si-woo was an angel lolol

―Like Pingpong said, if only the class were at least different, then maybe, but ah lolol

―For real. If he were a Necro, that’d be a different story. But you can’t change classes in this game lolol That’s gonna hurt lolol

The first battle, filled with despair.

If only he were a class that called forth Summons like a Necromancer, it would have been much better.

Because it was Kim Min-woo who lacked talent, not the Summons.

Even an F-rank Skeleton could do its job well enough if you handed it all sorts of rare treasures.

Also, undead Summons weren’t cowards like this guy.

However, Kim Min-woo’s Awakened class was, despairingly, Swordsman.

Kim Min-woo, who had properly shown off the might of five stars.

After that day.

[Kim Min-woo, 1,024th Try. Let’s try making a companion!]

Thinking that if his talent was hopeless, making companions might solve it, he tried party play for the first time ever.

[Kim Min-woo flies into a rage!]

―A commoner like you, daring to criticize me?

Even Woo-jin was impressed by the way he spoke, turning someone into an enemy in an instant just when he thought he had finally won them over.

‘This social misfit bastard!’

He realized.

That this guy was born incapable of being with companions.

After that day, he went through a terrible time of endurance.

In the end, he was able to forge a new path.

He tenaciously raised his position within the family, which had been crawling along the bottom, acquired more authority, earned money, and swept up every Artifact.

If there’s no talent, make up for it with money.

If money doesn’t work, pour in more money. If that still doesn’t work, spend even more money!

1,832 days invested to clear it.

Now was the time to see the fruits.

[Connecting to the game!]

[The stream is starting!]

Soon, a huge door appeared before his eyes.

[Entrance to the Dragon’s Hall]

[The place where the final boss, the Dragon Lord, sleeps.]

[1 day remains until the Dragon Lord awakens.]

[The game will be cleared upon hunting the Dragon Lord.]

‘It’s doable.’

Right before the Dragon Lord awakens and goes on a rampage. The time when Kim Min-woo’s strength is at its highest and the Dragon Lord’s strength is at its lowest!

“Let’s goooo!”

The door opened.

A monster with a huge form like a dragon revealed itself.

* * *

―An unwelcome guest, I see.

[You have witnessed the Dragon’s form!]

[Intense fear comes over you!]

It was at that moment.

Crack……!

Cracks began to spread wildly across the rings on his fingers.

[Mental Protection Artifacts activate!]

[Man of Iron(S) activated!]

[Indomitable Will(S) activated!]

[Clear Mirror, Still Water(S) activated!]

[Viking’s Valor(S) activated!]

[Berserker(S) activated!]

[Resisting the Dragon Lord!]

[Resistance successful!]

[You are immune to fear for 15 minutes!]

All five rings shattered at once.

‘Shit!’

How much of a desperate song and dance had he put on to get those!

Just to resist once, all of his top-tier rings had been ground away.

―Damn lol five Artifacts for one glare lol is that trade ratio for real?

―Seriously insane lol was this even made to be cleared?

15 minutes of fear immunity.

He couldn’t waste even a single second.

He activated every Artifact he had collected while charging forward like a rhino all this time.

[Dwarf King’s Battle Cry(S) activated!]

[The Stats of all equipment worn by Kim Min-woo increase by 50%!]

[Hymn of the Sacred Relic(S) activated!]

[Kim Min-woo’s talent limit increases by 100%!]

[Thunderbolt Blade(S) activated!]

[The attack power of the sword worn by Kim Min-woo increases by 100%!]

[Sword Drill(S) activated!]

[Kim Min-woo’s swordsmanship proficiency increases by 200%!]

No matter how trash his talent was, if the inflation piled up……

Slash!

Even the Dragon Lord’s hard scales could be cut.

Slicing, and slicing again.

A battle that bordered on a trance continued.

3 minutes.

―Crazy. How is he dodging all of that and thrusting back?

―Pingpong isn’t number one in the world for nothing lol

[The Dragon Lord’s Health is below 85%!]

[Astonishing Achievement attained…….]

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8 minutes.

[The Dragon Lord’s Health is below 63%!]

[Impossible Achievement attained…….]

―We’re screwed. Didn’t he use up all the items he brought?

―This isn’t going to work, is it? The patterns are getting trickier;;

―But was there even such a thing as an impossible achievement? First time I’m seeing it today.

―Me too, first time.

14 minutes 50 seconds.

[The Dragon Lord’s Health is below 50%!]

[Incomprehensible Achievement, ‘Discovered Possibility,’ attained!]

That was the moment.

―The fun ends here.

[Dragon Tongue(EX) activated!]

[Artifact activating…….]

[You cannot resist!]

[Your body’s control is released!]

Thud.

His body collapsed like a kite whose string had been cut.

‘Ha…….’

An EX-rank Art, of all things.

A hollow laugh escaped him.

This was not a thing made to be hunted.

‘Damn it. Maybe with another class, but there’s no way I can take him down as a Swordsman.’

The compatibility between the cowardly Kim Min-woo and the Swordsman class was the worst of the worst.

Right from the early growth speed all the way through to the late-game potential, it was far too low.

‘How the hell am I supposed to clear this?’

He had tackled this game countless times, but this time, he just couldn’t see an answer.

Just then.

The screen began to freeze, and instead of the usual red messages, messages made of blue appeared.

〈Player.〉

〈Congratulations.〉

〈You have exceeded our standards and shown possibility.〉

[Notice: The Final Stage, Phase 6, has been opened!]

[Kim Min-woo]

[Strategy Difficulty: ★★★★★★]

[Traits: Diamond Spoon, Talentless, Arrogant, Slothful, Coward, Lecher, Crybaby, Freeloader]

[Class: Unawakened]

[Clear Objective: Hunt the Outer God within 7 years.]

[Singularities]

[1. Kim Min-woo’s class changes to Unawakened status instead of Swordsman!]

[2. All main characters in the game gather in a single universe!]

[3. Growth factors branch out into greater variety!]

[4. The scope of your activities widens greatly!]

[In 10 seconds, you will enter the Phase 6 Stage!]

‘……What?’

Woo-jin was dumbfounded by the messages that popped up one after another.

‘There was a Phase 6?’

Could dropping the Dragon Lord’s Health by more than half have been the unlock condition?

He also learned for the first time that there was an enemy called an Outer God.

9 seconds.

8 seconds.

He thought as he watched the time shrinking in an instant.

‘Phase 6, huh? That’ll be fun.’

With Phase 6, wouldn’t he have nothing to worry about for his stream for a while?

On top of that, the damn class was also Unawakened now.

Even just with Kim Min-woo no longer being the maddening Swordsman, the fun was guaranteed.

When the 10 seconds had passed like that.

Woo-jin’s consciousness began to blur. His body vanished in an instant.

Not only in the game but inside the capsule as well.

When the screen began to flow again……

―Did Pingpong log out?

―Why the abrupt end to the stream?

―Did something happen?

Amid the ended stream, only the chat window was scrolling busily.