06:38 AM – Gangnam District, Seoul – 17th Floor, Daejin Holdings
The sky hung heavy with steel-gray clouds. After the rain, the city looked like it had been scrubbed clean and frozen behind the glass windows. The sun, too embarrassed to rise, hid behind the clouds—as if empathizing with Ji-Hoon's state of mind. The light refused to shine, the morning reluctant to begin.
Seoul was slowly waking up, but Ji-Hoon had already been at his desk. He had woken at 5:30 AM, dressed in the dark, taken the cold subway ride in silence, and arrived at the office like a ghost. Every part of this routine was memorized, engraved into his muscles. His life had become a melody stuck on repeat—repetitive, flat, and tiring.
He stared into the chipped mug clutched in his hands. It was a stolen relic from the office kitchen—forgotten, like him. He took a sip. The coffee tasted like burnt rubber and regret. He winced.
"This stuff gets worse every morning... or maybe I'm just getting worse," he muttered under his breath. His voice was low, eaten by the dead air of the office.
The fluorescent light above him flickered. Especially his light. It buzzed constantly, an electric hiss like an angry insect trapped in a box. That sound had become his anthem—annoying, endless, and impossible to turn off.
A lifeless Excel spreadsheet filled the screen. Thousands of rows and columns. Numbers, codes, formulas… all meaningless. He wasn't here to understand anything. He was just here to look like he was doing something.
Then it came.
The voice that made his skin crawl.
"YAH, JI-HOON!"
The voice thundered through the office walls like a war drum. Ji-Hoon's shoulders stiffened, his breath caught in his throat. He didn't turn around—he didn't need to. He knew the voice. Everyone did.
"Are you STILL not done with that report?! It's been three days! Do you have a brain in that head or just air?! Everyone else finishes their tasks on time! What do you even do here?!"
No one in the office reacted. No one even flinched. This was normal. Just another day at Daejin Holdings. A new intern, sitting across the room, briefly looked up—eyes wide for a moment—then quickly returned to her screen. People here had learned not to intervene. Silence was survival.
Ji-Hoon's eyes fell to the floor. He clenched his fists beneath the desk, but kept his mouth shut. His heart pounded in his ears. He wanted to scream, to yell, to break something.
But he didn't.
He never did.
"I'm a nobody," he thought. "I'm just a background character in someone else's story. A placeholder. A worm."
And then…
Time stopped.
No, really—stopped.
The buzzing light fell silent. The hum of the air conditioning vanished. Even the clicking of keyboards and the tapping of fingers froze.
Ji-Hoon looked around.
People were perfectly still—mid-blink, mid-motion, mid-sigh. A cold silence pressed down on everything, like the air had been vacuumed out of the room.
Then, without warning, a glowing blue panel appeared before each person—floating mid-air like a hologram. Ji-Hoon squinted at his.
The letters shimmered in radiant gold.
---
[SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT]
"Hello, Earthling."
"Your planet has been selected as a candidate for the intergalactic tournament 'Kings of the Planets'."
"You must now make your choice."
---
Definitions:
➤ Player: A chosen individual who will receive missions, level up, and compete for planetary glory.
➤ Spectator: One who continues life as usual. Spectators cannot be harmed by Players.
---
"Make your decision now."
[ Become a Player ] [ Remain a Spectator ]
---
The room erupted in confusion.
"What the hell is this?"
"Is this some kind of marketing stunt?"
"Are we being hacked?!"
One man ran for the door. It wouldn't open.
Another tried to call someone, but their phone was dead—screen black, battery full.
Chaos brewed. But Ji-Hoon remained frozen, eyes locked on the panel. Something stirred inside him. Something he hadn't felt in years.
Hope.
Longing.
Desperation.
Maybe... this was it.
A chance. A real choice.
"Nobody ever chooses me," he thought. "But maybe this time, I can choose myself."
He raised his trembling hand and, without hesitation, tapped:
[ Become a Player ]
---
[SYSTEM: Player confirmed: JI-HOON]
[Transfer initializing...]
His body felt lighter. A strange wind rushed into his ears. The world unraveled around him—colors bending, time folding like paper, space stretching like elastic.
And then…
Darkness.
---
New World – Starting Plaza
When Ji-Hoon opened his eyes, he was no longer in Seoul.
He stood on a massive stone platform surrounded by floating ruins. The sky was a deep purple, scattered with strange glowing constellations. The air was lighter, tingling with electric energy. Magic. Wonder. Danger.
Around him were hundreds—maybe thousands—of people. Some crying, some panicking, some praying. But a few stood apart. Calm. Confident. Radiating power. They were already wearing armor. They had floating menus next to them. Beta players.
In the center of the plaza, a figure made of golden light appeared. It had no face, but Ji-Hoon could feel its gaze pierce through his soul.
"Welcome, new Players.
The first test begins: CLASS ASSIGNMENT.
Each of you will roll a die. Your class will be decided by fate."
A die appeared in Ji-Hoon's hand—hovering, glowing blue. The numbers were strange: 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 5, 10…
He rolled.
The die fell.
Result: 1 – 1
The figure's voice boomed:
"CLASS: LIBRARIAN"
Ji-Hoon blinked.
"…Librarian? Seriously? Even in this world I'm a loser?" he muttered, his heart sinking.
But before the disappointment could fully bloom, another screen popped up.
---
Class: Librarian
Stats: -50% to all basic attributes
Skill: Search Engine [Lv. 1]
> "You can't know everything. But you can know where to find it."
This skill allows you to locate weaknesses, hidden items, maps, quests, and secrets. The better your level, the more precise the info.
---
Ji-Hoon's eyes widened.
His heart skipped.
"…Wait. This… this isn't useless. This is... powerful."
He wouldn't fight with swords or fireballs.
He would fight with information.
With strategy.
With knowledge.
While others rushed blindly, he would already know the path. The enemy's weak points. The secret exits. The traps.
"This world underestimated me, just like the last," he thought.
"But this time, I'll write the rules."
"Librarian, huh?" He smiled.
"Fine. Then I'll be the smartest damn king they've ever seen."
---
Would you like me to continue with Chapter 2 — where Ji-Hoon takes on his first quest, uses his Search Engine skill in a clever way, or maybe meets his first ally or enemy in this new world?
Let me know what kind of twist you'd love next!