Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
The quiet clacking of a mechanical keyboard echoed in the cramped one-room apartment. The glow of the monitor lit up Kim Jiwon's pale face, casting long shadows under his eyes. His fingers flew like a man possessed, lines of code and dialogue boxes filling his screen.
Stacks of instant ramyeon cups towered on his desk like a failed monument to convenience and caffeine. An untouched bottle of water sat to the side—completely overshadowed by five empty coffee cans and one half-finished energy drink that had long since gone flat.
Outside, the sun had risen. And set. Twice.
"Just... one more tweak to the crafting UI," he muttered, voice raspy and low, like a man on the edge of his final boss battle.
Jiwon hadn't slept in three days. He didn't really remember how he was still alive. Maybe his body had unlocked some kind of 'Developer's Grit' skill. Or maybe he was already dead inside and just hadn't realized it yet.
His masterpiece—Edenis, a game he'd poured his soul into—was nearly done. Just a few more tweaks. A couple more skill triggers. One last environment polish.
He opened the debug menu, squinting at the values. "Okay, so if I let players fuse three oak branches, one iron shard, and a cloth scrap, they should be able to craft a reinforced beginner's staff…"
He adjusted the values, tested a line of dialogue from the system, then leaned back and let out a breathless laugh. "I think that's it."
His head thudded gently against the desk, forehead touching cold wood.
"I'll just… close my eyes for five minutes…"
Darkness came not like a thief in the night, but like a gentle friend with a warm hand on his shoulder. Peaceful. Quiet.
Forever.
Or so he thought.
"—Ugh."
Was he... outside?
He blinked.
Above him, a deep blue sky stretched wide and open. Puffy clouds drifted lazily. Sunlight filtered through the leaves of nearby trees, dappling the ground. A soft breeze rustled the grass around him. It smelled fresh—too fresh. Earthy. Wild. Clean.
Kim Jiwon sat up slowly. His back cracked. His brain lagged. This wasn't his room. There were no walls, no monitor, no buzzing fan struggling to push warm air.
He looked around.
Plains.
Wide, green, open plains with long waving grass and stylized tree clusters dotting the landscape like someone had hand-placed them in a 3D engine. The sky shimmered slightly, and the lighting looked… oddly rendered.
Then it hit him.
He'd seen this before.
His eyes widened.
"…No. Freaking. Way."
A soft sound chimed in his ears—digital, yet ethereal.
〘Welcome, Administrator!〙
〘Edenis Alpha Genesis Build Online.〙
〘System Boot: Success.〙
He froze.
"...System?"
〘Online.〙
His jaw slowly dropped open. No keyboard. No mouse. Just him, standing barefoot in a fantasy world he had personally coded.
"I died and got Isekai'd into my own half-finished game?!"
The system didn't respond. It probably assumed he knew what was going on.
〘Note: Unexpected reincarnation event detected. Debug tools offline.〙
"Offline?! Are you serious?! I'm the dev!"
〘Please contact Support if the issue persists.〙
"Support is DEAD, I AM SUPPORT!"
The wind carried off his scream into the peaceful meadow. A bird chirped nearby, clearly unimpressed.
Jiwon took a moment to process. He rubbed his face, tugged at his hair, and then finally, finally gave in to a soft chuckle.
"…Okay. Okay, calm down. Let's take stock."
He stood up and looked down at himself. His clothes were… surprisingly comfortable. He wore a white long-sleeved shirt with rolled sleeves, a navy vest with silver trim, soft linen pants, and boots that looked sturdy enough for travel. A simple satchel hung at his side.
At least he looked decent. Better than his pajamas covered in ramen stains.
〘You have entered the world as: Supreme Authority〙
〘Class: Developer-Incarnate〙
〘Level: 1〙
〘Title: Game God (Beta)〙
"…Title system works, I guess."
〘Status: Administrator Mode Partial〙
〘Permissions: 35%〙
〘System Error: Full access blocked due to reincarnation protocol〙
"So I'm a nerfed god? Fantastic."
〘Your sarcasm has been noted.〙
"Wow. Did I actually code sass into the system?"
〘You absolutely did.〙
He facepalmed.
"Of course I did…"
Still, panic slowly gave way to fascination. He was here. Inside the game. Walking the actual terrain. Feeling the wind. Smelling real—not pixelated—grass. It was kind of beautiful.
〘Initial Setup: Complete〙
〘Skill Creation: Unlocked〙
〘Please select 5 starting abilities〙
"Ohhh yes. Here we go."
He sat down on a flat rock and thought. What did he need most? Survival? Creation? Debugging?
He decided to go full utility. After all, he'd probably end up rebuilding everything anyway.
Skill 1: Primitive Synthesis
– Combine natural materials manually. Think caveman crafting, but cleaner.
Skill 2: Forager's Intuition
– Highlights nearby edible or useful plants. Occasionally provides snarky reviews of taste.
Skill 3: Personal Sandbox
– Creates a temporary modifiable 10-meter zone. A safe area for testing, building, or napping.
Skill 4: Duct Tape Magic
– Adds basic magical effects to handmade gear. Slightly unstable. Warning: may sparkle excessively.
Skill 5: BugSense
– Detects code anomalies, glitches, and... things he didn't program. Good for surprises.
〘Skills Registered.〙
〘Inventory: Empty. Craft something, you lazy boss.〙
"…Did I seriously code it to roast me?"
〘Yes. You were lonely.〙
He sighed, stood up, and looked toward a nearby tree.
"Well, let's start with the basics."
He approached the tree, plucked a few branches, and gathered some dry leaves. The ground nearby had scattered rocks and what looked like flax-like fiber grass. Perfect.
"Primitive Synthesis."
He rubbed the materials together. A faint glow emitted from his hands.
〘Crafting... Success!〙
〘Item Created: Crude Wooden Knife〙
It looked like a butter knife made by a beaver with low self-esteem. But it worked.
He grinned. "Oh yeah, baby. We're in business."
He spent the next hour gathering more materials, slowly crafting a basic toolkit. Knife. Rope. Even a slingshot. His skills worked smoothly, like muscle memory. And yet—there was something off.
A glimmer in the distance. A flicker of color he didn't remember coding.
〘Warning: External Entity Detected〙
He narrowed his eyes.
"...Okay. That's not in the tutorial."
He slowly approached, ducking low in the grass. Whatever it was, it shimmered faintly—like a bugged-out texture.
He got within a few meters and saw it: a tiny, chubby, bright yellow slime with oversized eyes and a happy face.
And it waved.
Like, actually waved at him.
"…I definitely didn't program you."
The slime bounced once, then twice, then launched itself directly at him.
"AAHH—wait, wait—!"
It landed squarely on his chest and... snuggled?
〘New Follower Acquired: Gooee〙
〘Type: Unknown Entity〙
〘Affection Level: 1〙
"…I just got slimed by Pikachu's cousin."
Gooee let out a chirp and nestled under his vest.
And somehow, that was the moment it finally hit him.
He was really here. In Edenis. His Edenis. But... different. Mutated. Alive.
And for once in his life, he didn't have a meeting to run to. No emails. No crunch time. Just open plains, a curious yellow blob, and an unfinished world waiting to be shaped.
Jiwon smirked and stretched his arms wide.
"Alright, Edenis. Let's see what kind of mess we can build this time."