My name is Han Jiwon. Twenty-three years old. College dropout. Professional shut-in. Full-time otaku.
If life was an RPG, then I'm the type of background NPC no one bothers talking to—the guy stuck in a small, dark room, curtains drawn, eyes glued to glowing monitors until dawn. That's me.
My parents called me a failure. My friends… well, they stopped calling me anything years ago. But I didn't care. As long as I had my games, anime, and a fridge full of cheap ramen, I thought I was fine.
But here's the thing—despite all that, I wasn't completely useless. I wasn't a saint either, but whenever I had extra money from part-time jobs, I'd hand it to the old man sleeping under the bridge. I'd buy warm buns for the kids begging outside the subway. Small things. No one noticed. No one cared. Except maybe me.
And when I wasn't being a pathetic shut-in, I lived for one thing—[Eternia Online].
My favorite game. My second life.
It wasn't some post-apocalypse grindfest or fantasy kingdom with swords and dragons. No. This was different. Eternia was set in a world almost identical to ours—South Korea, Tokyo, New York, London—all the same. Only with one twist: magic and monsters existed.
It was… perfect.
Cities lit up with neon signs, just like Seoul, but with sorcerers dueling in alleys and heroes patrolling streets. Guild wars in Gangnam. Wyverns attacking planes over Incheon. Magicians running convenience stores. A world that felt alive, familiar… yet beyond reach.
Every night before I collapsed on my bed, I thought the same thing:
"Damn… If only I could live there."
If there really was such a thing as reincarnation, transmigration, or divine intervention—I wished it would be me.
That night, my body gave up on me mid-grind. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, maybe it was the twenty-fourth cup of coffee I'd downed. My screen blurred, and before I knew it—darkness.
But when I opened my eyes again, I wasn't staring at my cluttered desk, or the blinking router light, or the half-empty cup noodles beside my keyboard.
I was lying on a bed I didn't recognize.
The sheets were clean. The air smelled… fresh. My body felt lighter, stronger—yet my reflection in the nearby mirror wasn't quite me. The same Korean face, but sharper, more refined, like a version sculpted without all the late-night junk food and zero exercise.
And on the desk in front of me—
A single envelope. White, sealed with a golden crest.
My trembling fingers opened it.
"Welcome, chosen one.
By the decree of the heavens, you are invited to attend Eternia Academy, the most prestigious institution in Korea.
From this day forward—live the life you once wished for."
At the bottom, a faint signature. Elegant, divine.
"—An Angel."
My heart pounded in my chest.
I wasn't dreaming.
I wasn't hallucinating.
I had really… been isekai'd.
To Be Continued...