Wow!
A metal capsule, resembling a giant monster's egg, hissed open. A man groaned and hauled his body upright.
"Dogs! Is this how you play the game!"
Quang!
As if consumed by rage, he began kicking the expensive capsules, shattering them.
His name was Youngmin Kwon. He had been ranked 73rd in The Lord, the game that had shaken the world for years. He was the only SSS-level ranker and the only solo player to ever receive the title of 'King.'
The King of Violence, Lokan.
There was only one reason why the 73rd rank was granted such a grand name.
Because the ranking was a criterion judged solely on level—a completely different concept from actual combat power.
So the users set a different standard. From D-Class to SSS-Class. This was another ranking, established by the users themselves based on pure fighting prowess.
In that ranking, Rokhan's class was SSS. It meant he was stronger than anyone.
At the very least, public opinion held that no solo player—one who refused to join a guild—was stronger than him.
In other games, an individual could never surpass a group, but The Lord was different. Achieving great feats could grant you immense power, allowing even a lone individual to compete with a guild.
The Lord.
To become an absolute, immortal being, untouchable by anyone!
That was the ultimate goal of The Lord from the very beginning.
To become someone worthy of that title, Youngmin had set countless achievements in the game. He devoted everything to it.
And he became so strong he could not be bent.
If you tried to hold him, he would break you. If you tried to stop him, he would shatter you. Thus, he carved the power of violence into his very being.
That was his way.
At first, everyone looked down on him. But as more and more people were crushed by his hand, their evaluation changed. Whether it was a level drop or something worse, anyone who confronted his blunt and ruthless playstyle suffered losses. Even the mightiest guilds had no choice but to offer him a hand and yield.
He reigned over The Lord as the King of Violence.
"Fuck!"
But that reign ended today. For some reason, the top guilds had suddenly moved in concert to hunt him down.
It started with him.
The King of Creation.
It began when he appeared out of nowhere and forced a one-on-one confrontation.
Though they shared the title of King, the skill gap was staggering. No, the difference in their stats was immense. Young-min was confident he wouldn't lose to anyone in a fair duel, but the gap between him and the guy who had hoarded every "first" title since the game's launch was so vast he didn't dare face him again.
The real problem came after. After being killed by him, the other Kings and top guilds issued a kill-on-sight order, initiating an infinite hunt.
They didn't even ask why. They couldn't touch him inside the village, a resurrection safe zone, but the moment he stepped outside, everyone swarmed him like a pack of hyenas.
Of course, Lokan did not suffer in silence. True to his name, every time he died, he took at least ten of them down with him. Considering he was besieged by groups of fifty to over a hundred top-level players, the fact that he alone killed ten each time was astounding. Only possible in The Lord.
However, even a force like Lokan couldn't withstand their relentless assault.
"They're trying to fabricate a righteous cause!"
The most infuriating part was how the top guilds distorted the truth and manipulated public opinion, creating a false sense of justice that even regular users bought into. It was a crude, absurd operation, obvious at a glance, but nobody cared to look closely. Instead, they were all eager to report his location for a reward.
In that situation, the only thing Rokhan could trust was his own strength.
"Dogs."
As always.
Die, kill, kill, and kill again.
It didn't matter if his level dropped. His style was to chase down the enemy and annihilate them with a single weapon.
If he killed enough times, the enemy would grow tired and withdraw.
"I'll see this through to the end."
But this time, that strategy failed. Even though he had sent hundreds of users to their graves at Lokan's hands, there was no message urging negotiation or surrender.
They were going all the way.
Rokhan had no intention of succumbing.
"Kaaah, whew! Fine. Let's see who gives up first. I guess they didn't call me the King of Violence for nothing."
Youngmin chugged a glass of cold water and climbed back into the capsule.
He became Lokan and began his rampage anew.
If he stopped losing items, he could still sell the equipment he'd collected for a sizable sum.
But he couldn't. Because The Lord was his everything.
There was nothing left in his life but more "Lord." For him, The Lord was life itself—he had poured his youth, passion, and all human connections into it.
So he pawned his equipment and returned to the battlefield. He repeated the endless cycle of death and slaughter countless times.
Finally, violence was etched into every fiber of his body and mind.
"Aaaaagh!"
In the end, on the battlefield where nothing remained, a weakened Lokan cried out in vain.
That night, thunder and lightning struck the city center alongside a terrible downpour, causing a massive power outage.
"Ugh… …"
Youngmin woke to the blaring alarm clock, frowning. His head throbbed like a hangover, and the memories of the previous day were hazy.
"Those bastards… …."
He died a lot, but he killed plenty too. He'd sent hundreds, even top-100 rankers, to their graves; they'd have a hard time recovering their levels. The guilds that suffered badly probably dropped in the rankings.
'What do I do now… …?'
He had specifically hunted down those he held a grudge against, using expensive invisibility scrolls to take their heads.
But now it was all over.
He had lost everything.
The status of an SSS ranker, the name King of Violence, and all his items.
Everything was gone.
He made a lot of money from The Lord, but Youngmin had poured it all back in, keeping only minimum living expenses. After losing it all, he had nothing left.
He worried about immediate living costs, but it felt like his entire life had been invalidated.
As the headache subsided, a frustrated Youngmin noticed something as he tried to get up.
"Huh… …?"
The capsule that should have been beside his bed was gone.
"Did I request a pickup yesterday? No, this is… …."
He hadn't even opened the door, so they couldn't have taken it while he slept.
And above all, this wasn't his apartment.
"How did this happen?"
The room was strangely familiar. This was the university studio he had lived in a few years ago.
Was this a hidden camera prank? But he was sure he… ….
"Ugh!"
His head hurt again.
Buzz.
Right on time, his phone chimed. The caller was Chan-up, a college friend. They'd drunk too much the day before; he was checking if Youngmin got home okay.
Seeing the name of someone he'd neglected while obsessed with the game triggered his memory. Plus, the date on the smartphone screen caught his eye.
May 12, 2018.
The day of infamy when he discovered his girlfriend—who he thought would wait for him after his military service—was actually cheating on him. They fought, he cried, ran around aimlessly, and finally drank himself into a stupor.
"No way… … It wasn't all a dream?"
What was even more dizzying was that all of that was already years in the past.
What the hell? What happened?
Was this an elaborate prank by his friends for not seeing them in so long?
Confused, Youngmin hurriedly threw on some clothes and went outside. He rushed into a nearby convenience store, grabbed the first thing he saw, and asked the cashier at the counter.
"Hey, what's the date today?"
"Uh… … May 12th."
"What year?"
"Well, 2018, of course."
When he asked about the year, the cashier looked at him like he was a weirdo. The expression said, 'Is this guy drunk already this early?'
Youngmin, having confirmed the truth, walked out with a stern expression. Now that he thought about it, this convenience store would later close and be replaced.
"Did I really… … go back?"
He couldn't believe it, but he had to.
He had truly returned to the past.
Catching his reflection in the store's glass door, he looked much younger. When he was gaming, he barely saw sunlight, his skin was pale, and he had dark circles down to his chin. But now, that wasn't the case.
'I can start over.'
If this wasn't a dream, if all those experiences were real, The Lord would be launching soon.
He could start again from the beginning.
'I could try stocks or real estate.'
Having regressed, he could use future knowledge to invest in stocks, real estate, or Bitcoin. However, no matter how hard he racked his brain, no specific investment info came to mind.
With his spotty memory, he'd be lucky to just scrape by.
'No, I have nothing but more Lord.'
He had devoted all his time and mind only to The Lord; it was natural. And Youngmin knew. Soon, The Lord would become more profitable than stocks or real estate.
He could make a fortune if the developer company went public, but it was still a private 'startup' yet to be listed. Its IPO was a distant future.
Back in his studio, Youngmin immediately turned on the computer. He scoured online communities and found a specific piece of information.
It was about The Lord.
If his memory was correct, the first mention of The Lord—which would soon explode onto the scene without a Closed Beta Test—appeared in a community around this time and became legendary.
After searching several game communities with hazy memories, he finally found a post about The Lord.
The post starting with 'My brother's friend… …' was still being dismissed as nonsense.
The current state of VR games was clumsy, limited to basic FPS or melee combat.
It was natural to treat as ridiculous the idea that an MMORPG with a map as vast as Earth would officially launch in just three months. The orthodox rule was that improving current VR quality even slightly took years.
Young-min, who had been decent at other VR games, had found this article too late last time and cursed his luck.
And that was… …
'It's true. The Lord will be released in three months.'
It meant everything he knew and experienced was not a dream.
"Wait, you bastards. This time, I'll chew you all up and swallow you whole."
A fire ignited in Youngmin's eyes. Everything he had been through flashed before his eyes. The work to be done and the targets for his revenge unfolded in his mind.
'The Absolute Immortal. Yes, I'll become that, if that's what you want.'
More Lord.
Become an absolute, immortal, untouchable by no one!
Recalling that phrase, the slogan and aim of The Lord, Youngmin gritted his teeth. He vowed once again to become the King of Violence and crush them all.
"Wait. This time, everything will be different."