The last thing Kim Min-jun saw was the flickering screen of his monitor, displaying a spreadsheet titled Q4 KPI Failure Matrix v3.1. The last thing he felt was the stale odor of three-day-old instant ramen.
Then, the static.
Min-jun's consciousness snapped back into a painful, blinding clarity. He was no longer on the cold floor of his cubicle. He was sprawled across silk sheets so soft they felt offensively expensive.
A sharp, digital chime rang only in his head.
[System Initialization Complete. Welcome, Host.]
[World: The Hunter's Path to Glory (Fan-Fiction ID: 77241)]
[Objective: Survive until the True Hero's End-Game. Failure = Permanent Termination.]
Min-jun stumbled to a gilded mirror. Gone was the haggard salaryman. In his place was Han Tae-oh, the spoiled, pale, and irritatingly handsome villain of the trashy Hunter novel he read to de-stress.
"Han Tae-oh," he muttered. "The biggest piece of garbage in the whole story."
[Host: Han Tae-oh]
[Rank: F (Weakest of the Weak)]
[Status: Death Flag: Pinned (Imminent - 7 Days)]
[Cause of Death: Betrayal of Squad 3, followed by a public execution by True Hero Lee Ji-hoon.]
"Seven days," Tae-oh whispered. "The betrayal was set on the seventh day. A fixed, negative outcome with a deadline. This is the worst corporate merger ever."
He decided to run. He had to get out of Seoul.
[Warning! Host attempts to deviate from core world location.]
[Deviation Penalty: System will enforce random Fatal Event in 3... 2... 1...]
A section of the ceiling plaster, heavy as a cement slab, tore free and plummeted directly toward his head. He screamed, diving under the bed. The impact shook the foundation of the manor
[Penalty Canceled. Deviation attempts will incur immediate, fatal environmental hazards.]
Tae-oh crawled out, dusting off his expensive pajamas. The System wasn't asking him to be a hero; it was forcing him to be a puppet.
A new chime rang, chilling his blood.
[Quest Alert: Welcome to your new career.]
[Goal: Attain S-Rank Public Approval. Current Rank: F- (Nepotism Trash).]
[Mandatory Heroic Quest: Verbally encourage an E-Rank Hunter. Reward: Virtue Points +10.]
"Verbally encourage?" Tae-oh's face twisted in disbelief. "I hate motivational speeches! Fine. If this is the game, I'll treat it like a bad team-building exercise."