1.
Isn't there always that kind of game?
A game you curse to hell and back, yet can't stop playing in the end.
That's what the first-ever virtual reality game, Unity, was like.
It wasn't only because of its cutting-edge technology.
A legendary adventure that begins under the blessing of the World Tree!
The camaraderie you feel as you slay monsters with your companions!
The sense of achievement when you clear an impregnable quest!
The emotions you could never taste in reality were, in themselves, a drug.
— A masterpiece crafted by God!
— The greatest game in history!
The endless praise continued.
But where there is light, there is shadow.
Unity was criticized for its insane difficulty and extreme addictiveness.
Some even said it was made by God and the Devil working together.
And the biggest point of criticism was its excessive push for consumption.
"It was too much."
Gold, gold, gold—nothing but gold.
Eating, sleeping, simply staying alive—everything consumed gold.
Later on, even breathing—that is, simply staying logged in—required gold.
The absurd part was that despite demanding such insane amounts of gold, the game didn't even sell gold as a cash item.
Players were desperate for gold, yet the supply was ridiculously insufficient.
As a result, in the most ridiculous twist, in-game gold became more expensive than real-world gold.
But… if—just if—
there was someone who could scoop up that gold?
"You'd hit the jackpot and change your life overnight."
Even if you were an unemployed guy fired from your job,
a shut-in with no friends because of your rotten personality,
a total loser with zero talent even in games—
a completely ruined life.
…Yet a miracle more unlikely than winning the lottery three times in a row actually happened.
2.
[Nameless User Becomes the First in the World to Discover a Hidden Dungeon!]
[Who Is the Man Who Monopolized the Hidden Dungeon?]
[Meet Cha Eun-ho, the First Dungeon Tycoon!]
A windfall no one could have imagined!
"I was just lucky."
Luck upon luck, stacked to the heavens.
You couldn't blame anyone for saying it was so unrealistic it broke all plausibility.
Inside the dungeon, unbelievably, you could mine gold.
Gold more expensive than real-world gold—just dig it out of the ground.
I became, quite literally, a dungeon tycoon.
In the game—and in reality.
[Unity's Luckiest Man Enters the World's Top 100 Billionaires in Record Time!]
[Cha Eun-ho Graces the Cover of Times, Rumored Romance With Stunning Actress!]
Praise flooded in.
The whole world wanted me—no, coveted me.
And I indulged in it to my heart's content.
I bought supercars, luxury yachts, hotels, and threw wild parties.
I skipped gold coins across the beach waves and fed my pet dog powdered gold.
— This is the swag of a dungeon tycoon!
I even posted cringe-worthy lines like that on social media.
I thought it was because I was impressive, because I was special.
…It was luck far beyond what I deserved.
[Rising Tycoon Cha Eun-ho Causes Scandal With Celebrities at Illegal Drug Party—All Participants Deny Knowing Him…]
[Cha Eun-ho Suffers Huge Losses From Reckless Investments]
[Was His Great Success a Mirage? Reports Reveal His Achievements Were Pure Luck]
Fortune given to someone unworthy melts away like snow.
— This can't be happening. My limits can't possibly be this pathetic!
Every business venture I started collapsed spectacularly.
To hide my frustration and anxiety, I cursed at those who tried to advise me and kept only the flatterers by my side.
Every day I drank and did drugs surrounded by beautiful women.
There was no end to the gold coming from the dungeon.
But then—
something even more unbelievable happened.
Truly the kind of thing that makes you scream and thrash around.
3.
The Cataclysm. Or the Day of Integration.
One day, out of nowhere—
the game became reality.
Monsters from the game burst into the real world, and users became mages and knights fighting them.
Unity became a war upon which nations—and humanity—staked their fate.
Dungeon gold was no longer some in-game currency.
It was vital military materiel, a strategic weapon necessary to defeat powerful monsters.
Its importance didn't even need to be stated twice.
"You couldn't leave something like that in the hands of an incompetent, stupid piece of trash."
And this—was the result.
— Cough!
I clutched my chest as a stabbing pain shot through it.
Maybe it was because I'd lost too much blood. My limbs were heavy, my vision blurry.
"Bastards."
Until everything was stolen from me and I was reduced to a dungeon slave—
until I was thrown into the deepest depths, the Abyssal Pit—
The lover who whispered sweet promises, the friend who swore we were lifelong brothers—
None of them came to find me or help me.
Not through all those long years.
At first, I resented them for abandoning me.
But facing death, I decided to be honest.
"It's because I acted like an idiot."
I went to those who had slighted me and lorded over them even worse.
I forgot and mocked those who helped me when I was struggling.
I thought that once I succeeded, things would be different—that I'd become a respected tycoon.
But in the end, I was nothing more than a typical nouveau riche clown.
Everything was self-inflicted.
So I would at least face death with dignity.
I steeled myself—but regrets welled up all the same.
"I shouldn't have spent money on that crap."
I shouldn't have wasted it on designer shopping and pointless parties.
Shouldn't have bought flashy but useless trash gear.
I should have invested in connections, organizations—and above all, in myself.
"Maybe it would've been possible."
If I'd spent the gold on truly meaningful things—
maybe…
I could have reached the brilliance of the geniuses.
Maybe even the talent of the monsters of the Celestial Realm.
Maybe…
I could have bought freedom from being pushed around.
Even bought my damned fate.
"Idiot. You should've used it wisely while you had it."
I chuckled bitterly and mocked myself.
Fortune's goddess never looks back once she turns away.
If "what if" were possible, there was one wish I desired more than anything.
"If only my parents were still alive."
Then I would have been different.
No—everything would have been different.
My throat tightened with regret and longing.
Come to think of it, they were the only ones who were truly on my side.
No matter how badly I behaved.
Even though I never called them once in my entire life, only showing up when I was cornered—
my parents never turned me away.Not even once.
That's the kind of people they were.
It was then.
4.
— Ding, ding, ding.
An old pendulum clock rang.
'What?'
It was a sound I shouldn't have been able to hear.
I opened my eyes in confusion—and saw a familiar sight.
Yellowed wallpaper, a paulownia wood floor, and a dark-brown pendulum clock.
A relic you could find only in my parents' house, who insisted on keeping old things even in the era of smartphones.
It was the home where I was born and raised.
The problem was—it had broken down and disappeared a very long time ago.
'Too vivid for a dream.'
The cold seeping from the paulownia floor, even the breeze carrying the scent of grass, felt real.
Was this an illusion spell used by high-ranking archmages?
'No way. Why would anyone waste that on me?'
I shook my head with a bitter smile.
Pathetic as it was, I wasn't worth casting such magic on.
Wealth, talent—even my youth.
There was nothing left worth taking.
This must be a brief hallucination before death.
I closed my eyes. A long time passed.
'…Too long, though?'
Could the moment of death really feel this long?
Even an illusion spell would have run out of mana by now.
I suddenly touched my face.
The once-rough skin was now soft and smooth.
'No way… impossible.'
I rushed to the bathroom.
With trembling hands, I wiped the fogged mirror.
Instead of the gaunt middle-aged man—
a vibrant young man stared back at me.
"What is… this…?"
A dumbfounded expression—my own.
It was me from more than ten years ago.
The calendar beside the pendulum clock stirred a faint memory.
January 1st.
A pleasant beginning to the New Year.
I had come to visit my parents.
'If this isn't a dream?'
It might be an illusion.
But maybe—just maybe—
this could be a chance to start life over.
Thump, thump, thump.
My heart pounded.
I hurried toward the stairs leading down.
If my memory was correct, the second floor was the residence and the first floor was the restaurant.
If so, then…
"What's this? You're up early today."
My mother greeted me with a bright smile.
My father nodded lightly, as he always did.
They were cleaning the restaurant, sweeping, preparing food—just an ordinary day.
"O–o–oh…"
My throat tightened, producing only a strange squeak.
With trembling legs, I took a difficult step toward them.
If this was a dream, then please, please don't let it end.
Let this moment be real.
"Did you have a nightmare? You look pale."
My mother pulled me into her arms and patted my back gently.
Her warm embrace enveloped me.
It was my mother's warmth—one I hadn't felt in so long.
"…I guess… coming back home… was harder than I thought."
After so many years.
After wandering so far.
Only now did I return here.
"Work must be tough, huh? Didn't you say you took a vacation? Stay as long as you want and rest."
"Earning someone else's money is never easy."
My father gave my back a small thump as he said it.
"If things get too hard, you can always come back. Restaurant work pays you back for the sweat you put in."
It was as if they had forgotten how I ran off to Seoul, swearing I'd never do any job that dirtied my hands.
"I know, you know," my mother added with a wink. "No matter what you do, our son will succeed brilliantly."
No… I didn't deserve success.
My chest tightened painfully.
"But parenting only lasts until I hit sixty," my father said, clearing his throat awkwardly.
He always said he would work hard only until sixty, then travel the world with Mom.
…but right before that, the world ends.
Their lifelong wish—they never even get to enjoy it.
They worked all their lives and died without ever receiving anything in return.
It was unbearably unfair.
Unfair. Completely unfair.
I clenched my fist so hard my nails dug into my skin.
I couldn't accept it.
I wouldn't accept a world like that.
I won't allow it. I refuse.
No matter what, I would prevent that future from happening.
I grit my teeth.
My eyes burned and my throat tightened, but I didn't cry.
But there was one thing I had to say.
"…I'll do better from now on."
I packed all my regret, pain, and apology into that short sentence.
My parents looked surprised for a moment at their stubborn son's sudden sincerity, then smiled warmly.
"Well now, you're saying things you don't usually say."
"It's the New Year, after all. Maybe our son finally grew up a little," my mother teased.
I'll change, Mom.
And to do that, there was someone I had to straighten out first.
The very first obstacle that needed to be taken care of.
Get ready for proper discipline.
I'd tear down and rebuild everything—
from the top of my head to the tips of my toes.
If I was human at all, this time I had to be different.