"Black Scythe."
Without any delay, the system responded to Ryu Min's chosen username.
[Would you like to register your avatar's nickname as 'Black Scythe'?]
"Yes."
[This username is not already in use. It has been registered.]
There was a reason why Ryu Min had chosen the username 'Black Scythe.'
"It sounds strong."
Usually, when people are asked to come up with a username, they tend to pick one without much thought—or waste a good thirty seconds pondering, only to have their real name selected for them.
However, Ryu Min had come to realize that choosing a username was surprisingly important through his experiences with regression.
"Your username determines the impression others will have of you."
The place he was moving to through soul transference was a new world, one that could be considered another dimension.
In such a place, people wouldn't want to use real names, instead referring to each other only by the usernames they had set previously.
After a few rounds, everyone would try to hide their identities; some would even wear masks.
"It's foolish to use your real name during the avatar creation process."
It's the same reason people don't use their real names in games—especially in survival games where you have to compete and trample over others to stay alive.
"That's why usernames are so important. It's one of the determining factors in making a first impression."
Though he wasn't sure if the angel was purposely hiding it, it was a fact that the angel hadn't mentioned anything about this.
Above every avatar's head was their username, always visible to everyone.
"Just like a game."
That's why the username was a crucial element in making a first impression.
"Based on my experience so far, it's never good to appear weak. The stronger and more memorable your username, the better."
At first, Ryu Min had registered his real name or online username as his avatar's username without much thought.
But the easy-to-dismiss usernames ended up attracting a swarm of annoying flies, and he wasted his time dealing with them.
"In this place, you always have to appear strong. It's good to give off a strong impression."
That was why he ended up choosing 'Black Scythe' as a username.
"It's also the name of my main weapon, which suits the class that I'll eventually specialize in—the Grim Reaper."
In this new world, there were about thirty different classes.
As for the Grim Reaper, it was a unique class that only one person could possess.
"I must specialize as a Grim Reaper again this time. There's no other class as strong as this one."
It was still too early to choose a class, but there was no harm in choosing a path.
[Please set your physical appearance within 3 minutes.]
[It will be reflected if you strongly imagine it in your mind.]
[Please say 'Imagining completed' when you're done.]
[If you do not decide within the time limit, your original appearance will be automatically reflected.]
"Time for customizing appearance."
Appearance was just as important as a nickname in determining a first impression.
"Usually, everyone tries to make themselves look cool and pretty here."
They treated it like plastic surgery, fixing what they hated about their appearance.
It was obvious without even looking.
"However, you should never do that. Especially for women."
Having a pretty and beautiful appearance certainly had the effect of attracting attention.
It was also good for leaving a good first impression.
However, what you were here for was survival.
If you had an outstanding appearance, you were bound to become a target.
Especially for women, it was more dangerous.
"Everyone is mistaken. We're definitely not creating a game character here. The otherworld is strictly reality."
If you die in the otherworld, you die in real life.
Those who forgot that and made wrong judgments due to a game-like system were fools.
"Appearance needs to stand out, but it shouldn't be too good-looking or too bad-looking."
Although his real-life appearance was already like that, he changed it to hide his true identity as much as possible.
"What is needed is to create an impression that looks different from reality, but not too easygoing."
Once again, Ryu Min quickly imagined his appearance.
He created a cool and cold face with sharp cheekbones, a defined jawline, and a strong gaze.
He changed his physique to a moderately muscular build, unlike his usual petite build.
It was an impression that looked strong and fitting for his nickname, "Black Scythe."
[Imagining completed.]
[You have completed customizing your appearance.]
[Creating the avatar now.]
...….
....
...….
[The avatar creation is completed.]
[We will immediately transfer your soul to the first level. Good luck.]
In an instant, a bright light struck Ryu Min's eyes.
When he reflexively opened them, a new world unfolded before him.
"That was fast."
The place that served as the field for the first level was a vast meadow.
It looked like a place where cows and sheep would leisurely graze on the grass.
However, there were no cows or sheep here.
"Monsters are present, though."
Ryu Min looked down at his body.
He was now 180 cm tall. His body was solid and muscular, and it moved exactly as he intended. It was a body he had customized just a short while ago, yet it felt like his own.
"I've created it so many times that now it feels like my real body," he thought.
Since his 12th avatar, he had maintained this appearance, so it was familiar to him. He didn't react like other people who would be shocked or surprised, nor like others who were even stumbling while walking around. He had already experienced soul transference multiple times before.
"Where are we? In a meadow?" someone asked.
"I don't know, but it doesn't matter… it feels peaceful here," replied another avatar.
One by one, the avatars who had created their own unique bodies appeared in the meadow.
"Wait, did my body change?" one avatar exclaimed.
"Did we come in with the body we set before coming here?" asked another.
"I made myself muscular like this? What about my face…?" another avatar wondered.
As more people arrived, the chatter grew louder. Some marveled at the nicknames hovering above other people's heads, while others felt satisfied with the way their bodies turned out. Some were frustrated that they couldn't change their appearance due to the time limit, while others were captivated by the scenery of the vast meadow.
Ryu Min, however, wore a bland expression. He had experienced all of this before and was already bored with it. Instead, his gaze was fixed on one spot.
"It's about time," he thought.
A moment later, a person appeared where his gaze was fixed.
"You're finally here. Hwang Yongmin," he muttered to himself.
Hwang Yongmin, who had a more erratic body than usual, wandered around nervously.
"As expected, he made his body muscular again," Ryu Min noted.
Since Hwang Yongmin hadn't changed his face, Ryu Min recognized him easily. His nickname, [Hwang Yongmin], was the same as his real name, suggesting that he had been too flustered to choose a new nickname in the 30-second time limit.
"It's hard to come up with a nickname in such a short time," Ryu Min thought.
Looking around, he noticed that many people kept their real names as nicknames.
At that moment, Hwang Yongmin's eyes met Ryu Min's, but he quickly looked away.
"He probably doesn't recognize me. I completely changed my appearance," Ryu Min mused.
That was fine. Once he confirmed this, Ryu Min looked away as well.
Vengeance had already been fulfilled more than enough, so there was no longer any interest.
"I will use him when it is time."
For now, he was only worth keeping alive.
[Kyohoho, have you all gathered now?]
An angel descended from the sky along with her halo.
Her name was Briel, the same evil angel from before.
[Do you like the new avatar I created?]
"..."
As the angel appeared, the surroundings fell silent.
[I guess it left a strong first impression. That's why it's so quiet.]
They knew better than to talk back, lest their heads explode.
The angel seemed to know this too, as she twisted her lips and laughed.
[Kikikik, I like seeing your frightened faces. Don't worry—so long as you don't act rudely, I won't kill you.]
No one relaxed at her words.
[Let's see. There are a total of 1,802,910 people, so it seems that all the humans in Seoul have gathered.]
"1.8 million people?"
"Everyone here?"
People murmured and looked around.
There were at most 10,000 people in the meadow.
The number of people who were supposed to be there.
But no matter how you looked at it, it didn't seem like there were 1.8 million people.
The angel responded to their murmurs by grinding her teeth.
[Do you think this is the only meadow? Of course not. If all 1.8 million people were gathered here, there would be no room to move.]
"Ah…."
"Monkeys, aren't you? Everyone is participating in rounds with different angels in different meadows, so don't worry about it."
Still, 10,000 people were a considerable number.
The vast meadow seemed quite crowded.
"But this is only the beginning."
Everyone was forgetting that this was a survival game where only half of them could survive.
As the rounds progressed, the number of people decreased geometrically.
Especially as the game got harder in the later rounds, more and more people died without even meeting the clear conditions.
"At round 15, a huge number of casualties occurred."
At that time, out of the 2,000 global players, only 50 remained.
Not even half—97.5% died without making it to the next round.
"In the end, when I reached round 20, everyone else died."
Considering that the start was 1.8 billion people, countless people died.
[Now that everyone is here, let me explain. First, say the words 'Status Window' in your mind.]
People followed the angel's instructions with curiosity, thinking it wouldn't hurt to try.
"Wow!"
"What is this?"
Moments later, there were sighs of amazement coming from all around.
Everyone was gaping at empty air because the status windows weren't visible to others.
Ryu Min also recited the activation phrase like the others.
'Status Window.'
Name: Ryu Min
Nickname: Black Scythe
Grade: Beginner
Title: None
Level: 1
Job: None
Strength: 3, Intelligence: 3
Agility: 3, Luck: 3
Common Skills: None
Exclusive Skills: None
Runes: None
Owned Gold: 0
Remaining Stat Points: 0
[??? : Unlocked upon reaching Level 10]
[??? : Unlocked upon reaching Level 20]
[??? : Unlocked upon reaching Level 40]
[??? : Unlocked upon reaching Level 60]
[??? : Unlocked upon reaching Level 99]
The status window was so pathetic that it wouldn't be surprising to let out a sigh.
Below it were slots for additional functions that could be unlocked upon reaching a certain level.
"I have to start over from scratch, but it's okay. I'm confident that I'll be even stronger this time around."
Even Ryu Min, who made it to the final round, wasn't strong from the beginning.
"I had to die twice just to barely clear the first round."
It was a natural result, since he was just a high school student who spent his life being bullied by his classmates.
But as he repeated the regression, Ryu Min grew stronger.
Gradually, his survival time increased, and he was able to withstand more rounds.
"It wasn't until I passed the 99th regression that I finally reached the 20th round."
It was a miracle that he, an ordinary person, was able to achieve it—even if it meant sacrificing quite a few lives.
"Of course, the seven people who survived up to the 18th round without regression are the real talents."
In the 18th round, seven people survived, excluding Ryu Min.
Two of them survived the 19th round, and only Ryu Min made it to the 20th round.
"I have to save at least four people to meet the requirements and enter the boss room."
Ryu Min had made up his mind to choose the four candidates who would enter the boss room with him.
There was no player stronger than him in the whole world.
But that didn't mean he wasn't considering other candidates.
"There were many strong players who were eliminated in the previous rounds."
There was no need to match exactly five people to the boss room.
The minimum requirement was five, but you could have more than that.
"The more survivors, the better."
The problem was that those who survived to the boss room had to be trustworthy allies.
Or Ryu Min had to have power strong enough to control them.
"That shouldn't be too difficult."
Now on his 100th regression, Ryu Min had the confidence to become stronger than anyone else.
After all, he was the only one who reached level 99 in the previous round.
"Now, have you all checked your status windows? If you've played games before, you should know that you're currently at a low level."
"..."
"So get stronger. If you survive until the 20th round, you'll be stronger than anyone else. And if you clear it, you'll be granted a wish!"
The angel smirked, her mouth curling upward.
"We'll not only free you from this survival game but grant your wishes as well."
"A wish?"
People's reactions to the word 'wish' were mixed.
"Do you really grant wishes?"
"No way, that can't be true."
While some were skeptical, others were filled with greed or hope.
Of course, Ryu Min didn't belong to either group.
He knew the game was brutal enough to make surviving until the final round nearly impossible.
"Before the round starts, let me briefly explain. Say 'Inventory' in your mind."
"Inventory."
As they memorized the keyword, a window appeared just like the status window.
There was a small emerald-colored stone carving inside.
"By default, one item will be given in your inventory. Extend your hand and take it out."
As people followed the instructions and reached out, an item appeared in their grasp.
Then, the information about the item automatically popped up.