The raid with a team of twenty began.
His skills were beyond doubt, but the Ranker Minguk—better known by his nickname "Second Place"—had become even more famous for that moniker. News spread that he was tackling Uradius, drawing countless gamers who logged into virtual reality via their phones to watch his live stream in real time.
💬 Chat — Viewer1 Will Han Minguk finally escape the second-place curse today?! — Viewer2 Honestly, as our country's top Ranker, I'd love for Minguk to take down that Damn Thing... but it'd be even better if he stays stuck in second place. — Viewer3 You're a real jerk. — Viewer4 How far did Second Place get? — Viewer5 4%? Or 3%. He might get it today if he's sharp. — Viewer6 Yeah. Nah, he won't. Only thirty Revival Stones, right?
The chat window filled up with messages from viewers. Meanwhile, Minguk's girls moved in perfect unison under his commands, attacking Uradius relentlessly.
But Uradius was no pushover. The fact that it had withstood challenges from gamers worldwide for over half a year spoke volumes about its brutal difficulty.
Once, twice, three times. Minguk's raid party kept wiping to Uradius's vicious patterns and attacks. Yet Minguk took it in stride, quickly analyzing what went wrong and rallying his girls.
"Nine o'clock! Adds incoming! Team 4, handle them!"
"AoE attack in 30 seconds! Survival skill team 2, get ready! Hena, time those cooldowns perfectly!"
"Whoa! AoE damage pushing through! Snap out of it! Healers, pour on the heals! Melee dealers, clear adds first—ranged, stay on the boss!"
As the raid dragged on, Minguk's commands came faster and faster. He had no time to breathe, constantly predicting and calculating the boss's complex patterns. Even so, he never neglected his role as the team's healer, landing precise heals on his girls.
The girls, fatigued from the nonstop raid, made occasional mistakes here and there. Minguk, on the other hand, issued orders without a single slip-up. Viewers watching the stream couldn't help but marvel at his performance.
💬 Chat — Viewer7 Whoa! Supercomputer level multitasking. And his healing output is second highest. Is that even human? Better than a machine. — Viewer8 I wanna peek inside Han Minguk's brain. How does he remember all those patterns? — Viewer9 That's not memory—it's instinct from experience. — Viewer10 If it were me, I'd choke on my own commands, let alone heal.
As Uradius's health dwindled, its attack patterns shifted every moment. Each time, one or two of the girls in combat fell.
'Not bad at all.'
Uradius had about 30% health left. Five of the twenty, including Minguk, were already down—but he judged the mood solid. The ones who died were the girls who'd been off their game today anyway. Better they stay dead than drag the team down.
"25% AoE pattern! Survival team 1. Ah! One down. Saint's Aura of Protection—pop it this phase!"
Minguk's mind raced. He regretted losing those girls' skills, but with clever rotations, they could hold for another ten minutes or so. The healers' mana was still plentiful.
"Focus! Focus harder! Don't forget our mission to protect Earth!"
The battle grew ever more spectacular.
The screen filled with devastating skills. Grazing one could shave off more than half your health.
Crises piled up, but Minguk's girls dodged or blocked Uradius's onslaughts with machine-like precision. The highlight was when the healers, Minguk included, burned through their entire mana pools to survive a chain of AoE attacks.
And at last, Uradius's health dipped into single digits.
"9%!!! This is where it counts! Stay cool and follow orders!"
Minguk steadied himself. This was the make-or-break moment. Get cocky now, and all their efforts would crumble. Luckily, his girls were veterans with countless similar runs under their belts.
💬 Chat — Viewer11 Wait, what? Is he gonna do it? Is he?! — Viewer12 Too soon to tell. That Damn Thing goes berserk below 10%.
As the path to victory came into view, the stream viewers could barely contain their excitement.
But the fourteen girls still fighting—including Minguk—remained ice-cool. They moved precisely and swiftly at Minguk's call whenever Uradius changed patterns. Low boss health didn't tempt them into reckless aggression.
💬 Chat — Viewer13 No way! Same Hena, but why does Minguk's Hena move so differently from mine? — Viewer14 Not enough love. Raid XP differs too. Keep grinding.
Gamers watching envied and admired the girls' flawless coordination.
"2...! 1!!!"
Seeing Uradius's health bar with just a sliver left, Minguk thrust his clenched fist high. His next command shattered all pretense of calm.
"Ultimate damage!!! Finish it off!!! Fuck yeah! Second-place curse is broken!!!"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ ⚙ World First Kill! ⚙ Korean player Han Minguk has successfully cleared Uradius in the Chaos Gate.
In a dark, quiet room, Minguk stared at the message floating before him. It was a screenshot from hours ago, right after conquering Uradius.
"Finally did it."
World First Kill. The prestigious title bestowed upon the first in the world to clear a raid in GGW.
To achieve it, Minguk had poured over half his twenties into GGW. And today, he'd claimed it. After gazing at the screenshot for a long while, a wave of exhaustion hit him, and he slumped back in his chair.
"Guess it's time to wrap things up."
He was a top Ranker in GGW, known to all. In reality? Just another unemployed guy. It started casually, but chasing World First Kill made him quit his job. How much grief had he gotten from his parents?
But now that he'd achieved his burning goal, it was time to live in the real world. Time to make it up to his folks, too.
"At least selling off my junk items and gold will net some cash."
He'd keep his girls' gear. He couldn't put a price on the equipment he'd lavished love and care on for their growth. Besides, it was soulbound to them anyway—he couldn't unequip it.
Dumping trash items and gold on the GGW exchange would yield at least ten million won. Enough to coast until he found a job. As Minguk organized his thoughts and planned ahead...
A message pinged in his computer messenger. A familiar nickname.
— Chaos Whoa!!! World First Kill congrats! Finally escaped second place? That seven-lives-eight-deaths tenacity! How's it feel?
The sender was a user named Chaos.
Minguk knew he wasn't playing anymore due to real-life issues, but he'd once been a Ranker in Korea's GGW scene. A fellow diehard fan of the game.
— Han Minguk Seven-lives? Try over a thousand attempts. Thinking about all those wasted Revival Stones brings tears. Anyway, I'm thrilled. World First Kill!!! Had to get it this time. Whew! No more second-place jokes. Not that there'll be a next time. — Chaos LOLOL where you headed? Something off in your tone? — Han Minguk Sadly, hopping the reality gate lololol World First Kill achieved—time for some filial piety.
The chat paused. Shocked by the quitting news, probably.
— Chaos No way? For real? No more Ranker Second Place Han Minguk? Your adorable girls will cry! What about Earth?! — Han Minguk Tough, but cutting ties and moving on. Sigh. Thinking of the girls I raised with so much love... hard to quit. But game's a game. Other gamers will protect Earth. It'll be fine—no updates for over half a year anyway, right? — Chaos ...Such a shame. The girls will be devastated. I'm sad too.
Minguk nodded along reading Chaos's words. They'd been together months to years.
Mere graphics with AI—strings of 0s and 1s. Yet more real than reality, the heroines had earned his boundless affection.
Maybe sensing Minguk's serious tone about real life bleeding into chat? The talk continued, but Chaos didn't push him to stay. Just occasional regrets. As their casual banter flowed...
— Chaos Wouldn't it be cool if a world like GGW existed? You could be a hero there too, Minguk. — Han Minguk ? If such a world existed, it'd be a nightmare. Monsters invading nonstop... and what if you die? Use Revival Stones there? Lol. — Chaos True. But you could smash monsters without Revival Stones, right? — Han Minguk No way. Forgot I burned over a thousand on Uradius?
Low for a Ranker tackling it. Zhang Lin Hau had spent over five thousand—with real money. And still no World First.
— Chaos Sigh. A talent like you quitting GGW! Our girls are so lovable! If streams paid enough, you wouldn't need the reality gate. — Han Minguk That'd just sexualize them. Plus, games are bad for kids' education. Girls can't hop reality gates anyway.
There had been attempts. Government shut them down. GGW heroes were all girls.
— Chaos That sexualization crap... Reverse patch turns girls to boys. Female players do that. Teach morals, not ban games.
Minguk and Chaos vented about GGW's unfair treatment. Talk wandered to politics, economy, sports—then back to GGW.
— Han Minguk Like you said—if I lived in a GGW world, I'd raid forever. Reality forces my hand, but honestly, raiding's a blast and I'm damn good at it. — Chaos Exactly. Your talent's insane. No one else reads situations and calls shots like that. I'd love to see it—Han Minguk defending Earth from monsters. World star Han Minguk! — Han Minguk Ahem. Lololol FYI, my dream club is Man U. Pros pick United. I'll fight in a Man U kit and sign it for ya. — Chaos Nooo? Still Man U fans? Didn't they get relegated? — Han Minguk Man U, not Mengu. Still first division. Bottom of the table though... Sigh. No hope in sight ㅠㅠ.
Minguk shook his head, thinking of his team's dismal record.
— Chaos So, you going for it? Raids like GGW?
Somehow, stubbornly persistent on this odd tangent.
— Han Minguk Haha, got it. Living real life forever would be the real issue if I could play GGW eternally, right?
But that ended it—Chaos went silent. He'd seen the message, so probably something came up. Adult-sounding tone; maybe caught gaming by the wife.
"If he really has a wife, guy's a massive con artist. Some of us can't even get a girlfriend..."
Minguk's eyes flicked to the "My Documents" folder on his desktop. Inside the bluntly named subfolder lurked his monitor-only girlfriends.
He considered a quick visit but shook his head and flopped onto bed. Tension from the Uradius raid melted away, fatigue crashing in. Within three minutes of lying down, snores filled the room.
— Chaos Knock knock. You there?
About an hour after Minguk dozed off?
— Chaos Asleep? Ah. As you wished, I scoured worlds like GGW. Plenty need your skills. Added a helper for easy adjustment—not sure if it'll work. Anyway, keep fighting like always. Guardian Han Minguk.
The message Chaos had promised before sleep arrived. But Minguk, who should reply, slumbered soundly.