Do-Yoon and Min-Jae slowly walked past the giant gate.
The moment they crossed it—
Both of them froze.
Their eyes widened completely.
"…Bro," Min-Jae whispered.
"…Yeah," Do-Yoon replied quietly.
In front of them was a world that looked endless.
The sky stretched infinitely above them, glowing with strange colors that changed slowly like moving water. Huge floating rocks drifted in the air far away. Mountains taller than clouds stood in the distance. Rivers of shining blue water flowed across the land like glowing lines.
The grass under their feet moved softly with the wind.
Everything looked alive.
Not like Earth.
Not like a dream.
Something completely different.
Do-Yoon slowly turned around in circles, trying to see everything at once.
"…This place is insane…"
Min-Jae looked even more shocked than him.
"BRO LOOK AT THE SKY!"
"I AM LOOKING AT IT!"
"THEN LOOK HARDER!"
"I CAN'T LOOK HARDER THAN THIS!"
Both of them stared around like little kids seeing the world for the first time.
There were giant trees bigger than buildings.
Birds with glowing wings flying high above.
Strange lights moving far away in the air.
Even the air itself felt cleaner.
Lighter.
Do-Yoon slowly took a deep breath.
"…This feels so unreal."
Min-Jae nodded quickly. "Bro… are we dead?"
"Don't say that."
"But seriously! LOOK AT THIS!"
Do-Yoon swallowed.
"…Can we actually go inside?"
They both turned toward Sir Crantos, who was still standing beside the gate silently like a giant statue.
The guardian looked at them calmly.
"You may enter," Sir Crantos said.
Min-Jae's eyes sparkled. "REALLY?!"
But before they could run inside—
Sir Crantos raised one hand.
"There is… one important matter first."
Do-Yoon and Min-Jae stopped immediately.
"…What matter?" Do-Yoon asked carefully.
Sir Crantos looked at both of them silently.
Then said—
"You are currently wearing no clothes."
Silence.
Complete silence.
"…What?" Min-Jae said slowly.
Sir Crantos repeated calmly,
"You are both completely unclothed."
For a moment—
Neither of them reacted.
Then suddenly—
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!"
Both screamed at the same time.
Do-Yoon immediately covered himself and fell to the ground.
"BRO WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME EARLIER?!"
Min-Jae panicked harder.
"WHY ARE YOU ASKING ME?! I DIDN'T KNOW EITHER!"
Both of them started freaking out more than they did against the terrifying man.
"THIS IS WORSE!"
"WAY WORSE!"
"I CAN HANDLE MONSTERS BUT NOT THIS!"
Sir Crantos stood there silently.
Watching them panic.
"…Humans are strange," he muttered quietly.
Do-Yoon's face was completely red from embarrassment.
"How long were we like this?!"
Sir Crantos answered honestly.
"Since your arrival."
Min-Jae collapsed onto the grass dramatically.
"…I want to disappear."
Do-Yoon pointed at Sir Crantos desperately.
"PLEASE GIVE US CLOTHES!"
Sir Crantos nodded slowly.
"As expected."
The guardian lifted one hand.
A faint light appeared beside him.
Then two simple sets of clothes appeared.
Very simple.
Almost too simple.
A plain dark shirt.
Plain pants.
Simple boots.
Even more common than the clothes they wore in the real world.
But the moment Do-Yoon and Min-Jae saw them—
Their eyes almost became emotional.
"…Clothes…"
"Beautiful clothes…"
Both rushed toward them instantly.
"I LOVE THIS WORLD!"
"BEST WORLD EVER!"
Sir Crantos silently watched them wear the clothes as fast as possible.
A few minutes later—
Both finally stood properly dressed.
Do-Yoon sighed in relief.
"…I can breathe again."
Min-Jae nodded seriously.
"That was the scariest moment of my life."
Do-Yoon looked at him.
"…Bro."
"What?"
"We literally saw a cursed smiling man."
"…Still less scary than this."
"…Fair."
After calming down, both looked toward the endless land again.
Excitement slowly returned to their faces.
Do-Yoon smiled slightly.
"…Should we go?"
Min-Jae grinned.
"…Yeah."
They both turned toward Sir Crantos.
"Thank you for the clothes!" Min-Jae said proudly.
Do-Yoon bowed slightly too. "Thanks."
Sir Crantos nodded respectfully.
"Walk carefully, Players."
Then both of them started walking deeper into the unknown world.
The grass moved under their feet.
The wind touched their faces softly.
Everything felt exciting.
Mysterious.
Dangerous.
But beautiful.
As the two walked farther away—
Sir Crantos quietly watched them.
For the first time—
A small smile appeared on the guardian's face.
"That red-haired boy…" he muttered.
"And that yellow-eyed boy…"
His gaze remained fixed on them.
"…They carry the same spirit."
A small pause followed.
Then he quietly finished his sentence.
"…As Master Corze and Master Drip."
The wind moved around the giant gate.
And Sir Crantos returned to silence once again.
Meanwhile—
Do-Yoon and Min-Jae continued exploring.
Both looked completely amazed.
"Bro, look at that mountain!"
"It's floating!"
"BRO THAT WATER IS GLOWING!"
"I KNOW!"
Both kept reacting to every single thing they saw.
For a moment—
They forgot their fear.
Forgot the cursed man.
Forgot the book.
Forgot everything.
This place made them feel alive.
Then suddenly—
TING!
A bright screen appeared in front of Do-Yoon.
"…Huh?"
Another screen appeared in front of Min-Jae too.
"WOAH!"
Both stopped walking immediately.
Floating blue screens stood in front of them.
Words slowly appeared.
[WELCOME, PLAYERS!]
Do-Yoon blinked repeatedly.
"…What is this?"
Min-Jae suddenly became excited.
"BRO!"
"What?!"
"I KNOW THIS!"
Do-Yoon looked confused. "You do?"
Min-Jae pointed dramatically at the screen.
"This is a SYSTEM!"
"…A what?"
"A system! Like in manhwa!"
Do-Yoon paused for a second.
Then his eyes widened slightly.
"…Wait."
He looked back at the screen.
"…System fantasy?"
Min-Jae nodded rapidly.
"YES!"
Do-Yoon slowly remembered all the online manhwa he used to read secretly instead of studying.
"…No way…"
Min-Jae looked extremely excited now.
"Bro this is literally like those leveling stories!"
Do-Yoon slowly touched the screen.
"…This feels too real…"
Then new words appeared.
[Please register your Player Name.]
Min-Jae grinned.
"Ohhh, username time."
Do-Yoon looked at him. "You sound way too happy."
"Because this is cool!"
Min-Jae immediately typed:
[Park Min-Jae]
The screen flashed.
[Registration Complete.]
Do-Yoon looked at his own screen.
"…Can I just use my real name?"
"Of course," Min-Jae replied. "Unless you wanna call yourself ShadowDragonKing99."
"…That sounds terrible."
"I know."
Do-Yoon sighed and typed:
[Kim Do-Yoon]
The screen flashed again.
[Registration Complete.]
Then suddenly—
Both screens changed.
[Registration Reward Granted.]
Do-Yoon's eyes widened.
"…Reward?"
A new message appeared.
[Skill Acquired: Disk Dash]
Rank: Common
"…Disk Dash?" Do-Yoon muttered.
Meanwhile—
Min-Jae's screen suddenly glowed brighter.
[Skill Acquired: Fire Flow]
Rank: Rare
Min-Jae froze.
"…Rare?"
Do-Yoon slowly turned toward him.
"…You got a rare skill?"
Min-Jae looked innocent for exactly two seconds.
Then—
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Do-Yoon's face immediately darkened.
"…Bro."
Min-Jae pointed at his own screen proudly.
"RARE SKILL!"
Do-Yoon looked at his own Common rank.
Then back at Min-Jae.
"…I hate you."
Min-Jae laughed harder.
"BRO I'M TALENTED!"
"You got lucky!"
"Luck is talent!"
"That makes no sense!"
Do-Yoon crossed his arms angrily.
"…Why is my skill common?"
Min-Jae smirked proudly.
"Because I'm simply better."
"…I hope your hair falls out."
"BRO!"
Both started arguing immediately while standing in the middle of the mysterious world.
But despite the jokes—
Excitement filled their hearts.
Fear still existed.
Questions still remained.
But now—
Something new had appeared too.
Hope.
And with their first skills obtained—
Their journey had finally begun.