Chapter 1: Beginning of the Tutorial 01
Do you know the story of the fool who died over a mere game?
I'm referring to the idiot who lost his life getting too passionate about it.
Chuckling sarcastically, I mutter to myself, only to draw puzzled glances.
It's only natural, as I, a perfectly sane man, am mumbling to myself.
Although the stares linger for a moment, everyone returns to drinking, with no one bothering to intervene.
Nevertheless, with my mind in disarray from the alcohol, I couldn't stop joyfully murmuring to myself.
Lee Haneul, 25 years old, died of a heart attack after posting a profanity-filled message to a community about a new mobile game character being male.
No matter who you bring in, nobody could come up with a more ridiculous statement.
My obsession began innocently enough.
When I was 22, on the day I was discharged from the military, I learned that a new mobile game had been released.
With the stars aligned, I, a sucker for such things, downloaded it without hesitation.
"Heroines Chronicle," the name of this mobile game, was clearly targeting otaku.
Eighty percent of the game characters were female, with the few male characters being low-ranking, fodder material.The debut release of this chapter happened at Ñòv€l-B1n.
The game involved assembling a team of attractive female characters, collecting scantily-clad skins in a turn-based RPG.
Though it was far from a masterpiece, there was one thing everyone agreed on: it was a work of art.
With the otaku demographic in mind, the developers poured everything into the game's illustrations and character modeling.
So much so, that when server issues occurred, players were more interested in the apologetic illustrations and skins posted by the developers.
It was annoying that you could fill main and sub parties just by collecting apology skins, but oh well.
While it was amusing that one could fill a party just with apology skins, players were still annoyed.
In the winter, they'd distribute Santa girl skins, and in the summer, bikini skins.
The real problem, however, was the balance team.
It's even possible that there was no balance team at all.
With each new character release, the stats grew increasingly powerful, just like the developers' wallets.
While some appreciated the increase in bust sizes, they were the minority.
"Save my Erika, you bastards!"
"Raised with love, buried by stats."
"I spent everything, only for a better version to appear the next day."
"Is it normal for two five-star characters to have such a difference in stats?"
It's only natural for dedicated otakus to be passionate about their favorite female characters.
No one would welcome an updated version of their favorite character that upsets the rankings.
Of course, I didn't get angry about it.
I wasn't the type to obsess over one specific character.
I was a collector, a whale who collected powerful characters through in-game purchases.
If a stronger Serika appeared to outclass Erika, I'll draw both of them.
If the main tank changed to a 0-tier character, I'll draw that one too.
My level of spending was like diving headfirst into a river, not just getting soaked by drizzle.
Subtly woven into this continent were RPG game settings that seemed vaguely familiar.
But that wasn't important.
With dazzling blonde hair, snow-white skin, clear and radiant blue eyes like lakes, broad shoulders and a sculpted physique, and even rippling muscles instead of a large chest, my physical appearance was perfect.
I was confident I could survive anywhere with this body.
My muscular build was so powerful that it was impossible to guess just how much of my stats were reflected in reality. When wearing gauntlets and applying force to my grip, I could leave finger marks on rocks, but I couldn't even guess how many kg my grip strength was.
Wearing what seemed like default armor, a helmet, a large shield, and a warhammer as if they were tracksuits, I could run at a speed similar to a carriage without getting tired.
How great would it have been if I had this body in modern society?
With my stunning appearance, I could easily succeed in modeling or streaming.
My muscular, sturdy, and beautiful body would allow me to lead a comfortable life.
Even as an ordinary person in modern society, I would have had enough charm to have my own fan club.
Of course, my appearance wasn't useless in a fantasy world.
From the innkeepers who gave me extra meat when I ordered soup during my penniless days, to the senior adventurers who helped me when I was lost and knew nothing.
I had reaped the benefits of my appearance countless times throughout my ten years of life here.
Yes, ten years.
For ten years, I had been rolling on the floor with a strong body and a weak mentality in this damned fantasy world.
It was enough time for a frail office worker who couldn't even behead a chicken to become a veteran warrior smashing orc skulls with a warhammer.
Somehow, people get by.
While I couldn't deny that I had survived thanks to my amazing looks, abundant natural talent, and stat buffs, I had also gone through a lot of mental hardships to adapt.
By now, I was so used to seeing protruding bone fragments from broken limbs that they didn't even make for good jokes.
Still, I had no intention of spending my entire life on battlefields.
After making a name for myself as an adventurer and earning a lot of gold, I planned to retire and enjoy a peaceful life on a farm or running an inn in some good place, just like other adventurers.
That was what I thought until she appeared before me.
"Wow, look at that tall tower. I was a bit worried since it's the first generation, but with this kind of implementation, are they really torturing captured aliens or something?"
A woman dressed in clean, modern-looking celestial armor. Her snow-white skin and well-maintained long hair contrasted sharply with the dirty, medieval peasants.
"Wow, there are so many NPCs too. ...Ah! I shouldn't use that word directly, right? Hmm, I'll start role-playing properly!"
And accompanying her, a semi-transparent camera hovering around her head... A streamer.
"Hmm, so this is the city of adventurers famous for its Tower of the Sky!"
Ten years since I was dropped into this hopeless fantasy world.
[Form a party with streamer 'Han Se-ah' 0/1]
The first quest had begun.
***
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