Lee Hyun, known throughout the vast virtual world by his alias Weed, sat in his cramped room with his eyes fixed on the computer screen. His dark brown hair was combed simply, and his thin, refined face gave him a severe appearance. He wore a cheap t-shirt and pants that had clearly been stitched and repaired multiple times. Nothing about his appearance suggested that this frail young man had once been the greatest sculptor and warrior in Royal Road.
As he finished eating rice with kimchi alongside a fruit drink, a piece of news that had already been spreading across forums for weeks appeared on the screen:
"Royal Road servers remain offline with no expected return date.Unicorn Corporation announces new Full Dive game in partnership with a Chinese novel author."
On the screen, Yoo Byung Jun — the tycoon and creator of Royal Road — tried to appear calm and optimistic in front of the cameras despite everything.
"Hmph. So that's why the servers are dead..." Weed muttered while thinking about the new game.
To say Lee Hyun was frustrated would have been a massive understatement. After selling his first highly leveled character — the one that allowed his family to escape extreme poverty and the endless debts left behind after his parents died — he had believed he could do it again.
Hours and days spent developing his character.
Endless training both inside and outside the game to improve his combat skills and strategies.
All of it had been thrown into the trash.
"At least I can survive with streaming money. My sister won't have to quit school like I did."
Not even the sweetness of the juice could wash away the bitterness in his mouth.
On the screen, Yoo continued speaking to the crowd:
"Please don't worry! This new game will be even better than the previous one — an incomparably realistic experience, I promise!
And to the players who spent enormous amounts of time and achieved great accomplishments, we have not forgotten you. Anyone who completed the tutorial will be able to download the game for free. Furthermore, every user will receive rewards proportional to how far they progressed and how great their achievements were."
That immediately improved Weed's mood a little.
He clicked the link.
The new game was called Gu Master Ascension, based on the controversial and acclaimed novel Reverend Insanity. According to the article, the game promised absurd fidelity to the original world, featuring a deep cultivation system functioning exactly like the story itself, realistic Gu, and a vast but brutal world where only the strong would survive.
"What the hell is a Gu...?" Weed muttered.
The article continued.
The worldbuilding looked unlike anything common in most games. Five separate regions, different races, and a bizarre power system. It felt like a martial arts MMORPG mixed with living creatures used as weapons of mass destruction.
But Weed's greed quickly took over.
"If this game is even half as good as they're promising, it could be worth gold. Literally."
Dollar signs practically appeared in his eyes as a wide grin spread across his face.
Over the next few days, Weed buried himself in research. He read the wiki, devoured the manhwa, and browsed countless forums discussing the series. However, because the release date was so close, he decided not to read the entire novel.
Enough information without wasting time.
That was Weed's style.
He also resumed his sword practice and physical training. Even if he wasn't certain it would matter, his experience with Royal Road had taught him that in full-dive games, physical condition often influenced performance directly.
Finally, launch day arrived.
Weed laid down inside his full-dive capsule — a secondhand version he had bought cheaply and repaired himself.
When the system activated, he expected to see the traditional loading screen.
But instead—
A deafening explosion echoed.
BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!
Then silence.
Silence and darkness.
Only darkness.
A deep, endless void where even his thoughts no longer seemed to echo.
Then came a sharp pain in his head.
And somewhere far away, the muffled scream of a woman in unbearable agony.
He tried to scream, but couldn't.
Tried to move, but his body wouldn't respond.
Only... consciousness remained.
And then even that consciousness slowly began to sink.
When he opened his eyes again, the light was dim.
His body was tiny.
Short arms. Wrinkled skin. Sticky fluids covering his body. The smell of blood, sweat, and other bodily substances was far too strong to ignore.
Weed — now a baby — trembled slightly.
"What... what the hell is this?"
The ground was covered in cloth laid over packed sand, clearly arranged in haste. The metallic ceiling was decorated with strange talismans and symbols resembling runes.
Floating lights illuminated the room.
People surrounded him, though their faces were difficult to distinguish.
One of them had wings.
Another sat atop a giant spider.
This definitely wasn't a hospital.
Most likely, his "mother" had gone into labor unexpectedly and never managed to reach one.
His consciousness flickered once more.
And before he could properly process his fate or express his silent frustration—
Everything went dark again...