Chapter 0: Prologue

Chapter 0: Prologue

The 31st Piece Turns the Tables

Prologue

What are dreams?

The manifestation of our subconscious? A way to confirm the value of our greatest wishes? Not only that, it appears in many different forms.

But what if...

What if you continued to dream the same dream? What would that feel like?

You could ask everyone in the world this question but only one person can truly answer it.

“Why...”

That person, the sole person who can answer that question, is the now 25-year-old Kang Seol.

Seol grew up in an orphanage. He was quiet; a man of few words.

And he had been dreaming the same dream... for 17 years.

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Translator - goguma

Proofreader - Karane

* * *

Around the time Seol entered elementary school, he had a certain dream.

- Oh? Are you a newcomer? Come sit down over here, there’s an open seat.

In his dreams, Seol looked like a well-dressed adult. He was wearing a mask and clothes he had never seen before.

But Seol wasn’t the only one who was dressed like that, everyone in his dreams were too.

- Alright, it’s time to roll the dice.

- Hahaha! This is my favorite part!

- Pick your game pieces, everyone.

- I’m keeping it the same! I’ll go with the same piece, the Scarlet Butcher!

- Then I’m going to keep it the same too and go with the Wind Ranger.

- Uh... we... have a new player...

- Darn, then let’s let our friend make a new game piece.

- What... What should we call you?

It was a woman wearing a fox mask who had gently asked Seol that last question.

Seol was about to say his name, hesitated, then gave out a nickname instead.

“Snowman.”

- Snowman, huh? Great. Okay! Snowman, you’ll need to create the game piece that you’ll control now.

Seol made a frost-attribute magician, half-assed the other details, then waited for his turn.

- We’re rolling the dice!

- 6! I got a 6!

- But it was a 20-sided die.

- No!

The people in his dream were enjoying the game.Cheêck out latest novels at novelhall.com

They would roll the dice on the table and then choose between various options given.

- The Pointy Thorn Tribe’s Chieftain, Pointy Thorn, has appeared. Now, what do you do, ‘AnywayItsYourFault’?

[1. Run Away.

2. Fight Him.

3. [Required: Intelligence 15] Convince Him with Words.

4. [Required: Mechanical Engineering 1] Use a Smoke Screen.]

- 4! I’m going with option 4!

- Oh no! Unfortunately, you failed to properly deploy the smoke screen!

- Damn it! This is rigged!

The party was in danger of being wiped out.

The Great Sage was the last character he was scheduled to play.

Through advancing various classes and many trial-and-error attempts, Seol crafted his own way of growing classes and strategies for them.

He planned on creating a final game piece that combined all of the information he learned but The World of Eternity was ending today.

- Our dreams are coming true tomorrow.

- It almost even feels a little late. It’s time to restore our Divinity now. It’s also time to get revenge on the insects who made us like this.

- Haha! I’m more interested in the latter option.

‘The World of Eternity’s trial version ends tomorrow, right?’

There was a notice that The World of Eternity’s trial version would end today and that the official version would start tomorrow.

Seol didn’t know what significant meaning the official version held but all of the others seemed to have a rough idea about what was going on.

Their conversation went in one ear and out of the other for Seol as he concentrated on what was in front of him.

The Great Sage was in the middle of the Final Adventure, Ascension.

‘Please... Please...’

Seol rolled his dice for the last time for his game piece, Milan the Great Sage.

Rattle.

Clatter.

Flinch!

Seol, after confirming the dice face, quietly closed his eyes.

It was a 1.

[Mana backflows during the Ascension process.]

[Milan takes massive damage from the mana rebound.]

[Milan fails to Ascend.]

“......”

- That’s a shame, Snowman.

- That’s too bad, Snowman.

- Cheer up!

Seol checked if Milan had any options left.

‘Again...?’

Among the 30 game pieces that Seol created, his 10 most recent pieces all had reached the Final Adventure, Ascension.

But none of them were able to clear it.

It was obviously difficult to ascend the heavens being born human but with the Great Sage’s failure, all 10 of his pieces failed to do it.

‘How are you even supposed to clear this...’

Seol silently watched his game piece and made a decision.

[[Would you like to give up on Milan’s Adventure?]

1. Yes.

2. No.]

When a player chose the first option, they were no longer able to control their game piece. Seol chose option 1.

[Adventurer Milan will now pioneer his own path and fate.]

[Though this heart racing Adventure is over, his life will still continue.]

As Seol looked at Milan with a blank expression, the others spoke to him.

- It’s alright Snowman. You did your best. Even reaching Ascension is...

- Yeah, it was only possible because it was you, Snowman.

There were a total of 10 game pieces who reached the Final Adventure.

And every single one of them were Seol’s pieces.

It was a massive achievement to those that enjoyed The World of Eternity but Seol only felt regretful.

“Fuuu...”

And just like that, The World of Eternity, the game that Seol had been enjoying for 17 years, closed its curtains.

But this ending was only the beginning of a new story.