“Ha... this sucks.”
My name is Kim Hanbyeol.
I’m a typical shut-in loser.
“How many times have I failed now?”
But I was not just a burden on society. I was once a famous pro gamer.
GAME OVER
Ending: 7536 (Betrayal of the Succubus Queen)
RETRY?
Y/N
“Looks like taking her as an ally is a mistake... should’ve dealt with her early like usual.”
Thinking about it, maybe I really was just a burden.
I used to be a pro gamer, but due to certain circumstances, I was holed up playing a game called Dark Tale Fantasy 2.
- Tap, tap...
As I stared blankly at yet another bad ending on the monitor, I frowned and picked up my smartphone to check the community.
Dark Tale Fantasy 2 Anonymous Community
Author: MoaningSisterIsolet
Title: Is this game even meant to be beaten?
- I’ve never seen a game like this in my life. No save or load options, just retries, all the quests are insanely difficult, and the Demon King is still fine after an hour of hitting her? I’m done with this game.
The first thing that caught my eye was a post from a newbie who seemed to have just started.
[Comments 13]
[*Anonymous: Newbie gets upvoted lol]
[*Anonymous: Did you ditch Sister Isolet?]
[*KaniaMeow(223.36): Young Master... where are you going...?]
ᄂ[Anonymous(117.11): Kitten, out!]
[*Anonymous: The game won’t survive without you~]
[*Solar: Please don’t quit...]
Of course, the comment section was a mess. The Dark Tale Fantasy series was full of die-hard fans. They would probably joke about this for hours.
Well, I was not particularly interested in a newbie who wouldn’t last a few days anyway.
Author: Solar
Title: What do you think is wrong with this game?
- Let’s have an open discussion.
[Comments 256]
[*Anonymous: Game? Game? Game? Game? Game?]
[*Frey’sLegalWife: How is this a game with all these bad endings?]
[*LuluDan: We’ve decided to call this misery porn instead of a game.]
[Anonymous(11.24): What are you asking for, do your job properly, you moron]
ᄂ[*Solar: Please don’t swear...]
ᄂ[Anonymous(38.46): LOL, if you’re playing as the Sun God, just shut up and take the insults]
ᄂ[Anonymous(12.48): The admin... talking back...?]
With a blank look, I mechanically clicked on a popular post where the admin was being roasted as usual.
I felt a bit sorry for them, but it was their own fault for acting like they were a developer and asking these questions daily to half-crazed users.
And the truth was, outside the monitor, the Sun God was probably just a bearded guy. Even if it was not, anyone who stayed on a community board 24/7 couldn’t be normal.
“These jokers...”
“Pfft. Brother, are you on that community thing again?”
As I was scrolling absent-mindedly, an annoying voice came from beside me.
“...Mind your own business.”
“You’ll never be popular doing this. Stupid. Idiot.”
This annoying girl kicking me lightly was my sister, Kim Eunha. She used to follow me around a lot, but now she has grown so cheeky she even climbed over my head.
“You should go out sometimes. You always played games even before. And now...”
“Shut up.”
“But still...”
As she said, I hadn’t gone out in a long time.
It was partly because I liked it, but there was another reason.
“Cough, cough...!”
As she tried to say something, she started coughing and covered her mouth.
“...Are you okay?”
“I-I’m fine. Stop pretending to care.”
Actually, my sister has a rare disease. It was a scary disease that would kill her in a few years if left untreated.
“Anyway, I’m fine... So go out sometimes.”
“...”
“Stop being stubborn... idiot.”
To take care of her, I quit being a pro gamer for a while and stopped going outside... no, even I stopped leaving her hospital room.
If I had enough money, I’d try the new treatment surgery developed overseas. But even if I spent all the money I made as a pro gamer, it wouldn’t be enough for the surgery.
- Tremble...
Ignoring her words and putting down my phone, my hand began to tremble.
This damn trembling that ruined my pro gaming career.
When I heard my sister had collapsed right before the finals of a major pro gaming tournament, this hellish curse has been following me ever since.
Whenever I competed with someone, my hands would tremble like crazy. I couldn’t focus on the game.
Because of that, I hit a slump as a pro gamer and couldn’t earn money for the surgery.
RETRY selected.
The game will reset.
The only solace I found was in the ‘Dark Tale Fantasy’ series.
How I got into the game was simple.
A close friend who I lost contact with for some reason gave it to me as a gift while I was taking care of my sister.
“So this game is really a masterpiece? The graphics are amazing, it has massive storage, and it is optimized like crazy, it’s like they tortured aliens to make it.”
I could still vividly recall my friend boasting about the game a few years ago, saying it would shake the gaming world with its overwhelming quality.
“What about the game you were always talking about? Have you really abandoned it?”
“It’s great, but no new releases. Still fun though. If you’re interested...”
“No thanks.”
“Well, suit yourself. By the way, you heard of Dark Tale Fantasy, right?”
As he said, I had heard of the ‘Dark Tale Fantasy’ series.
A strange game whose developer and development studio were all kept secret. It had a uniquely bleak and hopeless story.
Plus, they promised to give 1 billion won if you cleared even one game in the series and 10 billion if you cleared both games, which no one believed.
Despite those conditions, the Dark Tale Fantasy series was globally popular.
“I’ve heard of it.”
“Right? Just try it once. You might like it.”
“...Thanks.”
But back then, I thought of the game as an unattainable gift.
My ‘hand tremors’ were still the same.
“...Huh?”
But when I turned on the game out of curiosity after he left, I discovered something surprising.
“My hands... aren’t trembling?”
While playing the Dark Tale Fantasy series, my hands didn’t tremble at all.
Maybe it was because my bleak reality overlapped with the protagonist, or maybe it was just something special about the game.
I didn’t know why, but I became very fond of the only game I could play, and after taking care of my sister, I only played the Dark Tale Fantasy series.
[Author: IfYouDon’tLikeItGoToTheDeveloper]
[Title: Cleared Dark Tale Fantasy 1]
[Photo attached]
- Cleared it. Ask me anything.
[Comments 674]
[*Solar: ???????]
[*Lunar: Crazy]
[*Stellar: Wow]
ᄂ[Anonymous(123.36): Admin meeting lol]
[*Anonymous: What the hell is this?]
ᄂ [*CaniaMom: Looks fake lol]
ᄂ [*SerenaTheLegalWifer: No, his nickname is registered on the leaderboard]
[*SilverCat: Please share the strategy guide, please, please, please]
And the result was being the first person in the world to clear Dark Tale Fantasy 1.
It happened just last week.
It caused a huge uproar, to the point where the news was posted on domestic and international communities and YouTube.
I felt really good back then, but now I was overwhelmed by the harsh reality.
My sister’s condition was worsening, there was no sign of clearing Dark Tale Fantasy 2, and my hands still trembled...
- Click, click...
Suppressing my gloomy mood, I put my phone on the desk and stared blankly at the loading screen on the monitor.
Tip: If you receive a penalty, you will be unable to act for weeks to months.
Along with a useless tip, the beautifully designed Sun God greeted me from the loading screen today as usual.
“...?”
But why was her expression like that? Did she just wink at me?
- Bzzt...!
“What’s this?”
While I was staring at the monitor with a puzzled expression at her unusual look, my phone started buzzing.
“No one should be contacting me...”
Since losing touch with my friend, almost no one has contacted me.
Was it spam?
[HN Bank Deposit Notification]
It didn’t seem like it. It was an alert from my bank app.
But... a deposit?
What nonsense was...
“...What the heck!?”
“What’s wrong, Brother?”
I checked my bank app, shocked by the unexpected notification, and nearly fell backward.
[Balance: 1,000,038,740 won]
“What... what is this...?”
Just like the promotional slogan that I thought was merely a marketing gimmick, 1 billion won had been deposited into my account.
.
.
.
[Title: LOL, DLC? Really?]
I swear I almost did a backflip, LOL. Who releases a happy ending as a DLC?
[*Solar: Maybe there’s an unavoidable reason...]
[*DemonKing’sArmyFighting: These guys aren’t human. They’re demons.]
[*Anonymous: When the countdown ended, the DLC image popped up, and I almost lost it, LOL.]
A DLC announcement for Dark Tale Fantasy 2 caused the uproar.
[Author: AnalysisExpert]
[Title: Summarizing the DLC]
Good news: The DLC is completely free. No paid download.
However, getting into it is tricky.
The key is to meet the newly added NPC ‘Glare’ and awaken her as a heroine. We’re currently data mining for more details.
[Comments 72]
[*Anonymous: Glare? Isn’t that the bug someone found?]
[Anonymous(36.114): Seems like the developers decided to add her as a DLC instead of just deleting her because the one who cleared the Dark Tale Fantasy 1 found it.
[*Anonymous: The community’s best output, LOL.]
[*Insider: An overseas user found files indicating an 18+ scene. Is this true??]
ᄂ[*Lunar: Yes.]
Although only a few players worldwide, including Hanbyeol, had cleared the game, the news of the DLC release set the global gaming community ablaze.
[Author: Anonymous1]
[Title: Where’s our favorite user?]
But where’s our favorite bug finder?
[Comments 9]
[*Anonymous: Yeah, where is he? He should be freaking out right now.]
[*KaniaMom: I blocked him, but is he inactive?]
[*Anonymous: Did he really go to find the developers? LOL.]
Naturally, the burning community began to mention the one who instigated all of this, Hanbyeol.
But...
[*Anonymous: What? He hasn’t been active since yesterday? He hasn’t logged into the game.]
[*Fooloche: That guy not playing the game? Is he sick?]
ᄂ[*Solar: Well, I’m not sure?]
ᄂ[Anonymous(112.36): Stop being sycophantic.]
For some reason, Hanbyeol did not appear.
[Anonymous(211.36): He’s been reincarnated into another world. Take down this post.]
[*Frey’sLegalWife: LOL, reincarnated into Dark Tale Fantasy?]
[*Anonymous: Faker cut! Faker cut! Faker cut!]
[Anonymous(114.47): Sure, he’s probably sipping cocktails at a luxury hotel right now.]
ᄂ[*KaniaMeow: Take down the post, student.]
Hanbyeol’s absence, who never missed a day of logging into the community and game, quickly drew attention from many.
[Author: Anonymous]
[Title: What’s this?]
Did the developer’s website get hacked?
[Comments: 1]
[*Solar: What?]
Shortly after, one post with a creepy eye picture on the developer’s website buried the issue.
Today, the Dark Tale series service will be terminated.
Your connection to this world will be severed in an hour.
After devouring all dimensions, I will come for yours.
Sit tight.
Initially, players thought this was just an event related to the DLC update.
But soon, the global gaming community was shocked.
[Service Termination: Thank you for loving our world.]
Even before the DLC was fully patched into the game,
The services for Dark Tale Fantasy 1 and 2 were permanently terminated.
And no one could ever play Dark Tale Fantasy again.
.
.
.
.
.
My head hurts.
“Ugh...”
Where am I, and who am I?
I opened my eyes.
“...Excuse me.”
“Huh.”
Before me was a familiar face.
Was this a dream?
Why was the Sun God from the loading screen staring at me?
“Hello?”
“Uh, hi?”
“I am what you call a god...”
“Stop.”
Still dazed, I abruptly interrupted her and stood up.
“Please tell me this isn’t happening.”
Cold sweat started dripping down my body.
No matter how I thought about it, this situation screamed one thing.
No way.
This wasn’t a web novel or anime, so it couldn’t be...
“You said you’d go to the developers if you don’t like the game.”
“Shit.”
I’m screwed.
Dark Tale Fantasy, of all places.
I’d rather be in my missing friend’s favorite world, where smart high schoolers play murder games.
But the Dark Tale Fantasy series? No way.
Why me?
“You understand quickly.”
“Why me?”
“Well, that’s...”
Grasping at straws, I asked, and the beautiful goddess averted her eyes.
“The Eye forcibly severed the world’s connection... There’s no more way to break through.”
“What?”
“S-So... We’re going to make a breakthrough by making you, the first player that ever cleared the Dark Tale series, the First Hero.”
While I didn’t fully understand, the last part was clear.
They were going to turn me into the First Hero?
“Wait. What about him? Isn’t it unfair to possess someone?”
“Oh, don’t worry. The original hero is just an avatar controlled by the first clear player.”
“...What?”
“No need to possess him. You just go as you are!”
I still didn’t fully get it, but I was definitely screwed.
The well-mannered villain white mage Maid.
The crazy Ice Witch.
The overly confident troublemaking Princess.
The macho muscle-brained Saintess.
The scheming reincarnate Strategist.
And the masochistic Sword Saint.
I had to form a Hero Party with those lunatics?
No way...
“We’ll give you a return ticket if you clear the game!”
“Wait!”
“Goodbye!”
“NOOO!!!”
With that last desperate cry, I was thrown into hell.
But that was only the beginning.
From that first day, I fell into this other world, the humiliation I faced as a black-haired otherworlder was just the start...(omitted)
[Excerpt from the introduction of the Book of Prophecy left by the First Hero, Kim Hanbyeol.]
.
.
.
.
.
“Phew.”
The Sun God, who had been staring blankly at where Hanbyeol disappeared, sighed deeply and turned her gaze.
- Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!
“Signal detected! Heart function is...”
“Focus! If we can’t revive her now, it’s over!”
In her view were doctors in a panic and Hanbyeol’s sister, who had miraculously been revived after turning she just died.
“Actually... I twisted the fate of your sister, who should have died due to medical malpractice, and brought you here.”
Muttering this, the Sun God looked down at the world and spoke quietly.
“If they make your life difficult, I’ll pull you out again... Just hold on a little longer.”
Her decision would later bring about the Hero Party withdrawal incident and the transformation of the once arrogant heroines.
According to Eclipse, it was quite a spectacle to behold.
.
.
.
.
.
(Meanwhile, from the point of view of the main story.)