The Niflheim Empire.
This was the primary setting of Dungeon Replay.
Although the world beyond its walls is occasionally mentioned in the game, it's rarely explored in detail.
As such, the Niflheim Empire holds absolute authority across the continent.
"To think such an empire is now hunting necromancers…"
Razen stood atop a building, having ascended with the help of his skeletal broom, deep in thought.
He had learned two major things from the old man.
First, the collapse of the Gray Tower—the stronghold of necromancers.
Second, the Niflheim Empire had begun actively hunting necromancers.
Neither event had existed in the game when Razen last played.
"If only I knew why..."
Judging by the old man's reaction, it was clear this wasn't common knowledge among the public.
Normally, Razen might have dismissed it. But now?
His class was Poison Necromancer.
His gray eyes alone screamed his identity to anyone who looked.
"Hmm..."
He tapped his chin, then made up his mind.
If he wanted to return to his original world, what was the most logical step?
"Clearing the game is probably the best bet."
After all, this world was based on a game.
It made sense to start there.
So, what did clearing Dungeon Replay actually entail?
"Dungeon Replay is fundamentally an open-world game."
An open world where players roam freely and explore as they wish.
Still, there was a main storyline with definitive endings.
"If you follow the main story, the ending credits will roll."
The game continues even after the credits, but the roll itself signals a "clear."
"There are two official endings that trigger the credits."
The first: The Dungeon Ending.
The Empire contains four legendary dungeons of the highest difficulty:
The Infernal Realm, The Celestial Realm, The Ruined Abyss, and The Great Wastelands.
Clearing all four, scattered across the cardinal directions, earns the player the title of the Empire's greatest hero.
The credits roll thereafter.
"The problem is, you need a party to reach that ending."
The deeper the dungeon, the more teamwork is required.
In the game, you could recruit NPCs freely.
But this was real life now.
"…Will people even follow my lead?"
To be honest, it would be difficult.
"If I could just find a few who trust and follow me, it might work."
But finding such allies? Easier said than done.
Especially with the Empire's open hostility toward necromancers.
That alone made forming a party nearly impossible.
Razen let out a long breath.
"No giving up yet."
There had to be a way. And he needed to keep other options open too.
"The second ending route of Dungeon Replay."
It was… unconventional.
The Nation-Building Ending.
An ending where you establish a country independent of the Empire.
At first glance, it might seem meaningless with the Empire already in place.
But it was a valid, in-game ending.
To achieve it, you needed to recruit key figures—prominent nobles, famous adventurers, heads of major guilds.
Once you gathered enough influence and declared a founding on city-scale land, the credits would roll.
"In the game, there was a quest window to track these objectives…"
But now that this was real life, no such interface existed.
This made the Nation-Building ending far more ambiguous than the Dungeon one.
"Not to mention, the difficulty is higher."
A wanted necromancer, hunted by the Empire, would now need to recruit top Empire figures?
Of course that wasn't going to be easy.
"And don't forget the personal fame requirement."
To declare a nation, you also had to reach a certain fame level.
Razen groaned.
"I have no clue where to even start…"
He finally sighed, giving in to the confusion.
There was no point overthinking it right now.
"First things first, I need to deal with my eyes."
In this world, wizards' eye color reflected their magic affinity.
As a necromancer, Razen had gray eyes.
If he could hide that, blending in would be easier.
Just then, something struck him.
"Wait a minute…"
"Before I took control, the character had been running on auto-hunt this whole time."
Surely, there must've been a way the character had hidden their identity up until now.
Razen opened his mini backpack and pulled out a mask.
"Could it be…?"
He hesitantly put it on.
The moment it touched his face, the mask became translucent.
He turned his head to the dark window nearby and saw his reflection.
His eyes were now brown.
And his face… subtly different.
The original Razen was a good-looking character—after all, his race was half-dark elf, and elves were known as the "race of beauty."
But now? His nose looked squashed. His eyes were smaller. His lips fuller.
In short, he looked like a movie villain—harsh and mean-looking.
"Didn't know a face could change this much…"
Now he understood why people obsessed over plastic surgery.
Razen clenched his fists.
Even if the sky falls, there's always a way out.
A smirk formed on his lips.
"From now on, I am Razen."
There was no place for the name Ryu Han-hyuk in this world.
He had to live as the character's name.
"Razen… has a nice ring to it. Auto-generated or not, that's some good RNG."
It felt like a name with luck on its side.
With that, Razen spun his skeletal broom and descended back to the streets.
His injuries hadn't fully healed yet, but he knew where to go.
"First, I need to update my Adventurer's License."
Adventurers.
That's what dungeon-clearers were called in this world.
And the place that managed them was the Adventurer's Guild.
Normally, the license updated automatically after each dungeon.
But now that the game was real, it had to be done manually.
And more importantly—
"I need to check the Ascension EXP gained during auto-hunt."
Ascension.
This was the game's main growth system.
It gave two benefits: boosted character stats and unlocked skill sockets.
However, to ascend, you had to pass an official trial held by the Guild.
Even if you had enough EXP, you couldn't level up without passing the trial.
"But there's no cap on how much EXP you can earn."
That's why Razen was eager to see how much EXP he'd accumulated.
Ten years of auto-hunting!
Naturally, he should've also amassed gold and equipment.
"Everything should be stored at the Guild vault."
He was practically drooling at the thought.
Now was the time to taste the true benefits of auto-hunt.
"Wait… this path looks nothing like I remember."
As he made his way through the city, Razen noticed something odd.
The buildings, the roofs, the fashion… all had changed drastically.
The cobblestone roads looked handmade.
"Maybe because the game used pixel graphics before?"
Even accounting for that, the difference was too extreme.
Still, it was fun to sightsee.
Streetlights flickered like magic lanterns.
Workers laughed and chatted as they headed home for the night.
It truly felt like walking inside a fantasy RPG.
"This… actually isn't so bad."
Just like the world he once dreamed of as a kid.
More romantic than any overseas vacation.
"They say even mountains change in ten years…"
Razen had abandoned the game for ten years.
Of course the city would look different.
Thud—
He suddenly stopped in his tracks.
People gave him odd glances as they passed.
But Razen just stood there, silent.
He slowly brought a hand to his lips.
"…Wait a second."
A realization dawned on him—chilling.
"Ten years… in real time."
But what about in-game time?
"Are they the same?"
A dangerous assumption.
His pace quickened.
Everywhere he looked, the city felt wrong.
Too different.
"No, this is way beyond a ten-year change!"
He was soon running.
It didn't take long before the Guild building came into view.
"Bwahaha! I made a killing today!"
"Yeah? How about buying a round for once instead of always mooching?"
Laughter erupted from inside the building.
Razen pushed open the door.
Creeeak—
Several heads turned in his direction.
"Hey, it's the Spider Nest guy."
"Not your usual time, and you look like hell."
"Must've had a rough run."
"Heh, still an ugly dark elf, I see. Man, you look scary."
"You look like a criminal. Wouldn't wanna see you at night, ha!"
He could hear bits of their conversation.
They knew his character.
But Razen ignored them.
"Welcome, Mr. Razen. You're a bit late today."
The receptionist greeted him warmly.
"And those wounds… are you alright?"
"I'm fine."
He forced calmness into his voice.
"I need to know today's date."
She blinked, a bit puzzled.
"Oh, it's September 11, 1531."
Razen froze.
Then slowly pulled out his Adventurer's License.
The last update was recorded on it.
As he read the date, his hands began to tremble.
—Last update: June 16, 1431
She had said: 1531.
A whole century had passed.
A hundred years in-game.
Razen almost collapsed.