The roar shook the shed like an earthquake. Jin flopped on the floor instantly, hugging his belly as if that could somehow save him from death-by-monster.
Outside, the giant wolf slammed against the glowing barrier. Sparks flew. Its red eyes locked on Jin, drool dripping from its fangs. Over its head floated glowing text:
[Forest Devourer — Lv.153]
Jin's lips trembled. "Level… one-hundred-fifty-three?!" His voice cracked like broken glass.
"This is a DLC boss! I'm just a tutorial mob!"
The wolf snarled again. The fence shook. Jin screamed, ran in a circle, and then — because his brain had gone full potato — he grabbed the shiny spear.
"Don't come closer! I know kung-fu! …Wait no, I don't! BUT I WATCHED KUNG-FU PANDA!"
He jabbered nonsense, waving the spear at the air. "Shoo! Bad dog! Go poop in your own forest!"
And then, purely out of panic, he hurled the spear.
The world went silent for a heartbeat.
The spear punched clean through the monster's chest.
Shunk!
Straight through.
And then through a tree.
And then back into Jin's sweaty hands like it was playing fetch.
The wolf's massive body toppled with a dramatic THUD.
Silence.
"…Ha…?" Jin blinked. "…Haaaaaah?! W-what the hell just happened?!"
DING!
Blue windows exploded in front of him:
[Monster Defeated: Forest Devourer (Lv.153)]
Base EXP: 13,000
First-Time Bonus ×10 → 130,000 EXP
[Level Up!]
Level 1 → 83
Jin's eyes widened so far they looked ready to roll out. His jaw dropped, tongue almost hitting the floor.
"LEVEL EIGHTY-THREE?! I just— I just killed a tutorial dog and skipped the whole game!"
Another window:
[Status Updated]
Strength: 3 → 640
Agility: 2 → 585
Stamina: 4 → 700
Intelligence: 5 → 90
Charm: 1 → 210
"Charm… two-hundred-and-ten?!" Jin grabbed his face dramatically. "Does that mean I'm hot now? Am I finally oppa material?!"
He stared at the wolf's corpse. "…Serves you right, you overgrown furball! Look at you now, lying there like expired bulgogi!" He kicked the body weakly, then yelped and shook his foot. "Ow ow ow—still hard!"
He bent down, collected the glowing loot, and stuffed it in his pack. "Mine now, doggo. Hope you enjoy the afterlife kennel."
Then realization struck. "Oh crap, school! Uniform! Homework! New life!" He scrambled toward the gate like a man late to the bathroom.
A window blocked his path:
[Foreign Loot Detected]
Convert to Earth currency?
YES / NO
"…Wait… money?" His thumb hit YES so fast he might've broken a record.
Conversion Successful.
₩116,500,000 deposited to Shinhan Bank (Jin Lee).
His phone buzzed. He pulled it out with trembling hands.
신한은행 — 계좌 입금: +₩116,500,000
Jin's scream could've shattered windows. "H-HOLY SHIT! A hundred and sixteen million won?!"
He checked the app three more times. Yup. It was there.
"Wait—how does the gate know my bank account?!" His eyes darted around suspiciously. "Is it spying on me? Did it check my search history?! …Oh god, it knows about the time I googled 'Can you get abs by just sucking in your stomach?!'"
The blue text flashed politely: [Thank you for using Cross-World Conversion Services.]
Jin stared. Then shrugged.
"…Who cares how it knows? I'M RICH!"
He started breakdancing horribly in the middle of the shed. He tried a spin, tripped over his own foot, and rolled into the wall. He didn't care. "MONEY! MONEY! MONEY!"
He moonwalked with all the grace of a dying turtle and sang off-key, "I'm sexy and I know it~"
Finally, exhausted, he stumbled through the gate and back into his old house. He cooked two packs of ramen like they were gourmet steak, ate with tears of joy, and passed out drooling on his futon.
Next Morning
The sun poked through his window. Jin groaned, rolled over, and then froze.
"…Why does the floor feel farther away?"
He stood, blinking. His pajama pants sagged dangerously. His T-shirt stretched in weird new places. He shuffled into the bathroom, rubbing his eyes—
—and screamed.
The mirror reflected… a different person.
Not pudgy Jin. Not bullied Jin. But tall, lean, broad-shouldered Jin. His jawline looked like it had been carved with a chisel. His abs looked like someone had ironed a six-pack onto him while he slept.
He poked his stomach. Solid. He slapped his chest. Thump. He turned sideways. V-shape.
"WHO—WHO IS THIS DRAMA HERO AND WHAT DID HE DO WITH MY BODY?!"
He flexed, then gasped. "Holy crap, even my armpits look good. Is that possible?!"
He tried poses in the mirror, inventing new ones. The "I dropped my pencil but in a sexy way." The "my grandma told me to be good but I'm bad." The "oh look at me, I just accidentally became the main character."
Then he pulled a duck face selfie and burst out laughing. "K-pop trainees fear me now! BTS, move over—BJS is here!"
Another buzz. His bank notification again. The numbers glowed:
Balance: ₩116,500,342
Jin raised both arms to the sky. "I AM HANDSOME. I AM RICH. I AM—"
He stopped mid-sentence. His smile froze.
"…Wait. School."
He bolted upright. "SCHOOL! Uniform! …TOMORROW IS SCHOOL!!"
His eyes darted to his wardrobe. He yanked open the closet, pulled out his school uniform—then nearly fainted. The shirt couldn't even go past his shoulders. The pants? They stopped halfway up his thighs. Even his underwear was hanging off him like an oversized flag.
He stared at the pile of useless fabric. His face drained of color. "No… no no no! I'm dead. DEAD. They'll expel me for indecent exposure before I even get through the gate!"
For a moment, panic consumed him. He clutched his head, pacing back and forth like a prisoner. "What do I do?! Tailor? Borrow from a giant? Just wrap myself in a bedsheet and call it fashion week?!"
Then—he froze. Slowly, ever so slowly, a smug grin spread across his face. His eyes gleamed with dangerous light.
"…Wait a minute. I'M RICH."
He burst out laughing. "Uniform? I can buy ten! No—ONE HUNDRED! No—ONE THOUSAND!!" He spun in place, arms wide, voice booming. "LET THE WORLD TREMBLE BEFORE MY PURCHASING POWER!"
He started babbling, his voice bouncing between serious and ridiculous.
"Do I buy designer clothes? A Rolex? A sports car? Or should I buy a convenience store so I can get free ramen forever?!"
"Wait—what about a penthouse? No no, too much paperwork. Lamborghini? Nah, too much traffic. Helicopter? …Hnnn, tempting."
He slapped his cheeks dramatically. "Control yourself, Jin! First uniform… then world domination shopping spree!"
Finally, he grabbed his old clothes and put them on. The pants barely reached his calves, his T-shirt looked like a crop top, and everything else hung off him like a clown costume.
He looked in the mirror—
—and burst out laughing.
"I LOOK LIKE A DISCOUNT SUPERHERO WHO OUTGREW HIS COSTUME!"
Without shame, he threw his arms up and shouted:
"LET'S GO! LET'S SPEND SOME MONEY!"
And with that, Jin marched out, clothes flapping like rags, ready to conquer the shopping mall.