"Okay, now this code here..."
The sounds of a digital keypad echoed through the dimly lit room.
The sun had already set, and the moon had taken charge of the sky. The city shone brightly under its lights as vehicles filled the roads below.
2067.
It was the year 2067—decades after the Third World War, the fall of the UN, and the rise of the era of virtual reality.
"And enter."
Loading.
The blue loading screen took over the display attached to a giant white chamber. The machine looked metallic and massive as it rested in front of Allen, who rubbed his hands together in excitement.
The black-haired man leaned forward, his brown eyes scanning the cartridge case of the game before picking it up from the VR chamber.
Supreme Magus.
"Heh… it never gets old."
With a fond smile on his face, Allen recalled the history of virtual reality that he himself had experienced.
Fifteen years ago, the first demo of perfect VR games had been released.
Looking at the giant machine, Allen remembered the hundreds of games he had played on it over the years.
Virtual Reality.
A way of gaming where one immersed themselves completely in the digital world, controlling characters in a manner that allowed them to live a virtual life of fantasy in fictional realms.
For Allen, this was the greatest invention ever made. Supreme Magus was one of the older-generation games he was particularly fond of.
Maybe it was because it was the first game he ever played, but the charm of this game was something special to him.
The game was set in a medieval world where nobility and magic coexisted. A pretty common theme, but honestly, a classic.
The game synchronized the player with the main character, William Morisson, the heir to the Morisson barony of the kingdom.
Maintaining one's own territory while diving into the magical world, learning magic, and aiming for the title of Supreme Magus—a position in the royal court second only to the king and representing the guardian of the kingdom.
To grow stronger, charm female leads, develop bonds, recruit talented followers, earn the king's trust, and fight against foreign kingdoms, civil wars, and monster invasions.
"An amazing game…" Allen muttered. Even after playing it countless times and completing all kinds of scenarios, he still wasn't tired of starting it again.
"Well, this time it's special…"
As the status bar reached one hundred percent, Allen smiled while looking at the characters displayed on the screen.
Cheats.
Infinite Items ON
NPC Possession ON
Cheats—yeah, cheats.
Over the years, players had cracked the codes and developed these cheats for others to use.
Main quests, side quests, missions, forced battles—completing the game honestly required hours of grinding and enduring many frustrating moments.
So yeah, to cut to the chase and enjoy a more comfortable experience, this was what Allen usually relied on.
"Though breaking the game all at once sounds boring, these cheats are my favorite…"
Making a game too easy could make it dull, but using cheats to indirectly support faster growth—that was what made things interesting.
Infinite Items.
Allen's personal favorite, and the cheat he relied on most to clear any game. Money, weapons, resources—everything placed in the inventory, infinitely duplicable and ready for use.
"It's the best cheat… but what I'm really excited about is this!"
Looking at the loaded NPC Possession cheat, Allen laughed.
The ability to play as an NPC—any character other than the protagonist—was something entirely new.
A few hours ago, Allen had stumbled upon a video of a streamer successfully using this cheat, which immediately piqued his interest.
"It's something new…"
Being able to play other characters instead of the main protagonist was enough reason for Allen to load this old game again after so many years, hoping for a fresh experience.
Cheats.
Cheating is not magic.
An unexpected error might occur due to cheating.
Do you want to continue?
A notification popped up on the screen, which Allen ignored before pressing yes.
Opening the VR chamber, he adjusted the gear completely before taking position on the bed. As the chamber closed, Allen shut his eyes, ready for full immersion.
Du Dum!
Welcome, Allen!
Darkness enveloped him as his consciousness floated in a void. In front of him, screens lit up, welcoming him through the gaming interface.
God of Wars!
Pokemon!
…
Supreme Magus!
Allen selected Supreme Magus and started a new game.
Starting a new game!
Loading…
1%… 2%… 100%
Choose your character!
The screen loaded, but instead of the familiar interface, an unfamiliar red screen appeared before Allen.
Choose the character.
The original Supreme Magus had no playable characters other than William. This was new.
"It worked!" Allen muttered gleefully as he browsed through the characters.
A list of hundreds of available characters filled his vision, but Allen ignored most of them, focusing instead on named NPCs.
King
Crown Prince
Fourth Prince
Baron Morrison
…
The list was long. The king and crown prince—characters William was meant to serve at all costs.
"So which one first…" Allen pondered. Playing as the king or prince sounded tempting, but he had plenty of time to experience the game from different angles. There was no need to rush.
Following the order of character appearances in the story, Allen sorted through the list before selecting his first NPC.
Damon Morrison.
The first villain of the story—the twin brother of the protagonist, who coveted the title of Baron and harbored lustful feelings for the female lead.
A jealous, typical minor villain with potential and talent said to rival the protagonist.
Do you wish to select this character? Y/N
"Let's go with this…" Allen thought. "He isn't anything special himself, but…"
Being the first villain and one of the earliest named NPCs, Allen selected him.
"Yes."
The screen changed instantly, and a flood of white light assaulted Allen's eyes.
"What the fuck!"
He shielded his eyes from the sudden brightness as irritating static noises filled his ears.
The smooth graphics vanished, replaced by a pixelated, broken environment riddled with glitches.
"What's happening?" Allen thought in panic. This was his first time experiencing something like this.
"Is it a glitch? Did the game get corrupted?"
Perhaps the cheat had broken the system somehow.
"Logout! Logout!" Allen shouted, trying to force an exit—but nothing changed.
"The hell?!"
Even the logout command wasn't working.
With no option to escape and no sign of the environment stabilizing, Allen found himself trapped in this strange digital world.
Minutes passed. Then hours.
Alone in the distorted space, his consciousness eventually gave out.
His eyes closed.