"Is that bastard Jeong Su-hyeon still not answering his phone?"
Director Kim, who wore several large scars and burns like medals on his seared skin, asked his employees in an irritated voice.
"No. It seems like he's turned his phone off completely."
"Ah shit, as if we weren't busy enough already."
"He wouldn't have run away. You know his situation."
"Then why is a guy who's never been late suddenly going AWOL?"
He said while roughly scratching his greasy hair.
"Hey Min-cheol."
"Yes, Director."
"You free this morning?"
"I am."
"Go bring him in."
"Yes sir!"
Park Min-cheol, who was unexpectedly singled out, promptly stood up and grabbed his outer clothing.
"If he doesn't listen, smack him a few times. Is this kid protesting or something..."
"If I did that, I'd be the one getting beaten up."
"Work out, you punk. Want to get beaten by someone much younger than you?"
"Hahaha."
'Idiot. If you weren't the director, you wouldn't get off so easy either.'
Park Min-cheol hid those inner thoughts behind a good-natured laugh and bowed his head.
"I'll try to persuade him."
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"About time they should be coming."
Looking at the sunlight streaming through the narrow window of the single room, he opened an old water bottle.
Gurgle.
He cleared his mind with a glass of lukewarm water.
He desperately longed for a fragrant cup of coffee.
'I'm getting a little anxious.'
There was no way to get such coffee around here.
'Scheduled arrival time is the morning of the second day from the starting point. Between 10 and 11 o'clock.'
Looking at the clock, he still had to wait at least 30 minutes more.
'I'm getting antsy.'
He checked while stretching his stiff muscles.
It had already been two days since he fell into this world.
During that time in seclusion, what I did wasn't trembling while saying 'Oh my god, I fell into a game world, this is impossible' or crying out begging to be sent back to my original world.
'Though I wasn't quite in my right mind on the first day.'
After just one night's sleep, I could feel myself becoming surprisingly calm, even to my own amazement.
'It must be the original owner of this body's temperament.'
It wasn't because of the thought that I had to return to reality somehow.
No. To be more honest.
If my reality had been particularly satisfying, I wouldn't have been so devoted to a mere alternate reality.
Therefore, my interest was solely focused on what I had to do from now on.
"Hmm."
I take off my shirt and look at my reflection in the mirror.
Kim Seong-yun's body, which had started to bloat from constant overtime and stress-induced binge eating, was nowhere to be found.
What stood before me was Jeong Su-hyeon, a 17-year-old boy with a height over 180cm, a skeleton capable of exerting ideal athletic ability, and distinct, harmonious features.
'Good physique.'
Though it was said to have been from ignorant and unstructured training.
Jeong Su-hyeon's body, which had performed that training every night with unimaginable stubbornness, was not at a level that a mere late teenager going through puberty could possess.
While muscle hypertrophy was still lacking, his chest and abs were clearly defined.
Shoulders prominently broad and squarely set.
A sleek, flexible-looking waist and legs packed with well-distributed muscles.
'Not bad.'
It felt strange to think that this still-unripe body would one day become a human weapon that would shred all kinds of Ma-in like a blender.
'The basic physical strength and athletic ability are already at superhuman levels.'
The reason it could be so was due to the characteristic that Jeong Su-hyeon possessed.
[Unlimited].
Literally having no limits is the alpha and omega of this ability.
All the physical limitations that exist in every human—fatigue, durability, stamina, strength, mana volume, even lifespan.
The effect of the Unlimited characteristic was to simply break through and surpass all those limitations with endless training.
'This alone is already overpowered.'
This characteristic achieves even greater synergy due to the Skill Shop, a protagonist's special privilege.
In the Skill Shop, which only the player can access, you can purchase desired skills with points earned by completing quests or achieving accomplishments.
Compared to the unique characteristics that all Awakened are born with, the quality and limitations of these skills are generally clearer.
But by obtaining multiple skills and combining them, it's possible to achieve power-ups that are impossible for other characters.
In other words, the greatest merit of the Unlimited characteristic is that it can even transcend the principle that "one person can only have one ability."
'The problem is that even with such privileges, clearing was impossible.'
Such is the majesty of EoG.
'As of now, there doesn't seem to be any difference from the original world setting.'
"I don't know whether to call this fortunate or unfortunate."
I let out a snicker.
In any case, I could recite EoG's worldview for hours without a script, just with a microphone in hand.
'It all started with the appearance of demonic beasts that emerged suddenly one day from beyond the gates and trampled human civilization.'
After a massive chaos in which billions of people lost their lives, the counterattack began by Hunters who had awakened special powers.
After decades of fighting, humanity regained order and finally succeeded in making the gates a controllable phenomenon.
'Up to here, it's not much different from the general setting.'
The story continues from there.
It didn't take long for cracks to form in the hard-won peace.
[Magical energy accumulates in the bodies of humans who kill demonic beasts.]
That was the seed of the new tragedy.
When magical energy concentrated in the human body exceeds the control range, it transforms into Ma-seong, giving the Awakened greater power and endless killing impulses.
The Ma-in born this way unhesitatingly stabbed their former Hunter comrades in the back, and infiltrated among innocent citizens to shed countless blood.
Before the threat of Ma-in grew uncontrollable and caused humanity to self-destruct.
Each country gathered Awakened specialists in fighting against Ma-in to create a new armed group called the Execution Force.
With their success in driving the Ma-in underground, the government planted an important provision to suppress the threat of the coming era:
Thus, the national institution EFAC was launched to train Execution Force members.
'Simply put, it's the Academy.'
And I, who have become the protagonist of this game, haven't even entered that academy yet, let alone qualified to take the entrance exam.
"Don't they usually start with you already enrolled?"
Even in such minor details, I can feel the malice.
Jeong Su-hyeon, a homeless orphan who hasn't even become a cadet at the Academy yet.
Like many teenagers in this Gate era, he was an orphan without parents or connections, living by doing manual labor.
However, in his heart burned an endless rage toward Ma-in.
This was because Jeong Su-hyeon was the sole survivor of an orphanage massacred during a Ma-in rampage.
'With trauma from that time, his emotions of joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure have been greatly worn down... that's the setting.'
All that remained was revenge.
And the best way to realize that revenge was to enter the Academy, build strength, and become an Execution Force member.
Therefore, Jeong Su-hyeon had been working as a laborer processing demonic beast carcass byproducts during the day and honing his abilities at night to earn tuition.
'Of course, without proper guidance, it was closer to self-torture than training.'
Up to here was the setting I was familiar with.
But.
"Bastards."
Since falling into this world, I've experienced confusion to the point where I could hardly distinguish whether I was Kim Seong-yun or Jeong Su-hyeon under the waves of incoming memories.
And now, just recalling the name Ma-in brings up unbearable discomfort.
What was surprising amidst all this was that even as my chest boiled with anger hot enough to scorch in sulfurous fire, my mind remained infinitely cold.
'Is this Jeong Su-hyeon?'
A hatred cold as ice.
It was exactly the emotion I knew, that I understood.
And.
It was now my emotion too.
[You must be confused by this sudden situation. Detailed explanations are prohibited, but please remember that what you need to do hasn't changed.]
The GM who sent me to this world left one gift, calling it a reward.
[Starter Reward! 100P Skill Points have been awarded!]
'That's lucky.'
100 points was a figure difficult to obtain in the early game no matter what tricks you used.
'This is doable.'
I genuinely thought so.
Even during countless previous runs, I had never started with such favorable starting conditions.
[Opening Skill Shop.]
-Mana Emission
-Skin Poison
-Joint Strengthening
-Fat Absorption
-Hair Root Generation
-Vitality
-Life Return
-Metamorphosis
....
From 10p items to 200p.
All kinds of various skills unfolded before my eyes.
But.
The skill that needed to be purchased first was already decided.
It was....
-Knock knock.
The knocking sound was heard just then.
"Su-hyeon, it's me! Are you in there?"
'He's here.'
Within the expected time.
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Park Min-cheol could finally relax a little when he saw that Su-hyeon's face was as impassive as usual.
"Why did you suddenly turn off your phone and disappear? The director is going crazy, telling me to bring you in."
Director Kim.
Running a business collecting and selling demonic beast carcass byproducts, he was known for his violent temperament, often verbally and physically abusing workers on the slightest pretext.
'There's nowhere else to get this kind of pay.'
Su-hyeon frowned with displeasure and said.
"Never mind that. Today is January 24th, right?"
A tone so cold and flat that even the speaker himself was somewhat surprised.
But Park Min-cheol shrugged his shoulders familiarly and answered.
"Why are you asking that? You've been gone since the 21st, so yes, it is."
'Good.'
January 24th.
The day when the first event that will trigger all scenarios takes place.
"Hey, anyway, this isn't the time for this. Let's go quickly. Just bow your head a few times and he'll let it go. It's dirty work, but what can we do?"
"Right. We should go."
Su-hyeon agreed so easily that Park Min-cheol asked back in surprise.
"Oh, really?"
When there was no answer, he good-naturedly patted Su-hyeon's shoulder and stood up.
"If you were going to come out this willingly, you should have just come out earlier. I don't know what your situation is, but let's talk about the details on the way. We have a ton of work to do today."
"No."
Su-hyeon shook his head.
"I'm going to submit my resignation."
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"Report! Ma-in outbreak! A Ma-in is attacking civilians in Manggok district!"
As urgent communications went back and forth, an executive in the situation room ground his molars.
"Of all places, the downtown area. This is the worst!"
"It's presumed to be a body modification-type Ma-in! We're quickly confirming their identity!"
"Figure it out as fast as possible! How many Execution Force members are available for dispatch?"
"Team 12 members are closest!"
"How long will it take?"
"10 minutes at the fastest!"
"Damn it!"
Bang!
The executive slammed his fist on the desk.
"Currently, nearby armed police are engaged in combat! But it doesn't seem to be going well! Reports say there's significant civilian panic!"
"Damn, I hope those guys can hold out as long as possible!"
For an ordinary situation, they might be able to buy time on their own.
But the location and timing of the Ma-in's appearance were too unfortunate.
'I'll have to accept casualties!'
He clenched his fist until it bled, hoping the ominous premonition that came over him would be proven wrong.
At that time.
Su-hyeon was heading toward Manggok district, ignoring Park Min-cheol who was talking earnestly beside him.
"Hey Su-hyeon, I'm telling you to really think about it! Ah, of course that bastard does act like a jerk!"
Or.
"Can guys like you and me earn this much anywhere else? Didn't you say you need to enter the Academy? Let's think long-term, okay?"
Or.
Su-hyeon, who had lightly let such words that he'd heard hundreds or thousands of times go in one ear and out the other, suddenly muttered.
"Should be around here."
Boom!
Screeeeam!
After confirming the explosion and screams heard from afar, he quietly nodded.
"Found it."
This was about to be Jeong Su-hyeon's debut battle.