LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 1 - Transmigration
In the middle of a ruined city, there was a woman, who possessed red hair and eyes—as red as burning flames. She glared at the figure before her.
“Impressive! I never thought a mere mortal would be able to hold out against me this long. Especially that black-haired girl over there, she’s worth my attention.”
“Shut up! You devil bastard.”
The being called by the name devil pointed to the black-haired woman kneeling beside the red-haired woman. She was missing an arm.
The black-haired woman’s eyes were slowly losing their luster. They appeared to be signifying that her time was running out.
She alternated her gaze between the devil and the red-haired woman. Then, she finally picked up the fallen sword with her remaining arm and struggled to speak.
“Suyeon. Hurry and run away. I’ll buy you some time.”
“No… Sister Yuha… There’s no way the devil bastard will let us escape. And even if we do… Earth is already finished…”
As the woman called Yuha stood up with her sword to face the devil again, she glanced around at Suyeon’s resigned words.
Despite her blurred vision, the gruesome sight of her fallen comrades, who had fought together against the devil, singled out in front of her.
Unable to bear looking at their bodies any longer, Yuhwa turned her head, her voice laced with despair and regret.
“Is it over? I didn’t know it would be this strong. We couldn’t stop it this time either…”
With those words, something black and writhing shot out from the devil and mercilessly engulfed them.
“Sis, I’m sorry. Next time, for sure….”
Suyeon’s vision went dark.
Ding!
[Player ‘Han Suyeon’s unique ability
———-
Author’s Note:
Thank you to all readers of
———-
“Indefinite hiatus?”
He was lying on his bed, reading the 999th episode of the novel
The novel
However, that popularity was short-lived. The protagonist, ‘Han Suyeon’, who died endlessly, became known as ‘Hanbokchi’ (a play on words implying weakness), and as the episodes increased, the repetitive events and storyline wore out the readers, causing many to drop off one by one.
‘An indefinite hiatus… This is practically the end of serialization. Is this the fate of unpopular works…….’
[Clap! Clap]
[ksh1000: I enjoyed reading. It seemed like it was coming to a conclusion this time. The news of the hiatus is disappointing from a loyal reader’s perspective. I hope it returns soon.]
[kbr1234: Is this still being serialized? LOL. Came back out of curiosity, and she’s dead again. As expected of Hanbokchi. And now an indefinite hiatus. Looks like the author is preparing to move on to another work due to the decline in popularity. LOL.]
Except for occasional mockers, his comment was the only one cheering for the author and protagonist Han Suyeon in the comment section.
‘This supportive comment… I wouldn’t be writing it anymore…’
“It’s been about 7 years. Quite a long time.”
He discovered this novel when he was a college student in his twenties and gradually became captivated by its charm.
This novel was his first read. It was now ending just before the 1000th episode and came to a halt at the 999th.
Bzzz!
“It’s really a shame… Reading this novel was one of my life’s joys…….”
As he was lost in his disappointment, the phone, which was usually only used for checking time or reading novels, vibrated for the first time in a long while.
“Hmm? Is it an emergency alert? There’s hardly anyone who would contact me.”
With a self-deprecating comment and a bitter smile, he checked his phone.
‘What’s this?’
The message sender’s number was very unique.
-1004-
‘1004? Is this a prank?’
He had never received a message from such a number before. With a question mark over his head, he checked the message.
[1004: Hello, ksh1000.]
‘ksh1000?’
‘ksh1000’ was the nickname he used on the site where he read
Curious about the unusual address, he decided to reply to the mysterious sender.
[Me: Who’s this?]
[1004: Ah! Nice to meet you, ksh1000. I am Lee Dai Dai-yeong, the author of
Surprised by the unexpected identity of 1004, he typed faster than before.
[Me: What? Really?!?]
[1004: Yes. To get straight to the point, the reason I’m contacting you is to ask for a favor.]
[Me: What kind of favor…?]
[1004: Don’t you find it unfortunate?]
[Me: What do you mean?]
[1004: That
When he saw the harsh reality in the message from the person claiming to be the author, the grip on his phone tightened.
Unfortunate?
Of course, it was.
As someone who truly loved the novel
[Me: Yes. It’s unfortunate. If the novel could continue, I would do anything. But what can I do? I’m not the author….]
[1004: No. In fact, only you, ksh1000, who read my novel till the end, can do it. Unlike me, the author.]
“What’s this? Is this a joke?”
After seeing the cryptic message, he began to doubt whether this person was really the author of
Come to think of it, it was strange that they even knew his number….
Bzzz!
Just as he concluded it was a prank and was about to ignore it, another message from 1004 arrived.
[1004: Then I’ll take that as consent. Please save her from her cruel fate, and save the world destined for destruction.]
“More nonsense…….”
Unable to suppress his curiosity, he read the last absurd message from 1004 and muttered in disbelief.
However.
Before he could finish his abuses, an overwhelming drowsiness engulfed him.
Just like the novel
His vision went dark.
***
Thud!
“Baram! Wake up! It’s already 7:30. You asked me to wake you up early for the entrance ceremony today.”
“Ugh… W-what’s happening?”
The sharp pain he felt on his back woke him up instantly from his sleep.
Through his half-closed eyes, he saw a middle-aged woman holding a ladle. She was glaring at him while wearing an apron.
“W-who are you?!?”
“What? Who am I!? Kim Baram, are you still half-asleep? I told you to go to bed early yesterday, but you didn’t listen. Just like your father, you never listen.”
Thwack! Thwack!
The middle-aged woman began a storm of scolding while smacking Kim’s back with her palm the size of a pot lid.
He was still half-asleep and unable to grasp the situation. He was helpless against her relentless back smacking.
“Ah! Ah! I’m up! I’m up. Please stop.”
“If only you woke up earlier! The girl who moved in next door wakes up early every morning to jog, but my son… Sigh! Get a grip and come down for breakfast.”
Responding desperately to avoid the situation, the middle-aged woman finally stopped her assault and left the room, telling him to come down for breakfast.
Dazed, he tried to understand what was going on.
Based on what the middle-aged woman said, she seemed to be claiming to be his ‘mother,’ though it was hard to believe.
Looking around his room, which seemed completely different from yesterday, he spotted a mirror and looked into it.
“What the⋯? Is this even possible?”
In the mirror, a version of him about 10 years younger stared back in disbelief.
Seeing his younger face made him even more confused. He picked up a piece of paper on the desk.
[This is to notify that the student has been admitted to the Korea Player Academy in 2045. Name: Kim Baram]
“Korea Player Academy? This sounds familiar.”
Staring at the acceptance letter for a while, he suddenly had the crazy thought that he had transmigrated into the world of the novel
“That can’t be. Is this some kind of hidden camera prank? Could this really be the world of
Ding!
As soon as he mentioned ‘status window,’ something that shouldn’t have appeared materialized in front of him.
————-
Name: Kim Baram
Age: 17
Attributes:
Strength: 9
Agility: 9
Stamina: 9
Magic: 1
Charm: 39
Luck: 44
Skills:
(New)
Unique Ability:
(New)
———
“This is just… No way…”
The hovering status window was very familiar to Kim. It was from the novel
In short, ‘Muwheplay’ featured the concept of a status window.
{TN: ‘Muwheplay’ is a short term for
This status window appeared only to individuals who had awakened as players, and it couldn’t be seen by anyone else unless they had special abilities.
“Wait a minute. Status window… Muwheplay… Could it be that message from last night…?”
In a situation that defied normal logic, he suddenly recalled the conversation with the person claiming to be the author of
[Yes, it’s unfortunate. If the novel could continue, I would do anything. But what can I do? I’m not the author….]
[No. In fact, only you, ksh1000, who read my novel till the end, can do it. Unlike me, the author.]
[Then I’ll take that as consent. Please save her from her cruel fate, and save the world destined for destruction.]
“Damn… So that vague nonsense was true? They want me to enter the novel and save the world? If they were going to send me here, they should have given me a proper explanation!”
Although he had said he would do anything, he never imagined it would lead to such an absurd situation.
Moreover, as he realized he was ‘Kim Baram,’ as indicated by the admission notice on the desk and the name on the status window, he felt an intense headache.
“Am I really this guy…?”
In the early days of the novel’s popularity, this character was called ‘Kim Baram,’ but readers had nicknamed him ‘Kim Balam’ (meaning trouble/frustration-inducing Kim’) because of his actions.
In the initial episodes, this guy was the cause of several incidents at the academy. He always worsened situations while trying to resolve them without any abilities.
He was like a member of a detective team in a certain cartoon, always causing frustration for the readers.
The protagonist, Han Suyeon, even killed Kim Baram in some early regression episodes because he was a hindrance.
Although it was hard to believe, the status window’s undeniable presence made Kim accept reality and check his stats and skills thoroughly.
In fact, there wasn’t much to check; the status window was quite pathetic.
“Really pitiful….”
According to Muwheplay’s settings, the average strength, agility, and stamina of a healthy person were about 10, with charm and luck averaging 50.
But Kim Baram’s stats were all 9, which was lower than a normal person despite his status as a player.
“And my charm is 39… I thought I was at least average in Korea….”
Even though Kim had possessed Kim Baram’s character, the face in the mirror was similar to him, so he sighed at the harsh evaluation.
Additionally, kim’s luck was 44, which was below average and felt oddly unsettling.
On top of that, his magic stat was only 1, suggesting that Kim Baram had just transitioned from an ordinary person to a player.
Leaving his dismal stats behind, he looked down to examine his skills.
From what he recalled of the novel, the skill at the top of the list,
‘What does it mean that it might not be correct? What a joke.’
Ignoring that useless skill, he focused on the new skill labeled ‘New.’
“Irregular Dice? Did Kim Baram ever use such a skill?”
In the original work, Kim Baram didn’t have such skills or a unique ability, so it seemed these were added because he had entered the novel.
“A variable…? Are they asking me to interfere in the novel?”
After pondering his unique ability for a while, Kim felt a sudden unease and checked the date on the phone, which seemed to belong to Kim Baram.
March 2, 2045.
Today was the day of the academy entrance ceremony, marking the start of the novel.
‘Damn! No time to waste!’
Realizing the date, Kim quickly opened the wardrobe, hastily changed into what appeared to be the academy uniform, grabbed the phone, and dashed downstairs.
Bam!
“You’ll hurt yourself. Hey! Sit down and eat breakfast!”
The woman, presumed to be Kim Baram’s mother, spoke. He glanced at the clock and then at her.
“I don’t think I can have breakfast today. I might be late. Sorry, Mother.”
The clock read 8:00.
And Kim Baram hurried out of the house on his journey to create the ‘first variable.’