novelraw Chapter 1 : The World I Created (1)
Chapter 1 : The World I Created (1)
Chapter 1 - The World I Created (1)
“—Assistant Manager Lee, aren't you going home?”
Someone tapped my shoulder, waking me. I, who had been sleeping hunched over my desk, faintly opened my eyes.
“…Team Leader Seo? What brings you here at this hour…”
The owner of the voice was Team Leader Seo. She winked charmingly, lightly biting her tongue.
“I left my wallet in the office, you see. So I just stopped by for a moment. But then I saw you shivering in the dark, Assistant Manager Lee, so I thought I'd say something. I'm sorry if you were sleeping soundly. I didn't mean to wake you.”
This person was my direct superior, and a prodigy who had become a team leader at the age of twenty-nine.
However, Team Leader Seo was more often the subject of office gossip for her beauty than for her skills.
Something about how she should have been an idol. It was a topic I had absolutely no interest in.
We were colleagues, so it didn't matter to me whether the Team Leader's face was pretty or not.
“Working hard is a good thing, but don't you think you're being a bit too obvious about it? When a subordinate of mine is like this, it makes me feel like a bad person, you know.”
The Team Leader said, her eyes smiling.
I blinked and slowly looked around. The office lights had been turned off for a long time. The only source of light was the glow from my monitor.
Well, this is embarrassing.
I smoothed down the back of my hair, which had become a bird's nest.
“There are only 7 days left until the 'Recon' beta server opens. We have to squash as many bugs as possible while there's still time.”
Recons. A game we just call Recon amongst ourselves, and a masterpiece that has been in preparation for many years.
'The development period alone was a whopping 6 years.'
For six long years, the entire company had poured everything into this game. If this fails, the company goes down with it.
'It's no exaggeration; our company's fate really is riding on Recon.'
It made me realize anew how fast time flies. When the Recons project began, I was just a rookie, so my work was clumsy and I was scolded often.
To think that I, who was like that, got promoted to Assistant Manager after gaining some experience. Though my salary is about the same now as it was back then.
“True, communities are very active these days, so word-of-mouth spreads in an instant. If you release a game with a shoddy level of completion and the word-of-mouth turns bad, it's dead on arrival. Gamers have high standards these days, you know?”
“If you pay nearly a hundred thousand won and receive an unfinished product, it's natural to feel like you've been scammed. From our position as the developers, we wish they'd go easy on us, but they are undeniably the customers.”
I replied with a shrug.
“That's what I like about you, Assistant Manager Lee. You always speak from a gamer's point of view. How should I put it... you're very objective? Although, sometimes you're so excessive about it you seem like a maverick, which gave me a bit of a hard time. Hehe.”
“I apologize for causing discord…”
“It's a compliment, a compliment. I'm in this line of work because I love games too, but I don't think I can match your passion, Assistant Manager Lee.”
I scratched my cheek at the Team Leader's praise. The vast majority of game companies are black companies.
Nevertheless, there's only one reason I threw myself into this industry. Because I love games.
'Because I loved it to the point of madness.'
I am, by my own and others' admission, a crazy bastard for games.
If I had to pick just one genre, I'm nuts about RPGs.
The thrill of a character leveling up or obtaining a hidden piece always delivers a new and intense pleasure.
And I, having become unable to be satisfied as a mere gamer, had at some point become a game developer myself.
What's more, my glorious debut project is in my favorite genre, near-future dystopia, so it feels especially profound.
It is a niche genre. I'll admit that it's a genre that doesn't sell as well as mainstream fantasy or FPS games.
But that's precisely why I think it's meaningful.
There's a certain thrill to being the one to open the gates. After all, doesn't the hero on the white horse always appear in a vast, empty plain?
'I am the hero on a white horse in the game industry.'
Of course, it would be a lie to say I've never regretted stepping foot into this industry.
I just didn't know the game industry would be this harsh.
It's contract work, we work overtime constantly, and the pay is crap for how hard the work is. Fuck.
If I were to list all the hardships I've faced, an entire night wouldn't be enough.
And yet.
I loved games enough to offset all of those complaints.
I wanted to release a game that was as close to perfect as possible. That obsession was the driving force keeping me glued to my office desk late into the night.
Squeeze
Team Leader Seo watched me clench my fist, a proud look on her face.
Of course, she had to be proud. How could a subordinate who voluntarily gives up their work-life balance to work overtime not be endearing? If I were her, I would be smiling like that too.
“Take this.”
Suddenly, she took a card from her pocket and held it out. It was the Team Leader's employee ID card.
As I stared at it blankly, she gave me a pretty smile.
“My ID is written on the back. The areas you can access with your ID are limited, right, Assistant Manager Lee?”
Just as she said.
Access permissions are tiered according to rank. This is to prevent information leaks and maintain confidentiality.
“Assistant Manager Lee, try logging in with my ID. It'll probably be easier to find bugs and system errors that way. I'd like to stay and help, but I have an engagement.”
“Isn't this against company policy?”
“Like you said, there's only a week left until the launch. Is this really the time to be cautious? Besides, if we get caught, I'll take all the blame for you, Assistant Manager Lee, so don't you worry. My arm is getting tired.”
Team Leader Seo dangled the ID card right in front of my face. Unable to refuse her goodwill, I took it before I knew it.
“I will make good use of it, Team Leader.”
“Don't mention it.”
Only then did the Team Leader put on her coat and turn. Before she left, she cautioned me.
“Don't press your face right up against the monitor. What will you do if you get sucked into it?”
“You must be on edge too, Team Leader, to make a joke like that. That's the kind of absurd story you only see in NovelBins. Something like that will never happen.”
“There's no such thing as 'never' in this world.”
I tried to laugh it off, but she seemed serious. Then, as if realizing her slip, she immediately relaxed her expression.
“Uh, that is, I mean, anyway, I just meant you should pace yourself. Well then, keep up the good work, Assistant Manager Lee!”
Mumbling an excuse, she quickly left the office. My gaze, which had lingered on the spot she just vacated, returned to the monitor.
A grin spread across my lips.
Though my words were modest, I was overcome with joy. If I weren't at the office, I would have cheered out loud.
A mere Assistant Manager like me, getting to log in with an administrator-level account!
As a hardcore gaming addict, it was a moment that made my heart swell with awe.
“Shall we begin?”
I hurriedly typed in the ID and password. The interface filled the monitor screen.
Scroll.
I was scrolling the mouse wheel when I suddenly narrowed my eyes.
The interface was completely different from the standard one. There were new items added at the bottom that I had never seen before.
“The stats and things like that are the same…”
Life, Spirit, Strength, Agility, Magic, Faith.
The six core stats were the same as always.
Wait a minute. You might be asking why, after I explained the genre is near-future dystopia, stats like Magic and Faith exist.
I'll be blunt. It's for the money.
We have to make a living, too. We can't survive by eating dirt. I already said we bet the company's life or death on this game, right? Anyway,
We added a lot of fantasy elements to Recons.
You can also play as classes like Mages or Holy Knights, which feel somewhat disconnected from a near-future setting.
The foundation of those elements is martial arts.
It's the most popular genre in Korea these days, after all.
'I didn't know what you'd like, so I prepared a bit of everything.'
A masterpiece like this for the low price of 72,000 won...
“What kind of nonsense am I spouting to myself?”
I shook my head and stared at the screen again.
□ Play in Operator Mode
Connect to the game with GM privileges.
※ As this may affect the in-game balance, an automatic system correction will be applied. Because no matter who it is, not even an operator should be allowed to ruin the fun of the game.
“Hmm.”
Even when I clicked on it, there was no further explanation.
“So it's saying, 'If you want to know more, just log in,' is that it?”
Well then, I guess I'll just do as it says.
Clack, clack.
I like to set my character's nickname to my actual name. I find it makes the game much more immersive. It's an uncommon name, so most people don't even realize it's real.
[Name: Lee Tae-baek]
Level: 1
Life: 5 Spirit: 5 Strength: 5
Agility: 5 Magic: 5 Faith: 5
☑ Play in Operator Mode (Active)
“For appearance, I'll just go with black hair and black eyes.”
I finally pressed the 'Create' button. It was just as my excitement was reaching its peak.
[Connecting to the game in Operator Mode.]
[Additionally confirming 'Favor of the Chaos Goddess'.]
[Commencing adjustment of the universe's law of causality.]
“Wha-What is this?”
The moment I sensed something was wrong and moved my hand toward the mouse, the monitor blasted my eyes with a spray of light.
FLASH!
I squeezed my eyes shut and simultaneously lost consciousness. That was my last memory on Earth.
……
A solemn atmosphere flowed through the courtroom. Spectators in the gallery covered their mouths, murmuring amongst themselves.
“I heard the prisoner today is a death row inmate?”
“Oh my, what great crime did he commit?”
“They say he provoked the Siesta...”
Just then, the courtroom doors opened, and a middle-aged man in judicial robes entered. As if on cue, the chattering stopped.
Step, step.
From the silence that fell in an instant, one could surmise that the middle-aged man held a position of great authority.
The middle-aged man was a judge for the Lake City municipal government. The judge gestured to a guard with his chin.
“Bring him in.”
“Yes, sir.”
A metallic clang echoed from behind the judge. It was the sound of tangled chains.
Soon after, two guards with grim expressions dragged a man into the courtroom.
All eyes were drawn to the man.
He was a handsome man with a generally pale complexion. He had hair as black as spilled ink and bloodless skin that starkly revealed the bluish veins beneath. The skin on his wrists and ankles, bound by manacles and fetters, was raw and peeling.
Guided by the two guards, the man was forced to his knees in the center of the courtroom. The judge began to speak.
“This defendant has threatened the public security of Lake City. Therefore, this court sentences the defendant for the crime of national disturbance and hereby sentences this defendant to 'death.' The execution will be carried out ten days from today at 14 hours, 15 minutes, and 53 seconds. Three members of the city council will be in attendance as observers. I will grant you time for a final statement. Defendant–”
My vision blurred at the edges. My mind was hazy, as if I were underwater. Fuck, is this a dream?
It felt too vivid to be a dream. If that's the case, then the person that man is calling out to must be me.
I glanced around the gallery and let out a snort of laughter. The situation was so absurd, I couldn't help but laugh.
'To think Team Leader Seo's warning was actually real.'
I have no idea why I was thrown into this shitty world. The only thing I know for sure is that I'm a death row prisoner.
Ah, that's not right.
I almost forgot, but there is one more thing.
I created this world.
“Death row inmate, Lee Tae-baek!”
And yet, this shameless world is trying to kill its creator. You ill-mannered bastards. I have to say something.
“...Stop your fucking squawking.”
If these words, impulsively spat out, were to hasten my death.
If this body is destined to die no matter what.
“Wha-Wha-What?! Seize that bastard at once—.”
Then I will survive, even if it means twisting this entire world.
……
[#3 Large-Scale] 100,000,000 Patch Notes
Readjusting the providence and structure of the universe.
As you think, hope, and desire.
〉〉 Auto-saving…………
〉〉Applying patch