―Bbam-bbam, ddeeroro, ddeeroro–♪
Episode 03. Crisis and Opportunity Are Just One Letter Apart
The Divine Sword shines in the hands of the [Hero] confronting the [Demon King]!
The [Hero] endures the physical strain and steps into battle, searching for a strategy to stop the [Demon King].
King: I knew I could count on you, [Hero]! You’ve already filled 20% of the gauge!
King: The power of an Outer God violates the ░░ Laws of Probability, and so it is restricted—
King: Since the world’s barrier is blocking the interference of the Outer God, your efforts will greatly increase our stability!
The sun was already high in the late morning sky when he woke up to that familiar music, and the very first thing he saw was a system window. It had been a while since the role-playing scenario had popped up again.
“Ah… what the f—…”
There couldn’t be a worse way to wake up. He’d filled the gauge yesterday—why the hell was this crap starting the next morning?
Overcome with irritation, Cha Eui-sung took a deep breath, trying to calm himself before glaring at the system window to see what fresh nonsense it had in store this time.
“What do you mean, ‘Outer God violates the law of something’… What the hell is that even supposed to mean?”
Not that the system ever bothered answering his questions. Based on past experiences, he’d learned the hard way that it was basically like reading from a script—it spat out its lines and vanished without so much as a follow-up.
But something strange happened this time. His muttered comment actually triggered some kind of reaction.
King: Every world has its own ironclad set of rules.
King: Think of it as an anti-theft system—ordinary intrusions get blocked.
King: However, if an Outer God makes contact with overwhelming force…
As if responding directly to his question, the system suddenly started explaining.
Bzzzzzt—
Then the system window began to shake violently, and the text on it started glitching out and erasing itself, line by line.
King: An Outer God can’t interfere freely with another dimension without a proper ‘pretext’, but instead may designate a proxy made of that world’s materials—
King: I constructed the familiar system of [Demon King] and [Hero] to enter this world without leaving behind evidence that could serve as that ‘pretext’&!!%#
King: Because the [Hero] always bears the blessing of a god when facing the [Demon King], even with ░░’s support, the judgment of ░░░……
Grk-krrk—bzzzzt!
[SYSTEM: Adjusting ░░※!!&—]
Bzzzt—
Cha Eui-sung had never seen anything like this before. He stared wide-eyed at the flickering system window. Just as the explanation above was breaking apart and vanishing, a clean and sharp message suddenly popped up over it.
King: Ah, not yet, huh?
“…!”
The fuck.
Any trace of sleep vanished in an instant as Cha Eui-sung shot upright. It was like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over him—his blood turned cold, and goosebumps exploded across his skin.
“What the hell was that just now? No seriously, what the hell…?”
He muttered to himself, and like some twisted joke, the same fanfare rang out again, cutting through the tension.
All the previously glitched system logs were completely wiped. And then, as if none of it had ever happened, the same content from just before he’d woken up began scrolling up again, word for word.
Episode 03. Crisis and Opportunity Are Just One Letter Apart
The Divine Sword shines in the hands of the [Hero] confronting the [Demon King]!
The [Hero] endures the physical strain and steps into battle, searching for a strategy to stop the [Demon King].
King: I knew I could rely on you, Hero! You’ve already filled 20% of the gauge!
King: The more you fight, the easier it’ll be to drive out the Outer God!
King: Keep pressing forward. The Divine Sword will protect you!
♪Bbam-bbam-bbam♪
Bbam-bbam-bbam? Already?
After all that dramatic buildup for the episode title, it just says “Good job” and disappears?
“Wait—wait a second!”
Cha Eui-sung shouted, his voice cracking, but that really was all there was to it. The system window blinked out in a hurry, like it had overexerted itself, and he was left staring blankly at empty air.
What the hell did I just see?
Did he drink the wrong antidote before bed and go insane or something?
The hand he pressed to his forehead felt so cold it shattered any hope of escaping into denial. Unless he was totally losing it, the system had just tried to explain something to him. Then something must’ve gone wrong, and it panicked and bolted mid-sentence.
Rubbing his goosebump-covered arms, Cha Eui-sung scoured every corner of the system window that had flashed up. Despite the dramatic flair of a new episode announcement, there didn’t seem to be anything new or different added.
What the hell is this crazy system doing, acting so unstable all of a sudden?
He’d gotten used to letters flickering and disappearing ever since his Third Life began, so it didn’t exactly scare him anymore. Still, his heart was pounding so hard it echoed in his chest.
It got erased fast, but… I read all of it. Something about how an Outer God can’t interfere with another dimension without a “pretext,” right?
It also mentioned needing to avoid leaving behind evidence that could be counted as such a pretext. He’d probably forgotten some parts in his shock, but the general nuance was still fresh in his mind.
He glanced down at his hand—it was trembling slightly. Anyone with half a brain would realize something big had just happened. The system had touched on something he’d been curious about for a long time.
If the world was in danger from the proxy of an Outer God, couldn’t it have just ordered him to deal with the guy directly? So why all this unnecessary role-play with the Demon King and Hero?
Why tell me now…? Isn’t this way too sudden?
He wasn’t exactly complaining—he’d been asking non-stop, so it was about time he got an answer. But still, the timing was bizarre. Not just when it chose to make contact, but also the moment it decided to explain.
Cha Eui-sung barely had time to savor yesterday’s success, let alone reflect on it. He dove straight into processing the flood of information jammed into his head.
Let’s see…
From what had been explained earlier, there was a territory war going on between the Outer God and the System—that is, the administrator of this world. Based on the quickly-erased explanation, it seemed the Outer God was vastly more powerful, but was bound by certain “laws” that limited its influence.
However, the administrator wasn’t completely free from those laws either. So in order to fight back and send aid to Cha Eui-sung, it had to bend the rules in a sneaky, roundabout way.
That workaround? Something it could camouflage using a common trope in this world…
The “Demon King and Hero” story.
In games, the Hero—blessed by a god—is always the natural enemy of the Demon King. So the System’s little cheat doesn’t violate the universe’s ruling laws.
Goddamn it. Now it all makes sense.
“No wonder I’ve been playing Hero and still can’t twist the Demon King’s damn neck!”
The whole world’s safety hinging on this clown show—it had always smelled off.
“Ughhhh!!”
Cha Eui-sung clutched his head and collapsed back onto his bed.
This was how they decided to tell him?
Throw a half-awake guy into a jump-scare scene like a glitched computer gone haywire?
To be honest, he’d been half-coasting since getting back from Seoul, just goofing off and relaxing. But now that same punch-in-the-gut feeling from the first time he met the System came rushing back.
“And it just disappeared again on its own, like always—damn it!”
He could only guess, but it seemed even showing up and pretending to be a character took a toll on the System. It never answered no matter how much he yelled, only appearing now and then to spew some nonsense before vanishing again.
Now he understood why. If it used up precious resources just to appear, then this time it must’ve really needed to tell him something.
To push him toward befriending the Demon King. To break down his defenses. To guide him in the right direction.
Stop screwing around and become Moon Tae-young’s ally— Start building a reason why he can’t destroy the world.
“No, I already know that… Damn it. I mean, thanks for telling me, but…”
If the System’s been watching him this whole time, then it didn’t tell him because he hadn’t figured it out yet—it was more like hammering in confirmation.
So yeah, it was late, but it was probably the best it could do. Still totally lacking in basic courtesy, though. Not just clueless—actively frustrating, the kind of attitude that’d earn someone a smack upside the head if they were human.
“Who the hell says ‘Good morning’ like that…”
No one answered his weary protest. No one was there at all.
Only Cha Eui-sung, curled up on his bed like a tangled blanket, flailing his legs into the air.
Barely a month had passed since he got hit by that meteor and regressed. And that’s all it took to unravel the calm and composure he’d spent over a decade building.
***
After a chaotic awakening, Cha Eui-sung staggered out of his room.
He thought he’d finally gotten some solid rest for once, but no—turns out he got smacked in the head by something worse than a nightmare. Shaking his head, he glanced toward the living room. The remnants of last night’s drinking session were still scattered across the dining table.
They’d been in such high spirits that they hadn’t bothered cleaning up before heading to bed. And now, trying to clean after that ordeal felt like the absolute last thing he wanted to do.
Still, thanks to that, traces of Moon Tae-young lingered. The cup he drank from. The bottle he’d reached for. Even the chair he’d tucked neatly under the table before leaving.
Somehow, all of it felt oddly meaningful now—though it was just the aftermath of a drunken night. Nothing more. And yet.
The image came to him unbidden: long fingers curled around the patterned glass tumbler. The way Tae-young’s brow furrowed every time Cha Eui-sung stared at him, feigning tipsiness.
Ever since Eui-sung blurted out that he wanted to get closer, Moon Tae-young had sighed six times. Quiet, barely audible sighs that slipped out between words—but Cha Eui-sung had counted every single one. He hadn’t missed a single beat during all that time.
He wanted to know. Whether Tae-young was flustered. Troubled. Maybe even… pleased.
Now that I think about it, I came on pretty strong, huh. Must’ve been the alcohol… He handled that better than I expected.
It was true—people tended to act a little out of character when their minds were hazy. Maybe next time he saw him, he should make sure to bring a bottle. That stray thought slithered up on him as he stood there.
Ah, and now that he thought of it, he kind of regretted not pretending to spill his drink on him last night. He was curious whether taking off those glasses would make Moon Tae-young any less ghost-like.
Maybe he’d just grown used to seeing him after a few encounters, but thinking about Moon Tae-young now made the earlier shock from the System feel a little more distant. The tension that had been solely focused on the System gradually loosened, and only then did Cha Eui-sung finally check the time.
11:42 AM. One hell of a late morning.
If that bomb hadn’t dropped on him the moment he woke up, he probably would’ve spent the entire morning curled up in bed.
