Early in the morning, a call came from Mom.
—Are you managing your condition properly?
“Of course I am.”
—But Juwon says you start gaming the moment you open your eyes.
Zing. At her words, Kessler, who had been folding a towel printed with a baby fox, glanced at me warily.
“You know this already. Playing games is my way of resting.”
—You little punk!! I just got some herbal tonic from your uncle’s clinic. I’ll send it to you along with Juwon’s—
“Isn’t that stuff supposed to be tailored to your constitution? Do you even know what Juwon’s constitution is?”
—We went together last time. He even got acupuncture.
“When did you even go to Uncle’s clinic?”
“He was pretty good with the needles.”
As Kessler chimed in from the side, Mom’s voice suddenly rose a notch, probably having heard him over the line.
—Juwon~ It’s Mom~ What are you up to?
“Good morning. I was folding Woo-rim’s towels.”
Oh wow. Lovey-dovey chaos. Anyone listening would think Juwon was her actual son. Still, it wasn’t a bad scene. I couldn’t help but let out a dumbfounded grin.
—Is the tournament prep going well?
“Yeah, don’t worry.”
—Good. Make sure you take the tonic properly once it arrives, okay?
“Okay, I got it. If I make it to the finals, I’ll get you tickets. Come watch with Dad and Juwon.”
—Okay~ Talk soon.
After finishing the call, I joined Kessler in folding towels. Once we were done, with his swift hands neatly stacking the last one, I leaned in and planted a soft kiss on his cheek.
“I’m gonna game now.”
I was in a rush. By now my fatigue should have fully recovered, and I needed to push forward before focusing on the tournament.
[System]: Yeo Woo-rim has logged in.
Then came the sight before me—countless dry souls stacked high overnight. The moment I opened my eyes, these spirits, who had silently cheered in mute joy, were now waving their arms proudly, showing off the results of their work. Looks like the kind ghosts took to heart what I told them last time: “Keep it down while I’m resting.”
They didn’t say a word, but they bounced around in glee in every direction, making it impossible to concentrate.
[System]: Your hunger level is high. Please eat something soon.
“Got it. But let’s eat first, yeah? Life runs on food power.”
—Understood.
—Enjoy your meal.
With all the spirits watching in complete silence, I plopped down on the floor. Thus began the barley bread mukbang show.
***
Post Title: Why’s WeverK so quiet these days (23)
OP: Just curious.
└ What are you talking about? It’s just Poksup-hyung that’s gone quiet.
└└ (OP) Correction: Why is Poksup quiet? We only ever see his back.
└└ He’s always low-key. He was only excited last time because he won.
└└ They’re probably cutting his parts to avoid revealing tactics.
└ Nah, it’s because Poksup-hyung’s playing a different game now.
Post Title: Will WeverK be able to win? (47)
I want to see them lift the trophy again.
└ They can. They made it to the top last season from 2nd in their group.
└ Making it to the semis is already impressive lol
└ It’s possible.
└ Hope they at least breeze through to the semis.
***
Souls Resurrected: 4,140 / 10,000
As Nexus World Champions approached, I devoted myself even more to Last Shadow. Right now, in the lead-up to the tournament, I needed the perfect balance of focus and detachment to keep my mind clear.
Souls Resurrected: 4,840 / 10,000
Souls Resurrected: 6,140 / 10,000
Even though we had won the Seasonal League, some still viewed our team pessimistically. Domestically, sure—but World Champs was a different beast. “How are you gonna beat those Chinese teams dripping in cash?” they said.
Still, there were fans who placed their hopes in this rookie team—because I was in it.
Searching for our team on the portal brought up a support message board. Even now, fans were cheering passionately for us.
Souls Resurrected: 8,140 / 10,000
Souls Resurrected: 9,640 / 10,000
And I’m the one leading that team.
Not because I have outstanding leadership, not because I’m captain material, and definitely not because I’m great at mediating between teammates. I was simply appointed because I’ve been around long enough—and because I’m famous.
Souls Resurrected: 9,956 / 10,000
I wasn’t a striker, nor was I a midliner who controls the pace of the game.
Souls Resurrected: 10,000 / 10,000
I lowered the sword I had been holding. The aura of souls flickering at the tip faded, and the underworld sank into a moment of silence.
First Player to Achieve Master Level!
You have earned the golden title, ‘The First—and Final—Annihilator.’
You can now revive any being, without exception.
Your intimacy level with the souls you’ve revived is permanently set to 100%.
You can peer into the past of those who left this world through their lingering traces.
Upon death, your soul will remain until your body regenerates.
The world is now affected by its first interference.
The job “One Who Defies the Law of Death” is now unlocked.
A powerful wave burst forth from me.
[System]: (Global) A player has achieved a great feat and reached Master Level. The first Master Player will have a significant impact on this world.
“…Wait, what.”
It was a full-server megaphone announcement.
I bit down on my lip. This… feels like it’s becoming way too big of a deal.
[Jung Da-hoon]: Is that you, Pro?
[Jung Da-hoon]: Prooo, that’s you, right?
At least my in-game nickname wasn’t revealed. That’s one small mercy.
“One Who Defies the Law of Death”— it wasn’t even a title, but a full-fledged job. I couldn’t even figure out how to shorten that.
Wishing it had a snappier name like “The Final Chef”, I fumbled around in the settings menu. A gear icon appeared next to the job title. When I clicked it, it turned out the job name could be edited.
“Change it to ‘Jung Da-hoon.’”
Without a shred of hesitation, I renamed the world’s first Master-class job, with all its bells and whistles, to Jung Da-hoon.
Just as I finished adjusting the settings—
You have obtained the title ‘Hero of the Oppressed Underworld.’
Those who were oppressed begin to rebel. If the rebellion succeeds, you will be hailed as a hero wherever you go.
System windows exploded onto the screen with no end in sight.
<Undertaker’s Longing>
The final undertaker, Deathshaker, has left a message for his heir.
Yeah, I’ll read that later.
…Lifeforms in this world are trapped in a cycle of destruction and rebirth.
Successor, I implore you—sacrifice yourself to expand this world. Free these beings from the chains of confinement.
…The quest was forced upon me.
“This is just like one of those sketchy popup ads on illegal streaming sites…”
Closing the sticky mess of popups floating before my eyes, I went back to read the last maintenance quest. For something called a Master Quest, the text was annoyingly vague.
“Lifeforms are trapped in a cycle.”
And what the hell was that part? “Sacrifice yourself to expand the world.”
Mulling it over, I lifted the head I’d buried deep in thought.
Life trapped in a cycle? That sounded an awful lot like players who have to restart from scratch every time they die.
And… sacrifice to expand the world? That seemed like more than just some poetic phrasing about grinding. It felt literal.
Even if I died over and over again, I was supposed to increase the number of available areas. Just like when I helped Snake Rim expand the swamp map, which then allowed users to reach Neo City, and now they were pushing all the way to the lakeside to meet the water fae.
I was still processing the implications of the quest when—
The rebellion has begun. The battle of the weak will be pitiful. But it will not be in vain. They have lost much, and have long been oppressed. They will not waste this chance.
“Uh, uh? Hey, wait a sec… I need to go to work…”
Why start a battle out of nowhere!? Shouldn’t the person who freed them be made their war leader or at least get to command them from the front?
—Thank you.
—Thank you so much.
The souls just kept thanking me while dashing off.
Even though I had no command skills, I could at least read the battlefield. I could definitely be helpful—
—Please don’t block the path, O Hero.
“Don’t heroes usually fight or something?”
—This is our battle.
“Even unions have a chairman—”
—Please, stop interfering. We must go to war.
“Okay, okay, got it.”
Awkwardly, I stepped aside.
[System]: You have equipped the ‘Nap Angel Bat Pajamas.’
Whoosh! I launched safely into the air and clung to the ceiling.
Logging out, I headed to work early. 10:30 a.m. After exchanging light greetings with coworkers, I entered the practice room.
All the other players were already there.
“Oh, Woo-rim.”
“Coach, you don’t look so good…”
“Ah, it’s nothing serious. Just an upset stomach.”
“He overate fried chicken. Got too nervous.”
I wedged myself into the seat between Killbill and Dealmeat, then buried my face in Killbill’s shoulder.
Today was the group draw for the Nexus World Champions.
Sixteen teams would compete in this tournament, following a structure similar to the World Cup.
The top 4 teams would be placed in the first seed, the next 4 in the second seed, and so on. Having won the notoriously brutal domestic league, our team had barely made it into the first seed bracket.
“Please, Woo-rim hyung, I’m so nervous.”
I stroked Dealmeat’s head as he leaned against me, my eyes fixed on the screen. Truth was, I was nervous too.
