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Chapter 1: The Protagonist’s Rival (1)
“The Covenant of Otherworlds.”
It was a long-running webtoon that had been serialized for over ten years with a loyal fanbase. The story took place on a near-future Earth.
The main plot followed adventures across five different worlds connected to Earth.
The protagonist became stronger by making pacts with powerful beings from each world. In the process, he fought to save the world, following the classic formula of a shonen hero.
Even though it followed a familiar formula, it was incredibly entertaining.
Its strengths were:
- Countless memorable characters with realistic backstories.
- Well-developed relationships between the characters.
- A huge world with mysteries that were slowly revealed.
- A protagonist who constantly grew stronger.
Even after years of serialization, it remained just as exciting, and many readers considered it one of the greatest webtoons ever made.
It was later adapted into an anime, becoming even more popular.
Then, a few years later…
It was turned into a game, which became another huge success.
***
“The graphics are pretty good. Hm? The management doesn’t seem bad either.”
When Lee Jinwoo first started the game, he didn’t expect much.
After all, most famous web novels and webtoons failed when they became games.
He assumed The Covenant of Otherworlds would be the same.
But the moment he saw it, he changed his mind.
“Whoa… They really spent money on this.”
The illustrations looked just as good as the advertisements.
The in-game graphics were stunning.
The battle effects were as exciting as the trailers.
The character settings were detailed, and the story was enormous.
But the best part was the many stories that had never appeared in the webtoon.
Depending on the order you entered the worlds, the choices you made, and your relationships with characters, the story changed completely.
Even after finishing the game, many webtoon fans replayed it to discover every possible route.
People even joked,
“Did they create the webtoon while planning to make it into a game?”
That was how polished it was.
And it wasn’t just the story.
“Lost World? What’s this? Some kind of side story?”
There was a special server called Lost World, which had never appeared in the webtoon.
It included multiplayer content that encouraged competition.
Players raced to discover hidden classes and secret items before anyone else.
Because of that, the game never became boring.
Lee Jinwoo was one of those competitive players.
Maybe because he grew up in a family where only first place mattered, he was more competitive than most people.
That personality showed clearly in the game.
He was often the first to discover hidden routes and upload strategy guides.
Even in Lost World, he found several hidden items that nobody else could.
“If you have time to play games, why don’t you study? No wonder your grades are bad. Learn something from Shinwoo.”
The webtoon had already ended.
He had already cleared the game’s normal ending.
Normally, after hearing those words from his family, he would have quit playing.
But not this game.
“Hard Mode…!”
A brand-new Hard Mode had suddenly been added.
Just when he was starting to lose interest after finishing almost everything, this update appeared.
The difficulty was unbelievably high, making his competitive spirit burn again.
It was so difficult that not a single Korean player could finish it.
One year passed.
Then two.
Then three.
Still, nobody cleared it.
[Hard Mode Cleared!!!]
Comments:
“Share the strategy.”
Normally everyone would ignore such an obvious bait post.
But within an hour, dozens of comments appeared.
- “I thought this was fake.”
- “Then why did you click?”
- “It’s not Hard Mode. It’s Hell Mode.”
- “Exactly.”
- “No human could beat this.”
- “Trash. You seriously couldn’t clear this?”
- “Says someone who couldn’t even finish Normal Mode lol.”
- “Upload the guide.”
- “Wait. I’ll beat it myself in one day.”
As more people became curious about the game’s brutal difficulty, many new challengers joined.
Even people who had never played The Covenant of Otherworlds, along with casual players who didn’t even know Hard Mode existed, started trying it.
Thousands of new players and veteran players challenged it.
Yet not a single person reached the final chapter.
Most players couldn’t even get halfway before giving up.
The veterans continued trying, but more and more quit as time passed.
About five years after Hard Mode was released…
Finally, someone found the key needed to reach the final chapter.
“Yes! This is it! This is exactly it!!”
Lee Jinwoo grabbed the monitor inside the PC café and shouted.
He stood up so suddenly that his vision briefly went dark.
But he was too excited to care.
He had finally obtained the Fruit of Good and Evil.
An item that looked like the key to clearing Hard Mode.
If he had this…
“What happened?”
“Did he get some amazing item?”
People nearby looked over with curiosity.
Some even walked closer to see his screen.
Only then did Jinwoo calm down.
His seat was in the corner, so people probably couldn’t see his monitor clearly.
But what if someone copied what he had done?
It was almost paranoid thinking.
Still, now that he was so close to finishing, he couldn’t think rationally.
Only one thought remained.
He had to become the first person to clear Hard Mode.
He immediately left the PC café and went home.
It was a shame to stop playing while everything was going so well.
But if he wanted to be the first to clear Hard Mode, he had to keep everything secret.
If someone copied him and cleared it first…
He would never forgive himself.
As he hurried home…
Bzzz.
His smartphone vibrated.
He quickly checked it, thinking it was a game notification.
Instead, it was a text message.
At this time…
There was only one kind of message it could be.
[Hello. This is the recruitment team from XXXX. Regarding your application…]
His palms became sweaty.
Part of him wanted to open it immediately.
Another part already knew he had failed and wanted to avoid reading it.
After hesitating, he opened the message.
“…Unfortunately, we are unable to continue with your application…”
There were many more words.
But only that sentence remained in his mind.
He had seen rejection messages countless times.
Yet every single one hurt just as much.
“Ha… Seriously…”
He leaned weakly against a wall.
The narrow, dark alley was lit only by a dim streetlight.
For some reason, it reminded him of his own miserable life.
He shut his eyes tightly.
“Mom! I won first prize!”
“Really? What about Shinwoo?”
“He won the Grand Prize.”
“Wonderful! That’s our Shinwoo! He’s such a genius.”
Childhood memories flashed through his mind.
No matter how hard he worked…
He always lost.
No matter how well he did…
His twin brother did even better.
He was always compared to him until everyone thought he was the stupid one.
“Seriously… Nothing ever goes right.”
His younger twin brother had a successful career at a major company.
Meanwhile…
Lee Jinwoo was unemployed.
The only thing he was good at was playing games.
How did my life end up like this?
I used to be pretty capable… I really did try…
So why did everything become like this…?
He stared blankly at his phone.
The icon of The Covenant of Otherworlds caught his eye.
The protagonist, Yujin, smiled from the icon.
If I had been loved and favored too… would my life have been different?
The protagonist.
A character who always received the author’s love and favoritism.
Because of that, everything went well for him.
If I had received that kind of favoritism… would things have turned out differently?
…There’s no point thinking about it.
“What ifs” changed nothing.
Reality wouldn’t improve just because he imagined a different life.
He opened the game.
He knew throwing himself into games was simply escaping reality.
But knowing that didn’t stop him.
I’m pathetic…
Pathetic because of how he lived.
Even more pathetic because he knew it and still couldn’t change.
The game finished loading.
The main screen appeared.
Ignoring the emptiness inside him, he immediately opened his inventory.
[Would you like to use the Fruit of Good and Evil?]
Without hesitation, he pressed Yes.
Please… let this really be the key to the final chapter.
Just then…
He bumped into someone.
“Ah… I’m sorr—”
He couldn’t finish apologizing.
“Urgh…!”
An unbearable pain tore through his stomach.
Something sharp entered his warm body, making it turn cold.
It felt as if something inside him was being ripped out.
Is this… one of those random knife attacks…?
My luck really is terrible.
“Urgh… Cough…”
The stabbing continued several more times.
When he finally became aware again…
He was lying on the cold ground.
Coldness slowly spread through his body.
At the same time, something warm surrounded him.
It was probably his own blood.
Damn it… I was so close…
His blurry eyes found his phone lying in the distance.
[The Fruit of Good and Evil has been used.]
[You have obtained the final piece needed to reach the Final Chapter.]
[Would you like to open the Final Chapter?]
The glowing game screen became the only light in the darkness, illuminating the feet of the person who had stabbed him.
I still have to… clear Hard Mode…
His vision faded for longer and longer each time.
He had no attachment to his miserable life.
But there was one thing he still regretted.
He would never see the ending of Hard Mode.
“Ahhhh!!”
“What happened?!”
“Hey! You…!”
The distant screams and chaos were the last sounds he heard.
Then…
Everything went dark.
*** * * **
“Damn… What a piece of trash.”
His voice echoed loudly through the microphone.
Everyone inside the auditorium looked toward the stage.
“What was that?”
“Did he just swear?”
“No way. Isn’t that Lee Shin? He insults people, but he doesn’t curse.”
Whispers spread through the audience.
The memories of his previous life had appeared so suddenly that he forgot where he was.
Well…
It had certainly been a shocking life.
He had envied his genius twin brother.
Failed to get a proper job and spent years doing part-time work.
Escaped reality through games, webtoons, and web novels.
Blamed the world instead of trying harder.
Obsessed over the only thing he could do better than his brother: gaming.
And in the end…
He died while playing that very game.
What a pathetic life.
He almost couldn’t believe that person had been his previous self.
More importantly…
He looked around.
The memories of his previous life had confused him.
But what mattered wasn’t his previous life.
It was this one.
He couldn’t let that worthless past ruin his current life.
“What happened?”
“So that’s the future contractor of the Spirit King?”
“I guess all that hype was fake.”
He was standing on the stage during the graduation ceremony of the Superhuman Academy.
He had been chosen to give the graduation speech.
Teachers, parents, students, reporters…
Everyone was watching him.
Far away, he even noticed people hoping he would fail.
Hyenas?
No.
They’re not even worth that much.
Suppressing a laugh, Lee Shin continued speaking with an expressionless face.
“While attending Hanul Academy, I’m sure many of you thought about this more than once.”
He slowly looked across the audience.
His confidence made it seem as though he had never made a mistake.
The auditorium became silent again.
“Studying at the world’s greatest academy for superhumans must have been difficult…”
While continuing the speech, Lee Shin organized the chaotic memories inside his mind.
His confusion gradually disappeared.
The speech soon came to an end.
“That concludes my speech. Thank you.”
He turned around and stepped down from the stage.
The long coat of his school uniform fluttered behind him.
Just like one of the scenes from the webtoon…
And from the game that Lee Jinwoo remembered.
This feels… as if my life is following someone’s predetermined settings.
The protagonist of The Covenant of Otherworlds was Yujin.
And Lee Shin…
…was Yujin’s greatest rival.
The moment he remembered his previous life, Lee Shin questioned his own life for the very first time.
The worldview he had always believed in began to shake because of those memories.
