Chapter 1: Prologue

At the very end of the dim, empty space, an exit glowed with a brilliant light.

Above it, the man saw two words shimmering in the air.

【 New Game 】

The more he thought about it, the more absurd the whole situation was.

All he’d done was what he always did—drinking beer after work, playing games, then falling asleep.

So what the hell was this pitch-black void? And what were those words and that exit supposed to be?

He didn't have much choice in the matter. It was the only way out of this place.

The man swallowed hard and started walking toward the exit.

Beyond the blinding light, a familiar yet harsh medieval landscape unfolded before him.

That's how the man found himself dropped into a game world.

In the body of a barbarian warrior from the savage wastelands beyond the mountains.

'What the hell is going on...?'

The man was a veteran player, someone who’d sunk countless hours into this game. After catching his reflection in a puddle, he instantly recognized the warrior he’d become.

'...Kadim?'

Kadim. Son of the Wasteland, the fearless Great Warrior of Atala. One of the main characters of the game.

Kadim's body was leagues beyond any modern person's physique.

Healthy, bronze skin stretched over a frame closer to a bear than a human. A solid, powerful build without a single ounce of fat, and forearms that looked strong enough to wring steel dry.

Back in the real world, he'd been too swamped with work to even hit the gym, his gut getting softer by the day. For a moment, the man got too caught up in his excitement that he forgot about his current reality.

But that euphoria didn't last long.

As his journey progressed, the man quickly found himself sinking into despair.

Almost no one he met showed any kindness toward barbarians. The roads were always crawling with monsters and bandits, making a good night’s sleep impossible. The food was like something ladled out of a garbage bin. People's hygiene standards would make even modern homeless folks recoil in horror. When he got hurt, the pain was agonizing, and no amount of apples or herbs would magically heal his wounds.

To top it all off, despite the impressive physique, Kadim’s performance as a character was the worst of the five mains.

Each character had their own advantage, their "Unique Trait."

Kadim's Unique Trait was severely flawed compared to the others. If you split the roster into high-tier and low-tier characters, Kadim was firmly in the gutter.

"..."

Still, the man didn't give up.

At least this was way better than being reincarnated as some nameless serf in this godforsaken game world.

He made the most of his knowledge, learned the barbarian warrior's combat techniques through trial and error, wandered the continent, gathering the main characters as companions one by one, and pushed forward the main story.

The game's main story was pretty straightforward.

A hero receives a divine revelation to defeat the Archdemon. He gathers companions throughout his journey, and together they head to the Demon Scape to take down the Archdemon.

His progression differed slightly from the game. To save time, the man had gathered all the other companions first before joining up with the Hero. But the core objective of defeating the Archdemon remained unchanged.

They journeyed across the continent toward the Demon Scape and finally entered the main story's flow.

Around that time, the man faced a crucial crossroads.

Namely, which ending he was going to aim for.

In the game, the karma accumulated based on the Hero's actions determined different endings. Do a lot of good deeds and you'd get the [True Ending], do a lot of evil deeds and you'd get the [Bad Ending].

Of course, there was no guarantee that seeing an ending would get him back to the real world.

But the man figured that if some goddamn cosmic entity had indeed thrown him in here to entertain themselves, then the [True Ending] was definitely his better shot at returning to his world.

The problem was that this game world turned reality wasn't exactly the kind of place you could navigate with good deeds alone. In a world where you save someone from bandits only to have that person turn around and rob you, how the hell are you supposed to live like some saint?

Eventually, the man made his decision.

‘The ending only depends on the Hero's actions. My deeds don't affect his karma.’

He'd take on all the dirty work in the Hero's place.

He tore apart the throats of those who slandered the Hero. He buried an axe in the skull of an innkeeper who'd poisoned the soup. He tracked down bandits whom the Hero had granted mercy and chopped off all their heads to prevent future trouble. He split open the bellies of monsters that had lost the will to resist and stomped on every last egg that spilled from its guts.

His life was that of a fiend whose axe never knew a day without blood. It wasn’t something a modern man who’d never even wrung a chicken’s neck could endure with a clear conscience.

‘This isn't me. This is the work of Kadim, the ruthless, cold-blooded barbarian.’

The man built a flimsy defense mechanism for his mind. He endured the blood-stained reality by telling himself over and over that it was all "Kadim's" doing, not his own.

But even that had its limits.

The man's way of thinking could never truly be free from the "Kadim" he'd created. He felt nothing but alienation toward this version of himself who’d thought about killing first whenever he encountered people or monsters.

To make matters worse, things took a sharp turn when they reached the Demon Scape and the man began to use Kadim’s Unique Trait.

Blood Berserker.

That was Kadim’s Unique Trait.

A trait where you gain special buffs for a certain time by drinking the demons’ blood. It was a Unique Trait that eats away at the sanity of the user.

In the game, it was just represented as getting hit with a debuff,  but in reality, he had to endure the madness that clawed at his mind.

He would slit a demon's artery with a dagger and drink the blood straight from the source like an IV drip. Before the buff wore off, he'd fight another demon and bury his axe in its head. Once it was dead, he would slit its artery and drink again.

Slowly, the side effects began to take hold of the man, of Kadim.

The mental boundary between barbarian and modern man slowly blurred, and fits of madness started to overwhelm him.

Neither the holy magic of a Priest chosen by god, nor the spells of the genius Mage with overwhelming talent, nor the shamanic rituals of the Shrine Maiden skilled in exorcism could help.

To suppress the surging bloodlust and madness that would rampage at any moment, the man had to sleep buried in the earth every night, bound by iron chains and restraining magic.

It was a journey that left his body and soul in tatters.

Now, there was no office worker who found solace in video games after work inside Kadim's body. Only a berserker tormented by madness and guilt remained.

In the rare moments when his reason returned, flickering like a broken light, Kadim was gripped by the delusion that this horrific agony would last forever.

But even the fullest moon must wane; nothing in this world is eternal.

Finally, that long journey reached its end.

Shunk—!

The Hero thrust his holy sword into the Archdemon's final heart and twisted it violently.

"Kha, khahahaha!! You think you bastards can kill me just by doing th—"

WHOOSH—THWACK!

Kadim didn't miss the opportunity and brought his massive battle axe down on the Archdemon's neck. After stomping the fallen head to pieces, the Archdemon could no longer wag its arrogant, cunning tongue.

“Hah… hah…”

“Hooo…”

"..."

No one in the party spoke. The reality that this wretched fight was finally over hadn't sunk in yet. For a long while, only the sound of ragged breathing echoed across the pale, toxic landscape.

What broke the silence was a voice hoarse from endless spellcasting.

"I-is it over...? Is it all over now?"

The Mage, hands trembling as she gripped her staff.

Deep shadows hung under her eyes and sunken cheeks. You couldn't find any trace of the fresh-faced young sorceress in her anymore.

"...By Elga's grace, it seems so."

The Priest answered while making the sign of the cross.

His once-pristine white robes were now a grimy, reddish-brown. Half of that foul dye was demon blood; the other half was his own.

"...Are you alright, Sir Kadim? Are you hurt anywhere? You haven't… lost control, have you…?”

The Shrine Maiden approached, her hands hesitantly touching the ground to guide her.

Having lost both eyes to demons, she always worried more about Kadim's mental wounds than her own body. When asked why, she always said it was because they were kin who worshipped the same god, but it was surely more than that.

"..."

Finally, the Hero.

He said nothing for a long time, merely staring at Kadim, who had so unceremoniously finished off the Archdemon.

Meanwhile, Kadim had no time to worry about the Hero.

His mouth was bone dry. Along with anxiety about what would happen if he still couldn't return to reality even after all this, a thirst for the Archdemon's blood was rising within him.

A heavy silence pressed down on his shoulders.

A void of time with no conversation at all.

After black clouds crossed the ash-colored sun, the Hero finally spoke.

"Hey, Ka—"

But at that moment.

Riiiiip—

With a sound like tough leather tearing, a crack appeared in space.

A strange light filled Kadim’s eyes. The taciturn barbarian warrior, who barely flinched at anything, trembled from head to toe with a violent shudder.

There was no time to hesitate. Kadim sprinted toward the crack. The party was first shocked by the sudden phenomenon, then shocked again by the sight of Kadim abandoning even his beloved axe to run toward it.

"Hey, wait, wait!"

"Sir Kadim!"

"Wh-what's happening? What's wrong with Sir Kadim...?"

He couldn't hear his companions' cries.

Right now, Kadim's head was filled only with longing for his world and desire to return home.

But someone stood in his path.

The Hero spread his arms and shouted.

"Stop right there, Kadim! Do you even know what's inside that thing?"

"...Move aside. I don't have time to explain."

"Do you know something about that crack? I can't step aside until you tell me. We just defeated the Archdemon together. I can't let a companion walk into danger again..."

“If that crack disappears because you’re wasting my time, I will drink the Archdemon’s blood and smash your skull in. If you don’t want to die, get out of my way. Now.”

It was a chilling threat that couldn’t be taken as a joke. A thick vein pulsed on the barbarian's forehead. A ripple of shock crossed the Hero’s face. It was the first time Kadim had ever shown such clear hostility while sane.

A brief standoff followed. The barbarian warrior stood firm like an active volcano, while the Hero's gaze fell to the ground like scattered ash. The outcome of this battle of wills was already decided.

Finally, with a hardened expression, the Hero stepped aside.

Feeling somewhat apologetic, Kadim glanced at the Hero and left his farewell.

"I don't have time for proper goodbyes. Your belief in saving people through kindness is still worth holding onto. It'll be harder now that I'm gone, but please don’t lose sight of why you started. And…”

"..."

“…it was an honor to be with you in person, not just watching from behind a screen.”

"...What?"

Riiiiip—

The Hero never got an explanation for the cryptic farewell. The moment Kadim stepped through, the crack sealed itself shut without a trace.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Despite achieving the great feat of defeating the Archdemon, none of the Hero's party felt any elation.

"Sir Kadim...? Sir Kadim? Sir Kadim!!!"

As the blind Shrine Maiden let out a desperate, heart-wrenching scream of his name, the others could only stare at the empty space that had swallowed their companion for a long, long time.

***

The dim space appeared once again.

This was his second time here, but the feeling was completely different from the first.

Kadim—no, the man—walked forward.

With each step, the barbarian warrior's madness melted away like it had been washed clean, and his modern self began to return.

He swore to himself that when he got back, he would never play another medieval fantasy game again even if it killed him.

No, not just games—he'd sworn off movies, novels, and comics too.

He was sick to death of a world with shattered law and order, atrocious hygiene standards, and the toxic, fishy smell of demon blood. As soon as he got back, he planned to crack open a cold can of beer with dewdrops on the surface, lie down on a fluffy bed without a single bedbug, and sleep like the dead.

‘Though… it does bother me that I couldn't say a proper goodbye to my companions…’

The man's feelings toward his companions had become quite complex. They were undoubtedly partners who had shared life and death with him, yet in reality, they were nothing more than game characters.

The gap between the perception he’d held until now and the one he had to accept going forward created a fierce sense of dissonance within him.

‘…I have to accept it. They’re… people I can never see again.’

The man smiled bitterly.

If he’d known he’d never see them again, he would have tried to say goodbye with a little more sincerity.

At the end of the dim path, a whitish exit came into view. It seemed like he'd pass through there to return to reality, just like before. The closer he got, the brighter the exit's light became. The excitement in the man's heart swelled just as large.

But when the man reached the exit, he didn't immediately step through.

He stopped dead in his tracks, eyes wide.

His facial muscles contorted into an ugly, contorted mess. His heart pounded violently.

His breathing became rough and blood rushed backward through his veins. His spine stiffened, and his vision swayed dizzily.

Nausea rose from his stomach and his insides began to boil.

'...This is a dream, right?'

More than ever before, he wished it was all an illusion. There was no way he could accept this situation with his sanity intact.

But no matter how long he stared, the words above the exit didn't change.

【 New Game +】

The man stared at the words with hollow eyes.

Finally, a vile curse, raw as coughed-up blood, tore from his throat.

“No… Fucking way…”

 

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