Chapter 1
There is a game called ‘Lord of Empire.’
An AAA fantasy RPG painstakingly developed by Vesta, a major studio whose name alone would make anyone familiar with games nod knowingly.
The goal of the game is, as the title suggests, to reign as the ruler of an empire, and players are given a wide variety of choices.
As the empire’s rightful heir, you can compete with your siblings for the throne.
Or you can start from the bottom and grow into a powerful magnate who rules the empire from behind the scenes.
Of course, fantasy is incomplete without magic. How about walking the path of a great mage who communicates with the mysteries of the world?
If that’s not your style, you could simply ravage everything with overwhelming strength and trample it beneath your feet.
‘Lord of Empire’ was hailed as the industry’s most anticipated game from the moment its first trailer was revealed, but it also set the gaming community ablaze by releasing no information whatsoever for nearly three years.
[OP:Holding My Breath Until Lord of Empire Releases]
[Title:Lord of Empire Comes Out If You Wait Just One Day!]
Because, from now on, every time the wait exceeds 24 hours,
I’m going to smash my head so hard that I’ll turn everything inside it into a chaotic, jumbled mess!
If I don’t remember waiting,
doesn’t that mean I didn’t wait?
So if I erase my memory before a day passes, every day until the game comes out,
wouldn’t that mean the game comes out in just one day???
Lord of Empire is coming out after waiting just one night!
Just thinking about it makes me so happy~!!!
Comments
[Anon: LOLLLLLLLLLLLLL]
[Anon(3.97): Uh, isn’t that brain matter leaking from his head?]
[Elder 6 Official Release:(frog meme smoking with a troubled expression)]
[Anon(118.235): If it doesn’t come out tomorrow, I’m really killing myself. I warned you.]
[OP:Dopamine Addict]
[Title:Yeah, go kill yourself, dumbass~~~ LMAOOOO]
(A picture of a clown covering his mouth and laughing)
I’ll release it when you die~~~~~~~~~
Comments
[Anon: Fuckfuckfuckfuck]
[World Tree Is a Big Tree: Upvote if it looks like development hasn’t even started yet]
ㄴ[Anon:(125.49) Upvoted lol]
ㄴㄴ[Anon(23.63): You’re an employee, you son of a bitch]
ㄴ[World Tree Is a Big Tree: Busted, huh]
And so, in an age when the official release had become a vulgar joke, a little over five seconds of official footage was uploaded.
D-7
It was more than enough to set ablaze the users who had grown so exhausted from waiting that they were practically withering away.
[OP:Holding My Breath Until Lord of Empire Releases]
[Title:Lord of Empire Comes Out If You Wait Just One Day!!!!!!]
Bec!!!!!!!!ause!!!!!!!! Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!?!?@?@?!?>@
My heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeead!!!!!¡¡!!¡!¡!¡!!!!
Every daaaaaay!!!!!¡¡!!!!!!#^#*¤♧☆¥¥°$^*¿¡!?!!?!¡¿¡?¡
Woohoo~~~!!!!~~~!!~
[Comments]
[Anon(106.101): I’m scared...]
[Anon: Wow, this bastard finally attained enlightenment lol]
ㄴ[Anon:(59.1) Enlight?enment]
[Elder 6 Official Release: Fuck]
Quite a few gamers began clearing their schedules a week in advance, and I was one of them.
“I can’t miss this.”
Being there for the launch is serious business. Anyone who is one of Earth’s 4.37629 billion gamers would agree.
I quickly skipped the grand trailer that played as soon as I launched the game and went straight to the character selection screen.
I didn’t even have to think about my class.
I briefly looked over the other classes before immediately choosing the barbarian.
Every man carries at least one barbarian in his heart. Isn’t the whole point of games the fun of tearing enemies apart and smashing them to pieces?
It was a little disappointing that there was no customization feature, but I was quite satisfied with the character’s appearance.
Just before starting the game, a clear notification chime rang out from my phone.
[Member.]
[Today is leg day. Be sure to come in.]
“······.”
Cold sweat trickled down my forehead. Come to think of it, there was still one major hurdle left.
[Why aren’t you reading my messages?]
[You’re not leaving me on read because you’re gaming, are you, member? ^^]
My PT trainer’s warm concern tightened around my neck. After agonizing over it, I sent a reply.
[···Actually, I’ve felt chilled since this morning, and I think I’ve come down with the flu. I think I’ll have to rest today.]
[Really~? You mustn’t get sick. This is terrible ㅠㅠ]
If someone went this far, most people would have no choice but to let it slide despite their suspicions. It’s not like the trainer was going to show up at my house. What else could I do?
[Then I’ll come to your house. You said you liked Bonjuk, right?]
[Huh?]
The problem was that this person knew my home address. The most horrifying part was that I had never given it to the trainer.
[Are you touched? This much is only natural between us, hehe.]
I wanted to reply, What kind of relationship do we have, you crazy bastard? But I held back.
It absolutely wasn’t because I was scared.
···Come to think of it, I’d already waited three years. Was being there for the launch really that important?
I wasn’t going to miss some special event just because I started the game a few hours late.
At most, it was nothing more than meaningless self-satisfaction—an empty illusion.
A healthy body houses a healthy mind. If I worked up a good sweat, I would surely enjoy the game much more.
With trembling hands, I sent a reply.
[I suddenly feel better. I’ll be there soon!!]
[Yes! Don’t try to fake being sick—hurry over if you don’t want to die >ω<]
What a scary bastard.
I hurried to the gym, showering him with every conceivable curse along the way.
If I’d known I was going to be hit by an eight-ton truck on the way there, I would have thought it over a little more.
***
“···Ivan.”
The barbarian Havel gazed down at the dying man on the sickbed with a gloomy expression.
Watching over the final moments of his brother, who was now practically no different from a corpse, was excruciating.
The warriors of the north did not fear death. They believed the God of War would guide the souls of warriors who met an honorable death.
But dying in bed was different. The god’s hand did not gather the souls of cowardly men who lacked valor.
That was why they feared a peaceful death more than anything.
To die without salvation and wander through the spirit world for all eternity. What a horrifying fate.
“···Surely, there’s really no way?”
Havel asked in a voice thick with tears, desperately hoping that his brother could be saved.
The priest carefully placed a hand on Ivan’s chest and shook his head. His body had already grown cold, and not even the faintest pulse could be felt in his heart.
The priest shook his head again, ran his palm downward, and closed the dead man’s eyes.
“God of War, Valdor. Have pity on your servant.”
Havel’s face twisted horribly. His body began to tremble as he clutched Ivan’s hand and sobbed without a sound.
It was a tragic sight whose grief even a complete stranger could have recognized.
In the horrifyingly cold and oppressive atmosphere, the priest began to feel uncomfortable.
Funeral rites were one thing, but medicine was not his specialty. Even so, whenever something like this happened, he was dragged out to display his incompetence in front of everyone, and it felt unfair.
As he waited for this unpleasant situation to end as quickly as possible, Havel suddenly panicked and let out a ragged breath.
“Huh?”
Then he abruptly stood up, reached toward Ivan’s chest, and shouted.
“It’s beating!! His heart is beating!!”
“······?”
The priest cocked his head for a moment, then let out a small sigh.
“Didn’t I tell you? The dead cannot come back to life. That would go against the natural order···.”
“No, I said his heart was beating!! Come and see for yourself!!”
Before the priest could answer, a rough hand yanked him forward. Damn barbarian bastard. He cursed inwardly, then spoke as carefully as possible so as not to provoke the barbarian who had clearly lost his mind.
“I understand that you’re grieving, but doing this won’t bring your friend back··· huh?”
The priest doubted his own eyes. Color had returned to the cold body, and the heart was pounding wildly, as if it had never stopped.
Could it really be···?
Before the priest could recover from the shock, another miracle occurred.
“Huuuuuuuuagh!!”
Ivan shot upright with a convulsive scream, as though he had just awakened from a terrible nightmare. To put it more specifically, it was the sort of scream one might let out just before being horribly crushed beneath an eight-ton truck driven by someone nodding off at the wheel.
Ivan gasped for breath, looked frantically around him, and slowly opened his mouth.
“Wh-where is this··· ngh!!”
“Aaaagh!! My brotherrrrrr!!!!!!”
But before he could finish speaking, he was forced to endure the barbarian’s searing, tearful embrace.
“I don’t know who you are, but let go of me for a second··· cough, cough!!”
Ivan was nearly suffocating, but the warriors watching the touching reunion secretly wiped their eyes and smiled warmly. What a beautiful friendship.
However, not everyone could purely rejoice at the situation.
The priest found himself facing several suspicious gazes.
Before those eyes that seemed to ask, ‘Didn’t you say he was definitely dead?’, the priest instinctively realized that his political life was in danger.
He had to resolve the problem immediately. But how?
The priest desperately racked his brain. Before long, he found the most ideal way to escape the situation.
“Valdor has bestowed a miracle!!!”
The priest shouted loudly enough for everyone to hear, then knelt and bowed as if standing before something sacred.
“God of War, have mercy upon us!!!”
The warriors who had been left dazed by the sudden turn of events stared blankly at the scene for a moment, then all rushed to their knees and slammed their foreheads into the ground.
““God of War, have mercy upon us!!!!!””
In an instant, the atmosphere transformed into a scene of fanatical worship, as though everyone had witnessed a religious miracle with their own eyes.
The hero of this pious historical moment thought, while struggling to escape the embrace tightening around his throat,
‘So where the hell is this, anyway? Fuck.’