Chapter 1

A failed game.

This term is usually reserved for games that lack fun, suffer from broken character balance, or are plagued by disastrous management.

However, there’s another scenario where this term applies: games with absurdly high difficulty levels.

The virtual reality game [Tower of Trials] falls precisely into this category.

For a year after its release, South Korea’s hardcore gamers, who take pleasure in mocking game developers, clung to this game in an attempt to conquer it.

They gave up eating and sleeping, dedicating 365 days a year to it.

But around the three-year mark, people came to a realization.

This game was impossible to clear.

And I mean literally impossible.

Want an example?

The Gate Guardian on the 10th floor is invincible.

Invincible.

Meaning, no matter if 100 players bombard it with skills and all sorts of weapons, it’s all for naught.

I mean, come on, at least make it somewhat vulnerable, right?

Furthermore, the 7th floor plunges you into a freezing wasteland of minus 60 degrees where you’ll freeze to death in an hour.

And the 8th floor? A maze stretching over 10,000 km awaited players.

This wasn’t designed for fun; it was torture.

Or perhaps a scheme to mess with Korea’s die-hard gamers.

Consequently, the game flopped.

Or, to be more accurate, it ‘nearly’ flopped.

Because a tiny fraction of hardcore gamers still took on this hellish difficulty level.

Among them was…

A young Korean man named Kang Jinhyuk.

＊＊＊

[You have conquered the 50th floor!] [Congratulations! You are the first to clear the Tower of Trials!]
“Is… is this for real?”

On the 50th floor of the Tower of Trials, Jinhyuk let out a sigh filled with all sorts of emotions.

It was simply fun.

Unlike others, he enjoyed strategizing innovative ways to tackle the tower.

The sense of achievement from memorizing and repeatedly conquering it was immense.

But, to actually clear the final floor?

From 17, when he first dipped his toes into virtual reality games, to now at 27.

A decade, 11 years, flashed by like a swift stream of memories.

“Ha. Maybe I should’ve streamed it.”

He may have been just another streamer among the 20-30 others, but a streamer nonetheless.

Yet, Jinhyuk quickly shook his head.

After all, who would have watched it?

Even his regular viewers had left due to three months of repetitive content.

Even if he attracted attention with titles like ‘Boss Raid’ or ’50th Floor’, nobody watched when it came to the Tower of Trials.

“Maybe it’ll get some views on ViewTube?”

If he edited the outcome into a 10-minute video, it might actually do well.

That’s when he got the notification.

Ding!

[Thank you for playing our game all this time.] [The reboot update is scheduled in 12 hours. We hope for your continued support.]
It was a message from the administrators.

After 11 years of no communication and management, he thought they had given up.

“Surprising. And a reboot update? Did they strike oil in the desert or something?”

It made no logical sense.

There was supposed to be no profitability in this game…

“Whatever. They must have their reasons.”

It didn’t concern him anymore.

With or without the reboot update, he had no intention of playing this game again.

And as for his streaming career, he planned to quit today.

No matter the lack of dependents, he couldn’t keep living on a mere 500,000 won a month at the age of 27.

“I should tell the gym I’ll need to take a break for a while.”

He had once aimed to go pro in martial arts, but now, money was more important than exercise.

-jjy77: Jinha! Jinha! It means hi from Jinhyuk!

-Owlwise: Oh, what’s this? You’re on early today?

As soon as he started the stream, 20 regular viewers quickly joined.

He had prepared a feast on his desk: chicken, pizza, cream shrimp, Peking duck, along with two bottles each of beer and soju.

-25YearsOnADiet: Wow, you’ve set a lavish table there.

-FoodieTzuyang: As expected, you’re best at mukbangs. Forget gaming.

-JinhyukRollsItRight: What comes to mind when you think of BJ Jinhyuk?

-CoffinDance: Eats the cow and the barn too!

-IndoorExpert: Checks the bridge before eating it!

-OneManTwoChickens: After eating a frog and getting shocked, might as well eat the lid too!

Thanks to a handful of viewers, he managed to keep the stream going.

Laughing and chatting, munching on soju and various snacks, dawn approached before they knew it.

‘I’ll have to announce my retirement in a notice tomorrow.’

He couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud just yet.

Yes.

He’d talk about it tomorrow.

But…

Jinhyuk himself was unaware.

That by the time he woke up, the world had already changed.