Chapter 1: Prologue
TL/ED: Hamsterminator
He was an ordinary person that could be seen anywhere.
Born in an era where ordinary effort could not sustain an ordinary life, in a society that was constantly dividing, condemning, and being incited, he managed to survive for thirty years by cautiously navigating the treacherous waters of social life.
As a result, when looking back on times not so distant, he found himself saying things like:
"Those were the good days." "Back in my time..."
Thus, he had grown into a young "kkondae" who could reminisce about the past, making him a perfect fit as a diligent young man of 21st-century South Korea. (TL: 'Kkondae' is a term used to describe someone who patronizes younger people or junior colleagues or forces their ideologies and experiences on them.)
Still, he was a decent son who never caused major trouble for his parents, a friend, and a lover.
At the same time, he was a casual gamer, just like many other men his age.
The reason for the "casual" label was that he had recently begun to feel the decline in his gaming stamina.
In reality, since work alone was already stressful enough, he did not want to add more stress through gaming. That was why he had even uninstalled the online cooperative battle games he once enjoyed.
Instead, he turned his attention to PC or console games that he could comfortably enjoy alone.
It was only relatively recently that he started exploring masterpieces known for their solid world-building and storytelling.
The last game he played was about a rookie police officer struggling through his first day on duty in a city overrun by a virus, a title that offered a satisfying blend of horror and action.
He considered playing its sequel, but playing the same genre back-to-back did not quite suit his temperament, so he gave up on the idea.
That was how he ended up discovering a new game - Project Neo.
It was a title highly recommended by a younger acquaintance.
"Ah, hyung, I'm telling you, it's really fun! Have you ever seen me talk nonsense?"
"I don’t know Cyberpunk."
"Come on, you don’t need to. No one starts knowing everything."
The insistence was too persistent to ignore.
At some point, he found himself installing the game.
Estimated time: 51 minutes and 13 seconds.
Taking advantage of the download time, he searched for various pieces of information.
Project Neo.
An open-world RPG in the Cyberpunk genre.
A little more digging revealed that it was not just Cyberpunk, it also incorporated Arcane Punk and Biopunk, creating a truly mixed-up setting.
To his untrained eyes, it seemed like a chaotic combination of dystopian backgrounds, robots, magic, and zombies all thrown together. Yet, despite that, the game’s quality was surprisingly high, making it somewhat niche but still widely enjoyed.
In fact, a quick glance at online communities showed an abundance of recommendation and informational posts.
He clicked on one of them.
※ Tips for Newbies Starting Project Neo (Last updated: 24.03.28)
Even back in his student days, when he had far more free time, he had enjoyed referring to tried-and-tested builds that others had already explored.
Since it was a single-player game anyway, he figured that the easier and more convenient route was always the best.
So, as he slowly scrolled down the mouse wheel, he carefully read through the alternating screenshots and lines of text in the tip post.
Letting out a sigh at the unexpectedly complex information, he exhaled.
Just then, the screen darkened as the game launched, prompting him to call his younger acquaintance.
"Hyung, what’s up? Ah, you’re confused? Yeah, I get that."
A cheerful voice answered.
"Set the difficulty to Easy. The game is pretty tough, so if you go in thinking it’ll be easy, you’ll suffer. You hate that kind of thing the most, don’t you? Anyway, you can adjust the difficulty while playing, so just start and raise it later if you feel up to it."
Although his pride was hurt, he followed the advice.
After all, he was becoming painfully aware of his declining reflexes.
"As for the Life Path... Ah, you’re going with Vagabond?"
This was one thing he had already decided in advance.
Games like this are all about the thrill of clawing your way up from the very bottom. Corporations or noble families never really appealed to him.
"Alright then, I'll set you up with an optimal starting build for Vagabond. I've got over 1,000 hours of playtime as a Vagabond, you know. For Trait, choose Irregular. You see the Starting Perk called Fast Recovery? Pick that one. This combo is hands down the best for a Vagabond. The reason is..."
His younger acquaintance started rambling on about the advantages of this build. But since it seemed like the explanation would drag on, he quickly thanked him and ended the call.
He figured he could always ask for details later or just look up a guide.
Next came character creation.
Since he was never particularly skilled at customizing, he just made the character look decently handsome.
The ability to adjust penis size was an amusingly novel feature.
Well, if it was available, why not make the most of it? He maxed it out within the allowed range, might as well find happiness somewhere.
With the final step of entering a name completed, character creation was done.
Before hitting the Start Game button, he placed a cup of instant ramen and a bottle of cola on his desk to satisfy his growing hunger.
After all, nothing beat slurping ramen while taking short breaks in between gaming, it was the ultimate late-night snack.
But in the end, he never got to enjoy his carefully prepared meal.
Because the moment he pressed the Start Game button with eager anticipation...
He woke up in a dark alleyway.
His face was buried in the damp ground.