They said that by the year 2046, a virtual reality game indistinguishable from the real world would finally be released.
Gamers loved that kind of story.
After all, who didn't dream of true virtual reality?
And just as those dreams were becoming little more than hopeful chatter, a previously unknown game studio suddenly dropped a bombshell.
They released a VR game—complete with the tagline: "Another Reality."
The game's title, revealed in the promotional trailer, was:
[Demon's Saga]
Stunning graphics. Massive, open-world map.And NPCs powered by high-level AI—entirely autonomous.
The world of Demon's Saga, shown in that video, was grand, immersive, and captivating.The premise? Become an adventurer and hunt down the demons sealed across the world.
Sure, it sounded a bit cliché. But it hit all the right notes.
It was no surprise, then, that pre-registration numbers exploded like an avalanche.And after a long, eager wait… the game was finally released.
As expected, the gaming community went absolutely wild.
+
[IT'S FINALLY OUT LOL]
Let's goooo ㅋㅋㅋ
[I'M GONNA SLAUGHTER ALL THOSE DEMON BASTARDS LMAO]
[WARRIOR FIRST PICK IS MINE, BACK OFF]
[Shit… Gotta work late, I'm two hours behind everyone 😭]
[↳ LOL loser]
[↳ You're literally throwing away half your life 😂]
[Is it true this game has an 18+ adult mode?]
I swear I heard that somewhere…
[Yep. Shockingly, it's real.]
[Yeah, it's actually a supported feature.]
[But it only activates under certain conditions, so unless you're some giga-degenerate game addict, don't get your hopes up.]
[↳ The hell do you know about me, asshole?]
[Dude, look at these graphics. Holy shit.]
The sound design! The tactile feedback! Damn, this feels real.Although… the NPCs look pretty average, huh?
[???: "Another Reality"]
[↳ Okay but did the NPCs really have to look that basic?]
[Just hopped in and wow, this game's actually insane.]
[The tutorial area is PACKED. LOL.]
[How the hell is the server not crashing with this many players?]
[↳ And with those graphics, there's zero lag. Wtf?]
[↳ What, did they sacrifice an alien to make this work?]
New posts were going up by the second.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say the whole world was talking about Demon's Saga.
And rightfully so—the game had completely blown away everyone's expectations.
Player numbers skyrocketed.
And so, two months passed.
[Condition Not Met!]
[You cannot currently use 'Player's Eye.']
"…So what the hell is this, seriously."
It had been two months since this system window first appeared in front of me.
Technically, it was the first system interface I'd seen in over 22 years of being stuck in this place.
And I still had no idea what it meant.
Sure, a floating holographic window was neat and all…
But what good was it if I couldn't use it?
No stat screen, no level info—nothing.
The only thing visible was a trait called 'Player's Eye'—but apparently, the conditions to activate it weren't met.
Still… something's clearly changed.
There's no way a system like this would suddenly appear for no reason.
Times like this made living in the forest a pain.Even if I wanted to look up information, there was nowhere to get it from.
"…Maybe it's time I head back into the city."
When I was younger, I thought I'd live out my days completely cut off from civilization, scared of being found.
Thankfully, it hadn't come to that.
As long as I kept the black horn-shaped marking on my collarbone hidden, I could pretend to be a normal person.
Not that I could stroll through the city center or anything—my disguise wasn't that good.That place required proper identification and records.
The only areas I could visit were a few back-alley trade spots, where no one asked too many questions.
So if I wanted information, that was the place to go.
"…Eh, I'll just go later."
I gave up pretty quickly.
Sure, I was curious—but it wasn't urgent.
Besides, I'd already gone once, two months ago. I'd stocked up on supplies then, too.
In my case, going too often was risky.
The more people saw me, the more likely someone would recognize me. That wouldn't end well.
And to be honest, those people… they weren't exactly high-quality company.Even I, after twelve years of forced hermit life, could tell they were trouble.
Better to avoid it for now and focus on the task at hand.
I resumed my foraging.
Lately, I'd been living a bit lazily, and my food stash had run dry.
The salted, smoked, and dried meats I'd preserved were nearly gone.
I was down to a single handful of emergency rations—and winter was only a few months away.
Time to restock.
Today would be an all-day hunting trip.
Unfortunately, the game was scarce.
Probably because monsters had started appearing in the area lately—most of the edible animals had either fled or been wiped out. And it's not like I could eat ogre meat.
Guess I'll need to do a sweep soon.
I'd been putting it off, assuming nature would take care of itself.
But this land was saturated with magi—and that changed the rules.
Animals here weren't necessarily weaker than monsters. Many had mutated from prolonged exposure.
It wasn't unusual to see a mutated bear feasting on ogre remains.
That's how bizarre this place was… and also why it was hard to keep things under control.
Still, after wandering for a while, I managed to catch a few rabbits.
Not enough, though. I'd need at least a wild boar to replenish my stores properly.
So I headed toward the outer edge of the forest, where pure animals were more common.
Mutated meat was technically edible—but much harder to hunt and prepare.
Been a while since I've gone near the surface layer.
The forest was divided into three strata:
Surface, Mid, and Deep.
The deeper you went, the more intense the magi, and the stronger the monsters.
The deeper zones were dangerous enough to risk your life just by entering.
So I made my home in the mid-layer—inside a cave, actually.
The monsters there were manageable, people rarely ventured that deep, and the cave had its own freshwater lake for bathing.
For those reasons, I stayed in the mid-layer.
So I didn't head up to the surface often.
Still, the memories came flooding back as I approached.
"…Yeah. Not exactly fond memories."
Most were of me desperately crawling my way up from the depths, barely clinging to life.
I hadn't always been able to fight monsters.
There was a time when I struggled even against small animals.
When I had to flee from trackers invading the forest.
When I scavenged animal carcasses and curled up under rotting logs to survive the night.
All those dark, miserable days had added up to the life I had now.
"…Still alone, huh."
Come to think of it, not much had changed. Fuck.
I cursed under my breath at the bleak reality.
But eventually, I reached the border of the surface layer.
There wasn't a strict dividing line, but you could tell by the change in tree size.
I was just about to step in when—
"Aaaaahhh! Somebody help me!!"
A scream echoed through the trees.
I immediately ducked behind a nearby trunk.
Peering out, I saw a woman being chased by a full-grown wild boar.
She was armed with a steel sword and wore leather armor—clearly an adventurer.
She must've startled the beast and gotten herself into this mess.
"Why is it so fast?! Just leave me alone already!!"
Her voice was panicked and desperate.
But I had no intention of helping her.
If she sees me, it's game over.
Helping her wouldn't be the problem—it'd be what happened after.
If she went back and talked about me, I'd be in serious trouble. Might have to go into hiding again.
Cold-hearted? Maybe. But it was the smart move.
Besides, she was an adventurer. Danger came with the job.
"Tsk. Screaming like that's only making it angrier…"
Still, I trailed them at a distance. I did need the boar meat.
If she escaped, I'd finish the job. If she died… well, that was unfortunate, but I'd still take the boar.
But it didn't look like she'd make it.
She kept making rookie mistakes—screaming, throwing her weapon, agitating the beast even more.
In this forest, noise was a death sentence. Monsters were everywhere.
And who throws away their weapon in a chase?
Even if she escaped the boar, she'd be defenseless getting out of the forest. Idiot.
Worse yet, she was fleeing in the wrong direction—deeper into the mid-layer, not out toward the edge.
Panic clearly clouded her judgment.
Honestly, she looked like a total novice. She never should've been this deep in the forest to begin with.
People should hunt in zones suited to their level.
In the end, she tripped.
The boar charged and slammed its tusks into her body.
Thud!
"Guh—!"
Her body flew through the air.
The boar began pawing the ground again, readying for a second charge.
She groaned from the dirt, a bitter laugh in her voice.
"…Dammit all…"
They say people cry and scream in their final moments.But she looked oddly… peaceful.
Had she already accepted her fate? Or did she just not care anymore?
Surprising, really.
"…Huh?"
Our eyes met.
Shit. I must've peeked out too far while watching.
I thought the distance would keep me hidden—but she noticed.
Still, it didn't really matter.
She wasn't going to make it anyway.
The boar charged again and crushed her body underfoot.
A quick, pathetic end for a beginner.
I clicked my tongue.
"Tch. Natural causes, huh."
Still, I'll avenge you by eating that boar.
Later that evening...
A strange new post appeared on the Demon's Saga forums.
[Was exploring the newbie zone and found something weird. Who the hell is THIS guy??]
(Attached: Screenshot)
Isn't this supposed to be a high-level area? Practically uninhabited?
So why was this dude just standing there, watching me die??
[????]
[Too far away to see clearly… wait, is that a guy?]
[Why the hell would a guy be way out there? That doesn't make sense.]
[Fake? Maybe you mistook something for a person.]
[↳ Nah, looks exactly like a person.]
[Zoom in—holy shit, he's actually kinda hot.]
[↳ For real??]
[↳ Bruh, zooming in just pixelated everything.]
[↳ Still, even the silhouette looks handsome af LOL]