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Gamer's Transcendence

Primordial_Madness
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Synopsis
Name’s Arthur Park. Well… technically it used to be Lee Daejin, broke gamer, professional loser, and proud owner of exactly zero achievements in life besides never missing a daily login. Then one night, boom—I wake up inside my favorite MMO, Transcendence Online. Cool, right? Except, tiny problem: death is now permanent, monsters hit harder than a freight train, and the system “graciously” gave me a starter weapon that looks like it was pulled out of a junkyard. A rusted Katana. With durability so low it might snap if I sneeze on it too hard. So yeah. I’m broke, undergeared, terrified 90% of the time, and apparently the only idiot who can infinitely level up. Which means one thing: I’ve got six hundred floors to climb of hell. If I don’t die horribly first.
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Chapter 1 - Transcendence Online

Morning came like it always did: too bright, too loud, and too pointless.

I rolled out of bed with the grace of a dying walrus, dragging my feet to the living room. My house wasn't much—just a modest two–bedroom apartment with peeling paint and the faint smell of instant noodles embedded into the walls. My parents had died in a car crash years ago, so it was just me and my older sister. She worked long hours and barely had the energy to nag me about "getting a real job" anymore.

I grabbed a half-empty box of cereal, poured it into a bowl, and drowned it in milk. Crunch, crunch. Breakfast of champions. I stared blankly at the wall, a 28-year-old man-child with no girlfriend, no career, no prospects. Meanwhile, the guys I used to call friends were married, posting pictures of their kids online, and flexing their boring office jobs like they were Olympic medals.

Me? I was just… existing. Barely.

Bowl empty, I shuffled back into my room. Door locked. Curtains drawn. No sunlight, no interruptions. My throne—a cheap swivel chair—awaited. I sat down, turned on my computer, and the familiar hum washed over me like a drug.

"Transcendence Online," I muttered, staring at the desktop icon.

The game that shook the world when it dropped in 2023. The game that consumed me whole. The game that… vanished just as suddenly.

People abandoned it for one reason: it was too damn hard. Nobody could beat the 200th floor. They said the tower had 600 floors, but for most, even reaching the 50th was impossible.

For me? I reached the 201st. Three years of blood, sweat, and way too many Red Bulls… and I was still stuck.

But damn, did I love the character creator.

See, in real life, I was nothing special. Black hair that always looked greasy, dull purple eyes that made me look permanently sleep-deprived, and an average build leaning toward scrawny. Nothing worth writing home about.

So I built someone better.

Arthur Park.

Long blonde hair, deep crimson eyes with slitted pupils, tall, lean, cut from the fantasy protagonist mold. A "pretty boy" people would swoon over. Everything I wasn't. Everything I wanted to be.

I sighed, logging in one more time, my fingers trembling out of habit.

Then it happened.

[Congratulations! You are the first to clear the 201st floor.]

[Reward: Transfer. You may bring one person close to you.]

I blinked. Then I laughed. "Transfer? What the hell does that even mean? Like, teleport me to Korea's job market?"

Without thinking, I clicked Accept.

The screen went black.

And so did I.

Not in the "oh cool, cutscene time" way. I collapsed. My chest locked up, my head swam, and I felt… nothing. Dead nothing.

Turns out three years of Red Bulls, cereal for breakfast, nothing for dinner, and zero sunlight was a winning combo—for death.

When my eyes shut, I thought it was over.

Then—jolt. Like someone plugged me into a socket.

I gasped, opening my eyes.

A cave. Cold stone, dripping water. But it wasn't mine.

"What the hell—?"

A purple screen flashed in front of me.

[Transfer complete.]

[Welcome to Transcendence Online.]

[Initiating full status window…]

_________________________________________________________

Name: Arthur Park

Age: 19

Title: None

Level: 1

Strength: 15

Agility: 19

Intelligence: 20

Stamina: 15

Perception: 15

Vitality: 20

Mana: 2000

HP: 5000

Skills:

– Basic Katana Skills Lv. 1

(Basic Katana Techniques)

– Flash Step Lv. 1 (Dash within 5 meters; appears as a blur)

– Odin's Eye Lv. 1 (View stats; collect mana)

Authorities:

– Gluttony (Unlocked)

– Gabriel's Wrath (Locked)

– Adam's Build (Locked)

– ??? (Locked)

___________________

________________________________________

I stared, slack-jawed. "What the actual… I'm inside Arthur's body?!"

My voice was deeper, sharper, way cooler than my own. I touched my face—smooth skin, sharper jawline, long blonde strands brushing my cheek. This wasn't cosplay. This was me.

Panic started bubbling, but before I could scream, another notification popped.

[Tutorial begins in 3 minutes. Prepare yourself.]

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me."

Frantically, I searched the cave. Weapons, weapons—come on, don't tell me they expect me to fistfight.

Then I saw it.

A rusted katana. Leaning against the wall, half-eaten by rust. Perfectly terrible.

I picked it up. Heavy, dull, but it was better than nothing. If this tutorial matched the one in the game, then…

"Oh no."

A Hellhound.

A giant wolf with blood-red fur, burning eyes, and a tail of living flame. Its guttural growl echoed through the cave as it appeared, drool sizzling against the floor.

My mouth went dry.

"If this is really happening… then I've got to survive. No matter what."

The hound lunged.

I forced myself forward, using Flash Step. In an instant, I was in front of it, swinging the katana downward. Metal screeched against hide, leaving only a shallow scar.

The hound howled, flames flaring. Enraged.

"Shit, of course it's tankier in real life!"

I stabbed desperately, aiming for its legs, its chest, anywhere I could reach. The rusted blade cut deeper this time, black blood hissing against the stone. The beast thrashed, slamming me back against the cave wall. Pain bloomed across my ribs.

Its claw raked across my side, tearing fabric and skin. Hot blood dripped down my hip.

Then came the roar.

A sound so guttural, so raw, my eardrums felt like they were exploding. I clutched my head, blood running from my ears.

The Hellhound charged, maw wide open, fire glowing in its throat.

"Not today."

I steadied the katana. Lowered my stance. Both hands on the hilt.

Basic Katana Techniques: First Form.

A slanting cut, precise, downward.

The world slowed.

The blade cleaved into its open mouth, slicing through skull, flame, and flesh in one decisive stroke.

The Hellhound collapsed in two, its body sizzling as fire guttered out.

I panted, trembling, covered in blood—most of it mine, but enough of it its.

[Tutorial cleared.]

[Rewards calculating…]

Rewards Obtained:

– Bound Weapon: Sirria (EX-rank Katana)

– All stats +5

– Level up! → Lv. 3

The rusty blade shimmered in my hands, morphing into something sleek and black, humming with power. Sirria. Mine, bound to me.

I couldn't stop the manic grin spreading across my face.

"Holy shit… I actually survived."

Then another notification.

[Authority: Gluttony Activated.]

The ground beneath the Hellhound's corpse cracked. Purple flames shaped like a gaping maw burst upward, devouring the body whole.

[Gluttony has consumed the Hellhound.]

[Stats +5.]

[Mana +100.]

[New Skill Acquired: Death Roar Lv. 1.]

I stared at the now-empty cave, still panting, still bleeding, still grinning like a lunatic.

So this was real.

No more screens, no more sitting alone in a dark room pretending to be someone I wasn't.

I was Arthur Park now. And this was my game.

"My own isekai journey," I whispered, gripping Sirria tightly. "In my favorite game. Let's fucking go."

.

.

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A/N…

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