In life, the things we want, dream of, or long for sometimes never reach our hands no matter how much effort or dedication we put in. It almost always depends on the luck we have or the necessary talent we possess.
Or even better, on the privileges we get at birth.
But even so, having talent or privileges doesn't guarantee that you'll achieve your goals.
It was something Park Suho had learned over a long time.
And while the rapid clicks of a mechanical keyboard could be heard, Suho shouted with excitement:
"Quick, quick, quick, kill that miserable Skeleton King!"
The bluish light from the monitor illuminated his face with intermittent flashes. On the screen, a dark and gloomy environment showed the Skeleton King, an imposing undead covered in blackened gothic armor, wielding a sword of the same tone. The ruins of the place were full of half-destroyed tombstones, enveloped in a dense fog that seemed to breathe with a life of its own.
A quick strike, a precise slash from the character controlled by Suho, cut through the air.
The Skeleton King let out a metallic roar before crumbling into a thousand dark fragments.
And then, a rain of notifications flooded the screen:
...
...
[Mission accomplished – Skeleton King defeated]
[You have leveled up: Level 4999 → Level 5000 (Max Level)]
[You have acquired the skill – Necromancer]
[You have acquired the skill – Soul Steal]
[You have acquired the skill – Shadow and Darkness Manipulation]
[New Weapon Acquired – Eternal Death Blade Sword]
[You have acquired – Darkness Armor]
[New Title Acquired – Death Hunter]
[New Title Acquired – Taming Monarch]
[Congratulations on defeating the Skeleton King
An exclusive and unique boss from the 2029 Halloween event
The Skeleton King is an avatar of the Conceptual Entity known as Death]
You have gained the respect of the God of Death
You have acquired +78,000,000 experience points]
...
...
"That's it!" Suho shouted, with a satisfied smile. "I leveled up again! I reached the max!"
His hands rose triumphantly.
"Finally... I can't believe it... I just defeated another exclusive boss," he murmured, still incredulous. "These guys are hard to find, and very complicated to beat... and once defeated, they never appear again."
Suho leaned back in his gaming chair, exhaling with a childish smile.
"I'm the best player that ever existed." He laughed with a touch of irony. "I was born for this game... I live for this game."
In front of him, a 31-year-old man, wearing simple home clothes and completely messy blonde hair, let himself be enveloped by the dim glow of the LED lights in his room. He had blue eyes, with foreign and Asian features; his eyes were clear but empty, like a sky that had once been bright but was now tired of looking at the same thing.
His room was a mess: mountains of empty pizza boxes, plastic bottles piled up in a corner, instant ramen cups scattered on the carpet, and crumpled papers strewn across the floor. On one side, the unmade bed for several days; on the other, a window covered by an old curtain that blocked the entry of sunlight.
That place was his refuge. His prison and his escape.
Park Suho was happy… or at least that's what he wanted to believe.
At some point, he had been a dreamer. His goal was to open his own restaurant after graduating, having studied six years of gastronomy and graduating with honors. He had a natural talent for cooking: he mastered complex and advanced maneuvers, knew the origin of techniques, and could identify the soul of each culture through a single dish.
He had something that few young chefs possessed at his age back then: true passion.
But dreams, like poorly prepared desserts, sometimes get ruined by a single mistake.
And Suho made too many.
When he gathered all the money he had to open his restaurant, he bet everything on a bad investment. He put his life, his hope, his pride. But the business failed in less than two years.
The debts devoured him as they piled up. The obligations suffocated him.
Each unpaid bill was a reminder of his failure.
He tried working several jobs, but none gave him back what he lost: his fortune and dreams.
Suho wanted to be like his father, a British chef recognized worldwide for his unique, elegant, and almost heavenly style in the kitchen.
The whole family was made for success while inheriting the gift of cooking.
His five brothers, each with their own famous restaurant, appeared in magazines, culinary shows, and international festivals.
They were all the pride of the family.
All except him.
Suho was the mistake, the exception. The one who ruined everything for being "incompetent."
And though he knew he had talent, his father and brothers despised him, turned their backs on him without looking back.
There was no place for a kitchen mistake who didn't know how to keep his fire lit.
Over time, Park Suho gave up.
What was the point of trying again if he had already lost everything?
What was the point of cooking if his "flavor" was worth nothing?
That's how he ended up here, in front of a monitor, taking refuge in anime, webtoons, web novels, and video games.
Maybe he didn't cook dishes in real life, but he cooked strategies in the digital world.
Maybe he didn't have a restaurant full of customers, but he had an avatar that everyone respected.
And that… that was enough.
At least in the game, he was someone.
At least there, no one called him "failure" or "mistake."
It was ironic: he spent everything he earned in that virtual world.
Every update, every monthly pass, every premium item.
His bank account was in the red, but his character was at the top of the entire server.
And that made him feel good.
Even if his apartment was about to be lost, even if his fridge only had fast food leftovers and bottles of water and soda, at least he could smile when his character defeated a legendary boss with maxed-out stats.
Because, in his mind, the game gave him what he could never obtain in the real world: recognition.
The game was called: [The Rise of the Legendary Hunter], abbreviated as (TRLH).
An open-world MORPG so popular that, according to forum jokes, "it existed in every infinite corner of the universe."
And if you saw the fanaticism it generated, maybe they weren't so wrong; it was one of the best open-world games, surpassing games like GTA IV, Red Dead Redemption 3, Sekiro Shadows Die Twice 2, and Black Myth Wukong II.
It was an immense game, with astonishing gameplay and an absorbing narrative.
But it wasn't the typical game where the protagonist had to save the world from the Demon King or stop a multiversal cosmic catastrophe threatening the existence of creation.
"None of that."
In this game, you decided your fate.
You could be a hero or a villain.
You could found an empire, destroy or build civilizations, get married, have children, or betray everyone, side with everyone, become insignificant, or choose any profession; here you were free to do anything you wanted, with a free will that no one questioned.
You could even rule an entire world if you had the skill and patience.
The world-building was so vast that many players never managed to explore even 4.5% of the map, not even a tiny part of that percentage of the map.
There were parallel timelines, alternate universes, races, epic fantasy beasts… it was digital madness turned into art. No. Rather, it was a Masterpiece, one that would make any film critic say: "Peak fiction! This is ABSOLUTE CINEMA!"
Park Suho had also read the original web novel, which has over 3,750 chapters and an epic ending; he knew every secret, every twist, every betrayal.
And though the game followed that story, it had changed enough to offer total freedom; the [Legendary Hunter] had no fixed destiny.
Destiny was in the player's hands.
Park Suho loved that.
He invested his money in the game, his time, his soul; it was all worth it.
It was the only thing that kept him sane.
"At least here I can be happy," he murmured, resting his head on the back of his chair.
"If I were to die or something like that, I'd at least like to reincarnate as my current character, literally live in the best video game world. Just like the webtoons and fantasy web novels I read," he said with a big sigh.
His voice sounded soft, tired.
The monitor's glow reflected in his eyes, and for a second, the reflection of his avatar—a imposing figure in blue leather armor with magical gems and emerald green eyes—mixed with his own face.
"At least here... I'm not a failure," he whispered.
Deep down, he knew his real life was a disaster.
He was aware that he had become a good-for-nothing NEET, a man without direction who had let his dreams die.
But while his fingers were still on the keyboard, while the game's music filled the room, the emptiness seemed to disappear for a moment in that game.
Not knowing what to do with his life in the real world, despite never being able to achieve a normal life, Suho here was the best in a fictional avatar.
Suho never did well in love.
It wasn't because of his looks, because—in reality—he was quite an attractive man. He had a well-defined face, a strong jaw, and a calm gaze when relaxed.
But his problem wasn't appearance.
It was his insecurity.
Every time he talked to someone, especially a girl, his voice trembled, his mind clouded, and his breathing quickened.
That silent anxiety ruined any attempt at connection.
So he never had a real relationship.
While his brothers were already married, had children, and lived luxurious lives around the world, he remained alone, locked in his own cave without being able to see the real outside world.
He was always left behind.
But that no longer mattered to him.
He didn't need it.
Why live in a world that never gave him anything, when he could live in one he controlled perfectly?
Why love someone if in his game he could command armies, build kingdoms, and challenge gods, even get a partner?
"Who needs the outside when I already have a max-level character?" Suho said with a tired smile. "In a game where surviving is almost impossible, I'm the best."
He let out a long yawn as he stood up from his chair. He stretched his arms lazily and heard his back crack softly.
"I've been playing too much for today… I need a break," he murmured between yawns. "I'll be back later."
He rubbed his eyes and picked up his phone from the desk.
The screen light blinded him for a moment before showing the time:
[November 2, 2029, time: 5:10 a.m.]
"What...?" Suho blinked in surprise. "It's already five in the morning?"
He frowned and let out an incredulous laugh.
"No way... how does time pass so fast? I was playing so much that I didn't notice the time."
The sound of phone notifications broke the room's silence.
Upon opening Discord, he found himself in his favorite server: the official one for
[The Rise of the Legendary Hunter].
The chat was boiling with messages about the recent Halloween event.
Players were talking nonstop:
[LordChaos120: "Does anyone know how I can find the exclusive boss Skeleton King?"]
Park Suho raised an eyebrow, seeing how responses came instantly.
[Kraken_012: "What a dumb question, do you think if we knew where it was we'd say? Exclusive bosses are unique, they appear only once and disappear forever. It's almost impossible to defeat them."]
[QueenPancake03: "Don't be like that, Kraken. He's probably new and that's why he's asking. But unfortunately, the boss was already defeated by someone."]
[Kraken_012: "What? So fast? That event just came out! Who the hell was able to defeat it so soon?"]
[LordChaos120: "No way! I at least wanted to try... damn it."]
[QueenPancake03: "Well, according to rumors, it was zombisinister_300. That guy is unbeatable. He always does it. It's like he has a power no one else understands. Some say he masters the game at an impossible level."]
Suho let out a small smile.
"No need to exaggerate; I know I'm really good, but I didn't expect them to think that much of me."
Park Suho let out a silent laugh.
If they knew the truth…
If they knew that the most feared and admired player on the server, zombisinister, was nothing more than a lonely man locked in a messy room, yawning at five in the morning.
"If they knew who I am..." he murmured with a sad smile and eyes streaming with tears.
As he scrolled through the messages, a notification appeared at the top of the screen:
[New email received – Unknown sender]
Suho frowned.
"An anonymous email?" he said curiously. "It must be some game announcement..."
He tapped the notification.
The email opened slowly.
And the first thing he saw left him frozen.
The sender was creavity500.
The very name of the author of the original novel for the game.
The original author of the novel that inspired The Rise of the Legendary Hunter.
"What the hell...?" Suho felt a chill.
Why would the game's author send him an email?
To a simple failure like him?
He opened the message.
The text was short, but its content made his skin crawl.
["Dear zombisinister_300:
For your dedication and support to the vast and infinite universe we have built,
I grant you an opportunity to live in the world you love so much."]
Suho stared at the screen, not knowing whether to laugh or worry.
"What kind of joke is this?" he said, letting out an incredulous laugh. "The game's author writing to me? What's next, inviting me to dinner?"
He closed the email and put the phone on the desk.
"What nonsense... it's probably spam or a prank from some bored fan," he murmured as he threw himself onto the bed.
His body fell with a slight bounce.
The white ceiling of the room seemed to spin slowly from the accumulated fatigue.
"Though..." he said between yawns, with half-closed eyes, "I don't know how he knew I was zombisinister_300... bah, it must be pure coincidence. I'm too sleepy right now."
He closed his eyes.
And silence took over the room.
But then, something changed.
He felt a strange pressure in his chest, as if he were being slowly sunk underwater.
He opened his eyes… and he was no longer in his bed.
He was falling.
Falling into a liquid darkness, deep, bubbling, as if submerged in an infinite ocean.
He tried to move, to scream, but his body didn't respond.
Only the sound of bubbles and a distant roar filled the void.
His consciousness floated between sleep and reality.
Suddenly, a strong, warm breeze hit his face.
He felt the air cutting his skin, the wind whistling in his ears.
He opened his eyes slowly.
Light.
Too much light.
Park Suho blinked several times until his vision adjusted; what he saw left him breathless.
He was in an immense landscape, with colossal mountains and clouds moving beneath his feet; the ground trembled, and a deafening sound echoed everywhere.
"Where... where am I?" he murmured, staggering. "I don't remember leaving home..."
His voice trembled.
The air smelled of ash, fire, magic.
"Is this a dream...?" he whispered. "But it feels so real..."
"It must just be a lucid dream."
Then, a roar shook the sky.
In front of him, emerging from among the burning clouds, appeared a gigantic creature:
a purple dragon, with scales like shining obsidian and a deep scar on its left eye, completely blind.
Its voice thundered like thunder:
"Any last words to say, you damn useless?"
Suho stepped back, paralyzed; it was a creature too terrifying; he was dreaming something too real to be true.
"Are you... a dragon?" he stammered. "I don't know what you're talking about... but... please... don't eat me! I didn't do anything wrong!"
The dragon roared in fury, and its breath moved the mountains around it.
"Are you feigning dementia, bastard?" it bellowed. "Do you think you can fool me, Zarkrion Volcanius IV? Don't play with me, failure!"
The ground shook. The peaks of nearby volcanoes lit up with living fire.
Lucian looked around and saw dozens, perhaps hundreds, of dragons watching from the heights.
Their eyes looked at him with contempt.
As if he were being judged.
"Zarkrion... what...?" Suho was breathing with difficulty. "What are you talking about? I don't understand anything!"
The purple dragon roared again, with contained rage.
"Today is your exile from the Dragon Kingdom!" it said with a sentencing voice.
Suho felt his heart stop.
"My exile...? Dragon Kingdom...? I already told you you're mistaken! I'm not who you think!"
The dragon narrowed its healthy eye.
"Don't play dumb, Zarkrion Volcanius IV." Its voice lowered, full of contempt. "You are no longer our legitimate king. Get out once and for all."
Suho was speechless.
"Why are you calling me that?" he whispered.
His hands trembled.
But when he lowered them, he noticed something impossible.
His hands were not human hands.
They were enormous, covered in crimson red scales, with sharp dark claws.
His breathing quickened.
He felt his body... colossal, powerful, burning. And a gigantic shadow was reflected on the ground: immense wings spread behind him.
His heart pounded hard, mixing fear and bewilderment.
"What...!" he shouted. "Am I... a dragon?"
His roar resonated like thunder, making the air itself tremble.
Park Suho… or perhaps now Zarkrion Volcanius IV… was no longer in his world.