My name is Kim Sohyun. I'm twenty-eight years old, and I work an ordinary office job. My life has always been painfully ordinary. And incredibly boring. Wake up, eat breakfast, go to work, eat lunch, get back to work, go to sleep, wake up, eat breakfast...
And the cycle goes on and on.
Sometimes, when boredom gets the better of me, I spend my free time reading novels. Out of all the novels I've ever read, there was only one that had managed to capture my heart so completely that I became hopelessly obsessed with it.
A novel titled Never Ending Story. It was an apocalypse fantasy set in a kingdom.
Obsessed, huh?
Could my obsession with this novel have somehow brought me inside its world?
Of course not. That's ridiculous.
[You have successfully cleared the First Calamity!]
[You have obtained 50 points!]
[You have obtained 5,000 Gold!]
The blue holographic screen floating before my eyes was proof of everything I'd been questioning.
Didn't this look exactly like the kind of system you'd find in a game?
I tried touching it, but my fingers passed straight through, as though it were nothing more than a transparent projection.
[Welcome, Reader! The System Guide is currently undergoing maintenance. Until further notice, the previous version of the guide will be provided]
[Would you like to view the System Guide?]
[Yes] / [No]
The System Guide? This was seriously giving me a headache.
"Lady, here. Have something to drink."
The beautiful woman with short black hair who had helped me earlier handed me a bottle. After defeating all the orcs, they had collected the mana stones from their bodies and left the battlefield.
And now, I was at their base.
"Hmm? I don't think I've seen you around before. Are you a foreigner?"
The woman examined me from every angle. Her gaze made me incredibly uncomfortable. Especially since I still couldn't quite believe that I'd somehow ended up inside my favorite novel.
"Your clothes are strange, too. Hmm..."
She began poking my arm. Please stop. You're scaring me.
"Oh? How is she doing, Eve?"
One of the men who had fought the orcs suddenly walked in. He was huge and heavily muscled, which made sense considering his incredible physical strength.
Wait... Did he just call her Eve?
"Oh? Lei. She's fine. No serious injuries, and she seems mentally stable, too."
I'd heard that name somewhere before. It had to be from the novel. There were so many characters in Never Ending Story that it was hardly surprising I couldn't remember every single one of them. But Eve wasn't just some ordinary side character.
[Special Skill 'Genius Reader' activated!]
Huh...?
Suddenly, the memories of the novel came rushing back to me with startling clarity.
「The Ziert group was a band of villains. That was why Kael had decided to kill every last one of them. In his eyes, criminals were nothing more than obstacles that had to be eliminated if he wanted to achieve his goals.」
「Yet among them, among the dozen blood-soaked corpses scattered across the ground, there was one person he had deliberately allowed to live. Her name was Evelynn Lawyen, an assassin who wielded the most powerful poison magic.」
I remembered now. Kael had spared Eve because of her extraordinary poison abilities.
"What's your name, miss?"
Good grief! You scared me!
"I'm Kim Sohyun."
"Kim... Sohyun?"
Ah, I should've used a different name.
"Just call me Kim."
"Kim, huh? That's an unusual name, but I like it!" Eve said with a bright smile.
Was she always this cheerful? Eve's past had never been explored in much detail in the novel. That was understandable, considering she wasn't the main heroine.
Still, it was hard to believe that this cheerful woman would eventually become one of Kael's deadliest weapons.
"My name is Evelynn! We're part of the Ziert organization!"
"The Ziert organization?"
For now, I needed to play dumb.
"Oh, you don't know? The Ziert organization is—"
"Enough, Eve. You shouldn't be telling a potential spy more than necessary."
The man named Lei shot me a sharp, suspicious look. I knew it. He definitely didn't trust me. He was probably one of the Ziert members who would eventually be killed by Kael.
"Lei, she's not a spy! Why are you always so suspicious of strangers?"
Eve puffed out her cheeks in annoyance.
"The world has changed, Eve. We can't afford to trust anyone anymore."
"But she's just a victim!"
How long were they going to keep arguing? This was going to become a problem if they didn't stop soon.
"I have a question. Which region are we in?"
Their argument immediately came to a halt as both of them turned toward me. Eve answered with her usual friendliness.
"We're in the southern region."
Just as I'd thought. If this was the southern region where the orcs had appeared, did that mean the First Calamity was already over?
The system had also said that I'd cleared the First Calamity.
[Skill 'Genius Reader' activated!]
The First Calamity marked the very beginning of the apocalypse. That meant I was somewhere near the start of the original story, probably around Chapter 40 or so.
At this point, Kael should have been hunting down the Ziert organization. Kael had also been in the southern region when the First Calamity appeared.
...Wait. Kaelwas in the southern region?
"You said your name was Kim, right? I suggest you tell us who you really are...!"
Lei released an overwhelming aura that sent chills down my spine.
You little...! So you're trying to intimidate me now?!
Unfortunately, I had absolutely no power to defend myself. I hadn't even had the chance to figure out how this ridiculous system worked.
"Lei, stop!"
"Move aside, Eve."
The energy radiating from Lei's body grew stronger, and the pressure intensified with every passing second.
[Special Skill 'Reader's Protection' activated!]
...What?
The magical pressure that had been pressing against my skin suddenly vanished.
"You...! How is someone without even the slightest trace of defensive magic able to withstand my pressure?!"
This was bad. His magical aura kept growing stronger. Even the tent reinforced with Eve's magic was beginning to come apart.
"Lei! I said stop!"
Eve suddenly stepped in front of me. At the same time, a mass of thick undergrowth burst from the ground, forming a barrier against Lei's magic.
That was Eve's unique skill.
Serpent Hide Shield.
It was still at a relatively low level, but its defensive capabilities were nothing to scoff at. In the original novel, the skill eventually evolved into one of the highest-tier defensive abilities.
I couldn't believe I was actually seeing it with my own eyes.
Amazing.
"You're absolutely heartless! Can't you see she's trembling with fear?!" Eve shouted angrily.
...Who's trembling? Me?
"I admit she's weak. Weaker than an insect, even. But that could just be an act to manipulate us!"
...Weak? An insect? Are they talking about me?
"Seriously, why are you so damn stubborn?!"
"You're the stubborn one, Eve!"
...What is wrong with these two?
BOOM!
A tremendous explosion rang out, its shock wave sending chills down my spine.
"Kyaaa! Run!"
"Monsters!"
"We're going to die!"
The panicked screams coming from outside reached my ears.
"Lei! Come on, hurry!"
Eve immediately rushed outside with Lei.
...Has the Second Calamity appeared already?
Impossible. It was far too early.
Or could it be...?!
[System Update Completed!]
The blue holographic screen suddenly reappeared before my eyes.
[Main Quest has arrived!]
...What?
---
More than ten lifeless bodies lay scattered across the blood-soaked ground.
The metallic stench of blood mingled with the smell of death, making the air almost suffocating. The wounds on the bodies were unnaturally clean—far too precise for the aftermath of an ordinary battle.
All of it was the work of a single man.
Every step he took pressed into the earth as though he carried the weight of the world itself. His aura was so dense that the ground trembled beneath him, tiny cracks spreading outward from his feet.
"You bastard!"
Lei charged first.
His body shot forward like a bullet, his fist gleaming as the sheer force of his physical strength distorted the air around him.
His punch shot straight toward the man's chest. But before it could land, a sword rose in a simple, effortless motion.
CLANG!
The deafening impact sent a shock wave rippling through the area. Lei was forced to leap backward several meters, his boots tearing into the earth as he landed.
"What the hell is that strength...?"
"Who are you?!" Eve shouted sharply, already gripping a dagger in each hand. "What have you done to our people?!"
The man didn't answer. He simply continued walking forward, as though Eve's questions weren't even worth acknowledging.
"Looks like you're not the type who's willing to talk," Lei muttered, raising his clenched fists. The muscles in his arms tensed, and the metal armor covering them creaked.
"Fine. We'll do this the hard way."
Lei disappeared from sight. In an instant, he reappeared on the man's left, throwing a punch from his blind spot.
The man's second sword rose to intercept the attack with almost no effort. Before Lei could even pull his arm back, the man twisted his wrist, nearly snapping Lei's bones in the process.
Lei forced himself to leap backward. Before he could catch his breath, he charged again, this time unleashing a relentless barrage of attacks.
Every strike was aimed at a vital point.
Yet the man barely moved. He dodged with small, efficient steps, as though he'd already memorized Lei's entire fighting style.
"Damn... He hasn't even gotten serious yet," Lei muttered through gritted teeth.
That was when Eve made her move. Her figure appeared behind the man in an instant, both daggers slashing simultaneously toward his neck and waist.
But the man merely turned his body slightly and drew his second sword, intercepting both blades with a single crosswise motion.
Metal clashed against metal, sending sparks flying.
The force of the impact hurled Eve backward. She landed hard, one knee slamming into the ground.
Neither Lei nor Eve gave him a moment to recover.
They attacked together.
Lei came from the front with overwhelming brute force, while Eve struck from the side with speed and precision.
Yet the man remained at the center of their assault, blocking, parrying, and dodging without showing the slightest hint of panic.
Eve leaped backward and extended her right hand. The ground beneath the man began to tremble. A small, dark green serpent emerged from a crack in the earth and coiled around his body. Its scales oozed a poisonous substance that hissed upon contact with the air.
"Now!" Eve shouted.
Lei surged forward, his fist hurtling straight toward the man's head. But the man raised both swords, trapping Lei's fist between the steel blades.
The impact was powerful enough to force him several steps backward.
For the first time, he'd actually been pushed back. Yet his expression remained unchanged.nWith a swift slash, he severed Eve's serpent in half.
The poison evaporated into the air before it could take effect. In the blink of an eye, the man was standing right in front of Lei.
His swords flashed.
One slash after another came without the slightest opening, forcing Lei entirely onto the defensive. Every so often, a blade slammed against his metal armor with a horrifying clang.
If it weren't for that armor, his arms would have been severed by the very first strike.
Eve moved again. Her body vanished as the Silent Step skill activated. She reappeared directly behind the man, her dagger aimed at a lethal point.
But before she could strike, the man abruptly stopped and twisted around, raising his sword to intercept her blade just a few centimeters from his neck.
Their eyes met.
Cold. Empty. Utterly devoid of emotion. Lei seized the opening and swung his fist. But the man shoved Eve away with a powerful thrust before leaping backward, narrowly evading Lei's attack by an almost impossible margin.
"Damn it..." Lei gasped. "He's ridiculously strong."
The man then fully unsheathed one of his swords. A dark aura immediately spread throughout the area. The air grew heavy, as though death itself had descended upon them. A relic blade connected to destruction and the end of all things.
Blade of Oblivion.
"Now," the man said flatly, raising his sword, "it's time for judgment."
The pressure of his aura weighed down on Eve and Lei as though an invisible force were crushing their bodies.
"Stop! Kael!"
A voice shattered the suffocating silence. A woman appeared between them, standing firm despite the aura of death still surging around her.
Kim Sohyun.
And for the first time since the battle began, Kael stopped moving.