Chapter 1 :
I'm 34 years old.
No job. No experience. No future.
Currently, I'm living with my grandparents after getting kicked out of my parents' house. Honestly, I can't even blame them. I was a burden. And to make things worse, my father caught me in the act… yeah, that act. That was the final straw. They didn't hesitate to throw me out for good.
So I ended up relying on my grandparents. Thankfully, I've always had a good relationship with them since I was a kid.
Still… that doesn't change the fact that I'm a complete failure.
No money. A terrible reputation. And with my introverted personality, I wasted every opportunity I ever had. That's how I ended up like this.
Pathetic, right?
But even someone like me had one thing.
One thing that made life bearable.
An RPG game called ERA OF ALTHEA.
It didn't have amazing graphics. The story wasn't anything special either. But somehow… it had charm. A strange kind of charm. The game was full of bugs, glitches, and broken mechanics—but instead of ruining it, those flaws made it fun.
You could exploit things. Break systems. Do stuff no normal game would allow.
It was… unique.
And when I say "players," don't get the wrong idea.
This game is already dead.
There's only one person still playing it.
Me.
Now, you're probably thinking, "What a miserable life he has."
…Yeah, I can't really argue with that.
But hey—aren't we just looking at things from different angles?
Because from where I stand…
I'm actually living a pretty happy life right now.
As long as I can keep playing that game, I won't lose hope in life.
Or at least…
That's what I thought.
As I went for a walk, I paid no attention to the traffic and suddenly found myself facing a huge truck, only a few inches away.
I knew there was no way to avoid the inevitable.
As I reflected on my life in the little time I had left, a realization struck me.
…I've seen this before.
Countless times.
There was no way I could overlook it.
It was just like every isekai story.
And in that moment, a burning feeling arose within me…
If isekai stories were real, then from the bottom of my heart, I hope to be reborn in a new world—one where even someone like me, a useless bum, could live life to the fullest.
I slowly opened my eyes, trying to figure out where I was.
That's when I remembered—
I had been struck by a truck.
So… where am I now?
The place felt unfamiliar… or maybe not, actually.
It was a cave, dark and cold, with a gate at the far end.
There was no way out.
Just a single chamber… and inside it stood a massive, demon-like creature with blue skin and gleaming eyes.
…I know what that is.
It's one of the very first monsters from the RPG game I used to play.
A sudden thought struck me.
Am I… inside the game???
At that moment, I didn't feel scared, stressed, or depressed.
I felt relieved.
I'M INSIDE THE GAME!
What did I ever do to deserve such a reward?
Looks like my suffering has finally come to an end.
…Well, there's one last thing I need to check.
If my guess is right, then I'll be living on easy mode in this world.
Let's try this out…
I stepped closer to the metal gate and examined it for a few seconds.
Then, focusing on a specific point, I jumped as high as I could and slammed my head toward it while attempting a roll.
And just as I expected…
My head didn't collide with the gate.
It passed straight through it—pulling the rest of my body along and dropping me on the other side.
IT WORKED!
The bugs that existed in the game in my previous world…
They exist here too.
I remember this particular bug couldn't be fixed, no matter how many times they tried.
Just as I was about to celebrate—
The boss inside the chamber let out a deafening roar and charged toward me.
My body froze.
I panicked, unsure of what to do.
I turned around—
The gate was closed.
At the last possible moment, I repeated the same movement as before and slipped through the gate, escaping the boss room.
A loud metallic crash echoed through the cave.
The boss's attack had slammed into the gate.
…
That's when it hit me.
This isn't a game anymore.
One wrong move…
And I could lose my life for good.
But hey… high risk, high reward, right?
Well, anyway, let's figure out what to do next.
Most games have a stats window, so there's a good chance this world has some way of checking my stats and skills too.
As soon as that thought crossed my mind—
A mechanical voice echoed in my head.
"You can access your status window by thinking of the word 'STATS.'"
…Where did that come from???
It felt like it came from my own mind, but…
What a strange sensation.
Anyway, since I've now confirmed that the bugs from my previous life exist here as well, I need to figure out how to defeat that boss.
As soon as that thought crossed my mind, a window appeared in front of me.
Mission Acquired: Defeat the Boss – GLEAMING EYES
Upon completion, you will receive the following rewards:
2 You will be teleported to the nearest village, where you can register as an adventurer.
1 You will receive one piece of information about any topic of your choice.
…Now that's some real motivation.
Alright then, let's start by figuring out how to defeat that boss.
Unlike most games, Era of Althea has incredibly tough bosses—so tough that you usually need to be at least twice their level to defeat them without serious difficulty.
Hmm… well, I don't really need to play fair.
Then I remembered something important.
There was a specific spot where you could attack the boss and deal damage to it without ever getting close.
It was like a spatial rift—your attacks would reach the boss even though a huge distance the two of you .
If it works the way I remember…
That could change everything.
Well, of course the planning part is always easier than the execution.
But yeah… let's give it a shot.
First, I just need to get close enough for the boss to notice me. Then I'll lure it to the corner near the gate before escaping using the same bug I used earlier.
With the plan in mind, I moved into action.
I entered the boss chamber.
Lured it to the spot I had planned.
And then escaped as fast as I could.
While the boss was still confused, trying to process the sudden disappearance of its prey, I moved to the opposite corner of the gate and started throwing punches into thin air.
To anyone watching, I probably looked like a complete lunatic.
But then something happened.
A health bar suddenly appeared above the boss, along with a notification informing me that I had started dealing damage.
Just as excitement began to rise inside me, I noticed something strange.
Wait…
Am I really damaging it?
The HP bar hadn't decreased at all.
Then another notification appeared.
Damage dealt per attack: 1 HP
Boss HP: 200,000
…
YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME.
Why would I be thrown against a boss if I can only deal one point of damage at a time?
That's just … so depressing.
…Alright.
Let's calm down.
Even if it takes an absurd amount of time, this quest is still technically possible.
Let's try to look at the bright side, shall we?