Chapter 1

Thirty years old.

A traffic accident left me completely paralyzed.

Unable to move at all.

I had been living like that for over seven years.

Today, the nurses came and put me in the Capsule again.

It was a Capsule for patients, allowing simple searches with just eye movements.

For the first few months, I lamented my situation, and after that, I tried to do something.

I earned money through online part-time jobs and scribbled down stories, recalling the fantasy novels I used to enjoy.

But I didn’t make much income, perhaps due to a lack of talent.

I barely earned about 200,000 won after working on it for a whole month.

The hospital said it would be better not to do it at all.

They said that unnecessary stress could worsen my condition.

From then on, I stopped trying to earn money and just looked for things to pass the time.

Then, I happened to come across a gameplay video of the virtual reality game ‘Illusion,’ and I became engrossed in it.

With a hopeful heart, I downloaded Illusion and tried to connect, but somehow the nurse and doctor came and forcibly opened the Capsule, explaining things to me.

What was it? Something about the Capsule not recognizing my paralysis, which could be dangerous.

They used technical terms, so I didn’t understand properly, but I just blinked and nodded, being ignorant.

To soothe the disappointment of not being able to play directly, I became more deeply immersed in gathering information about Illusion.

I couldn’t connect, but I could read the posts written by users and watch the videos they uploaded.

Like that, little by little.

Before I knew it, I had fallen deeply into it, to the point where I couldn’t escape.

And around that time, I began to let my imagination run wild.

What if I could play the game?

Which village would I choose then?

What job?

Based on the information revealed later, what could I do?

Ways to get ahead.

Efficient routes to catch up with the top Rankers.

What is the level of the newly emerged job?

I looked at the users’ posts again, watched the videos, and thought again.

Repeating that process hundreds, thousands of times, I spent years of my life with Illusion.

There wasn’t a job I hadn’t imagined, a process I hadn’t thought of.

Looking at all the information over and over, I constantly thought about various situations.

Because that was all I could do.

Time passed so quickly when I was looking at things related to Illusion.

Thanks to that, I didn’t live a very unhappy life, despite being paralyzed.

Because I could still be absorbed in something.

Haa, it would be really fun.

It’s a shame I can’t do it myself.

What should I think about this time?

The most appealing job recently was Necromancer.

Although physically weak, countless monsters that can be summoned become allies and wipe out the enemy.

It’s attractive, but it’s not a very popular job.

Because it’s extremely difficult to raise.

Based on the information revealed recently, it’s seeing a little light, but the number of people playing it is lower compared to promising jobs.

Still, I couldn’t deny that I was drawn to it.

I want to do it. I want to do it so badly.

I’ve been holding back for seven years.

I’ve only been watching.

Because of that, my patience is now running out.

The doctor told me hundreds of times that I should never connect to the game.

He warned me about the dangers and agreed to a document stating that the hospital would not be responsible if I did connect.

Of course, I expressed my intention through the Capsule.

I also informed my family of the matter.

Nevertheless, I agonize every day.

Just once.

Can’t I connect just once?

Can’t I move there just once?

…Can’t I feel freedom?

I shook my head.

I shouldn’t. Absolutely not. They say I could die. They say it’s dangerous.

To relieve this thirst, I turn on another video.

Now that the game industry has developed more than anything else, dramas, movies, and animations have all died out.

Why?

Because no medium can be more real than ‘virtual reality.’

The experience there is the most intense thrill.

Now people can’t live without Illusion.

If you turn on the TV, the Rankers of Illusion appear like celebrities, and they film and broadcast scenes of them breaking quests.

There are guild wars, wars between kingdoms, and even wars between continents.

How ecstatic.

I live in such a world.

Except for ‘me.’

Look at this video.

I can’t take my eyes off it.

How can I not connect to such a world?

As my worries deepen, the images of my mother and sister suddenly come to mind.

My father, who died from overwork.

What did they sacrifice for me?

My father sacrificed his life, and my family wasted the rest of their lives.

For me, who has no chance of moving again.

But what am I doing?

I’m obsessed with games, living only looking at them. Knowing that it’s reality, I can’t help but curse.

Damn it…!

The thoughts that started once pressed down on me.

Actually, it was okay in the beginning.

I took it for granted that my family was taking care of me.

But from about three or four years later, I began to feel burdened.

From the time my father passed away and my mother and sister visited the hospital in a haggard state, lamenting their lives.

From the moment I realized that my existence could be too heavy a burden for them.

I gradually began to dislike myself.

Sometimes I even thought.

Let’s just die.

If I die, my family won’t be harmed.

They will be comfortable.

Now they should live their lives, shouldn’t they?

It seemed like it was really time to stop pouring blood, sweat, and tears into collecting money for hospital bills.

But I can’t commit suicide either.

Because my body doesn’t move.

Because I can’t do anything.

Perhaps because the situation coincided perfectly, one fact that I knew but ignored suddenly came to mind.

The doctor’s words that it could be dangerous to connect to the game, the voice that I might lose my life.

Why did it come to mind now of all times?

I don’t know why, but one thing was certain.

Illusion had become unfamiliar.

That thing that I had only looked at with longing had now become a tool of death.

I shake my head.

I’m crazy too.

I’ve lived as a disabled person for over seven years, so it would be stranger if I were normal.

It was amazing that I was maintaining this much sanity.

Of course, that wouldn’t have been possible without Illusion.

Ding-dong.

Then the Capsule opened.

The nurse moved me to the bed.

It was already evening.

I fell asleep listening to the complaints of my family who came late at night.

It was just a story about how hard it was today. A stuffy feeling grips my chest.

I felt like I was going to have a nightmare.

Half a year has passed since I realized that Illusion could be a tool for death, not hope for maintaining life.

I was rapidly deteriorating.

If there was at least a light in my eyes before, now they were sunken as if they were dead.

I had no motivation.

Everything was futile.

That futility became even more severe every evening when I saw my family’s faces.

Because of the sighs of my mother and sister that started at some point.

“It’s really too hard these days.”

“I want to forget everything.”

“I don’t want to live.”

“I want to die, I want to die…”

Since when, they were struggling with the fact that I was alive, even though they were living for me.

I, too, felt my heart collapse as I looked at such a mother and sister.

“Sob… hic…”

One day, my mother cried silently.

The crying lasted for a long time.

Only then did I realize.

It’s really time to try now.

For a new life.

Or towards death.

Whatever it becomes, I will have no regrets.

That day, as soon as I connected to the Capsule, I downloaded Illusion.

And I tried to connect to the game.

Perhaps because I hadn’t shown any signs of connecting again after the first connection.

It seems that the hospital belatedly realized that fact, and now I could faintly hear the sound of footsteps running.

They will try to take me out of the Capsule.

I have to connect before that.

If I just connect, they won’t forcibly take me out of the Capsule.

Rather, that’s more dangerous.

[Do you want to connect to Illusion?]

I expressed my intention with my eyes.

Yes.

At the same time, the world went dark.

[Scanning the body.]

But something is wrong.

My head hurt so badly.

Ugh, ugh…

My whole body trembled, and I had a seizure.

The world became faint.

Even consciousness…

And when I opened my eyes again.

I was back in a day eight years ago.