Chapter 2

A week had already passed since that day.

At first, he thought he had fallen into the afterlife, but it wasn’t.

That is, his youthful twenties.

To be precise, he had returned to a day when he was 29 years old.

At first, he was very surprised.

Then, he met his family and shed tears.

He wailed, knowing their hardships.

He hoped it wasn’t a dream.

After belatedly regaining his senses, he thought a lot. He even secretly received psychiatric counseling, and in the process, he was able to come to one conclusion.

That now is by no means a dream.

It was clearly reality.

Then, could what he remembered be a dream?

Had he woken up from a long dream?

That wasn’t it either.

His memories were too vivid.

Based on that, he compared it to Illusion, and it became even clearer.

The continent and kingdom, the Rankers who appeared, and even the system.

All of it matched.

It was proof that the content he remembered was not fiction.

It was then.

“Employee Kang!”

“Ah, yes!”

Team Leader Kim called out to Kang Muhyuk.

“Is there anything you want to eat for lunch today?”

“Ah, well…”

Everyone’s attention was focused.

“Just say anything.”

He always passes on only these kinds of things.

What if I say anything?

He’ll frown and shake his head, obviously.

“There’s budae jjigae nearby…”

“Budae jjigae? Hmm, too ordinary.”

“Then, how about noodles…”

“Tired of it.”

As expected.

Then, a female employee raised her hand.

“How about a set menu, Team Leader Kim?”

“Hoo, a set menu?”

“Yes!”

“Good. You think differently!”

“Thank you!”

“Wrap up your work. We’ll leave in 10 minutes.”

Kang Muhyuk smiled as he watched them.

Strange…

It was definitely a situation that would have annoyed him in the past.

But now, instead of annoyance, he felt a strange pleasure along with the premonition that he would.

Yes, because he came back.

He can move again, laugh with his family, and speak again.

And the fact that he can enjoy the virtual reality game ‘Illusion,’ which opened five months ago, whenever he wants, is enough to make him happy.

Let’s not have unnecessary worries.

What if it’s a dream, what if he came back?

The fact that he got another chance.

That’s what’s important.

“Okay, shall we go eat?”

“Yes!”

Kang Muhyuk, who had lunch together and returned to the company, immediately took his seat and turned on the Hangul file.

He began to organize the information about Illusion that he had only been thinking about in his head.

Of course, he only listed the unique words he knew. So that others could never recognize it even if they saw it.

Five months ago, simultaneous worldwide opening.

The level of Ranker 1 is 51.

The level of 100,000 Rankers is 48.

Can he be the best?

No, it doesn’t have to be the best.

He just wants to enjoy it.

Properly.

But to enjoy it properly, he needs power.

While living with quadriplegia, he came across a lot of Illusion videos and posts, and thanks to that, he was able to realize one thing.

That it is a world ruled only by power.

If reality is a world ruled by money and power, then that place is a space where only strength is everything.

He pours all his money, power, and connections from reality into the power of Illusion.

What can you do with the changed power?

Everything that is not accepted in reality is possible.

Looting, murder, intimidation, fraud, etc.

Most crimes, except for some extreme ones, are legalized within the fence of content.

Even if a murderer comes in and kills an NPC or a user, they don’t pay the price.

There are many users who enjoy killing in the game because the feeling of killing is very similar.

Nevertheless, they cannot be punished by law.

There is a content called bounty hunter in the game, but if you have the power to beat them, there is no reason to be afraid.

In other words, in the end, no matter what you do, if you are strong, there is no problem.

A world where no one can say anything even if you become a madman if you are strong!

Rather, a place where you can create a guild with people with similar tendencies and rule the world in the dark.

That is ‘Illusion.’

Therefore, if you don’t have power, you can’t do anything.

You have to be angry at the guild’s tyranny, and even if you participate in the war in the future, you will be swept away helplessly.

You are looted and PKed for no reason.

When the strong wave their hands and laugh in front, the weak can only look at their backs from behind.

He doesn’t like that.

Since he’s doing it anyway, he doesn’t want to be in the position of the weak.

Not the best, but the strong! He wants to be strong.

He is thinking of it as a new life, so he doesn’t want to be buried in the word ‘defeat’ this time.

He is confident.

Because he starts with all the information that others don’t know.

Thump, thump.

Then he has to think.

What is the best?

What is the most effective?

A job where everything is possible alone.

A job that can be unrivaled alone.

Is there such a job?

Only one thing comes to mind.

Gangster Necromancer.

Yes, if it’s that…

But it’s too difficult. It requires a lot of grinding, and the efficiency is low compared to the investment.

It can only really shine after the mid-game.

Until then, he would have to hold his breath and endure.

But…

If he has the patience to do that.

If he has the perseverance and effort…

At that moment, Kang Muhyuk’s eyes sank coldly.

Squeeze.

His hand clenched involuntarily.

He calculated the money he had collected so far.

12 million won in savings that will mature next week.

3 million won in installment savings that will mature on the same day.

A total of 15 million won.

The price of the Capsule is 3 million won.

The usage fee is 300,000 won per month.

In addition, if he sets the minimum amount to live on at 1 million won, he can immerse himself in Illusion for about a year.

Of course, he will be able to make enough money before that, but he must also keep the worst-case scenario in mind.

Even if that’s not the case, he might need capital in the early stages.

Therefore, he was planning to keep some money as a reserve.

Illusion stock?

Of course, it’s good, but not now.

The current price of one share of Illusion stock is a whopping 2.3 million won.

It will exceed 10 million won in the future, but that is a distant future after 8 years.

Until then, Illusion stock will rise very slowly, so it was not an urgent problem right now.

Now, it was most important to grow quickly based on the information he knew.

If he sells the information he knows according to the situation later, he will be able to make enough money.

It’s not too late to buy stocks then.

He shook his head.

Money is important, but…

He was more looking forward to the world of Illusion than that.

Because he had always dreamed of it.

The feeling of living in Illusion.

What will it be like?

He spent more than 7 years with that imagination.

So, let’s not be afraid of challenges.

He regretted a lot in his quadriplegic state.

His timid appearance.

His weakness that he couldn’t do anything.

Himself who had conformed.

So, this time it will be different.

He will make it so.

Swish.

Kang Muhyuk, he got up.

He took a long breath and headed to the manager.

“Manager.”

“Hmm? What’s wrong?”

He took out his resignation letter from his pocket and handed it over.

“Resignation letter?”

“Thank you for everything.”

To be honest, company life was not that difficult.

Even though he had returned to the past and was not properly aware of the situation, he was able to adapt easily.

Thanks to that, he has been working hard and saving money until now.

“Why all of a sudden?”

“I’m going to try something new.”

“Hmm… Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

It’s a calm voice.

Only then did the manager realize that Kang Muhyuk’s decision was very firm and picked up the resignation letter.

“Okay. I’ll approve this in a few days, so tell me right away if you change your mind.”

Kang Muhyuk bowed his head instead of answering.

It was a word of thanks.

He doesn’t know what other companies are like, but this place was really good.

Look at it now. Even though he submitted his resignation, he is given a few days’ grace.

From that alone, he could tell what kind of person the manager in front of him was.

“Thank you.”

“Enough with the greetings. I don’t know what you’re going to do, but do it properly since you’re doing it.”

“Yes.”

After answering with a smile, he turned around.

He packed his bags and left the office.

There was no hesitation in his actions.

Not a single regret.

Because he will live a new life from now on.

The place where he lives, paying 450,000 won in monthly rent.

A Capsule of considerable size has entered the place where there is only a bed and a TV hanging on the wall.

When the Capsule was placed in the corner, the empty space became crowded.

“Hoo, installation is complete.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Please contact us if you have any problems.”

He received the business card that the technician handed over.

After roughly putting it in his pocket, he put on his shoes and saw him off.

After that, he locked the door and activated the Capsule.

The lid opened with a buzzing sound.

Thump, thump.

Feeling the beating of his heart, he lay down in the Capsule.

Dreams become reality.

How much he wanted to connect.

It is a game he has only been watching for 7 years.

Today, finally…

The door of the Capsule closes.

-Loading.

-Connecting to Illusion.

A mirror appeared.

An existence with the same appearance as himself was visible.

Kang Muhyuk made his hair a little longer and moved on to the next step.

-Select a region…

He didn’t even listen to the end.

The continent is already confirmed as Forma.

Because that is the continent of Asia.

The place to choose was either the Empire or the Kingdom.

“Arsen Kingdom.”

-Character name…

“Muhyuk.”

-Is the character name ‘Muhyuk’ correct?

“Yes.”

-Have a good trip.

At the same time as the mechanical voice faded, darkness came.

Flash!

Bright light and a pure white sky are visible.

The clouds located in the front of his line of sight as well.

A change occurred just before he was about to admire it.

His body began to fall at an incredible speed.

The huge continents located below are visible, and the empires and kingdoms located in various parts of the continent come into view.

Soon, Kang Muhyuk’s body stopped above the fountain in the center of the Arsen Kingdom he had chosen.

As if falling was a lie, Muhyuk landed naturally on the ground.

“Whoa…”

He quietly put his hand on his heart.

It’s a good feeling.

After smiling, he moved his body.

Such naturalness!

It was really amazing.

He had only seen and heard it in videos, so the present moment he was experiencing directly felt like a dream.

A game he had only been watching for over 7 years.

A place where many people came and shouted their dreams, more virtual than reality.

He has finally connected to Illusion.

“Ugh…!”

Joy and thrill.

Many memories that follow.

He is filled with emotions.

No, no.

He shook his head urgently.

It wasn’t the time to be immersed in such emotions.

Even though he knows the information, the path of the Gangster Necromancer is never easy.

He has to put in much more effort than others.

Therefore, it was necessary to catch up with those who had already gone ahead.

He looked around.

It’s there.

He headed to the training center first.

“Oh, welcome. Are you a stranger?”

A middle-aged instructor greeted Muhyuk.

“Yes, I don’t know what to do because it’s an unfamiliar place. I want to go through training here first. Is that possible?”

“If you are a user who is here for the first time, it is definitely possible.”

There is a condition for using the training center.

You must be level 1.

Muhyuk had just connected, so he naturally met the condition.

“Here, take it.”

The instructor handed over a wooden sword.

Just before Muhyuk received the wooden sword.

“Break the three scarecrows standing there. However, you must only use diagonal slashes. Is that possible?”

Quest information appeared in front of his eyes.

[The First Test of the Training Center]

[Break the scarecrows with only diagonal slashes (0/3)]

[Time Limit: 10 minutes]

[If successful: Experience. Linked to the second test]

[If failed: Retry. Cannot be linked]

[Would you like to accept the quest?]

Muhyuk, who had checked the contents, received the wooden sword.

“It is possible.”

“You are full of confidence. The time is 10 minutes. I’ll look forward to it.”

The quest was automatically accepted.

He immediately approached the scarecrows set up in various parts of the training center.

He stopped in front of them and scanned his surroundings.

There were no people performing quests like Muhyuk.

Perhaps there was no one who had completed the training center quest to the end yet, or even if there was, it was because he had not released the information.

He must clear it.

He raised the wooden sword above his left head.

Can he break three scarecrows in 10 minutes?

The quest itself is not difficult.

However, it is just tricky.

Okay, focus.

“Hoo…”

After taking a breath, he swung down the sword.