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Chapter 1 : The Only Reason
Everyone has one of those days.
The kind of day where you wake up feeling refreshed, only to realize you're late. You rush to get dressed and leave, only to hit every single red light. And, of course, it just has to be the day of an important event.
A day where it feels like the entire universe is conspiring against you.
I went through a lot of days like that when I was younger.
If I had to guess the frequency, I’d say about once every two weeks.
Е̊ n̂u m̊.а
I later found out it was supposedly because I was born with a twisted fate, destined to suffer before finding fortune late in life. Or something like that.
The fortune was told at a street cart stall, so it wasn't exactly credible.
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I asked for a reading of my fate, but the guy laid out tarot cards and started talking about my facial features. How was I supposed to believe that?
In any case, it was clear I had bad luck.
And whenever that bad luck struck, my mood would plummet.
On top of that, when I thought about it, my bad luck was ultimately my own fault, so other people's words of comfort never really reached me.
W еbn о́ v е l Ѐ n u m̂а
What could I do?
I had to bear it alone.
…And then one day, while I was wallowing in my own misery, I suddenly awakened an ability.
The ability to commune with plants.
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***
It wasn't that plants would wrap their stems around my wrist if I held out my hand, or that we could have a conversation.
Е̃ ǹ û m̀а . і̌ d̀
It’s not like I had a secret birthright, with the blood of elves or druids flowing through my veins. An ability like that would be impossible.
If you water them properly, give them enough sunlight, control the humidity, and provide nutrients, plants grow well.
If you were busy and neglected them for a few days, you could see their condition worsen with your own eyes.
There was even a time when the pseudoscience that plants grow better when you praise them was popular.
What else could that be but proof of the ability to commune with plants?
The important thing was that I felt that way.
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Even if someone were to curse me out for being a lunatic, pathetically talking to myself, I was confident.
They say the color green has a calming effect on the mind and body.
True to those words, the verdant light of the plants comforted my life.
When I had to retake my college entrance exams, it was a weed growing through the concrete that comforted me.
When I broke up with my girlfriend, it was the pine tree on the mountain behind my house. When I got chewed out by my boss, it was an orchid that soothed my heart.
In this way, plants were with me through the ups and downs of my life.
Ẽṅüm̆ а̀
I found solace in them, and wasn't that enough?
I marveled at the mystique of the lobelia, which bloomed at different times of day and night.
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My gaze was stolen by the splendor of the forsythia, blooming in lush abundance.
I was completely captivated by the resilience of the monstera, which staunchly endured disasters.
Even the common weeds on the roadside each had their own unique charm.
So it was only natural that I took an early interest in returning to the countryside to farm, something others only dream of in their later years after being worn down by the harshness of society.
Wë b̌ n ȯv̈ ěl Ӗ n um̃ӓ
Of course, it was just a dream. I didn't have the means to make it a reality.
In my less-than-350-square-foot studio apartment, it was difficult to cultivate even a small vegetable patch.
And besides, I was still too young to live out the rest of my days with nature as my companion.
That's when I found a certain game.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Fantasy Punk, or FP for short. A single-player RPG.
It had a unique fantasy world that was achieving a high level of development through engineering technology infused with magic.
Ẅ е̃bǹ о̇ v e ľ Еn̈ u m̈а_
Due to the game's setting, a period obsessed with progress, telephone poles were more common than roadside trees, and trash cans were more common than bushes.
Greenery was hard to find in this game.
It was a detail that added to the game's charm, but I thought the opposite.
Wouldn't a world like this become perfect if it were harmonized with greenery?
How satisfying would it be to just buy a small house and make my own little vegetable garden?
The game already boasted an incredible degree of freedom, so all sorts of concept plays were rampant.
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There was even a popular playthrough of a naked madman leading a red revolution, rejecting the very progress that was the game's basic premise.
If world domination wasn't impossible, surely my humble goal couldn't be.
I decided to unfold my unfulfilled dream from reality here.
***
A harsh winter wind blew.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say the wind was cold enough to slice through skin.
Е̂ṅ u m̈ а́
In the blade-like flow of air, delicate skin was torn to shreds, and even hard carapaces shattered like glass bowls.
It was a place where even adventurers, who risked their lives for a shot at a fortune, dared not set foot.
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A forbidden land.
I stepped into that place.
“……”
With this, my exploration rate hit 100%.
Wе b nǒv̀ еl Е̊n̆ ŭ m̌a
A notification window popped up, making a huge fuss and praising my achievement.
I didn't even glance at it.
In the end, the exploration was a failure.
“It’s not here either.”
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I sat down on the ground, using my oil-stained cloak as a cushion.
On Earth, plants existed even in the Antarctic and the Arctic.
Еn ǔ m а
Surprisingly, that wasn't the case in the game.
My search for a resilient plant that could live in a forbidden land had failed.
“Is it really this hard to make one vegetable patch in a game?”
Was the world conspiring against me, just like when I was a kid?
I looked into the distance.
A massive city came into view.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
It was different from the cities in Korea, where every neighborhood had a mountain behind it.
A concrete jungle where only the inorganic color of gray was visible.
When I breathed in, the polluted air stung my nose. The soil on the ground had lost its vitality and crumbled easily.
“I knew it wouldn't be easy.”
It was easier than the naked madman's red revolution, but it was still a concept play that went against the game's world.
But I never expected it to be this difficult.
W_ё b n̈оv̄_е̊.l Е ňu̇ mа
“How many times have I tried this now?”
After the thirtieth time, I got tired of counting.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
The game's difficulty itself was a factor, but going against the world of a game through gameplay was no ordinary feat.
Plants would grow, but they would be withered. The fruits were dry. They just wouldn't thrive.
Cultivating a 350-square-foot vegetable patch was more arduous than becoming a building owner.
It was fine in some areas, but… those were just statistical errors, exceptions.
Ŵ e b̊ǹ o̊ vel̀ E ńumа
They didn't have a major impact on the overall trend.
Recently, I had even tried developing magic at the Magic Tower and personally commissioning research from a major corporation.
Even that was useless.
It was as if the land's fertility had fundamentally declined, so those were only temporary solutions.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
I tried everything I could, but what couldn't be done, couldn't be done.
I couldn't even dream of making plants thrive, and before I knew it, I had spent hundreds of hours playing this game.
Е n̆ ù.m̂ a. і́ d
And then I realized.
This wasn't something I could achieve by just trying to make a vegetable patch. I had to overturn the entire world of the game.
That was why I, who had started playing this game to relax and had only been dabbling in it, had become a hardcore player.
“There must be a way, though.”
I rested my chin on my hand with a blank expression.
FP's popularity was due to its vast freedom.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Overturning the world was difficult, not impossible.
The problem was that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't make any progress beyond a certain point with my concept play.
It couldn't be that the game company had systematically blocked it…
“There are no clues even after searching the Magic Tower or using the information network of a major corporation.”
Even becoming a high-ranking mage at the Magic Tower didn't give me a clue.
Even consulting with a major corporation that controlled a national-scale economy didn't lead to a solution.
Ѐ ǹǔ ṁa. іd̃
With failure after failure, I now had no idea where to even begin.
“Do I have to become a mayor or something?”
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
In the midst of explosive technological development, nations had disappeared, and each city had formed its own autonomous territory.
Local warlords held power instead of a central government.
The position of mayor in a large city was truly close to omnipotent.
Just once, I could mobilize national capabilities for my own selfish desires.
Е̊ nûm а
I would have to pay the price afterward… but then I could just move on to the next playthrough.
The first step was to make a breakthrough.
At this rate, no matter how many times I repeated it, it would just be a waste of time.
“Well, it's impossible in this playthrough.”
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
This character had walked a different path to throw himself into the council.
Politics, whether in reality or in a game, was not something you could just jump into without preparation.
Еnù m а̃
“Then I'll have to do it in the next playthrough.”
Just as I was about to touch the logout button with a bitter smile,
[Your constant affection for nature!]
[The Nature Affinity stat will be created for the first time!]
[You can now change your class to Druid!]
“...?”
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My eyes widened as I read the message.
Nature Affinity, Druid.
It was something I had never seen before, not only in the information I found within the game but also on community sites.
“What is this…”
A hidden piece of sorts.
Since my goal wasn't to clear the game, it should have been a useless prize, but this time was different.
W̃ е̂ bn̊о̄v еl Е́num a
A druid is, by image, close to a guardian of nature.
Finally, I saw a path.
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All the fruitless digging I had done until now had been a journey to reach this point!
“Ch-change class.”
With a trembling hand, I placed my finger on the selection button.
It was then.
W ě b̀n̈óv̇eľ Ё n̊ǔm̂ а̂
[A new game will begin!]
Whoosh!
The world was flooded with light.
Even though a brilliant halo of light colored the world, it wasn't blinding.
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It was an artificial and unrealistic scene, as if a layer of paint depicting light had been applied, rather than actual light.
I sucked in a breath and froze.
Е́n ū m̆ ӓ.і̃ d̊_
My rigid brain couldn't accept the bizarre change before my eyes.
Crack!
Soon, fine lines, like cracks in a mirror, spread across the painted world.
An ominous sound echoed in my head, and then…
Crash!
The world shattered.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Fragments of the world scattered like pieces of a broken glass.
The sky fell.
The ground split, and the city collapsed.
A strange vibration shook not only the earth but also the air.
Not even the moments of world destruction I had experienced in this game had been this dramatic.
It was, in a word, a catastrophe.
E n.u mа̌. і̂ d̈
“...Wh-what the!”
I, who had been watching blankly, hurriedly mashed the logout button.
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“...!”
There was no sensation under my hand.
There wasn't even a sound effect.
It was unresponsive.
En u̇m å
The system showed no reaction.
As if it were broken.
“You son of a…!”
In the face of this global phenomenon, my resistance was feeble.
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The world collapsed, and finally, my own body shattered and scattered.
In the horrific pain, as if my limbs were being torn apart, I lost consciousness.
Е n̂u m а . і̃d
***
Pshhhh!
Old, black, and crude machinery filled the interior of the building.
Hot steam erupted from the pillars.
The noise from the massive, reciprocating cylinders echoed like a heartbeat.
The smell of oil stung my nose.
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Droplets of sweat evaporated as soon as they formed, turning into steam and clinging damply to my skin.
Molten iron, resembling lava, flowed across the factory, and the sparks that flew up illuminated the darkness in place of torches.
“Heok… heok…”
“Knghhh!”
“Aargh!”
The ones moving the machines in the sweltering heat that made it hard to even open one's eyes were workers in shabby clothes.
Е_n uḿa . і d̈
All that could be heard from all around were screams filled with malice.
A dangerous job of tilting the furnace by turning a pulley.
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If even one person failed to do their part, dozens would melt in the molten iron.
No matter how scary and difficult it was, they had to grit their teeth and squeeze out every last bit of strength.
Whack!
“You worthless worms!”
W ѐ_b̀ṅо̀v̌ el̆ En û m à
“Move it, move it!”
“You think you can meet today's quota working like this?!”
Just as I was about to lose strength from exhaustion, the sight of the vulgar supervisor and the wretched group of workers snapped me to my senses.
The pain of the whip hitting my back was not just a sting.
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My skin tingled as if thousands of awls were stabbing it, and my breath caught in my throat.
It would be better if it ended with the whip.
Ẅ е́b̂ n ӧv́ е̄ l̄ En̄ u m a
If the molten iron, boiling like lava, splashed on you, not even a corpse would be left.
“Stop! Hold it there!”
At the veteran's command, we stopped the pulley and secured the furnace.
An automatic locking device?
There was no such thing.
It was purely human strength that stopped the furnace from tilting back.
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“Done! Slowly return it to its original position!”
We couldn't let our guard down until the very end.
Only after the furnace was completely settled back in the blazing fire did the workers collapse as if they were breaking down.
I was the same.
“...Heok! Hah!”
I had no strength in my body.
Eñ umа
My whole body was a mess from the intense labor.
I panted and looked around.
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All I could see were massive clumps of machinery spewing smoke.
A wretched group of workers and a vulgar supervisor.
An identical factory complex, as if it had been copied and pasted.
When I opened my eyes, this was my state.
E n̊ ûm̃ ӑ . і d̄
I had been reduced to a mere factory worker, no different from a slave.
“……”
The only thing that remained unchanged in all of this was the message sparkling in the corner of my vision.
I enlarged it.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
[You are a Druid!]
[As the last Druid, revive the great nature!]
W̊ẽb_ńоṽe ĺ Е n̊ŭ_m̀а̇
It was the one and only reason I endured this wretched life.
(End of Chapter)
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