“Uhk!”

Jo Seunghyun stepped off the carry vehicle and stretched his arms wide.

“Huaaah…”

This was Scenario.1 Territory.

Modern architecture rising between countless pillars of light. Truly, a beautiful place.

*Thump- thump-*

“So hyung-nim is here, right?”

After completing Antero’s training, Jo Seunghyun had achieved the remarkable feat of reaching S-rank.

It was all thanks to focusing all his strength on the Basic Swordsmanship he had learned from watching Ha Gangwoo.

“But there are fewer people than I thought?”

Jo Seunghyun looked around, puzzled.

The Scenario.1 zone was famous for its dense population of Players.

Scenario.1 had a low barrier to entry—anyone who cleared the Tutorial could get there.

There was no better place to earn Gold, either.

As long as your level was high enough, you could do anything from working as a carry knight to peddling items.

It was the perfect spot to fleece some freshly contracted Newbie with a fat wallet, wasn’t it?

But the crowd here was way thinner than he’d heard.

Jo Seunghyun reached into his Inventory and pulled out a lollipop, popping it into his mouth.

Clink—

Green grape flavor flooded his mouth, sweetness spreading across his tongue.

“That’s probably why.”

The reason no one was at the entrance to Scenario.1—if you had to pin it on something, that was it.

Jo Seunghyun tilted his head back and looked up at the sky.

Between the golden-glowing pillars.

‘A red pillar…’

One massive pillar churning ominously. And above it, a single System window hung in the air.

[Scenario.1 is updating…]

[Please wait.]

“Update?”

The System updating—he’d never heard of that happening.

“Let’s go.”

Jo Seunghyun fixed his gaze on the flickering red pillar and started walking.

Murmur—murmur—

When he reached the red pillar, sure enough, a crowd had already gathered.

“Is something big about to happen again, like with the Cataclysm demons?”

“I already reported it to the Association. Rankers should be on their way.”

Everyone stared at the red pillar, unease written all over their faces.

“Whoa…”

Jo Seunghyun couldn’t help but marvel at the intense red pillar.

It was so vivid, the whole area was bathed in red.

Especially that ominous System window floating overhead.

[Scenario.1 is updating…]

[Please wait.]

The atmosphere felt like something was about to happen any second.

Gulp—

Everyone swallowed dryly, their eyes locked on the pillar.

Ding—

[Update complete.]

[From now on, DLC – Another Story is now in effect.]

Whoooosh—

The System notification appeared, and then an intense light erupted from the red pillar.

A golden radiance so blinding you couldn’t keep your eyes open.

“Wh-what the hell?!”

Everyone shielded their eyes with both hands, panicking.

Ding—

[Due to the Player who showed complete peace in Skypier, a dimensional Gate connected to Skypier has opened.]

CRACKLE—

The pillar of light faded, and in its place, a massive Gate began to form.

“Everyone, weapons up!”

Players raised their weapons, on high alert.

“Don’t miss a single shot!”

Even a reporter with a camera, capturing the scene live.

Right then, a hundred pairs of eyes fixed on the Gate.

Shoosh—

A man’s figure emerged.

“Huh?! What the…”

“A person?”

Just as everyone started questioning.

“Hyung-nim!”

Jo Seunghyun sprinted toward Ha Gangwoo.

***

“Do you have a moment?”

“Player Ha Gangwoo. I’m a reporter from DBC…”

A massive crowd swarmed around Ha Gangwoo.

Twenty years since the System’s arrival, and now the first System update.

And at its center stood Ha Gangwoo.

Naturally, all eyes turned to him.

‘Why are so many people gathered here?’

Ha Gangwoo frowned as he took in the sea of faces.

“Hyung-nim! It’s me!”

Jo Seunghyun’s voice cut through the crowd, bellowing so loudly it drowned out hundreds of others without effort.

‘Let’s get out of here first.’

Under the weight of countless stares, Ha Gangwoo simply closed his eyes.

Ding-

[You have used Invisible.]

A soft rustle, and then—Ha Gangwoo’s form faded from the spot where over a hundred gazes converged.

“I knew it!”

But the reporter watching—Kim Juhye—curled a knowing smile.

“What are you waiting for! Use the item now!”

She’d prepared for this very moment. A Detection Field.

Kim Juhye. She’d come here on the sole fact that Ha Gangwoo was inside the Scenario zone.

That Detection Field had cost her tens of millions of won, but if it meant securing an interview with Ha Gangwoo, the price was nothing.

‘Just follow him naturally.’

Tail him after he vanishes into Stealth. Meet him, offer a small compensation, and land the interview.

That was the scenario she’d drawn up.

Kim Juhye slipped on the prepared glasses, and her colleague activated the Detection Field.

Vwoom—the Detection Field and the glasses resonated, emitting a piercing light.

‘Got it!’

A sign the item was working perfectly.

‘Huh?!’

But Kim Juhye’s head whipped around, cold sweat beading on her brow.

‘Why can’t I see him?’

That Detection Field cost tens of millions—it could easily pick up even the Stealth of most B-grade Monsters.

No matter if he was L-Grade, a Player who hadn’t even done a Job Change should be child’s play to detect.

Yet here it was, happening.

“No!!!”

Leaving Kim Juhye’s shriek behind him—

Ha Gangwoo calmly slipped out of the area.

***

“Whoa~! Hyung-nim, how’d you do that just now?!”

Jo Seunghyun slapped both hands against the table. *Thump!*

They were inside a quiet café in Scenario 1 zone.

Ha Gangwoo took a slow sip of his coffee.

“Blergh! This is bitter.”

Mimic downed the coffee, then twisted her face into every expression of complaint.

“Hyung-nim! Who is this little girl? Don’t tell me… she’s your daughter?!”

Strictly speaking, she was a warehouse, and not even a girl. Mimic’s body lacked anything that indicated gender.

But right now, dressed in Rain’s borrowed clothes, she looked like a perfect little girl.

Jo Seunghyun made a fuss over Mimic, and Ha Gangwoo ignored him lightly, setting down his coffee.

“Did you train well with Antero? You’re out earlier than I expected.”

Rather than give an annoying answer, he deliberately changed the subject. Jo Seunghyun cracked a satisfied smile and replied.

“No way! It was so hard I just quit. Whether I stayed one year or ten, it felt like the same result. Huh? But wait—did I tell you that? I never told anyone I won.”

“Just a hunch.”

The truth was, he’d seen Seunghyun training when he was testing the Warp Ring, but he didn’t bother explaining.

“Oh, right! I joined the Association too, just like you, hyung-nim!”

Jo Seunghyun beamed with pride as he said it.

“The Association? On the third floor, you said there were guild members, didn’t you?”

Ha Gangwoo’s question made Jo Seunghyun flinch. He brushed his index finger across an eye.

“I’m touched you remember even that. Those guild members I mentioned were under my father’s guild.”

“Your father’s guild?”

“Yes, my father is the Guild Leader of the Leipin Guild!”

“……”

He’d vaguely known Seunghyun was from a wealthy family, but the son of a Guild Leader? That was more useful than he’d thought.

He remembered hearing about the Leipin Guild.

It was a major guild, ranked sixth in the standings.

‘Handy enough, I suppose.’

The son of a sixth-ranked guild—use him well, and he’d be a big help.

[This is Scenario.1 Zone—the site of the greatest change in history.]

Right then, a video showing the situation in Scenario.1 Zone flickered to life on the TV that had been on.

[A newly appeared dimensional Gate. It seems connected to Skypier, but certain conditions must be met…]

It also covered the existence of the Gate created by Ha Gangwoo, among other things.

‘A dimensional Gate? It didn’t disappear?’

Ha Gangwoo squinted at the brilliantly shining golden Gate in the footage.

‘No way it’s still there?’

It was surprising enough that the DLC—Another Story—had been updated, but a Gate left behind even after clearing the scenario?

It looked like Skypier was sticking around, after all.

‘I’ll have to check that out.’

At the thought that the world he’d created might still exist, Ha Gangwoo took a sip of his coffee, a faint smile on his lips.

“Well, I’ll be going now! The gap’s already starting to show.”

Their brief conversation over, Ha Gangwoo and Jo Seunghyun parted.

“Yeah, take care.”

At Ha Gangwoo’s reply, Jo Seunghyun bowed his head and left.

Ha Gangwoo stayed in the coffee shop, lost in thought.

‘Where to start?’

He had too much to do; he needed priorities.

“Master, I’m hungry…”

Mimic, who had been drinking coffee beside Ha Gangwoo, made a pitiful face.

‘So does she only eat Gold?’

Suddenly curious about Mimic’s state, he checked her Status Window.

[Mimic]

Rank: D

Status: Very hungry. Please feed me. Mimic is still growing.

[Link: Ha Gangwoo]

HP: 500/500

MP: 42/42

Satiety: 20/100

Strength: 57

Agility: 55

Vitality: 40

Mana: 42

Sense: 50

Luck: 50

Capacity: 26/50

Skills: [Mimic Summon] [Aura of Growth]

(TIP—Mimic’s stats are applied at half the linked master’s values.)

‘What’s this supposed to mean?’

It wasn’t just evolution that had transcended rank—the Status window itself had evolved too.

‘Half the master’s stats?’

As if Ha Gangwoo’s stats weren’t already abnormally high.

On top of that, he had stats like Sense and Luck that no other Player possessed.

And yet Mimic had inherited those very stats wholesale.

The only penalty was that they were halved. But that hardly counted as a penalty at all.

‘That’s way more useful than I thought.’

Ha Gangwoo smiled in satisfaction and opened his palm.

[Retrieved 6,000 Gold from Inventory.]

Chwaruruk—

Sixty gold coins cascaded down into his grip.

“Chuurup—”

The moment Mimic spotted the gold, she started drooling.

“Up!”

Chak—

Ha Gangwoo stretched out his hand, and Mimic raised hers.

“Sit.”

Mimic folded her legs like a dog and plopped down onto the floor.

‘She follows orders well.’

Of course—put food in front of her, and she snapped to attention.

Ha Gangwoo handed the gold to Mimic, his gaze narrowing.

Mimic took the coins in both hands and crunched them down with a steady chew.

She barely reached the knee of 180 cm Ha Gangwoo. At best, she was the size of a six-year-old.

But her potential was limitless.

‘Wait—does that mean she can equip weapons too?’

Thump—thump—

So this was the final reward from Scenario 1. The Fragment of Evolution.

When Mimic had first turned into a human form, he’d thought it was underwhelming.

But he was wrong. Its sheer brokenness had his heart pounding like this right now.

Ding—

[Retrieved Spell’s Madness from Inventory.]

Chak—a single necklace sucked into Ha Gangwoo’s open palm.

[Spell’s Madness]

Grade: D

Durability: 28/34

Vitality: +32

Mana: +41

Description: A necklace imbued with powerful Demonic Energy.

Effect

-Recover 1 MP per second

It was a broken item—1 MP per second—but with Asrul’s Lust, he had no need for it.

Crunch—crunch—

Mimic chewed gold with both hands.

Ha Gangwoo fastened Spell’s Madness around her neck.

Ding—

[Mimic has equipped Spell’s Madness.]

[Mimic]

Rank: D

Status: Gold really is delicious. Mood is improving.

[Link: Ha Gangwoo]

HP: 820/820

MP: 83/83

Satiety: 27/100

Strength: 57

Agility: 55

Vitality: 40(+32)

Mana: 42(+41)

Sense: 50

Luck: 50

“He’s out of his mind.”

What he’d done on a whim had become reality.

“She’s stronger than most Players, isn’t she?”

Even at half his level, Mimic’s stats matched a level-50 Player. What would happen when he equipped her with items?

Thump— Thump—

His heart hammered against the sheer absurdity of it.

‘Could she get a job, too?’

Items worked, so it seemed possible.

If she could take a class, he already knew which one he wanted for her.

[DLC – Book of Job Change: Legendary Blacksmith]

Grade: A

Description: DLC – Legendary Blacksmith is now available~! A book containing the secret arts of Stoss, the legendary blacksmith. True to its title, enjoy the Gaia System with a range of abilities from crafting to enhancement.

– Acquires Job-Change Quest: ‘Stoss’ Teachings’.

The Book of Job Change he’d bought just in case.

He’d never planned to learn it himself, but as a subclass, that was a different story.

‘Should I?’

Mimic, who he’d thought of as just a warehouse. Now she was worth more than storage.

She could assist in hunting, and she even understood speech. To others, she looked like nothing less than a person. That made her utility even greater.

‘Hold on.’

The Book of Job Change. He was tempted to test it right now, but he decided to wait.

‘I need to settle my own class first.’

He hadn’t even chosen his own job yet—it wouldn’t make sense to pick the warehouse’s first.

Ding-

[DLC – Shop]

DLC – Book of Job Change: Elemental Master – 500,000,000 Gold

–

–

(Refresh)

Ha Gangwoo opened the DLC Shop he’d been putting off.

A Book of Job Change worth a whopping 500 million Gold. He’d been agonizing over it since he still hadn’t chosen a class.

‘Buying it is the smart move, right?’

Just look at the DLC – Legendary Blacksmith. If he hadn’t bought it, a situation he’d regret might have come.

That’s why he wanted to get the Elemental Master too.

Ding-

[Gold Held: 104,175,000 Gold]

The gold he had right now was 100 million.

‘I’ve saved up a lot, but…’

For just clearing Scenario.1, he’d gathered a considerable amount. But it was nowhere near enough.

‘Is there a way?’

There were a few methods to make money on the spot.

From asking Jo Seunghyun to striking a deal with conditionals from Rank 9 Emily Nancy. But none of them sat right with him.

‘This is hard.’

A few other ideas came to mind, but it seemed like he’d need to think a bit more to find an answer.

“Haa…”

Ha Gangwoo rubbed his brow and stood up from his seat.

‘Let’s handle other things first.’

Ding-

[Please select a destination to warp to.]

– Warp Altar 1 – [Antero’s Resting Place]

– Warp Altar 2 – [Association]

– Warp Altar 3 – [Hope Repository]

– Warp Altar 4 – [Scenario 1]

A distance that would normally take hours by carry.

[Moved to Association.]

Ha Gangwoo moved to Seoul in a single second.

***

Vwoom—

A faint hum lingered in the air.

Softness and warmth. Even the faint scent of fabric softener wafted through the room.

“Wow~! She’s so pretty. Who is she?”

It would have been the perfect place, if not for Mimic’s chattering.

“My little sister.”

This was the Hope Repository. Ha Gangwoo sat up on the bed, staring straight ahead.

“She doesn’t look like you, Master!”

Mimic grinned brightly, peering into the glass capsule that held his sister.

‘Can’t believe she’s really still here.’

He’d taken care of a lot of things on the way here.

First, the dimensional Gate linked to Skypier.

The reconstruction site of the Teron Kingdom after Asrul’s death—it was all exactly as he’d left it before exiting.

Rain, Teil, Evan, and Shamiel—all of them retained their memories from before.

‘Good.’

He’d been curious about the clue to Resurrection that Shamiel had shown him. Now, whenever he wanted, he had a way to check it.

‘Good thing I didn’t do it.’

Ha Gangwoo allowed himself a satisfied smile at his own choice.

If he had killed Shamiel for Devour, he would have lost this opportunity.

‘Warp Ring.’

Ding-

[Please select a destination.]

– Warp Altar 1 – [Antero’s Resting Place]

– Warp Altar 2 – [Association]

– Warp Altar 3 – [Hope Repository]

– Warp Altar 4 – [Skypier]

With the Warp Altars set up, he could visit Shamiel anytime he had a free moment.

Besides that, he’d picked up his Player badge from the Association and received his quota.

[Player Ha Gangwoo]

Quota: 100 points

‘She really came through.’

According to the original contract terms, he would have received at least 3,000 to 5,000 points.

But Emily Nancy had pulled some strings.

Ha Gangwoo recalled his past conversation with Emily Nancy.

“For now, I’d like to do it alone until I reach the final level. We can talk again then.”

Ha Gangwoo had turned down the conditions Emily Nancy had offered.

“What?! Isn’t it a good enough deal?”

The conditions Emily Nancy had laid out were certainly tempting.

A signing bonus of 1 billion Gold, item priority in a party, and item support until the final level—all of it was attractive.

But Ha Gangwoo had refused.

No matter how he thought about it, it seemed like she had some other ulterior motive.

Showing up out of nowhere and saying she needed a teammate to finish the Scenario—wasn’t that too suspicious? Still, he’d left the door open.

“I like what you’re offering, Ms. Nancy. But I need time to think about it.”

That vague answer had bought him Emily Nancy’s goodwill and some time.

Emily Nancy had responded with a helpless expression.

“Alright. Just being positive is enough for me. Is there anything I can do to help you personally?”

She insisted on offering her favor, saying she’d help.

He’d made a few requests back then. One of them was the quota.

With 100 points, a single C-class Gate would be enough to finish this month’s quota.

That settled the Association business, but another problem remained.

‘This is probably the biggest issue.’

Ha Gangwoo looked down at the clothes he was wearing.

[Redgun Uniform Top]

Grade: A

Durability: 0/60

Description: A uniform issued exclusively to Redgun executives. Made from special fabric with excellent durability.

Effects

– All Stats +10

*Set Effect (3/4)

– Movement Speed +50%.

– All Stats +20%.

A costume that has completely lost its luster.

Beyond that,

Red Steel Top [Durability: 0/25]

Red Steel Bottom [Durability: 0/25]

Gravity Belt [Durability: 41/54]

Red Steel Boots [Durability: 0/25]

Luminel Ring [Durability: 54/60]

Reins’ Armlet [Durability: 6/20]

Several items looked like they were in need of repair.

“Yeah, that place should do.”

There were a few locations you could only reach after clearing Scenario 1’s zone.

The Tower of Job Change, Scenario 2’s region, and the workshop district — Gangwoo’s next destination.

After mulling it over several times, one good way to scrounge up some Gold had finally come to mind.

Gangwoo got up from his spot and stretched.

The workshop district.

Item production, crafting, Enhancement — everything.

The hub of support Players and the biggest commercial zone around.

“Let’s go.”

With that, Gangwoo set off with a light step.