The Wizard in the Game Is Rewarded in Reality

Chapter 1

No-un.

No, as in furnace 盧, Un, as in cloud 雲.

It’s a name my father gave me, wishing I would live freely like a cloud.

But since I was young, people around me interpreted my name as ‘No Luck’, meaning ‘unlucky’.

Their interpretation wasn’t exactly wrong, as I lived up to my name, or rather, my nickname, being extremely unlucky.

If I fell backward, I’d break my nose; if I put my hand down to break my fall, I’d land in dog poop; if I tried to avoid an old lady on the street, I’d bump into a thug…

In short, I was just plain unlucky.

“No-un is living up to his name again today.”

I’ve checked my text messages more than fifty times today. But the message I was waiting for never came.

“I didn’t ask to awaken. I just wanted some vicarious satisfaction.”

Yes, vicarious satisfaction.

That’s all I wanted.

“Ah, damn.”

I let out a long breath and a light curse.

This is just right.

If I care more and get annoyed, it will only ruin my character.

“When was I ever lucky…”

There’s no need to stress over such things every month.

The road to my one-room apartment is quiet. I see someone sitting in the distance.

But-

It’s a bit peculiar.

Is it because of the way they’re dressed?

No, that’s not it. The person sitting there has grown their hair long in the front, but there’s not a single hair on the back of their head.

“Is that a Manchu queue? Isn’t a queue supposed to have no hair in the front?”

I think this as I walk.

I walk in the opposite direction, avoiding eye contact with the person with the strange hairstyle.

“Oops-!”

I don’t see the loose paving stone and lose my balance as my foot slips. I struggle to regain my footing, barely managing to keep my bag from slipping off my shoulder.

“What the-?”

Something is caught on the ring connecting the bag strap to the bag itself.

“Let go of this!”

“What?”

The man with the unusual hairstyle, his long hair is caught on the ring.

“Let go!”

The man shouts angrily.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

“Instead of saying that, just get it off.”

I understand he’s angry because his hair is caught, but it’s not like I did it on purpose. It feels a bit unfair.

“I didn’t do it on purpose, so why are you talking to me like that?”

“Ah, geez-! Let’s just get it off first.”

Since it’s clearly my fault, I quickly remove his hair from the ring.

The man uses his hands to part his long hair, which is only in front.

‘Are those circle lenses?’

His eyes are golden, which is fascinating.

The man stares at me with his golden eyes and finally speaks.

“Who are you?”

“What?”

“I asked, who are you?”

“I’m Noeun.”

“Who cares about your name? How can you see me, and how could you grab my hair?”

I have no idea what he’s talking about.

“You’re sitting there, so of course I can see you, and your hair is long, so…”

“Ha, haha.”

The man lets out a hollow laugh, as if he can’t believe it.

After staring at me for a while, the man speaks.

“Sigh-, whatever the reason, it has come to this. I’ll ask just once. What do you really, really, really, really want?”

“What do you mean?”

“What do you want? Should I explain it simply? What’s your wish?”

Why am I having this argument with this person?

Should I call 119 right now and report that there’s a patient suspected of escaping from a nearby mental hospital?

While I was pondering this, the man spoke irritably.

“I’ll ask for the last time. What’s your wish?”

“······.”

Strangely, I feel like I should state my wish.

‘What is my wish?’

I’ve never desperately wished for anything because I’ve been so unlucky since I was young.

Why?

Because it won’t come true anyway.

“Ah, just say it. Usually, when people are asked to say something like this, they say it well. Please let me win the lottery. Please let me date a very beautiful woman. Things like that. Ah- come on, say it quickly!”

The man’s eyes were intense, so I stated my wish.

But I ended up saying a ridiculous wish.

“I want to be like a game character.”

*

I moved quickly to my house, worried that the man with the strange hairstyle might follow me.

Bang-!

Closing the front door, I felt a bit more at ease.

“Isn’t he crazy? Who is he to tell me to state my wish or not?”

I sat on the bed and caught my breath.

“By the way, it’s a really absurd wish.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

There’s only one reason.

– I want to be like a game character.

Ironically, I don’t play games.

Since I don’t play games, there’s no way I can become like a game character.

Actually, there is a game I want to play.

The reason I checked my text messages so many times today is because of that game.

DoomsDay.

A game with a grim name meaning the day of destruction.

DoomsDay is not a game that just anyone can play, even if they want to.

Because DoomsDay is not an ordinary game.

Once a month.

Only those who receive a text message with a randomly generated code number can access DoomsDay.

When you receive the text, you also get a capsule to enjoy DoomsDay.

Of course, the capsule is free.

There is no usage fee either.

You think a free game wouldn’t be fun and wouldn’t have any users?

Not at all.

DoomsDay is the most popular game that everyone wants to play.

There is one reason why DoomsDay is popular.

Vicarious satisfaction.

DoomsDay is a game that allows ordinary people who have not awakened to experience what only awakened ones can.

What is an awakened one, you ask?

The explanation is a bit long, but it seems right to start with the ‘Great Cataclysm.’

The Great Cataclysm.

The day that took much from humanity and gave even more.

The day when the ‘Tower of Infinity’ suddenly appeared in every country around the world, shocking everyone.

The day when one-third of the human population, over 2 billion people, died, according to some estimates.

That day came to humanity suddenly, seven years ago.

Without any warning, a bizarre structure called the Tower of Infinity appeared all over the world.

Of course, no one knew anything about the Tower of Infinity.

Scholars around the world studied the tower, not knowing why it appeared or what it was for. But they couldn’t uncover anything. They couldn’t even find an entrance to the tower.

Speculations ran wild, and those who praised alien civilizations and doomsday theorists went crazy as if they had found their moment.

A month after the Tower of Infinity appeared, things finally erupted.

Monsters that seemed straight out of a fantasy movie started pouring out of the tower.

Humanity suffered tremendous damage.

The places where the Tower of Infinity appeared were all famous cities.

Seoul, New York, London, Tokyo…

In an instant, a third of humanity was killed by monsters.

The military was mobilized, but it was futile.

Small monsters could be dealt with modern firearms, but large monsters or those with special abilities had an invisible barrier that resisted modern weapons.

It wasn’t all despair, pain, and trials.

The Tower of Infinity also brought hope to humanity.

Awakeners.

They were the hope of humanity.

Suddenly, people with powers that transcended human limits and possessed unscientific abilities beyond common sense began to awaken one by one.

The power of the Awakeners was tremendous. They defeated monsters that couldn’t be dealt with modern firearms.

Awakeners didn’t just defeat monsters. Surprisingly, they also uncovered the secrets of the Tower of Infinity that scholars couldn’t figure out.

The secret was simple.

The Tower of Infinity was a place only Awakeners could enter.

And once inside the Tower of Infinity, they could meet all the Awakeners from around the world.

Lastly, the corpses of the monsters they defeated and the energy crystals called magic stones, as well as magical items that couldn’t be explained by modern science, could change the paradigm of humanity.

After the Great Cataclysm, many things on Earth changed.

There was no longer a need to fear the depletion of fossil fuels. Magic stones perfectly replaced fossil fuels.

They also saved humanity from the fear of incurable diseases.

Potions, which could be obtained with a slim chance after defeating monsters in the Tower of Infinity, had the healing power to reattach severed limbs.

Elixirs, called panaceas or gifts from the gods, could perfectly heal anyone with an incurable disease as long as they had a single breath left.

On the first anniversary of the Great Cataclysm.

Text messages were sent to the mobile phones of a large number of people. The messages contained a code number to start a game called ‘Doomsday’.

Doomsday was a game that perfectly implemented the Tower of Infinity, which only Awakeners could enter. The only difference was that the world outside the Tower of Infinity was a fantasy world similar to those in movies, not Earth.

Those who received the code number could also receive a capsule to play Doomsday. The capsule wasn’t something that could be bought with money, and there was no fee to play Doomsday.

The company that publicly serviced Doomsday was ‘Chaos Inc.’. However, no one knew which country Chaos Inc. belonged to or where its headquarters were located.

Even the origin of the capsules delivered to those who received the text messages was unknown. Investigations into the delivery personnel revealed that they were simply repeating that they were only delivering the capsules.

Most of the initial recipients of the text messages didn’t play Doomsday.

Having experienced the Great Cataclysm firsthand, fear took precedence.

However, as news spread from those who played Doomsday, those who were hesitant began to connect to the world of Doomsday one by one.

Perfect recreation of the Tower of Infinity.

That news enticed people.

After the Great Cataclysm, the Awakened became the heroes of humanity. Naturally, they gained immense wealth and fame.

The majority of people who had not awakened admired the Awakened.

In the midst of this, a game that allowed people to experience the Tower of Infinity without awakening fell from the sky, and it was impossible not to be enthusiastic.

However, the number of users who could play Doomsday was extremely limited.

Unless one received a code number through a text message sent by an unknown person, they could not access Doomsday.

Once a month.

The code number for Doomsday is randomly sent via text message to non-awakened people around the world.

Because the number was not large, many people, especially non-awakened people who dreamed of awakening, hoped to receive the text message.

“Heh, to think that’s a wish…”

After changing clothes and washing up briefly, I lay down on the bed.

I picked up my phone, wondering if there was any news worth reading.

By coincidence, the clock on my phone changed from ’11:59′ to ’12:00′.

And then-.

“Huh?”

A text message arrived.