Loud keyboard, an empty can hitting the floor, and a chair spinning back and forth.
That was the sound of my glory.
"One more damn hit... take it... take it... TAKE IT!"
The boss's health bar was dropping so fast even I got a little surprised.
My name? Doesn't matter.
After all, I'm 20 years old, unemployed, in debt, living alone in an apartment that smells like instant noodles and old energy drinks. Nothing to be proud of.
But even being a failure in real life...
...I was good at one thing.
Chronos Realms.
An MMORPG where everyone wanted to be a knight in shining armor or a mage who blew up cities with one spell. A fantasy world full of S-rank classes, legendary magic, epic monsters and, of course... the final boss, Rank SSS.
But I wasn't just anyone.
I was the idiot who played Kain.
Yeah, Kain.
A low-tier character, forgotten by the devs and ridiculed by the whole community.
A character who wore a mask and had only one active skill: Repulsion Manipulation.
The ability?
It basically created reverse attraction between bodies.
No direct damage.
No summons.
No speed boost.
No mounts.
I'm not joking — he literally couldn't even use a damn horse.
And everyone always said the same thing:
"He's useless."
"That character is bugged."
"No damage, no defense..."
"Whoever plays Kain has issues."
"No way... that character's just for trolling."
And still, I played him.
Why?
No idea.
Maybe because I had nothing else.
Or maybe because...
No one else had the patience to see what this character was really capable of.
Okay, fine... I'll admit I also played him because I was obsessed with the guy, and I felt like we had a lot in common. A loser.
I played Kain for five years.
I recorded videos and tutorials trying to help people who struggled with him.
Who watched them?
My cat. My roommate. And an Indian guy I swear was a bot.
But now?
Now I was here.
Melting the HP of the final boss in the game.
The boss was an abyssal colossus made of living stone and dark metal. It had six arms, two heads fused by a blue flame, and each step cracked the ground beneath us. Its name was Yssar-Khul, the Devourer of Eras. The battle against him had ridiculous mechanics and attacks that deleted even the best-equipped players.
As I finished the monster off, the random team that got matched with me started freaking out.
"LOOK AT THAT DAMAGE!"
"HE'S NOT EVEN TAKING DAMAGE!"
"...H-HACK! THIS BASTARD IS HACKING!"
'Hack??'
I just smiled.
The boss's health hit zero.
The colossus fell.
And the drops started raining across the screen.
That golden glow, those flashy visual effects... there was no doubt.
Legendary rank items.
"GET LOST, YOU TRASH BAGS! THE DROPS ARE AAAALLL MIIINE~!"
"HEY, YOU PIECE OF SHIT, SHUT UP!"
My roommate yelled from the room next door.
"SCREW YOOOUUU...."
"Screw you!!"
A bunch of boss drop boxes had appeared, and my damn team started opening them without even waiting for me.
"YOU BASTARDS...!! Get away from my loot."
"Stop being so greedy, man, we're a te—"
"DIE!!"
I used one of Kain's repulsion abilities and sent everyone flying.
[You dealt damage to your team. -250 Karma]
[Karma from -243,536 to -243,286]
"Damn it, these idiots keep lowering my karma."
In Chronos Realms, killing players with PvE mode off dropped your karma. And once it got too low, all gear effects were reduced. But for me, who couldn't even equip most stuff, it didn't make a difference.
I mean... with low-tier gear.
Because mine... were all legendary.
But at that moment, I wasn't after a sword, helmet, or enchanted necklace.
I was looking for the Requiem Fragment.
It was the last item I needed to unlock New Game+ mode.
And it wasn't just any extra mode. This one unlocked a new story route, where a forgotten character from the lore, Elena, returned to the past with her memories intact.
It was the secret route, the hardest of them all. An alternate ending. The perfect ending.
And it could only be triggered with the character Kain, under very specific conditions.
I had done it once before... but died halfway through.
And now... I wanted to try again.
Click...
"NOTHING..."
I opened another box.
Nothing.
And another. Still nothing.
Legendary items, ultra rare... worth millions in-game.
But for me, who didn't use any of them, they were all junk.
"..."
I kept opening the boxes until I found a strange one.
Simple. Dark. Ordinary-looking.
But... I felt a chill.
"This is it... it has to be this one."
Click.
[Do you want to open this package?]
"JUST OPEN IT ALREADY!"
"Dude, shut up... I need to sleep here."
My roommate grumbled again.
"If it's that bad, sleep outside."
"You asshole, this is my room!"
"You have a point..."
While we argued, the box finally opened.
[Congratulations!]
[You found the relic: Requiem Fragment.]
[Do you want to use it?]
I clicked without thinking twice.
[Requiem Fragment used. New Game+ unlocked. Transferring player...]
'Finally... I did it again.'
"Wait... transferring? Don't I need to start the quest with the NPC first?"
Suddenly, the computer screen started glowing more than usual.
"Damn... is it supposed to get this bright?"
I looked at the performance settings in the corner of the screen. The temperature was rising nonstop.
"What the hell are you doing over there?"
"It's over 9000!"
"What?"
The light got stronger. Like a massive camera flash swallowing everything.
"AHHHH... MY EYES! MY EYES!"
Boom.
Everything went dark.
Nothing....
Silence....
"Ah shit, here we go again."