I liked games ever since I was young.
The reason was simple.
Since I was always in the hospital, there was nothing else for me to do but play games, and over time, gaming simply became a part of my life.
But no matter what it is in life, if you do it for too long, it becomes boring and dull.
"Ah, damn… Is that AI's decision for real? Why would it heal that guy there?"
At some point, no matter what game I played, it just wasn't fun anymore.
It wasn't about the genre—AOS, RPG, FPS, whatever.
Every year, new games came out, and they all felt like trash.
The stories and worlds were all the same, and the systems lacked depth.
I wanted a game that had something more special.
That's when I found [Dungeon & Stone].
Tap-tap-tap.
Click-click.
It was a single-player RPG.
An indie game from overseas.
There was no Korean language support, and it used 2D pixel graphics, which were rare in this day and age.
To be honest, it wasn't really my style.
But since it was free, I figured I'd give it a try, and before long, I was completely hooked.
"Wow, I almost died because of that damn priest."
It was a strange game in many ways.
If your character died, you had to start from scratch.
NPC companions were essential to progress, and even though it was a side-scrolling game, the freedom it offered was immense.
The skill system and worldbuilding were appealing, and even though the story was in English, it was still interesting.
Most of all, there was something about this game that felt… special.
Tap-tap-tap… tap-tap-tap-tap.
At the time, I had just been assigned as a public service worker on subway duty, and I started diving deep into [Dungeon & Stone].
It wasn't easy.
Combat in this game wasn't just about HP and MP.
Even at full health, one wrong move could erase a character I'd spent three months building.
"…Let's go."
Even after two years, I hadn't reached the mid-game.
I swallowed my pride and started looking up strategy guides.
They didn't even show up on Korean portals, so I had to translate English ones, but even that wasn't very helpful.
There weren't many players overseas either, so there weren't many posts, and the ones that existed weren't very useful.
Compared to those who gave up after a month or two and called it a trash game, I had spent two years seriously studying it, so I understood it far better.
So I gave up on looking for guides.
"Up three times, left four, down once, left twice, then up six, right four. Avoid the trap at the end… Okay."
After all, this was the game I had finally found after searching for something worth playing.
No matter how long it took, I decided to finish it on my own.
And then…
"Phew."
That's how I got here.
「Gate of the Abyss」
Right now, my character is standing in front of the portal that leads to the final boss room.
Of course, seeing the ending will take a few more visits.
This isn't the kind of game where you beat the boss on your first try.
Even so, I could feel how tense I was from the stiffness in my fingertips.
"The final boss, huh…"
To someone else, it might mean nothing.
But it took me nine years to get here.
It's no exaggeration to say I spent my entire twenties with this game.
The day I was discharged from public service,
The day I returned to school and applied for reinstatement,
The day I got the acceptance message from the job I wanted after graduation—
I was always playing [Dungeon & Stone].
「Would you like to enter?」
As I moved my character toward the portal, a prompt appeared asking if I wanted to enter.
Of course, I pressed YES.
But maybe because it's the final boss room, another message popped up with a more serious tone.
「You may not be able to return.」
「Are you sure you want to enter?」
From a player's perspective, it was an unnecessary bit of drama.
Like I'd say no at this point.
「Yes / No」
I pressed Yes, and the screen changed to a loading screen.
As the monitor turned black, I focused all my attention.
How many patterns will this guy have? What's its element? It'll definitely have an instant-kill move.
Yeah, forget about winning on the first try.
Let's just gather as much info as possible.
I might have to completely change my build and party setup.
My brain, fired up with excitement and anticipation, was thinking only about the final boss.
That's why I noticed it too late.
「You have reached the Abyss.」
「Tutorial complete.」
Tutorial complete?
Wait, more importantly, why is the text in Korean?
Wasn't [Dungeon & Stone] English-only?
「Initiating transfer.」
The moment I sensed something was off, a blinding light burst out.
It was so intense, I couldn't believe it was coming from the monitor.
"Ah, shit! My eyes!"
Everything turned white in an instant.
A ringing filled my ears, and a strange heat spread across my skin.
My mind faded fast, like I'd been hit with anesthesia.
I usually prided myself on staying calm in emergencies,
But in this moment, I had no idea what was happening.
Flash—!
As the light grew even stronger, I lost consciousness.
And when I opened my eyes again,
I had become a Barbarian in the game.