[All 40 chapters have been redone. The new chapters are done by a proper translation team. Premium will start soon.] [I would like to thank Asada Translations for handing over this series on Aug. 26. 2020]
There are two types of human beings in this world.
The first type was the people who consider themselves special but are nothing more than ordinary people. The second was the people who consider themselves special and are special individuals. From the moment Jung Si-woo gained his consciousness, he had always considered himself part of the latter.
“Oh, Jung Si-woo! I told you not to lift the couch!”
“Kyaahahaha!”
“Should we send our baby to some Guinness World Record official?”
“No, he would be dissected. Ah! Stop lifting the refrigerator! Why don’t you lift the whole house instead, the house!”
“Yeah?”
“No, dad is sorry. So, please don’t lift it…”
He was strong from birth. Incredibly strong. The strength he had wasn’t from any hard training but rather something he was born with.
“Siwoo, control your power.”
“I am controlling it?”
“It hurts!”
“Ah, it’s Jung Si-woo!”
When he was a kid, he couldn’t control his power properly. His parents decided that his power needed to be controlled somehow and registered him in various martial arts dojangs. However, none of those dojangs could last for more than one year with him.
“This child…it is impossible for us to teach him in our dojang. I’m deeply sorry, madam.”
“Somehow, he understood the basics. But in the process, he destroyed our dojang.”
“He can’t hold weapons. There are no weapons that could withstand his strength. Actually, no, his body is his greatest weapon, so why would you make him use an inferior weapon?”
However, the judo dojang that confidently said, ‘Suppress your strength with skills!’ did last a little longer, but Jung Siwoo, who already had great strength now added to judo techniques, easily defeated the head of the dojang.
“Siwoo, you’re a beast. You do not need any human skills.”
The head of the judo dojang, lying on the ground after being thrown by Jung Siwoo, softly spoke to him. But Jung Si-woo shook his head in response.
“But I think I have become stronger after learning judo.”
“Yes, actually that’s the problem… you’re a beast, but now that you have even learned skills, you’ve become a monster. In the future, don’t tell anyone that you learned judo from me.”
“You mean I can just sell your name if I ever get in trouble, right?”
“This clever brat…!”
Although it resulted in some dojangs closing their doors, Jung Si-woo barely managed to learn to moderate his strength by some extent at the end of it. That was Jung Si-woo at the age of eleven.
“Hey, why are you the only one playing alone in PE class?”
“I’m excluded from any ball games.”
“Why are you the only exception? Are you kidding me?”
“If I play with the rest, everyone will be excluded. Physically.”
“Hic.”
People could faintly sense that he was special, that he was only matching himself to others. It would be a lie to say that Jung Si-woo had never felt more superior toward others. Furthermore, his power that kept increasing everyday had never been properly revealed, but he was already outrageously strong even without using his full power!
‘Of course, I’m a special person.’
It was a natural and absolute fact for him. He had never once in his life doubted it. But that didn’t mean he lived arrogantly. It was normal that when a human was on the top of one field, he would want to challenge other fields as well, so he trained himself with the innate strength he was born with while challenging himself to study.
“Jung Si-woo ranked 3rd in the whole school.”
“Crazy bastard.”
“If he’s even good at studying, then what are we supposed to be?!”
The results were clear but not as absolute as his strength. However, Jung Si-woo was satisfied with that. This was sure to make him more special. After that, he searched for other things that would increase his uniqueness. Ironically, the natural ability he was born with raised him to be someone diligent. When he was sixteen, an enormous castle appeared in the sky. It was a mysterious castle that could not be contacted by airplane, jet, or even hit by a missile. There was no human technology that could find a way inside.
However, the castle began selecting a few among humanity and granted them wings. When they reached the castle, they found mysterious items that didn’t exist on Earth, guarded by monsters. Those who defeated the monsters were called ‘Players,’ and the center of human society was immediately focused around them. Jung Si-woo thought that he obviously would become a player.
But no wings grew for him.
It had been ten years since the Sky Castle appeared over the Earth or, more precisely, the Pacific Ocean, yet Jung Si-woo wasn’t able to forsake his dream of becoming a Player. It was a massive castle that appeared one day without notice. If there were any unique features about the castle, it was the fact that such a ridiculously large object was floating in the sky and that every means of human technology had been unable to touch it. When they tried to attack it using a fighter jet, it passed right through as if there is nothing there. When they tried to shoot it down using a missile, the missile disappeared right before it hit the castle. Even if several attacks were made at once, it was of no use.
Sky Castle seemed to be in a different world than Earth. Humans couldn’t get any information from it, yet it was visible to everyone. To figure out the identity of that castle and the effects it had on humans and the Earth, they tried hard to contact anyone that might be inside the castle, but all of those attempts resulted in failure.
That was until humans started to grow wings.
Similar to how the Sky Castle suddenly appeared, wings suddenly began to emerge on the backs of very few earthlings without any particular reason or any warning. There were in appearance from butterfly wings, bat wings, or eagle wings, but they all had one thing in common. Those with wings were able to fly on their own. There were differences in flight speed and distance depending on the type of wing and individual skill, but either way, they were all able to fly.
Then humans came to a realization. At such an unbelievable timing, these humans suddenly grew wings, so wouldn’t it mean that these humans could enter the Sky Castle? That was the thought. The hypothesis was then proven correct. Humans with wings, who would later be called Players, were able to enter the Sky Castle under the condition that they fly by themselves, with the exception of those who use a shortcut by riding an aircraft to reach the Sky Castle.
It wasn’t not known in detail what exactly was there inside the Sky Castle that humans barely managed to enter. This is because it is impossible to shoot or record anything inside the Sky Castle, as no modern objects except clothes could enter and leave. But still, the change was dramatic. Since the contact between humanity and the Sky Castle, ‘Dungeons’ full of monsters and traps began to emerge all over the world. The humans with wings went inside the dungeons as if it were a natural thing to do to gain more information about it. And inside the dungeons, there were special powers and incredible amounts of treasure.
It was the birth of the Players, a privileged human that had exclusive access to wings and could monopolize the treasure obtained by going through the dungeons.
‘I think it’s time for me to become a player.’
Jung Si-woo, a twenty-six-year-old that became jobless after graduating from college. You never knew when you would` become a player, so you should never focus on other things! You needed to work hard in training your neglect self-discipline. In the remaining time, you could use your body to feel the temperature of the floor in the living room; it was amazing to work that not everyone could do. The only problem was that to other people; you could be seen as lazing on the floor of the living room.
“Si-woo, go throw away the trash.”
“I’m doing something important right now…okay, I will go now, mom. Uh, but I can’t fit into this trash bag?”
“Wait a little bit, son. I will make sure you really fit in there!”
“Ah!”
Jung Si-woo ran out of his house after catching the trash bag while evading his mother chasing him over his small joke.
“Fuh, that was scary. She really is a mother who loves her son to the extreme.”
It was a simple task to throw away the trash, but it was boring going out to throw away the trash. He pulled his handkerchief out of his back pocket, wiped his hands roughly, and looked at the blue sky as he stretched vigorously. He was planning to do a little photosynthesis and then stop by a convenience store near the house to buy an ice cream before returning. Wasn’t it really a great jobless life cycle?
“Ha.”
However, at that moment, an explosion of lights spread across the sky. Red, orange, yellow, colorful lights that could never be mistaken as a rainbow. Not only Jung Si-woo but the whole of Korea, no, the whole world could see the intense colorful lights blooming in the sky. It was like a fireworks display, but Jung Si-woo knew very well what it really meant.
‘I guess clearing the 32nd stage of the Sky Castle was a success.’
Jung Si-woo nodded his head firmly and pulled out his smartphone. It wasn’t like he needed to bring his phone along while throwing out some trash, but he was just too busy running to avoid his mother that he had no chance to leave his smartphone at home. After turning on the app and entering the right portal, there was the news that the 32nd dungeon was just cleared.
“[After a decade since Sky Castle opened, we succeeded in clearing the 32nd dungeon for the first time, led by the great Korean players guild ‘Soaring Tempest’]…What, it was a success in Korea.”
Jung Si-woo read the headline of the article with a bitter smile on his face. There would be no one who could bear the bloody smell that was hidden under the glorious title of the first dungeon clear. It was a very difficult kind of dungeon where even if you knew the strategy to challenge it; it was still ridiculously hard to clear. It was crystal clear just how great the hardships that the Players need to go through to be the first to clear it.
“Haa…let’s just go and buy some ice cream.”
If he had become a player, he would’ve conquered the whole Sky Castle by now, rather than just clearing the 32nd level. Even the Sky Castle had not the eyes to see real talent. While complaining, he kicked a pebble off the ground and watched as it soared high into the sky.
“It’s one thousand won.”
“What, for this little bit of ice cream, a thousand won, you say…”
“There’s a one-plus-one promotion.”
“Alright.”
Why do humans always repeat the same mistakes? He wouldn’t be able to eat both of them, but every time he heard there was a promotional event, he always ended up bringing two ice creams back home. He took them with a sigh and gave one to the part-timer there.
“It’s hot today; eat one.”
“Thanks.”
The part-timer ate the ice cream with him. In the past, this ice cream helped me a lot when I was practicing controlling my strength. If you put too little strength, it wouldn’t crack open, and if you put in too much, the ice cream would burst out. So, it was great training that would give you just the right amount of strength to open the ice cream. This reminded him of the time he ate 50 at once while training and ended up with a stomach ache.
“Did you see it? The fireworks in the sky.”
“Of course.”
“I see the 32nd stage has finally been cleared for the first time in Korea. Humans really are greedy creatures.”
Jung Si-woo exchanged a smile with the part-timer before leaving the convenience store. It was a face that wasn’t as bright as it had been upon entering.
‘It’s been ten years already.’
At first, he thought that it was a mistake. He thought that if the Sky Castle were selecting special human beings, then he certainly wouldn’t be left out. But that wasn’t the case. Despite waiting for 1, 2, 3, then 10 years had passed, but he still wasn’t selected as a player.
“Shoot, goal.”
He lightly tossed the crumpled ice cream’s plastic into the trash bin with a sigh. He turned around, and his eyes immediately went to the blue sky that was shining brightly above. However, he had no wings to fly into that sky.
‘But soon. Soon, the wings will grow for me. I have a very strong feeling that they will. Though there really is no basis other than my gut feelings.’
He didn’t even have any money now. Being a jobless son lazing around at home, his allowance was cut off this spring. He should be grateful that his mom didn’t kick him out of the house.
‘…Should I find some work first?’
No matter how determined he was to become a player, he couldn’t starve to death because of a lack of money. Jung Si-woo gave that ice cream away for nothing. He regretfully raised his head.
A woman was falling from the sky.
“White…no.”
Observing a woman’s underwear was every man’s instinct but what mattered now wasn’t that woman was wearing white panties, but she was falling from the sky!
‘No mistake, she’s a retired player…!’
Of course, not all players obtained wealth and glory. The Sky Castle and dungeons were filled with as much danger as they were fascinating objects, and if they retired due to their lack of abilities, they would fall just like that woman right now. He’d never heard of a player surviving a fall from the Sky Castle like that. Whether on the ground or the surface, they fell quickly and instantly disappeared without leaving any traces behind. It was also very rare for a player to fall down from the Sky Castle. It was the first time Jung Si-woo had ever seen it in his life.
‘If she falls in front of me like that…’
“I can’t just let her be!”
Although Jung Si-woo was flustered, he had quick reflexes. He instinctively checked his distance from the crashing woman and leaped with all his might. The distance narrowed in an instant.
“Ah… ugh!”
It was crazy to save a falling player from the Sky Castle, considering the speed of their falls. Even the airhead Jung Si-woo understood very well that the pressure would be absurd. Nevertheless, he held out his arms without hesitation and caught the woman. He couldn’t even dream of saving her gently as it felt like his arms would be ripped off.
“Argh!”
“…Ahh?!”
The woman, who was as pale as the dead with her eyes tightly shut, suddenly went fish-eyed. Fortunately, she seems to have regained her consciousness, but right now, he had no time to look after her. They needed to survive this fall!
“Ughhhh!”
“What?! How?!”
The moment he caught the falling woman, Jung Si-woo’s body almost crashed, but he withstood the pain and stood firmly on the ground. If it weren’t for his extraordinary strength, he wouldn’t have tried it in the first place!
“Keughh!”
However, although the woman he caught wasn’t hurt and he safely landed on the ground, the pressure on him didn’t decrease at all. On the contrary, it seems that the pressure became more severe like it was trying to crush and kill him. It was supposed to be impossible, but the very existence of Sky Castle itself was against the law of physics, so this much didn’t warrant surprise.
“Let me go! If you keep going like this, you’ll only die here together with me!”
The woman tried to shake Si-woo off. She was already retiring, so she didn’t want to drag an innocent person to their death. However, Jung Si-woo burst out laughing.
“If you want to kill me, you will have to pour on this pressure three times!”
The stance he learned while sticking to the living room’s floor after graduating from college, the immovable posture! It’s a stance that he practiced even when the remote control fell far away or when he couldn’t reach the fan’s button. Even when his mother glared fiercely at him, he endured all of it. So, he would definitely endure this pressure! Soon, the ground began to go out.
“…You can’t beat me, so you’re destroying the ground instead, huh.”
“Who the hell are you?!”
Although they were facing a life and death crisis, she couldn’t help but question his identity. This man was way weirder than anyone she had ever met in her life as a Player! However, the ground slowly began to sink while they were facing each other. Their speed soon began to accelerate, dropping them rapidly into the underground as if they were riding on an elevator made of dirt. If you looked from the outside, it would appear as a sinkhole.
“Woaaaah.”
“Unbelievable…”
In an instant, they were buried deep in the dark underground. Only then did Siwoo realize the pressure on his body had disappeared.
“Oh.”
“We stopped…?”
They stopped moving. They were pushed so far into the ground that they couldn’t even guess how far they were from the surface.
“I’m alive.”
“I didn’t know that we would really survive…but where is this place?”
“Who knows?”
Players might’ve been quite familiar with this strange phenomenon, but the woman also seemed to be quite confused as well. However, the fact that Jung Si-woo survived after saving a retired Player was also a situation that has never been heard of before. Perhaps what they did today might be the first experience of its kind in the whole world.
“I can’t live under here like this…”
However, when Jung Siwoo tried to break the ceiling to find a way out, he heard a strange whisper in his ears.
[Extra World ‘Ant Cave’ has been discovered.]
[Underground Player has met the required conditions. Clear the White Wing Cemetery, and the Underground Player will be reborn.]
It was a moment when an unexpected blessing came.
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