Chapter 01 …

The Outsider of a Trash Game

Veteran of a Dead Game and an Omen

HeirToTheFodderKing: That’s my spot.

The Death Knight who had been hunting spoke.
Of course, I ignored him.

The Valley of Despair wasn’t a popular place because of its vicious patterns and AI.

And it was dawn right now. Thanks to that, there were only a few players on this field—including me and that guy.

And he’s calling it his spot?
Did he rent the place or something?

“O Light!”

My character Niemmel swung her greatsword. As expected of a level-79 Paladin, every swing traced a trail of bright yellow light.

The Draconic Soldiers here were servants of an evil god.
Which meant elemental bonuses applied.

Of course, they resisted fiercely, moving with a fluidity that made it hard to believe they were just bundles of data, but…

RUMBLE!

• Hellfire Scroll destroys the ground.

• Radiance of Light blocks vision.

• Opponent resists…

• Critical strike exploiting an opening!

Under my flashy control, they were reduced to a handful of experience points.

Nice. At this rate, I might hit level 80 today.

Just then, a swarm of transparent skeletons struck Niemmel. The blonde female knight, clad in gleaming rune armor, staggered back.

A dark magic projectile skill: Wraith’s Grudge.

“…You little bastard.”

Niemmel: Want to fight?

HeirToTheFodderKing: Can’t you read? I said this is my spot.

Niemmel: You can’t even clear a zone properly and you’re claiming spots?

HeirToTheFodderKing: I left them alive on purpose while pulling mobs. Problem?

Niemmel: Yeah. Watching some nobody brag about mob-pulling is annoying.

HeirToTheFodderKing: lol Wanna go?

Blue flames flickered through the gaps of his helmet.
The knight in black armor pointed his sword.

Of course, my response was already decided.

I’ve been playing this game for over 20 years. Even if this is just my alt, there’s no way I’d lose to a guy like him.

• HeirToTheFodderKing takes a provocative stance.

• Niemmel gladly accepts.

HeirToTheFodderKing: Just noticed you’re only level 79. You’re dead.

Niemmel: Says the guy who’s max level but doesn’t even have 3000 attack power lol. Get ready to lose all your gear.

A purple aura spread around the Death Knight.

It drained the life force of nearby living beings while restoring his own HP.
A ridiculously broken skill: Aura of Corruption.

On top of that he had:

• Dark Sword, which curses enemies it wounds

• Various buff skills

• Summoning abilities for minions like wraiths

There’s a reason Death Knights compete with Troll Berserkers for #1 beginner character.

But…

“Bearer of Light!”

“You picked the wrong person.”

I gulped down buff potions—Dragon Blood, Millennium Ginseng, and more.

Then I stacked buffs, the trademark identity of Paladins:

• Blessing of the Goddess – raises resistance to status effects and magic

• Grace of the Lightbearer – consumes holy power instead of HP when hit

• Flame of Demon Slaying – bonus damage to dark enemies

• Sacred Aura – boosts HP and defense

While my character prepared, the Death Knight’s summoned skeleton knights, ghouls, and wraiths rushed in.

“Kiiiiii—!”

He was probably testing my damage while circling at range and draining my holy power.

Paladins are tanky melee damage dealers. High-level Death Knights can be played like summoners.

But…

“I’m not a melee Paladin.”

Niemmel’s holy sword flashed.

A golden slash swept through the undead and struck the Death Knight.

Even through the monitor, I could feel his panic.

HeirToTheFodderKing: What the— It’s a sword-bug build? No, wait… that damage…

I grinned.

“If you’re jealous, try raising an Emperor build yourself.”

My main character, Arcane Archer PutThisOnYourHead, is ranked #1 among archers and #2 overall.

There’s no raid I can’t clear and no hunting ground I can’t enter.

Naturally, all the rare gear I got there went to my alts—including this Paladin I’ve been enjoying lately.

A full damage Paladin build that only works if you have both skill and money.

Nicknamed the “Sword Bug.”

Minimum healing and buffs.
All damage skills.

Party play hates it because it’s so unbalanced, but for solo play it’s the strongest.

And in PvP too.

Besides, he was careless.

That’s why I was hunting using only basic skills.

HeirToTheFodderKing: W-wait!

Every swing of Niemmel’s sword released powerful sword energy.

The Death Knight tried using Grip of Death, but dodging ground attacks is my specialty.

Less than a second.

Black hands erupted from the ground, but I avoided them all with simple movement and mobility skills.

Then I used Divine Punishment to cancel his shield and stack damage.

Remaining HP: 25%

Hit him with Judgment Lightning, stack the stun, and beat him to death.

CRACK!

Lightning gathered in Niemmel’s hand—

Suddenly, a purple arrow struck her.

A familiar trajectory.

Arcane Archer.

ForeverAccumulatedElf: Hahaha!

A blood-shot-eyed elf jumped in, swinging a sword.

Beside him was a Troll Berserker.

From their races, it looked like they were Gehella players.

All three had been hunting in different zones.

HeirToTheFodderKing: You’re dead lol

Damn it.

So that’s what he meant by mob-pulling.
He’d been gathering these guys.

I had wondered why a Death Knight was so confident against a Paladin—his natural counter.

I was surprised for a moment.

Then—

Within 0.1 seconds, I guarded the vampire’s blade.

Perfect block.

The troll’s axe was stopped with a shield—

“Seriously, this class is broken!”

The shield shattered and Niemmel’s HP dropped to 70% instantly.

I cursed the unfairness briefly, then calmly assessed the situation.

Well… how could I block a berserk giant’s attack with a build that barely invested in holy spells?

• HP decreasing!

• 50%

• 30%

• Freeze, Curse, Poison, Bleeding

• Resistance too low to remove!

Under their focused fire, Niemmel’s HP melted away.

They even mocked me while attacking.

Wonyongnyongnyong: Free gear lol

HeirToTheFodderKing: Talking big earlier, huh?

But I was just waiting for the right timing.

10%

Now!

When Niemmel was pushed to the brink of death—

I activated Divine Shield.

Golden energy roared.

Her blonde hair rose skyward. Light blazed from her eyes.

A golden shield engraved with runes surrounded Niemmel.

For a few seconds, she was completely invincible.

Even vampire life-steal wouldn’t work.

“Ah… desperate—”

The Death Knight suddenly collapsed.

“…?!”

Even if he was low HP, that damage was abnormal.

Across from him, Niemmel’s body was surrounded by a red haze.

ShukShakShikShokShok: Berserker set! Run!

Right.

The Mad Crusader Set.

When HP falls below 10%, all stats skyrocket.

An absurdly broken item.

I even dyed it to look like normal armor.

Basic PK tactics.

“Yeah. Too late now.”

They tried to retreat using every skill they had.

But faster than that—

Lightning struck the Arcane Archer who had been sniping from afar.

4-second stun.

The vampire, panicking and slowing his skill rotation, was cut down by Niemmel’s assault.

Thanks to the Fanaticism buff and the Berserker Set, even the agility build went down.

Now only the troll and the archer remained.

Wonyongnyongnyong: You’re playing a different game alone! Damn Paladin bug!

ShukShakShikShokShok: Don’t panic! Divine Shield is over! Just kill him!

“Whew.”

They were right.

Niemmel was a pure damage build.

It would be faster for them to kill me than for me to heal.

If I were max level it might be different.

But right now…

There was only one way.

I had even beaten the rank #1 player with this trick.

ROOOOAR!

As the troll berserker swung his axe—

Thud.

Suddenly, Niemmel flew backward and landed on her butt.

Niemmel: Oops.

Wonyongnyongnyong: W-what?!

A Sky Tree Fruit.

In PK zones its shockwave doesn’t affect opponents, and there’s a delay before it explodes.

But with only a few frames difference—

Niemmel avoided the troll’s axe.

A top-tier technique requiring precise timing.

Which means…

“Bearer of Light!”

Yellow aura exploded from Niemmel as she raised her sword to her chest.

The Paladin charged forward in brilliant radiance.

Radiant Charge slammed into the troll berserker.

Stunned.

Critical strike exploiting an opening!

Wonyongnyongnyong: H-huh?

He hadn’t invested in resistance, trusting his troll race and berserker class.

7-second stun.

Which meant—

“That’s game.”

Even a troll with insane HP, defense, and regeneration couldn’t survive a damage-focused Paladin wearing the Berserker Set.

The giant collapsed.

Niemmel, swinging her sword like mad, turned toward the Arcane Archer—

ShukShakShikShokShok: 🖕

• ShukShakShikShokShok has left the battlefield.

He vanished after leaving that message.

Probably force-disconnected.

“Tch. Pathetic.”

Four max-level players couldn’t kill one low-level Paladin?

Trash players. Quit the game already.

Laughing at the losers, I looted the troll, Death Knight, and Blood Elf equipment.

Mmm.

This feeling of conquest.

This thrill.

That’s why I can’t quit Duns.

HeirToTheFodderKing: Hey.

HeirToTheFodderKing: Hey, I was wrong.

HeirToTheFodderKing: I need that sword… I barely got it to +13…

In PK, dying means losing random gear.

Looks like he lost his weapon.

“Just a flashy toy.”

• HeirToTheFodderKing has been blocked.

I tossed the +13 Sword of the Death King into storage.

It’s worthless junk to me.

And obviously, I wasn’t giving it back.

You reap what you sow.

• Niemmel dances under dazzling lights.

While I watched my cute 10th alt character Niemmel dancing—

“The end is approaching.”

“Huh?”

A voice echoed somewhere.

Low, yet strangely majestic.

“An inevitable catastrophe draws near.”

I realized the sound was coming from my speakers.

• Connection lost.

Suddenly the game disconnected and returned to the character selection screen.

“Uh?”

Then I saw something shocking.

My characters in the selection screen were moving their lips.

“What the…?”

Someone might think it’s nothing.

But it was a huge deal.

This game was old.

So old the character models looked like blocky paper dolls.

But those expressions—

My characters’ faces looked alive.

Like real humans.

“A bug?”

“Chosen one. Seize it with your hands—the future of you all, and of us all.”

When the voice finished speaking, my characters turned their backs on me.

As if ignoring me.

Except for one.

One reached out her hand.

Flowing blonde hair. Golden eyes. A beautiful face customized with cash items.

Perfectly fitted plate armor.

A holy sword.

The only female character I play.

[Lv.79 Paladin Niemmel] reached out toward me.

“Please…”

Light burst out of the monitor.

It was so bright and warm I couldn’t even open my eyes.

“Huh—?”

And then I lost consciousness.

*

I loved games.

Whether it was luck-based roguelikes where death reset everything, grinding RPG factories, or toxic AOS and FPS games filled with team arguments—I played them all.

But above all—

Dungeon Heroes.

Commonly called Duns.

For 20 years, I devoted 102,352 hours of playtime to it.

“Creating another amazing world!”

Dungeon Heroes!

Now compete with players from around the world!

The once-innovative systems became worse than generic mass-produced games.

The once-cool characters and NPCs turned into blocky paper dolls.

Race wars, raids, daily missions—none functioned properly because there weren’t enough players.

Time passed.

What started as a dot-based single-player game that grew into an online legend…

…ended badly.

But I loved Duns.

Correction.

I loved it.

If I had known I’d end up inside the game…

And especially if I’d end up as a curvy female Paladin…

I would never have played it.

“Damn it…”

I would have called it the worst trash game ever—

And quit long ago.