Chapter 1

When asked to choose the most popular game right now, it would be “Two Choices”. At the same time, even if you were asked to choose the game that was being criticised the most, it was also “Two Choices”.

“Two Choices” is an RPG game created by “Raity”, one of the nation’s top three game companies in Korea, and was a hunter-themed game commonly seen in fantasy. The story of a sudden gate opening and a system that restricts human behavior, and the main character fighting against it, was common. However, like the name of the game of two choices, the composition that gave users the right to choose between watching the story from the main character’s side or watching the story from the enemy’s side was unique, drawing attention even before the release.

After its release, it was praised not only for its unique composition but also for its colorful effects, various game characters and illustrations, and natural motion, and quickly topped the app store. Gamers who were suffering from famine in abundance stuck to “Two Choices” and were enthusiastic. At first.

The problems of “Two Choices,” which had been rolling and rolling by gathering a large number of users in an instant, popped up within less than two months after its opening. This is because it turned out that the game’s billing inducement was no joke while playing.

Even the package products that are released with every update showed that fact explicitly. The resources given by the event gradually decreased, and the proportion of Gacha increased as the character grew. Nevertheless, because it was a waste to throw away the character that they had already raised and because the story was fun, more and more people were swearing because they couldn’t let go. That’s why the Two-Choice communities are always burning.

It’s been a year since it was released…. ‘Two Choices’ has become a notorious game on the Internet.

Does anyone still have that stingy screw head?

ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ That’s me ㅅㅂ

I was going to pay no bills, but it’s already empty

Oh, can’t we blow up our guild?

I’m on the trail…

I’m charging for my damn responsibility, but I wish I could just leave

It is rational to quit without thinking about opportunity costs.

But I am an irrational person.

Raity, you b*stards

What did you make?

Does it make sense to give only one 3 star item if you succeed in 3 consecutive games?

Aren’t you guys crazy?

Other gamers have come to the point where they point fingers at the Two Choices players, saying that the game company does not change because they continue to play such games. Nevertheless, I was one of the people who kept playing this game.

At first, it was a problem that I started recklessly just because my younger brother and Seo Go-gyeol participated in the planning stage of this game. It was not intended to maintain the ranking by strengthening my guild like others. I was a story-oriented person, and I was just a person who didn’t get angry when I couldn’t get through all the routes. In particular, it would not be an exaggeration to say that I have seen almost all the stories related to ‘Baek Woo-jin’, the older brother of the main character ‘Baek So-hyuk.’

‘It means that the main character’s family is a real villain.’

The main character Baek So-hyuk and the villain Baek Woo-jin were not related by blood, but they became brothers due to their parents’ remarriage.

The relationship between the two, which was not bad for brothers in a remarried family, began to grow apart in earnest after losing their parents due to an unfortunate incident.

Maybe it’s because of their affection together, but even if Baek Woo-jin commits an evil deed in the early story, Baek So-hyuk couldn’t handle it. However, as the episodes continue, Baek Woo-jin’s derailment becomes more serious. He caused the monster that Baek So-hyuk disposed of, to escape and cause human casualties. After doing so, he eventually dies at the hands of Baek So-hyuk.

I’ve tried this and that to save Baek Woo-jin, but it’s impossible no matter which route I take. It only came to the conclusion that it was impossible.

‘Honestly, the character setting itself is unsightly. His appearance was a mess, only the face was worth seeing, so he lost all his popularity in the beginning and got cursed at.’

He entered the guild against Baek So-hyuk due to his entitlement of his stepbrother, and he dared to join Baek So-hyuk’s enemy camp at a large event. In the end, he rose to the position of leader of the opponent’s camp for a short time, but in reality, he was only a scarecrow controlled by his subordinates. In other words, he was not even a mid-boss. Thanks to this, even among gamers, Baek Woo-jin’s evaluation was a mess.

Nevertheless, I couldn’t give up, so I played 99 sections repeatedly to save Baek Woo-jin. And finally, I just tried to do it one more time to find a route to reconcile with his superior brother, even if I can’t save him.

‘You filled it a hundred times.’

The conclusion was obvious. Baek Woo-jin was stabbed by his younger brother and bled to death.

“Well, I guess I’ve made more routes for these unpopular characters.”

I flicked through the lines that popped up every time over the full illustration cut.

[I hated you from the beginning. Even though we have different parents, but I was sick and tired of being compared as brothers]

This was Baek Woo-jin’s regular will.

‘I’m sick and tired of not being you.’

He was a guy who didn’t say a word of kindness until he died.

‘That’s why you’re not popular.’

If he died coolly, his character could have been glorified, but Baek Woo-jin was pathetic until the moment he died.

When I made up my mind and was about to quit the game after deciding to give up on saving Baek Woojin like that, an alarm rang to announce that a new mail had come in.

[Baek Woojin died 100 times. A hidden event will occur! Would you like to accept it?]

> Yes
> No

After the surprise melted, what remained was doubt.

‘There’s no way these Raity guys are gonna give us this kind of hidden event for no money. Besides, to such an unpopular character…?’

The next thought that came to mind was rationalization.

‘It’s not like I spent a penny or two, but it’s like watching an event for free.’

I pressed the ‘yes’ button with a very light thought. However, the window disappeared, but there was no change in the cell phone. As soon as I pressed the cell phone again wondering if it was an error, I felt a surprisingly strong dizziness. As I rolled down from the chair I was sitting on, I had the thought to call 119, but my body didn’t listen.

* * *

I was on the bed when I came to my senses and grabbed my fragile head.

‘Did I faint? But even if I fainted, there’s no one to carry me to my bed’

I had no family except my brother, who died last year, and I have hardly ever interacted with anyone in the past year. So, I was usually determined to die alone if I suddenly collapsed like before, so I couldn’t understand the current situation.

‘And this isn’t even my room.’

When I woke up, the severe headache magically subsided. In addition, how light the body was, the pain in the neck and shoulders that I had been carrying every day disappeared. But the strange thing was the hand. There were too many wounds on my hand and it’s thin.

“Don’t tell me…!”

I stumbled and ran to the mirror. In the full-length mirror, which seemed to be prepared for me, a familiar face stood with an unfamiliar expression. I couldn’t even forget it because it was the face I just saw. It was Baek Woo-jin, a gorgeous face with a nervous personality.

‘I saw Baek Woo-jin’s face so many times on my cell phone. So am I dreaming?’

When I hit my face while looking in the mirror, I felt a tremendous pain that made my cheeks turn red and tears welled up. It was not a pain that could come from the strength of ordinary people.

‘Did I even get into the game?’

Another strange thing happened before I could adapt to the ridiculous situation. A blue, translucent window appeared above my head.

[System Quest: Make your own friendly guild!]

[Difficulty level: F
Clear conditions: Recruit three or more friendly guild members.
Time limit: 14 days
Reward on Success: 1,000 Diamonds
Penalty for failure: None]

It was a quest information window that I often saw when playing games. It was the moment I thought it wasn’t difficult enough. Suddenly, the texts began to crack and a new quest window appeared.

[Special quest: Make your own friendly guild!]

[Difficulty level: F
Clear conditions: Recruit three or more friendly guild members.
Time limit: 14 days
Reward on Success: 1,000 Diamonds
Penalty for failure: Death]

What?

That ridiculous penalty was more shocking than the web novel-like development. Although “Two Choices” was a notorious game, the quest difficulty and penalty balance were well matched. According to me, the conditions for clearing the mission itself were not difficult. Although the nuances were slightly different, it was reasonable to assume that it was one of the basic system quests that you received when you first manifest your skills, considering that there was a kind of quest to join the guild among the initial quests. However, as the basic quest was changed to a special quest, a dreadful penalty was added.

‘Wait, does death mean that I die? Or this character?’