Chapter 1

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War of Gods.

Shin Yujun, in his early 20s, accessed a game with such a great name.

Bwam!

A familiar background music began to flow from his speakers.

Soon after, the login screen of a vast grassland welcomed Yujun.

This BGM was mysteriously addictive and he often became unconsciously absorbed in it.

[Lv. 500 Non Paying Gamer.]

Compared to other characters, there is one character that stands out.

A character wearing golden shiny equipment indicating some money must have been spent.

He actually spent money.

But, he can’t specify the amount…

However, it could be said that the amount was large enough to make one suck in cold air.

His friends looked at him as if he was a freak.

Some of them just cursed.

It’s a natural reaction.

He understands.

But what can he do?

He likes the game War of Gods very much.

He thought the money spent was worth it.

However, if there is one problem, the game ‘War of Gods’ has very few users.

When the server opened, there were not many users, and as time went by, the number of users decreased.

And almost 4 years later.

There were fewer than 10 simultaneous log-ins.

When he logged into the game, a character armed with golden equipment appeared in his view.

Yujun opened his Friend’s Window to check the list, then typed on his keyboard.

– Non Paying Gamer: Let’s go. I think I ran too much yesterday.

Yujun’s message was posted in the chat room.

It wasn’t long before more messages appeared.

– Hot Pink Rabbit: Let’s go~

– Non Paying Gamer: What have you all been doing?

– Hot Pink Rabbit: Is there anything we can do together? I was just chatting.

– Joseph’s Enormous Papple: Oh, you’re here? Didn’t you say you were going to quit yesterday? You’re always saying that, but haven’t missed a single day.

– Non Paying Gamer: You haven’t quit either.

– Joseph Enormous Papple: I agree. Yes, but I can’t quit because I don’t want to waste my gold.

Joseph Enormous Papple.

An amazing multitasking user.

It seems like he’s doing something else with the game on, but considering the time he’s logged in, he was definitely the most active.

Of course, the other users were not much different.

‘Doesn’t everyone work?’

Their real job was not even known to Yujun.

Although they have known each other for quite a long time, they have so far built up their friendship by maintaining a proper line.

– Joseon First Sword: Oh, are you here? Looking at the time…you must have come as soon as you woke up.

– Non Paying Gamer: Yeah.

Joseon First Sword is an enigma.

He has never deviated from that tone of chatter.

I heard he’s a little old, and in a way, that’s great.

But does he actually go around talking like that?

– Only I Don’t Have A Cat: Hello.

– Non Paying Gamer: Hello hello.

This time, Only I Don’t Have A Cat appeared in the chat.

Without a doubt he’s the closest user to Yujun.

He always went with him when he went raiding or hunting.

For some reason, Yujun and him are particularly well-matched when hunting together.

Only I Don’t Have A Cat controls are very good as well.

– Joseph Enormous Papple: By the way, what are we doing now?

– Hot Pink Rabbit: If you’re bored, do some raid quests. But I don’t want to do it now.

– Joseph Enormous Papple: Ah. Raid quests…that’s why all the users left. The quests difficulty level is so high.

– Non Paying Gamer: This game was not popular in the first place.

– Joseph Enormous Papple: Ah, yeah. Haha.

– Joseon First Sword: This game has been outdated since the first day of the server. The operation was a mess.

– Joseph Enormous Papple: The balance of the game is incredibly weird. At first, I was wondering what this was all about.

– Hot Pink Rabbit: No!! Haha. What do you still have left to play?

– Joseph Enormous Papple: Haha.

– Non Paying Gamer: Haha.

– Joseph Enormous Papple: But that’s why I do it. It’s hard to get it done because the pleasure is great.

– Non Paying Gamer: I agree. If the game was easy, I’d have quit.

– Hot Pink Rabbit: Honestly, I agree you shouldn’t quit, Non Paying Gamer. If it’s a character that I raised, I wouldn’t be able to quit it because it’s unfair.

– Non Paying Gamer: Haha.

– Joseon First Sword: Ah, right. You whale. There’s a rumor that you made a fortune with Bitcoin or something. Is that true?

– Non Paying Gamer: Right.

– Hot Pink Rabbit: Joseon First Sword. You didn’t know? We already knew.

– Joseon First Sword: I’ve heard it somewhere…but I thought it was a lie. To be honest, I didn’t think there would be anyone who could make hundreds of millions of won. There’s a reason why I keep losing on the battlefield.

– Hot Pink Rabbit: Haha dude. Don’t even think about winning in this game against mister master top-up over here haha. He’s the only one with no bills. He’s a total liar.

– Non Paying Gamer: Don’t be so mean. In my heart I’m a non paying gamer.

– Hot Pink Rabbit: ???? Mister? Where’s your conscience?

– Non Paying Gamer: By the way, I heard Hot Pink Rabbit has a rich background?

– Hot Pink Rabbit: Yep. I want to be a sorcerer and have a little fun sweeping away the creeps with fire.

– Non Paying Gamer: It’s fun. You’re not the only one. I tested it, so I know.

– Hot Pink Rabbit: Oh, but I don’t have any luck.

– Non Paying Gamer: Haha.

It was when they were talking as usual.

A red message appeared in the center of the screen.

[Administrator (Nel): Users. Nice to finally meet you all. I’d like to talk to you for a moment.]

The tumultuous chat room quickly quieted.

And the smile on Yujun’s mouth disappeared.

[Administrator (Nel): War of Gods has won the contest. It’s all thanks to you.]

Normally, the chat room would be in an uproar because an administrator has appeared.

But, the chat room was quiet.

Everyone seemed to be busy figuring out the situation.

It was the first time that the administrator has appeared.

– Joseph Enormous Papple: Are you really the administrator?

[Administrator (Nel): That’s right.]

– Hot Pink Rabbit: Are you closing the server soon? No, right? You’re still running it, right?

[Administrator (Nel): Hot Pink Rabbit. I’m terribly sorry, but the server will be closed soon.]

The chat room was briefly silenced by the administrator’s words.

Then, messages started to appear again.

– Joseph Enormous Papple: Wah.

– Hot Pink Rabbit: OMG.

– Joseon First Sword: It’s nonsense and it’s absurd. Suddenly shutting down the server.

Everyone seemed puzzled to hear that the server was closing.

Just by looking at the chat, I could clearly feel the feelings of the users.

– Joseph Enormous Papple: I suppose I am, but what happens to you? You spent a lot of money. I think you single handedly kept the game server alive. That must be unfair…

– Non Paying Gamer: …

[Administrator (Nel): You don’t have to worry about that. Those who purchased paid content will be compensated accordingly. I will also give due reward to the users who have enjoyed War of Gods.]

The administrator who left those sentences then disappeared.

The chat room looked unusually empty today.

Yujun stared blankly at the screen.

Being unpopular or not being paid is the end of the service.

It’s a natural step for online games.

However, it was like a bolt out of the blue for Yujun.

His expression was indescribable in one thing.

Surprise, annoyance, anger, regret.

The whole thing seemed to be mixed up.

Then, the chat room was updated.

– Joseon First Sword: Hey. Administrator. Compensations. What kind of compensation are you talking about? The game is going to be out of service, so what do you mean by compensation?

[SYSTEM: The server will close soon.]

[SYSTEM: The server will close in 5 minutes.]

[SYSTEM: The server will close in 4 minutes and 55 seconds.]

The countdown began to overshadow Joseon First Sword’s question.

– Hot Pink Rabbit: It’s running like shit…and then it shuts down the server. Is this for real?

– Joseph Enormous Papple: They’ve done a good job. It’s a game where the server would have been shut down if we saw the player count.

– Only I Don’t Have A Cat: ????

– Joseph Enormous Papple: You must have been sleeping and just got here now. It’s going to close soon.

– Hot Pink Rabbit: No, what on earth are the compensations? You’re going to tell me about this, won’t you?

[SYSTEM : The server will close in 3 minutes and 40 seconds.]

Time went by without stopping in a cruel way.

As time passed, Yujun calmed down.

Let’s think positively.

This is a game that will end its service anyway.

That was certain.

It has only quickened.

He doesn’t have to be very discouraged.

The most affectionate game he has ever played in his life.

War of Gods.

It’s a sad fact that he can’t play this game anymore.

Nonetheless RPG games are not the end of everything.

[SYSTEM : The server will close in 30 seconds.]

30 seconds left.

It was really coming to an end.

Yujun shut his eyes tightly.

Not a few hours passed, and Yujun, who had cleared his mind, slowly opened his eyes.

‘Huh?’

Yujun looked in front of him with a puzzled look on his face.

The character Non Paying Gamer remained in the town’s square.

Where are the other users?

Did they log out just because the server was shutting down?

Various thoughts made his brain a mess.

As he stared blankly at the screen, another character appeared next to the fountain in the square.

It was a female character with white skin and silver hair.

“Who is it?”

Yujun thought, ‘She is a user I’ve never seen before in War of Gods.’

To be exact, she was not a user.

The character’s name had three letters, ‘Nel.’

‘Administrator?’

It was the name of the administrator who made her debut earlier.

Yujun hurriedly typed on the keyboard.

– Non Paying Gamer: Are you sure you’re the administrator? Why hasn’t the server shut down?

Shortly after Yujun asked a question, a new chat room appeared.

– Nel: I wanted to say thank you in person to mister Non Paying Gamer.

– Non Paying Gamer: Thank me?

– Nel: Yes. You generously supported the world I created.

Yujun paused.

What’s the administrator talking about?

If it’s sponsorship, does she mean Top-Up?

– Non Paying Gamer: Sponsorship? Did I pay you a lot?

– Nel: That’s right.

– Non Paying Gamer: ~_~

Sponsorship.

No, he did top-up a lot.

He could buy a commercial building with the money he spent in War of Gods.

– Nel: Thanks to your desire in the game, I was at least able to qualify for my work in the contest.

It’s a contest?

Yujun busily moved his hands.

– Non Paying Gamer: Ah…yeah? By the way, what contest are you talking about? I’ve tried searching on the internet and there’s no such thing as a game contest.

The administrator who read the chat was silent.

The silence was so long that Yujun was about to type again.

– Nel: Mister Non Paying Gamer. I’m going to give you a reward, a privilege, for that matter.

– Non Paying Gamer: Does it have any meaning when the server is closing?

Nel, the administrator, without answering, used smiling emoticons.

Strangely he felt bad.

‘No, the game is closing, so does a reward or privilege even matter?’

Is she saying War of Gods 2 will come out?

It was a sudden assumption, but there was some logic to it.

– Non Paying Gamer: What’s my perks?

– Nel: I can’t tell you that right now. In the meantime, thank you very much.

The administrator did not leave.

– Nel: Oh, let me tell you one more thing. Don’t doubt what’s going to happen to you. Just accept the situation. That’ll help you survive.

With the administrator’s last words, he was forced out of ‘War of Gods’.

The grassland login screen in ‘War of Gods.’

The background sound that he always heard was more pitiful today.

“Is that it? Why was it so sudden?”

At least she could have told him what the next game was going to be.

She also did mention what compensation he’s going to receive.

And what’s more meaningful at the end?

“It’s alright.”

It was when Yujun raised himself from his chair while grumbling.

[Change starting. Brace for incoming impact.]

A translucent holographic window appeared in front of Yujun.

“What is it, this?”

He suddenly felt dizzy reading what came to his mind.

Was the expression dizzy even correct?

His view became blurred.

Mosaic.

Small dots seemed to swell in a flash as it covered everything.

Soon a tremendous shock hit Yujun’s head.

“Ahhhh!”

[???? received a special gift from someone.]

[Obtained inventory of the character ‘Non Paying Gamer.’]

[Inventory soul-binding, synchronizing.]

[Time remaining until synchronization, 5 years 8 days 5 hours 32 minutes.]

“Uh…”

A hologram window appeared in front of him, but he couldn’t see it properly because of his blurred vision.

He soon passed out in pain.