2. The Anonymous Observer

April 27, 2028.

Today, as always, I shouldered my backpack and headed to the study room. In an era where ‘Players’ as a new profession flourished, and concepts from games like ‘Dungeons’ and ‘Fields’ seemed natural, all this was still a completely different world to me.

‘I should just focus on studying.’

For someone as utterly ordinary as me, to the point where the word ‘ordinary’ could no longer suffice, becoming a civil servant seemed the best fit to earn a living in this world. And to become one, I needed to study hard.

“Brrr, it’s cold.”

5:20 in the morning. The chill of early morning hadn’t yet given way to full-blown summer. Somehow it felt colder than usual today. Those who had woken up at 5 AM hurried along, clutching their collars tighter.

The study room was located in Jongno, about five bus stops away. Glancing at the display board, I saw that Bus 702A would arrive in 2 minutes. Then the bus arrived.

‘But strangely…’

I wasn’t actively looking around, but something felt peculiarly different about today. If asked what was different, I wouldn’t pinpoint it exactly, but the day felt oddly off from the usual.

‘Now that I think about it.’

On the bus stop’s advertising board was an idol group from 10 years ago, ‘Pink Velvet’, who were enjoying their heyday, now promoting cosmetics.

‘Are they active again?’

I didn’t watch TV these days, so I had no idea. At this point, Pink Velvet must be akin to the ancestors in the idol world.

‘They haven’t changed in 10 years.’

Their faces were exactly the same as I remembered from 10 years ago. I’ve often heard people describe celebrities as having ‘preservative beauty’, but these girls seemed like they quite literally slathered themselves in preservatives. Their faces hadn’t aged at all in 10 years.

I rummaged through my bag.

‘Where’s that summary sheet… Ah. Here it is.’

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10 years ago. Jongno. The onset of a great upheaval.

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I read and re-read the notepad in my hand. This was a compilation of the recent modern history, the main emphasis of recent civil service exams. The bus had arrived. The doors opened and I stepped inside.

[A tutorial will emerge from the primordial fog.]

This bus was headed to Jongno, the epicenter of the cataclysm 10 years ago.

[Approximately 145,000 of the 150,000 perished.]

Suddenly, a murmur arose among the passengers.

“Huh? What’s this? Suddenly a fog?”

“Eh?”

“I can’t see anything in front of me?”

People’s excited chatter broke my concentration. I looked around.

‘Huh?’

I was speechless for a moment.

‘What’s this… fog?’

It was very unusual to see such dense fog in downtown Seoul. Maybe something on the scale of the primordial fog from 10 years ago could create such a scene.

‘The fog is too thick.’

Indeed, I could barely see a thing in front of me. Suddenly, the content I had just read came back to me.

──────────

10 years ago. Jongno. The onset of a great upheaval.

A tutorial will emerge from the primordial fog.

──────────

The bus slowed down significantly. The cars mere meters ahead were no longer visible—it was that dense a fog.

‘Smell…?’

A foul odor began to permeate the air, akin to that of a sewer. It was nauseating, as if someone had let out a terrible fart. I wanted to cover my nose but restrained myself.

‘Sewer smell?’

I glanced back at the summary sheet.

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Accompanied by a horrendous sewer smell…

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Beep-! Beep-!

My phone rang. It was an emergency alert. The message was as follows:

[A dense fog has formed around Jongno in Seoul. Beware of accidents.]

I couldn’t take my eyes off the summary sheet.

──────────

Starting with the emergency alert from Seoul City…

──────────

Suddenly, I snapped back to reality and looked around once more.

Jongno.

The rotten sewer smell.

The dense fog.

Emergency alerts.

These scenes… where have I witnessed them? In movies or novels? Goosebumps crawled up my arms. No, not movies or novels. But the scene was unmistakably familiar to me.

‘It can’t be.’

My body trembled. My head felt like it was about to turn white.

‘No, it can’t be.’

I looked at the summary sheet. The last entry I had personally compiled was there.

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April 27, 2018. Dense fog engulfs Jongno/Gwanghwamun, marking the beginning of the great upheaval.

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My hands and feet shook uncontrollably. People were still marveling, ‘What’s going on?’ or ‘I’ve never seen fog like this.’ But if this is the ‘great upheaval’ I’m thinking of, this is no mere wonder—it’s far from it.

‘It’s impossible.’

I couldn’t believe it.

‘Am I dreaming?’

There was no other explanation for why the beginning of the ’10 years of history’ that I learned about was unfolding right before my eyes. I was confused. Why. How. How should I even begin to explain this.

‘What’s the date today?’

I needed to get a grip.

‘My phone. Right, let’s look at the phone.’

I checked my phone frantically, confirming the date.

‘April 27th.’

I was astonished beyond words.

“Gasp!”

An involuntary gasp escaped me.

‘2018?’

I had definitely left my house in 2028 and was on my way to Jongno of 2028. I had boarded the bus. I was certain of it. But the date on the phone calendar definitely pointed to ‘2018’. Since when? That was unknown. Unknowingly, the phone model ‘S8’ from 2018 was in my hand. ‘Why?’ was not the question to ponder now.

‘I’m going insane.’

The phrase ‘going insane’ hardly sufficed. I was in what one might call a state of ‘mental breakdown.’

‘Really back to 10 years ago?’

It seemed like I had boarded a bus to Jongno of 10 years ago. The reason was unknown, and perhaps unknowable. But that was the conclusion. Absurd as it was, that was the conclusion.

‘This is crazy!’

My heart thudded wildly. Something unbelievable had happened. Truly, I thought I would lose my mind. I had gone out as usual, walked the same path, and suddenly it was 10 years ago. What absurd situation is this? The unfathomable phenomenon had my head throbbing with pain.

‘If I have truly returned to 2018.’

If today was really April 27th, heading towards Jongno…

‘Crazy…!’

I might just die. On that day, that is, on April 27, 2018, when the great upheaval began, nearly 150,000 people perished within a weeklong period known as ‘Open Beta’ or ‘Tutorial’. Only about 5,000 survived. The survival rate was brutal.

‘A mere 3 percent.’

97 percent perished and only 3 percent survived—that was Jongno in 2018. I decided to accept it.

‘If I don’t keep my head straight, I’m going to die.’

I didn’t want to die in vain like this. Why this was happening to me was a question for later. If this was indeed Jongno of 2018, I had a 97 percent chance of dying here.

Then came the announcement.

[The tutorial will begin shortly.]

[Players, please wait in your places.]

It was practically a death sentence.

‘The notice’s come out after all.’

Whether or not I liked it, I had to admit that I had returned to the past. I sat down. My hands shook, but I tried to maintain as much composure as possible. I was well aware of the future. I had been memorizing the records of the past 10 years for the last three years.

‘Please calm down, Kim Hyukjin.’

I bit my lip, closed my eyes for a brief moment, and composed myself.

The moment this fog cleared, I was going to witness hell. I’d see people being torn to shreds by goblins, pools of blood everywhere. Maybe many had already perished. Honestly, I was both frightened and terrified.

‘Right. But I have an advantage. Let’s consider it an advantage. Damn. Damn. Damn.’

I had quite an advantage. I could do this. I could. I could survive. I could survive. I affirmed this to myself over and over.

‘First of all… concentrate on surviving.’

I could do this. I could survive. If it was true that I had returned to the past, I could get treatment for my mother, who couldn’t afford it. My sister wouldn’t have to give up her studies to work in a factory and pay for my school fees.

My sister who had worked in a semiconductor factory and ended up with leukemia to support me. This time, I could be the one helping her.

‘I must.’

Although the tutorial and dungeons were virtual creations, I had read guidebooks about them thousands of times. I had scoured YouTube at least ten thousand times. There were countless dungeons closely resembling Jongno of 10 years past, and guidebooks that made content out of them were widespread.

I was one of those who had memorized them by heart.

‘I will surely survive.’

I could find out through verification, but if it was true I had gone back in time, my mother would still be alive. And my sister hadn’t yet entered the semiconductor factory. At least for me, I could reverse many of the things that had gone wrong. This could be an opportunity.

‘I will surely live.’

I sat down. I took deep breaths. I closed my eyes and organized my thoughts.

How can I survive this? I started to form a plan of what I should do from now on.

My limbs trembled, but I strived for as much calm as I could muster.

‘I can do this.’

The desire to survive was stronger than the shock of the unbelievable event.

‘The primordial fog. And the first goblin attack.’

The goblins’ assault. How could I overcome it? When I received my Talent Assessment, it was near ‘0’. How can I, someone devoid of talent as a player, survive?

‘There were definitely people who survived without talent.’

How did they manage to survive? Survival rate of 3 percent. I needed to be among that number. I took a deep breath. How I should behave was roughly sketched in my mind.

‘The tutorial. Since I’m on the bus now, a conditional safe zone should be declared.’

One by one, I pictured the steps in my head. I was surprised at my own focus. It seemed I wanted to live more than I realized. I was much calmer than I thought and had adapted much better to the situation than expected.

It was unthinkable for someone who had been diagnosed with [No Talent].

But then, another sudden notification caught me off-guard. I had plotted many strategies in a short time and contemplated how to increase my chances of survival slightly, but amongst this planning, I hadn’t expected the following alert.

[An ‘Anonymous Observer’ is carefully watching your actions.]

[An ‘Anonymous Observer’ has begun to show interest in you.]

For a moment, my thoughts froze.

‘Anonymous Observer, huh?’

A guardian was beginning to take notice of me.

‘Guardians greatly value talent.’

They are even known by the nickname ‘talent obsessives’ among the guardians. Aren’t they the beings who invest early in talented players? It’s known they wouldn’t even treat untalented individuals as people. But why? Why are they interested in me?

The incomprehensible notification didn’t end there.