**Chapter 1**
—
“Please don’t panic. Breathe out slowly and comfortably.”
A silver-haired woman wearing a gentle smile spoke in the sort of tone one might expect from an emergency room doctor.
“I understand that you won’t be able to make sense of the situation right now. Yes, I do understand.”
The young man couldn’t respond. His lips were parted, frozen in place. After staring at the woman’s face for a moment, he slowly turned his head to look around.
This wasn’t the messy yet cozy studio apartment that carried the traces of everyday life. It was a stark white room with no furniture at all.
The bleak, lifeless space was chilling enough to remind him of a psychiatric ward straight out of a movie.
He actually felt goosebumps rise.
The young man smacked his lips a few times, then looked back to the front.
Shimmering silver hair and crimson eyes. That utterly unrealistic appearance oddly made him feel a little more at ease.
“Uh… is this some kind of YouTube thing?”
He asked cautiously.
“I don’t remember subscribing to a channel like this… I didn’t apply for any event either… um, maybe you’ve got the wrong person—”
“Mm-hmm. This isn’t YouTube. It’s not a prank camera, and it isn’t being filmed.”
Her gentle tone paused for a moment. The warm smile meant to reassure him subtly changed shape.
Regret. Guilt.
Just a slight change in the curve of her lips, yet those two emotions pressed straight toward him.
“If I had to put it plainly, you could call this a kidnapping.”
“W-wait. Hold on. Just a second.”
Barely managing to breathe while listening, the young man squeezed out a voice.
“Th-that… just now… I think I heard something strange. Kidnapping?”
“Possessor-nim! There’s no need to rush. You can calm down and speak at your own pace.”
The emotion behind her smile changed again. The woman clasped both of his hands, genuine concern filling even her eyes.
“No… no, that’s not— I mean—”
His head spun, his heart pounded.
“Huh…?”
The hands she was holding.
They weren’t his. He knew instantly. The pale white skin was nothing like the skin he’d seen all his life, and a shrill scream burst from his throat.
“Wh-what is this?!”
He roughly shook her hands off and frantically felt his face. It wasn’t just the skin. The bone structure of his face was different too. This wasn’t his body. As that certainty surged in, his shoulders began to tremble violently.
“Possessor-nim! Please calm down.”
“P-po… possessor? A possessor? What the hell is that? And what’s wrong with my body?!”
“Please calm yourself! I’ll explain everything step by step!”
The woman once again wrapped his hands in hers and whispered,
“Seronis. Are you familiar with it?”
Of course he was. But he had no idea why that name was coming up here.
“Possessor-nim… ah, my apologies.”
The woman hurriedly corrected herself, smiling as she did.
“Lee Su-hyeok-nim. You’re the Seronis nickname *Padlip-Immune*, correct?”
“……”
“It’s truly, truly an honor to meet you!”
(Note:-Padlip-Immune –> Immune-to-insults OR Parental Insult Immunity)
It was a nickname that would be hard to keep a straight face over if heard in real life, but right now, he didn’t even feel embarrassed.
Seronis.
The game Lee Su-hyeok had played the longest and most deeply in his entire life.
Possessor.
—How much time had passed?
Thump, thump, thump… His racing heartbeat gradually settled. The warmth coming from the woman’s gently clasped hands felt as though it were cradling his heart itself.
“Possessor…?”
Having barely calmed down, Lee Su-hyeok opened his mouth with a half-disbelieving thought.
“…Did I somehow enter Seronis?”
“Not exactly, but it’s similar!”
The woman clapped her hands together with a sharp sound and beamed. Lee Su-hyeok stared blankly, utterly unable to smile.
“Don’t tell me… this is because of the Hall of Fame?”
“Yes, that’s correct!”
Seronis.
The name of a fucking dogshit game with a brutal difficulty where dying once meant starting over from the beginning.
A game that never advertised itself, that he’d deliberately sought out. A game that anyone else would’ve long since uninstalled while screaming *trash game*, yet he’d obsessively dug into for years.
He created and killed countless characters, wringing every bit of content dry.
Even after barely defeating the so-called final boss, he never saw an ending. Instead, **GAME OVER** appeared, kicking him back to the title screen, and the character he’d lovingly raised was deleted.
Still, it was a game—there had to be an ending. He figured that if he met certain conditions, he’d reach it, so he started again.
Shitty garbage games have a strange addictiveness, a twisted allure. Once you get a taste, you keep shoveling shit into your mouth.
That was when the hidden boss was discovered.
The hidden boss called the **God of Chaos** could only be encountered through a route unlocked by special conditions, and its specs dwarfed even the final boss.
If that were all, he would’ve just kept trying until he beat it once and called it a day. But miraculously, the hidden boss had something no other boss did.
The only competitive element between players in this godforsaken game.
**<Hall of Fame>**
When the hall that ranked clear times in ascending order was first opened, Lee Su-hyeok found a goal.
He wanted to engrave his game ID at the very top of that hall.
“`
Hall of Fame
1st Place Padlip-Immune
“`
It was an ID too embarrassing to tell anyone about, but after pouring so much time into this rotten game, he wanted to take first place no matter what.
He couldn’t brag about it anywhere, but driven purely by affection and respect for the dogshit game he’d sunk years into, he threw time and effort straight into the trash.
And today, he finally reached first place.
“So… everyone who was first before me ended up like this too?”
“Yes, that’s correct!”
At the continued agreement, Lee Su-hyeok closed his eyes again. Barely suppressing another curse, he let out a long sigh.
It wasn’t a game you could honestly call well-made or player-friendly, so the player base wasn’t large. Still, it wasn’t nonexistent. If you searched overseas sites, you could easily find addicts with a refined taste for shit.
Yet despite that, the very top of the Hall of Fame barely ever changed. No matter how hard you searched, there wasn’t a single clear proof or tip from someone who’d taken first place.
No proof, no changes—so many players claimed the developers had rigged the top records.
Instead of fixing the shitty gameplay or adding new competitive content, they’d padded the top ranks with dummy records to make players shadowbox.
Lee Su-hyeok found the theory believable—yet it only fueled his determination. If he surpassed an unbeatable dummy record? If he engraved the name *Padlip-Immune* proudly at number one?
Then maybe he could finally be at peace with Seronis, this trash game.
“Lee Su-hyeok-nim, are you alright? Your complexion doesn’t look good… If you haven’t fully calmed down yet, perhaps you should rest a bit more—”
“Send me back.”
He couldn’t listen any further. Lee Su-hyeok forced the words out with a trembling voice.
“If you brought me here, then sending me back should be possib—”
“Lee Su-hyeok-nim, I’m sorry. That isn’t possible.”
The woman shook her head, her expression filled with genuine regret and apology.
“Though it’s late, allow me to introduce myself. I am Lorellia, a priestess who serves the Goddess of Order.”
“The Goddess of Order…?”
“Yes! The role of us priestesses of the Goddess of Order is to guide those who suddenly enter this world as possessors and to provide them with basic education!”
“Then… was it the Goddess of Order who brought me here?”
“No.”
Lorellia denied it immediately.
“The one who kidnapped you and the others into this world is the God of Chaos. The very game you played was a trap created by the God of Chaos.”
The moment he heard *God of Chaos*, Lee Su-hyeok shot to his feet. That was the exact name of the hidden boss.
As Lee Su-hyeok stood there, unable to speak, Lorellia continued.
Seronis was a trap created by the God of Chaos.
The God of Chaos had made a crude imitation of this world in the form of a game and released it into Lee Su-hyeok’s world.
“That arrogant god who knows nothing of death took an interest in the one who defeated him, even if only within a game he himself created. At the same time, he kidnaps false god-slayers into this world and watches them live lives of suffering.”
“……”
“That god loves chaos, just as his name implies, and is a cruel being who drinks in the blood and tears of victims drawn here by his malicious toys. That is why the God of Chaos is also called an evil god!”
Looking up at Lee Su-hyeok, who was still standing, Lorellia clasped her hands together.
“Our Goddess of Order stands in opposition to the God of Chaos. Wishing to care for innocent victims, she sent us—those who serve her—here.”
“Then… what happens to me now? I can’t go back to my original world?”
“Lee Su-hyeok-nim. The world right now is extremely chaotic.”
Lorellia’s tone changed.
“The lords of the divine thrones seek only their own gain, trying to devour each other’s seats. Morality and order are not respected. But if the God of Chaos—if the evil god—is defeated, the world will improve.”
Her jewel-like crimson eyes stared straight at him.
“When that happens, the Goddess of Order will recover her strength and be able to return the possessors to where they originally belonged.”
“So… you’re telling me to kill a god?”
“Yes! And if you defeat the evil god, the Goddess of Order will grant you one wish, no matter what it is!”
“That makes no sense! Seronis is just a game! Just because I was good at it, because I killed the God of Chaos in a game—how am I supposed to kill a god in reality?”
“If it’s *Padlip-Immune* Lee Su-hyeok-nim, you can do it!”
The hands clasped for prayer spread apart. *—Flash!* A thin booklet dropped onto Lorellia’s palm.
“Lee Su-hyeok-nim! Though this is my first time guiding a possessor, I have memorized the manual countless times! I may lack experience, but I am never lacking in enthusiasm! There are many senior priestesses more accomplished than I am, but none of them know you as well as I do!”
Holding the book up proudly, Lorellia smiled brightly. Though she was a beautiful woman one might only see on a screen, smiling with pure goodwill, Lee Su-hyeok felt no flutter at all. Instead, he glared at her with suspicion and wariness.
“You know me well? Is there something about me written in that so-called manual?”
“The Goddess of Order and we priestesses interfered with the game—the God of Chaos’s trap—to observe the players.”
“You could observe, but you couldn’t warn us?”
“Sadly… yes.”
Her smile vanished as quickly as flipping a hand. Lorellia drooped her eyebrows, mouth, and shoulders all at once, letting out a long sigh.
“As I said before, the Goddess of Order’s power is extremely weak in the current world. Preventing an already-decided possession, or sending possessors back, is impossible.”
She set the booklet down, then clenched her fists and raised them in front of Lee Su-hyeok.
“But! For the happiness and safety of all possessors, the Goddess barely managed to interfere with the game to observe the players. To welcome the souls of players who would otherwise be drawn here and die meaningless deaths—to bestow warm mercy—our Goddess of Order sacrificed a great many things…”
“Ah… okay…”
*Is she fishing for praise?* The thought crossed his mind, but he couldn’t snap back. Still standing, Lee Su-hyeok’s legs finally gave out, and he collapsed into a chair.
“Fuck…”
Lorellia watched him mutter the curse quietly. Soon, she smiled softly and took his hand.
“Lee Su-hyeok-nim, I know what kind of player *Padlip-Immune* was.”
“……”
“You stubbornly pursued a build different from other players, never giving up despite failures, trying again and again! What impressed me most was how thoroughly you avoided updating the Hall of Fame records on purpose!”
Lee Su-hyeok let out a hollow chuckle and shook his head. Lorellia gently stroked his hand and whispered,
“Your character, *Padlip-Immune*, could have entered the top ranks long ago. But every time you were about to clear, you deliberately made your character commit suicide, intentionally avoiding record updates!”
It wasn’t for some grand reason. Lee Su-hyeok was aiming for first place.
If the run wasn’t perfect, he saw no reason to clear. Rather than slowly climbing from some middling rank, he wanted to appear like a comet and engrave his name at number one.
Just being first wasn’t enough. There had to be an overwhelming gap from second place.
> **Anonymous:** Got world #1 in a dogshit trash game. How good is that?
He retried several times a day, every day, swearing he’d write a post like that someday.
“Ahh, seriously…! Lee Su-hyeok-nim! Do you know how long I waited for you? ‘Isn’t it about time he comes?’ ‘Surely this time?’ ‘He’s already beaten the first-place record, so why does he keep killing himself?’”
Lorellia’s voice brimmed with fiery passion. She tightly held both of Lee Su-hyeok’s hands, her eyes sparkling.
“And finally, today! Your *Padlip-Immune* character achieved first place with an overwhelming record! First place achieved! Congratulations!”
“Because of that, I ended up possessing a body I never wanted. Is that really something to congratulate?”
He barely managed the response, his hands trembling violently. Startled, Lorellia released them.
“Ah… I’m sorry! You’re right! This isn’t something to celebrate for you…”
That priestess seemed utterly clueless.
“Still, despite the rudeness, there’s something I must tell you. I believe—not any other possessor, but you, Lee Su-hyeok-nim—can defeat the vile evil god!”
Though it was an enthusiastic cheer, Lee Su-hyeok couldn’t understand the expectation at all.
“No… just because I was good at a keyboard-and-mouse game, what exactly do you think I can do?”
“You can do it, Lee Su-hyeok-nim!”
Lorellia lifted the booklet again.
“First, I’ll read out your profile so you can adapt to our world.”
The booklet opened.
“Name: Lee Su-hyeok. Age: 27. Nickname: Padlip-Immune. You have no parents or family? That’s wonderful!”
“…What?”
“The name of the body you’ve possessed is ‘Yuri.’ Age 20. No parents or family either! How fortunate!”
“The fuck did you just say?”
Unable to hold it in, Lee Su-hyeok cursed. His nickname might have been Padlip-Immune, but that didn’t mean he was immune to real-life insults. Lorellia, who’d been smiling brightly, widened her eyes at the sudden profanity.
“Did I perhaps make an error in my wording? I apologize. If you point it out, I will correct it immediately.”
“You say someone’s an orphan and call it fortunate? And the possessed body has no family either, and that’s lucky?”
“Ah! I’m sorry—my wording lacked consideration and explanation.”
Lorellia set the booklet down, jumped to her feet, and bowed deeply.
“What I meant by ‘fortunate’ is that possessors with parents or family often succumb to homesickness and have a high risk of suicide. Similarly, possessors who lived rich, happy lives also tend to have high suicide rates.”
“……”
“And when the possessed body has parents or family, maintaining a harmonious relationship is difficult. Though rare, some possessors are discovered and even killed.”
Suicide and murder. Lee Su-hyeok’s pupils trembled.
“Because I felt you were at relatively lower risk of such things, I spoke rudely without realizing it. Please forgive me…”
His legs gave out again, and he sank into the chair.
It wasn’t incomprehensible. This was possession. From a family’s perspective, a complete stranger had suddenly taken over their loved one’s body.
“Th-then… what happened to the original soul of this body?”
“You needn’t worry about that. Yuri, age 20, has just died.”
“…What?”
Dead?
As Lee Su-hyeok stared with his mouth open, Lorellia flipped the page.
“The official cause of death was… a penetrating abdominal wound and hemorrhagic shock due to excessive bleeding. Ah, you needn’t worry. Once the soul enters the body, the wounds are healed.”
“Wait—dead? Is possession always like this?”
“No! Most possessions occur in living bodies, but though uncommon, some involve bodies that have just died. You’re fortunate!”
“Why am I fortunate again?”
“When possessing a living body, the original soul is erased. Some possessors are consumed by guilt and become broken—or commit suicide.”
Hearing that, the word *fortunate* made a bit more sense. Being thrown into a game world was already miserable enough—if someone had died because of him on top of that, it wouldn’t be easy to endure.
“May I continue explaining Yuri? This is extremely important, and the manual emphasizes it must be thoroughly understood. Memories will synchronize after possession, but preparation is vital! Without prior knowledge of the body’s circumstances and relationships, you may get caught in serious trouble.”
“Give me that.”
He forcibly steadied his emotions and pointed at the book.
“I’ll read it myself. Reading and memorizing is faster than listening.”
“Hmm… but… this is supposed to be our role…”
“It’s fine.”
After being urged again, Lorellia reluctantly handed the book over.
He took several deep breaths, organizing his thoughts.
This wasn’t a dream. It was reality.
Because he worked hard at a trash game.
No—because he worked hard *and* was good at it.
That alone brought him into a game world.
“At least I didn’t wake up in another body without knowing anything at all…”
He muttered, forcing himself to think positively.
“That was the leading cause of death among first-generation possessors! Failing to adapt to the world, not knowing who they were!”
Lorellia, who’d been sulking over having her role taken away, suddenly brightened and exclaimed,
“That’s why the Goddess of Order observed the game and made us priestesses the guides for possessors!”
“Ah… okay…”
Ignoring Lorellia’s high-pitched excitement, he opened the booklet.
*Name: Yuri. No surname. No family. Age 20.*
He didn’t know who his parents were, or whether they were alive or dead.
As an infant, Yuri had been abandoned on the street, and by sheer luck, survived long enough to be taken in by the Aldor Orphanage.
Lee Su-hyeok read through the summarized orphanage life. Honestly, Yuri hadn’t been a particularly good or kind orphan. He frequently fought with other children and caused various problems outside the orphanage as well.
After turning seventeen, Yuri left the orphanage—but he didn’t live an upright life. Gifted with nimble hands, he turned to pickpocketing and later joined a small gang, fully growing into a piece of trash.
Still, he wasn’t completely rotten. A portion of the dirty money he earned was faithfully sent every month to the Aldor Orphanage as donations.
*Personality… prideful for his station. Holds grudges. Some paranoia and anger issues.*
It wasn’t hard to empathize. When you lack what others naturally have, you cling to things like that instead. Lee Su-hyeok nodded and turned the page.
