Dark Fantasy Genius Demon Hunter

The World Inside the Game

“Is this how you’re planning to handle things?”

A soft-spoken tone interrupted even before the presentation concluded.

Yet, its impact was immense. The atmosphere in the meeting room froze in an instant.

“Did you actually call this a proposal?”

Gaon, seated at the head of the table, didn’t raise his voice, but his words left everyone speechless.

No one dared to answer, heads bowed as they nervously glanced around.

“A clear goal, a feasible plan to achieve it, potential risks in case of failure, and measures to mitigate those risks. Does this proposal contain even one of those elements?”

“…….”

“…….”

“A hopeful, forward-looking story… Sure, that’s nice. But this isn’t elementary school, is it? Bring me a proper plan. Don’t try to deceive the audience with vague and pretentious talk. That’s fraud. And you didn’t join Yuseong Group to become a scam artist, did you?”

Gaon stood up, undoing the button on his suit jacket.

“Some of you might be thinking, ‘Who’s good at anything from the beginning?’”

Flinch.

A few of them visibly stiffened.

“You’re right. Everyone struggles at first. But not at Yuseong. At Yuseong, there’s no room for those people. Only those who excel from the start survive here.”

“I-I’ll work harder!”

“Everyone works hard. What matters is doing it well. That’s the only way to survive as a Yuseong man, isn’t it?”

With that final remark, Gaon left the meeting room.

The tension that had dominated the room dissipated instantly, and the remaining people finally let out the breaths they had been holding.

“Phew…”

“Ugh.”

“Wow, Manager Gil is no joke.”

“Seriously.”

“No wonder every guest lecturer we’ve had kept bringing up Manager Gil.”

“Really. I mean, isn’t it natural for new hires to not know anything?”

They clicked their tongues in disbelief.

“But you have to admit, he’s undeniably competent.”

“Yeah… I’ll give him that.”

“Wow. Still, to think our team’s proposal, which we worked so hard on together, would get torn apart from top to bottom like this.”

“Alright, enough chatting. Let’s go over Manager Gil’s feedback and rework the proposal.”

The team leader clapped briefly to refocus the group as the others rubbed their arms nervously.

The priority wasn’t marveling at Gil Gaon’s genius but tackling the task he’d left them with.

Perfect.

That’s the first word that comes to mind when people talk about Gil Gaon, the manager of the planning department.

Awe, envy, jealousy, resentment, spite…

Gaon was well aware of the many emotions laced in the whispers that followed him wherever he went.

Whispers accusing him of nepotism, claiming he’d slept with every female employee in the company, and spreading malicious rumors intentionally—there were no shortage of people willing to stoop to such levels.

But Gaon didn’t bother reacting to such things. To him, they were nothing more than the desperate outcries of losers who wouldn’t dare to challenge him based on skill.

He simply chose not to engage.

As a result, he earned nicknames like “the guy who wouldn’t bleed even if you pricked him with a needle,” “robotically meticulous,” and “a cold-blooded machine.”

But nothing in this world is perfect.

People often described Gil Gaon as perfect, but even he wasn’t flawless.

He merely endured immense stress to maintain the illusion of perfection.

Gaon dealt with the intense stress of corporate life through gaming.

His preferred genre was RPGs.

However, he wasn’t fond of MMORPGs.

That was because MMORPGs inherently encouraged competition among players.

Why would he want to continue the same cutthroat competition he endured at work when he came home?

Competing with others required immense effort.

That was no different in games.

Staying ahead meant pouring in more time and more money—something typical MMORPGs demanded.

But Gaon, a man who already lived fiercely in the real world, couldn’t afford to spend too much time on games.

Money?

As an employee of a top-tier corporation, he could spare some money for gaming. However, he had no intention of splurging on it.

Gaon’s reason for gaming was crystal clear: it was a hobby to relieve the stress from his professional life.

In that sense, single-player RPGs, which focused on story rather than competition, suited him perfectly.

They allowed freedom with time.

He could stop whenever he wanted and pick up again whenever he felt like it.

Compared to MMORPGs, where players often had to spend hundreds, thousands, or even millions to compete, single-player RPGs were far more cost-effective—even with DLCs included.

It was a hobby he could enjoy without extravagant spending.

At the moment, Gaon was particularly interested in a game called Another World.

Another World had gained significant buzz even before its release.

Its unique “Potential” system set it apart from other games.

Unlike traditional RPGs, Another World didn’t provide free stat points upon leveling up.

Instead, characters developed automatically based on the potential stats set during character creation.

Strength, agility, intelligence, and similar basic attributes were subdivided into dozens of detailed stats.

Such a distinct feature served as a remarkable selling point, fueling the game’s pre-release hype.

After returning home from work, Gaon installed Another World and browsed the game’s official website to check out the basic information provided.

His search was limited to foundational elements like the world-building.

Since it wasn’t an MMORPG that thrived on competition, delving into detailed guides felt like spoiling the fun of a single-player RPG, so he avoided it.

By the time he was done, the installation had finished, and Gaon launched the game right away.

“…I expected it, but I didn’t think it’d be this complicated.”

The overly complex interface made him frown instinctively.

Still, he had no intention of giving up.

His anticipation for Another World far outweighed any initial frustration.

“Strength, endurance, stamina, flexibility, reaction speed, dynamic vision…”

He pushed every physical stat to its maximum limit.

It wasn’t that he disliked rear-line roles like mages or priests. But he preferred being on the front lines.

There was a certain thrill in managing health through defense or evasion while sustaining heavy blows.

For someone who constantly had to use his brain at work, it was a more fitting way to relieve stress.

“Oh, mental strength is a stat too. Can’t leave that out.”

Mental strength.

At first glance, it seemed unrelated to physical capabilities.

However, Gaon’s extensive gaming experience told him that mental strength often influenced evasion, accuracy, and even magic resistance.

It was likely a stat that wouldn’t be useful early in the game but would prove significant in the later stages.

Of course, since Another World was a brand-new game released just yesterday, he had no way of knowing if his assumptions were correct.

But Gaon wasn’t afraid of uncertainty.

Why not?

It was just a game, after all.

If his choices turned out to be ineffective, he could simply enjoy the satisfaction of overcoming the game with a handicap.

And if his decisions led to an irreparable disadvantage? That was fine too. He’d just restart the game.

“Hmm, still not enough.”

He opened the detailed settings.

It was to balance out the lacking stats.

“Magic isn’t necessary for a front-line character.”

He set his aptitude for mana to zero, maximizing his strength in return.

The detailed settings allowed him to adjust stats using an equivalent exchange system.

“Dark magic… feels too deep and dark to start with.”

He set his aptitude for dark magic to zero as well and maximized stats like reaction speed and dynamic vision, enhancing his combat senses to their peak.

“Without mana, how could I possibly use spirits?”

He set his Affinity with Nature to zero and allocated the points to Flexibility.

“I’ll give up Holy Power too.”

This allowed him to boost his Endurance and Stamina.

“Hmm… I feel like I’m turning into a trash-tier character.”

For a brief moment, the thought made him uneasy. But as he stared at the massively inflated stats after maxing out Mental Strength, a wave of satisfaction washed over him, quickly dispelling the doubts.

“Ah… It feels like just one more stat would do it.”

All the other stats were maxed out.

However, a single unmaxed stat stood out like a flaw in an otherwise perfect jewel.

“Hmm.”

Gaon pondered deeply.

He wanted to max out the remaining stat, but its requirements were absurdly high compared to the others.

Even after sacrificing most of his other talents, it still wasn’t enough to reach the cap.

This left him with no choice but to deliberate further.

Only one talent remained—Aura.

Considering what Aura meant to a physical combatant, it was a tough decision.

Would it be wise to use up a resource crucial for mid-to-late gameplay?

“Whatever. You only live once.”

It was just a game, after all.

If he could breeze through early content with his superior physical stats, it wouldn’t be a bad trade-off.

He decided he could play through the first run for information and approach the second playthrough more strategically.

With that thought, he reduced his Aura Affinity to zero and maxed out his Regeneration.

“Huh?”

The moment all his stats hit their maximum values, the stat window suddenly emitted a bright flash!

“Are… my stats changing?”

[Regeneration → Infinite Regeneration]

Was it because he’d invested the most points in Regeneration? Or was it because he had sacrificed Aura, one of the most valuable resources?

He couldn’t tell, but it didn’t matter.

At this point, the game servers had just opened.

Surely no one else had discovered this hidden feature yet.

But in his excitement, he failed to notice something critical.

“…What?”

The light illuminating the hidden feature began to extend beyond the screen.

[Please save my world.]

A faint voice echoed.

Gaon immediately sensed that something was going terribly wrong.

He turned around in a panic, but there was no outrunning the spreading light.

“W-wait! What the—?!?”

When the light finally subsided, the room was left completely empty, save for a half-empty can of lukewarm beer sitting alone.

There was no trace of any human presence.

“…Ears.”

A faint humming sound buzzed in his ears.

“…Hey, ears!”

The sound grew sharper and clearer.

However, Gaon didn’t realize it was addressing him.

What made him fully aware was—

Wham!

A fist smashed into his face, sending him reeling.

Filthy rags, grimy faces streaked with dirt, and a stench so foul it made him want to gag.

Around him stood a crowd of beggars, their eyes fixed on him.

“You dare ignore me, you little bastard?!”

Among them was one particularly rough-looking thug glaring at him with murderous intent.

“Ah…”

In that moment, Gaon instinctively realized.

He was inside the world of the game.