He Returns Assist In Time To Steer sure of Ruining His Lifestyles, And Turns into OP – Manhwa Recap (01)

 The story begins with the introduction of the main character, Lee Eojin, amiddle-aged gamer who has spent the last 15 years obsessed with the VR game Deus Ex Machina.While the game was initially top-rated and dominated the market, it failed to keep up withnew trends. Eventually, it lost its player base, leading to its decline. Because only a few peoplestill played the game, it was considered dead. And the ones that still played were seen as outcasts.Lee Eojin was one such player. Because he loved the game so much, he decidedto devote his entire life to it. Having played diligently every day since it came out, manypeople mocked him and referred to him as “rotten water.” Because, like Water pooling fora long time in one place, he's become stagnant. .

 One day, while walking to the blacksmith'sshop, intending to upgrade his items. A loan shark quickly messaged him, asking whathe was planning since he owed a lot of money, and wouldn't be able to pay it back if hefailed the upgrade and lost the items. Lee Eojin says that he needs to take risksto make significant gains and that this is a life-changing opportunity.The loan shark tells him to calm down and not make a rash decision.But having already made up his mind, he proceeds with his plan, hoping it pays off.He explains that because there aren't any new players starting to play the game – all of theold veteran players are called “the deceased.” His player ID, “Rotten Water,” refersto his stagnation after playing the.

Game for 15 years non-stop.At first, everything was fine. Lee Eojin never intended to play fora long time. Like any new viral game, he tried it but quickly found himself addicted.He's experienced every significant role: squad leader, guild master, and even castle lord.Which allowed him to collect castle taxes and make a living. However, that soon came to an end.Holding a grade 7 upgrade crystal, he prepares for the strengthening process. Quickly upgrading his rare sword to +1, he gains some confidence, andthe strengthening continues. In one go, the sword upgrades to+5, thanks to the grade 7 crystal. The loan shark is surprised andthinks it might be his lucky day..

Lee Eojin likes the results, buthe states that this was only half the gamble, and the real stuff begins now.He proceeds with the strengthening by giving a quick prayer for luck to every god he can thinkof. Surprisingly, he manages to reach a +6, but not having enough, he continues to an epic +7.Shouting out in joy, he now has enough money to pay his loans if he sells the sword, andisn't scared of the loan shark anymore. He's now excited that he can have a freshstart, but rethinks having to sell the sword, since without it, he'd have wasted 15years of his life playing the game, with nothing to show for it. And at 35, he'd havea hard time playing a new game competitively. His desperation forces him to continue, sayingthat since he's ruined his life anyway and has.

Nothing more to lose, there's no point in himhaving another fresh start. And if successful, he'd have enough money to buy an apartmentand comfortably spend the rest of his days. The loan shark is outraged andcan't believe what's happening. But Lee Eojin doesn't care, and withnothing to lose, he keeps going. Incredibly, the upgrade is successful, andthe sword reaches +8, but already having embarked on the path of no return,with the chance to change his life, he continues, barely holding in his fear.The probability of a legendary +9 upgrade is minuscule. Still, the difference between a +8and a +9 is worlds apart, in both rarity and price. Enough to fix his life and have a lavishlifestyle, so he decides to risk everything..

And fails. Destroying the +8 sword and,with it, any chance to fix his life. Incredulous, Lee Eojin can't understandwhat happened, and how he failed after dedicating his life to the game for so long.Furious, the loan shark asks him if he wants to be buried in cement, or fed to chickens.Lee Eojin feels hopeless, and blames himself for taking the loans, putting everythingon the line, and playing the damned game. Wishing he'd never touched it in the firstplace, and lived his life differently. Feeling dizzy from all the stress,he loses focus and passes out. Only to awaken in shock on ahospital bed moments later. Looking around, he's confused and questions wherehe is. The nearby doctor tells him that he's had.

A seizure while testing out the game's openbeta, and had to be brought to the hospital. Lee Eojin thinks this scene is very familiar.Nonetheless, a representative from the game approaches him, and apologizes for theexperience, stating that he will be given a new game capsule and a sum of moneyas compensation for his trouble. Still, he hopes Lee Eojin can keep the matter private,so that the game's reputation won't be damaged. Feeling a sense of deja-vu, and gatheringhis thoughts, he realizes he's been sent 15 years back in time. And he wonders ifeverything up until now was a dream. Back at his apartment, Lee Eojin lies on thefloor while reflecting on everything that just happened. He looks in the mirror and can't believehe has smooth skin and no wrinkles. For the past.

15 years, he's been addicted to cigarettes andalcohol, making him look much older than he was, but now it all seems like an illusion.All the struggles and happiness he's experienced now feel like distant dreams.The game Deus Ex Machina destroyed his life, and he now remembers the exactmoment everything went wrong. A girl he knew, asked to borrow one ofhis best items for a live-stream. Once he had given it to her, she stupidly showedit off, and a rival guild member found and killed her, stealing the precious item.After that, Lee Eojin couldn't fill the gap left by the item, so to survive, he had toconstantly sell his loot and even took out a loan to afford to live. Unfortunately, during those 15years, the game's popularity continued to drop,.

As did the value of in-game loot. He could barelyafford the interest payment, much less pay off his debt. As a last-ditch effort, he took out moreloans to buy the “ruling sword,” attempting to upgrade it and then sell it to make a profit.This all seems like a nightmare to him. And he can't believe that hewasted 15 years of his life. To ensure his theory, he decides to play the gameand find out. As expected, it wasn't a dream, and everything was indeed the same as 15 years ago.Wanting to confirm the accuracy of his knowledge, Lee Eojin proceeded to thetutorial zone, to test stuff out. Pulling a basic wooden sword from hisinventory, that every new player receives, he attacked the first monster inhis path, the D-rank “carnage bee.”.

He easily sidesteps the bee's attack and countersback using his skills. Still, he barely does any damage because of his weapon.The furious bee attacks again, but Lee Eojin manages to dodge. Rememberingthat the monster's neck is its vital point, he attacks and manages to land a critical. He thenrips the wings off the beast and ends the fight. He exclaims how much lighter his bodyfeels after becoming young again. Turning back to the bee, it dropped theCarnage Bee Stinger as a weapon. It's covered in paralysis poison, which can stun any enemyfor one second, regardless of rank or level. And with that, he confirms thateverything is as he remembers it. Armed with the knowledge of every opportunity,hidden quest, and item in the game, he plans.

To monopolize everything and stand at the top.We find out that the tutorial tower has 10 floors, and each floor increases in difficulty and addsone more monster. To finish the tutorial, you must reach the top of the tower and reach level 10.Usually, the monsters are super strong, and it takes more than 5 minutes to defeat one. Still,with his previous knowledge of their weak points, Lee Eojin can finish them in less than 5 seconds.Allowing him to quickly climb the tower. After clearing the ninth floor in thefastest time ever, the system documents the achievement as a world record, and askshim for his username; without thinking twice, he uses his ID, stagnant Water. As a reward for setting a world record, the system lets him choose the difficultyof the boss on the tenth floor's. Rank C is.

10 times stronger than Rank D, and RankC+ is 100 times stronger than Rank D. Typically, no one would pick such an insanedifficulty level, especially on the tutorial, but Lee Eojin is used to fighting rankA+ and S monsters; so a rank C+ monster is considered child's play in his eyes.Outside the tower, players are discussing the appearance of the tutorial tower's hidden boss,and the new world record on the ninth floor. Meanwhile, some are wondering who theperson who set a new world record, and defeated a rank C+ boss monster, as a level4 player. Wanting to recruit him to their guild. Flashback to the tenth floor. We see LeeEojin fighting the boss, evading its attacks, and using the carnage bee stinger to immobilizeand quickly dispatch the skeleton king..

After defeating the boss, Lee Eojin reaches level10 and completes the tutorial tower. The boss monster drops a piece of rank C+ armor. In thegame, items are more important than stats, so Lee Eojin plans to get every hidden item he can.Remembering another bit of information he got after watching an interview with a high-rankerpreviously, he starts looking around, searching for the rune to activate the secretfloor and final room of the tower—floor 11. Allegedly, this is the hardest hidden questin the game, but Lee Eojin is unfazed. Kicking open the door, he instinctively leans back,avoiding an attack that could have instantly killed him. Shocked, he starts runningand dodging attacks while thinking of how to defeat a monster of this caliber.Taking a closer look, we see the monster.

In question, is a Rank S “TortureTechnician of the Dragon Prison.” Undoubtedly, this is a freakish foe that LeeEojin thinks isn't meant to be beaten. As Lee Eojin continues to avoidattacks, he thinks back to the first time he saw the torture technician.It belongs to the dragon tribe, one of the species that dominates the entire game's continent.It made its first appearance 10 years after the game officially began. When many playerswere fighting against a big alliance, it came out of nowhere and, thanks to its speed, killeda lot of tank players in a matter of seconds. Lee Eojin curses at how he should defeat aboss-rank monster that can easily take down top players. But as he avoids an attack, herealizes that the technician is held back by.

Shackles on his arms and spikes in his back,so it can't use its full speed and power. Realizing this is a nerfed version of the monster,Lee Eojin now knows he has a chance to beat it. However, when he attacks, he finds out thetechnician has a staggering 130 million points of HP, while in total, he can only deal 25 points ofdamage, equivalent to an ant biting an elephant. Unfazed and excited, Lee Eojin realizes he canavoid his attacks if he concentrates. With the tutorial wooden sword, that cannot bedestroyed until he leaves the tower, he begins a slugfest with the beast.The vitality of S-class monsters is off the charts. Still, if they have no healing skill,they can be defeated by grinding down their HP. However, just one hit from themonster and Lee Eojin knows he'll die,.

So he has to maintain focus and concentrationover several days in a battle of attrition. One can easily log out and give up on fighting thetechnician, but Lee Eojin has no other commitments and all the time in the world to win the fight.Finally, after three long months, he manages to take down the technician. Afterthe fight, he reaches level 32, sending him to the top of the rankings, asmost players are around levels 25 to 26. Even having reached a high level, LeeEojin doesn't really care, because items decide your strength at the end of the day.Still, Lee Eojin can't help but smile because after defeating the boss, he receiveda rank S weapon – the chisel of death. He remembers that this is one of the two signatureitems of the god of calamity – the number 1 dark.

Player that used to terrorize the game.Even though the attack stat of the chisel is terrible, barely on the level of aB-Rank weapon, its true power lies in its skill and infinite durability.Having finished the tutorial, Lee Eojin is given a choice to join either thedragon or demon race. But he quickly rejects and decides to remain human; that way, he won't belimited by either species, as he would only be able to hunt monsters of the opposite side. Butby remaining human, he can hunt monsters from both factions – which he looks forward to.Now at the beginner village, a naked Lee Eojin thinks of his next move – skipping the low-levelareas, and jumping straight into the open world sounds natural to him, as he plans to hunthigh-level monsters that most players wouldn't.

Even dream of, this way he can make the gapbetween him and them even more prominent. He knows that armor would be pointless, sincemost monsters can one-shot him. Even gloves or shoes would provide a limited defense.So he decides that earrings or rings that provide buffs would benefit him more.Meanwhile, a group of players approach him with bad intentions, asking where he gotthe C+ rank armor that he put on auction, thinking he's still at level 10. They theorizehe'd obtained the armor from a quest, and tell him to spit out the information, threateningto stop him from leveling up if he doesn't. Realizing that these are low-skillplayers who like to bully newbies, he decides to play along and pretend to showthem where he got the armor. He agrees to.

Their demand but says that first, they haveto follow him to an empty and quiet place. The bullies give an evil smirk, andtell Lee Eojin not to worry as they'll protect him from any monsters.Lee Eojin continues to play along, but while walking, asks if they're planningto kill him and take his items – the bullies stiffen at being found out, giving each otherknowing looks as they prepare to attack. Lee Eojin is furious and belittles them, knowingall they do is sit around the beginner village, taking advantage of newbies whilenot even being good at the game. The truth of his words angers thebullies, but without giving them a chance, Lee Eojin grips his chisel and proclaimsthat it's time they feel what it's like to.

Be on the recieving end of the stick.Furious, they try attacking Lee Eojin, but before even managing to get close or pull outtheir weapons, he pummels them to death – making the leader exclaim in shock as he's certainlynot a newbie as they previously thought. Lee Eojin says that he usually wouldn't bullybeginners, but they earned their beating. He then proceeds to wipe them out. After dispatchingthe leader, he drops a Rank D slime essence, a pretty rare item that only drops after huntinga thousand slimes. Lee Eojin exclaims that taking these bullies out wasn't a waste, as now hedoesn't have to spend time hunting slimes anymore – as he needed the slime essencefor a dungeon he was planning to clear. A system notification then popsup, showing that the armor he put.

On auction has been sold for a staggering 85million gold, ten times the initial price. Lee Eojin is surprised, knowing that a C+item would never sell at that price. However, since it's still quite early in thegame, C-rank items are very scarce, so it makes sense that a rich player wantingan advantage would overspend on a rare item. Lee Eojin grins happily, saying not to worrysince he'll list even more items soon. In the past, he'd have to earn money in real lifeand spend it in the game to keep up, but now he can easily trade game currency into real money.Arriving at his next destination – the shaking demon maze, a rank-C dungeon. Lee Eojin scoutsthe area ahead, while admiring his new shoes, the slime juice walkers, which he crafted from theslime essence. They provide him the unique perk,.

“soft and wet skin,” which he says, is one ofthe best perks for the first half of the game. He then starts looking for a specialitem, a famous player called the “earthquake archer” used to use.Archers were often overlooked, and mocked as the weakest class, as arrowswould bounce off armor doing almost no damage, so they had no real way to compete.However, that all changed when the earthquake archer appeared. Rising through the rankings atan unprecedented rate – with his unique item, he defeated and destroyed everyone'sankles, earning him his nickname. Lee Eojin knows this item was given to thefirst person to clear the hidden dungeon, the shaking demon maze. And so, he plans totake the item that allowed someone with the.

Weakest class to top the rankings.Entering the dungeon, he encounters the first monster, a rank-C Oni. Lee Eojin isexcited to fight, but when he rushes to attack, a bunch of monsters jump him. He's momentarilystunned by their number, but attacks them anyway. Dodging all their attacks while counteringback, he realizes he's still too slow and needs to quickly get an item to increase his speed.After defeating the monsters, he finds a hidden door. And smashes it open, whilebarely avoiding a guillotine trap, that slams on the ground and reveals asecret passage, which sends him falling. After regaining his senses, Lee Eojinlooks around, only to find a giant red monster walking towards him.The system instantly warns him.

That the dungeon boss has appearedand is preparing for an earthquake. The boss then stomps on the ground, shaking thewhole cave and destroying a part of the ceiling. Lee Eojin expected this and knowsthat even if he had his rank C+ armor, he'd have lost 50% of his HP in that attack.Looking closer at the boss's stat panel, we find out it's a Rank-C+ Red Oni, and one ofthe seven great demons. Lee Eojin welcomes the challenge and taunts the big bastard. Turningto look behind him, he also notices an army of regular Oni's preparing to attack him.Without wasting a second, he takes the initiative and quickly dispatches all of them.He also remarks that the chisel's unique perk, “dismemberment,” is incredible. It's an abilitythat deals 0.01% of the target's health, as tick.

Damage over time, lasting until the target dies.Kind of remindins me of Amaterasu. Technically, one hit is all it takes to defeat anything.After taking care of the minions, Lee Eojin taunts the boss. Still, before he can finish hissentence, the Red Oni spews a fire breath attack, forcing Lee Eojin to seek cover. The bossimmediately follows with another earthquake, but Lee Eojin easily avoids it by jumping overit and using the slime shoe's unique perk. Before the boss can attack again, Lee Eojin glances atits leg with the chisel, and three hours later, we see the boss drop like a fly.This grants Lee Eojins the dungeon's first clear achievement. Not wasting any more time, heremembers that two more rank-C+ monsters are in the beginner area, and proceeds to the next zone.On the outskirts of the beginner village,.

In the nightmare forest, we see LeeEojin being chased by a rank-C+ boss, the wet spider. He keeps attracting itsattention while running and dodging attacks, while leading it into the territory of anotherboss, the rank-C+ longsword needle king cobra. This starts a fight between the two boss monsters,while Lee Eojin leisurely rests and enjoys the spectacle. Casually waiting until they killeach other, so he can collect the spoils. Shortly later, we see the auction listings of thetwo rank-C+ items, dropped by the two bosses. Players are shocked and desperate to findout where to get drops like these. Meanwhile, the auction continues to reach staggering levels.While all this is happening, we see Lee Eojin at his computer, surrounded by cash, afterexchanging in-game currency for real money..

Meanwhile, he ponders if this is what itfeels like to be at the top, but he gets a phone call from his uncle taking him outof his daydream. He doesn't want to answer, but knows it will be more troublesome if hedoesn't, so with no choice, he picks up. Immediately, his uncle shouts and cursesat him, for not coming to visit after his discharge from the army. Lee Eojin tries toplay it off as being busy. But his uncle can guess he's been playing games the entire time.He tells him they'll be visiting his parent's graves soon to pay respects, so he better beready and come one day early. He also tells him to start acting like an adult, get a job to feedhimself and attend a university like his cousins. Lee Eojin doesn't like the old man,since he never even cared for him,.

And just used his parent's inheritance to raisehim, while taking the rest for himself. He also jokes that he can't be at the top if he still hassomeone shout at him like this, and knows he has a long way to go before he can claim that title.Ignoring his uncle's rambling, he thinks back on the game. He knows that there's nothingleft in the beginner area for him, so now it's time for the real fun to begin.Now in a different zone, the “brutal desert.” Lee Eojin is scouting his next target, the”forgotten ruins of an ancient civilization,” while planning his strategy. He knowsthat usually, a solo player can't enter the dungeon he's planning to clear. But he knowsof a method that would bypass that restriction. Using a camel as bait, he lures a Rank-A+Sandworm. He remarks that even in his previous.

Life, he couldn't defeat it because of its thickcarapace, which blocks any attack. However, he's not planning to kill it. Instead, he has tolead the sandworm to the ruins, which will open a path for him to enter the pyramid.After the sandworm drills a path, he directly enters the seventh level of thebasement, and notices that the sandworm has already left. Thanking it for its help,he also thinks that it would have been great if it also defeated the boss for him.However, while walking towards the boss's room, he notices someone is already there,and he's then seen by a well-geared pair of players, a man, and a woman.Lee Eojin barely managinges to contain his rage, as he knows who theyare. Yoo Dahyue, and Yoo Changhee,.

The people that made his life a living hell.Yoo Dahyue cheerily approaches him, saying he's in luck, as they can raid the boss togethersince they've been stuck here for a few days. But Lee Eojin doesn't pay her any mind andremembers the events of his previous life. We find out that she's the streamer, whopreviously asked for his help, and borrowed his valuable item, only to lose it in a schemeto get him to borrow money from her company, leading to his downfall and eventual death.He then realizes that they don't know him yet, as this is the first time they meet in this life.Yoo Changhee says they already died twice trying to clear the boss andsuggests they all go together, but Lee Eojin knows they only plan on usinghim as a meat shield, and discard him halfway..

Giving a wicked smile, he agrees to do the raidtogether, saying he'll be very helpful to them. We find out that the pair are brotherand sister, and in his previous life, they schemed together to extort money from him- which led to his brutal and unhealthy life. Lee Eojin doesn't forget and seldomforgives. Still, he decides to put his personal feelings aside and instead givethe siblings a taste of their own medicine. While they enter the room together,the boss detects them awakening and starts summoning its magic.The siblings prepare for the attack, and when Yoo Dahyue turns to order LeeEojin to stay close, they find out he has already disappeared from behind them.Confused, they start looking around for him,.

Angry that they lost their meat shield. With noother choice, they start heading back to the exit, not willing to die to the boss again, but whenthey reach the door, they realize that Lee Eojin's already destroyed the door nob. Horrified, Yoo Dahyue curses at him, but she decides to fight the boss again, hopingthey'll be the first ones to clear the dungeon and receive the Pioneer title, a title thatonly top players in Deus Ex Machina possess. With no other option, Yoo Changhee agrees withhis sister, and they prepare for the fight. We now see the system panel of the boss.It's a rank-B undead, the nameless Queen, wielding a spear with magic capabilities.The two sibling rush to fight the Queen. Yoo Changhee takes out his shield,managing to block the boss's attacks,.

While Yoo Dahyue attacks from behind him, tryingto sever the Queen's hand holding the spear. Taking breaks from blocking and attacking, thesibling, slowly whittle down the Queen's HP pool. Meanwhile, Lee Eojin observes from hishiding place. He admires their coordination, but notes that the real reason the Queenis dangerous isn't because of her stats. The fight takes a sudden turn, as theboss's attack pattern changes, and her speed increases. With that, she also manages tobreak Yoo Changhee's shield. While Yoo Dahyue manages to land another hit, she can't keepup with the boss's new speed and pattern. As the Queen is about to land a blow onher, and send her to see the respawn menu, Lee Eojin appears behind the Queen and, in onehit defeats the Queen and steals the kill..

Yoo Dahyue is livid, and finally shows hertrue face, while her brother curses Lee Eojin for being a coward that stole theirkill and blocked them from leaving. But Lee Eojin casually says that he saved theirlives, and they managed to clear the dungeon because of him, so they should be grateful.Yoo Dahyue's veins almost burst, but before she could say anything, the system notifies themof successfully defeating the boss. And since a female player is in the party, the requirementsto activate the hidden quest have been met. The siblings are confused,and while they're distracted, Lee Eojin leaves undetected again. They ignorehis disappearance, but find it weird how the boss didn't drop any loot or experience, so thebrother thinks the fight might not be over..

While she talks to Yoo Changhee, the Queentelepathically attacks Yoo Dahyue's mind, ordering to hand her body over,and successfully possesses her. The Queen, now in Yoo Dahyue's body, ordersa confused Yoo Changhee to kneel before her. Lee Eojin now explains that the requirement toenter this dungeon is to have at least 2 party members and at least one female player.Meanwhile, inside Yoo Dahyue's mind – she's confused and surprised as her bodymoves and speaks on its own. Yoo Changhee and Lee Eojin geta notification from the system, saying that the soul of the bossmonster has possessed the body of their party member. They need to defeather or face a penalty on experience,.

And won't be able to log in for one day. While Yoo Dahyue gets a similar notification, she has to defeat the invaders or face amassive loss of experience, and won't be able to log in the game for seven days.Yoo Dahyue and Yoo Changhee are shocked, realizing why the dungeon had suchweird entrance requirements. Lee Eojin already knew this, and hadalready thought of three plans to solo clear the dungeon, but now he can sitback and let it play out by itself. The possessed Yoo Dahyue, directlyattacks her brother and one-shots him. While the Queen is busy blabbering about herrevival, Yoo Dahyue silently apologizes to her brother, but says that her death penalty is worse,so he should understand. Checking her quest tab,.

She's trying to understand why her rewarddidn't come through, but notices that the quest isn't completed as Lee Eojin's still alive.Coming out of his hiding spot, Lee Eojin prepares to fight while the Queen tries to taunt him, butis interrupted by Yoo Dahyue cursing Lee Eojin. Not wasting more time, she attacks Lee Eojin,only for him to casually dodge while smiling. The fight continues with Yoo Dahyue madlyattacking while Lee Eojin avoids every hit. Enraged, the possessed Yoo Dahyuecurses while speeding up her attacks, trying to land a hit on him.After the dust settles, a bored Lee Eojin taunts Yoo Dahyue, whileresting on the floor – saying he might as well sleep since she's not gonna hit him.He quickly grabs some distance, while an angry but.

Straight-faced Yoo Dahyue prepares a magic attackcovering the whole room, and orders him to die. But Lee Eojin is unfazed, and starts casuallydancing between her attacks. Yoo Dahyue is speechless, and thinks it's as if he's donethe raid countless times. While she's stunned, he closes the distance and starts attackingher with the chisel. Lee Eojin knows her HP is very low after her previous fight, sohe's slowly chipping away at what's left. As he's about to deal the last blow, Yoo Dahyuetells him that she's not possessed anymore, so he doesn't have to kill her, but he plainlysays that he's killing her whether she is possessed or not. Yoo Dahyue is stunned, while hedeals the finishing blow. Compleating the quest and being the first to clear the dungeon.As a reward, he obtains a rank-C+ sword,.

The ancient civilization bronze sword, withan unknown unique effect. Looking around, he notices the loot dropped from Yoo Dahyue andYoo Changhee. Since it'd be a waste if he left them there, he goes to pick them up, only to beinterrupted by the virtual avatar of Yoo Dahyue, cursing and telling him not to take those. But he thanks her for the loot and continues. On the verge of tears, she asks whathis name is, and at the same time, the system asks if he'll leave a name for thedungeon clear. He turns around and nonchalantly says his name is stagnant Water.After logging out, Lee Eojin watches back the recording of the dungeon raid,remembering Yoo Dahyue's priceless face; he can't help but be satisfied. He blurs his face,edits, and uploads the video on the games forum..

Afterward, he passes out from exhaustion whilehis phone is blown up with messages and calls. In the city, in a large building, Yoo Changheeangrily shouts and kicks a trashcan while cursing Lee Eojin. Meanwhile, Yoo Dahyue calmlydoes her nails, berating Yoo Changhee, saying he might as well destroy the gamecapsule, if he's gonna make a mess. Yoo Changhee turns around, and asks howshe can be calm after Lee Eojin took advantage of them and played them for fools. Hearing this, she stops making her manicure, and eerily asks if he's joking. Angrily sayingthat she's the one that was humiliated by him the most, after he uploaded her face all overthe internet. And she wants to kill him. An intimidated Yoo Changhee can't help but agree.Yoo Dahyue originally planned to be known as a.

Beautiful and delicate fairy, but because of LeeEojin, she is now known as “the pretty boss.” She promises revenge no matter the cost,but since she's already become a bit famous, she'll find a way to use her newfound fame.While they're complaining about Lee Eojin, a subordinate comes back from debt collecting,saying that the construction worker that owes them money, can't pay the interestas he hurt himself and can't work. Yoo Changhee says since he can't pay back theloan, he'll have to pay with his body like the rest of the guys. We then see a room full ofgame capsules, and people in terrible condition forced to play the game to pay off their debt.Yoo Dahyue says they can make more money through the game than through the loan business. However,although they're almost at the top 20 in the game,.

They still need to make more to cover thecost of the game capsules they've purchased, so time is of the essence.Now in another part of the city, in the research room of the Numberone Pro Gaming team, “Seoul K-1.” Team members are watching the boss raid videowhile amazed by Lee Eojin's performance, wondering how they can compete against a player thatdances around while raiding a Rank-B+ dungeon. Meanwhile, a blue-eyed man intently watchesthe video while the team director, Om Jaeyeong, is anxiously shouting to send StagnantWater a message, wanting him on the team. The team representative askswhat his salary should be, but Om Jaeyeong immediately says to give whateverhe asks for, saying they can't let another team.

Snag him if they're being slow or greedy.The representative sends Lee Eojin a message, but the director panics, saying that he mustbe getting thousands of requests, and the sheer number would bury theirs. Surprisingly, nota moment later, Lee Eojin responds, rejecting the offer and saying he's okay. Om Jaeyeong isstartled but speechless and almost passes out. Meanwhile, the blue-eyed man reflects on whathe saw in the video. He notes that it looks like Stagnant Water had done the raid countlesstimes. Frustrated, he can only accept that Lee Eojin must be several levels above him.Back in the game, in an unknown rank zone, the floating island. Lee Eojin is grinding C-ranksewage snakes while searching for something. Soon he finds the hidden dungeon, the rottingunderground canal. Being the first player.

To discover it, his name is recordedby the system in the akashic record. While walking, he thinks back on thevideo he posted. He's shocked at how many views it's gotten and how it ended upon the game's official website. Making a lot of players know and talk about him.While reflecting, a rank-B sewage snake ambushes him, but he easily dodges its attacksand defeats it. Lee Eojin's surprised, that the pro gamers are so impressed after he only cleareda Rank-B dungeon. Still, he has no reason to be arrogant yet, and while he thinks the pro gameroffers aren't bad, he's got higher ambitions. But wonders if his rejection was too sudden.Reaching a stone statue, we discover it's a hidden NPC. The crying statue pygmalion. Thestatue welcomes Lee Eojin to the dungeon and.

Asks if he can listen to its request, sayingit will give him all the gold behind it if he does. But without listening further, Lee Eojindeclines, stunning Pygmalion, and begging him to destroy it and end its suffering.Lee Eojin knows that if he agrees to the quest and destroys the statue, while itwould be super easy and fast, the reward would be minuscule compared to what he could gain.Having rejected the first quest, Pygmalion gives him a hidden quest. To bring vengeance to the onethat made him this way, to find and destroy the accursed statue – the crying Galateia.While rowing, Lee Eojin thinks back on how he discovered this hidden quest. A longtime ago, a player nicknamed “Combat God”, mentioned it in an interview. Supposedly, thequest's reward made him climb the rankings from.

The tenth position to number one.He plans to complete the quest, and defeat the enemy that had given hima difficult time previously. For that, he intends to go to the Meat-Boiling Jungle. Butwhile he monologues, a furious Yoo Dahyue comes out of nowhere and tries to attack him. But LeeEojin casually dodges and asks if she's really gonna attack him without saying hello first.Yoo Dahyue says she's here to get revenge after he humiliated her. Lee Eojin looksaround and realizes he's surrounded by angry players wanting revenge, includingthe bullies he dealt with previously. Lee Eojin doesn't remember most of them, butknows he indeed caused a lot of chaos wherever he went – still, he wonders how they managed tofind him. Yoo Dahyue says she's been tracking and.

Searching for him all this time and asksif he thinks he can defeat all of them. Although Lee Eojin can easily defeat bosses andclear dungeons, he admits that fighting against other players would be a bit troublesomeand time-consuming, especially since he's rushing to clear Pygmalion's hidden quest.However, he realizes that even though these players hate him, they're not here just tokill him, and he knows they're motivated by rewards and loot.So an idea of how he can use them pops into his mind.He avoids a combined attack from the players that only hits his cloak, leaving them frustrated.But Lee Eojin jumps on a wooden pillar and instead makes an announcement,saying he discovered a secret raid,.

And asks if they want to accompany him.The players suspect he wants to trick them. Still, Lee Eojin continues saying he has informationon boss monsters, hidden dungeons, quests, and the pioneer title. And he can provide thisspecial-grade information to them. So he asks if they want to come with him now.Although feeling conflicted, they can't help but follow him.Having formed a party with all the players, Lee Eojin is analyzing all of them when suddenlyhis eyes land on someone in particular. The blue-eyed man from the pro gaming team, “SeoulK-1.” His name is Ma Taegang. And Lee Eojin can't believe his eyes, as it turns out he's actuallythe renowned “Combat God,” the player that in his previous life was number one on the nationalrankings, and considered the best fighter. .

Lee Eojin doesn't know why Ma Taegang came tokill him, as he doesn't remember running into him before, but he thinks of it as an honor. Now in the Meat-Boiling Jungle, we see the party walking while fighting monsters. Yoo Dahyue doubtsif a hidden dungeon is in a place like this, since only rank-D monsters appear. Lee Eojin assuresher, saying they're almost at their destination. The other party members complain about the weatherand the bugs; while Yoo Dahyue asks where he got this information from. Lee Eojin brushes heroff, saying he found out while out and about, but she calls him out, saying the dungeonsin Deus Ex Machina are randomly created by monsters or NPC's, and not even thegame masters know their location. While she keeps bugging him with questions,they finally make it to a clearing. They come.

Across a circus in the middle of the jungle,the hidden dungeon, Secret Puppet Assembly. Lee Eojin runs ahead, saying he'll enterfirst. But Yoo Changhee sees this and thinks he's trying to take everythingfor himself, so he runs after him. When entering the dungeon, the system givesthem a notice saying that the monsters on the stage have awoken. Almost instantly,they're attacked by a rank-C+ monster, the Killer Scarecrow. They both manage to dodge,but soon more rank-C+ monsters attack. Unfazed, Lee Eojin finds this a good opportunity and usesthe item he gained from defeating the Oni boss. The Red's Oni Foot Leather. Although only arank-C+ item, it has multiple unique perks, including the earthquake skill, and the fusionskill, and also boosts his movement speed..

Using Earthquake, he deals massive damageto every monster while dodging their attacks ,and finishes them off with the chisel.After dispatching the last killer clown, he taunts it asking them to keep trying, since hecan't help it if his body dodges on its own. The battle ensues, with Lee Eojin spammingthe Earthquake skill while weaving through attacks and obliterating monsters with ease.The rest of the players can't help but watch in awe, after witnessing how quickly hedefeated Rank-C+ monsters – especially Ma Taegang after seeing his ability in person.While most players remember their frustration when first meeting Lee Eojin, they also give him creditfor having the skills every gamer dreams of, and they can't help but have their interest piqued.Still, the bullies, in particular are angry,.

Ordering Lee Eojin to hand over theloot since they have the right to rewards for being a party, so he should share.The more seasoned players cringe at their whining, but can't help but agree with their words sincethey didn't come all this way for nothing. The bully leader starts complaining even more, butbefore he can finish crying, Lee Eojin says not to worry, and that they can distribute the itemsfairly amongst themselves since they're a party. The bully leader is speechless, but admits thatLee Eojin's a better person than he thought, and the rest feel sorry for acting like the bad guys.Lee Eojin assures them, but a furious Yoo Dahyue mentally calls them idiots, knowingthere's no way Lee Eojin would act so nice, unless he has a hidden agenda. He's evenacting like a pushover in front of the.

Bullies listening to their orders, so he'sobviously planning to use them for something. The party unknowingly enters the boss's room,and the second part of the hidden dungeon. They absentmindedly walk past the crying statuein the middle of the room. While the more experienced players start walking aroundtrying to find clues on the next step, the rest mess around, not taking the situationseriously. Play-fighting, and acting dumb. However, shortly later, the system sends a noticesaying the boss monster has appeared. Before anyone can even look around, the closest playerto the statue instantly gets decapitated and dies. The rest are confused and start questioning whathappened; the remaining two bullies also get one shot, and pass to the realm of the dead.While the newbies are terrified and have.

No idea what's going on, Yoo Dahyue grabseveryone's attention, saying it's the work of the statue and that it must have killed theother players, since it has blood on its hands, and it's moved from its original location,she suspects the figure is the boss monster. Lee Eojin praises Yoo Dahyue's quick observation,and mentally explains that this boss, the Crying Galateia, is a monstrous bossbased on a weeping angel. And in the past, no one managed to defeat it until fiveyears after it was initially discovered. Angry, the players try attacking the statue, butphysical attacks bounce off, and magic spells have no effect – they fear the state's indestructibleand try to devise a way to defeat it. Both Yoo Dahyue and Ma Taegang realizethat they can only deal damage when the.

Statue moves. Hence, Yoo Dahyue asksif anyone saw the statue attacking. No one speaks up, but another playersays that even if they see it move, they have no way to block its hit, so they haveto sync their attacks and hope to do some damage. While anxiously waiting for the statue'snext attack, they turn to look at Lee Eojin, asking what his plan is, since he'sthe one that brought them here, and the room is locked, so they can't leave.Lee Eojin calmly explains that there are only two ways to leave the dungeon. Thefirst is to die, and respawn outside, and the second is to defeat Galateia.Yoo Dahyue then worriedly asks how they will defeat it, since it's indestructibleand they can't see its attacks..

Lee Eojin's amused, saying theywon't defeat it. He will solo it. Confused and angry, the players ask why he'dbring them here if he's gonna fight it alone. But Lee Eojin casually says it'sbecause they're useful. And so, they can hand their money to him now.The players are incredulous, and a frantic Yoo Dahyue asks what the heck he's talking about.Lee Eojin casually states that since he'll be the one to defeat Galateia and carry them,they have to pay him a survival fee. Yoo Changhee is enraged, and saysthey're stuck here because of him, but Lee Eojin interrupts and says that he tookcare of and carried them all the way here, plus they're the ones that decided to come, andcrawled to him because they wanted items. So they.

Better pay up, since there's no such thing as afree meal, and surely they don't want to have a staring contest with the statue. Seeing no better option, Yoo Dahyue reluctantly asks how much he wants.Lee Eojin smugly says one hundred million. Hearing this shocks all of them. A mad YooChanghee even tries to directly attack him. Lee Eojin pretends to be scared, but beforeYoo Changhee can even take a full step, the statue attacks and kills him in one hit.Yoo Dahyue silently berates her brother for acting rashly in their current situation, but Lee Eojintakes her out of dreamland, saying she'll actually have to pay double, since Yoo Changhee is herbrother and she has to take care of her family. Yoo Dahyue is stunned, but she pullsout her dagger and threatens Lee Eojin,.

Saying not to play her for a fool, since shemight as well endure the game's death penalty, than be backstabbed by him after paying the fee.Lee Eojin understands her concern, and says that since she doesn't believe him, he'll put down adeposit with the game's system. In other words, instead of directly giving him the payment,they'll deposit the money with the system until their deal is completed. This way,both parties have piece of mind of not being scammed. As the system is unbiased, and thedeposit is protected by it's absolute rule. The system also allows a refund of the money,if the deal isn't completed or the payer's not satisfied with the results.Lee Eojin then does as he says, and opens a deposit account with thesystem. He also coaxes them by saying.

They get to keep the reward for defeatingGalateia, since he won't be touching it. This shocks every player present. Knowing that thebest items currently on the market are rank-C+, while the drop from the Rank-B+ Galateia wouldmost definetely be a rank-B+ item, giving them a significant advantage. Moreover, they wouldalso get the achievement of the first dungeon clear and the footage from the raid, which couldeasily grant them a lot of views and fame, that can net them sponsors and a lot of AD revenue.Yoo Dahyue knows that Lee Eojin would probably get an even better reward, which is why he'sgiving them the boss drop. Still, she can't pass up the opportunity, so she reluctantlystops pointing the dagger at Lee Eojin. Saying they made the right decision, LeeEojin starts calculating how much each.

Should pay. But he's stopped in his tracks,as Yoo Dahyue directly deposits 200 million gold in the account, followed by the restof the players depositing 100 million each. Lee Eojin is astonished, as he initiallymeant 100 million gold altogether, but it seems they misunderstood him. Still, henotes that they must be really desperate to get the first clear achievement and become pioneers.Defeated but stoic, Yoo Dahyue tells Lee Eojin to keep his promise, to defeat the cryingGalateia and give them the item drops. Lee Eojin smiles and doesn't say anythingelse, but secretly admires their dedication. And could see why they became top players inthe past, since if it was the previous him, he would have just given up on the dungeon.He then walks up to the statue, and tells them to.

Look away from it when he gives them the signal.We find out, that after only five years of failed attempts, countless adjustments, revisions, andcollectively gathering information and clues, a party of players finallymanaged to defeat Galateia. Taking out a rank-C+ bronze shield ofthe ancient civilization, Lee Eojin turns his back on the statue. He then gives thesignal for the players to close their eyes. Using the shield's shiny surface tolook at Galateias reflection behind him. He intently observes the crying statue. Not even a second later, Galateia raises her arm, aiming to decapitate Lee Eojin in one move. Buthe expertly avoids every one of her attacks, while casually stabbing her with the chisel ofdeath, starting the damage over time effect..

Lee Eojin then continues tododge while we get a better look at the crying Galateia's grisly face. We also learn from the system panel that she's an attention seeker.What a diva. Lee Eojin explains that the attribute of attentionseeker means that the crying Galateia is an indestructible object while someone's looking atit, but it turns into a monster as soon as they look away, and attacks the closest player to it.As the fight continues, and Galateia almost manages to land a hit, Lee Eojin shoutsat the players to open their eyes. Which they instantly do, stopping Galateia'sattack and freezing her in place. Lee Eojin confirms his guess, recognizing thather attack pattern resets every time she freezes..

He then gives the signal for therest to close their eyes again. Frustrated, they follow his order, butcan't help but burn in curiosity. Hating the fact that they're in the middle of aboss raid, but all they can do is close their eyes. They all had one thoughtin mind. To see what was happening.

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