Why is it that, at some point in life, everyone’s imagined it at least once?
Waking up one day from an ordinary modern life to find yourself in a completely unfamiliar world.
Gaining incredible power through some chance encounter.
Everything you do flows smoothly, luck follows you wherever you go.
Even if there are some hardships and trials, you ultimately triumph and become a hero.
In other words, imagining a world that revolves around you.
The Hero Development Project was precisely a plan designed with those elements in mind. Except for the central figure, Jin Suhyun, every situation was meticulously manipulated and controlled.
A secret class obtained by chance, comrades met by coincidence, ruins discovered unexpectedly—all of it was “coincidence.”
Or rather, Suhyun himself believed it was coincidence, but in truth, all of it was infused with the breath of angels.
“Are you okay?”
I asked, feigning concern, but Suhyun didn’t respond. His face still looked sullen. He barely touched his food, so I sat beside him, slowly pulling out a cigarette.
“I heard the story. You used to be comrades with the Magic Tower Lord, right?”
“…Yes.”
“So what’s the problem? From what I heard, you parted ways cleanly.”
“…Did Nuna say that?”
His voice was flat, devoid of any emotion. Finally, Suhyun turned to look at me.
I lit the cigarette, took a deep drag, and nodded. Suhyun gave a hollow smile, then pushed his bowl aside and dropped his head heavily.
A long, thin sigh escaped him.
“Ha… Well, I guess I’m not in a position to say much…”
“Why? From what you said, it sounds like you two actually liked each other.”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“…Huh?”
He fell silent for a moment. I’d only said it as a joke, but Suhyun immediately agreed—very seriously. Then, as he exhaled smoke and glanced sideways, his face was a bittersweet mix of sadness and disappointment.
“Actually, I thought I liked her. But it wasn’t true.”
“Oh, come on. So you’re just acting like this because you got dumped?”
I teased, and suddenly Suhyun’s lips twitched weakly. Then, forcing a smile, he looked me straight in the eyes.
“Now that I think about it… maybe you’re not so different from me.”
“……?”
His words came out of nowhere. But his expression was so serious I figured I’d better just listen.
Finally, Suhyun spoke.
“You’re the clan lord of the most successful mercenary clan right now, aren’t you?”
“What does that have to do with this?”
His face darkened instantly. He paused, then continued with a solemn tone.
“Have you ever thought… even once… that you’re the main character of this whole world? That the world revolves around you?”
…What was he talking about?
“Because I have. I really thought that. That I deserve to be the main character of this world.”
“…Why did you think that?”
“Because I could. Because everything worked out for me. Of course, saying this in front of you might be like a caterpillar acting all high and mighty… but from a user’s perspective, I started in a completely different position from everyone else.”
“Hm.”
His voice sounded like he was finally letting out all the frustration he’d been holding inside. There was even a hint of bitter resentment.
But at the same time, I understood why he felt that way. I smiled quietly to myself and nodded, encouraging him to continue.
“It really was different. Not long after starting, I got a high-performance secret class. And while others struggle just to get by early on, I didn’t have that problem at all. Everywhere I went, I had solid results. I don’t remember ever worrying about money.”
A high-performance secret class. Consecutive impressive achievements. A comfortable start with no financial worries.
“That’s not all. My daily life was like a dream. Loyal comrades who looked up to me and trusted only me. And several women who liked me.”
Ahn Hyun, Ahn Sol, Lee Yujeong, Go Yeonju, Jung Hayun, Vivian, Shin Sangyong…
“As those days kept going—and even getting better—I couldn’t contain myself. Wow, so this is what it feels like. And at some point, I started to really like this world called Whole Plain.”
“You like Whole Plain…?”
I murmured, and he nodded emphatically.
“Yeah. Think about it. I was just an ordinary college student in the modern world, but here, I became the most successful guy.”
“…….”
Then, suddenly—
“But you know… but…”
His voice dropped sharply.
“…But what?”
I watched as his gaze slowly fell to the floor.
After a moment, Suhyun continued in a much quieter voice.
“Suddenly, everything started to go wrong.”
“…What kind of things?”
I asked, and he spoke softly.
As expected, he said that at some point, the streak of success he’d enjoyed abruptly ended.
Now, instead of achievements popping up everywhere, it was hard just to get a single lead. The comrades who had been with him gradually started turning their backs for various reasons.
“The most shocking was Sunyul Nuna… One day, she suddenly told me she used to be a clan lord herself, but she approached me under false pretenses just to recruit me.”
I see. So that’s how they reclaimed the situation from Suhyun.
I couldn’t help but admire the thoroughness of the angels’ plan, but inwardly, I understood it was inevitable. Once the angels stopped the project, the luck that had carried Suhyun had to vanish too.
But for Suhyun, that kind of situation was probably unfamiliar.
A quiet stillness settled. Suhyun sat there, hands covering his face, utterly defeated. True to his nature, utterly helpless. Then, through the gaps in his fingers, a voice filled with lament escaped.
“So… even if I have to start over from scratch, I was going to gather my comrades and try again…”
I listened quietly, lost in thought.
Suhyun’s position was inherently different from mine. I had clung to luck based on memories from my first run, driven by my own needs. But Suhyun’s luck came because someone else needed it.
In other words, Suhyun was still trapped in that time, unable to move on. He hadn’t forgotten those days and was struggling desperately.
Only now did I fully understand why Suhyun had joined the User Academy.
“But after joining the academy and meeting so many people… ha. How should I put this?”
I spoke calmly.
“Things don’t always go the way you expect, do they?”
Suhyun glanced up briefly, then stared at me with a startled expression. Seeing that, I tilted my head back and looked up at the sky.
“The main character of the world… yeah, I’ve thought that too.”
“…I knew it. I’ve heard a lot about you, hyung. And the moment I saw you here, I thought, ‘Ah, this guy’s a success story. He’s the real main character of the world…’”
“But no. That’s a very wrong way of thinking.”
“Huh?”
I cut him off sharply and stood up. Then I placed my hands on his shoulders. His anxious eyes slowly met mine.
I wasn’t going to say much more. I spoke directly.
“There can’t be a main character in Whole Plain. This world never revolves around just one person. Instead, it tries to move the users according to its own will.”
“But hyung…”
“But and buts aside. I don’t expect you to understand this right away. Like I said, I thought the same way once.”
“…….”
“But there’s one thing I’m sure of.”
“What’s that?”
Just as he asked cautiously, I helped him to his feet. He flinched, shrugged his shoulders, blinking rapidly. I smiled gently at him.
“At least, you didn’t do anything wrong.”
At that moment, Suhyun stared at me, dazed.
Lying on the dorm bed, I looked out the window at the deepening darkness.
So much had happened today. I stretched as hard as I could, then checked the empty bed where Ahn Hyun hadn’t returned yet. My thoughts drifted back to the conversation with Suhyun earlier that afternoon.
“What do you mean by that?”
He’d asked, puzzled. But I didn’t answer directly. Instead, I told him to think it over carefully and that I wanted to talk about this again with him later.
Because with Suhyun’s current mindset, no matter how much I explained, he wouldn’t understand. It was better to give him a brief, sharp question to make him think for himself.
And if he could realize even a little where his thinking was wrong—well, since I’d found a crack in today’s conversation, I’d use that opening to gently guide him.
Of course, I’d have to see how things went, but I thought the chances were good.
Suddenly, the thought of how much stronger we’d be once Jin Suhyun joined us made me smile without even trying.
“So, does that mean the sniper’s joining the mercenaries too? Hahaha.”
I was basking in the rush of endorphins flooding my body, rolling around on the bed, when—
Click!
“Hyung!”
“Ugh.”
Ahn Hyun suddenly opened the door and came in. I was lying face down but immediately pushed myself up into a push-up position and turned to look at him.
“Hmm. Patrol’s done?”
“Yes. Just finished and on my way back. …Were you working out?”
“Ah, yeah. Felt a bit stiff. Anyway, what’s up?”
“Well, you mentioned something about ‘taking action first, then reporting,’ right?”
Relieved that he probably hadn’t seen it, I tilted my head in confusion.
“It’s not ‘action first, then report,’ it’s ‘report first, then action.’”
“Oh, right. Anyway, I have something to report.”
“What is it?”
“On my way out after patrolling the main building, I ran into a trainee.”
A sudden wave of unease swept over me—an inexplicable, nagging feeling of dread.
I narrowed my eyes and glared at Ahn Hyun as he walked toward the bed.
“You don’t mean… again?”
“Come on, hyung. No, no. I told him not to be wandering around at this hour.”
“Good. That’s the right call.”
“Hehe. But something felt off.”
That’s when Ahn Hyun subtly frowned, and the unease I’d been trying to push down started creeping back up.
“What do you mean, ‘off’?”
“The moment I told him to turn back, he smiled—just faintly, but it was there.”
“He smiled?”
“Yeah. At first, I thought it was just an acknowledgment, so I turned away. But then I figured, since the patrol was over, I’d walk him back to make sure he actually left. So I turned back again.”
Ahn Hyun spoke quickly, almost defensively, as if expecting me to scold him. I crossed my arms and watched him carefully.
“But then—”
“But then, he disappeared.”
“…What?”
“I’m as shocked as you are. I turned away for less than five seconds, and he was just gone. Like a ghost. Ugh, saying it now gives me chills.”
Ahn Hyun rubbed his arms, clearly creeped out. I calmly stroked my chin, puzzled.
No matter how I thought about it, it didn’t add up. I knew Ahn Hyun’s user info. How could a mere trainee evade his senses? And in less than five seconds?
Something was definitely wrong.
I stood up immediately.
“You’re sure you didn’t see things? Absolutely sure?”
“Of course, hyung. My eyesight’s amazing.”
“Where exactly did you see him?”
“Wait, are you going out yourself? I can—”
“No. You stay here. I’m not letting you cause any more trouble. I’ll check it out alone.”
“…We ran into each other near the main building’s entrance.”
Ahn Hyun’s face fell, and he pouted.
But I brushed past him and headed straight out.
His report was plausible enough, and even if he went back, it wouldn’t be a big deal.
Still, that unexplained unease from earlier hadn’t faded. That’s why I moved. A little inconvenience now could prevent something worse later.
I left the instructors’ dorm and sprinted toward the main building’s entrance Ahn Hyun mentioned.
No one was there. Just the cold night air and thick darkness hanging heavy.
I raised my spiritual energy and simultaneously activated my third eye and magic detection. With this much effort, I should be able to find even the faintest trace.
Unless it was a ghost, whoever it was had to have feet on the ground.
As I carefully scanned the ground, my gaze suddenly froze on one spot. I moved closer, bending one knee to get a better look.
The first thing I saw was footprints less than ten minutes old—definitely Ahn Hyun’s.
And around them…
“Huh.”
At that moment, as I scanned the surrounding marks, my eyes instinctively narrowed.
These weren’t just ordinary footprints.
One thing was clear: I could faintly sense magical energy.
I opened my eyes wider, intensifying my third eye’s power.
And moments later, I felt something I couldn’t believe.
“This is…”
…a trace of warp magic.
---------------------------= Author’s Note =---------------------------
Originally, I planned to dedicate an entire chapter to Jin Suhyun’s past, but since some readers didn’t seem to like that, I cut it short and skipped some explanations. If you think I did well, please give my head a little scratch—it’s been a while, and it helps me sleep better. ㅋ_ㅋ
P.S. Warning! A user with game-breaking power is about to appear.