Chapter 383

Chapter 383

Reincarnated User Manual.

Episode 383: W-IFSS: If This Were A Childhood Friend Story Instead (5)

“Which son of a bitch made this?”

Which son of a bitch made this.

This phrase carried more meaning than expected.

It wasn’t that he wasn’t angry. Rather, the process of reaching that anger was profoundly deep.

For example… was he mad because, by sheer coincidence, a character who looked just like him appeared in a game, making him feel like his portrait rights had been violated?

That couldn’t be it.

No matter how full of youthful energy Hyun-jun was, his ego wasn’t so inflated.

A character resembling him could appear in a game. Even though it was a global game company, maybe the designer just happened to like East Asian men.

These days, non-TS protagonists or whatever were globally popular, after all.

And then.

The most decisive factor was the ego-suppressing remarks he’d been forced to hear for the past ten years.

-“You’re not ugly, but you’re not exactly on par with celebrities either.”

-“Mom thinks my son is the most handsome in the world~”

-“Right? At least, he’s…”

-“Oh, Madam, what are you saying! If you say that, he’ll get full of himself!”

-“Yura is the prettiest in the world too.”

-“Ah, ahaha…”

‘Shit.’

Anyway, the reason Hyun-jun was mad wasn’t just because a character resembling him appeared in the game without his consent.

It was simply that there were too many things in this game that pissed him off!

[Answer me, was my effort not enough?]

“Pffft!”

Max burst into laughter as he watched Hyun-jun trembling while gripping the game controller. More precisely, he kept glancing between the character that looked exactly like Hyun-jun and the ridiculously cringy lines that Hyun-jun would never say, to the point where he even teared up a little.

“This old-school noble speech is hilarious! Not even British people talk like this!”

“You son of a bitch! What did you say about this being a masterpiece?!”

“No, no, no! It is a masterpiece!”

Max barely managed to stop Hyun-jun from throwing the controller into the vast ocean. Suppressing his twitching lips, he cleared his throat.

“The hit motion is smooth. The haptic feedback is flawless. And it’s not like the story is lacking either. It’s simple, but the themes are clear.”

“The character is bullshit!”

“Why is the character bullshit?!”

At Hyun-jun’s grumbling, Max pointed at the screen and shouted. There, a red-haired girl with golden eyes was panting heavily, tears streaming down her face.

[Ugh, ptooey! You bastard!]

“Look at this beautiful, adorable girl. Doesn’t just looking at her make you want to protect her? Doesn’t it stir something inside you?”

“No, you idiot.”

Hyun-jun glared at Max with fiery eyes. Max, however, just chuckled, completely unfazed by his frustration.

“Ohhh. You emotionally dry bastard. She was a hero in her past life, but her half-brother kept tormenting her until, in the end, she had to kill him in a life-or-death duel. She’s crying while cursing him!”

“So what?”

“Lucia had complicated feelings toward Shiron! She didn’t want to kill him, but she had no choice! She’s feeling sorrow, regret, and all sorts of emotions!”

‘Looks like she just killed him because he was an asshole.’

Did this idiot really like this game that much? Hyun-jun tried to understand his friend’s enthusiasm, but all he could feel was a flat sense of frustration.

Bullshit.

Reincarnation of the Sword Saint was a bullshit game.

The first reason was Shiron Prient.

Despite having a face identical to his, the character kept spouting cringe-worthy lines and doing things so punch-worthy that it felt like the developer was personally out to get him.

The second reason was Lucia, the character who clashed with Shiron Prient right from the start of the game.

A hero who failed to save the world and now must bear the cross for its salvation once more?

Sure, it was tragic, but the real problem was that her face looked exactly like the woman he hated the most.

‘Ugh, fuck…’

“Anyway. I hate this game.”

“Is it not fun?”

“That’s not it. Every time I play, it brings back shitty memories, and it drives me crazy.”

Just as he said that, Hyun-jun downed his cocktail in one go.

What irritated him wasn’t just the game—Max’s dumb, laughing face was just as annoying.

“I was wondering why you’d even buy me a plane ticket just to play a game together. So this was the reason.”

“Oh, how could that be?”

Max dramatically widened his eyes and shook his head.

“Sure, I got my hands on this game before it even launched, but my real goal was just to have fun with you.”

Clank— The empty glass was taken away, and a new drink was set down. This time, it was from a rather old-looking bottle, and as it was poured, a deep red brick-colored liquid filled the glass.

“Let’s just drink as much as we want today and take it easy, huh? Do you even know what caviar is?”

“…I’ve had it before.”

“But you’ve never eaten it piled up like a mountain, have you?”

With a smooth motion, as if spreading butter, Max smeared caviar onto a piece of bread and took a bite. The sheer extravagance of it made Hyun-jun’s mouth water.

Max took the controller from Hyun-jun and continued playing.

[Your mind is no different from that of a beast.]

“When I first saw the early concept art, I actually thought you were working as a model for a game company.”

[Compared to such a beast, I…]

“But your name wasn’t on the company’s list.”

[Answer me, was my effort not enough?]

“And that scar under his eye is exactly the same. He’s a complete copy of you.”

“…”

“Jun, does anything about this ring a bell?”

Max didn’t like the character Shiron Prient either.

Even though he had far more money now compared to the past, he was still a hardcore gamer at heart.

To him, Shiron Prient was clearly a bizarre character.

If he was meant to be a villain, then he should’ve stayed that way. But every now and then, he’d show moments of weakness that only made him seem more pathetic.

Simply put, he was unlikable for no good reason.

On top of that, the fact that his face resembled Hyun-jun’s made it feel even weirder. And since he kept interfering with the playable character, Lucia Prient, every single time, it just made the whole thing feel downright infuriating.

[Thunk.]

To the point where he wanted to kill him.

So much so that it became a habit to eliminate him in every single playthrough.

Shiron Prient’s character exuded such an obsessive aura that it felt borderline occult.

“Nothing about this rings a bell.”

Watching Max play, Hyun-jun let out a deep sigh.

“This is my first time seeing this game. Besides, it’s not like I’ve lived in a way that would make anyone hold a grudge against me. If anything, I’ve always been the one on the receiving end.”

“You? Taking shit? With your personality?”

The glass was refilled, this time with something even stronger. As the alcohol took effect, Hyun-jun felt the urge to finally say what had been eating at him.

‘No way I’m about to admit I have PTSD because of some girl from my past.’

“It’s just an old story.”

But he held himself back.

Even to himself, it felt pathetic that he still hadn’t moved on from that wound. His pride wouldn’t allow him to say it. He would carry this secret to his grave.

He swallowed down his frustration along with the strong liquor.

—————

Maybe it was because he had played a game that brought up bad memories.

In his dream, it felt like he had fallen straight into the game.

A cold that froze him to the bone.

A blizzard that cut into his skin.

By the time he came to his senses, he was gripping a longsword in his hand.

The endless mountain range stretching across the horizon was Makal Mountain, the very setting of the game. That’s why he assumed he was just having a game-related dream.

But—

“Hyun-jun?”

Hyun-jun couldn’t believe this was a game.

“You… are you really Hyun-jun?”

Shin Yura.

A woman who could never appear in the game was standing right in front of him.