episode_0001

Most people dream of a reversal of fortune in their lives. Even I, who spent my time cooped up at home with nothing to do, yearned for a chance at a life-altering opportunity like winning the lottery or something similar.

Did my prayers get answered?

I’ve possessed someone. Moreover, it’s someone from a novel I’ve read before.

Just like a country bumpkin visiting Seoul for the first time in a fantasy novel, I looked around frantically trying to figure out the situation. It didn’t take long to adapt. After all, I had prepared to some extent.

[Special Report] Unidentified phenomenon occurring. People are disappearing.

The news labeled it as simple disappearances, but the whereabouts of the missing could be somewhat anticipated. Ironically, rumors circulated that the missing individuals were congregating in a particular community.

[Apocalyptic Novel Gallery]

Within the community called “Ready Outside,” specifically in the “Apocalyptic Novel Gallery,” missing persons began to appear one by one.

ㅇㅇ – It’s been two days since I possessed this body. How do I survive here?

ㅇㅇ – I think I’ve possessed a character from a martial arts novel. Does anyone know what “Chunjeonjigi” means?

ㅇㅇ – Why did I possess a place that looks exactly like Earth? There’s no magic or swordsmanship here; it’s just like Earth.

At the point when a large number of missing persons began to emerge, numerous survivors within the Apocalyptic Novel Gallery of the Ready Outside community started sharing their situations. However, the reason the government didn’t pay attention to this was evident from the headlines alone.

– [Exclusive] Excessive mischief in the community. Today’s generation trivializing the missing persons.

The reason this place, known as the “Apocalyptic Novel Gallery” or simply “Apocagal,” was referred to as a breeding ground for troublemakers was simple. When the government demanded user data from the administrators of Ready Outside, it was found that the majority of IP addresses were estimated to be within Korea.

ㅇㅇ – Am I really a missing person? I’ll provide my personal information, please believe me.

Main text: 236 150 180 234 183 184 235 161 156

ㄴ ㅇㅇ – These guys in the gallery always try to provoke whenever they get a chance.

Some individuals even uploaded evidence to prove that they were missing persons, but upon viewing the posts, there was nothing but strange ASCII codes. When converted, only the text “aggro” appeared.

It was unclear whether this was a device to attract attention or if information was being filtered by some unknown force.

When individuals posted personal information sufficient for Earthlings to know on the Doomed Gallery, it would automatically be encrypted. I considered this as a hypothesis. Furthermore, it seemed to be subject to some form of restriction. A few days later, when I tried to find the user again, it would show that the user had withdrawn.

Countless incidents akin to ghost stories occurred. The people who claimed to be in another world, or that magic existed, did not turn into strange ASCII codes, but their IP addresses ultimately led back to Korea.

The fact that the IP addresses of those who transmigrated into other novels were Korean was astonishing. Naturally, the government could only consider this as a cruel prank by community members.

“Earth’s personal information is strictly filtered.”

I set up the hypothesis alone. I even told a few people around me that the place really seemed like a community of transmigrators, but I was immediately treated as a lunatic.

ㅇㅇ – I really transmigrated to a strange place, I feel like I’m going to die, please save me.

Sometimes, there were posts pleading for help from supposed missing persons, prompting the police to deploy manpower for searches. However, in most cases, when they went to the location indicated by the IP address, completely unrelated people would emerge.

In the end, the Doomed Gallery became stigmatized as a space where people gathered to play pranks by changing their IP through VPNs or similar methods, and the media no longer paid much attention to the gallery. Except for times when they were insulted as attention-seekers or troublemakers.

“It’s too realistic to call it a lie, isn’t it?”

This was my honest impression after reading the Doomed Gallery (Doomed Novel World Gallery). People can make up stories about fantasy novels’ magic or martial arts novel’s elixirs, but the descriptions of the situations and phenomena they experienced were too specific and vivid.

It’s been over three years since I became a “baeksu” [unemployed person]. Through my experience of spending all day on online communities, I’ve come to realize something. Simple attention-seeking trolls don’t provoke aggro in such a detailed, long-term, consistent, and earnest manner.

Back then, while browsing through the “myeolso-gael” [disappearing community], I posted my first article. My username was “ㅇㅇ,” which means anonymous.

ㅇㅇ – Where did everyone get isekai’d to? Please give a specific explanation.

ㄴ I’m in a place with wizards. Feels like I got isekai’d into a novel I read before. I think the title was “The Rebellion of Weak Wizards.”

ㄴ Same here. I got isekai’d into “The Rebellion of Weak Wizards.”

ㄴ I feel like I got isekai’d into a martial arts novel. I’m sure I read a similar novel, but I can’t remember the title.

ㄴ I seem to have been isekai’d into a cyberpunk novel… Damn…

The general response from people was similar. They discussed the world they had been isekai’d into, acknowledging that it was a world from a novel. However, no one shared their real-life name, age, occupation, or address.

ㅇㅇ – If you’re really missing, tell us your missing address.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ – This is frustrating. Really, 236 150 180 234 183 184 235 161 156?

To my surprise, when I asked several people, they all spat out the ASCII code “236 150 180 234 183 184 235 161 156.”

This ASCII code translates to “aggro.” Were they all engaging in this collective activity? It was incomprehensible. By the way, the user who commented on my post, upon checking later, had a message indicating that the account had been deleted. Whether they left voluntarily or were forced to leave, I don’t know.

Although the works we were isekai’d into were different, the fact that everyone was isekai’d into a “novel” was an established story within the community. From my first post in the gallery, I began to investigate one by one.

ㅇㅇ – I feel like I got isekai’d into “Revenge of the Wizard, No Matter How Many Millions of Years Pass…”

ㅇㅇ – I think I got isekai’d into “Cyberpunk: Blood Feud.”

Upon closer inspection, quite a few people seemed to know which novel they had been transmigrated into. I began sorting through the list of novels they had written one by one.

[There are 3310 works in my bookshelf.]

Surprisingly, all the novels were works available on a subscription-based platform. Since it allowed access to all novels for 9,900 won per month, I quickly subscribed to all the novels and started speed-reading through them.

While reading the novels, I didn’t forget to access the gallery of collapsed novel worlds. Shockingly, the people who had transmigrated were maintaining the developments and settings of the novels exactly as they were in the stories. Could those who meticulously posted these writings really be mere attention seekers? Were the pieces of evidence indicating that they had transmigrated into novels coincidentally being forcibly converted into ASCII codes representing “attention seeking”?

I don’t think so. That’s why I started reading the novels again. After all, someday I might also transmigrate.

As I stayed holed up at home, staring at novels on my phone, people around me looked at me pitifully. They ranted about me being a loser escaping reality by indulging in delusions, but I ignored them and kept on reading.

The specific developments and settings of the novels, the characters, and most importantly, how advantageous it is to start with hidden pieces; isn’t it easy to see without any reservation when you read countless novels? Assuming even for a moment what the situation would be if I were transmigrated, I made efforts to read as many novels as possible.

So, like a madman, I spent two years cooped up at home, reading novels incessantly. I precisely completed two works each day. It wasn’t impossible to read more works since speed-reading was possible, but I regulated my pace. This was because there were works that extended to nearly 1000 episodes. At the point where I had thoroughly read around 1400 works, I too received a mysterious summons.

[Welcome to the Collapse of Novel Worlds.]

“Selling healing magic for 1 gold each~”

“Selling memory enhancement magic for 10 gold each. For those with exams, we also offer special efficiency-enhancing potions~”

“We’ll handle small demon extermination for 30 silver per creature.”

Strange clothes resembling medieval times. Bizarre life forms floating around. People carrying swords, shields, and even staffs.

“I did it.”

Rather than confusion at my first possession, I let out a cheer. Just like others, I had succeeded in possessing someone. It was the moment I had hoped and longed for.

With an anxious heart, I looked around desperately. The architecture, people’s attire, the magic being used, or mana, and similar elements were constantly hammered into my mind. Then, after confirming that various elements pointed to one novel, I let out a sigh of relief.

“I’ve possessed someone. Even within a novel I’ve read.”

Out of over 3,000 novels, I had only read 1,400. Therefore, I felt somewhat uneasy about possibly ending up in a completely unfamiliar place. However, as if rewarding my efforts of obsessively reading novels for two years, I had possessed a character from a novel I had completed in the past.

The title: “The Untalented Mage Dreams of Becoming a Grand Mage.”

It was a novel about a protagonist without any magical talent who collects various encounters and hidden pieces to become a grand mage. A perfect genre for people like me with nothing.

– System: Data transfer has been completed safely. By speaking the command “Gallery,” you can open the gallery and create posts.

Under the guidance of the system, I opened the gallery for the first time. Sure enough, the gallery from the doomed novel appeared before my eyes. This confirmed it perfectly. The mass disappearances were indeed due to everyone possessing characters.

ㅇㅇ – Finally, I’ve possessed someone, even within a novel I’ve read. Those envious guys are just jealous. LOL

After posting one article, I frantically searched for hidden pieces. It could be troublesome if even one was taken from the protagonist.

Next, I went to find the encounters.

“Hehe… Your eyes really please me. Yes. You want to learn magic, don’t you?”

Once a grand mage in the past, now a master of hidden magic hiding his identity, living in poverty in a slum.

“Those incompetent wizards probably refused to teach you, didn’t they? Get lost. Wait, your energy feels peculiar inside you. Did you happen to take an Ascension Elixir? If so, things are different now.”

Known for his irritable nature but undeniable skills, a man called Geomseongra.

“Oh? You want to handle familiars? Quite ambitious. You’re already filled with the energy of both magic and sword, aren’t you? Huh…? What’s this? You’ve never handled a familiar before, right? Why is the energy of a legendary beast within you…?”

He forcibly connected with various beings, including a sorcerer known as the master of summoning magic and others, such as dark sorcerers.

Remembering exactly what the key figures were interested in, I successfully became their disciple using their interests and received instruction. Thanks to countless exclusive glimpses into Hidden Pits, the teachings began to become ingrained in my bones and flesh.

11 years and 5 months after the possession.

– System: You have reached the level of Archmage.

I had become an Archmage.