episode_0001

For some reason, these days, although it has become an icon of defeat, in fact, the existence of a childhood friend would usually be a beloved presence for the protagonist and the readers.

Having spent considerable time together with the protagonist since childhood, they know the protagonist better than anyone else and can take care of them more than anyone else, always being a source of strength for the protagonist.

Of course, depending on the personality of the childhood friend, there are times when they treat the protagonist more roughly than others, but that’s just a clumsy expression; their heart always leans towards helping the protagonist.

Truly a godly childhood friend!!!

I loved that kind of feeling that only a childhood friend could have.

Always thinking of the protagonist, believing they are in a special position, sometimes acting out, those behaviors were so lovely.

So whenever a game or novel featured a childhood friend heroine, I would always support her before any other heroines.

But… I didn’t support every work.

There is one exception.

I’ll tell you the truth now, remember it well…

If a childhood friend appears in an NTR game genre, then they are no longer a childhood friend.

They are nothing but a bastard more wicked than the demon king wearing the mask of a childhood friend.

# # #

“Damn it!!!”

It was already dawn, in a dimly lit room, where only the light from the monitor proved that a man was in the room.

Wearing a headset, playing the game diligently, the man who slammed his desk, this man was named Lee Sunwoo, that was me.

The reason I was so angry was none other than the game I was currently playing, “The Hero and Party Members.”

“Where the hell is this!!!”

The ‘playtime 123 hours’ visible in the corner of the monitor.

Yes! I had burned myself out so much on this game that I poured all my precious 7-day holiday into it.

“How can every ending be the protagonist dying!!!”

And as much as I burned myself out, I got furious.

“Damn it… I shouldn’t have played this crappy game.”

I regretted playing this third-rate 19+ crap game while shedding tears.

I came across this game just browsing through sites wondering how to spend my vacation, and happened to discover it.

In a rather flashy illustration, a pretty cute girl with pink hair was visible.

Her gentle smiling face made my heart skip a beat, and upon checking her profile, she was set as a childhood friend who had grown up with the protagonist and embarked on adventures together.

Seeing that, without further thought, I decided to purchase the game and started playing right away.

“How can I resist an RPG game with such a pretty childhood friend…”

As someone who really likes the childhood friend setting, it was an irresistible temptation, and I played with all my might.

With a determination to see the ending, I grinded away, retried boss battles many times, and as I progressed, I began to feel somewhat uneasy.

As the story progressed, the bright and cheerful story from the beginning disappeared, replaced by a dark and despairing narrative.

“Something feels off…?”

And along with that, the more bosses I defeated, the more the protagonist’s body began to deteriorate.

Is something wrong? Maybe I played it wrong? I tried reloading the game and playing in different ways, but regardless of the method, the protagonist’s physical condition remained unchanged.

If this is the right path, I felt uneasy, but decided to continue playing for now.

“Should I proceed…?”

You know that you don’t know how the ending will turn out, right?

Having played numerous games and read novels, I know that in a story, the greater the despair, the greater the hope.

Surely, to eventually detonate this buildup, the protagonist must be half-killed now… I thought as I continued playing the game.

Watching the childhood friend who always smiled at the protagonist and expressed infinite affection, I thought there would be a happy ending waiting at the end.

“What a bitch like her!!!”

But in the end, it was just an NTR.

There was no dramatic portrayal of hope using a crisis.

Ultimately, the essence of this game was a third-rate trashy NTR game.

I checked all the different endings just in case, but without exception, the protagonist dies, and the childhood friend switches to another man.

True ending? Of course, such a thing doesn’t exist.

“I was being used from the beginning.”

After seeing the ending, everything started to make sense. Once you know the ending, the events that have taken place start to fit together like gears, a feeling everyone must have experienced at least once.

I strongly felt that now. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t help but think that the cause of all these endings was orchestrated by the childhood friend.

Come to think of it, the childhood friend always forced the protagonist into trouble when she was in danger, and for her own benefit, she coerced sacrifices from the protagonist.

“This bitch.”

She would cry and ask the protagonist not to push himself too hard, but because of such words, the protagonist would push even harder.

And after securing all the benefits, once the protagonist became useless, she completely switched to another man.

She never showed any signs of these actions outwardly. The childhood friend always appeared to be helping the protagonist, but in reality, she was the one benefiting the most from the protagonist’s sacrifices.

“She’s not a childhood friend at all!!!”

Wow… How wicked can this bitch be?

How can someone in the position of a childhood friend thoroughly manipulate the protagonist like this?

Realizing the truth, my tender heart shattered into pieces, and those shattered pieces were ground up by a grinder.

“Sob…”

I pitied the protagonist so much.

The protagonist, until the end, didn’t even realize that the childhood friend had betrayed him and died sacrificing himself for her alone.

How tragic and sad of a story is this? The protagonist worked harder than anyone, sacrificed, and all he got back was an NTR ending…

“If I were the protagonist, I would’ve just drowned this bitch right away…”

If I were the protagonist of this game, I would never stoop to the level of Ronan.

I wouldn’t show any sympathy to this demon disguised as a childhood friend.

Whether screwed or not, whether dead or alive, unlike Ronan, I wouldn’t offer any salvation.

“Sigh. Why am I so immersed in this game? What am I doing…”

But does any of this have any meaning?

Turning my head to the side, the clock already pointed to 4:45 AM.

Isn’t this just a game at best? My excessive immersion is pathetic and meaningless behavior.

“I should get some sleep.”

A sense of self-disgust, along with disappointment, began to creep in. And along with that, the fatigue I had been holding back began to burst.

For seven days, I hadn’t properly slept while playing this game diligently, but now that it’s over, I should rest.

I turned off the computer and threw myself onto the bed.

[First Clear Bonus]

Waking up from sleep feeling refreshed after being tired, but not being able to sleep well for 7 days due to clearing an NTR game, I should be in a very pleasant state right now.

However, I didn’t feel that comfortable. When I woke up, there was no part of my body that didn’t hurt.

I haven’t done any intense exercise, so why is my body so stiff? When I felt my body, I could only realize that something was strange.

“Where am I? Who am I?”

White bandages were wrapped around my abdomen and arms. I could smell medication all over my body. Maybe my current condition is dangerous?

At first, I thought maybe a robber came in at night and beat me up and left. But it didn’t seem like that was the case.

What changed was not just my body. Looking around, the place where I am lying now is not my room, nor is it a hospital.

With a feeling of disbelief, I walked to the full-length mirror in the corner of the room. And I examined my appearance.

“What? Why is Ronan here?”

And reflected in the mirror was not Lee Sunwoo, but Ronan, the protagonist of the game ‘Warrior and Party Members’ that I played before going to bed.

With black hair and a quite handsome appearance, there was a certain determination in his eyes.

I knew this boy. Although he had come from a 2D illustration to a 3D reality, this appearance was undoubtedly Ronan.

“Is this a dream…?”

No… Why did I become Ronan?

In this incomprehensible situation, it would be natural to think that one is dreaming, and at first, I thought it was a dream.

However, I couldn’t help but realize that it was not just a simple dream.

“Ugh…”

The intense pain felt in my chest wrapped in bandages was so severe that it was almost impossible to breathe.

Is it the pain of organs being torn out from within your chest? I guarantee you, this pain was definitely not a dream.

“What on earth is this?”

It’s too vivid of a pain to be just a dream, right? Seriously, what is this?

“Are you coming in, Ronan?”

When I found myself in a completely absurd situation, the door opened.

“That damn pink rag of a girl…”

“Uh… Uh-huh???”

And there I faced Amy, Ronan’s childhood friend.