Chapter 2: Pages Beyond Reality

The reason Soohyuk came to the third floor, filled with exercise equipment, was to work out. He didn’t used to exercise—there wasn’t even enough time to read, so why bother with exercise? It was a ridiculous idea.

But the reason Soohyuk started exercising was an epiphany he had four years ago. Until then, he barely moved once he sat down to read. And what happened? His health deteriorated day by day, and his stamina plummeted.

As his stamina dropped, the time he could spend reading gradually decreased. Shocked that his lack of stamina was cutting into his reading time, Soohyuk started exercising immediately. He wanted to read during workout time, but he held back, believing that exercising would increase the time he could spend reading.

And his thinking was spot on. Three months after starting to exercise, Soohyuk had enough stamina to read for longer periods. Since then, he’d kept up with exercise consistently, solely to extend his reading time.

If only I didn’t have to sleep.

Soohyuk stepped onto the treadmill and began walking slowly to warm up, turning on the TV.

“Hahaha! How foolish you humans are!”

As soon as the TV turned on, a strikingly handsome man appeared—one who could easily make multiple women swoon.

“You thought you could defeat me, the Demon King, with your puny strength? Hahaha!”

The man was the Demon King, and in front of him were a wizard, a warrior, a priest, and various other characters gathered to seal him away.

Like a movie.

Soohyuk couldn’t follow the exact storyline, but seeing the Demon King and humans, it felt like a movie.

Wait.

But Soohyuk quickly realized it wasn’t a movie.

“Yes! Isn’t it amazing?”

“To lock yourself up like that! But I’ll admit, the graphics are outstanding. They’re better than any game I’ve seen so far.”

“It’s not just the graphics! Honestly, we’re more confident in the story.”

“So, you’re saying we’ll be blown away by the graphics and the story?”

“No! You’ll be blown away by the graphics and completely immersed in the story. There’s no need to call it a movie.”

What Soohyuk thought was a movie turned out to be a game.

“Looks like it was just released.”

Soohyuk had played virtual reality games before—FF5, RPGs—but none had graphics as impressive as this. It seemed like this game was released after his last gaming experience.

“When was the hardest part of development?” a reporter asked.

“The hardest part?”

At the response, Soohyuk couldn’t help but stop the treadmill.

“No matter how I think about it, it was building the library.”

“The library?”

The library? Soohyuk steadied his breathing and focused on the interview.

“The library?” the reporter echoed.

“Yes, the library.”

“That’s surprising! I thought you’d say something like the magic system, the story, or bugs. Why was building the library so hard? Isn’t it just a matter of implementing it?”

The game developer laughed softly and answered, “Haha, sure, the building itself is easy to implement. The problem was the books that fill the library.”

Hearing the developer’s response, Soohyuk’s eyes lit up as he focused on the interview. He let out a heavy breath and pressed the stop button. The treadmill slowed down and eventually came to a complete stop.

Only then did Soohyuk step off the treadmill. Catching his breath, he went down to the first floor, took a shower, and washed off the sweat.

Pangea.

While washing, Soohyuk thought about the game Pangea he’d seen during his workout.

They said there were tons of books in the library.

The developer had said the hardest part was filling the library with books. After finishing his shower, Soohyuk went to the computer and started searching for information about Pangea.

“December 31st.”

Visiting the official website, Soohyuk saw the release date: December 31st.

“A little over two months left.”

Today was October 15th, meaning he’d have to wait two and a half months. After confirming the release date, Soohyuk checked other information. There wasn’t much—just the release date and the capsule specs needed to play.

“The specs are pretty low?”

Checking the capsule specs required for Pangea, Soohyuk was surprised. His current capsule couldn’t handle it.

“This thing’s five years old.”

It was a capsule he’d bought five years ago. It was only natural that it couldn’t run the latest games.

No way I can save up enough.

To play Pangea, he’d need a new capsule. But saving up pocket money wasn’t an option—it wasn’t enough to cover the cost, and more importantly, saving meant he couldn’t buy books.

The reason Soohyuk wanted to play Pangea wasn’t for hunting or to experience a fantasy world firsthand. It was because of the library—the books in Pangea’s library. But to read those books, he’d have to stop buying real ones? That was absurd.

Should I ask them?

Soohyuk thought of his parents. The only way he could get a new capsule was through them.

Yeah, I’ll ask.

Making up his mind, Soohyuk stood up from the computer. He’d checked everything on the official website—the release date and capsule specs. There was nothing more to see. Leaving the computer, he went to the second floor to read.

“Installation’s done. Here’s how to use it—”

“I’ve got it.”

Soohyuk cut off the capsule installation technician.

“Okay! Enjoy your time. If you have any questions, check the guidebook or call us, and we’ll help right away.”

“Alright, bye.”

“Thank you!”

After sending the technician off, Soohyuk returned to his room. With a satisfied smile, he looked at the shiny new capsule in the center of the room. He’d talked to his parents, and they’d bought him the latest model.

They were thrilled.

Soohyuk had braced himself for a scolding, but contrary to his expectations, his parents were delighted at his request. He couldn’t forget his dad’s excitement, saying, “Finally, you’re playing games too!”

Looking at the capsule, Soohyuk left his room and went to the second floor. He grabbed a science book from the fourth shelf.

Five days left.

A lot of time had passed since he first learned about Pangea. With the capsule installed, he was ready to play. All that was left was to wait for the release in five days. In five days, he could play Pangea.

I wonder what books are in there.

Opening the book, Soohyuk thought about Pangea’s library. He was incredibly excited to see what books it held.

Time passed quickly, and Pangea’s release date, December 31st, arrived. Soohyuk checked the time.

Ten minutes left.

It was 11:50 p.m., ten minutes until the midnight launch. In ten minutes, he could log into Pangea.

Why didn’t they open the website earlier?

Waiting those ten minutes, Soohyuk wondered. Usually, games release information through their websites before launch to build hype and attract players.

But Pangea wasn’t a typical game, was it? They hadn’t opened the website. Well, there was a website, but it only listed the release date and capsule specs.

Of course, the website wouldn’t stay like that forever. An hour after Pangea’s launch, the website would update with story details and other information, according to an official announcement from the development group, Ma Kyung. That was reassuring.

Do I need to check it an hour later?

Soohyuk hesitated. He planned to log into Pangea right at midnight. But should he wait an hour to check the website’s new info?

Nah, I’m not here to hunt.

After thinking it over, he shook his head. He wasn’t completely against hunting—he was curious and planned to try it. Why not enjoy the game? But hunting wasn’t his main goal. His focus was the library. There was no need to check the website for extra details.

Beep beep!

As he was lost in thought, an alarm went off. Soohyuk quickly turned it off, left the computer, and entered the capsule.

Inside the capsule, he launched Pangea, which he’d downloaded earlier. After entering his ID and password to log in, he couldn’t help but be amazed.

As he logged in, the dark surroundings transformed into a vast plain. Seeing it in person, not just in a video, was astonishing. And that wasn’t all.

Whoa, I can feel the wind.

A gentle breeze brushed against him.

The tech’s come a long way.

Compared to the virtual reality games he’d played years ago, this was on another level.

That’s when it happened.

[Please move to the house ahead.]

As Soohyuk marveled at the graphics and sensations, a message appeared. He looked ahead.

Wasn’t it empty before?

Where there had been nothing, a house now stood.

Step, step.

Soohyuk moved toward the house as instructed by the message.

Just go inside?

Reaching the house, Soohyuk hesitated. The message told him to move to the house, but was that all? Did it mean to stand in front of it or actually go inside? He wasn’t sure.

Nothing’s popping up.

No new message appeared even after arriving at the house. It seemed like he needed to enter.

Creak.

Finishing his thought, Soohyuk opened the door and stepped inside.

[No character exists.]

[Creating a character.]

As soon as he entered, messages appeared, followed by several windows. They were for setting the character’s name and customizing its appearance.

[Please set the character name first.]

A message followed the window, and the character name input field began to flash.

“Please state your character name.”