Prologue

There is a novel called <The Chronicles of the Seven-Colored World>.

Just by looking at the title, you might think it’s a first-generation, authentic fantasy novel that ushered in the golden age of fantasy novels, but in reality, it was a story of a high school student from another world who was criticized dozens of times from all sides.

Power inflation was the basic problem, with balance completely abandoned.

A secret society appears out of nowhere and tries to destroy the world.

Psychotic heroines who try to kill the protagonist at every opportunity.

Even when they should be united, there are friendly forces trying to stab their own allies in the back…

However, surprisingly, despite external criticism, <The. Chro. Seven.>,  gained considerable popularity, continuing its long-term serialization for over 800 episodes.

Readers liked the ridiculous setup that made them laugh, and the development that didn’t take power inflation into account was well-received as refreshing.

But.

‘Someone once said, life is a comedy when seen from a distance, but a tragedy when seen up close.’

What would happen if this terrible situation, where destruction is certain, existed around you?

No, what would happen if you were a character in that world?

Even then, could I still dismiss this story as a funny comedy?

***

It has already been three years since Kim Seong-jun began living as Rudian.

At first, everything was unfamiliar.

No, it was strange, beyond unfamiliar. When he opened his eyes, he found himself a fourteen-year-old orphan living as a beggar at the village chief’s house, surrounded by foreigners he had never seen before without a single black-haired person in sight.

In the worst situation where everyone around him was a complete stranger, the only silver lining was that the memories of Rudian, the owner of this body, were passed on to Seong-jun.

Another fortunate thing was that conversation was possible between Seong-jun, who only knew phrases like ‘How do you do, I’m fine, thank you and you?’ and these Westerners.

For the first month or so, Seong-jun made all sorts of desperate attempts to return to Korea.

But that month was enough time to realize that these desperate attempts were literally just futile nonsense.

The second life that began without knowing anything and having lost everything was pure suffering.

He endured countless suicidal impulses each day and gradually adapted to his current situation.

But the misfortune didn’t end there.

The point at which the despair tormenting Seong-jun reached its peak was exactly one year later.

It was when he realized that this world was a fantasy world where magic and spirits existed, and that it was the world of <The. Chro. Seven.>. that he had been reading.

<<The Chronicles of the Seven-Colored World> is written as <The. Chro. Seven.>>

***

“Rudian! Bring me a spare sword!”

“Yes, sir! Coming right now!”

THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!

Seong-jun… No, Rudian ran towards his destination while avoiding the attacks of the giant golem blocking his path.

‘AAAAAH!’

As the golem’s heavy arm struck the ground, a slight earthquake shook the surrounding area.

Of course, that arm was like a giant boulder, and a direct hit would definitely result in death, spurting blood everywhere.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Rudian used his loach-like flexibility to jump around and break through the golem’s barrier.

“Sir Edos! Here is your spare sword!”

“You’re slow! Can’t you hurry up?”

The knight who received the sword scolded him once before charging at the golem again.

‘You damn bastard!’

Well, he wasn’t expecting praise, but no matter how urgent the situation, he hoped not to be scolded for being late.

But seeing the brilliant blue magic sword emanating from the replacement blade, his impudent thoughts quickly disappeared.

After all, these knights held his lifeline here.

‘PHEW!’

While the knights at the front fought against the golems, Rudian quickly retreated to safety, avoiding debris flying everywhere.

And then, when he arrived back there, there was a man who suddenly started laughing arrogantly.

“Hahahaha! Knights of House Iskar! The holy sword and treasure await us inside! I believe we won’t be held back by such shabby creatures!”

It’s quite a feat to raise the blood pressure of knights fighting for their lives by 50 points with just one sentence.

This guy doesn’t even participate in the fight, yet acts like a cheerleader behind the knights’ backs.

If you ask who this bastard is, the answer is the master of ‘Rudian’ and the lord of the Iskar border territory, who trapped nearly thirty knights in this dungeon – Calline von Iskar.

“M-Master! It’s dangerous to shout like that!”

“What can a mere monster do to this Calline! Hahahaha!”

I’ll say it again, this guy is just swinging his sword around from behind and cheering.

‘OH MY, MY FATE.’

Rudian felt a headache coming on and pressed his forehead.

It’s already been three years since he fell into this world of <The Chronicles of the Seven-Colored World>, without any abilities.

He would have been happier if the story had gone like ‘I became the scoundrel of such-and-such family.’

Scoundrel, my ass.

The second life that Kim Seong-jun was forced to live was the worst possible environment – a commoner and orphan with nothing.

‘Yeah, it would be better to just be a regular commoner or orphan.’

Whether you’re a commoner or an orphan, you can somehow continue living in a ‘normal world’.

But.

“Why the hell <The. Chro. Seven.>, DAMN IT!”

“WHOA! You startled me!”

The shoulders of Calline, who had been laughing proudly next to him, jumped considerably.

The others glanced at him as if looking at a madman, but Rudian paid no attention and clutched his hair, cursing the reality before his eyes.

The world of the novel <The. Chro. Seven.>, which Rudian now inhabited, was by no means ordinary.

The author created eighty-three bad endings under the name of IF world lines, and the world is scheduled to be destroyed three times as the story progresses.

And it’s a world where even a random suddenly appearing extra can easily destroy an entire city or country without any consideration for power balance.

‘AH, I FEEL LIKE COMMITTING SUICIDE.’

Rudian looked at the hordes of monsters rushing in from all around him and thought this sincerely.