Surviving in This Cursed World

A game that became a trauma for MMORPG players all over the world.

was known for its unreasonable level of difficulty. In this game, death was not a minor punishment—once your character died, all equipment would disappear, and the character would be reset back to the beginning.No exceptions.No mercy.

Thousands of complaints were sent to the developers.Yet, not a single response ever came.

Slowly, the players gave up.Servers that were once crowded fell into silence.

Even so… there were still a few who endured.

One of them was me.

"Haha… you're joking, right?"

I stared blankly at my computer screen.

"This… is the ending of this damn game?"

Displayed on the monitor was the game's ending.But it was not a happy one—it was the end of the world, the end of the heroes who had fought until their very last breath.

A few seconds later, a notification appeared.

[Congratulations to player Azazel56 for becoming the first person to clear .As a reward, we are granting you a special gift.]

An automated email arrived in my game inbox.

Inside it was a SSS-Rank Skill Selection Package.

I froze.

I rubbed my eyes again and again, wondering if I was hallucinating.But the icon was still there.

SSS Rank.

A skill rank considered nothing more than a myth by the community.

And yet… an unsettling feeling crept in.

"What's the point of giving me this… if the game is already over?"

The moment that thought crossed my mind, another email arrived.

[Player Azazel56,We hereby invite you to participate in Version 2 of .If you wish to join, please click the Accept button in this message.]

I stiffened.

Version 2?

That cursed game—one that had driven almost all its players away—had a sequel?

I had played this game since the day it was released.For four full years.And yet, I had never once heard about a Version 2.

Honestly, I wanted to quit.

But for some reason, as I stared at the message, my heart began to race.

Four years.Four years of frustration, death, lost items, and endless failure.

Maybe…

"Maybe this time… it'll be different."

Taking a shaky breath, I clicked the Accept button.

One minute passed.

Nothing happened.

"…Huh?"

I stared at the screen in confusion.

"What's going on?"

Then, an uneasy sensation crawled up my spine.

Goosebumps.Restlessness.

As if something was watching me from beyond the screen.

A few minutes later—

My PC monitor flickered twice.

Then—

A blinding white light burst from the screen, forcing my eyes shut.

In an instant, my vision went dark.

…

When consciousness should have returned,no one woke up.

Inside the silent room, the monitor glowed normally.

An empty chair.An untouched keyboard.No sign of the room's owner remained.

This time, however, a large message filled the screen.

[To the one who has witnessed the end of this world—please save this world from destruction.]

Like a final recording.Like a farewell message left behind… after the player had been pulled into the world beyond the screen.

And at that moment—

he realized.

This was no longer just a game.