Kim Hajin is on his way to his dorm room when a strange guy halts him by the door of the classroom.

It is none other than the infamous cringe lord, troublemaker, and his friend— Hyon Hyung.

“Man, I have been looking for you…” Hyon smiles at Hajin in a friendly manner like he usually does, and then there is the par-of-the-course chummy tap on the shoulder. "Hey, how is your luck? No. Scratch that. Do you want to try to hit the lotto with me?" Hyon adds.

Kim Hajin knows these kinds of people having his fair share of friendships with them in his past life. Hyon Hyung is the kind of friend who likes invading people’s space in a feigned attempt to make them uncomfortable and get them talking at his own pace. They are the chummy extroverted type who is the hardest to deal with.

Only lately does Hajin realize that there is something more as he observes Hyon Hyung from the sides. Suspicious— that is one word to describe Hyon Hyung, but considering his normally suspicious behavior, Hajin cannot get past it that maybe this is just Hyon on a regular Tuesday.

Hyon Hyung goes on his tirade about, giving Hajin no chance to talk back.

“I have been thinking we play this new MMO. We’ll play with Hosup, it will be a blast. I already have a strategy in mind. Max out luck. If you are going to want to make it big with one stat attribute— Go big or go home. I am just saying… Luck is the most OP attribute. Moreover, you cannot train luck…”

Hyon Hyung goes on and on with his Luck theories. And Hajin cannot agree more. A Hero who thrives in luck is definitely broken. If he makes it into a novel, won’t that be too boring? Hajin’s thoughts remain on the topic of luck as finally, Hyon Hyung lets go of him.

“Sigh…” Hyon Hyung scratches the back of his head. “I think we won’t be able to play the game anymore… It is actually clickbait and has nothing worthy to it. I am reading reviews while walkin' doug... and damn... these games are actually trash...” He starts talking strangely which Hajin ignores. Mostly, Hajin has been droning off since Hyon's arrival.

Hyon Hyung lowkey complains while he fiddles with his smartwatch. “Games should be honest, don't you think so? I guess I shouldn't even try talking to Hosup about this..."

Walking off from Hajin, Hyon Hyung casually gives his goodbye. "See you tomorrow, pal... Good luck to you!"

Kim Hajin makes steady steps to his room. There, he sees a package of his items from his apartment when he is still attending the Agent Military Academy. He tends to his items. There are so many things for him to do.

In this world, he can simply just choose to lay low… if it is just survival that he wishes. But. There is a reason why he, against all of his instincts, decides to enter Cube. It is because the main story is his ticket to go home.

His novel, The Returnee Hero, is an unfinished novel. It has been on a long hiatus, but then he suddenly receives that request for a remake from an overly eager fan. By connecting the dots, it is safe to assume that the fan has something to do with Kim Hajin being here. And. Only by sticking to the main story can he find his own happy ending.

“It is not so bad. I can be a support behind the scenes, maybe even an informant…”

Kim Hajin becomes lost in his thoughts, planning for an eventual future— to go home, he must be willing to do anything. For now, he needs a weapon… The gun he has is not enough. There should also be something else he can use.

And then. Moving him out of his stupor is a very familiar laptop. It is the same laptop he uses when he is but a humble author writing his stuff. He holds his breath at the familiar gadget and opens it.

He cannot understand what he is seeing. He can see it, but his brain refuses to register what is in front of him. It is just… absurd…

“…What is this?” He shatters the long silence eating away at him with a trembling voice.

===[Synchronizing… 70% Complete]===

1. Kim Chundong

[Current SP: 54]

*Variable Stats

[Strength 4],

[Stamina 4.3]

[Speed 4]

[Perception 5]

[Vitality 4]

[Magic Power 3.5]

*Invariable Stats

[Intelligence— 4/10]

[Perseverence— 4/10]

[Luck— 4/10]

[Charm— 4/10]

> Gift???

> Arts…???

…???

…???

…

 

 

…

…Supplement... Setting Chart…

===[Synchronizing… 70% Complete]===

“…What is this?” Hajin repeats in doubt asking himself the realness of the situation.

The window on the monitor, this format, he recognizes it. It is the format of his settings book, something he uses to aid his writing. But without a doubt, the one in front of him is not his doing. This is something else, an entirely different matter.

It is alien and incomprehensible. His sweat becomes colder. His hands and feet tremble, and his heart begins to pound like crazy. Hajin feels a sense of dissonance.

“This strange object, just who sent it to me, for what purpose, and for what reason?”

At that exact moment, his laptop screen turns off. Reflecting from the black laptop screen is his own face. It is not Kim Chundong’s face or the Question Mark that interferes with his observation of what Kim Chundong really looks like.

Without giving him a chance to express his shock, the laptop turns back on… and from it, is the declaration of his, Kim Hajin’s, True Arrival.

[Kim Chundong, synchronization with Kim Hajin complete.]

[All Status reset]

[Unique Authority, ‘Setting Intervention’, acquired.]

***

Meanwhile, on the other side of his own dorm… I… The great nobody is doing an experiment.

Enlightenment is an awakening phenomenon or personal insight that only happens after a person surpasses his/her limits. This must be happening to Hajin right at this moment… and it is transcendental. That is the only word I can use to describe it.

It is a literal change in perspective from a mortal to a god. After receiving that laptop, Hajin’s potential has become outright inestimable. That is how much power Hajin wields with the benefits of the original author of this world.

Something this insane is happening just a few walls from my room, so there is no way I cannot be agitated. I am only human. It is only right for me to fear. I glance around my room where litters of pictures of Kim Chundong lie everywhere. They are fresh from the printer.

There are also printed documents involving Kim Chundong, not to mention the digital data that is on my smartwatch from several windows and tabs. I am wary of the nature of Kim Hajin's true arrival in this world because it represents something scarier than being merely a plot device.

After all, Hajin's transmigration comes at the cost of another existence, Kim Chundong's, deletion. It is a complete usurpation of existence that is so much more fearsome than death.

I patiently wait.

Then it happens.

It happens in the BLINK of an eye.

The complete and merciless deletion of Kim Chundong on this world, and replacing it is Hajin. The younger pictures of Kim Chundong receive a slight change and start resembling more of Hajin’s features.

This is crazy.

It is a great boon for me, that even after the change, I remain aware of the two identities.

Kim Chundong. Kim Hajin.

There will be some use in my knowing these names, but I think that it will be a long time before I can use them. I feel my nerves relax. Only now do I realize my back is drenching with cold sweat. It is time I should sleep. I just hope Hajin will remember my advice to max his luck.

In the original novel, Hajin only maximizes his luck to 9.1, but that is such a waste when he can max it at 10. To be fair, Hajin has planned in the original storyline to have maxed luck, but he is not able to because the system has corrected it to 9.1.

What is the difference now?

It is that the now is no longer The Novel's Extra and that Chae Nayun's regression will only elevate Hajin's existence, and the possibility of the past overwriting the present is quite likely to occur. The possibility of maxed luck for Kim Hajin in this timeline is highly likely conceivable.

I fall asleep, thinking of what should I do tomorrow. For me, this is a not-so-bad good night. 

At least, I know what is happening... to some extent.

***

Kim Hajin can hardly calm himself. He knows that there has been a great change in his existence. As if to prove this, he inspects his attributes that is so much more inferior than Kim Chundong.

“Is that it?” he comments half-expecting and half-disappointed.

There are two stats that divide themselves into Variable Stats which refers to physical attributes, and Invariable Stats which refers to definite and intangible attributes.

[Strength 1.2] [Stamina 1.3] [Speed 1.5] [Perception 2] [Vitality 1.3] [Magic Power 1]

The Variable Stats are just utter trash.

At least, his Invariable Stats are doing much better.

[Intelligence— 4.105/10] [Perseverance— 5.010/10] [Luck— 6.330/10] [Charm— 4.135/10]

Kim Hajin’s eyes land on the Luck Stat for a second and longer.

Looks like he will have to pull an all-nighter and optimize his choices so that he will not have regrets.

Then, there is also his Gift.

===

[Observation and Reading] [Null Attribute]

—Observation

“You can observe the characters in your vision.”

—Reading

“Any time you want, you can read the laptop’s settings book without a medium.”

===

In terms of [Arts (0/3)], and [Physique (0/3)], he has nothing.

The Authority is crazy though. The power of [Setting Intervention] is especially menacing.

===

[Setting Intervention]

—Using SP, you can modify or add settings to a non-living target.

—Using SP, and relating to target ‘Kim Hajin’, you can modify or add settings to stats, Gift, Art, and Physique.

===

There are also other stuff. Hajin furiously reads them, careful not to miss one, he reads them once more until he feels satisfied. SP or Story Point is a currency that he can use to strengthen himself. As his importance in the novel increases, the more SP he gains.

A lot of options open up to him at once. He can strengthen his gun using SP, but strengthening his current training gun will be not a worthy investment. He can only strengthen a stronger gun if he doesn't wish to waste his limited SP.

There is also the Stats that he can improve through the free 10 Stat Points. Hajin’s eyes linger on the luck stat. He is also thinking of improving his intelligence stat and perseverance stat. He cannot fully rely on intelligence though as that will suit more a mage and not a long-range shooter. Moreover, Luck can help him gather resources.

Aside from that, “I can create my Gift.”

A Gift holds special meaning for Heroes, and just by going at its dictionary meaning, a Gift can be many things. To surmise, Gift is a superpower, something like a natural ability or talent for something.

The categorization of Gifts ranges from ‘weapon’, ‘physical’, ‘element’, ‘magic’, and ‘nature.’

By cultivating this Gift, a Hero can grow stronger.

It will be really a long night for Hajin. He needs a Gift that will be suitable for his gun. When it comes to a weapon, Hajin’s deadliest weapon must be his laptop. Rather than a Gift, Hajin has the proverbial power to arm himself with anything and everything as long as he has the SP to support it.