Chapter 1: TCGGM

Chapter 1

A luxury hotel suite.

A man was lying on the bed.

"This world is a game."

Wearing a stylish suit and a luxury watch worth as much as a decent house, dressed head-to-toe in designer brands while speaking utter nonsense with an innocent expression on his face—

This man was Lee Shin.

The infamous black sheep of the Ido Group.

"A game, you say..."

The doctor adjusted his glasses and continued the consultation.

"Is it the same game as before?"

"Yes. 'GM'... it is my one and only sanctuary..."

"Very good. So we're talking about this game called GM."

"It's a management simulation game. A game where you manage a guild..."

"Good. Exactly the same as before. That's reassuring. Consistent answers are generally a positive sign."

"Doctor, don't you find anything strange?"

"What do you mean?"

"This world where magic actually exists. A world where humans fly through the sky, shoot flames from their bare hands, run faster than cars, and stop bullets with their bare hands. Oh, what a shocking world! Do you honestly think any of that makes sense?"

"Why do you think it doesn't?"

"Why does the sun rise in the east?"

"In other words, because it's natural?"

"Great! Exactly."

"I see."

Despite Lee Shin's nonsense, the doctor maintained his gentle smile.

Internally, however, he thought:

Then does it make sense that you got high as a kite and ended up with amnesia?

A month ago, Lee Shin had been brought here by men in black suits.

They claimed he had collapsed from overwork.

But with those glazed eyes and the way he shouted things like, "Wow! A bunny! Hop hop!" anyone could tell he looked like a drug addict.

Normally, reporting such a case to the police would be standard procedure.

But the doctor was also running a private practice.

And the stack of cash placed in front of him was far too thick to care about procedure.

After three difficult days, Lee Shin finally regained consciousness.

His diagnosis:

Amnesia

He remembered nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

Lee Shin folded his hands neatly and continued.

"When I woke up, I saw an unfamiliar ceiling. My limbs were tied down. If you hadn't shown up, Doctor, I would've thought I'd been abducted by aliens. Do you remember the first thing I said?"

"Of course."

The doctor remembered it vividly.

The bloodshot eyes.

The tears streaming down his face.

The desperate screams:

"Damn it! My character! My videos!"

At the time, the doctor had seriously wondered whether the drugs had worn off yet.

"Everything was chaos. I had no memories. I was restrained. And every TV channel had my face on it."

"Drug addict."

"Delinquent."

"Pervert."

"Scumbag."

"My name was everywhere. Actually, not just my name. There were all sorts of filthy words attached in front of it. Honestly, I felt wronged. I swear I don't remember doing any of those disgusting things!"

"I'm sure."

"If I'd actually done them, I wouldn't feel so wronged."

Though admittedly...

The doctor was a little curious about the "Wild Party" incident.

Maintaining his kind expression, he wrote in the chart:

Escapism

"My memories were a mess. Some old man I'd never met slapped me across the face while cursing me out. The people who were supposedly my parents weren't on my side. My relatives pretended to comfort me while obviously laughing at me inside. I seriously thought I'd been dropped into some kind of circus."

"Hahaha..."

"The character build was messed up from the start. Another trash luck-based game."

"And somehow we've come back to games again."

"Heh. Because that's the only truth. Actually, I've been transported into a game world. That's what happened."

"Oh?"

"The setup is a masterpiece too. Record-breaking rainfall. Running away while hugging my laptop. Then lightning strikes me. Next thing I know—bam! I'm inside the game!"

"Sounds like a web novel. A delinquent becomes a character inside a game."

"Oh! You even came up with the title! Doctor, you read web novels too?"

"My son introduced me to them. They're good for turning your brain off."

"Oho... a modern man."

The doctor picked up his pen again as Lee Shin gave him a thumbs-up.

Delusions of Grandeur

"Well, what can I do? Since things turned out this way, I might as well look on the bright side."

"Optimism is always helpful."

"Exactly. I'm very optimistic. So what if I'm a delinquent, a bastard, or an idiot? At the end of the day, I'm still the eldest grandson of a chaebol family."

"That's true."

"While everyone else recovers in cramped hospital rooms, I get treated in a luxury hotel suite. Honestly, it's not a bad life."

"More than not bad. It's an incredible luxury."

"So, Doctor... paid in full?"

"Paid in full. Plus extra."

"What a sweet deal."

The doctor nodded approvingly and wrote:

Good grasp of reality

After listening for a while, the doctor finally asked something himself.

"Excellent. Your progress is very encouraging. Then let me ask one final question."

"Two questions. Three, even."

"In that case..."

The vice chairman—Lee Shin's father—had given very simple instructions:

"Get that brat out of here as quickly as possible."

As a result, the doctor focused less on a perfect cure and more on making sure Lee Shin could function.

So he asked:

"What is your dream? Or perhaps your goal?"

People with a clear destination may wander, but they still move forward.

Lee Shin grinned as if he'd been waiting for that question.

"I should do what I'm best at."

"And what would that be?"

"What else? GM. I need to build a guild."

Recruit famous Hunters.

Raise the guild's prestige.

Use that prestige to recruit talented rookies.

Assemble the perfect squad.

Rack up achievements.

Expand beyond Korea and into the global market—

And then:

"Create the greatest guild in the world."

Aren't I awesome?

Lee Shin closed his eyes and smiled smugly.

The doctor maintained his usual gentle expression while thinking:

Should I really discharge this guy...?