3.

[The Current State of Fantastic World, Latest Developments, and Future Outlook]

Before I begin, let me state that this is an extremely subjective opinion from someone who eats, sleeps, and breathes Fantastic World analysis.

Right now, Fantastic World has entered a true era of peace. From one angle, you could call it peace; from a user’s perspective, you could say we are entering a phase of what players call "Fantastic World burnout."

The Main Quest has been completed.

The major threats to the continent have been removed.

The seeds of demonic influence have been scattered across the land, but in response, a new Pope has appeared.

And the fact that this Pope is a user means the continent has truly entered a period of stability. He has to keep leveling constantly, and if he cares at all about profits—which is the first thing any user in his position would consider—then there is no way he is going to sit cooped up in the Great Temple all day, leisurely playing the game.

Furthermore, anyone who knows the past deeds of the user who became Pope will understand this even better. He has relentlessly expanded his guild, acquired territories, and, no matter the cost, has always been willing to spend a fortune on war.

He is a man who might be more suited to the title of Demon King than Pope.

And now, he has even won the war against Simin, the man long called his rival in Fantastic World.

What more needs to be said?

The man who had always been on the receiving end sharpened his blade of revenge, and he drove that blade straight into his rival’s heart.

Simin, who had everything at the start, has lost everything he built.

The territory, the Emperor, the Imperial Princess.

He lost his entire foundation, the base from which everything else flowed. He no longer has the momentum to get back up.

His stream?

Sure, if he turns it on, he’ll still get viewers. But most of them will be people tuning in for the bounty on his head. Even his remaining core viewers will eventually get sick of the limited content, the lack of anything new to show, and his constant running away whenever he goes live. They will leave.

Given the current trend in Fantastic World, if you don’t have influence through streaming or in-game power, it’s hard to make money. Considering that even running raids is difficult when you’re the one being chased, it really does feel like Kenji’s era has finally arrived.

Honestly, this feels long overdue.

From the beginning, the gap was obvious enough that it wouldn’t have been strange at all if Kenji had won. For some bizarre reason, luck just kept falling on Simin’s side.

And this is the result. Given Fantastic World’s nature, it is very hard to catch up once a gap opens up early on.

Even so, Kenji did it.

And here we are.

From here on, things will continue this way. Without a doubt.

And Simin will thrash around however he can to climb back up again.

*

The post shot up to the hot list, and not just because every line rang true.

—Totally deserved.

—Honestly, what’s he got besides those two Legendary classes?

—I was sick of watching him abuse that early-game lead and gobble everything up. As expected, our Kenji is so cool. Respect.

—Simin stans, you mad?

—LOOOOOOL what are you gonna worship about him now?

—He lost everything. I heard he invested all his game earnings into that territory.

It meant there were just as many people who felt envy and jealousy over Han Simin’s success, and that Kenji’s fanbase had grown just as large.

They fought whenever they had time.

—Simin’s probably holed up somewhere grinding levels.

—You think he can even grind?

—He disappeared with Specialists. Guess they’re hiding out somewhere without getting caught.

—There’s no change in the level rankings though?

—Maybe he’s cooking up some plan?

—LMAOOOOOO you morons. You really think Simin and Specialists are just gonna throw everything away and hide? Back when all the other early FW users were rage-quitting, those two were the ones pulling ahead. Acting like they just got lucky because they started early is such trash. There were over ten million users who started in that same early period anyway.

—Yeah yeah, keep dreaming.

In a way, they had no choice but to fight. Whether you were a Simin fan or a Kenji fan, there was nowhere to go to actually resolve your curiosity. Kenji was still streaming and running raids, but he never mentioned Han Simin, and it had already been two weeks since Simin last went live.

At this point, no one could even guess whether he had quit the game or was still playing.

—Simin, quitting the game like this? Just because he lost a territory?

—That bastard would lose all his organs and still be running around trying to make money.

Most users believed. They believed, and that was why they argued.

—He’s either looking for another game or, with his ass on fire, he’s holed up in one of the Four Forbidden Areas or something.

Of course, the conclusion most people reached was that this last possibility was the most likely.

4.

“Hey,” Kang Yeseul said.

“Yeah.”

“Is it really okay for us to just be doing this?”

She was lying on the sofa, offering her thigh as a pillow to Han Simin. A huge TV, filling the wall in front of them, was playing a drama. On the small coffee table sat a mountain of food—fried chicken, pizza, burgers, jokbal, and more.

It still felt unreal to Yeseul that she was eating real-world food instead of in-game food, lounging on a sofa in comfy sweats.

So she asked again. His answer came back flat.

“Why not? I lost the territory and became the continent’s most wanted man anyway, so let’s take a break. If I log in now, I’ll just attract flies, and at this point, the hassle is worse than any money I’d make swatting them.”

His attitude was completely different from the wild theories on the community forums—people saying his ass must be on fire, that he was sharpening his blade of revenge somewhere.

Kang Yeseul shook her head. “I mean, yeah, but still.”

It wasn’t bad. No, for her, it was actually a great opportunity. When else would she get to sit in a house alone with him, offering him her thigh, playing house like a couple? In the game, they were always together, but they were always busy hunting or Enhancing. There were always eyes on them, and the “it’s just a game” mindset made it hard to do anything.

In reality, he wasn’t avoiding her touch. He was even resting his head on her bare thigh, a sign that he might not be entirely against the idea of a future together. It was a good moment for her, a chance to realize that maybe things would turn out well.

She just still couldn’t quite believe it.

“It’s just... it’s weird seeing you so calm.”

He was the type who would curse out God and fight tooth and nail if he lost a 50-cent coin to a random natural disaster. And that same guy had just been blindsided, losing his territory and the Emperor’s favor.

“Revenge is all about timing. Right now, we just need to lie low until they forget about us. It sucks not making money, but we’ve got savings.”

Yeseul fell silent.

With him saying that, there was nothing more she could say. Kang Yeseul nodded in relief. ’So this means I can relax and enjoy this feast, right?’

A smile crept onto her face. Maybe sensing that sly energy, Han Simin lifted his gaze. A pair of seductive, cat-like eyes greeted him.

“What?”

“When are Seolah and Hyeonsu coming?”

“They can’t make it. Their parents called them over today.”

“All of a sudden? Two hours ago they said they were coming.”

“Yeah.”

“You didn’t set them up to go see your parents, did you?”

“Either way, they’re not coming.”

Simin didn’t reply.

“You’ve got so many rooms here anyway,” she said, changing the subject. “Since we’re resting, I’m just gonna stay here for a while. My place is too empty. Being alone sucks. I like houses with people in them. Hehe.”

The way she said it without even blinking made him laugh.

“Do whatever you want.”

He gave his permission with a cool shrug. Kang Yeseul was the one making the aggressive moves, but it wasn’t like Han Simin had anything to complain about. He was literally lying on a woman’s bare thigh; he had no intention of pretending to be some half-assed gentleman.

“Man, this is nice.”

Hearing his positive response, Yeseul grinned, feeling like she had the world.

It was the first real break they had had in a long time. All the food she wanted, the drama she wanted to watch. Sure, she could eat and watch while playing the game, but doing it without the game, completely away from it, felt totally different. Especially since she had basically been treating the game like a job until now.

Which was why she couldn’t help wondering what would come after this blissful break.

“Hey.”

“Yeah.”

“You’ve made enough money by now, right?”

“In Fantastic World?”

“Mm-hm.”

“Enough is an understatement. I’ve made enough that I wouldn’t care if Fantastic World shut down tomorrow.”

“True. Just your real estate alone is...”

“Scraping off the dirt under Kenji’s toenail turned me into a trust-fund kid who can live off interest for life.”

“But you’re not bummed? The territory, the stream... those must’ve been pretty profitable too.”

“Of course I’m bummed. I defended the territory with an if I lose this, I’m jumping in the Han River mindset, but honestly, it wasn’t exactly a cash cow, so I can live without it. The stream, I’m just taking a break; I can turn it back on whenever. And the Emperor’s an idiot; if I go butter him up again, he’ll be back on my side in no time. I’ve still got the Imperial Princess.”

“Tch. So quitting is off the table even if you die, huh?”

“Why would I quit? This game is way too fun. Money comes and goes. You never know when it’ll run out, so you always need at least one steady income stream.”

Yeseul was speechless.

“Anyway, we’re taking at least two more weeks off. Once the heat dies down, we’ll make our move.”

“Okay. And until then?”

“We play, like this.”

“Just at home?”

“I don’t feel like going out.”

“Ugh. Come on, let’s go to an amusement park. An amusement park, please?”

“Why are you being like this?”

“Pleeease.”

And in the end, her question was answered just as she’d expected.

For Specialists, their final destination was, inevitably, the game again.

As Han Simin had predicted, interest in him and Specialists died down after about a month.

In Fantastic World, where the entire landscape could change in that time, it was only natural.

Hadn’t it been the same with Kenji?

When he ascended to Heaven, people were curious for a while, but since he wasn’t doing anything directly in front of them, he was quickly forgotten.

That’s how games are.

And that’s how viewers are.

Some might have felt slighted or hurt, but Han Simin didn’t care in the slightest. He only got up from the couch once the number of daily community posts about him dropped to two or fewer.

“Phew. I just finished all my dramas, too.”

“And we went to the amusement park!”

They had rested enough—so much that it felt almost excessive.

As a result, Kang Yeseul was more energetic than ever. She was the oddball who would grind monsters while complaining the whole time, yet never actually quit.

This time, though, she was the first to sprint toward the capsule.

“Let’s hurry up and play!”

“Tsk, tsk.”

She was so fired up that even Han Simin clicked his tongue.

’Once we’re in the capsules, we’ll be facing a distant future where the continent’s villain has to survive with every living thing as his enemy. How can she be so cheerful?’

Not that thinking negatively would change anything.

“So, what are we doing once we’re in?” she asked brightly.

He answered in the same flat tone as always.

“Enhancement.”

It was his most basic, most fundamental skill.

It was time to go back to square one.

*