STNPC-C1

Chapter 1

1. <Chapter 4: Shadow of the Crimson Flower (丹花影)>

“Think this should be far enough?”

Tang Seogyeom gauged the distance to the outer gate, then clapped his palms together and swallowed. His voice was calm, but the cold sweat clinging to every word revealed just how nervous he was. Casually wiping his damp palms on the hem of his robe, Seogyeom slowly steadied his breathing.

“Phew…”

After lightly clenching his fists and preparing himself to run, he kicked off the ground.

For the Third Young Master of the Tang Clan, supposedly born with the Hyeoneum Heart Meridian and bedridden for most of his life, he moved remarkably quickly. The more he ran, the more labored his breathing became, while anticipation gradually filled his eyes.

Finally, just as he was about to pass through the grand outer gate—

Thud!

Tang Seogyeom’s body was violently thrown backward.

As though he had crashed into something.

“…Failed again?”

Landing flat on his backside, Seogyeom rubbed the forehead he had just smacked and grumbled. As if mocking him, a translucent window appeared before his eyes.

! WARNING !
NPCs cannot leave their designated spawn area.

Tang Seogyeom’s current spawn area: The Outer City of the Sichuan Tang Clan

About the size of an A5 sheet, maybe?

The rather compact window was a faded pale yellow, as though it had been weathered by time. A bright red exclamation mark stood out against its texture, which resembled an ancient book. Beneath it followed the kind of warning message one would only expect to see in a game.

“Why not?”

Growing frustrated, Tang Seogyeom snapped back, but no answer came.

Only the bright red warning continued flashing, as though reminding him of his situation.

“Oh dear… Young Master!”

Instead, a worried voice came from nearby.

Beyond the translucent warning window, a wheat-colored robe swayed. Apparently, the man had rushed over in the middle of working, for his sleeves were rolled all the way up, exposing incredibly thick, muscular arms.

It was an unusual appearance for an old servant of the Tang Clan, a sect primarily known for poison arts and concealed weapons.

Then again, considering that such a massive body was probably useful for carrying around the Third Young Master whenever he collapsed, perhaps it wasn’t so strange after all.

“Your ankle… It’s already red. If we leave it like this, it’ll swell terribly.”

The servant had approached him before Seogyeom knew it and dropped to his knees beside his feet. His hand hovered near Seogyeom’s ankle as he spoke, his voice filled with distress.

Seogyeom instinctively looked away, but he had no choice but to raise his head again moments later.

The thick muscles in the servant’s arms flexed, and in an instant, Seogyeom’s eye level changed.

Now dangling over the servant’s shoulder like a child, Tang Seogyeom could only blink.

His bewilderment lasted only briefly.

After spending several days in this body, he had learned perfectly well that struggling was useless. Seogyeom consciously relaxed.

If he was going to be carried away anyway, he might as well make the journey as comfortable as possible.

“Should someone whose health hasn’t even recovered yet be doing something like this? I hear you didn’t even drink your medicinal decoction today.”

Perhaps noticing his body relax, the servant began scolding Seogyeom as well.

Frowning, Seogyeom recalled the medicinal decoctions the attendants had been forcing on him every mealtime.

Naturally, he had pretended not to see them.

That foul-smelling stuff? It looked like one sip would send him straight to the underworld. Who in their right mind would willingly swallow something like that?

I’m not even sick in the first place.

Seogyeom grumbled inwardly and lowered his gaze.

A slender, pale arm swayed along the servant’s back.

It matched the green robe he was currently wearing perfectly, but for the body of a grown man, it was far too slight.

Well, no wonder they keep shoving that disgusting stuff at me and calling it medicine when this body is so weak.

Despite it being his own body, Tang Seogyeom’s assessment was merciless.

It couldn’t be helped.

Right now, Seogyeom was inside the body of an NPC who merely happened to share his name.

“Tch.”

Clicking his tongue softly, Tang Seogyeom deliberately turned his head away.

The scenery of the outer city came into view.

A stone wall stretched endlessly around the outer gate he had just crashed into. Inside the walls, residences with curved tiled roofs stood scattered here and there.

Strangely, there was no sign of anyone nearby.

Instead, faint shouts could be heard from far away.

Tang Seogyeom tried to judge where the sounds were coming from before quickly organizing his thoughts.

He had been up and moving since early morning, so by now, the disciples of the inner city were probably deep into their training.

Ordinarily, Tang Seogyeom—the grandson of the Tang Clan’s patriarch—would have been among them.

But for certain reasons, he had been cast out more than a decade ago.

Even the real Tang Seogyeom probably had no memories of living in the inner city.

“Young Master… Once your ankle gets better… I’ll find a way to take you out of here somehow.”

Seogyeom had only briefly been recalling Tang Seogyeom’s character settings when the servant hesitantly tried to comfort him.

The original Tang Seogyeom would probably have flown into a rage, demanding to know how the servant dared pity him.

But Seogyeom wasn’t the original Tang Seogyeom.

Unlike the NPC who believed he had been discarded because he was useless, Seogyeom knew the hidden story behind it all.

No—more than that, simply accepting the situation he had found himself in was already difficult enough.

The long strands of hair obscuring his vision and the green robes brushing against his fingertips were all unfamiliar to him.

The servant worrying over him now was no different.

To the servant, this body belonged to the Young Master he had served his entire life.

But to Seogyeom, the man was nothing more than an unfamiliar character.

So even when he heard that voice filled with concern, the first thing Seogyeom worried about was his own situation.

“You should go inside first. I’ll fetch a physician.”

Perhaps sensing Tang Seogyeom’s sudden loss of energy, the servant spoke much more gently.

Then, as he took a step toward Seogyeom’s residence, the flashing warning window disappeared.

As though it had finished its job.

“Seriously…”

“Pardon? Is something hurting?”

“No. It’s nothing.”

Feeling troubled, Seogyeom let out a deep sigh and changed the subject.

Today marked the fifth day since he had started desperately trying to escape the Tang Clan.

Only after dozens of failed attempts had Seogyeom finally been forced to accept the truth.

He had truly entered the world of .

And not just as anyone.

He had become an NPC destined to live only a short life.

<Yunhyeopji (輪俠誌): The Martial Realm of Regression (回歸武境)>

It was a game that had taken South Korea by storm when it was released about four years ago.

It had been the era when virtual reality games were just beginning to emerge. With the arrival of this new technology, the traditional gaming market had all but faded away, while VR capsule rooms rose as the new powerhouse.

Despite charging more than 30,000 won per hour, capsule rooms were always packed—a clear testament to their popularity.

And there was one game that accounted for an astonishing 98% of their market share.

That game was , whose goal was to make its protagonist, Namgung Yun, the greatest martial artist under heaven.

At the start of the game, players could choose their character.

Most chose Namgung Yun, only to surrender almost immediately.

It was hardly surprising.

The first thing they encountered upon starting the game was a group of assassins.

Even if they somehow managed to escape, surviving with poison already coursing through their bodies was nearly impossible.

Furious players demanded to know whether the game had seriously been designed to be beaten like that.

And eventually, they found another way.

They took advantage of ’s incredible freedom and played as characters other than the protagonist.

From ordinary inn attendants to heirs of powerful merchant guilds, to promising young disciples of the orthodox sects.

In , players could experience practically every aspect of the martial world.

They couldn’t become the greatest martial artist under heaven like the protagonist, but they could each write their own stories in the world of martial arts.

Seogyeom himself had once made names for himself under a variety of titles, including the Divine Physician, the Poison King, and the Medicine King.

“But why did it have to be Tang Seogyeom?”

Seogyeom recalled the personal information attached to the warning window like an unwanted tumor.

Honestly, being inside a game itself wasn’t the biggest problem.

Even after the game had deteriorated into a complete disaster, Seogyeom had stubbornly continued playing .

For the past four years, he had worked tirelessly to see the true ending.

There were only a handful of times, but he had successfully made Namgung Yun the leader of the Martial Arts Alliance or the head of the Namgung Clan.

Of course, he didn’t remember every single one of his hundreds of playthroughs.

But wasn’t it said that knowledge was power?

Everything Seogyeom had experienced over the years would surely help him survive here.

“This guy…”

The problem was that Seogyeom had never once played as Tang Seogyeom.

More accurately, he couldn’t play as him.

“Tang Seogyeom is terminally ill!”

The Third Young Master had been born with the Hyeoneum Heart Meridian and raised in the outer city.

No matter which character the player chose, the Third Young Master’s fate remained the same.

After fulfilling his role of connecting the protagonist to the Tang Clan, he would die not long afterward.

“My status.”

Once the servant left to fetch a physician, Seogyeom quietly moved his lips.

But nothing appeared.

The inventory and skills he had frequently used while playing were no different.

They had once appeared with a mere thought, but now, even when he spoke the commands aloud, there was no response whatsoever.

“I’m going outside again.”

! WARNING !
NPCs cannot act autonomously.

On the other hand, the moment Seogyeom lowered one leg off the bed, the warning window immediately popped up.

The system couldn’t possibly have emotions, yet somehow, it felt as though it were scolding him.

Telling him to remember his place as an NPC.

“So I really am Tang Seogyeom, huh?”

Seogyeom pulled his foot back onto the bed and narrowed his eyes.

Perhaps sensing the sarcasm in his voice, the system gave no response.

Seogyeom remained silent as well, as though they were engaged in some kind of battle of wills.

After a moment, he finally opened his mouth.

“This place is…”

The world of the game I used to play.

But the words he intended to say next never left his lips.

This, too, was something he had experienced repeatedly over the past few days, yet he still couldn’t get used to it.

He couldn’t even say a single sentence freely if it didn’t fit the NPC’s established character settings.

“So strict.”

Seogyeom muttered under his breath and lay down.

As he stretched his body out flat on the bed, Tang Seogyeom’s room came fully into view.