#001
<<1 All-Time SSR Winner!>> <<3 All-Time SR Winners!>> <<……>>
A small shop with its walls plastered full of promotional posters.
After confirming the worn sign that read 'Random Box,' a man entered the shop without the slightest hesitation.
Inside the shabby shop sat a state-of-the-art gacha machine that didn't belong there at all.
But as if he were used to it, the moment he placed his hand on the machine, a holographic display floated in the air.
Random Box ver72.091
User Authentication: SKN-8644007017
Humanity Rank (H-Rank): Unknown (unknown code)
Rather than a name, what appeared was SKN-8644007017. Of those digits, '7017' was merely a code number others used to identify him.
Pickup Item – Account Creation Ticket (SSR)
The lightless pupils of 7017 stared blankly at the 'Account Creation Ticket.'
This machine called the Random Box was a device that drew any number of things existing in the world.
A legal gamble prepared for those aiming to strike it rich overnight.
Even an Unknown—an unidentified being called such—could use it.
7017 operated the Random Box with practiced motions.
Random Box: 10 Consecutive Draws
The money he had earned over the past few days vanished in an instant.
As if accustomed to it, 7017 gathered the useless items and left the shop.
There was no hope in those two pupils.
"Mother……."
* * *
One day, a single tree suddenly appeared in this world—Yggdrasil.
It grew in an instant and covered the entire world.
Yggdrasil read the countless 'cultures' existing in the world and eventually came to construct labyrinths based on the games that were in service.
Labyrinths created by Yggdrasil based on games in service.
People called them the 'Games of God.'
* * *
Three years ago, back when 7017 was called by the name Ryu Hwi instead of a code number.
"Why was the raid plan I established discarded?!"
"The raid plan you proposed… but isn't that a place Rinpel has already cleared?"
"That's exactly why I reduced the clear time even further and drastically improved the efficiency—"
"Simulations and reality are different. Rinpel is the ace of our Rinjia Guild. Are you thinking of denying an ace's record?"
He had heard that Gamers from other guilds would stop at nothing to shorten their records even a little.
To assist in this, large guilds employed 'Analysts' who specialized in developing new raids and analyzing dungeons.
"There will be no re-clear. That is Rinpel's wish as well."
Why…….
"Damn it."
Ryu Hwi spat out a curse and left the strategy planning room.
"At this rate, the hospital bills……."
Ryu Hwi had a mother who was hospitalized.
It was a severe illness that would have been called incurable in the old days, but now there was a way to treat it.
If only he could be acknowledged by the Rinjia Guild and become a Gamer…….
Ryu Hwi moved his fingers busily in the air.
Several 'windows' appeared in his vision.
Moving his fingers again, the most recently written document, 'Raid Plan v.107,' appeared before his eyes.
Ryu Hwi went over the document thoroughly to see if he had missed anything. He absolutely could not give up like this!
It was at that very moment, while making such a resolution, that—
"P-please, stop."
"Behave yourself. It's not like this is bad for you, is it?"
"S-stop……."
Ryu Hwi discovered a woman being held by someone in front of the strategy research room.
It was Sinsia, who belonged to the same research room.
They had spent a lot of time together for work and had been close enough to go out on weekends; they were on good terms.
"What do you think you're doing!"
When Ryu Hwi saw Sinsia in such a predicament, he immediately rushed to help her, but—
"Hm? You seem to be misunderstanding something. I was merely having a private conversation with Sinsia. A very personal matter."
Only after that did he realize who he was dealing with and froze.
Blond hair hanging down to his shoulders and blue three-white eyes gleaming with a sharp, fierce impression.
"If you're from Rinjea, you know who I am, right? And isn't it rude to interfere in a private relationship? If you back off quietly, I'll pretend I didn't see this."
Rinpel Darius.
The name Rinpel was special within Rinjea. To get by in the guild without any trouble, it was only natural not to cross him.
"R-Ryu Hwi."
Even so, Ryu Hwi didn't back down. For some reason, Rinpel reacted to the name 'Ryu Hwi.'
"Hm? Ryu Hwi? Ahh, I see. So you were the Analyst who kept submitting new plans every time?"
"I heard that you discarded my plans every single time?"
"Of course. They still had much lacking. In fact, weren't you finding new points to improve every time as well?"
"Yes, they are still lacking, but someday I will create a perfect raid plan just like Master Bugilma."
"Hmm, I see… Perfect, you say……."
Though he had thought they were discarded immediately without being read, Rinpel had been evaluating them properly.
The moment Ryu Hwi confirmed that fact, his heart suddenly began to pound.
"Ah, you there. Sorry for the trouble. Come to think of it, I had some important business to attend to. I'll take my leave first."
"Ah, yes……."
Avoiding Rinpel's gaze, Sinsia nodded.
After lightly patting Ryu Hwi's shoulder, Rinpel immediately left.
Ryu Hwi felt as though his long efforts had finally been rewarded.
Could this be the chance to become a 'Gamer'? He had never imagined such an opportunity would come like this.
"Ryu Hwi."
"Ah, sorry."
Lost in the thought that he might be able to solve his mother's treatment fees, he had completely forgotten Sinsia's presence.
"Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah. Rinpel was a bit scary but…… Umm, do you want to succeed in Rinjea too?"
When Ryu Hwi answered affirmatively, Sinsia thought deeply about something. For a brief moment.
"I see. Yes, I'll be rooting for you too."
Sinsia smiled and cheered for Ryu Hwi.
Finally, his luck had turned. That was what Ryu Hwi thought.
And for good reason, as Rinpel had properly evaluated his abilities.
There were infinite possibilities.
Ryu Hwi dreamed of the brilliant future that would unfold before him.
"Ryu Hwi, you are expelled from the Rinjea Guild."
His inflated dreams burst and vanished in an instant.
"We've already secured the evidence. He hid it so cleverly that we wouldn't have noticed without Rinpel and Sinsia's report."
Before he could even awaken from his dream, a cruel nightmare seized him.
Ryu Hwi could not understand what his superior was saying.
Standing next to his superior was Rinpel. He grinned broadly at Ryu Hwi, as if thoroughly enjoying himself.
Standing beside him was Ryu Hwi's colleague, Sinsia. She turned her head away as if avoiding Ryu Hwi's gaze.
Rinpel placed his hand on Sinsia's shoulder and smiled. Sinsia showed no sign of disliking it; instead, she smiled gently and looked up at Rinpel.
"Thanks to Sinsia, I was able to learn all about your criminal acts. Thank you. As promised, I'll look out for you."
Ryu Hwi trembled with a sense of betrayal. How could she do this?
"There is no longer a place for you in this guild. No, it's not just the guild— isn't your life over?"
Rinpel approached and lightly tapped Ryu Hwi's shoulder. He then whispered softly into Ryu Hwi's ear.
"That's why you should have known your place."
Rinpel had never evaluated Ryu Hwi's raid plans favorably. He had seen him as an 'enemy' who dared to oppose him.
Everything had flowed according to a pre-written script.
"We are officially pressing charges against you. With this much evidence gathered, it won't be easy to get out of this."
His superior's words felt as if they were coming from far away. The world seemed to spin round and round.
* * *
Random Box ver72.091
User Authentication: SKN-8644007017
Humanity Rank: Unknown (unknown code)
[As if I'd have money to lend to some Unknown?]
[Don't contact me again. I don't want people knowing I associate with an Unknown.]
Even the friends he had spent a long time with had denied him. It felt as though everything in his life had been negated.
But he could not sit down. He still had perfectly functional arms and legs.
To raise the money for his mother's surgery.
For now, that was his only goal.
Two months later.
7017's mother passed away beyond recovery.
He hadn't even been able to be by her side at the moment of her death. He had collapsed from exhaustion after working without rest, and that was when he heard the news of her passing.
Countless emotions gnawed away at 7017.
He had been falsely accused simply because someone didn't like him, had his name taken away, his human rights stripped, and now he had lost even his last remaining family.
There was nothing left for him now.
"Work is finished for today. Good work, everyone."
As soon as the supervisor announced the end of work, cheers erupted here and there.
"7017, I've got something good. Want in? You should try this too."
His coworkers held out a small chip to Ryu Hwi.
"It makes you feel good. It's data that acts on your brain, so unlike the 'real' stuff, there's less risk of addiction."
"Life's shitty, so we deserve at least this much pleasure."
Though his coworkers offered an illegal 'data drug,' 7017 refused and headed off alone somewhere. Seeing his back, his coworkers spat curses.
"Don't act like you're too good for this, you bastard! You're one of us anyway."
"We're all the same Unknowns, so cut the bullshit."
Not listening to whatever they shouted behind him, 7017 headed toward the darkness.
His retreating figure looked like a corpse walking.
Though the city center was a brilliant spectacle of nightless lights at any time of day, this outskirts area had nothing more than the occasional streetlamp.
A short while later, 7017 arrived at his destination.
Today, too, 7017 made a hollow draw.
The hologram played the Random Box draw animation. A meteor falling from the sky.
When an N-Rank was drawn, a rock that failed to become a meteor fell; when an R-Rank was drawn, a single shooting star twinkled in the night sky.
He had never even seen the animation for SR-Rank or higher.
How many times had he spun this Random Box?
He looked at the holographic screen dully. Today, too, nothing but useless things would come out.
"?!"
At that moment, a change occurred in the hologram.
The night sky sparkled, and a brilliant aurora arose.
At the animation he was seeing for the first time, 7017's eyes went wide.
"Could it be SR? No, perhaps……."
Soon, a dazzling meteor streaked across the sky, glittering with rainbow colors.
It couldn't be!
It couldn't be!!!
Ten boxes shot out from the Random Box.
While everything else was labeled with the rank 'N' and had shabby packaging, one alone was wrapped in extravagantly ornate packaging.
The rank was…….
"SSR!!"
Special Super Rare.
With trembling hands, 7017 reached for the SSR box. As he did, the box glowed and its contents appeared.
A black card.
Carved on its surface was the character for .
"A-ah…… Ahhhh!"
7017 shook as he grasped the card.
"Ahhhhhh!"
A wail-like groan escaped him involuntarily.
Here was an item he had believed he could never reach.
A miracle he couldn't have dreamed of even in his dreams.
A dream he had foolishly been unable to give up, precisely because he had nothing left to hold onto.
An Account Creation Ticket.
The labyrinths created by Yggdrasil were based on countless games in the world, and even now, new labyrinths were being created at this very moment.
However, to access the labyrinths created by the World Tree Yggdrasil, one needed a game account.
Connecting an avatar created from a game account to Yggdrasil.
That was the only way to access the labyrinths.
Though only virtual characters called 'avatars' could enter Yggdrasil's labyrinths, the items found within those labyrinths could be brought outside.
Those objects, which surpassed the science and technology of the previous era, had drastically changed the very structure of society.
Present-day society existed because of Yggdrasil, and it was sustained by Yggdrasil.
The 'Gamers' who stood at the forefront of that were the elite who led the current era, and qualifications were given only to a select few.
And now, that qualification had appeared before 7017. In the form of a Game Creation Ticket.
"Ugh."
7017 rushed out of the shop clutching the card. There had been other items as well, but he paid them no attention.
With this card alone, he could create an account.
With an account, he could play the countless labyrinths of Yggdrasil. He could start his life over, which had fallen to the very bottom.
7017 ran frantically.
The facility where accounts could be created was in the city center.
"Hah, hah, hah!"
He was out of breath, but he couldn't stop.
Because hope had finally found him after a time that had been like hell.
Just a little further, just a little further.
The hope to stand against this rotten world…….
Thwack──!
His vision flashed white.
The world turned upside down.
7017 couldn't understand what had happened.
When he came to his senses, he had collapsed on the cold asphalt.
"This is him, right?"
He heard someone's voice. A man who looked like a thug was holding a baseball bat.
"Yeah, yeah. The extremely lucky guy who pulled an SSR."
"Then doesn't that mean he has bad luck for running into us?"
Several people looked down at 7017 and snickered. One of them rummaged through 7017's chest.
"Here it is, the Account Creation Ticket. Can't believe someone actually pulled this thing."
"He really is a lucky guy, huh?"
The men who had taken the Account Creation Ticket tried to leave just like that.
"No……."
7017 barely managed to move his body and grabbed the ankle of the man who had taken the Account Creation Ticket.
"You crazy bastard, let go! Hey, I said let go!"
"Kuh!"
His head, chest, arms, and legs—every part of his body was ruthlessly stomped on, but 7017 never let go of that foot.
"My…… card…… give it back…… I drew it……."
A man who appeared to be the leader squatted down beside him. He grabbed 7017's hair and forcibly yanked his head up.
"That shop is under our jurisdiction. We have cameras installed inside. You didn't notice at all?"
Random Boxes were operated by the state. Therefore, their actions were clearly illegal, but—
The location of that shop was on the outskirts, far from the city center. It was likely poorly managed.
"There are guys like you who get lucky and pull high-rank items from time to time. We 'do business' whenever that happens."
The man pressed his finger hard against 7017's forehead.
An alarm appeared in 7017's vision.
30,000 points.
The exact amount for a single spin of the Random Box.
"Transaction complete. We're good, right? We're good. Since we're good……."
The man grabbed 7017's head and slammed it straight into the ground.
"I said let go, you son of a bitch."
Overwhelmed by the horrific pain, 7017 nearly lost consciousness. But no matter what happened, he could not let go.
"This bastard doesn't get it…… Who does some Unknown think he's touching? Hey, kill him!"
After that, a merciless lynching began.
They were not 'criminals.' If they were criminals—that is, Unknowns—a warning would appear in their vision.
The fact that there was no warning meant they were at least Bronze rank or higher.
That these people could commit such lawless acts without a care while living normal lives, while he had become an Unknown—a criminal—stripped of everything despite committing no crime.
'There is no place for you in this world.'
He felt as though someone was whispering that to him.
* * *
Thud.
Thud.
A corpse walks the street.
There was no sense of vitality. His entire body in tatters, he dragged his legs and moved his feet.
7017 sensed that he was going to die soon.
He had been hit in a bad spot.
His head was dizzy, his vision dark.
He couldn't hear anything. Even breathing was difficult.
Warnings that his vital signs were critical kept appearing in his vision.
"Keuk."
His internal organs must have suffered severe damage, as a mouthful of dead blood spilled out.
Without wiping the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, he continued to move his feet.
He didn't know where he was heading. He simply left it to instinct.
A short while later, 7017 let out a hollow laugh.
The place he had arrived at was none other than the shabby shop where the Random Box sat.
It was a fitting place for 7017's end, now that there was nowhere left to return to.
Because even walking was difficult, he slumped to the floor the moment he entered.
'If a corpse is found here, will it hurt those bastards too?'
It was a futile hope.
They were watching through the cameras anyway, so they would clean it up immediately if there was a problem.
His vision blurred.
He couldn't see properly.
Mustering his remaining strength, he approached the Random Box.
The 30,000 points the men had thrown at him in the name of a transaction.
Money for a single draw from the Random Box.
Random Box ver72.091
User Authentication: SKN-8644007017
Humanity Rank: Unknown (unknown code)
7017 squeezed out his last remaining strength and pressed the '1-Time Draw.'
"Hah, hah."
He leaned his back against the Random Box machine and gasped for breath.
The constant flashing warning signals in his vision were annoying.
But soon, he wouldn't be able to see anything at all.
His final Random Box in life.
Without being able to see the result, 7017 quietly closed his eyes.
It really had been…….
A garbage life.
Having lost consciousness, 7017 did not see the Random Box's screen.
He did not see the beautiful aurora adorning the night sky, nor the form of the golden World Tree appearing beyond that aurora.
* * *
[Emergency situation detected.]
[Master's Condition Red.]
[Initiating emergency life-saving measures.]
[Forced Character Conversion in progress.]
[UR Random Box Device system: Executing forced YggOn intervention.]