Part 1. The Lost Artifacts of the Blake Family
It was a dark night.
Kang Yun-sol sat slouched on the floor of her cramped studio apartment, a half-empty can of beer and a torn-open bag of potato chips lying on the low table before her. An old tablet flickered faintly in the gloom, casting the only light in the room.
On the screen, a foreign drama was playing—already on its eighth episode. Its story followed a sinister cult, where the leader offered up a human sacrifice each episode. Normally, Yunsol would have been absorbed by the endless twists and turns, her heart racing at every reveal. But tonight, she felt nothing.
Some days were just too heavy to bear.
Buddha once said, life is suffering.
And Yunsol was living proof. Money problems, relationship problems, university problems, parents’ problems… just thinking about them all gave her a headache.
She drained her beer in one gulp, turned off the tablet, and dragged herself onto her bed with her phone in hand.
“Isn’t there something fun to play…?”
She scrolled lazily through the app store when, suddenly, an obnoxious advertisement filled the screen. A mechanical voice, like something ripped straight from a cheap dubbing program, rang out:
[Show off your unique abilities in the captivating world of the gods! Help those in need and gain wealth, fame, and power!]
A magnifying glass swooped across the screen with an exaggerated sound effect, enlarging a bustling city.
[Sign up now to receive the rare building Sanctuary and the rare helper Zealous Follower—absolutely free! Plus, beginner-friendly tips!]
Characters flashed across the screen in quick succession. Among them, one caught her eye—a cold-looking man with jet-black hair.
The ad ended with a flickering logo written against the sky:
“The Lost Artifacts of the Blake Family.”
Without thinking, Yunsol tapped on it. The game began to install on its own.
[Downloading world information…]
[Applying language patch…]
[Granting power…]
She smirked at the overly dramatic loading text—until, at some point, she noticed her surroundings crumbling.
The familiar apartment shrank into blocks of pixels, dissolving into nothingness. A blank white void spread where the pieces vanished.
“What the—what is this?!”
She leapt out of bed, but even the bed itself broke apart and disappeared.
Her tiny studio vanished completely, leaving her stranded in a blinding white space. Panicked, she clutched her phone. On the screen, dots in the phrase—
[Passing through the gates of the world…]
—pulsed slowly in and out.
And then, even the phone disintegrated in her hands.
This can’t be real.
She slapped her cheek hard, hoping to wake up. Instead, pain bloomed across her skin, bringing tears to her eyes.
The world wasn’t changing back.
Colors began filling the void instead—tiny fragments, like a scattered mosaic, slowly stitching together. She stood frozen, watching as the world rebuilt itself. The resolution sharpened, and suddenly she found herself in a decaying, foreign-looking room.
The walls were cracked and peeling, the chandelier broken, the carpet worn through, and the stone floor smeared with unidentifiable stains. The atmosphere was oppressive.
The only intact feature was the altar ahead of her.
“Don’t tell me… I fell into some cult’s ritual?”
Shivering, she rubbed her forearm and looked closer.
Thick black paint covered the wall behind the altar, marked with a strange sigil—a circle split vertically by a straight line. On the altar lay lit candles, a conch shell, and a magnifying glass. The flames burned steadily, as though someone had been here just moments ago.
The air grew heavier. Through the cracked window, she glimpsed a gray sky buried under thunderclouds. Even the glass panes were shattered in places, letting in a mournful wind.
Behind her, the hallway stretched open, equally ruined.
She drew in a shaky breath. And then—
Strange glowing symbols appeared, floating faintly at the edge of her vision.
, , , , .
Her heart skipped.
“…This… this is like a game.”
She tried to laugh it off, but failed. The menus were real.
This wasn’t the fun escape she had wished for. This was a nightmare.
Yunsol pressed the button.
Quest
■ Quests in progress
- Main Quest: Empty.
- Sub Quest: Empty.
■ Nearby Quests
- The Blake Family’s Lost Property (1)
- Laura’s Comb
- Laura’s Needle
- Laura’s Silver Spoon
“The Blake Family’s Lost Property? Isn’t that the game’s title? And… who’s Laura?”
She tapped on the names, but nothing happened. No details, just placeholders.
Clicking next, she opened .
Skill
- Search (Lv. 10)
- Effect: Reveals the location of the target you’re searching for. (At max level, usable on objects, creatures, places, and regions.)
- Activation: Kiss the instep of the “Hunt” agent.
“…What kind of ridiculous skill is this?!”
She shut the window with trembling hands, moving on to the others. Most were empty. The final entry only contained the system prompt she had seen earlier.
At once, a cheerful sound chimed in the air.
[SYSTEM: Menu browsing complete! Opening Help (1)!]
Help (1): You have incarnated as the agent of the God of Search, Hund.
“…Agent of a god? Just because I clicked an ad?”
Her temples throbbed.
After confirming the message was saved in , she opened . The building layout displayed itself in detail, dotted with question marks representing quests. But instead of Korean, the names were all strange, foreign words.
She blinked twice, closing the window.
“…Let’s just check one of the question marks first.”
Clutching her arms, she stepped hesitantly into the gloomy hallway. The cold marble floor bit into her bare feet, each step echoing too loudly.
Though she had only walked a short distance, when she looked back, she realized she hadn’t even gone two meters.
Come on… keep moving.
She forced herself forward—only to regret it instantly.
Her right foot landed on something slick. Sticky.
She froze. Then slowly lifted her foot.
A dark red liquid smeared the stone, forming a widening trail. In the dim light, it shimmered wetly.
“No way… this… this is blood?”
Her heart pounded against her ribs. The puddle stretched further ahead, leading somewhere she didn’t dare to look.
Before she could decide what to do, a piercing scream ripped through the hall—a woman’s voice, raw and hysterical.
