FAR - 1

No matter how unfairly a fight was picked with me, I avoided it at all costs.

Why? Because I hated wasting my energy on it.

Winning might be fun, but it required expending way too much energy to get there. Besides, I didn't have an ounce of talent for it, whether it was a verbal argument or a physical brawl.

Once, I tried playing one of those wildly popular MOBA games. My controls were so awful that my teammates started asking about my parents' well-being. I reported them and deleted the game that very day, that was my last experience with the genre.

Sure, if I practiced repeatedly, I’d probably improve, but I had neither the energy nor the motivation for it.

When a lethargic person like me becomes a corporate wage slave, you really can't expect much.

Naturally, instead of blood-splattering, keyboard-smashing combat, I started focusing on the life skills content that every MMO offers, no matter how small.

Even for someone like me, Tower of Collapse was a game well worth pouring my time into.

It was set in a fictional medieval continent, specifically revolving around three nations: the Demihaad Kingdom, the Holy State of Venaro, and Caseria, the island of the Magic Tower.

It was a game that blended a traditional Western fantasy setting, where knights swung swords and priests bestowed blessings, with modern fantasy tropes, where random dungeons opened from another world, and unawakened Sword Masters alongside awakened Hunters worked to close them.

"He who conquers the Tower shall become the eternal sky of the continent."

This single declaration kick-started the game's story.

In the center of the continent, the worst dungeon in history, the 'Tower,' abruptly jutted from the earth.

The moment that declaration descended from the Tower, the existing gods were denied. Every priest coughed up blood and died. The Tower itself became a new god.

He who conquers the Tower becomes the Emperor of the continent. And the players are the ones challenging this Tower.

...By all accounts, it was an incredibly combat-oriented storyline, but the reality was a bit different. The developers were absolutely serious about the life-skill systems.

'Meaning, it didn't matter if you ignored the Tower entirely and just lived your life farming and mining.'

Independent of their combat classes, users could choose to level up as a Farmer, Fisherman, or Miner. The standing of life skills within the game was so prominent that even top-tier combat users, armed to the teeth with dazzling gear, had to carry a sickle hidden in their inventory.

If you successfully grew rare herbs on your farm, you could practically get potions for free, and if you had a high Dexterity level, your chances of successful weapon enhancements would increase.

In my case, I neglected my combat class entirely and went all-in on life skills, playing primarily as a Farmer.

The reason was simple: the graphics I saw while doing life content were healing for my soul.

Farmers got a view of a gently breezing field, Fishermen got rolling blue ocean waves, and Miners got caves sparkling with quartz. It had outstanding graphics, natural gathering animations, diverse life items, and over a thousand types of harvestables.

I was completely hooked from the game's launch. Between Farmer, Fisherman, and Miner, my choice was Farmer.

The reason was simple. A farmer’s cabin looked the most like the idyllic country house I had always dreamed of owning.

Well, in reality, even if I had a country house, I probably wouldn't be able to maintain it.

'I'd be lucky if I could save up enough to buy a single apartment unit...'

I got a job right after graduating from high school.

Without any particular dreams of starting a family or achieving massive success, my one and only desire was to buy my own home.

I didn't know how to play the stock market or make investments. I simply saved my salary and put it into installment savings accounts. My calculations showed I needed to work for another 11 years to buy a house. I figured that as long as I could buy one in my 30s, I'd be satisfied.

I had no other hobbies besides this game, and I rarely met up with friends.

My farm life in Tower of Collapse was my only hobby and my sole breathing room.

While I was at work, I'd leave my home PC running on auto-farming. The moment I got back to my rented room after work, I'd check the monitor first thing. I'd review and organize any rare items gathered during the day.

I'd tend to all the crops that needed care, set up the auto-farming again for the night, and then go to sleep.

There was a rumor in the community that my home PC hadn't been turned off for 8 months... Just kidding. I turned it off during regular server maintenance. I also shut it down occasionally so the desktop wouldn't explode.

'Thanks to that, I'm ranked #1 as a Farmer. Even if my combat class is unranked and completely unheard of.'

By the time I took my eyes off the computer screen, it was 11:38 PM. For a brief moment, I was a virtual farmer, but in reality, I was an office worker dreading the Monday morning commute.

---

...Exactly one day passed. It was Monday evening. I had once again become a human entirely drained by fatigue.

My eyelids felt heavy, and my eyes stung slightly, tearing up. I was so exhausted I couldn't even stare at the farm screen for long.

I turned on auto-gathering and collapsed onto my bed, unable to do anything else. I ignored the piled-up chores and the dirty dishes.

The moment my back hit the mattress, every other thought scattered. I fell asleep as if I had passed out.

"..."

Then, suddenly, I opened my eyes in the dark.

I was so bewildered that my brain refused to work for a moment.

Because even though I definitely lived alone, there was someone in my room.

Judging by the build, it was a man. He was bundled up in dark clothing from head to toe; not an inch of skin was visible. He had a hat pulled down low and wore a black mask.

Instinctively, a chill ran down my spine.

As I tried to bolt upright, the masked intruder noticed I was awake and lunged at me.

Stab. A sharp blade pierced right through my stomach.

Was it because I was exhausted after just waking up? I didn't even have the energy to react. The moment I opened my mouth from the unfamiliar agony, a hand wearing a pitch-black leather glove clamped over it.

When the hand moved away, something like duct tape was stuck over my mouth.

As the intruder pulled the knife out, blood spurted like a fountain.

I couldn't think straight from the unprecedented pain. I have to fight back. I have to stop the bleeding. But a sense of helplessness far greater than terror washed over me.

'I'm screwed. I'm going to die.'

When the assailant wrapped me tightly in my blanket, preventing me from even putting pressure on the wound, my life was effectively over.

Sprawled on the bed, my consciousness began to fade. With rustling and clattering sounds, the intruder ransacked my room. He scoured the drawers, the desk, every little corner, until he finally opened the inner drawer of my closet.

My blurring, fading eyes suddenly snapped wide open.

My bankbook. The one where I had religiously deposited my salary for the last three years. It was in the intruder's hand.

Slipping the bankbook away, the assailant casually walked out of the room.

Tears flowed just as profusely as the blood that soaked through the blanket and kept spilling out. Helplessly, I watched belated thoughts pop up one by one, like candles slowly flickering out.

I hadn't heard the sound of the front door being forced open. That meant the intruder must have spied on my house passcode and punched it in to enter...

Since he seemed to have planned this break-in thoroughly, he might have... figured out my bank PIN too.

---

Sunlight poured down from above. The brilliant hues of light irritated my half-open eyelids. Lush, green foliage warmly filled my dazzling vision.

'There's no way this is a hospital ceiling...'

Fumbling, I touched my stomach, but there was no pain whatsoever.

Instead, I was wearing what looked like rags. I saw a baggy, t-shirt-like garment and a thick rope tying my trousers at the waist.

Finally, a deep sigh escaped me.

Rather than immediately stressing over these weird anomalies, I just lay there. I was simply far too tired.

As I rested for a bit, my thoughts slowly began to return.

'Being stabbed was infuriating enough, but he took my bankbook too?!'

So, where was I? I propped my upper body up and surveyed my surroundings.

I was under the shade of a leafy tree. There was exactly one tree. A half-collapsed stone wall encircled the area I was in.

I could see a cabin straight ahead. It was a cozy, albeit dilapidated, little shack.

An incredibly familiar scenery.

Except... it had been a very long time since I'd seen it.

This was supposed to be a game graphic.

Furthermore, since I had hit the max level ages ago and was ranked #1 in life skills, it had been forever since I’d seen this starting state...

Wait. Don't tell me.

'This is the starting zone for the farm content.'

It wasn't fake. Everything was real. The texture and smell of the crumbling dirt beneath my legs. The warmth of the sunlight cascading over my body.

As I stared silently at the soil, a translucent window materialized before my eyes with a message.

> [Lv.0 A Field Where Only Weeds Grow]

I was still suffering from phantom pains, my stomach throbbing. Yet, even in my dazed state, the moment I saw the system prompt, I began to move instinctively.

I squatted down right where I was and started yanking out the overgrown weeds.

'Is this the subconscious power of the #1 overall life-skill player on the server? You sure pull weeds well, myself...'

Dirt got packed tightly between the creases of my palms and under my fingernails. The sensation of damp soil crushing beneath my hands felt utterly foreign.

I might have claimed the title of the #1 Farmer in-game, but in reality, I was a pale, urban salaryman who had never so much as touched dirt before.

But here, naturally, I just knew how to pull weeds, and I was doing it. With my bare hands, no less.

I was about to utter a cliché line straight out of a novel like, 'Have I been transmigrated?!' but decided against it. It just felt kind of ridiculous.

Was I always this simple-minded? Why wasn't I surprised about being transmigrated?

Was it because getting stabbed to death felt more surreal...? Or maybe it was just because I didn't have to go to work, making everything perfectly fine.

"The breeze is nice."

I absentmindedly muttered out loud, only to startle myself and jump to my feet.

The voice that had just come from my throat wasn't mine. It was slightly deeper. Moreover, that hoarse, exhausted undertone I always had was completely gone.

'Come to think of it, since I transmigrated into the game, did my appearance change to match my character too?'

There was no mirror inside the starter-level cabin. Making do, I peered into a nearby puddle to check my reflection.

My familiar, customized character had quite literally become my face.

From the very beginning, I had created my character with the sole intention of living a farmer's life. So, I customized him to look like 'Ordinary Village Youth A.'

He wasn't particularly handsome, just tanned skin and practical, working muscles. It was the kind of appearance that perfectly suited a straw hat and overalls.

Because he looked so remarkably average, his appearance actually stood out among all the other flashy players.

'Whatever. The face doesn't matter.'

It wasn't an ugly face, so I didn't care. More importantly... I looked around again.

The space wasn't large. One cabin. And a yard just big enough to fit a small vegetable garden.

Beyond that, everything was blocked off by a hazy, fog-like wall. This wasn't real land, but rather an instanced system space that only I could enter as my 'home'.

It was exactly like my in-game farm.

Right now, it's Lv.0, but as I level it up, the land will expand, and the cabin will upgrade, right?

Hold on, did I just become a homeowner?

'A house that would have taken me another 5 years of working myself to death to afford... I just got one for free. Is this a win...?'

Well, it's not like I'm the least bit thankful to the bastard who stabbed me and stole my life savings... But anyway, all's well that ends well, right?

Soon, the translucent status window displayed a new message.

> [You were ranked #1 as a Farmer across all servers.]

> [Special privileges will be granted according to the transmigrator's status.]

> [You know how to till the land, select seeds, plant seedlings, tend to crops, make them bloom, bear fruit, and store and utilize the harvest.]

> [Crops listen intently to your voice.]

> [All Dexterity related to nature is increased.]

As I read these dream-like words, my heart swelled with anticipation. It was a kind of hope and euphoria I had never felt before.

All that time I spent simply seeking healing while others obsessed over combat rankings was finally paying off.

Thanks to that, I was transmigrated to a place like this.

'While other people transmigrate into combat games, I got sent to a place like this because I only ever focused on the beautiful things.'

Just then, another status window popped up, overlapping the first. If the farm’s status window was a pale blue, this new one was yellow.

The vibrant color made it feel somewhat like a warning.

> [The given time is 2 years.]

'This is... the game's opening line.'

A chill slowly crept down my spine. Soon, the blood in my veins ran entirely cold.

You know that kind of anxiety, right? The ominous premonition that your Team Leader is going to force you to work overtime again today... That exact feeling pierced right through my body.

And sure enough.

> [Become the greatest Hunter on the continent, and as the one to conquer the Tower, be reborn as the Emperor of this land.]

A task far more absurd than a Friday night overtime shift had just been dumped right in my lap.​