Chapter 1

Chapter 1
Chapter 1: The Successor Remains Unknown, My Focus Lies Solely on Healing

A harsh LED glow.

The office, intensely illuminated, remained dead silent.

Every employee rhythmically struck their keyboards and slid their mice with hollow, sunken eyes.

They took on assignments, worked through them, brainstormed concepts, joined discussions, and drafted paperwork.

It was an atmosphere that felt both subdued yet fiercely competitive, typical of any modest enterprise.

Baek Yi-hyun, who led Overseas Business Team 2, operated no differently.

Or rather, his routine mirrored theirs, though perhaps with an added layer of hectic urgency.

Tap-tap-tap- Tap-

“Goodness, Team Leader Baek. Back in the grind so quickly after wrapping up that major project?”

A coworker who arrived late following a half-day leave chimed in with an astonished expression.

“Please, let’s skip the title. Team Leader? I hold the rank of department head.”

“Why deny it? Today’s the day the CEO signs off on the agreement. Isn’t that a given?”

“Spot on!”

Capitalizing on the opening, the rest of the team joined the conversation.

“That Indonesia export arrangement you secured is massive, Team Leader.”

“Honestly, without your guidance, none of us would have had a clue how to handle this. How do you manage to accurately gauge what buyers want… I really need to take notes!”

“Oh, that’s basically the Team Leader’s unique gift. I’ve spent years shadowing them trying to figure it out, but no luck.”

At that juncture, the remarks felt far beyond ordinary praise.

In truth, Baek Yi-hyun had delivered extraordinary results.

He had successfully finalized a contract to export their corporate pharmaceutical goods to a partner in Indonesia, ranking among the world’s most populous nations.

To be precise, the deal stood right on the precipice of formal completion, with only the official acknowledgment of his efforts left pending.

Before drawing up the final paperwork, management needed to formally verify that Baek Yi-hyun had spearheaded the operation.

“It’s entirely due to everyone’s collective support.”

“Ah, dodging the praise again. We merely pulled data from KOTRA or local channels; you carried the entire weight, Team Leader. The buyers seemed genuinely fond of you, too.”

“Exactly. Even if our CEO loves playing people against one another, he has to back the Team Leader this time around. Just look at the hours you’ve logged. You’ve been working late nearly every other night.”

While he was exchanging banter with his colleagues, an administrative staff member tentatively called out to Baek Yi-hyun.

“Pardon me, Team Leader Baek? Director Park is asking if you can step into a meeting right now.”

“Director Park?”

Baek Yi-hyun tilted his head in confusion.

‘Not the Executive Director? Something feels off.’

Director Park.

A parachute appointment tied to the CEO by family relation, widely recognized around the office as the primary messenger pigeon.

He was infamous for delivering unpleasant updates that the CEO preferred not to communicate firsthand.

‘Me, at a time like this?’

An ominous premonition settled over him.

Sensing that something was amiss, the previously upbeat mood among his teammates rapidly grew somber.

“…No way. It’s not what I’m imagining, is it?”

As one of his peers muttered those words, the room’s temperature seemed to drop further.

—

The moment Baek Yi-hyun stepped through his front door, he collapsed onto his mattress.

“What a miserable…”

As the old adage warns, dreadful premonitions rarely miss their mark.

“Young man, this agreement… would you be willing to step aside from it?”

“You realize the head of Overseas Business Team 1 is the CEO’s youngest son, correct? As a member of the family, he needs at least one credible accomplishment under his belt.”

“Naturally, I recognize how much sweat you’ve poured into this assignment. I give you my word that the next initiative will credit your portfolio, so please yield on this single occasion.”

He had been handed an utterly unreasonable proposition.

‘That wasn’t an offer; it was a command disguised as one.’

The tone, the condescending attitude.

They had already reached their verdict yet insisted on playing the part of polite petitioners, feigning superficial regret.

Rejecting the demand was never truly an option.

‘Credited on the next project?’

‘As if that wouldn’t just be a repeat of the same cycle.’

He could easily picture himself laboring tirelessly while the CEO’s heir effortlessly scooped up all the recognition.

There was zero future here.

Neither for the enterprise, nor for his own career path.

Nor did he possess any desire to cower and endure life like a frightened mouse.

Consequently, he made his choice.

“Hmph… I’m done swallowing this garbage.”

“Wha- What did you say?!”

He cast aside the mask he had worn for years, flipped tables in a surge of pure fury, and walked out after tossing his resignation directly onto the desk.

A profound sense of relief washed over him.

His exit had been impulsive, but he held zero regrets.

He had given the job everything he had, and he maintained total faith in his ability to rebuild elsewhere.

“Well, since things have reached this point…”

Perhaps it was time he finally lived a little for himself.

*Bolt!*

Baek Yi-hyun sprang upright and marched straight to his personal computer.

Back when he was trapped in the corporate grind, he frequently fantasized about what he would pursue the moment he quit.

He couldn’t have survived the crushing reality otherwise.

Interestingly, his priority wasn’t catching up on sleep or lounging lazily past noon, nor was it heading out for an extravagant meal.

It was diving back into a video game.

“Just how long has it been?”

The very game he had forced himself to abandon when preparing for his job hunt.

In the World.

It operated as a standard MMORPG, featuring robust player-versus-player combat, raid dungeons, alongside deep gathering and crafting systems.

In essence, it served as a virtual playground where participants could immerse themselves fully, defined by a distinct boundary between predator and prey styles of play.

Frequent updates kept the pursuit of fresh endgame content engaging.

Above all, it held deep nostalgic value as a sanctuary he frequented during his youth, granting it a special place in his heart.

He used to play it obsessively.

“Roughly ten years?”

Combining the months spent studying for employment exams with the years wasted at the firm, the timeline added up accurately.

“I just pray the account wasn’t compromised in the meantime.”

Realistically, he hadn’t bothered setting up modern security measures like password refreshes or one-time tokens, meaning he would have no right to complain if it was plundered.

And sure enough, reality matched his expectations.

After navigating the tedious verification steps to revive his dormant profile and slowly inspecting the contents…

🟢No primary character currently exists. Would you like to establish one?🟩

“…What kind of miserable troll wiped out the roster with such precision?”

The paid currency he had accumulated remained intact, but every single character had vanished completely.

Archers, priests, assassins, druids… even the secondary alternate characters he had poured both funds and affection into were gone.

Yet the currency, arguably the most vital asset, sat untouched—an utterly absurd predicament.

Even so, Baek Yi-hyun simply offered a calm nod.

“Right, figures that would happen.”

If this were the younger version of himself from a decade ago, he would have flown into a rage, but years as a deadened office worker left him with nothing more than a faint trace of disappointment.

“Well, since we’re at this stage, I can simply spin up a fresh avatar without any lingering attachments.”

Time had marched on, and his emotional ties to the digital realm had faded.

He merely wanted a brief escape to revisit old memories within his forgotten sanctuary.

“Let’s check—has anything actually changed?”

Humming the familiar background tracks of In the World while scanning its official portal, Baek Yi-hyun’s brow eventually crinkled in confusion.

“What on earth is this latest update history?”

Baek Yi-hyun rubbed his eyes and re-examined the patch logs for In the World.

Scroll- scroll-

No matter how far up or down he dragged the cursor or clicked through…

“The last genuine expansion dropped four years ago?”

Patches had technically rolled out until two weeks prior, but they fell strictly into what players categorized as filler updates.

The vast majority consisted of minor bug corrections, cosmetic cash-shop additions, or server maintenance routines.

Observing the layout now, the website’s interface and graphic design belonged entirely to the aesthetic of ten years ago.

Certain promotional banners even relied on outdated browser plugins, displaying broken graphics boxes.

“The game… is it dead?”

And his suspicion was instantly confirmed.

Upon opening his in-game mail tab, an official notice from the developers awaited him.

Discarding any polite pleasantries, the message read simply:

🟢Thanks to the dedication of our heroes, In the World has attained permanent peace. We extend our deepest gratitude for your endeavors.⬛️

🟢We trust you will now return to your daily lives and embrace fulfilling journeys ahead.⬛️

In short, the overarching narrative had officially concluded.

“What is this nonsense about returning to my own life?”

A title kept running purely on life support with automated server maintenance!

A sharp wave of melancholy swept over him regarding the cruelty of time, mingled with quiet bitterness that his cherished digital world had withered away while he was caught up in the real-world grind.

The sole silver lining was that he had managed to reach the pinnacle endgame of In the World before throwing himself into his corporate career.

“Fine. None of this impacts me anyway.”

Regardless of what befell the broader game ecosystem, the new avatar Baek Yi-hyun intended to raise here would stay miles away from competitive player combat or high-end raids.

“Gathering and crafting exclusively.”

He refused to experience unfair treatment even inside a virtual space.

His goal was simply self-sufficiency through life skills, retracing past nostalgia, and securing a bit of inner tranquility.

“I’ll stick to fishing and harvesting weeds for some peace of mind.”

As he hastily configured a generic appearance and hovered over the login prompt…

Baek Yi-hyun’s index finger suddenly froze in place.

“…I ought to spend whatever leftover cash balance is sitting here, right?”

Wouldn’t purchasing passive traits prove far less frustrating than grinding from absolute zero?

-You have successfully acquired 5 Life-Type Talent Random Boxes.

-Would you like to open them now?

🟢Yes / No🟩

Baek Yi-hyun clicked “Yes” five times in rapid succession without a second thought.

The opening animation zipped past instantly, revealing five distinct traits rendered in bold text.

🟢Expert’s Eye🟩

🟢Mana Distribution🟩

🟢Potion Crafting Specialization🟩

🟢Artisan’s Touch🟩

🟢Spirit Communion🟩

“Oh.”

Should this be chalked up to the legendary fortune of a returning player?

These traits hit the jackpot tier.

Had there not been a strict cap of five traits per character, he would gladly have purchased more.

‘Especially Expert’s Eye.’

It supplied vital analytical data that benefited not only domestic life skills but the entire game mechanics broadly.

In other words, lacking this specific trait would spell immense frustration for someone committing to a passive, prey-style playthrough.

Furthermore, Potion Crafting Specialization granted powerful bonuses to alchemy output, while Mana Distribution and Spirit Communion offered immense utility for advanced manufacturing down the road.

‘Normally, there’s a quiet satisfaction in earning currency through mindless gathering and systematic crafting.’

And then, whenever a master-grade piece emerged via probability triggers like Artisan’s Touch, the resulting dopamine spike proved unforgettable.

“Next, configuring the visual model…”

To be frank, he didn’t care deeply about customized looks, but maintaining a baseline standard of appearance remained wise.

Running around with the generic base model invited unwanted attention as an automated bot or a throwaway mule.

Baek Yi-hyun quickly finalized a neat appearance preset and advanced.

“Alright, fine. Let’s give this a spin before the servers shut down completely.”

Despite his cynical mutterings, he couldn’t suppress the rapid thumping in his chest at the prospect of experiencing the universe of In the World as a mature adult, having only known it in his youth.

It was a sensation entirely absent during his grueling years at the firm.

Beaming like a child who had just unboxed a brand-new plaything, Baek Yi-hyun slammed his mouse button onto the game start command…

—

Consequently, roughly one month after diving back into In the World…

“This isn’t even close to the relaxing healing journey I had in mind.”

Baek Yi-hyun.

Or rather, ‘Lion,’ an anomalous entity that even the venerable Archmage lineage regarded with utter astonishment, stood amidst the fields today…

*Pop!*

🟢Blue Basil successfully harvested!🟩

Quietly plucking wild weeds.