Chapter 1: Sorry for acting cocky just because I’m an old-timer

Play Time: 20,140 hours.

[Review: Cleared all the achievements on hard mode. Now there’s nothing left to do?]

[ᄂThis dude is seriously insane lololololol]

[ᄂWasn’t this game supposed to be like a Souls-like?]

[ᄂDidn’t this guy install extra mods to make a Souls-like even more Souls-like? What’s he talking about?]

[ᄂOh, O Wretched One… O Wretched One…!]

[ᄂNo joke, this guy could survive in any apocalyptic world.]

Anyone who loves games has probably had this experience at least once.

‘Wow, this game is amazing!’

It’s so good, you just can’t be satisfied with only one playthrough.

Once you find a game like that, your gamer soul doesn’t just burn—it burns out completely.

A survival-type apocalypse game.

Doll of the Stars was that kind of life-changing game for me.

[When’s the DLC coming out? I already completed 100% of the map.]

[ᄂYou psycho, it came out yesterday.]

[ᄂYou already completed it?! Lololol]

[ᄂHey, share some good spots for food farming.]

[LDLC when is it coming out (while already destroying yesterday’s DLC)]

At first, I only bought it secondhand—not even a new copy—thinking I’d just play it casually.

But then came the perfectly timed hit-and-run combat system, the giant open world that was ridiculously huge, and all the interactive characters.

Since it’s an apocalypse game, I had to keep track of food, stick to a proper sleep schedule, and hunt down weird mutant creatures.

Because of these hyper-realistic features, some people love it and others don’t.

But for a player like me, one of the ‘Wretched Ones,’ it couldn’t have been more perfect.

Pain is pleasure.

Now there’s even a game where, if you stay too long by a saveable bonfire, you die of starvation?

‘How could I possibly resist?’

For people like me—Souls-like + apocalypse + sci-fi fanatics—every little mechanic is a precious piece of content.

Because of that, Doll of the Stars, with its insane realism, became the first game

I re-bought for PC just so I could try hard mode with mod support, even though I usually play on console.

[Didn’t they say there were 3 more DLCs coming?]

[ᄂYeah, they’re supposed to be released by next year at the latest.]

[LIt came out yesterday, dude.]

[ᄂYeah, and I already cleared it.]

[ᄂDon’t you have a job or something?]

[ᄂBe honest—your female character’s outfit is just underwear, right?]

[ᄂYou never know… he might be using the custom mode for who-knows-what outfit.]

By the time I came to my senses, I had become a fossil in this god-tier game.

From map layouts to how to complete every challenge.

Android husbandos, Doll-phobia, and more.

Even in “Nude Mode,” where one hit would kill me, I managed to beat the final boss with just 1 HP left.

I’ve been called many names, but they’re all true, so I can’t even argue.

I somehow ended up as a regular poster on the ‘Apocalypse Gallery.’

Lately, even blocking “Grandma Nuke” is starting to wear me out…

The DLC came out yesterday, ‘but is there really no new content?’

As I was joking around in the gallery during mod downtime…

[Sharing Hard-Hard Mode for Doll of the Stars]

“?!”

‘A Hard-Hard mode for Doll of the Stars, where you die if a mob hits you five times from the start?’

“…Is it Grandma again?”

Classic gallery stuff.

They hype you up and then throw Grandma at you, just to make you want to smash everything.

But even knowing it’s probably garbage, I couldn’t stop myself from drooling in anticipation.

…And no, it wasn’t because of Grandma.

As one of the regulars, checking these things is part of my job anyway.

“Let’s see…”

A Souls-like game’s Hard-Hard Mode.

‘Could there be a mode brutal enough to burn even a Wretched One to ash?’

I tried to suppress the grin tugging at my lips and clicked the post.

As expected, “Grandma Nuke” popped up with a boom—

[If you want to regret your life, comment and I’ll share.]

‘…or so I thought?’

“Wait, is this for real?”

There was no trap.

First off, no meme images.

That gave it credibility.

Most importantly, the person who posted it didn’t even explain the mod.

He just left a short warning.

Seems like he might be a legit Wretched One.

That kind of provocation…

‘Are you trying to seduce me or what?’

I commented before I even had time to think.

[Share please lol]

[ᄂYou sure, newbie? This is really hard.]

[ᄂI’ll destroy it in two days. Anyway, share it. LOL]

[ᄂAlright, then I’ll toss in some support items just in case. Use them if it gets too hard.]

‘…What?’

‘This guy…’

‘Is he seriously babying me right now?’

[ᄂThe second you hand me a ‘helpful file,’ you’re exiled from the gallery.]

[ᄂ???]

[ᄂEven in normal hardcore mode, you only start with a pair of underwear, and you’re giving out support items? Get outta here.]

[ᄂNo, really! I thought it might be too tough, that’s all!]

[Nooo shut up, I don’t even need underwear. Just give it to me.]

[ᄂ…You’re going to regret this.]

In a world where survival is the absolute rule, the uploader was already breaking the mood from the very start.

I expected a lot since the creator claimed this was a “Hard Hard Mode,” but judging from their tone, they seemed more like a newbie who’d only dabbled in a couple of Soulslike games.

The kind of guy who’d be decked out with the best gear toward the end of the game.

The kind who’d max out potion usage right before the final boss, who’d summon an ungrateful NPC to fight alongside him.

The kind of guy you’d want to yell at:

“Is this even really Hard Hard Mode? Isn’t this just Normal Mode pretending to be tough?”

‘Shame on him!’

He already reeked of being a total noob.

But I’d already gone through all the content.

There wasn’t much left to do, not even the DLC scheduled for release next year.

[N, so you’re really gonna give it to me without any gear?]

[Please, just do it.]

***

After some persuasion, Hard Hard Mode of Doll of the Stars arrived in my inbox.

Despite the name, I wasn’t expecting much difficulty.

After all, eating only spicy food every day is bound to hurt your stomach eventually.

“Let’s do this for the healing experience.”

So I installed the mod and launched Doll of the Stars like I usually did.

But at that time, I had no idea what was coming.

***

Whoosh.

Not only was there not a single person in sight—the whole view of Seoul was a complete ruin.

“Shit…”

The city was overrun by forest.

It was the very definition of a hardcore apocalypse.

And just like that, I found myself inside the world of Doll of the Stars.

From my 12th playthrough or so, I started adding restrictions just to make Souls like games more fun.

I went beyond just playing within the system—I imposed limits on myself.

Like playing with just one eye.

Starting with simple things like that, then using only my feet, or actually rolling in real life, and finally even playing while doing a handstand.

It was fun in its own way, but eventually my body couldn’t keep up, and I had to stop when I ended up with a herniated disc.

Or at least, that’s what should have happened…

“This is even worse.”

A sky so blue it didn’t have a speck of fine dust.

Well, of course.

According to the game’s lore, the countries responsible for pollution had disappeared thousands of years ago.

The city humans used to live in had merged with nature, becoming a massive rainforest.

A classic apocalyptic setting with no people.

Usually, these kinds of scenes are paired with a soft orchestral BGM.

But the only sound I could hear was birds chirping.

The scenery before my eyes no longer looked like some graphic made of 0s and 1s.

“…VR mode?”

‘Could it be—’

‘Was this that “Link Start” people always talked about?’

I started patting around my head, especially the top, to see if there was some kind of helmet.

‘Being able to play my favorite Souls like game as if it were real?’

That would be enough to make me want to strip and scream with joy.

Well, technically, I was already naked, so there was nothing left to strip off anyway.

Still, there was none of that so-called “joy.”

There’s no way modern tech could create such a perfect VR world, and my head still felt like it had its usual weight.

Which could only mean one thing.

“…I’m screwed.”

I seemed to have possessed someone inside Doll of the Stars, the game I’d poured over 20,000 hours into until I was basically made of oil.

And not even as one of the androids capable of fighting the monsters in the game—

Just some loser in his mid-20s who gamed all day in his room (big junk though).

“Never thought Hard Hard Mode would be this kind of hard.”

“It was definitely hard.”

So hard, in fact, that I might be having tea time with Miss Yudahi tomorrow.

It’s only daytime now, which is probably why only herbivores were wandering the forest-covered city.

Once night fell, there was a high chance I’d run into packs of hunting wolves or other carnivores.

Not to mention the monstrous creatures that would really get active after dark.

“Should I at least find somewhere to rest?”

I glanced around for a moment, then looked down.

Right beneath me was a capsule the size of a coffin, as if to explain how I woke up in this world.

It was the thing I had crawled out of when I first opened my eyes.

‘Maybe I could use it as a make shift bed…’

That thought crossed my mind for a moment.

But—

“It’s too heavy!”

Way too heavy.

This really was hardcore.

So realistic that it didn’t even include something like an inventory system.

If this were your typical game possession story, I’d be out gathering nearby items and leisurely exploring by now.

But that wasn’t going to happen here.