Vol.1 Ch.1-Birth of a Dark Gamer

The chapter started out describing Lee Hyun's cynical character and sad history, talking about the many jobs he had taken as a teenager and the debt his parents incurred that had been passed down to him. He went home and talked with his grandmother who was bedridden with a dislocated hip. After reassuring his grandmother that he would take care of his sister Hayan, he went online to The Continent of Magick. Once the strength of his avatar and Lee Hyun's playing style had been described, he sold his avatar in order to further concentrate on work.

Though he didn't expect anyone to buy it, people quickly soon took notice, and once its authenticity was confirmed, the price skyrocketed up to 3.1 billion won. The next day, Lee Hyun found out and was estatic, only to have it all taken away by the loan sharks collecting his debt. They took 3 billion, leaving just enough to hospitalize his grandmother for a bit and pay for Hayan's school fees. He threatened them, and was almost beaten up but the leader stopped them. However, the recent events convinced Lee Hyun to play the new virtual reality game Royal Road and get money the same way as well.

To prepare for this, he registered at a dojang (a place where one practices martial arts) and trained rigourously. He also trained himself to operate on four hours of slep. He also analyzed the game and formulated the ideal strategy to best go forward in the game. A year later, he brought a capsule to connect to Royal Road and logged in.