Cillian's eyes fluttered open, but the first thing he noticed wasn't the familiar glow of his computer screen or the tingling sensation from hours spent in the game capsule. No, this felt different. The air was heavier, the atmosphere thick with an unfamiliar weight. His body felt... light. Not in the physical sense—his limbs still ached, and his joints creaked in protest—but something about it all felt off.

  The st thing he remembered was the game. Ceres Online. He had been pying non-stop for 80 hours straight, driven by the endless grind for rare loot. After all, he had paid good money for that information, even though he was already deep in debt. This was his one chance to get a legendary item and pay it all off. It would be a massive waste if he didn't get anything after all that effort. His body, however, had other pns. It had given up at the most crucial moment. One more hit, and he would've defeated the hidden boss. But instead, his vision had filled with red, and he lost consciousness.

  He had bought a cheap capsule with only the most basic features because it didn't limit pytime. He could grind for as long as he wanted. He never could've imagined that he would end up fighting a raid boss alone, which expined why he hadn't stopped pying, no matter how many warnings the capsule gave him. It was a risky gamble, but he took it. In his eyes, there was no difference—if he couldn't pay off his debts this time, he'd probably disappear. His body would be found in some random alleyway.

  "One way or another, I should've been a goner. But... what's this?"

  Cillian was dumbfounded. Did he die in the game and respawn somewhere on the map? He was pretty sure he had seen a warning about his heart failing before losing consciousness. Did he actually survive? Just to be sure, he opened the user menu, and what he saw made his eyes widen in shock.

  ------

  Name: CillianRace: HumanCss: NPC Lv. 1Authority: None

  ------

  "Level 1!?"

  As the weight of his new reality settled in, Cillian dropped to his knees. He needed time to process everything. After all, the log-out button was gone, his level—the one he'd spent 20 years of his life grinding—was reduced to 1, and he had become an NPC. It felt like a complete knockout combo. For some reason, the level reduction seemed to hit him harder than the other changes.

  "Twenty... years..."

  -No. Let's think about this positively. My debts are gone. I've reincarnated into my favorite game, and the fact that I'm an NPC means there should be pyers around as well.

  With that thought in mind, Cillian quickly opened the game forums, and what he saw made his eyes widen even further. The forums were full of posts from people eagerly anticipating the server's opening.

  Not only had Cillian reincarnated as an NPC in Ceres, but he had also regressed 20 years into the past—specifically to the day the server went live for the first time.

  "This... this is actually good!"

  A grin spread across Cillian's face. He had originally been devastated by the thought of how dangerous the te game in Ceres was. With only level 1 stats, there was no way he could survive. But now, with this regression, the pying field was even. He could grind from the start, alongside the pyers, ensuring his survival through the numerous cataclysms that would come.

  Looking around, he found himself in the woods. He wasn't exactly sure which woods they were, since new pyers in the starting continent spawned in random forests near a starting vilge. He needed to find his way out first before figuring out which country he had ended up in.

  "But... isn't there an opportunity here?" Cillian pondered.

  According to the forums, the game had been released yesterday, but the server was supposed to go live today—five hours from now, to be exact. Cillian had just a few hours to find the exit of the woods and get a head start. Or... he could stay and become a beginner NPC for the pyers to utilize. This would likely help him a lot, though he wasn't entirely sure how things worked now. As an NPC, he should be able to generate quests for pyers.

  "Decisions, decisions..."

  -The tter option seems very promising, but how should I go about it?

  He could simply loiter around the spawn area, waiting for the pyers to appear. Then, with his top-tier acting skills, he could pretend to be a lost person and ask the pyers to help him escape—just a typical escort quest.

  -But that would be boring.

  And it wouldn't exactly benefit him much. After all, he could probably escape on his own.

  Cillian was troubled. He needed a way to utilize the pyers to his advantage.

  -But how? As far as I can tell, I'm just a random NPC. I don't have any background to speak of. I'm not connected to the main quest in any way, and I'm not capable of giving out big rewards to the pyers. In the end, pyers would probably just regard me as a tutorial NPC at best. And after that, I'll be forgotten. Which... isn't necessarily a bad thing. I'm antisocial by nature, and the thought of pyers swarming me like flies is terrifying.

  Cillian needed a solution to this pyer dilemma, so he decided to pn his initial goals. First, he needed to utilize the pyers to his advantage. Second, he wanted to remain anonymous and not stationary so pyers wouldn't swarm him. Finally, he needed a way to survive.

  In the end, Cillian clutched his head in frustration.

  -This is hopeless... If only I had my own... lore?

  A lightbulb suddenly went off in Cillian's mind.

  -That's right! Why didn't I think of this before? Putting rewards aside, what are pyers most hungry for? Lore! I don't have one, but that doesn't mean I can't pretend to have one!

  With that, Cillian made up his mind. His next course of action was clear.