SSEI | Chapter 1.5

Wrapped snugly in a warm blanket and lying on a plush sofa, Yuan momentarily thought he had arrived in heaven the moment he opened his eyes.

‘Wait, this is weird. I… Didn’t I die?’

Maybe, just maybe, his past self—whom he couldn’t remember—hadn’t been such a bad person after all? That would explain why he’d ended up in heaven. As ridiculous thoughts drifted hazily through his head, he nearly found himself agreeing with them. But then, the murmuring voices near his bedside snapped him back to reality.

“So, kid? You’re telling me this little guy turned that Red One into a eunuch?”

“Who else could it be? I asked around, and no one else fits the bill. Process of elimination, and all that. It has to be him.”

“What kind of guts does he have to pull something like that on that crazy bastard…? I mean, yeah, I won’t lie—it’s satisfying as hell. But man, this kid’s future is looking rough. Also, what the hell is up with his looks? His clothes, his hair—everything’s way too white. Except for his cheeks, he looks completely pale, almost inhuman.”

Getting caught awake would only drag him into unwanted attention. Yuan figured it was best to keep pretending to sleep until they lost interest and left.

But still—a eunuch, huh? It seemed that reckless revenge of his had actually worked.

At first, Yuan felt an odd sense of pride that his final act had been a success. But it didn’t take long for that pride to twist into confusion.

‘Wait a second… That means… I’m still alive?!’

This wasn’t heaven, nor was it the afterlife. If this was just a continuation of the insane reality he had been living in… The moment that thought hit him, Yuan snapped to full alertness.

He didn’t bolt upright, though. Not yet. Instead, he barely cracked open his eyes, just enough to scan his surroundings without being noticed by the ones gossiping about him.

The room he was in resembled the cozy living area of a spacious wooden cabin. A somewhat dusty but thick brown rug covered the floor, and lifting his gaze slightly, he spotted a fireplace where red embers glowed warmly.

The wooden wall beside the fireplace had several yellowed pieces of paper tacked onto it. There was writing on them, but the dim lighting made it hard to read.

Where was this place? Who had brought him here?

Yuan was still at a loss, trying to piece together clues when—

Creak.

The sound of a door swinging open echoed from a distance. And then—

“Yuan! Yuan! There you are!”

There was no way he could mistake that voice.

Startled, Yuan shot up from the sofa and turned toward the rough wooden doorway. He saw someone dashing toward him in a hurry.

Lork.

But something was different.

The boy standing before him wasn’t the same Lork Yuan remembered. For one, Lork had legs.

To describe it more accurately—he had arms, legs, and a body, all intact. Unlike the strange octopus-like form Yuan had first seen him in, this Lork had all his limbs, as if he’d never been injured or lost them in the first place.

“Lork? Y-You… Are you okay?”

“That’s what I should be asking! I heard you went and did something crazy after I died? I mean, yeah, it’s on me for not explaining things properly in all that chaos, but—did you seriously do that? Really?”

Yuan didn’t need any further explanation to understand what Lork meant by “something crazy.” How could he not, when everyone around him had been talking about it nonstop?

Suddenly curious, he glanced around the room. The people who had been gossiping nearby had all quietly slipped away the moment Lork entered.

That was unexpected. He had braced himself for more annoyance, but they had just… left? Maybe they were afraid of Lork?

Well, whatever the reason, that wasn’t his main concern. There was something far more important that Yuan needed to ask. Because clearly, this boy had left out a very crucial piece of information.

“Before we get to that, Lork—why… why are we alive?”

“Oh. Right. I forgot to explain that. Uh, sorry about that. Everything happened so fast—first round, my head got sliced in half, and things got messy. I figured explaining how to survive was more important at the time, so I kind of… skipped over the biggest part.”

“No, I get it. No need to apologize. But, um… we did die, right?”

Lork’s head had been split in two. Yuan’s had been completely severed, rolling across the ground. The methods had been different, but both of them had met an undeniable, irreversible death.

And yet, here they were, perfectly fine. Not only that, but the tentacle that had once been attached to Yuan’s right arm was completely gone—like everything that had happened in the wasteland and the forest had been nothing more than a dream.

What Yuan needed to know was: How was any of this possible?

Lork must have felt the weight of Yuan’s stare because he let out an awkward laugh, shrugging sheepishly.

“Yeah, we died. But we got revived.”

“…How? How is that even possible?”

“Like I briefly mentioned before, this is a survival game. Didn’t you see the score log when you died? If you had, this would be a lot easier to explain.”

Yuan blinked. Now that Lork mentioned it… He vaguely recalled seeing some text flash across his vision in his final moments. Something about points and ranks? It had been a blur, but now that Lork brought it up, it started making a little more sense.

“The things that happen in there aren’t real. If you need a way to think about it, just treat it like a game. And if that’s too hard to grasp, imagine it’s like a dream.”

“Sorry for telling you so late.” Lork added with an awkward smile.

Yeah… that was definitely something he should have mentioned way earlier.

—

Everything was finally starting to make sense.

Lork had accepted death so naturally. That man had killed people yet remained unnervingly calm, almost indifferent about it.

If this really was just a “game,” then killing someone might not be as heavy as Yuan had initially thought. Maybe it wasn’t even considered a crime, just an action necessary to move forward.

Now he understood what that man had meant when he said, “It’s fine here.”

Even when he killed Yuan, telling him to “cool his head,” maybe he had simply meant for Yuan to take a break, return to the Sanctuary, and process the situation.

…Not that I actually wanted to die.

That man may not have been a mindless murderer, but that didn’t mean he was a good person either. There was still something unsettling about him.

With that lingering discomfort, Yuan gave a small nod.

“So… it’s like a dream. Then, does that mean we’ve woken up and returned to the real world?”

“Mm, not exactly. We lost the last round, right? You only get to go back if you win.”

“…What?” Yuan blinked. “Then we’re still inside the survival game?”

“Pretty much. But don’t worry—right now, we’re safe. That last match is over, and this place is the Sanctuary—basically a waiting room. We stay here until the next round begins, recovering and resting in the meantime.”

The next round?

So dying didn’t mean the game was over?

While Yuan was still struggling to wrap his head around it, Lork walked over to the fireplace and pulled one of the many papers pinned to the wall. He handed it over, and Yuan read through the contents.

Rules for a Peaceful Rest – To All Wanderers

1. No fighting inside!
Violence is strictly forbidden here. If you injure someone within the Sanctuary, you will lose a significant amount of points. If your points go into the negative, you will receive penalties in the next round.

2. If you’re hurt, see a doctor!
Any injuries you sustain here will carry over into the next match. However, there is a doctor somewhere in the Sanctuary who will heal you for free! Take advantage of it!

3. Use your break wisely!
Rest time is shorter than you think. When the clock on the wall strikes noon, the next game will begin. Make sure to eat, shower, and do whatever you need to before then.

4. Get along with others!
Until you win this game, you will be sharing the Sanctuary with all the other Wanderers. Conflicts are inevitable, but we encourage you to resolve them peacefully. Unlike outside, killing someone here won’t make them go away! Remember, making enemies in a world where everyone revives indefinitely is not a good idea!

Compared to everything Yuan had been through so far, these rules felt almost absurdly casual. But as he reached the end of the list, he realized something crucial.

“…Until we win the survival game and return to our original world, we’ll keep reviving here—over and over again?”

“You catch on quick.” Lork nodded. “Yeah. Death here isn’t the end. We keep fighting, never aging, never truly dying… until we make it back.”

Lork extended a hand toward him. Yuan hesitated before grasping it, using the boy’s support to push himself up from the chair.

Eternal youth and immortality—things that most people would dream of.

Yet, right now, the idea of it felt nothing short of terrifying.

***

Lork offered to show Yuan around the Sanctuary, leading him through its many halls and rooms. At first glance, the place had seemed like a small wooden lodge or an isolated mountain cabin. But once they started walking around, Yuan quickly realized just how vast it actually was. The Sanctuary was much larger than he had expected, filled with countless corridors and rooms.

Seeing Yuan’s impressed expression, Lork grinned.

“Well, yeah. It has to be big—it houses 50 people. There are at least ten lounges like the one you woke up in. If you spend some points, you can even wake up in a private room.”

“50 people… So all of them participate in the game?”

“Yep. Like the rules said, the official term for us is ‘Wanderers.’ Each round has exactly 50 Wanderers.”

Yuan recalled the ranking screen he had seen just before his death. There had been numbers listed—so did that mean he had ranked 46th out of 50? That… wasn’t great.

Actually, that’s pretty terrible.

If Lork hadn’t helped him, he might have ended up dead last.

As they walked, Yuan tried to organize his thoughts.

To sum things up:

Everyone in this game—these “Wanderers”—kept repeating the same cycle until they won and escaped back to their original world.

If they died, they would wake up here in the Sanctuary, rest for a while, and then get thrown back into the game when the time came.

That seemed to be the core rule of this world.

How such a thing was even possible was beyond Yuan’s comprehension, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was that this was his reality now.

Lork pointed up at a large clock mounted on the wall.

“You’ll see these clocks all over the place. Right now, it’s 10 AM. The next round starts at exactly noon, so always keep an eye on the time.”

“…That’s not a lot of time, is it?”

“Two hours is enough to check out the important spots. See that dark brown door over there? That’s the cafeteria. You can get as much food as you want in there. It literally makes whatever you ask for, and it’s all delicious. Honestly, not eating here is a waste. But if you eat too much, it’ll weigh you down later, so be careful. Wanna grab something now?”

“Uh… No, I’m fine.”

“Alright. We can come back later, then.”

Lork kept walking, pointing out various rooms.