If only I could awaken as a player, my mother, sister, and I wouldn't have to work themselves to death to care for my ailing father.. [You Have Awakened]. Wait, What?! I DID?! HAHAHAHA! AWESOME!
Choi Hyunsung is a 27-year-old man whose father caught the incurable disease "Mana Reflux Syndrome," which exists thanks to the Earth having suffered 19 years of inter-dimensional portals called dungeons opening up all over the globe, and spewing out monsters, with random people on Earth awakening random super-powers. In addition to his family taking out a massive loan, his mother had to take two full-time jobs, his sister had to spend all of her wedding savings, and he had to take up hard construction work, just to try and afford the medical treatments to barely keep his father alive. One night, bemoaning his misfortune, and wishing to awaken as a Player, so he can earn his fortune, his wish is answered, but he quickly learns that the career is not as glamorous as advertised, as he has to deal with less than ethical guilds coming after him, corrupt governments, dangerous monsters, and his own [Unique] ability didn't come with instructions, so he has to learn how it works by trial and error, and even when he does figure it out, he has to worry about his other-world clients playing dirty by abusing the [Complaint] system. Alternate Titles: Seviye Oyuncu ; 1等级玩家 ; 1레벨 플레이어 ; Lv 1プレイヤー
Authors: Song Chi Hyun - Bang Eun Woo - 송치현 - 방은우
Associated Tropes:
- Adam Smith Hates Your Guts: Successful players become wealthy, fast, but the bar for entry is steep. In addition to having to take a 3-week course, equipment is expensive, and the known dungeons have an entrance fee. And if you hit the jackpot, coming back with rare, or better, loot, prepare to get hit with a 42% tax. Alarmingly, reader comments reveal the last is Truth in Television.
- Corrupt Politician: It's a major plot element that the politicians, at best, just do not understand how dangerous the Players have it. The official government guild nearly collapsed in the backstory because politicians ran it and abused the players, resulting in the creation of many guilds without government control or oversight.
- In the most recent arc, starting in chapter 46, Choi Hyungsung risks his life to evacuate civilians and lower-ranked Players from a dimensional breach and is trapped by a powerful monster. The minister Lee Hang-gu, in charge of the operation, immediately files claims against Choi the instant word comes back that the protagonist died in action. These claims are blatantly ridiculous, such as "destruction of rented equipment", "breach of contract", and "illegal gifts", billing Choi's family for every won the guy gave them for living expenses, and evicts them from their home, in order to lay claim to the money himself. When Choi shows up, alive, and asks for an apology, because his direct superior, Captain Shin Yoon-Ah, who recruited him in the first place, went to his family, apologized, and righted the situation, Lee Hang-gu goes apoplectic "for the brat's insolence" and believes he did nothing wrong because he's surrounded by yes-men who tell him he did nothing wrong.
Lee Hang-gu: "This cheeky bastard! He's acting all big and bold just because he got that unique skill? What have I done is what I'm asking! Am I right or wrong?"Yes-man 1: "It looks like he doesn't understand world affairs because he's a young guy."Yes-man 2: "You only performed your duties in accordance with due process, sir. A complaint has to be filed right away." - Hollywood Law: When Choi's family protests the ridiculous charges against him, and their mandated eviction from the family home, the association just responds "there's no legal problem" or "apply for inheritance renunciation" so they went to a lawyer who stated that the only recourse to get out of the debt being foisted on them is to just give up all rights to Choi's inheritance. And when the scandal blows, if the corrupt government officials involved learned Choi's the whistle-blower, they'd have him charged with trespassing and larceny, even though Lee Hang-gu ordered him to his office and the government building for the apology he demanded, but never got, and Choi didn't actually steal anything - the most he did was to record Hang-gu's own venomous and unjust insults.
- In Medias Res: The story begins with Choi Hyungsung and the top Players of the world, working together to face an Imugi, the first Legendary monster. Shortly afterwards, the perspective flips to how Choi was just your ordinary everyman who wanted to become a Player, and follows his journey to become that powerful and famous.
- Lawful Stupid: Choi's [Buy] and [Sell] ability has a feature that borders on Artificial Stupidity. Any client who buys goods can just summarily write a complaint and it automatically flags as "defective" the product attached to the complaint, even if the complaint is "sell more stuff" or "change the price to something I like." At least one other-world buyer abused this feature to control the markets of other-world sellers by just bulk buying and spamming complaints to shut them down for months, until they bowed their head and did things his way.
- Lee Hang-gu files ridiculous claims against what he sees as Choi's corpse and Choi's family, because Choi "destroyed rented equipment" and "breached contract" by dying in the line of duty and then goes on to Kick the Dog by billing Choi's family for the money Choi gave them for living expenses and tried to evict them from their home. He genuinely thinks he did nothing wrong because it was all (supposedly) legal.
- Super Power Lottery: Which Hyungsung lampshades in chapter 1. Becoming a Player and getting super-powers is entirely random. His stats especially are abysmal until he buys some stat boosting potions and earns some titles.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Lee Soohee, the Seowoo Guild employee that first discovered Hyungsung's unusual skills, attempts to recruit him for the guild. This triggers a series of events that almost leads to Seowoo's self-destruction.
