Chapter 2

I was just as startled as the other person. There were two reasons for that.

The first reason was Mo Haein.

Mo Haein was one of the main characters who appeared in the Archive World, the universe that connected all of the developer’s games.

Archive was a story that began when, one day, a catastrophe suddenly descended upon Earth.

At 00:00 on February 29, Korea Standard Time (KST), a meteor shower fell across the entire world.

It was a meteor shower that had not been predicted by any astronomical observation.

The sudden meteor shower looked like a festival of lights. Humanity admired the beautiful spectacle, but—

It was a catastrophe from outer space.

The catastrophes that fell upon Earth hatched in random forms and orders, creating spaces from another dimension.

Those spaces, similar to fantasy worlds, were governed by rules resembling those of a video game.

The structure consisted of gathering items, completing quests, and clearing them as if it were a game.

If they were not completed within a certain amount of time, the catastrophe would explode and transform the entire surrounding area into something of the same nature as itself.

In other words, it spread an infectious virus capable of mutating both inanimate objects and living beings.

It was a catastrophe in the most literal sense of the word, something impossible to explain with modern science.

Humanity regarded those catastrophes that came from outer space as a divine trial and called them “Trials.”

With the emergence of the Trials, some humans also awakened special talents.

Individuals capable of seeing the system windows appeared.

They were called “Compatibles,” and they could overcome the Trials through the System.

The player awakened as a Compatible within the Archive World and entered various Trials.

The premise was that every time he entered a different Trial, he would play a video game from a different genre.

Mo Haein was a soldier of the Trial Response Agency, an external agency under South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense.

Captain Mo Haein, an elite member of the Trial Response Agency, would appear to help the player within the Trials or show up in the endings to speak with him.

It was impossible not to be surprised when I saw a character who until now had only existed as sprites moving and breathing right in front of me.

And the second reason was the system window.

‘Mo Haein’ is a registrable character. Would you like to register her?

Looking at that system window emitting a faint glow, I remembered the last thing I had seen before losing consciousness.

[You are the system of the planet ‘Earth’.]

A message that only Compatibles in Archive could see.

The thing that guided quests within the Trials and provided all kinds of notifications, collectively known as the System.

I was that System…?

Not even after playing countless games in the Archive universe had I ever experienced anything like this.

I understood absolutely nothing, but there was one fairly plausible possibility.

Maybe I had entered the game.

In other words, one of those typical video game reincarnations that were so common in otaku culture.

The situation was so absurd that the headache I had barely managed to calm came back in full force.

For now, I decided to ignore that suspicious registration window. I couldn’t register something without even knowing what it was.

After ignoring it several times, the window disappeared on its own.

I thought it was finally gone, but suddenly a new one appeared.

‘Han Goyo (Gunbam)’ has entered Happy Smile Factory!

◆ Happy Smile Factory Main Mission: Complete the factory of killer toys by obtaining the True Ending.

You have entered your first Trial as a System.

You must demonstrate the capabilities of a System by obtaining the True Ending.

If you complete the mission, you will survive!

The consequences of failure are unknown.

However, you have a feeling that something very bad happens to those who fail.

…What kind of madness is this?

After reading the system window, I did my best to control my expression.

While trying not to show any strange reaction, I heard a conversation.

“Lieutenant Park, there wasn’t any request to enter HasFac, right?”

“Absolutely none. I checked several times.”

“Then he really must be a civilian.”

Clack, clack.

Moving her claw-like hand, Mo Haein observed me.

On her left arm she had a toy arm made of plastic.

It was a mechanical arm with a claw similar to those from claw machines, an item that could be obtained in Happy Smile Factory.

And it was also what had just strangled me.

Both the system window and that toy arm were far beyond any level of special effects that could possibly exist.

While I grew dizzy thinking that I was truly inside a game, Mo Haein looked me up and down.

“How strange.”

When she tilted her head to one side, her short hair swayed slightly.

I knew why she was looking at me suspiciously.

It was extremely unusual for a civilian to become involved in a Trial that was regularly monitored.

There were mercenaries hired to clear Trials and smugglers who entered illegally to obtain valuable items, but it was very uncommon for someone to appear alone like this.

Trials were, quite literally, trials.

You had to risk your life, so entering in groups of at least two was the norm to ensure mutual support.

And since smugglers usually had equipment inferior to that of the government or private corporations, they normally compensated for that disadvantage by entering in groups of more than ten people.

Of course, when I played, I always entered alone.

In any case, it seemed obvious that if I stayed silent, they wouldn’t treat me particularly well.

So I put on a frightened expression.

“Excuse me… Where are we…?”

Since I was genuinely confused by the entire situation, I didn’t even have to try very hard to make it convincing.

Mo Haein, who seemed to be evaluating me as though she had placed me on a scale, raised an eyebrow.

Then she gave me an answer that would have made any civilian who truly knew nothing faint.

“In a toy factory where completely insane killer toys wander around.”

At that blunt answer, I sharply inhaled.

The man beside her let out a laugh.

“It’s true that there are killers here, but relax. We’ll get you out safely.”

As he said that, he showed a military identification card.

“Trial Response Agency…?”

“It falls under the Ministry of National Defense. It was created recently, so you probably don’t know about it.”

In any case, when civilians left a Trial, their memories were erased, so they could say whatever they wanted without worrying.

I nodded while looking at both of their uniforms.

Employee: Arena

Employee: Sample

Mo Haein was wearing an orange uniform with a badge that read “Arena,” while the man wore a yellow one with a badge that read “Sample.”

However, Mo Haein’s badge was a little different.

The smile on the Happy Smile symbol was not smiling.

The straight mouth instead of a curved one looked completely inappropriate for Happy Smile Factory.

The smile on the badge was a kind of life counter.

In Happy Smile Factory, or HasFac for short, three chances were granted, and the expression of the smile changed every time a fatal mistake was made.

From Happy Smile, it changed to a neutral expression.

And then to Sad Smile, with the corners of its mouth turned downward.

The Sad Smile state was the last chance.

If you made a mistake after that, it was an immediate Game Over.

I couldn’t believe that a character like Mo Haein had already lost a life so early.

“What was that loud noise I heard a moment ago?”

I asked in a low voice, as if feeling out the situation.

Honestly, I wanted to ask what the hell they had done, but unfortunately I didn’t get an answer.

“That isn’t a civilian’s concern.”

Mo Haein coldly cut me off and pulled something out of her inventory before tossing it to me.

I caught it by reflex.

It was a toy arm exactly like the one she had equipped.

Cherry Picker: You can use the power of Happy Smile! Let’s spend happy moments together!

“Put it on.”

At Mo Haein’s words, the man’s face twisted slightly with annoyance. He didn’t seem to like a valuable item being given to a civilian who knew nothing.

I didn’t care.

“It’s okay.”

I was planning to refuse the item anyway.

“Since I don’t know anything about this, wouldn’t it be better if the experts used it? Besides, it kind of scares me.”

I even raised my fist to show enthusiasm while saying that the flashlight hanging from my waist seemed sufficient and that I would simply follow behind them.

Hearing me, the man seemed satisfied, while Mo Haein narrowed her eyes as if she were looking at some strange person.

The reason I refused the item was the True Ending.

HasFac had multiple endings, and the conditions for obtaining the True Ending were especially demanding.

‘First of all, I must not equip any of the toy limbs obtained within the game.’

As the story progressed, NPCs gave the player toy limbs one by one.

Since they appeared to be indispensable items for progression, players naturally ended up equipping them.

They were extremely useful items, but if you gave in to greed and replaced all your arms and legs with toy versions, you immediately obtained a Bad Ending.

It was an ending where you became a toy employee of HasFac and worked in the factory forever.

Mo Haein surely knew something that basic.

However, seeing her using a toy arm, it seemed that she was unaware of the existence of the True Ending.

For now, I planned to follow Mo Haein and the man while fulfilling the conditions necessary to obtain the True Ending.

And it wasn’t only because of the strange threats in the system window.

‘If I can only see one ending, then it has to be the True Ending.’

Because I was a firm supporter of happy endings.

In most games, the True Ending was also the Happy Ending.

Even when I played Archive games, after seeing every ending, I always finished by obtaining the True Ending to conclude the story.

I could only feel satisfied when I saw the characters happy in the end.

‘Although I’m also curious about that man.’

I had a pretty good memory.

Since I loved Archive, I usually remembered even the smallest details, but this was the first time I had seen a man with the nickname Sample.

I had never seen him either inside the Trials or in the extra scenes that came after the endings.

It wasn’t all that strange, though.

Dying during a Trial, becoming trapped forever, or surviving only to end up isolated because of a viral infection were fairly common occurrences.

Most likely, Sample was a character who had disappeared from the world of Archive before I ever had the chance to meet him.

Mo Haein stared at me while speaking.

“Lieutenant Park, you put it on.”

“Yes!”

The man immediately took the toy arm and equipped it on his right arm.

As soon as he brought the item close to his arm, the human arm disappeared and was replaced by the toy arm.

Proudly moving the claw with a clack-clack sound, he smiled in satisfaction.

“If you want to live, just follow me.”

Mo Haein clicked her tongue without saying anything else and started walking ahead.

I moved alongside the man as we followed Mo Haein.

At the same time, I discreetly shifted my eyes to the side.

There was a Smiley embedded in the wall.

Smiley, with his smiling face, was the main toy of Happy Smile Factory.

The colorful plastic figure had the same claw arm as the items received by players.

Upon entering the factory, the first NPC you encountered was Smiley.

Unlike the mass-produced models, which were barely fifteen centimeters tall, NPC Smiley stood one meter tall.

Practically the size of a small child.

Later on, it was possible to fight Smiley, but at this stage you only exchanged a few lines of dialogue and received the toy arm item.

I didn’t understand why someone had gone so far as to attack him and lose a life because of it.

Judging by Mo Haein’s expression, which didn’t seem particularly pleased, I suspected the man had made some sort of mistake.

With his head embedded in the wall, Smiley’s toy arms and legs hung limply.

Broken mechanical noises came from his body.

“Sm-Smiley-we-welcomes-everyone-to-Ha-Happy-Smile-Factory-let’s-all-be-happy-happy-….”

It was not a pleasant sight to look at.

He was an NPC I had grown somewhat attached to while playing, so seeing him half-destroyed in person made me quite uncomfortable.

It felt as though Smiley was going to appear in my dreams tonight.

Unlike me, Mo Haein and the man didn’t seem to care.

The man spoke to me with a friendly smile.

“We should introduce ourselves! Park Seonggyeon. You can call me Lieutenant Park.”

“I’m Han Goyo.”

“The person over there is Captain Mo Haein….”

“Lieutenant Park. Did you come here on a field trip?”

“Sorry.”

Park Seonggyeon quickly apologized and closed his mouth, though he rolled his eyes in dissatisfaction.

Seeing that, I more or less understood why he was a character I didn’t know.

He had probably made some mistake during a Trial and died.

And with bad luck, it was even possible that the day he would make that mistake was today.

While Park Seonggyeon walked with a hardened expression, I crouched down, pretending to tie my shoelaces.

Taking advantage of the moment, I gathered a handful of candies that were scattered around the area.

They were candies whose wrappers had a hexagonal nut drawn on them.

Nut Candy: Crick-crick, repairing toys….

Nut Candy was a recovery item that could easily be found throughout HasFac.

It was supposed to taste like nuts when eaten, although unfortunately I had never been able to try it myself.

Because it could only be used when you had a toy limb equipped.

I walked past Smiley and discreetly dropped one of the candies onto his claw-shaped hand.