'My obsession with webnovels is probably the root of all my problems.'
Lee Parker stared blankly at the absurd situation he had thrown himself into, wondering if this was the point in his life where he should begin reevaluating his life choices.
It all started after that one big announcement.
At this point in time, Heavenly Hero was, without a doubt, the biggest thing in the world—at least for those who religiously consumed light novels.
It wasn't just a hit. It was the hit.
The kind of story that got fan translations within hours of release, the kind that trended on forums, had its own dedicated wikis, fan fics, and inspired heated debates over which of the Heroines was the 'best girl.'
(And while Seo-joon maintained there was no wrong answer, the correct one—or so he insisted—was Astensia.)
The story itself revolved around Cinriten, a fantastical realm wrought from the hands of gods who had long abandoned it. A catastrophic future event known as the Rupturing Abyss was fast approaching.
And of course, only one figure could hope to stop it.
The protagonist.
His name was Asleroc Leogardt, the Heavenly Hero.
Ordained by fate, blessed with overwhelming abilities, and burdened with a destiny only he could fulfill, Asleroc traveled across Cinriten, gathering Heroines: legendary women fated to defend the realm and fight by his side.
These Heroines were not just basic allies. They were his soulbound companions, meant to stand beside him in battle… and, well, develop deep romantic relationships with him along the way.
In plain terms: a harem.
To be straightforward, Lee was not the type of reader who turned their noses up at harem stories.
He understood why a lot of readers rejected the trope. To be fair, harems were so absurdly unrealistic that they made suspension of disbelief a goddamn acrobatic stunt.
That said… Lee had long since learned to embrace them.
Not because of the fanservice or the "lemons." Definitely not. Though he wasn't above acknowledging their existence.
Mostly it was because of the twisted creativity it took for authors to repackage the ridiculous "Every woman loves the MC unconditionally" trope into something semi-believable.
Or at least entertaining.
Watching how each Heroine's personality clashed or meshed with the MC's, given the setting, was half the fun.
And yeah… fine. Also for the lemons.
What could he say? Lee was a man of culture.
In any case, when Heavenly Hero was announced to be getting a game adaptation,the fandom collectively lost its mind.
No one had expected that to happen. An Heavenly Hero game?
And not even a console or PC game. A mobile game.
Discord servers went crazy. Reddit accounts argued constantly. The official wiki page was visited more than a million times a day.
This excessive buzz wasn't just because of the adaptation, it was how it was being adapted.
Usually, a popular light novel would get a webtoon adaptation first, then, if the gods were feeling generous, an anime.
A game came last, if ever. Yet here was Heavenly Hero, bypassing all the usual steps and heading straight for the App Market.
Some people were skeptical. Others were hyped beyond reason. Lee? He was definitely among those hyped beyond reason.
His favorite light novel was getting a mobile game adaptation!
So when launch day came, he, like every other dedicated fan, immediately rushed to download it.
And that was when everything went to hell.
Within seconds of launch, the game was suddenly unavailable.
No one could download it.
Confusion spread. Everyone frantically refreshed the app page, hoping it would show them the download button, but the only thing showing up was a blood-red warning on the page:
"This game is no longer available."
What?! No longer available?
The game had literally just launched. How? Why? What happened?!
Theories exploded across social media:
"They must've found a game-breaking bug!"
"Maybe there was a licensing issue?"
"Bruh, it's a scam. They took our hype and ran."
"Okay, moron. What are they going to do with our hype? Sell it?!"
"Y'all don't get it. The government shut it down. The game was too based."
"They couldn't handle Asleroc Leogardt's aura!"
"LMAOOO!!"
"No no, the devs messed up and put the harem scenes on full display. Censorship came for them."
"I don't believe that. Send proof while I go get my lotion."
However, they all generally seemed to believe that it was a minor, temporary thing and the game would be available soon.
They were all wrong.
Soon, the update pages were gone. The official website was deleted, and every single information about the game was erased from existence.
It was as though the game had never even been real.
"More proof that we're living in a simulation!" someone posted. "Heavenly Hero Mobile must have been a universal glitch!"
More social media posts and videos circulated. Conspiracy theories bred like weeds.
It was all gone. There was literally no proof that the game ever existed.
Except... for one.
In the App Market, under the now unavailable game, there was still a download counter.
It showed: 1 download.
Just one.
Someone had managed to install the game before it disappeared from the world.
Who was this legendary being?
What kind of god-tier WiFi did they have?
And most importantly… could they play it?
The answer?
Yes.
Because that lone download belonged to Lee Parker.
☆ ☆ ☆
At first, he didn't think much of it. He had been lucky, that was all.
While the internet was in a frenzy, Lee simply sat in his room staring at the game's icon waiting on his phone screen.
And after some hesitation, he decided, screw it. He was going to play it. It was a single player, right? So he didn't need people to be online to play.
He tapped the icon.
With anticipation, he watched as the game booted up. A soft climatic music played and then the logo of the franchise appeared on his screen:
HEAVENLY HERO MOBILE.
A simple prompt appeared over it:
"Please log in with your Google account."
Nothing unusual about that. He entered his details. The next pop-up, however, was the odd one.
「 Congratulations on Winning the Competition! 」
"Eh?" he frowned. "Competition? What competition?"
Before he could even process it, his location appeared on the screen. Lee's eyes widened. "Is that my fucking house?!"
Then a voice, serene and otherworldly, said:
「 Target found. Beginning transmigration.」
His phone suddenly began to light up, and it became so hot on his palm that he tossed it onto his bed, wincing in pain.
"What the hell is happening?"
Promptly, an energy blast shot down from the ceiling above, wrapping around him like a lasso of pure light.
Lee didn't even have the chance to react, or to scream.
He was instantly sucked into the phone by the energy, and after the sensation of speeding through time and space, he suddenly couldn't feel anything anymore.
But then he felt air.
Cold, chilling air like he was inside a freezer.
Lee looked left and looked right. He was trapped in a cramped, suffocating enclosure. No natural air. No light.
Just pitch-black walls pressing in.
A knot of dread twisted in his stomach.
'My obsession with webnovels is probably the root of all my problems.'
That was the only coherent thought racing through his head. Where in hell was he?
How did he get here?
Had he died? Was this his coffin and had he somehow resurrected inside of it?!
The thought of that terrified him, and just as he was about to panic, SLINNKKK— CRASH!
Something sliced through the roof of his prison, causing shards of crystal-like debris to fall on his face.
Lee squinted up. It was a massive, gleaming blade— a fantasy axe? He couldn't tell exactly in the tight darkness.
The weapon stopped just inches from his face before pulling away. Then, the ceiling of the structure completely shattered into glowing, magical shards.
A brilliant light poured inside. Lee raised an arm to shield his eyes.
He felt two silhouettes block the blinding light, allowing his eyes to adjust. So, he dropped his hand and looked.
Lee almost gasped.
Standing before him were two immensely beautiful women, dressed in scanty fantasy warrior gear, appearing as if they had walked straight out of a character illustration page.
The one with golden blonde hair, wielding a massive sword, extended her hand towards him. Her eyes shimmered with admiration, relief, and unmistakable devotion.
Then, with a voice filled with emotion, she spoke:
"Heavenly Hero… we have found you at last!"
Lee's mind went blank.
HUH?!