It contains R*pe ab*se, blood, g*re, disturbing characters, etc.
Please take these warnings into account before reading.
Despite these warnings, the book will actually meet your expectations; you’ll understand after reading 2-3 chapters.
———- Welcome to ECHO’s World, Commander.
Isekai reincarnation.
The staple cliché of trendy fantasy games and novels these days.
Pulled in while sleeping.
Pulled in while gaming.
Pulled in after posting a 5,500-character rant against the author.
Or smashed by the infamous reincarnation truck.
Any reader with even a passing interest in fantasy novels-genre fiction—has seen this cliché at least once.
In truth, it was nothing more than a lazy writer’s convenience.
A shortcut to kick off a new story without any pesky setup or logic.
A worn-out trope, repeated ad nauseam across countless works.
But who would’ve thought…
I’d end up as the protagonist in one of those unrealistic tales.
“Welcome to ECHO’s World, Commander!” And of all places…
[ECHO FESTIVAL] At the ECHO Festival, where gamers swarmed with arms full of merch.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The sweltering August heat shimmered off the asphalt in the afternoon haze.
But to the massive crowd packing the convention hall, the heat was no obstacle at all.
What they all had in common?
Each clutched colorful merch in one hand, while their phones displayed tickets held by smiling waifus.
And I was just one face in that massive line.
“4 PM slot.
Entering now.” “Woooh!” “Hurry up!” “Embrace me, Em!” Cheers erupted at the usher’s announcement.
The crowd ahead surged like a wave, sucked into the venue entrance.
I let the flow carry me along.
Glancing at the items in my hands.
‘Got everything from the pop-up store.’ The hefty shopping bag felt oh-so-satisfying.
The official ECHO artbook.
The 3rd anniversary limited edition package.
Three acrylic stands per character, plus the mug set from ECHO’s D-Class squad ‘Infinity.’ And if I snagged the event-exclusive preorder for Isol the Wanderer of the Ashes 1/7 scale figure, I’d have nailed every goal for this festival.
Over half my paycheck gone in a flash—but who cared?
A true Commander who loved and cherished ECHO didn’t skimp on spending.
‘Here we go-Sol-Sol!’ Money could always be earned back.
Missed limited figures?
Gone forever.
“Ticket confirmed.” Passing through the massive gate on the staff’s guidance, the outside noise and heat vanished like a lie.
The world had changed.
Buildings from the game.
Familiar BGM filling the s space.
And here and there, eerily familiar ECHO silhouettes.
The world of ECHO: Humanity’s Echo had unfolded into reality.
“Whoa, damn…” An awe-struck sigh escaped me.
‘The guys back home should’ve seen this.’ They loved ECHO too, but no way were they trekking to Seoul in this heat?
What a bunch of clowns.
But sentiment could wait.
First things first: preorder that Isol figure.
One corner already had a despairingly long line of folks with the same idea-limited merch and figures.
“Thank you, Commander.” After an eternity, I finally clutched my preorder slip and took in the surroundings.
“They nailed it.
Aram must’ve poured his soul into this.” “It’s the 3rd anniversary.
Yun Min-seok said he’d go all out.” Just like the ECHO fans’ hype, this 3rd anniversary festival felt like stepping into ECHO’s world -crafted with insane detail.
◇◇◇◆◊◊◊ [Team Geist] [Black River] [Infinity] Under familiar ECHO team banners, cosplayers dressed as ECHO units waved to fans.
E.C.H.O.
(Existential Contingency Humanoid Operative) Existential Contingency Humanoid Operative-ECHO.
ECHO’s lore was your standard dystopia: Earth ravaged by undead like zombies, mechanical monstrosities, and alien hordes.
With 99% of humanity wiped out, soldiers and ECHO units waged a desperate war to reclaim the planet.
I strolled the hall, replaying the story I knew by heart.
On impulse, I even bought the ‘Nameless Commander’s Relic’ compass.
A playable item in-game that linked to the cash shop when opened—beloved and hated as the ‘Money Compass’ among players.
About an hour of festival fun later…
Heading for the exit, I spotted my favorite character, Isol, standing alone in a deserted corner.
‘What the-?’ Unlike the mobbed booths of popular ECHO units, this one was strangely empty.
A stroke of luck-perfect timing.
I hurried over, voice trembling.
“C-Can I get a photo?” “Of course, Commander.
I’ll take it for you.” Setting down my bags carefully at her okay, I noticed her gaze land on my new Money Compass.
“Oh!
You got ‘that person’s’ relic?
The brave Commander who sacrificed himself to save humanity during the Great Cataclysm.” I knew it well.
From the game prologue to Chapter 50, which I’d cleared.
Couldn’t even count how many Commanders had died.
Lore-wise, about 87% got shredded?
At that rate, total annihilation wouldn’t be surprising.
But with humanity’s fate on the line, the ark carriers churned out Commanders, sending them planetside with ECHO squads.
Survival rate on ground ops?
Lore said 11%.
For Commanders—not even the combat ECHO units.
What a hopeless, crap story.
But the ECHO girls were cute, so whatever.
Commander peril?
Not my problem.
We snapped the pic.
She handed back my phone.
“You’ll treasure it, right?” “Of course.” A photo with my fave?
Straight to the cloud, printed, framed on my desk.
Satisfied with my answer, the Isol cosplayer smiled faintly.
“And you’ll fight for Earth-for us ECHO units—won’t you, Commander?” “Naturally.” “For real?” “Yeah.
I’m grinding hard.” My Commander level?
Maxed at 500.
Main ECHO squad fully upgraded and maxed—a solid veteran.
“Really, truly?” That instant.
The head of the Wanderer of the Ashes Isol cosplayer erupted in flames.
“?” Her hair blazing wildly.
Iconic to Isol’s design-but that was in-game effects.
‘It’s actually on fire?’ Something felt off.
I stared blankly as the Money Compass in my hand spun like a top.
Then the Isol cosplayer locked eyes with me.
✪ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ✪ “Welcome to ECHO’s World, Commander!
We’ve been waiting so long!!!” Something was wrong.
Her eyes weren’t right.
“Urk!” I tried to bolt, but a vicious dizziness crashed over me.
The festival clamor faded.
My vision churned like ink-black blood.
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ✪ “Welcome to ECHO’s World, Commander!
We’ve been waiting SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ✪ “Welcome to ECHO’s World, Commander!
We’ve so long!!!” been waiting so long!!!” Her voice echoed in my ears, pounding my skull.
My body felt like it was disintegrating and reassembling at the atomic level.
Her voice hammered my brain relentlessly.
When the head-splitting echoes finally stopped…
No crisp festival AC.
Instead, the stench of blood and burning assaulted my nose.
“C-Commander…
Z Virus infection confirmed.
I-Initiating t-treatment p-protocol…” And what met my eyes…
” ???” A pale-faced beauty crawling toward me, revving a medical buzzsaw with a guttural roar.
This was some next-level horror flick.
“???” The buzzsaw was bad enough…
But the girl wielding it had one arm blown clean off.
“N-No…
w-wait, wait, wait!” Her lower body half-gone, sparking and fizzing.
An ECHO.
A mass-produced one.
“I-It’s fine, Commander.
The op failed, but rescue’s en route.
If we just excise the Z Virus, y-you can survive.” Z Virus?
That zombie plague from ECHO lore?
95-5% fatality on bite?
100% for males?
Sudden pain flared in my forearm.
I turned to look.
…Fuck?
A fresh, dark bite mark scarred my arm.
Necrosis is already setting in—skin turning black.
“S-Sorry, Commander.
No spare systems for anesthesia right now.
It’ll hurt, but…” BZZZZZZ!
The saw blade screamed toward my arm.
“F-Fucking insane!
Wait!
Hold on!” “If we don’t amputate, infection hits the brain-it’s just a matter of time.
So…” The woman-no, mechanical monstrosity-spoke in a weary, tear-choked voice.
“You have to survive, Commander.” Fuck…
shit…
———- You can visit my website to see character illustrations and read the next chapters.
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