Fated to Die to the Player, I'll Live Freely with My SSS-Class Ship! Chapter 1: Node Awakening

The first thing I noticed when I opened my eyes was the endless expanse of stars.

"This place is..." I blinked and turned my head, scanning the surroundings.

The room was dim and unwelcoming. A thick, eerie silence pressed down on . The faint glow of light from distant stars and glowing gas clouds filtered through the windshield, barely illuminating the space. A few scattered dots of light blinked from nearby machines and monitors, but beyond that, darkness reigned.

Even in the low light, I recognized the place instantly. tal-plated floors. Walls that glead with utility. A large, high-backed seat beneath . This wasn't just any room—it was the bridge of a spaceship.

"Did I log into TSO?" I muttered, frowning.

My mind raced as I tried to make sense of the situation. I distinctly rembered falling asleep in my bed.

But even if that's so, this bridge? This wasn't the one from my ship—Leviathan. The one in my beloved spaceship was far more advanced than this. Judging by the layout, this was a smaller vessel—maybe a battleship-tier at best.

I sighed, slowly exhaling. "Then it's a dream. That explains it."

Dreams always followed strange logic—too much detail in so places, too little in others. But still... Trinity Star Online? Was playing sixteen hours a day not enough that my subconscious decided to drag into the ga while I slept?

"Hello?" I asked, testing the air. "Did my dream include the AI support for this ship? Anyone there?" Without much delay, an answer ca.

[Welco back, Captain Gerard. Percy Version 4.5.101 is at your service. How may I assist you?]

A synthetic female voice echoed through the bridge, confident and clear. I leaned back in the captain's chair, a grin tugging at my lips. "Ah, Percy Version 4.5.101... from the Beta Test phase, right? Takes back..."

But I suddenly paused, a flicker of uncertainty passing through . Gerard? The AI had just called Gerard, right?

That na struck a chord, but I couldn't put a finger on it. Trinity Star Online was massive. I was one of the top ten ranked players in the Open World leaderboard, so rembering every little detail of it was nearly impossible. Still, I couldn't shake the sense that sothing was wrong.

And then, just as my eyes fell on the black-and-silver tallic space suit I was wearing, it hit .

"Wait... Gerard? As in Gerard Astoria?" My stomach dropped. "The petty villain from Chapter 1's Secret Side Story?"

Gerard Astoria—the son and sole heir of a powerful figure in the Astoria Conglorate. In the main story, his na barely appeared. But if you complete the Secret Side Story, you will unlock his prized possession: the Unique SSS-Class Battleship, Range Falcon.

"So... this must be the Range Falcon then?" I muttered, scanning the bridge anew.

The ship's design was subtle and elegant, but clearly less advanced than Leviathan. Still, the familiarity made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

I looked around in wonder. Where is the crew?

Normally, a ship this size requires at least a dozen crew mbers to operate properly. Without them, key systems—like weapons or thrusters—either locked up entirely or shifted to AI control. What an inconvenient dream...

But of course, for soone like , managing a ship solo wouldn't be a problem. But Gerard? Could that numbskull pull it off?

I shook my head. "And why leave Gerard stranded out here, alone, in the middle of nowhere?"

Sighing, I shrugged. "Whatever, it's a dream. No point overthinking it. Percy, switch on the power systems. Prepare the ship for cruising."

If it was a dream, there was no harm in enjoying it while it lasted.

[Command received. Generators starting up. Life Support Systems are back online. Activating Thrusters 1 to 16... Success. Entering Cruising Speed of 500 m/s.]

"Life Support was off?" I muttered as my eyebrows furrowed.

What a weird dream. Had I not turned it on, would I have suffocated from lack of oxygen? Or worse, would the radiation have fried without the ship's shielding? My stomach twisted at the thought. Dying in a dream didn't sound like a good idea.

The Range Falcon drifted through the dark expanse of space. The view wasn't breathtaking—after spending tens of thousands of hours in TSO, this was just another Tuesday for . Still, drifting aimlessly through space felt... wrong.

"Let's head to the closest station and check it out," I muttered, searching for the Star Map. "Percy, show the Star Map for this sector."

[Command received. Displaying current Star Map and present location.]

A holographic screen materialized in front of , glowing faintly in the dim bridge. Dots, lines, and circles filled the map—combined to depict stars, planets, and stations.

But none of the nas matched anything I rembered. To make it worse, the screen flickered oddly for a mont, which definitely shouldn't have happened. "What a buggy dream."

The layout was still familiar, though. Hauntingly close enough. Shrugging, I selected the closest star system.

"Alright. Percy, activate Jump Drives. The target location is the Garreth Sector's Calut Star System... For now."

[Command received. Waypoint set to Calut Star System, Narlia Comrcial Hub. Starting Jump Drives...]

I leaned back in the chair, watching the unchanging view of space as the Jump Drives powered up.

The hum of the engines was nostalgic, soothing—almost hypnotic. This ship wasn't just any ship in TSO. It was the one that had carried through so many battles and victories. It felt like my second ho.

I smirked. "Man, the Range Falcon, huh? I rember unlocking it during the Beta. Three days of grinding for a ship that completely changed the ga. This baby carried through every fleet war, every raid... even that Astoria Orbital Assault on Chapter 9 that everyone said was impossible."

The mories flooded back. The thrill of the battles. The adrenaline of outsmarting opponents. I'd spent so much ti with this ship I almost beca it.

But maybe, just maybe, I'd been playing so much because I missed feeling that alive. After all, real life... nevermind.

Just as the nostalgia was about to swallow , a flicker on the radar snapped back to reality. First the map, now the radar?

"Percy, did you see that? The radar's glitching."

A brief pause spread between us before Percy's voice rang.

[Scanning complete. Sensors detect no anomalies. All systems are normal.]

Sothing felt off, though. The silence within the bridge got thicker, more oppressive. It was as if the space around was holding its breath, waiting for sothing.

I started to let it go, thinking it was just another weird dream bug. But then Percy's voice cut through again.

[Error. Jump Drives failed to start. Troubleshooting... Detected usage of Jump Drive Jamrs in the vicinity.]

A frown creased my forehead. "A Jamr? Out here?"

There were only a few reasons why a Jump Drive Jamr would be active. And the most common one was...

{Hehe! Sorry, buddy. Looks like today's the day your luck ran out!}

The voice was raspy, grating—mocking, and full of glee. It cut through the static like a ragged blade.

{We're the Hamrhead Pirates! Disable your shields and weapons, and maybe, just maybe, we won't leave you behind as space dust!}

For a mont, I was frozen. Surprised. Then a grin spread slowly across my face. The enemy's weapons had already locked onto the ship, their targeting systems lighting up the screen in a cascade of crimson warnings.

A pirate's clichéd threats, the familiar setup—I'd seen this scenario play out a hundred thousand tis! Before I reveled in the excitent, I spoke to the pirates.

"I should probably apologize too," I muttered, my grin sharpening. "You guys picked on the wrong ship."

This dream... just got a whole lot more interesting.