1.
First meeting
2.
Suspicious Child
3.
The word friend
4.
A wonderful moment to be alive
5.
Misfortune pouring down
6.
Rainbow at the end of the rainy season
7.
A place where it doesn't rain
8.
Wonji's confession
9.
Secrets revealed
10.
A man living for today, a child living for today
11.
godsend
12.
A real day
13.
fight
14.
Shalom
15.
Real living thing
16.
People who moved to Fantasia
17.
A plan to shake the world
18.
Operation 'Doomsday'
19.
One day ahead
20.
Adieu, Fantasia
21.
Eternal Light

Author's Note

★ Grand Prize Winner of the 25th Changbi 'Good Children's Book' Manuscript Contest (Upper Grades) ★

The 25th Changbi 'Good Children's Book' manuscript contest, which has discovered many great original fairy tales and popular works such as 'The Children of the Magpie', 'Symbol No. 3 Anseokbong', and 'Cat Problem Solver Kkamnyang', has published the grand prize winner in the upper grades creative writing category, 'The Last Level Up'.
Set in the near future, it tells the story of Seonwoo, a loner both at school and at home, who meets his friend Wonji in the virtual reality game 'Fantasia' and grows together with her.
While the game world is magnificently depicted, the adventures and love of the two characters are expressed in exquisite detail.
A solid narrative and weighty thematic awareness unfold in a moving way, prompting us to revisit the meaning of timeless values ​​such as freedom, truth, happiness, and love.

"The Last Level Up" is a fast-paced read that keeps you engaged until the very end.
The romance and mystery centered around two main characters raises weighty questions about what is real and what is fake.
There have been stories based on games in the past, but few have depicted the game world in such a philosophical and intuitive way.
_Judges' Comments (Kim Nam-joong, Park Sook-kyung, Jin Hyeong-min)

A fantastic world you've never seen before unfolds before your eyes!
- Freedom and happiness enjoyed in virtual reality

Seonwoo is a child living in Korea in the near future.
When it rains, he protects himself with an 'air umbrella' and uses a 'holographic tablet' at school, but he suffers from bullying and pressure to get good grades.
For Seonwoo, the only enjoyable time of the day is when he is logged into the virtual reality game 'Fantasia' for just one hour each day.
By entering a virtual reality (VR) game room, paying money, and being assigned a game capsule, you can enter Fantasia, a world where “even a thirteen-year-old can become a muscular, cool warrior, and ride a dragon to enjoy the desert, grassland, jungle, and sea.”
Then one day, while Seon-woo was playing a game alone as usual, he became friends with a player named Won-ji, who saved him in a moment of crisis.
Seonwoo explores Fantasia with Wonji, who has strange abilities that ordinary players do not have, and experiences greater happiness and freedom, and gradually feels a thrill towards Wonji.
But as Seonwoo's heart grows, his doubts about Wonji's existence also deepen.
To make matters worse, the pressure from school and home becomes so heavy that you want to run away from reality forever.

Seonwoo felt the urge to tell everything honestly.
He said that he was actually just a worthless and insignificant child.
He's a loner at school, he's always getting ripped off, and his mom and dad don't know him well.
I'm always lonely and miserable at school and at home, but at Fantasia, I'm so happy because I'm with you...
(Page 43)

Author Young-joo Yoon, who won the grand prize in the creative writing category (upper grades) at the 25th Changbi 'Good Children's Book' manuscript contest with 'Last Level Up', meets readers for the first time. Living up to the judges' comment that "there have been stories based on games, but it is rare to find a work that has so philosophically and intuitively realized the world of a game," she depicts the virtual reality game world of Fantasia in a surprisingly fantastical way.
The adventures of the protagonists, who fight various monsters while riding on the backs of dragons and unicorns in the vast nature, combined with the illustrations of webtoon artist Ahn Seong-ho, will provide readers with a thrilling shock and pleasure.

What is freedom? What is happiness? What is real and what is fake?
- A fairy tale that asks philosophical questions about reality through games.

Seonwoo can only meet the one person he can call a friend in the game.
Seonwoo's appearance in the game is more impressive than his real appearance, and Seonwoo feels a freedom and happiness in the game that is incomparable to reality.
So, the moment Seonwoo logs into Fantasia, he feels like his “real day” has begun.
However, the game room staff said that the person lying in the capsule and connected to the game looked no different from a corpse lying in a coffin.
Moreover, Wonji says that Fantasia is a prison to her and that she is afraid that she too might be a 'fake' like Fantasia.
"Last Level Up" uses virtual reality games as its subject matter, and breaks away from the conventional wisdom that the world inside a game is fake and the reality outside the game is real, helping readers look at and think about life from a fresh perspective.
As we follow the arguments of each character through the intricately woven narrative, we are forced to contemplate how to wisely face the virtual reality that will increasingly occupy our lives, while also establishing values ​​such as freedom, happiness, truth, and love that will remain important in the future society.

“Seonwoo, I envy you.
Because you have potential.
Because you might get hurt, and it might be dangerous… … .
I mean, I envy the world where flowers wither, and I envy your body that feels hunger.
(…) How can I be sure that my thoughts and memories are entirely mine now? I am, but I'm afraid I'll never find my true self." (pp. 140-141)

Towards the 'day of destiny' that you will choose for yourself!
- An adventure that transcends reality and finds the 'real me'

Seonwoo and Wonji, who initially lived their daily lives according to their parents' teachings, gradually began to want to take charge of their own lives.
That desire becomes more precious than anything else, and leads to the courage to give up the precious things that one has held and enjoyed.
What gives strength to Seonwoo and Wonji's hearts at this time is their curiosity and desire for a future they can choose for themselves.
It is the hope of taking control of one's own life, even if the choices lead to bad outcomes.

At that moment, Wonji suddenly became convinced that wherever she went, that place would be real.
'At least it won't be fake.
You won't have to worry about whether I'm real or fake.
Even if it's the end, I have no regrets about my current choice.' (Page 171)

“I just don’t understand.
"What's so great about danger, pain, and suffering? Isn't a perfect fantasy so much better?"
“Well, in a world full of problems, there are heroes who fight against the problems.
I prefer a world where I can be a hero.
Even though it is dangerous, painful, and painful.” (p. 192)

The story of Seonwoo and Wonji's game expands into a wondrous adventure toward growth and independence for the two.
The age-old mythical adventure of fighting monsters that stand in your way, saving the world, and becoming a true adult is given a modern twist through the medium of virtual reality gaming.
This is a fairy tale that not only helps each child living in this era build a self-reliant self, but also inspires brilliant courage so that they can become heroes to those around them.

● Changbi's 'Good Children's Book' manuscript contest was established in 1997 to foster an environment for writing and publishing good children's books and to encourage the creative desire of children's book authors.
Beginning with Chae In-seon's first award-winning work, 『Telephone Pole Children』, the group has led the change and development of Korean children's literature by publishing a series of major hit works, including Park Ki-beom's 『Problem Child』, Kim Jung-mi's 『Crown-billed Children』, Lee Hyeon's 『Jjajangmyeon Blows Up!』, Bae Yu-an's 『Chojeongri Letter』, Kim Seong-jin's 『How to Use Mom』, Jin Hyeong-min's 『Symbol No. 3 Anseokppong』, and Hong Min-jeong's 『Cat Problem Solver Kkamnyang』.