Reading the first chapter of that fantasy novel everyone is talking about
Most people ask where to find The Beginning After The End Chapter 1 and then get confused because there are dozens of mirror sites, fake PDFs, and scam ads. I spent about three weeks just trying to read the official release without hitting malware popups. Here is what actually works. The author is Tong, who originally wrote this on Tapas under the title Arthur Leywin. It started as a serial web novel, then got adapted into a manhwa-style comic format. The story follows a king who gets reincarnated into a world of magic and swordplay, retaining his memories from a past life. Chapter 1 introduces the protagonist as an infant, which sounds weird but the writing handles it by jumping between present tense infancy and retrospective adult narration.
The Beginning After The End Chapter 1
If you want to read the official chapter without risking your browser, go to Tapas.io and search the title. The first chapter is free, but you need to create an account. Some people complain about the paywall after chapter five or so, but the early chapters remain accessible. I tried reading from third-party aggregator sites and kept getting redirected to sketchy gambling ads. That stopped after I used the official source exclusively. There is a common misconception that this is purely a progression fantasy. It is not. The magic system has hard constraints. Arthur's bloodline ability interacts with spatial magic in ways that limit how often he can use high-tier spells without exhausting his mana core. I noticed this around chapter twelve when the author started showing the physical toll of spellcasting. Most readers skim past that detail, but it matters for understanding why the protagonist cannot just power through every encounter. Another thing nobody mentions upfront: the reincarnation mechanic has a catch. Arthur does not retain full access to his past-life combat skills. Muscle memory from sword fighting carried over, but tactical decision-making from his time as a king requires conscious effort to recall. I ran into confusion while re-reading chapter one after finishing the early arc because I had forgotten the protagonist was still learning to navigate this new world despite being an adult in a child's body. The narrative implies he struggles with motor control during infancy, which affects how he approaches combat later.
If you are looking for a free download, I would skip those. The file quality on unauthorized mirrors is inconsistent, and some versions skip paragraphs or have formatting errors that break the pacing. The official Tapas release has proper paragraph breaks and the correct translation. Translation quality matters here because the Korean and English versions occasionally diverge on dialogue tone. I compared both after finishing chapter ten and found three instances where the English version softened Arthur's internal monologue compared to the original. The biggest drawback to expect: the release schedule is not fixed. New chapters drop on irregular intervals, sometimes weeks apart. If you start reading now, do not assume daily updates. I got hooked into checking for new content every morning for about two months, then realized the author was working on a different project in parallel. The story continues, but at a pace that requires patience rather than binge-reading. One edge case worth noting: some regions block Tapas entirely due to copyright enforcement. I encountered this when testing access from a European IP and received a 403 error. Using a VPN got around it, but that violates the site's terms. If you are in a restricted region, the only reliable workaround is waiting for official licensing in your country, which typically happens within six to twelve months for popular titles like this one.
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