episode_0001

“This can’t be true! You’re saying you’re that rascal Gongja Sian?!”

“Th-this is a lie, right…? Then what I’ve suspected until now…”

“Hey, Sian. How in the world did you reach such a transcendent state of transformation? I really want to know! Please answer!”

Three women glared at him, pressing for answers.

From the front, Chief Alchemist Lucy, Princess Rosaria, and Swordsmanship Deviant Aria.

Each of them lifted their faces with a burden, expressing feelings of betrayal they had experienced until now.

…It seems like I’ve found myself in a very awkward misunderstanding.

The swordsmanship class will start soon… I can’t miss the opportunity to become stronger. I should escape for now.

“Oh! Sian!”

“Where are you going? Stop right there!”

“Sian! Showing your back to the inspectors is shameful!”

As I engaged in a chase with the pursuing women, I thought to myself.

Let’s go easy on pulling newbies around.

Otherwise, it’ll end up looking bad for me.

***

The legendary game ‘Ariel’ has been released.

With highly advanced Artificial Intelligence Ai and Chat GPT systems, you can witness the lively reactions of various female protagonists.

As expected from a fantasy game created with hefty investments after careful planning by the developers, the background and storyline were intricately crafted.

I devoted my life to this game.

Total playtime of ‘10,000’ hours.

Ariel was my sanctuary, offering an escape from the monotonous routine of wearing the same clothes and performing the same tasks in real life.

“Crash!”

“Take this-!”

My character on the monitor swung his sword towards the Great Wyvern with its mouth wide open, unleashing a slash.

Technically, it was a basic attack.

However, due to my character’s exceptional stats compared to regular users, even a slight swing of the sword generated a mana-infused slash that exploded.

-Whoosh!

-Swish!

“Crash-!”

Truly a decisive blow.

The Great Wyvern, struck by the slash, split into two and fell lifelessly to the ground.

“That makes it 300 down….”

These mid-level monsters are now a one-hit kill.

Unknowingly, as I repeated the cycle of work-home-Ariel route, I ended up with character stats far surpassing those of most high-level users.

I controlled my character to cut off the tail of the Wyvern’s corpse and put it in the inventory.

Then, I immediately returned to the ‘Royal Ariel Academy.’

Upon my return, I approached Lucy from the alchemy department, who had commissioned the quest, and handed over 300 Wyvern tails.

“Wow! Did you really defeat 300 Wyverns? Cain truly is amazing! With this, there should be no problem using these materials for the final alchemy exam coming up soon!”

Lucy on the monitor exclaimed excitedly.

The quest reward was favorability points and a small amount of enchantment scrolls…

Honestly, I didn’t need the favorability points.

I have no interest in the heroine capture system in this game.

Simply wandering through the vast fantasy world, facing stronger monsters, and seeking power is my goal.

Since this quest offered hard-to-find enchantment scrolls as a reward, I reluctantly accepted the heroine’s quest.

Heroine quests mostly offer stingy rewards, with favorability points being the main reward.

“Cain! The Earl’s mansion is hosting a social gathering soon. Could you come too?”

[Earl’s family ‘Lucy Amelia’ has sent an invitation. Will you accept?]

[Acceptance grants +1 favorability points]

Are you kidding me?

Of course, I declined.

I could just exchange the Wyvern tails and enchantment scrolls; why waste more time here?

The Great Wyvern barely gives any experience points at my level, do you think I have time to waste leveling up because of you?

Without hesitation, I immediately pressed the decline button.

“Oh… Cain is always busy… Sorry for asking.”

That settles it.

I moved my character to the next hunting ground.

.

.

.

“It’s already 1 a.m.”

Due to the anxiety of losing time for the heroine quest, I found myself hunting excessively to level up, and before I knew it, it was past midnight.

Looking out the window, the night sky was pitch black.

…I have to go to work tomorrow. If I keep playing games, it will interfere with my duties.

After shutting down the computer, I slipped under the thin blanket in my cramped studio apartment, extinguishing the light immediately.

Then, lying comfortably in bed, I reached for my phone.

“…Should I check out the Ariel community before going to sleep?”

And so, I logged into the Ariel community.

One post caught my eye.

[Dear experienced players. Need help for Ariel newbies.]

My heart started racing.

A newbie. A newbie was requesting help.

What could our cute newbie be struggling with to seek help from experienced players like this?

I had no choice.

If I can help our budding player, then as an experienced one, I gladly offer assistance.

Unable to resist my curiosity about the title, I clicked on the post.

And there appeared the content.

[Title: Dear experienced players. Need help for Ariel newbies.]

→ How do I deal with the eccentric sage Manani Issaegi?

Ever since enrolling in the academy, he keeps appearing and disrupting quests, damn it

Just now, he plundered a sword claiming to borrow it, causing me to fail the Chapter 1 Quest of Talent Manifestation.

‘Talent Manifestation… It’s been a while since I heard of this story quest.’

Talent Manifestation is a chapter at the very beginning before the protagonist character Cain Barbo awakens his genius swordsmanship talent.

Upon entering the academy, being skillful in swordsmanship for his age, many heroines around Cain showed interest, leading to jealousy among some.

Unable to bear those emotions, one person openly harassed Cain in the story, the villain mentioned by the newbie, Manani Issaegi ‘Sian Brace’.

He is the biggest villain in the early chapters.

‘I remember being annoyed by him at first.’

I can understand the newbie’s feelings.

Suddenly coming and snatching quest materials under the pretense of borrowing them.

Stealing others’ belongings within the school and framing the protagonist, triggering unexpected essential quests.

He was a quite controversial character among users.

└Can’t help it. Have to repeat the chapter until you don’t meet him.

└└True. After getting past Chapter 1, he rarely shows up, so hang in there in the beginning. Fighting!

└The faculty room is great for now. He doesn’t show up much there. Be careful not to run into him in the hallways.

└When Sian flirts with the heroines, that’s your chance. Finish the quests quickly then.

└I almost smashed my monitor because of Sian. Stay strong, newbie.

Many users had already replied to the newbie’s post.

‘…Somehow it feels weird seeing a name similar to mine.’

My name is Jian. Manani Issaegi Sian.

There was something oddly familiar about Sian’s features, and our names were somewhat similar, making me feel a bit uncomfortable.

…In hindsight, he’s just a villain in the story.

Once the timid protagonist Cain awakens his talent and displays extraordinary power, the torment from Manani ceased.

A typical weak-strong-weak character. Looking at my character’s stats now, he would probably wet himself right there.

A quiet chuckle escaped me. Then, as if possessed, I commented on the newbie’s post.

└Haha. If I were Cain, I’d curse out Manani from the start. The protagonist is too timid, frustrating.

After leaving the comment,

I turned off the screen and placed my phone beside my head.

…And back then, I didn’t know.

Whether I would come to regret writing that comment.

As always, late actions leave irreversible regrets.

…Why regret it?

Because of possession?

No.

If I simply possessed the protagonist, yahoo! The life of a genius inspector is the best! No regrets. It’s a sweet life! That’s probably what I thought as I embraced my new life.

What made me regret writing that comment was…

Nothing but the fact that I had possessed the body of the reckless Gongja, who had been happily cursing with users until last night.

***

“What the hell is going on here!”

A corpulent, severely obese body. A bloated face that seemed about to burst along with protruding belly fat.

This was what I woke up to.

For some reason, feeling sluggish in lifting my upper body, I looked around with a chilling sensation and saw a strange ceiling and room.

A dizzying realization passed through me momentarily.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Dragging my heavy body into what seemed like a bathroom, I hurriedly rushed in.

“Aaaaah!”

The face I saw through the mirror on the wall was truly shocking.

An expectation I had vehemently denied. The mirror was revealing that it had become reality in a horrifying way.

…Ariel’s early chapters’ greatest villain and infamous reckless Gongja Cyan Brace.

His face… was being reflected right in front of my eyes in the mirror.

“G-gulp….”

I collapsed in a fit of rage.

“What the-! What is happening!!”

Upon hearing my scream, several figures rushed down the corridor in a panic.

They burst into the room, flinging open the door.

Three maids dressed in maid uniforms, and one butler.

And Pablo Brace, who seemed to be the father of the reckless Gongja Cyan, discovered me collapsed in shock.

“Aaaah!”

“W-what in the world is happening…!!”

“I will call for a priest! I will call for a priest!”

As if they had made a promise, each person responded faithfully to their roles, and even as I lost consciousness and collapsed, I continued to deny reality.