episode_0008

My vision flips, and once again, the galaxy appears before my eyes.

As usual, the stars begin to dim one by one, until finally, ten stars that held onto their light until the end slowly approach me.

Then, nine of them glow a dull gray, while the remaining one shines a brilliant red.

Honestly, I’d hoped for two or three 2-star personalities, but I decided to be grateful for what I got.

It could’ve easily been all 1-star characters, after all.

Just as I was forcing myself to think that way, the voices of various beings began to echo one after another.

-Woof woof!

-Rich family’s dog, Park Jeong-hyun. × 3

-Meow.

-Stray cat, Park Jeong-hyun. × 2

-I wanna quit my job…

-Office worker, Park Jeong-hyun. × 4

In an instant, the 1-star personalities were introduced in rapid succession.

But wait.

Did I hear that wrong?

I swear I just heard voices that weren’t human.

Just as I was about to doubt my ears, the introduction for the 2-star personality followed.

-Time doesn’t reel me in—I reel time in.

The worn-out short-sleeve shirt and sleeveless vest clearly bear the marks of time.

A cozy straw hat casts a shadow over his face, and the dogtail grass between his lips exudes an air of leisure.

And finally, the long fishing rod slung over his shoulder.

His name is—

-The angler who reels in time, Park Jeong-hyun.

My second 2-star personality was a fisherman.

Hmm…

Honestly, it’s hard to hide my disappointment.

The kind of personality I wanted was more like… an assassin or a paladin.

But a fisherman?

Feels like the wind’s been knocked out of me.

Just as I was wallowing in regret, my vision returned to normal.

‘…Should I just go clear some daily quests?’

I have no idea how to soothe this sudden loneliness.

‘Sigh, but I should at least check out what these personalities are like.’

Letting out a small sigh, I examined the 1-star personalities one by one.

Three dogs, two cats, and four office workers.

So my ears weren’t playing tricks on me.

Wait, the office workers are whatever, but why are there cats and dogs?

Are there animals mixed in among the alternate versions of me across worlds?

“Ugh.”

Grumbling, I tried renting out the personalities one by one.

The dog personalities literally turned me into a dog, the cat ones into a cat, and the office workers into exhausted salarymen.

“All three are completely useless for combat.”

They have the physical and magical strength of your average stray dog or cat, and the office workers are just regular humans.

I can’t think of any way to make use of these.

‘Total duds?’

The only thing that comes to mind is infiltrating somewhere disguised as a dog or cat.

I’ll have to think about how to use the 1-star personalities later.

‘Next up… the fisherman.’

Still, I held onto a sliver of hope that the 2-star personality might have something useful.

Though, well, it’s still just a fisherman.

As I rented the personality, my outfit transformed into the fisherman’s appearance I’d just seen.

Straw hat, shabby clothes, long fishing rod, and the carelessly chewed dogtail grass.

Along with it, the fisherman’s skills and knowledge were imprinted into my mind.

“Heh, this never gets any less bizarre.”

My speech pattern changed without me realizing it.

The kind of phrasing an old-timer who’s seen it all would use.

“Though, at least my skin isn’t wrinkling. My face is young, but my speech is old. People might find it weird.”

Still, compared to the magical girl, this is nothing.

At least the fisherman personality won’t get me socially executed.

‘Physical abilities are similar to the actor’s, but magic power is slightly better here.’

Sitting on the edge of the bed, I skimmed through the fisherman’s abilities.

“Hmm-hmm~”

Chewing on the dogtail grass, I hummed a tune.

I really do feel like an old man now.

“Let’s see… Huh?”

Then, as I checked the fisherman’s unique skills, my eyes slowly widened.

“Heh, this just got interesting.”

The fisherman personality.

This is literally a personality tailor-made for mock combat exams, isn’t it?

A grin spread across my face.

Before I knew it, a whole week had flown by.

And I’d done my best to make the most of that week.

Clearing daily quests to gather Fate, training separately, and even dabbling in stocks using in-game knowledge to ensure steady future growth.

You could say I’d prepared thoroughly for a more efficient life in Providence.

And finally, the day of enrollment arrived.

The 10 million USD withdrawn from my account made it all the more real—I was really about to enroll in Providence.

“Student ID’s safe… Phone’s here too.”

Stepping off the bus, I blended into the crowd of students heading toward the main building.

Though everyone wore the same uniform, each student stood out vividly—probably because of their different races.

And out of all those students, I was the only human.

Well, there were probably a few other human enrollees, but I couldn’t see any in my immediate vicinity.

A lone human wedged among a sea of demi-humans.

Because of that, I expected hostile stares—

“U-Um, excuse me! A-Are you Park Jeong-hyun?”

“…Are you talking to me? Yes, that’s me.”

“Whoa…! I thought you were just a human who looked like him, but you’re really Park Jeong-hyun! I never dreamed I’d be in the same class as you! C-Can I take a picture with you? It’s my dream!”

Huh.

Scratch that.

The stares I’m getting are very friendly.

Extremely friendly.

Now that I think about it, I am a celebrity, aren’t I?

A huge one, at that.

Not just as a magical girl, but my actor persona had also blown up online.

I’d even heard rumors of a fan club forming.

For someone like me to amass so many fans despite the prejudice against humans… It’s clear just how much impact the actor’s performances had on the hological industry.

Back when I was an A-rank hunter, I never enjoyed this level of popularity.

It’s a strange feeling.

“I-Is that a no?”

The demon girl’s repeated question snapped me back to reality.

“Sorry, I didn’t sleep well, so I zoned out for a sec. A photo’s fine, as long as we’re not late.”

“R-Really?! Oh my god, this is amazing! M-My hands are shaking…! O-One sec!”

The overjoyed demon girl fumbled with her phone to open the camera app.

“Okay, say cheese~”

“C-Cheese… Thank you! Ahhh~! I’m so happy!”

After the photo, she bounced around excitedly before bowing deeply and skipping away with a bright smile.

“…Whew. At least she didn’t ask for my number.”

After the impromptu fan meeting, I shook my head and checked my phone.

“About 30 minutes left?”

I should have enough time to walk there leisurely.

“Um, excuse me…”

Then, a voice called from behind.

“C-Can I take a picture too…?”

I turned to see a beastman boy holding out his phone.

“……”

And behind him stretched a long line.

No way.

“Wow.”

This is—

I’m gonna have to run if I don’t want to be late.

The stamina I’d built up grinding daily quests paid off.

After hastily taking photos and sprinting like my life depended on it, I made it to the exam hall I’d been directed to online.

“Ugh, I’m dead… I’m not late, right?”

“…The exam is about to start. Take your seat.”

“Thank you.”

Gasping for air, I scrambled to find my assigned spot.

Along the way, I spotted a few faces I recognized from the game, sparking my interest—

But unfortunately, they were characters I’d pulled and then abandoned due to poor performance, so my excitement quickly fizzled out.

Desk 27… Desk 27… Ah, here it is.

Sitting down, I fiddled with the pen a fan had given me and glanced around.

Everyone else was flipping through books, doing last-minute cramming before the written exam.

I felt like a delinquent slacking off while everyone else studied.

But what could I do?

I didn’t even know the exam’s scope—there was nothing I could do.

Then—

“Time’s up. Everyone, put away all items except writing utensils and turn off your phones. The exam will last 60 minutes. If you finish early, quietly bring your paper to the front and proceed to the sparring hall.”

The proctor’s loud announcement echoed as he levitated the exam papers into the air.

The sheets floated one by one before gently landing in front of each student.

“Whoa.”

A short gasp rippled through the room.

“Quiet. Keep your hands under your desks. You may open the exam papers only after I say ‘begin.’ Opening them before then will be considered cheating.”

The icy warning erased all traces of the earlier awe, and silence fell over the exam hall.

The only sounds were the occasional coughs echoing through the room.

“Begin.”

And with that, the exam started.

As if on cue, everyone opened their papers and began solving the problems.

Well, might as well give it a shot—

[Question 1. The average mana concentration of rare mana stones found in nature is approximately 71%. Given this, if a mana stone discovered in the underworld…]

“Hmm.”

What even is this?

I don’t understand a single thing.

I quickly skipped Question 1 and moved to Question 2.

Question 3…

Question 4…

……

…

.

Question 30.

Heh.

I expected this, but I really don’t know any of these.

There were some questions about Erosion Beasts and equipment, but recognizing a few terms isn’t enough to solve them.

How am I supposed to know the formula for calculating the erosion waves emitted by a Grade 8 Erosion Beast?

In the end, I made a decision.

—Scribble.

I boldly filled in a straight line of answers, then submitted my paper first and headed to the sparring hall.

At least I’ll be first in something.

[ Achievement Cleared: Delinquent Badge. (Finish the exam first without solving a single question.) ]

[ A word of consolation has been granted as a reward. ]

[ Consolation: Hang in there! Even if you’re at rock bottom now, you can make it if you try! Maybe? ]

You little—

Are you sure you’re not human?