Ch 2
NEYMAR
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Episode 02
Whenever danger loomed, I always tried to remain calm.
I firmly believed that this mindset would be the very thing that protected me.
And in practice, it always worked. Composure was what allowed me to escape danger.
In short, now was a time to be calmer than ever before.
I calmly surveyed my surroundings before opening my mouth.
“...Where am I?”
A black sky without a single star.
A lone, violet moon, hanging in the void.
A body that wasn't my own.
A language of unknown origin spilling from my lips.
That was already more than enough, but the old man’s answer sealed it.
“This is Asternon, Sector 7. In other words…”
“...A garbage dump.”
“That it is. A place for people like you and me.”
In the end, I had no choice but to accept it.
I had entered the world of [Devil Fantasy].
I didn't know the exact cause, but I had a hunch. Hadn't I seen a strange message just before I lost consciousness?
[The conditions for using ‘Call of Destiny’ have been met.]
[Activating ‘Call of Destiny’.]
So that’s why it was a grade I’d never seen before…
It seemed that item was the cause of my current situation.
Possession, or reincarnation. Or maybe something similar.
“How’s your head?”
At the old man’s words, I cautiously brought a hand to my forehead.
I felt a rough, coarse surface.
It was the feeling of dried blood, caked on over time.
So I had a head injury.
If this really was [Devil Fantasy], that made perfect sense.
The game always began in the body of an NPC on the verge of death.
The odds of it being possession are high, then.
Acknowledging that possibility, I answered calmly.
“I’m fine.”
“Such a fast recovery? I was sure you could have dropped dead at any moment and it wouldn’t have been strange.”
Of course he’d think so. The body would have been healed the moment the player entered it.
“...Yeah, well.”
“Hmm, well, I’m glad. I’d rather not sleep next to a corpse, you see.”
I stared silently at the old man, who was cackling as if he found something hilarious.
With his matted hair and a body draped in filthy rags, he was the spitting image of a beggar.
But I felt no particular disgust.
My own situation wasn't much different.
...This is bad.
As I said, players of [Devil Fantasy] begin the game by possessing the body of a dying NPC.
Because of this, the early game was heavily dependent on luck.
The difficulty of the game’s opening stages was determined by where the possessed NPC lived, their social status, and their overall circumstances.
From that perspective, my start was completely ruined.
Anyone could see I was a beggar.
Damn it.
Normally, the standard procedure here would be to remake the character. There was no reason to start as a beggar in a game that was already notoriously difficult.
But that wasn't an option now. I couldn't delete this character, let alone know how to get out of this world.
Well, given the Special Perk I’d received, things would have been different even if this were just a game.
In any case.
...Stay calm.
I was in a dangerous situation.
If this was the world I knew, a demon could pop out from anywhere at any time.
This was no time for self-pity.
I calmed my turbulent mind and began to search for a path to survival.
First, let's assess the situation.
I’ve possessed a body in a game. As a beggar in Asternon’s Sector 7.
Putting everything together, I presumed the body I possessed was the character I had created just before I passed out.
Which means.
The Perk.
The Special Perk reward I’d obtained had to be here as well.
I immediately searched my body and confirmed my suspicions.
Tucked deep inside my clothes was a single white card.
The Trait Selection Ticket.
Judging that I had to use it immediately, I tore it without hesitation.
And then.
Snap—.
An unnatural silence descended.
The cool breeze, a scurrying rat, the old man who had been looking at me.
Everything except for me stopped, as if its functions had ceased.
Time had frozen.
“So this is how it works.”
I murmured in quiet admiration, staring straight ahead.
Fwoosh.
A cascade of cards, each with a different image, fanned out before my eyes.
They all radiated a brilliant golden light.
Swipe.
When I made a pushing gesture in the air, the cards slid smoothly to the side.
There were about thirty in total. Quite a few, but I swiped through them without pause. I already knew which one I was going to pick.
Soon, I found the card etched with the image I wanted.
If this were a game, a message like this would have appeared.
[Magical Genius (Trait/Mythic-grade)]
The 'Awakening' state is permanently active.
Magic Learning Aptitude, Mana Regeneration, and Mana Sensitivity are increased by 300% respectively.
Magical calculation ability is maximized.
Maximum mana increases in proportion to magical growth.
The limit on magical growth is removed.
Anyone could see it was a brokenly overpowered trait.
But as I was about to grab it, I hesitated.
Is choosing this the right move in my current situation?
If this were a game, there’d be no need to think twice.
...But this isn't a game.
I had spent a full year meticulously planning my build. The mage build I’d perfected was as close to flawless as one could get.
I was so confident that I was ready to delete a character worth anywhere from thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
But now that I’d possessed the character, the situation was different.
The risk is too great.
The build I’d designed was high-risk, high-return. It was created to aim for explosive power in the late game, not the early stages.
Its sole purpose was to kill Baal.
But now, something had taken priority over Baal.
Survival.
Because if I die, it's all over, Baal or no Baal.
Of course, there was a chance I might return to reality if I died… but I couldn't rely on such a naively optimistic thought.
In the end, I held off on taking the card and began to sort through my complicated thoughts.
“How do I get back?”
The first thing that came to mind was to use the item that brought me here, [Call of Destiny], one more time.
But [Call of Destiny] was a reward from a Special Perk. I had no idea if I could even obtain it again.
So I put that aside for now.
The next thing that occurred to me was…
“It has to be the ending, right?”
I kill Baal and see the ending of [Devil Fantasy]. Right now, that seemed like the most plausible method.
The problem was, it would be anything but easy.
“...Is that even possible?”
Honestly, I had no confidence.
If I couldn't beat him in the game, what chance did my real self have of killing him?
But if killing Baal was the way back, and I failed to do it, I might be trapped here forever.
“...”
I was at a crossroads.
I had to choose: should I focus solely on survival, or should I chase the slim possibility of returning to my original world?
If I chose the former, I should pick a trait that would make me strong immediately. That would dramatically increase my chances of survival.
If I chose the latter…
I would have to overcome countless near-death experiences.
Wandering all over the world hunting demons, facing the demon army commanders, struggling constantly just to grow stronger.
I’d have to suffer through complex relationships, quests, hunger, and physical exhaustion. And at the end of that road was Baal.
Could I do it? Could I endure that entire arduous process?
Just then, I remembered a conversation I’d had with my friend.
-…Alright, well, you seem set on it, so I won’t stop you. But… is it even possible to kill him?
-Definitely. I’ll kill him no matter what.
Back then, I had been brimming with confidence.
I was backed by ten years of gameplay experience, a build I’d agonized over for a year, the incredible Special Perk rewards I was about to receive, and Baal’s attack patterns, which I’d memorized after fighting him hundreds of times.
Ironically, nothing had changed.
I still have the gameplay experience.
The build I agonized over is in my head.
I have the Special Perk reward.
And I still remember the patterns.
Even though I’ve possessed a body in the game, the fact that I can kill that bastard hasn't changed.
Yeah, what the hell.
“Let's do this.”
With my resolve firm, I reached out my hand.
FWOOM!
The card erupted in a flash of light. I felt a powerful sensation as some kind of power seeped into me.
It traveled from my fingertips to my heart. In that instant, my eyes flew open, and I began to see the world differently.
A new sense blossomed.
I could see the mana flowing around me.
A thrilling shiver ran down my spine.
It felt like I’d finally achieved enlightenment after centuries of perseverance.
...This is.
Awakening.
Particles of mana floated lazily in the air. I had never learned how to control them, but for some reason, I felt like I could.
A groundless confidence welled up from deep within me.
I silently extended my hand.
Fssshhh.
Subtly, the mana began to move toward me.
Just as I tried to imbue my will with more strength—
The frozen time resumed its flow.
“...H-Hey, you?”
I quickly retracted my hand. The old man was staring at me with a bewildered expression.
Did he see something?
Just then.
“Huh? What are you two doing here!”
A burly beggar appeared out of nowhere. The strong reek of alcohol told me he was completely drunk.
His eyes darted between me and the old man before he bellowed.
“Don’t you know this is my spot? Now get the hell out! Now!”
And just like that, we were kicked out.
“Gasp…! Wheeze…!”
The old man was panting for breath. We could have just walked away, but for some reason he’d bolted as if his life depended on it.
I approached him, thinking I should help him up, but he jumped in surprise.
“Ah, it’s you! Where will you be heading now?”
“I’m still thinking.”
“That’s great news!”
The old man grinned, revealing a set of yellowed teeth.
“If you have nowhere to go, why not come with me?”
“A place to go?”
“I know a place that’s perfect for people like us!”
“Then why didn’t you just go there in the first place, instead of staying back there?”
“Ah, well, I needed a bit of money to get in… but the problem’s solved now!”
Rummaging inside his rags, the old man pulled something out.
It was a pouch of some kind. When he shook it, it made a clinking sound.
“What’s that?”
“Money! I stole it from that beggar who just chased us out!”
The old man declared this with a hearty laugh.
Ah, so that's why he ran. To think he stole a coin purse in that brief moment. The old man had some nimble fingers.
Was that his goal from the start?
“So, will you come? I’ll pay your share!”
“...You’ll pay? Why?”
“I’ve taken quite a liking to you.”
I was suspicious. To a beggar, there was nothing more precious than money.
There’s no such thing as a favor without a motive. Especially for those in dire straits.
“Of course, I’m not just giving it to you for free. I’ll pay for you if you promise to pay me back double later!”
Right, so money was the motive.
In that case.
“Is it a safe place?”
“Of course! It’s a place where a bunch of ex-mercenaries gather. If you pay them, they’ll feed you, give you a place to sleep, the works. And the security is top-notch! Most demons wouldn’t even dare to come close.”
So it’s like a temporary shelter.
It didn’t sound entirely trustworthy, but I had no reason to refuse.
Wherever it was, it had to be better than sleeping on the street. And once I learned magic, I could earn money in no time.
When that time comes, I’ll be able to escape this place they call a garbage dump, Sector 7.
“Let’s go, then. I’ll pay you back double.”
“It’s a bit of a walk, so be careful.”
After about thirty minutes, the old man stopped in front of a large wooden building.
It was a bit rundown, but you could see traces of sturdy repairs here and there.
“This is it. I’ll go inside and talk to them, so wait here for a moment.”
“Alright.”
The old man cackled and entered the building.
I immediately checked to make sure no one was around and turned my attention elsewhere.
My hands had been itching for a while now.
“I think I can do this.”
I cautiously reached my hand toward a mana particle. I felt that with just a little more focus, I could succeed.
But contrary to my expectations.
Pop.
The moment my hand touched it, the particle scattered into dust and vanished.
So it's not going to be that easy.
But I was slowly getting the hang of it.
What I needed now was repetition.
Pop. Pop! Pop…!
After several attempts.
“Oh, got it.”
Swoosh.
Finally, a particle of mana began to move according to my will.
Seizing the opportunity, I immediately gathered the surrounding mana particles onto the palm of my hand.
And thus, a round sphere was created.
Wooooom!
In the game, this was a skill called [Mana Compression]. As the name suggested, it was literally mana compressed into a sphere.
It was one of the fundamentals needed to use magic, but it was by no means easy.
...Last time, it took me a whole week.
The swordsman character I raised before had also learned [Mana Compression]. Basic mana control was necessary to handle aura.
But it had taken a full week to learn.
And that was after showering a high-level mage NPC with gifts to raise their affinity and getting some helpful tips to speed up the process.
In contrast, how long had it been now? Five minutes? It was incomparably faster than last time.
It was undoubtedly the effect of the increased Magic Learning Aptitude and Mana Sensitivity from [Magical Genius].
A Mythic-grade trait is on another level, after all.
A smile crept onto my lips without me realizing.
A certainty took root in my mind.
At this rate, learning magic would be a breeze.
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