* * *
“Gasp…!”
No, more accurately, the world had stopped.
The knights pacing through the duke’s garden and the distant approaching carriage were all frozen in place.
Only I could move, though my body remained suspended in mid-air.
And then…
‘This… is he insane?’
It appeared before me—the message window, or rather, the system window.
“Wow… I had to go this far to make you show up? And you just handed everything to Kim Minsoo?”
[Watch your tongue.]
I mumbled in irritation, and the voice immediately snapped back.
I could only laugh awkwardly.
Noah.
He was not only the creator of the system but also the ancient god who introduced the concept of magic to this world.
Currently, he was known in this world as Noir, the first grand mage and sage.
‘Irritable and hypersensitive, yet secretly wishing humans could thrive on their own—so they’d leave him alone.’
Though he always claimed it was because he hated being inconvenienced.
[So, what do you want? Want me to make you a hero too?]
“Eh? No way.”
A hero? What a terrifying suggestion.
“Saving the world is a job for the friend you’re about to summon.”
[Then what do you want?]
“Please save my life. If this continues, I’m going to die.”
[I can’t just save you for free.]
Of course, you can’t. Reizen, the one destined to kill me, is the final boss after all.
“Then… grant me five wishes.”
After a brief silence, another message appeared.
[Three wishes.]
‘Knew it.’
I had deliberately asked for five, knowing they’d negotiate down.
If I’d started with three, they might’ve reduced it further.
“Fine. Then I’ll make my first wish.”
I sighed deeply before speaking.
“Give me the full text of ‘From Transmigration to Hero’, including the Bonus Chapter of Reizen.”
∗ ∗ ∗
Long story short—I was screwed.
[Sure. But I won’t give it to you for free.]
‘Excuse me? You said you’d grant my wishes!’
[You asked for the chance to make wishes, not for me to fulfill them outright.]
‘Damn…’
[Damn?]
‘I was just thinking about seedless watermelons! Haha…’
Still, perhaps out of some sense of fairness, he promised to grant my wish.
[But only as a quest reward.]
In short, I was really screwed.
∗ ∗ ∗
[Quest:
- Call Raizen “Big Brother” three times or more: (0/3)
- Spend at least 30 minutes with Raizen: (0/30)
- Hold Raizen’s hand for at least 5 seconds: (0/5)
Reward: Access to From Possession to Hero’s main text and Raizen: Bonus Chapter]
∗ ∗ ∗
‘The lack of effort isn’t even the issue.’
The real problem was this: even the gods believed the only way for me to survive was to win Reizen’s favor.
The quest list was proof of that.
“Haha… haha…Noah…”
[Stop calling my name unnecessarily. Do it again, and you’ll die.]
And with those words, the great Noah disappeared.
Which, of course, meant no after-sales service.
“Hahaha… haha…”
If they thought I’d give up because of this, they were sorely mistaken.
‘A quest? Fine. I’ll complete it no matter what!’
Hadn’t I already resolved to lick even the villain’s boots if it meant surviving?
Just watch—I’ll survive, no matter what it takes!
∗ ∗ ∗
“Master Reizen, please rest well.”
“You’ve worked hard today.”
After assisting Reizen with his evening wash, the maid quietly left the boy’s room.
Once the door shut completely, the gentle smile faded from Reizen’s face.
From the unusually dense shadow beneath his chair, a dark mass rose silently.
The black mass circled him, snickering.
[Poor little Reizen, poor little Reizen~]
Reizen picked up the book on the table and opened it.
The dark mass only seemed more amused, whispering near his ear.
[Didn’t I tell you? Your parents don’t love you. They find you repulsive. Why else would they rush to adopt that beggar?]
Reizen’s hand trembled as he turned the page.
‘No. They asked for my opinion.’
After dinner, he had spent rare quality time with his parents.
They praised his academic achievements and his mother had shown him tender care.
Then the topic arose.
‘We’re considering adopting Sean into our family. What do you think?’
‘Yes, Reizen. How do you feel?’
Oddly, he wasn’t surprised.
It felt like an inevitable outcome.
Even so, he struggled to find the words he knew he had to say.
‘…Yes. I think it’s a good idea.’
With difficulty, he managed to say it and smiled brightly.
‘Yes. That’s the right thing to do…’
[That’s not a conversation. That’s an ultimatum. Even if you’d objected, they would’ve tried to persuade you anyway.]
As if reading his innermost thoughts, the dark mass spoke.
Without realizing it, his grip on the book tightened.
With a ripping sound, part of the book tore away.
The laughter of the dark mass grew louder.
[You know it too, don’t you? Your parents…]
Raizen reached out, clutching at the dark mass.
But his hands closed around nothing.
It vanished, as if it had never existed in the first place.
A sound escaped his lips—something between a sigh and a bitter chuckle.
It was always like this.
The dark mass had started appearing out of his shadow at some point, disrupting his mind.
It didn’t matter if he tried to grab it with his hands or strike it with a sword—it was the same.
That maddening reality made Raizen feel like he couldn’t bear it any longer.
In such moments, he would recall his late grandmother’s words.
‘It’s a curse. It must be a curse! Oh, Sinoa, why do you test us so?’
‘You vile demon! Get out of my grandson’s body right now!’
His devout grandmother would nearly have fits whenever she saw him.
The rest of the family dismissed her as mad, whispering behind her back.
They told Raizen not to take it to heart and even tried to encourage him.
But as time passed, the way people looked at the boy began to change.
The turning point came when Raizen was ten years old.
Around that time, the maids and servants attending to him began to disappear, one after another.
To this day, their whereabouts remained unknown.
‘What if the young master really is cursed?’
‘How am I supposed to serve him from tomorrow? I’m terrified!’
When he was ten years old, many things happened.
People went missing, the staff of the duchy was almost entirely replaced, and the dark mass appeared.
Raizen’s parents, along with the remaining staff of the duchy, believed he wouldn’t remember any of it.
But Raizen remembered everything—painfully clearly.
And that clarity terrified him.
What if he truly was a cursed child?
What if his parents abandoned him because of it?
Raizen knew his parents all too well.
If it were proven that he was cursed, his mother would choose to die with him, while his father would swallow his tears for the greater good and have him executed.
Raizen knew this with absolute certainty, as though he’d already experienced it.
So he worked hard to become the kindest, smartest, and most admirable son they could ever want.
But then…
“Hyung! Nice to meet you!”
That kid was the problem.
From the first meeting, he’d said something as nauseatingly familiar as “Hyung,” and then, just days ago during tea time, he’d trembled in fear at the sight of Raizen, shattering his teacup.
That reaction—it reminded him of how the servants had once behaved around him. It was unsettling and infuriating.
He had no intention of becoming family with someone like that.
But his parents had already said it was just a formality.
When that boy came of age, he’d return to the marquessate, whether he wanted to or not.
‘I’m sorry for asking this of you.’
But since his father had gone so far as to say that…
Yes, that was exactly what his father had said, though Raizen had momentarily forgotten.
Feeling a bit better, Raizen smiled, finally looking his age.
‘Just ignore him.’
However, when Raizen saw the kid again, the boy did something even more absurd.
Though I’d resolved to survive no matter what, carrying out that resolve wasn’t easy.
I didn’t even have the chance to meet Raizen.
We were both staying in the main residence of the duchy.
But the problem was that the place was enormous—practically a castle.
On top of that, our rooms were on different floors.
I was on the third floor, while Raizen stayed on the second.
Since our paths didn’t overlap, and I mostly stayed in my room while Raizen seemed busy with his duties as the sole heir of the duchy, meeting him was nearly impossible.
A grueling life for a thirteen-year-old.
I had thought about brazenly seeking him out, but honestly, I didn’t have the guts for that.
‘If I did, he’d hate me even more.’
It’s important to know how to draw the line, even with being a nuisance.
A little bit of troublemaking is tolerable, but too much is unbearable.
‘Ugh, why are you so clingy? Can’t you see Mom’s tired?!’
‘You’re such a dull kid—no charm, no affection.
Do you know how much I’ve sacrificed because of you?’
Thanks to my own mother, who gave birth to me, I’d learned that lesson well.
So I stayed put for a while, unsure of what to do.
The only interactions I had were occasional meals with the duchess, who would call me to join her and read me stories.
Luckily, the opportunity finally came.
“You look so handsome today, young master,” Mila said, putting extra effort into dressing me up.
Her exaggerated gestures made it clear she was nervous.
‘Not that it’ll make a difference…’
* * *
👀