Episode 3
Three days left until I enter the academy.
Until then, I need to be careful not to let Reaper or his men find out who I really am.
‘Gotta watch my words…’
All I know is what was shown in the game.
If I say something weird about something not shown in the game, they might find out I’m not who they think I am.
Knock knock.
A knock on the door.
No sound of footsteps… Must be Reaper.
“Come in.”
“Excuse me.”
Just as I thought—it was Reaper.
He was holding a glowing blue potion in his right hand.
A potion I’ve seen dozens, maybe hundreds of times in the game.
“This is the ‘Breath of Eternity’ you requested.”
[Breath of Eternity]
[S-Rank]
A potion made from the breath of eternal spirits. Increases all stats. Can’t be used more than once and prevents other potions for 30 days after.
I almost gasped in surprise.
But thanks to my EX-Rank mental stat, I stayed calm faster than I could make a sound.
“You did well.”
That’s probably what the real Jaelaon would say.
And knowing Reaper, he’ll now say something like “Call me if you need anything” and leave.
“If you need anything else, please call for me.”
Right on cue.
He gave a slight bow and left the room.
Left alone, I held the potion in my hand, still pretending in case someone was watching.
‘Holy crap. I can’t believe I get to use this potion this early…’
An S-Rank potion is rare.
And one that raises all stats? Even rarer.
You normally get this from a super-hard challenge in the Spirit Shelter, which you only reach at level 60+.
I kept my face serious while my heart was celebrating.
I opened the bottle.
‘Bottoms up.’
And drank it all in one shot.
‘Ugh.’
Of course. Things that are good for you always taste terrible.
A painfully bitter taste flooded my tongue.
‘Just hold on. I can take this.’
Luckily, it wasn’t hard to endure.
[Your EX-Rank Mental stat calms the confusion.]
If my mind ever wavered, the EX stat stabilized it.
‘Still, so nasty.’
About a minute passed. The bitterness finally started to fade.
[All stats increased.]
A system message popped up—my stats really had increased.
The bitterness melted away like it never existed.
‘How much did my stats go up?’
Actually… what were my stats even before this?
I never checked.
‘How do I check my status?’
The system is working, so there must be a way.
Do I need to say “Status window” out loud?
‘Can’t do that now. Someone might hear.’
‘Let’s try it in my head. Status window!’
[Status Window]
[Name: Jian]
[Race: ???]
[Level: 11]
‘It worked?’
Yes! I can check it just by thinking. That’s a relief.
[Stats]
Strength: C
Agility: C-
Endurance: D
Mind: EX
Magic: C+
…What the heck is this?
Why are my stats so high?
‘At level 11, the highest you should have is around E+.’
Even ignoring the EX Mind stat, my average is around C.
That’s like a level 30~40 character.
‘Even if this potion raised everything by one rank, I would’ve been around D before…’
That means even my starting stats were way above normal.
Did someone feed this body potions before I came?
‘Let’s check the potion log.’
[Potions Used]
[Breath of Eternity]
‘Only one? This is my first potion?’
So, no one fed this body anything before me.
Then… these are natural stats?
‘Why?’
Then I found the reason—written under Innate Traits.
[Heavenly Talent]
You’re gifted in everything. Any job is a “best fit.”
[Born with Strong Body]
You were born with a powerful physique.
Physical stats start higher.
[Loved by Mana]
You have a natural talent for magic.
Magic stats start higher.
‘What the hell is this…’
Those are all broken abilities.
And I have all three?
‘This is totally OP.’
Completely overpowered.
‘But maybe it makes sense.’
This is the body Jaelaon gave up his own power for.
No way it wouldn’t be this special.
‘I get it now. This body is worth giving up everything for.’
Even I would’ve taken this deal.
Jaelaon didn’t have long to live anyway, so it was a smart trade.
‘With this kind of talent… maybe beating Reaper in three years isn’t so impossible.’
Three days later…
Time passed quickly, and nothing major happened.
‘I can finally breathe.’
I was always on edge, afraid someone might be watching.
If not for my EX mental stat, I might’ve mentally broken down.
“Master, please be careful.”
Yodarla showed up to send me off—and suddenly hugged me.
“I’ll miss you…”
A pink aura started flowing from her body.
[Resisting Charm Aura.]
My EX-Rank mental stat blocked it completely.
“Yodarla.”
Reaper called her coldly.
“What?”
Yodarla kept holding on to me and glared at Reaper.
“That was inappropriate.”
“Inappropriate? I was just expressing my feelings to Master. It was love!”
…Seriously?
“Since when is charm magic a love confession?”
“Normally it isn’t. But this is Master we’re talking about.”
She smiled seductively at me.
“Whether he accepts my charm or not is up to him. My love, my choice.”
What kind of logic is that?
Reaper, strangely, nodded.
“Letting a harmful aura in… means trust. That’s also a form of love. I get it.”
“Exactly~”
My head went blank.
Not just because of Yodarla’s words—but because Reaper agreed.
“Master… if ever your youthful energy becomes too much to handle… call me. I’m always available~”
Something’s off.
Yodarla never acted like this in the game.
Is it because she’s into my looks?
“All right, I can’t hold back. Let’s go together. I’ll take you to the academy instead of him—”
She leaned closer, almost kissing me.
“Yodarla. Master looks uncomfortable.”
Reaper blocked her.
“Escorting Master is my duty as his right hand.”
“Your opinion doesn’t matter. What does Master want? Right, Master?”
Reaper looked at me, clearly anxious.
“If you’d rather have Yodarla escort you, I’ll step down…”
“Master~ Choose me! You don’t want to be alone with this gloomy guy, right?”
Honestly… I don’t want either of them coming.
But they won’t take no for an answer.
In the end, I had to choose.
“…I’ll stick with the original plan. Reaper, you’ll escort me.”
Better Reaper than Yodarla.
She’s unpredictable.
“Master!”
Reaper looked touched.
“Tch.”
Yodarla backed off, disappointed.
“Well, can’t be helped. I’ll wait my turn~”
She licked her lips suggestively.
“You haven’t had the body long, so your desire probably isn’t high yet. But it’ll come.”
I felt like a hamster facing a snake.
Later, Reaper and I left for the academy in a carriage he prepared.
‘How much longer…?’
Reaper was up front with the driver. At least that gave me some peace.
“Master.”
He suddenly called me.
“1 km ahead, we’re detecting mana from the royal carriage.”
Royalty? Which one?
“No sign of the knight commander—just as expected.”
Expected?
“We’ll proceed with the plan.”
What plan??
Just then—KIEEEEEEEK!
A monster cry came from above.
‘That sound… I know it!’
I looked out and saw flying creatures—Wyverns.
At least 40 of them!
‘Wait, is the plan to attack the royal family with Wyverns?!’
That means someone very important is inside.
“Excuse me, Master.”
Reaper touched me and infused mana into my body.
[EX-Rank Mental stat resists Puppetry Spell.]
My body tried to reject the skill.
‘No, don’t resist! Just go with it!’
[You accept the skill.]
Whew.
But before I could relax—WHOOSH!
I shot out of the carriage and flew through the sky.
‘Wait, what the hell!?’
Are they trying to kill me?!
‘Slowing down…’
Okay, maybe not.
I slowly stopped mid-air near a luxurious carriage.
‘Is that the royal carriage?’
Right then—Wyverns appeared again.
KIEEEEEK!!
“W-Wyverns!”
“The commander’s gone!”
“Protect the royals no matter what!”
Guards rushed to defend the carriage.
‘So this is the plan…’
Make it look dangerous—then have me save them.
That’s why I was sent here.
Jaelaon planned to “save” royalty to earn favor.
So the person inside is probably a new academy student…
Before I could finish my thought—
My body moved on its own again.
‘Ugh… dizzy…’
WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH
The world spun.
When I came to—I had a sword in my hand.
SLASH SLASH SLASH
Again, everything blurred.
When I next saw clearly, my sword was soaked in Wyvern blood.
“What…?”
Wyvern wings fell like petals from the sky.
Dozens of them—dead.
All I could think was:
This was all part of the plan.
