Chapter 1- Me? (1)
The year when he turned 24.
Lee Han-ol became possessed.
Even though he never wanted it.
Possession!
Some might be happy about it.
Getting a new body, a new life, and even a new family!
But not for Lee Han-ol.
Self-preservation. Safety first.
These words summed up Lee Han-ol’s life.
He valued his life, health, and stability above all else.
Even if things were a bit difficult, he wanted to live carefully and quietly without danger.
He avoided injustice and tried not to create dangerous situations.
When eating Chinese food with others, he always ate sweet and sour pork first, always collected membership points when shopping, always added chives and radish kimchi to his soup and enjoyed hot showers even in summer.
The very definition of a beta male.
But he completed his identity by absolutely refusing to admit he was a beta male.
But possession!
First, he denied it, then he got angry, then he negotiated, and finally, he accepted it.
The fact that he had become ‘Evan Alcart’, an early Act 2 boss from his favorite medieval fantasy RPG game, <New Episode>.
It took 9 months just to get to this point.
It wasn’t because he was a beta male.
It was because the body he possessed was too weak.
Evan Alcart.
The weakest boss appears in Act 2.
The narrative and concept weren’t bad.
A rare ‘Alchemist’ job class, a drug addict addicted to his concoctions, and the constraint of having a terminal illness.
[‘Evan Alcart’ is the second son of a duke. He was once the child of the duke’s most beloved mistress, but after she died, the duke lost interest in him. He learned ‘alchemy’ to resurrect his mother, but he was too hasty and lost both eyes as the price for performing a taboo.
In the end, he became a madman who tried to synthesize humans with other humans.]
Even had a vivid backstory that made you feel sorry for him.
Right.
That’s how it seemed from a third-person perspective.
But becoming him was the absolute worst.
Nicknamed the Sunfish.
Lowest difficulty,
Constantly fainting and vomiting.
The very definition of weakness.
So he took extreme measures to survive.
Survival Rule #1.
‘Never step forward!’
It wasn’t because he was scared, not at all.
It was all for safety.
Because surviving was important.
Evan’s alchemy included ‘Golem Creation’.
He made golems before potions and quietly controlled them from his room.
The goal was to gather materials with golems to make medicine that would heal his body.
Fortunately, he knew the recipe for the elixir.
Three months passed with such confidence,
Year 1 of possession.
Evan realized.
This wouldn’t work.
The main story had to progress to secure materials.
But by then?
It would be the point when the world was heading toward catastrophe.
After all, the player’s goal was to prevent the world’s destruction.
But could the current Evan progress the main story?
Impossible.
No, even if he could, he didn’t want to.
Was this world just any ordinary world?
One misstep could lead to death, death by poison, death by assassins, or being torn apart by monsters – a dangerous world.
Throwing oneself into such dangers wasn’t something an intelligent man would do!
Isn’t there someone else who could do it?
Fortunately, the world didn’t just tell him to die.
One dramatic solution came to mind.
The main supporters who played a big role in progressing <New Episode’s> story.
Couldn’t he leave it to them?
The main supporters weren’t absolutely good.
But they didn’t want the world to end.
This was also why he didn’t consider more capable ‘villains’ as candidates.
There was no need to struggle to reform the villains.
The flaws and shortcomings of the main supporters were something the current Evan could fix.
There was enough possibility.
The only concern was not having played the DLC.
Well, that should be fine.
The DLC was like a side story.
The developer had announced that not playing it wouldn’t affect the main story much.
So it should be fine not to worry about it.
He decided on the Saint as the first person.
There were various reasons.
Lowest difficulty of persuasion,
The continent’s best healing ability,
A social butterfly with various connections.
After persuading the Saint, it would be easier to persuade other helpers.
The Saint was such a social butterfly after all.
If needed, she could also save lives.
After ten days like that.
Evan finally completed it.
The letter and potions to send to the Saint.
***
“Young master! It’s time to wake up!”
Evan slowly opened his closed eyes.
The luxurious wooden ceiling and room scenery.
It was now the familiar interior of Evan Alcart’s room.
‘Ugh. Anemia.’
Vision turning white.
It was now a familiar sensation.
Evan got up while pressing his head with a groan and greeted the servant.
“Good morning, Dolph.”
“Y-young master, good morning to you too…!”
The servant, Dolph, sniffled with emotion at the morning greeting.
Even that was tremendous progress.
Before, he would have a complete meltdown just from being spoken to politely.
The crybaby servant, Dolph.
Currently the person closest to and most trusted by Evan.
Yet why does he still use honorifics?
‘Ahem. Because if I mess up, he might poison my food.’
The Evan before possession was quite the scoundrel.
It was to improve their relationship and perception even a little.
However, it doesn’t seem to be working well.
“Dolph. Could you bring me some letter paper and a fountain pen?”
“Yes! Young master! Who will you be writing to?”
“To the Saint.”
“Yes! The Saint… What?!”
Dolph made an expression that said ‘What are you talking about?’
Evan avoided his gaze slightly while scribbling on the letter paper.
Fortunately, he had long gotten used to writing.
The fancy handwriting he practiced hard. He felt proud.
‘This phrase will be a direct hit.’
Since she might not open the letter, he wrote the key phrase on the outside.
-Until the moon fades, we are the Phoenix that does not weep, the Holy Horse that leaves no footprints.
Though he didn’t know what it meant, this phrase alone could make the Saint’s favorability exceed 90.
This was also one reason why he chose the Saint as his first target.
The difficulty of raising favorability was the lowest.
“Please send this letter along with the crimson potion on my desk to the temple.”
“But young master… yes… understood…”
Dolph tried to stop him while whimpering but eventually gave up.
He must think Evan’s illness is that severe.
‘That’s not it though…’
No matter how terrible Evan was, he was still an alchemist.
He could at least make potions to somewhat alleviate his illness.
‘Now I need to send letters to the next main helper too.’
Though the pain remained the same, he was used to it now so it should be fi-
“Cough!”
Splat!
Just then Evan coughed heavily. Blood sprayed greatly onto his hands and white bedding.
His body, no, his soul itself reacted violently.
He grabbed the bell beside the bed and rang it frantically.
Ding ding!
“Doctor! Where are you!”
“The young master is coughing blood! Doctor! Priest! Someone come quickly!”
Someone’s coughing blood!
***
Sun Mountain is known as the mountain closest to the sun.
At its peak stands the grand temple of the Sun Bridge.
The Knight Commander who found the Saint praying alone in the vast prayer room handed her a letter.
“Saint. A letter has arrived.”
“Thank you, Knight Commander.”
“Not at all. Serving you is my destiny.”
The Knight Commander gave a benevolent smile, and while watching the Saint receive the letter, harbored a small doubt.
‘Why did she accept the letter?’
The sender was the second son of House Alcart.
The family wasn’t bad.
They consistently sent donations and maintained good relations with the imperial family.
Information about connections to the underworld?
That was trivial.
The problem was the second son himself.
He was somewhat of a celebrity.
Mainly in bad ways.
‘Was he called a drug dealer and a thug?’
Rumors said that since he was an alchemist, he even dabbled in drug manufacturing.
‘An alchemist……’
A rare profession hard to find on the continent.
It wasn’t that impressive.
All he did was make medicines and such.
I felt neither respect nor pity.
From a year ago, as if repenting, he had been quiet.
Still, it’s only been a year.
How much could he have changed in that time?
At least enough to catch the Holy Maiden’s attention……
That’s when it happened.
“……Heh, heheh.”
The Holy Maiden reading the letter let out a laugh.
A beautiful yet chilling smile formed on her face.
“……Holy Maiden?”
“Would you please withdraw for a moment?”
“Yes, Holy Maiden.”
As the Holy Knights Commander withdrew from his position, the Holy Maiden stared intently at the letter alone.
The contents of the letter weren’t particularly important.
What was important was the phrase written on the outside of the letter.
-Until the moon fades, we are the Phoenix that does not weep, the Holy Horse that leaves no footprints.
‘How does he know these words that only I and my god should know?’
It was a phrase that someone like Evan Alcart, a mere disregarded second son, shouldn’t know.
Has the Sun created a new apostle?
No, that couldn’t be.
Adrianna is the only apostle directly chosen by the Sun.
Then-
‘Does he…… know all of my plans?’
Someone who had seen through all these plans had appeared.
The Sun’s Holy Maiden, Saint Adrianna.
She was famous for her benevolent nature and devout character.
There was nothing wrong with this.
Except for one thing.
That is if you exclude the fact that the Holy Maiden was hiding something.
‘How did he figure out my plan to bring my Sun to this world?’
The Sun’s descent.
She had quietly made plans for this and manipulated the Sun Church.
The shadow master controls the temple from behind.
It was the ‘true identity’ of Saint Adrianna, hidden behind the mask of a devout Holy Maiden.
‘Even the cure for my illness that I couldn’t find……’
The cloudy crimson potion enclosed.
It was a potion that could cure, albeit partially, the curse that the Holy Maiden had suffered from for a long time.
“Heh, hehe. How interesting.”
Cold sweat dripped from the Holy Maiden’s forehead as she tried to maintain her composure.
‘Is this a warning? Or mockery? Suggesting how flimsy my plans are?’
There seemed to be no good intentions.
From sending just a letter without meeting directly,
To brazenly engrave those precious phrases.
Wasn’t it as if he was mocking how pathetic the Holy Maiden’s plans were?
Crunch-
The letter in her hand crumpled.
It was like her crumpled pride.
‘……I must find out.’
The Holy Maiden, Adrianna, resolved.
Whether this was a coincidence.
If not, how much Evan knew?
Whether Evan was the true ‘shadow master’ playing with and controlling them from above-
Somehow, she had to find out.
Wow, trying to reach F-tier?