Chapter 2
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 002
Chapter Title: To the Ri Sete Academy
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I sat in the office, running the game one final time for quality assurance checks.
With less than a week until release.
A yellow Post-it note stuck on my monitor proclaimed D-5, as if to remind me.
I glanced at it once before rebooting the game.
By all rights, it should have already gone to the QA department and been finalized long ago, but as always, we were brushing off the minor bugs to patch later.
Some things, though, couldn't be overlooked.
Click, click. Click.
With the sound of mouse clicks, I skipped through the cutscene, and the cinematic video played.
Grand, majestic battles adorned the login screen.
Gimmicks that could be called the highlight of each scenario and flashy boss fights flashed by.
My reaction to it all, however, remained lukewarm.
I'd played it countless times already, reaching the point where I couldn't find any enjoyment in it.
As a developer, though, I couldn't just skip it.
"Haa..."
A game with a simple, clichéd story about preventing the world's destruction.
Thanks to the company going all-in on the budget, it was a AAA-scale hardcore single-player action game packed with layers to dig into.
From a developer's perspective, "elements to dig into" was synonymous with more work.
It usually translated to overtime.
Guaranteed overtime, possible service overtime, and weekend shifts.
They might sound different, but they all meant the same thing.
Games on this scale, worth billions, wrecked the developers.
But...
There was one thing that offered some solace: the massive, majestic poster adorning one wall.
It was ranked #1 in the most anticipated games of the year.
The current overtime stemmed from issues in the side quest "The Fall of the Pisvolt Family."
Logging in with my developer ID let me skip the trivial parts and pause at the desired section.
[Dream Demon Lord.]
The boss fight.
I skipped the brief dialogue, and the screen transitioned, handing control back to the player.
After some convincing maneuvers to advance to the next phase, the Demon Lord bellowed in rage, upheaving the earth to kick off phase 2.
I flashed a satisfied smile at the sight.
No lag, no crashes.
"It's finally working right."
I replied to the internal email—with its cute emoticon—saying [Aiden's phase 2 crashes a lot] that it had been fixed.
Then, looking back at the paused game screen, I saw a blond man gripping his rapier to face the enraged Demon Lord.
"Nicely done."
It was nicely done.
Barring the excessive RAM usage from those flashy combat scenes causing frame drops.
The blond man's name was Toskantana Aiden Pisvolt.
A character who shared the title of the world's strongest, representing one faction, while also serving as an academy professor.
'And a mid-game dropout.'
In this decisive battle against the Dream Demon Lord, Aiden would lose and die.
Feeling bored, I dug out the character bible from beneath a pile of documents.
I read through the settings carefully.
Truth be told, since I'd focused on programming and left the story as an afterthought, this felt somewhat fresh.
The "Fall of the Pisvolt Family" scenario mostly unfolded after Aiden, the temporary professor, returned to his family.
"The strongest one the demons targeted first for elimination ahead of their grand invasion..."
What piqued my interest was the additional note.
[The Dream Demon Lord had its eyes on Aiden, that's true, but this event wouldn't have happened if he'd continued as temporary professor.]
"Hmm."
A supplementary explanation followed for clarity.
The capital's defenses were daunting even for the Demon Lord, so staying there would have prevented this tragedy.
It also noted that no one expected someone of Aiden's caliber to be assassinated.
Even if they had known, Aiden would have gone anyway.
"And it has the Demon Lord's blessing too."
That much I remembered.
System-wise, blessings could grant beneficial effects, but sometimes negative ones as well.
Aiden's was likely the latter.
What made it vicious was that it functioned like a curse but couldn't be lifted by ordinary means.
The blessing on Aiden was "Hallucination of Disgust," bestowed by the Dream Demon Lord he'd faced.
Even knowing about it, his decision to go—was probably to break free of this blessing?
Ding.
A blinking crimson window accompanied the internal mail alert.
Reflexively, I moved the mouse.
[Ah, thank you. Sorry for sending it so close to quitting time.]
"I wish you'd sent it sooner, but whatever..."
I didn't really feel like blaming the QA team.
Every department was strapped for time, but QA always got the work last.
They peaked when everyone else could finally relax.
This might have been sent in a rush during their frantic checks.
I opened the internal mail and typed a response.
'No problem.'
As I gathered my things to head out, another ding signaled a new mail.
[Thank you so much. But... about that setting for Aiden. I heard you proposed it, Sung-ha? Is that true?]
I stroked my chin, wondering which setting she meant.
When no reply came, another message arrived from the QA team member.
[The Hallucination of Disgust.]
"Ah."
Now it clicked.
The Hallucination of Disgust from the Dream Demon Lord made people appear as cockroaches in his perception.
It was the reason for Aiden's pathological mysophobia.
But everyone just thought Aiden despised humans, unaware of the details, so they saw his mysophobia as the aloofness of a genius.
Even if Aiden confessed, "People look like cockroaches to me," they'd take it as a euphemism.
Mistaking it for something like, "You're not as ugly as a cockroach."
As a result, the number of girls Aiden made cry in the story was beyond counting.
'Haha, I didn't expect that to land either.'
I coughed awkwardly mid-type, and a reply came right away.
[I really like the character Aiden, but that one setting bothered me.]
'Is that so?'
[Did you ever think about the suffering Aiden goes through because of it?]
"Hm?"
The tone felt off...
[Ah, no need to reply. You probably didn't put much thought into it anyway.]
Caught off guard by the aggressive tone, another mail pinged.
[So, maybe you should experience it yourself.]
I started typing to ask what she meant, but my fingers froze.
"The recipient is... Star Wizard?"
Wait a sec. We all use our real names for internal mail, right?
The doubt flashed through my mind as a wave of exhaustion washed over me, and my vision went black.
Finishing the recollection, I tore at my hair.
"Is this really happening...?"
And just like that, I had become Aiden.
People all looking like cockroaches was spot-on, and the mysophobia and nausea matched perfectly.
"Heaven's punishment."
Karma.
This was karma.
During development, Aiden was designed too perfectly cool, so I'd jokingly proposed that setting, and it got approved.
If I'd known it'd come back like this, I'd have seriously talked past-me out of it.
The only grievance was that I'd just proposed it.
Wasn't it the one who approved it that's at fault?
Proposing is fair game...
Haa...
Every thought made my mind fog, and I let out a heavy sigh.
Clenching and unclenching my fist, I assessed the situation.
'Keeping all my memories, actions, and habits means this is possession.'
When she spoke to me earlier, I was startled but managed to respond aristocratically.
Beyond that, table manners, walking, speech patterns, habits—even my thought processes—were mimicking Aiden's.
'Really lucky.'
Otherwise, suspicion would have fallen on me first.
The maid helped me change.
I donned a dress shirt, topped with an antique purple longcoat, wrapped a scarf around my neck, and she styled my hair with oil.
Truth be told, I wanted to do it myself.
With everyone looking like cockroaches, even human contact felt like touching a giant roach.
Its horrifying chitinous legs brushed my body in real time.
This was physiologically impossible.
As time passed, my complexion darkened when footsteps echoed up the stairs from afar.
No way, I thought, but shook my head.
'Charlotte wouldn't still be here.'
She was quite busy, after all.
After I secluded myself citing illness, all the public duties shifted to her. With her existing workload, it had probably doubled.
It might sound like dumping work, but Charlotte wanted to prove her worth in estate management, so she'd have welcomed it rather than refused.
But contrary to my expectations, a familiar voice rang out.
From a woman—presumably—with brown bobbed hair.
Dressed neatly as if headed out, she exuded an air of refinement.
Charlotte sighed deeply the moment she saw me.
"Get ready quickly and come down. The carriage is prepared."
"Where to?"
"...Are you serious?"
I tilted my head, and she clutched the back of her neck.
"Ri Sete Academy."
The place where you're taking the professor position. You need to go at least once.
She glared as she said it.
As if she'd end me right here if I really didn't go.
My jaw from yesterday's hit ached, forcing me to nod.
Truly barbaric.
'Academy, huh.'
I did have business there.
'The game bible said he'd have survived if he'd kept the temporary professor gig, right?'
The maid finished styling my hair and stepped back.
I glanced in the full-length mirror and nodded.
Whatever else, this appearance was flawless.
A sharp, finely chiseled jawline.
High nose bridge and blue eyes.
A steadfast ego blending with an air of arrogance.
It all shone with Aiden's scholarly conviction.
"Let's go, Professor Aiden."
Charlotte jabbed with a mocking lilt.
I nodded in kind.
"Professor, huh."
"What, not a fan of temporary professor like a visiting professor? It's all arranged so you can quit anytime..."
"Not that."
She eyed me as if to ask what then.
I replied with a faint smile.
"Since it's my job now, I'll do it properly."
My immediate goal was to renew the temporary professor position.
Roaches or whatever, I had to survive first.
'I'll think about the rest step by step.'
Charlotte, looking dumbfounded, chuckled as if wondering what wind had blown.
Even without words, her light steps seemed oddly cheerful.