I Couldn't Deny It Any Longer

I tried to deny it at first, but I had no choice but to accept the truth. I had transmigrated into the game.

I looked around. The room was filthy enough that a rat could pop out at any second. A bed that looked like it might collapse at any moment, and a painfully cramped space. Wait… this scene looked awfully familiar.

“Ah!”

It finally clicked. This was the exact starting point for Nam Doyun.

“I need to get out of here right now.”

I had died countless times while playing as Nam Doyun in this room. I had to leave immediately. If this character stayed here any longer, the person he would run into was a murderer. If I met him, there was no doubt I would die.

At that exact moment, a notification rang out.

At least two skills were unlocked. They were exactly the same as the ones I had already freed when I played the game before transmigrating. So… I really had taken over the exact character I used to play?

But ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it was still hopelessly lacking. To face that monster, I needed at least ten skills unlocked. On top of that, my current stats were pathetic. If someone so much as bumped into me right now, my bones would probably shatter. If I ran into that murderer in this state, I was dead. No question about it.

I sprinted to the door and grabbed the handle. I twisted it, but the door wouldn’t budge.

Open, damn it! Just open!

Creak—

When I put real force into it, the door finally opened.

I was saved… If I could just step outside safely, I would succeed.

But something felt off. The door hadn’t opened in the direction I was pushing. It had swung the opposite way.

Bang—

The door slammed straight into my forehead.

“Ugh…”

I clutched my forehead. That hurt like hell. Why did it open the other way?

I looked up.

In that instant, pure horror washed over me. The pain in my forehead was completely forgotten as my mind went blank. I was screwed. It was that murderer.

Countless corpses were strewn across the abandoned factory floor. And standing on top of them were two ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠men.

One wore gauntlets and watched with a bored expression as the other man held a sword.

“......”

The swordsman gripped his blade with both hands. A blue aura instantly surged along the edge.

“Not bad. You can already form a mana blade. Should be decent entertainment, at least.”

The gauntleted man crooked his finger.

In the blink of an eye, the swordsman leapt toward him at a speed my eyes couldn’t follow. He swung that blue blade straight at the gauntleted man’s neck. The gauntlets—his only means of defense—were nowhere near his throat.

The swordsman smiled, certain of his victory.

Clang—

But in an instant, the gauntlet rose and deflected the sword. The swordsman’s eyes widened in shock.

“Is that really all you’ve got?”

The gauntleted man narrowed his eyes as he stared forward. The movement had been so fast it was invisible. It was as if the entire process had been skipped.

The swordsman seemed to realize it instinctively. Beating the man in front of him was impossible. The previous attack had clearly been his full power.

He threw his sword aside and bolted for the factory exit.

“Sigh… how boring.”

The gauntleted man, who had been yawning, stayed rooted in place and casually threw a punch forward. There was no way it could reach.

Yet somehow, a massive hole tore open in the fleeing man’s chest.

“Guhk!”

The man collapsed, blood pouring from the wound.

I swallowed hard. I hadn’t seen that punch at all. Just what the hell… how was that even possible?

The white-haired man with the savage face noticed me and grinned. Then he started walking in my direction.

That man was a contract killer.

This world was mostly like the Earth I came from, but there was one huge difference. Monsters and demons straight out of fantasy novels appeared and attacked humans. The people who fought them were called Hunters.

Hunters were the chosen few among humanity. They possessed physical abilities and techniques far beyond ordinary people. But just like how even Seoul National University had its bottom-ranked students, there was a clear hierarchy even among the monsters known as Hunters.

And at the very peak of that hierarchy was the mercenary group Cain.

Cain proudly held a spot in the top three mercenary organizations. On the surface, they seemed like a normal group that took on mercenary contracts. In reality, they were something else entirely.

Every single one of their members was a professional hitman.

There were exactly eleven of them. Only those who passed rigorous screening could join.

The man walking toward me was one of those eleven—Urbashi.

Thud. Thud.

He took one step after another. My heart began pounding faster and faster. Before I knew it, his footsteps had stopped.

He was standing right in front of me.

He stared at me in silence.

“So a little rat was hiding after all.”

His massive arm swung toward my face.

Was this how I died?

No. I absolutely couldn’t let that happen. I had to survive no matter what.

“Aren’t you Sir Urbashi?”

His fist froze mid-air. His eyes narrowed.

“How do you know my name?”

Of course he would be suspicious. Every member’s information was top secret. Their faces had never been revealed to the public. The only things on their homepage were videos of them wearing masks while demonstrating their skills for potential clients. And even those videos didn’t show their full power.

“I recognized you from the videos on the Cain mercenary group’s homepage.”

Obviously, just watching those videos wouldn’t let anyone identify him as Urbashi. But I knew. I had seen his bare face ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠countless times while playing the game.

“You figured it out from just that… Hmm.”

Urbashi tilted his head. He still looked unconvinced.

Normally, Urbashi was someone this character was never supposed to meet here. If they did, Nam Doyun would always die. Then the player would restart.

But I had no guarantee that dying here would let me restart. This might really be the end. That’s why I had to survive.

To do that, I needed to slowly pique his interest.

“And ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠right now, one of the Cain Slayers is dead, isn’t he?”

Urbashi’s eyes flashed dangerously as he looked at me.

“How the hell do you know that?”

He grabbed me by the throat.

“Tell me the truth. That information hasn’t been leaked outside of Cain. How do you know it?”

Squeeze—

It felt like my neck bones would snap at any second.

“Kuhk… kuhk—”

“If you tell the truth, I’ll kill you quickly. You know far too many things you shouldn’t. Who told you?”

Urbashi’s voice grew colder and colder.

I had to bluff convincingly here if I wanted to live. The best bluff I could make right now was obvious.

Without a moment’s hesitation, I spat it out.

“Because I’m Evan’s real son.”

“What?”

Urbashi’s pupils shook violently.

Evan was one of the dead Cain Slayers. He had been one of Urbashi’s few true friends. And Evan had once told Urbashi that he had a son. He had never said those words to any other member of Cain—only to Urbashi, because he trusted him like a brother.

And now I had to pretend to be that son if I wanted to survive.

“Father always talked about you, Sir Urbashi. He said you were the only comrade he could trust with his back.”

Urbashi’s face twisted in pain as memories of Evan resurfaced.

“If you really are Evan’s son, I will spare you. But if you’re impersonating him, know that your death won’t be easy.”

“I can prove it.”

“What?”

“Before that, could you please let go of my neck first…”

I grimaced, staring at the arm still choking me.

“Fine. Go ahead and prove it.”

Urbashi finally released me and crossed his arms.

“I’ll recreate the move you just used to kill that man.”

“Oh?”

Urbashi looked at me with clear interest.

Evan’s greatest talent had been his genius ability to perfectly copy any technique after seeing it once. So the best way to prove I was his son would be to show I had inherited that same genius.

Normally it would be impossible. But I could do it.

Thanks to this skill.

“I’ll begin now.”

But… how exactly do I use this? Do I just copy the stance?

I tried to mimic the posture he had taken, but nothing happened. Urbashi’s expression hardened. Of course it would. My sloppy imitation looked ridiculous.

I needed to find the right way to activate it, and fast.

I replayed his movements in my mind like a camera. In that instant, a window appeared.

I focused on Y. My body moved on its own. Shockingly, it matched the exact motion I had seen in my mind.

When I threw the punch, the floor cracked beneath me.

“Hmm…”

Urbashi clicked his tongue. He still seemed unconvinced. That made sense. Simply copying the skill once wasn’t enough to convince him I was really Evan’s son.

“Is this proof enough?”

“Hmm…”

He remained silent.

“Can I leave now?”

“What?”

Urbashi frowned. But he definitely wouldn’t kill me now. He had just witnessed a display of genius that mirrored Evan’s ability to perfectly replicate techniques. After seeing that, he couldn’t afford to throw away even the slightest chance that I really was Evan’s son.

And it was crucial that I wedge myself into that tiny opening of possibility.

After thinking for a long time, Urbashi finally spoke.

“Fine. I’ll let you go for now. But there’s a condition.”

I swallowed nervously.

“What is it?”

“Where are you headed?”

“Elfon Academy. The entrance exam is coming up soon, so I need to go right away.”

This world, whose main quest was literally titled “Prevent the World’s Destruction,” was constantly inching toward ruin. No matter how overpowered Nam Doyun was, stopping it alone was impossible. I had to do it together with the main characters. To do that, entering the academy was absolutely necessary.

“Then you will take the exam alongside the attendant I assign you.”

“Excuse me?”

“Is that a problem?”

“No, sir. I understand.”

For now, I had no choice but to do as he said.