Chapter 1
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Predecessor (1)
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I had a dream.
To be precise, it was a dream recreating something I'd once experienced in a dream.
'Huh?'
That day, after finishing a grueling part-time job, I came home and, as usual, played an online game before falling asleep.
Nothing special up to that point. But after dozing off, I realized I was in some mysterious space.
'Where is this?'
A black expanse like the night sky, dotted with twinkling starlight.
And my body felt like it was floating in the sky, not standing on solid ground.
'......A dream?'
Recognizing it as a dream made it a lucid one, too.
'Living life sure brings all kinds of weird dreams.'
Anyway, now that I knew it was a dream, I looked around.
Beyond the sparkling stars in the black void, there was nothing much else.
'Was my dream always this boring?'
Paabat!—
"......!?"
The moment my thoughts ended, a brilliant white light erupted right in front of me.
Along with it came a faint silhouette, but the light was so bright that only its vague shape was visible.
'It's bright, but not blinding. Definitely a dream.'
As I stared at the light in fascination, a voice emanated from the silhouette.
[Greetings, my creation.]
"Creation?"
[I summoned you here to make you a proposal.]
"A proposal?"
What the hell?
[If you accept, I will grant the deepest desire of your heart—the one you cherish most.]
"......"
Some kind of genie from a lamp?
'No, it's a bit different from a lamp genie.'
Strictly speaking, it felt more like a contract.
I had to accept the proposal to get what I wanted.
But without knowing what the proposal was, I hesitated to agree recklessly.
'This is just a dream, though?'
Wasn't there really no reason to worry?
'Hmm.'
Still, better safe than sorry, so I asked about the proposal.
"What's the proposal?"
[Show me your potential.]
"What kind of potential?"
[Human potential.]
"......?"
What was that supposed to mean? Show human potential?
'Like passing some kind of test?'
The request itself was way too vague.
The lowest student in school cramming for months to get into a top university would show human potential.
Or someone pulling off a split-second act of brilliance to miraculously save a life in peril—that would too.
As I pondered this, the voice spoke again.
[Far greater than you imagine.]
"Oh, really?"
This damn dream could even read my thoughts.
[Once you accept, I'll summon an entity to explain the details.]
An entity?
"So, if I accept, you'll grant my wish?"
[Indeed.]
Hmm, what to do?
'A wish......'
The dream felt strangely vivid, but it was still just a dream.
And granting a wish? No downside there.
Decision made, I nodded, accepting the proposal from this unknown entity.
"Sure, why not. Let's give it a shot."
[The contract... has been established.]
Kukukukung!—
'Wha—what?'
The words had barely faded when the surroundings plunged into sudden darkness.
The brilliant white light and the silhouette that came with it began to vanish before my eyes.
'What the hell.'
At least grant the wish before leaving!
Kukukukung!—
In the end, with the darkening background and the entity's disappearance, pitch-black darkness swallowed my vision completely.
'......Been a while since I had such a shitty dream.'
That was my first thought as I slowly regained consciousness.
It had been decades, but that day was undeniably the worst.
'This makes the fifteenth world, right?'
The day after that dream contract, unbelievably, I'd crossed into another world.
And per the contract, not just once or twice—I'd jumped worlds fifteen times now.
'Wonder what this world's like.'
Worlds one through fourteen.
Having seen it all, I sat up and calmly surveyed my surroundings......
-Ah! You're awake.
"......?"
Something suddenly popped up right in front of me before I could even look around.
I barely stopped myself from instinctively attacking it and checked out the intruder first.
'A ghost?'
Floating there was a ghost with pale blue hair and only an upper body, head included.
Looking closer at its face, it seemed like a man in his mid-to-late twenties.
-Hello. I'm Lee Seojun. My nickname on the Hero History gallery is Enkol. Heard of me?
"......?"
I'd been puzzled by the random ghost at first, but now it was spouting nonsense that baffled me even more.
'I only get the name Lee Seojun.'
I knew its name was Lee Seojun.
And judging by the name, this seemed like a modern world.
'A modern world where ghosts appear?'
With that in mind, I decided to get more info from the ghost—no, from Lee Seojun.
"What's the Hero History gallery?"
-Huh? Hero History. You know Hero Officer Academy?
"No clue."
I answered honestly, and Lee Seojun's eyes widened in shock.
-No way, you really don't know? How did you even get here without knowing Hero Officer Academy?
"......Where is here, exactly?"
-The Hero Officer Academy world. Oh, right, you said you don't know. Simply put, it's a game world.
"......"
A game world?
'How the hell is it a game world again?'
To be exact, a game based on this world, but whatever.
Still, after the fourteenth world, landing in another game world for the fifteenth left me dumbfounded.
"So this is the game world of Hero Officer Academy?"
-Yes. But a total normie with zero knowledge showing up...
Lee Seojun muttered in exasperation, his face full of defeat.
To be honest, I wasn't a normie, but no need to correct him.
"Game world means there's a goal, right?"
-Yeah, saving the world. But seriously, you know nothing?
Lee Seojun clung to a thread of hope and asked again.
"Nope. Don't worry, though."
With that, I fully sat up.
Taking in the room, it looked like a small studio apartment.
And......
'Huh?'
A simple setup: bed, desk, wardrobe.
Among the furniture, I spotted a full-length mirror and paused to check my reflection.
For some reason, it showed a much younger version of myself.
-Surprised? You get de-aged like that to enroll in Hero Officer Academy.
"Yeah, it's a shock."
Not that it mattered much.
-We leave in two hours. I'll brief you on Hero Officer Academy until then.
In other words, a game rundown.
Since it was this world's lore, I nodded.
-To sum up Hero Officer Academy: enroll in the academy, build your strength, and ultimately save the world.
"Hmm."
Hero Officer Academy was what they called an academy.
'Academy...... Just think of it as school.'
Though going back to school at my age felt weird.
Especially since "building strength" meant it wasn't your typical school.
"Like a training camp?"
-Spot on. You learn all sorts, but combat's the focus.
"How long?"
-Three years. Then you roam the country or the world on missions.
"And that saves the world?"
-Exactly.
Simpler than expected.
'I could just go save the world right now.'
Enrolling meant wasting at least three years.
Might as well save it now and jump to the sixteenth world.
-Don't worry, though. I'll teach you everything step by step.
"......"
I stared blankly at Lee Seojun, who promised to teach me everything.
What was this ghost's deal, popping up out of nowhere to help?
"Why go this far?"
-Because we're in this together. Shared fate.
"Shared fate?"
The ghost nodded as if it were obvious.
-Long story short, I entered this world before. Barely failed, ended up like this.
"Like me now—you tried to save the world but failed?"
-Yeah. Since it was so close, I got one last shot as a guide.
In summary, the ghost before me, Lee Seojun, was my predecessor.
-If you fail too, I cease to exist. Succeed, and I go back home.
I roughly got the shared fate thing.
I save the world here, and Lee Seojun returns to his original world.
-Oh, what's your name?
"Lee Seongmin."
-Got it, Lee Seongmin. You'll probably start with the perk I got too.
"Perk?"
I repeated the word, and he nodded.
With that, a light appeared beside me and Lee Seojun, flashing brightly.
Paabat!—
'Light?'
I turned to see a pure white glow forming a shape before vanishing.
It was a huge roulette wheel. With my sharp dynamic vision, I could tell it had exactly a hundred slots.
"A roulette wheel."
-Yep. That's the perk. Lets you get one EX-grade Innate Ability.
With that explanation, I calmly read the words on the slots.
[Combat Genius], [Soul Absorption], [Perfect Defense], [Flawless Mind], [Monster Transformation], and so on.
"All EX-grade?"
-Yes. Any one's a winner. Give it a spin.
Honestly, with my current abilities, it didn't matter what I got.
So I nodded and spun the roulette as instructed.
Drrrrrr—
The massive wheel, as tall as me, spun vigorously.
Glancing at Lee Seojun, I saw tension in his face despite himself.
'EX-grade, but they're not all equal, huh.'
Anyway, the wheel slowed...
Tick— tick— tick—
...and finally stopped on one slot.
Lee Seojun and I naturally read the text there.