Status Window Error

I almost shouted out loud.

He dragged me out of nowhere for drinks, made me sit through all his complaining, and now he dumps me into a place like this?

I was starting to seriously question both his sanity and his true identity.

What the hell is this bastard even doing?

Whatever he was, the only thing that mattered right now was my own situation.

Of all the novels to get shoved into, it had to be this one—swarming with monsters, villains, and Mains. A battlefield would have been better.

—Riiing!

The notification sound coming from inside Ma Seong-yong’s coat snapped me out of my thoughts. He dipped his head in a brief, apologetic bow.

“Master. It seems that man has arrived. I’ll step outside for a moment to take this call.”

“Alright.”

Ma Seong-yong left, phone pressed to his ear. I watched his back recede and tried to organize my thoughts.

Instructor… an instructor, huh…

Live as an instructor inside Arena Academy, the place that serves as the backdrop for every major character. On the surface it sounded like a simple enough mission, yet I couldn’t help shaking my head.

This was where the protagonist lived. Villains and Mains would constantly break in, and every kind of trial would come with them. Being told to take an instructor post there was basically being shoved toward suicide.

Wait. They said I was the strongest being in the entire world.

Then monsters and the like should go down in a single hit, right?

No. I still had no idea how strong Cheon Hae-beom’s actual power and abilities were. Jumping to conclusions was premature.

“How am I supposed to check this guy’s abilities? If I were the protagonist I’d at least have a status window or some—”

“……Huh?”

A translucent message window floated in midair. The special privilege granted only to protagonists—a status window—had been given to me as well.

“What the…?”

Was this some kind of apology gift for dumping me into the novel without warning? That was almost considerate of him.

Except the status window was completely broken. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠The whole thing felt so ominous it might as well have been haunted.

“Ha. Nothing ever goes right.”

My earlier guess had been wrong. This status window wasn’t a gift from that bastard—it had belonged to Cheon Hae-beom from the start. I had simply stolen it without meaning to, and the errors were the result.

Just the names alone felt like pure power fantasy. Plenty more skills stood in a long line after those, but—

—I couldn’t use any of my own skills. Soul-body incompatibility, or whatever the hell they called it.

“You son of a bitch.”

This wasn’t testing my patience; it was giving me the disease and then handing me the medicine. If you were going to shove me into the body of the strongest being in the world, you should have left it alone. What kind of twisted sense of humor was this?

“Just you wait, Baek Seong-hun.”

A sigh escaped me at the sight of my nerfed state. Still, it was a lock rather than a full reset, so that was something. As long as I paid the right amount of points, everything would unlock. No need to panic just yet.

The stat reset didn’t matter much either. Right now I had zero skills and the physical ability of an ordinary person, but as long as the status window existed I would grow on my own. The only real blow was the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠complete inability to use magic power.

“Not like I have a choice.”

It was a shame, but what could I do? Staying the absolute strongest from the start would have been even more ridiculous. At least the potential was still world-class. No higher growth ceiling existed anywhere.

“What, no friend privileges? This is too unfair to live with.”

Had my complaint actually reached him? A new message window appeared as if delivering his reply.

A Random Shop. A bizarre system that never even appeared in the novel.

I read the usage guide written beneath the shop window. Judging purely by the description, the performance was excellent.

The talents and skills of every character who appears in the story.

That single line alone was enough to call the whole thing broken. Of course there would be duds to match the random nature, but that was pure luck either way.

The real problem was the state of my wallet.

I was completely broke. I didn’t even know how to earn points or gold, so there was no way to fix my current predicament. Did I just kill monsters like in a game?

While I was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠still rolling my eyes around in unanswered doubt, another message window appeared.

“Tsk…”

The taste in my mouth went bitter. Did I really have to take that quest? How was I supposed to become an instructor in this body? I could barely look after myself, and now they wanted me to teach kids? Absolutely not.

The clear rewards were tempting, but I doubted this was the only path available. I deliberately looked away from the quest window.

“Oh—there it is.”

Tiny text written at the very bottom of the status window caught my eye.

“……Damn it.”

Just threaten to kill me if I refuse the instructor job. Why shove me forward with such a petty method? Growing by teaching kids, my ass…

“—!”

A brilliant idea suddenly flashed through my mind.

The cadets’ progress would return to me as power. So what would happen if I folded knowledge of astronomical value—the secrets of mana, monster biology, new medical science, ancient ruins—into the curriculum?

……If I play this right, I could become a complete monster.

Fine. Time to stop fighting it. No matter how hard I tried to run, the system would never leave me alone. Better to stop wasting time and just play along. Who knew? If I behaved, that bastard Baek Seong-hun might even send me home.

With that thought, I stood up.

Where did that Ma Seong-yong guy go?

I needed his agreement to become an academy instructor. Yet the call was taking forever and he showed no sign of returning. Lacking patience, I set off after him toward the place he had just left.

“He’s not outside either.”

No matter where I looked, there was no sign of the man. Wondering if he had gone outdoors, I walked slowly while peering through the glass windows—only to see one thing.

“Whoa……”

My own reflection in the glass.

Why is Cheon Hae-beom this handsome?

Was “strongest in the world” limited to looks? The proportions went without saying, but the face itself was on another level. I had pictured Cheon Hae-beom as middle-aged or elderly and had been thoroughly proven wrong.

As Ma Seong-yong’s master I figured he had to be at least fifty, but this is unexpected.

He looked like a young man in his early twenties. I kept walking while staring at the glass.

And then—

—Thud!

“Ah!”

A short scream came from right in front of me. My head snapped around on reflex.

“Ah, shit…”

A woman with short brown hair was scowling hard. Her clothes were stained black with coffee, and the cause was probably—

Me?

This was awkward. I had been walking carelessly while looking sideways, collided with some woman, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and the impact had made her spill her coffee. That was the current situation. Clearly my fault.

I lowered my head to apologize.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I was distracted and—”

“Ugh, seriously. Where the hell are you looking while you walk?”

The reply that came back was more than a little grating. Pretty people were supposed to have good personalities, so why was this woman so rude? Of course I understood. If I had just taken a full-body coffee shower I’d be irritated too.

I offered another apology.

“I was lost in thought. I’m truly sorry. Would you like me to cover the cleaning fee?”

“What did you just say? Ha. Unbelievable.”

She glared at me, then let out a snort of laughter. Something familiar flickered through that rapid shift of expressions.

Wait, I’ve seen that face somewhere before.

Had I stared too long? She sneered as if she couldn’t believe it.

“What are you staring at like an idiot? Are you messing with me right now?”

“……”

Tch.

She felt like an important character and yet somehow not. Moments like this made me resent my own lousy memory.