Welcome to Possession: Time to Make Some Money

A burning pain scorched my gut like it was on fire. Of course, my stomach wasn't actually burning.

"......"

I slowly lowered my head and saw the gauntlet piercing right through my abdomen.

I was dying.

Park Jeonghyeon, an A-rank hunter, had met his end at the hands of the erosion entity codenamed Devil King.

Thud!

The Devil King flung me to the ground like trash, shaking the blood from his gauntlet.

Then he glanced down at me dismissively.

Something about his appearance seemed vaguely familiar, furrowing my brow for a moment, but I quickly realized it was pointless and let out a deep sigh.

Who cares who he is? I'm about to die anyway.

After staring at me for about five more seconds, he turned away. His form gradually dispersed until he vanished completely.

"...What a rude bastard."

I stared at the spot where he'd disappeared, then let out a hollow chuckle at the damp sensation on my skin.

I'm really dying, huh.

Born into a body naturally deficient in mana, I'd clawed my way up to A-rank hunter. But now, I had no face left to show my departed parents or my friends.

If I get reborn in the next life...>

This time, I want to live a more leisurely existence.

As I murmured that futile wish, my gaze fell on the necklace around my neck. I grasped it in my hand.

A crude, blood-soaked trinket. I remembered buying it, mesmerized by the grandiose claim that it would grant my wish.

Just last week, right?

Fucking scammer.

"Grant my wish, my ass..."

Overwhelmed by indescribable emotions, I gripped it with all my strength. It shattered, shards embedding into my fingers, but the pain was faint.

Come to think of it, the agony in my gut had faded away too.

My mind was growing hazy.

Ah. So it's time.

On the boundary between life and death, I whispered softly.

"If there's a next life..."

I hope I can live pursuing what I truly desire...

Consciousness faded.

"Heh, caught ourselves a loser."

"Hey, I heard something slick new dropped in the Underground. Let's go check it out!"

...That's weird. There was no one around my dying body, so why was I hearing teenage voices?

I opened my eyes, and what unfolded before me was...

".....?"

The scene in front of me was... an ordinary alleyway.

A gray concrete alley on all sides. I was slumped against the wall like someone nursing a hangover.

But my mind was sharper than ever—no trace of a hangover.

I could tell at a glance that this wasn't an illusion. It felt far too real.

"...What the hell."

I examined my hands. No trace of the necklace shards.

Then my abdomen. The gaping hole that had been gushing blood moments ago was gone, replaced by a shirt lightly dusted with dirt.

I pinched my thigh hard—definite pain. Not a dream.

Steadying my trembling vision, I looked ahead.

In the distance, a gang of kids laughed raucously as they walked away from me.

And they had...

Am I seeing things?

Animal ears, tails. Ripped ears, massive statures...

Features no modern human would have. Like beastkin, elves, or dwarves from a fantasy world.

Yet their clothes were modern—cognitive dissonance overload.

"Jeez."

It felt like I'd possessed the protagonist of a novel or game.

Then.

The words "[You have new mail in your inbox]" appeared before my eyes.

Wait, seriously? Actual possession?

I hadn't sent any 4500-character fan mail to the author or devs.

On a whim, I mentally shouted "status window."

And then.

It actually appeared.

"Holy shit."

At this point, I couldn't deny reality. I'd possessed someone else's body in another world.

Just like the protagonists of those webnovels I'd read for fun when bored. My head throbbed at the absurdity.

It was disorienting, sure. But not bad. No, actually good.

Second chance at life... why would I say no?

I was doomed to die anyway. No reason to turn down a fresh start.

A blessing, really. I don't know why or how this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fictional scenario happened to me, but passing it up would be idiotic.

Still...

"...."

The world I'd lived in, and all those precious bonds that drove me—they'd vanished in an instant.

Only my memories prove they existed.

If those memories fade over time, my past life might as well have never happened.

Could I just charge into this new life without a care?

No matter what I do, I'm settled in this new world now.

So the only thing I can do is...

"...Remember them."

The family and friends from my childhood.

The fellow hunters I fought alongside.

Even that godforsaken world that fed me endless despair.

I have to endlessly reminisce and hold onto every being that stirred my emotions.

Only then can I honor the past and earn the right to step into the future.

I'll remember them.

Now, time to forge ahead.

With my thoughts sorted, I scanned the status window.

Huh... the name's the same as mine?

Did they slap my original name on here, or is this body's owner coincidentally also Park Jeonghyeon?

The mystery was solved by the wallet tumbling on the ground.

It looked trampled, containing only an ID.

Possessed a kid with the exact same name by coincidence, huh.

The name Park Jeonghyeon and a photo of a handsome young boy.

The kind of face that'd be popular with guys and girls alike.

"...He's hot."

Looks like what I'd have turned out like if I'd taken care of my appearance as a kid.

Of course, I never had the time or reason back then.

Anyway, starting with a skill already?

'Synchronization'?

No clue what it does from the name. Gotta check details...

That thought crossed my mind—

Shua!

The status window dispersed, replaced by a familiar screen.

"Gacha?"

The gacha screen from the mobile game I'd played on and off, The End of the Human Era—shortened to EndEra.

A skill based on gacha pulls for power? Classic setup.

The kind that shows up in those satisfying novels where you summon characters or items via gacha and blast through the main story.

Intrigued, I decided to dig deeper into the skill.

Better to grasp it fully now.

Gacha consumes 'Fate' as currency. Fate? That's from EndEra too.

Fate was the premium gacha currency in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠EndEra.

Seeing the EndEra gacha and currency here—definitely possessed into the EndEra world?

As I pondered, I spotted the consciousness appearance probability table in the corner of the gacha screen.

Can check gacha rates, huh.

No time like the present.

"Hmm."

Something's off. Why only 1-star and 2-star? Shouldn't there be 4-star, 5-star, higher tiers?

As I tilted my head, I noticed the notes below.

1) Limit Break expands available consciousness grades. (Limit Break currently locked)

2) Appearance rates auto-adjust proportional to user's capabilities.

"I see."

Basically, my current body is too weak for higher grades.

Yeah, for a superhuman, this body's pretty scrawny. Mana's low too.

Of all bodies to possess, a frail one like this. Missing my old one already.

Not that I want to go back. I'd just die again with a donut-hole gut.

Limit Break unlocks higher-tier characters later... better save gacha for after some growth.

With only 5% for 2-star max right now, pulling would make me a sucker.

Alright, checked the skill. Time to get up...

As I started to stand, I noticed an exclamation mark on the envelope icon in the corner.

Standard mailbox feature?

Right, there was that new mail notification earlier.

- Unread messages: 1

I checked the contents immediately.

A new opportunity. Coincidence? Or fate?

Ah, definitely the EndEra universe.

The End of the Human Era—short for EndEra. A game where you navigate incidents in Providence, the academy city founded to train purifiers of various races against erosion phenomena.

It recreated the real-world erosion outbreaks with insane detail. Niche but deeply beloved by its fans.

I was a casual player, squeezing in sessions whenever I had time.

People around me shook their heads—"You hunt erosion entities in real life; why do it in a game too?"—but I loved EndEra.

In my hectic routine, games were my only breather. And EndEra's setup—fighting erosion entities just like me—hooked me hard.

Especially since the protagonist harbored revenge ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠against them, like I did. It was my sole hobby, my stress relief.

"...This is gonna be fun."

My heart raced at the thought of experiencing its episodes and characters firsthand.

This life...

I won't repeat past mistakes. I'm done losing precious bonds right in front of me because I'm "too weak."

Gotta ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠grind hard.

EndEra isn't all sunshine; dangers await.

Extras who get possessed always get dragged into the plot anyway.

Might as well power up proactively for a safe daily life.

With my experience climbing from rock bottom to A-rank, it'll be easier.

Even smoother once I enroll in Providence.

Is this... right before enrollment?

I checked the date on my smartphone.

- February 15th.

Two weeks until enrollment.

Better train or whatever to build a foundation before then.

Memory says enrollment costs about 10 million mihwan. Previous owner probably saved up, so no issue.

Mihwan's the global currency, value like Korean won. No rip-offs from isekai math errors here.

Alright, time to move...

As I geared up for my new life, a new window popped up.

"What now?"

Its contents...

"...?"

It hit my head with enough force to knock me out cold.