Misaligned Possession
"No way! You're that scumbag young master Sian?!"
"Hey, Sian—how on earth did you reach the Hwangol Taltae realm? I have to know! Please, tell me!"
"Shock. Lies. Can't believe it… Nah, just kidding—who the hell is Sian?"
Three women charged at me, eyes blazing with intensity.
Lucy, top of the magic department. Aria, the battle maniac obsessed with swordsmanship. And Wol Yeong, the jiangshi girl from the Eastern Magic Tower.
By the original story's standards, none of them had any reason to be friendly toward me. Or more precisely… toward the original Sian, they were people he shouldn't tangle with even in death.
Each one shoved her face uncomfortably close, venting her sense of betrayal up to now.
Swordsmanship class was about to start soon… but I couldn't miss a chance to get stronger.
Maybe I should bolt for now.
"Ah! Sian—"
"Where do you think you're running?! A swordsman never shows his back—it's shameful!"
"Together. Go."
As I fled from the pursuing women, a chase unfolding, I thought to myself.
Everyone. Tone it down with preying on noobs. Or I'll get screwed.
The legendary game, Ariel. Beta test recruitment closed in five minutes with 100,000 applicants.
The pinnacle of VR games, infamous as a life-ruiner.
And I was one of the lives it ruined.
"Kinda nerve-wracking."
I sat on my bed, glaring at the AGI Helmet.
It looked like a delivery helmet with some weird gadgets slapped on.
The instructions were simple: Put it on, lie down. Think about logging into Ariel. The helmet reads your brainwaves and dives you into a sleep state.
Easier said than done.
"This thing's really safe, right?"
I was a 10,000-hour beta tester and vet of Ariel.
But that was the standard VR version. This was my first time with direct brain AGI access.
What if I dove in recklessly and the logout button vanished entirely? What if I got stuck like in that one anime, unable to return to reality?
Who'd even show up to my funeral? Then again, there probably wouldn't be many.
"Hoo…"
I took a deep breath and steeled myself.
Yeah. My life's all Ariel anyway. It was so damn fun I quit my job. Dumped my 200 million won savings into dividend stocks, living off 1.7 million won a month just gaming.
The world called me a failure, but not by my standards.
That insane world map. The massive branching paths. Hundreds of hidden routes.
And above all, a world that understood me better than anyone.
…For those guys, I could stake my life.
Vrrrrm—
When I came to, I'd already dived into the game world.
But something felt off.
Fatal Error Occurred.
Recovery System Activation Failed.
Entering Emergency Human Mode.
……Holy shit.
I knew it.
"…But it's not?"
Familiar ceiling. Ornate like something between medieval and Renaissance, with a sparkling chandelier that screamed swords-and-magic—no wires, no bulbs. Definitely Ariel.
Unlike the system messages, looks like I connected safely.
Clunk.
Just as relief washed over me, the room door opened.
"You're awake, Young Master."
Mmm, yeah yeah. Right after logging in and opening your eyes on the bed, this is how she'd greet you.
The dedicated maid NPC, guiding new players under the guise of a servant, right?
Even in full VR, it felt identical. Reassuring. Probably after some chat, she'd bring warm tea with a kind smile and explain the game…
"Awake safe again today, I see. The mansion staff's desperate all-night prayers must not have reached the heavens once more."
"…Huh?"
"Might as well get up for breakfast—or not."
Bang!
The maid delivered her contemptuous notice and slammed the door shut.
……What the hell?
Thoroughly bewildered.
"This is way off—did the story go like this?"
Come to think of it, my body felt heavy from earlier, different from the beta protagonist's build.
I dragged myself to what looked like the bathroom.
Then, the moment I checked the mirror—
"What the fuck is this?!"
I recoiled in horror.
A massively obese body. Protruding gut, face bloated like it might burst. Even sitting up felt sluggish!
Has to be a bug. I frantically searched for the logout button.
"Wh-what?! Where is it! Status window! Menu!"
Five minutes of yelling, nothing.
The chilling premonition I'd denied became reality, as always.
"…Holy shit."
"What bullshit now? First thing in the morning."
Slumped in despair, the same maid loomed over me pitifully.
I pulled myself together and asked.
"Hey. What's my name?"
"Memory loss play again?"
"I'm serious. What's my name?"
"……."
Logout impossible, situation unknown—but gathering info first.
Not the hero protagonist Cain, so figuring out my character might hold the key.
Luckily, she caught my earnest gaze and answered hesitantly.
"You're Sian, sir."
"…Sian? That Sian from the Brace Dukedom?"
"Yes."
My mind went ice-cold.
Sian Brace. Ariel's early-game poster boy for pathetic villains.
Harbors inferiority toward protagonist Cain, picks fights and gets wrecked every time. Annoys the heroines, stacks up hatred. A pitiful young noble.
Now the maid's attitude makes sense!
His dantian half-ruined already. Arrogant scumbag with sky-high pride.
Treated as a lost cause by the family. Doomed to get crushed by the protagonist and exit stage left.
Hence the maid's attitude.
But.
"Why talk to me like that?"
"…? What did you just—"
"A mere maid acting this way to a duke's heir? That's hanging offense."
But I'm not the original Sian.
In this no-system, no-logout hell, to survive safely, I needed to shift my position.
My cold words paled her face.
The fat young master she always bullied suddenly seemed like someone else—she looked rattled.
"Where's the family head right now?"
"…Pardon?"
Discipline now was key, but grasping the situation meant something more urgent.
"Why do you ask about the family head…?"
"I need to see him."
"……."
Her eyes wavered. Makes sense.
Original Sian was a coward who couldn't face his father, terrified of eye contact.
But I had to meet him.
Precisely, I needed to catch his eye.
Pablo Brace, patriarch of the Brace Duke Mansion—friend to that guy who knows the world's structure best, first to sense something beyond it.
Highest chance of holding clues to this madness.
To meet him, I needed the patriarch's trust first.
Possessing scumbag Sian turned out lucky in hindsight.
Son of Pablo Brace—not the worst landing.
"Escort me. I have words for him."
"……."
At my firm command, the maid gaped blankly.
The first-floor grand dining hall we descended to was absurdly vast.
A massive mahogany table seating dozens easily. At the head sat a bearded old noble—family head, Sian's father—eating alone.
"Good morning, Father."
I greeted as politely as possible, without groveling.
One man dining in the vast space exuded pressure crushing the entire hall.
Clink.
No reply. He didn't glance my way, impassively slicing meat.
Treated me like invisible air, perfect transparent man.
Original Sian would've fled in terror from the suffocating silence and cold shoulder.
But I'm an Ariel 10,000-hour vet.
Not some noob who backs off when a key NPC ignores you.
I cleared my throat and stepped closer, radiating presence.
"Sorry to interrupt your meal, but I have urgent words."
"……."
Still no answer.
The maid beside me paled, urging me to stop, but I pressed on at his crown.
"I've been ashamed of my past self. From now on, I'll live diligently."
Clink.
The busy silverware hesitated ever so slightly mid-air.
I drove the wedge home without pause.
"I'll diet, fix my ruined dantian somehow. So watch my path ahead."
"……."
Only then did the patriarch slowly raise his head.
For the first time in years, cold fatherly gaze met chubby scumbag son's—in mid-air collision.
I swallowed inwardly.
Prepare for the worst: prolonged no-logout.
Somehow earn his notice, meet that guy he's close to.
The only one likely holding clues to this fucked bug.
"……."
"……."
His sharp eyes scanned me.
Probing if this was fleeting bravado or real resolve.
I met it straight, unflinching.
After a dozen seconds of choking silence?
…Clink.
He silently withdrew his gaze, resuming his meat in stoic silence.
No encouragement, no permission.
Just the same indifferent meal.
But.
This is enough.
I clenched my fist inside.
Original Sian would've gotten "Ruining my appetite—get out" by now.
Yet he continued eating after my declaration? Huge win for a first button.