A World Only for You (1)

E-rank Hunter Yoon Jiseong.

I tossed the hunter ID with those words printed on it into a corner of my room without much care.

"No matter how high your other stats are, if you've got zero mana, E-rank is the ceiling, huh…"

Hunters ranked E or below couldn't just walk into a Gate. You had to complete mandatory training and pass a basic exam first.

I would've preferred to enter a Gate in the real world if I could help it.

Gates leaked mysterious magical energy. Prolonged exposure might even awaken mana in someone like me.

But that mandatory training and exam weren't strictly necessary. Enrolling in Korea University's Hunter Department automatically granted Gate access.

Well, mana isn't exactly urgent right now anyway.

I let go of the lingering regret and opened the manga list.

Combat experience could be learned just as well inside a manga as it could in reality.

It was time to select a new manga for the unregistered slot.

"Huh?"

There was nothing I could select. Did it only count manga I'd read after gaining the ability?

Come to think of it, I haven't read a single manga since ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠diving into the ninja world.

Well then — maybe it was time for a little happy hour.

I sprawled out on the bed and started searching for manga on my phone.

"Something with plenty of combat… yeah. This one looks decent."

My goal wasn't to mess around with this and that. I was here for combat experience.

Even with the Dagger Arts skill backing me up, I could still feel my own clumsiness.

That said, a manga where the protagonist is overwhelmingly strong is a no-go. The technique has to be sharp.

I couldn't enter those kinds of worlds in the first place.

The manga's protagonist had to have a physical level equal to or lower than my real-world body for me to get in.

At least for now. Once the system upgrades further, who knows.

The system hadn't explicitly told me that. I just… knew. Like the information had seeped into me naturally, as if I'd known about the ability for ages.

Also, any training I did inside a manga only strengthened the character I possessed. My real body stayed exactly the same.

So the only things I could bring back were techniques and experience.

"Huh. This is pretty good."

The one I was reading featured a protagonist working as a hero. The power inflation wasn't too extreme, so I could probably enter without issue.

The enemies were an even mix of monsters and humans — perfect for picking up a variety of real combat experience.

And the ending is the usual save-the-world-and-cuddle-with-the-heroine type. Yeah. That's how an ending should go.

I nodded and tried to select it.

"…?"

What the hell? I'd read all the way to the ending.

Wait a second.

"System."

I expanded the system without any information condensed.

One line of description in particular held my attention.

"You can only change the endings of… erotic manga you find unsatisfactory?"

That explained why the manga I'd just finished wasn't on the selectable list.

But the real problem was something else entirely.

From now on, if I wanted to enter a new manga world, I'd have to grit my teeth and read all the way through to an ending I hated…!

…It's basically forcing me to take psychic damage.

Well, what choice did I have? If you get a broken ability like this, you put up with a little inconvenience.

I took a deep breath, tears welling in my eyes, and summoned the forbidden tags into my mind.

"NTR…… aaargh! Absolutely not!"

That was the last line of defense. I could not sit and watch my woman get taken by another man.

Even if I could go in and change it, the mental anguish of reading that stuff was just too much.

There were plenty of weird endings among the regular tags, so I'd just have to browse carefully.

After roughly two hours spent purely on manga research—

"Found it… son of a bitch…"

I'd discovered a manga with a thoroughly shitty ending, frequent combat, and a male protagonist whose physique was roughly on par with my real body.

A World Only for You.

A modern-society setting with no systems or Gates — just Awakened individuals. The story followed a psychopathic protagonist, Kamiya Ren, cutting a bloody path through anyone who threatened Shinohara Misaki as she fled a massive criminal organization. And this protagonist was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠completely unhinged.

Killing organization members and rival mercenaries to protect Misaki was one thing. But Ren slaughtered witnesses, detectives, informants — even the crime boss and a police special forces unit.

At first, Misaki felt drawn to the man who'd saved her and they slept together. Later, when she learned he was a murderer, she was terrified.

—You didn't have to kill that many people…

—What are you talking about, Misaki? All of this was for you. You said you wanted an ordinary life. Do you have any idea how hard I've worked to build a world only for you — so you could live that ordinary life without ever being in danger?

Unable to understand emotion, Ren only wanted to make Misaki happy because she looked sad. Remembering how she'd smiled during sex, he raped her.

When she climaxed, Ren was satisfied, convinced she was happy again — until his face went rigid. Because Misaki looked utterly devastated.

Police burst in, and Ren let himself be taken with a blank expression. Then remnants of the crime organization ambushed the transport van, intent on killing him.

—Why…

Ren kept repeating that single word as he slaughtered every last cop and remnant. Then he trudged back to Misaki.

She recoiled at the blood-soaked figure — then froze at the first genuine sadness she'd ever seen on his face. Not a fabricated expression. Real.

A fragile hope stirred in her.

—Ren… please stop killing. Come with me, let's just run—

That was as far as she got. Ren said he understood, then slit his own throat. That way, he could never kill anyone again.

Misaki clutched his corpse and wailed. Ren died with the first and last peaceful smile of his life.

"What a genuinely irritating ending."

As an Awakened, Ren had better physical abilities than a normal person, but he wasn't overwhelmingly strong. He'd killed all those people through pure instinct, technique, and strategy alone.

And most importantly — his primary weapon was a dagger.

If I possess the protagonist, I can at least avoid the bad ending. I've got no intention of going that far.

I'd stick to killing crime organization members while honing my dagger skills. And keep the heroine safe while I was at it.

I nodded.

"Whew. A second manga already — kind of nerve-wracking."

What happened if you died inside a manga? Could you just leave before dying?

The original protagonist was the strongest one in there, so I should be fine.

That was when it hit.

"…What the hell is this now."

The chilling message was the last thing I saw before the world went dark.

"Kamiya-kun!"

I turned at the sound of my surname. A woman radiating that unmistakable gyaru energy was beaming as she came toward me.

Long blonde hair cascading to her waist. Pale skin. Piercings and earrings glittering in her ears.

A black choker sat snug against her throat, and the top few buttons of her white shirt were undone, putting her black bra and the curves it held on full display.

I knew her.

"Shinohara."

I called her by her surname, calm and even. I didn't forget to lift the corners of my mouth about thirty degrees into an easy smile.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Misaki pushed out her lower lip in a pout.

"Eeeeh? You're supposed to call me Misaki. We agreed to use first names last time, remember?"

"You're the one calling me Kamiya instead of Ren."

"Ah, you're right. I get mixed up all the time. Okay, let's reset. First names only from now on."

"And if one of us slips and uses a surname again?"

"…Hmm. Then the other person gets to dish out a super scary punishment. How about that?"

One corner of her mouth curled up.

"What kind of punishment?"

"That's up to whoever's giving it. Oh crap — I was on my way to a tutoring session! Ugh, I'm already late…!"

"Tutoring? That shy-looking girl from before?"

"Yep yep. It's a girl, so you can relax, okay?"

Given the context, this was the moment for an embarrassed look. Gaze angled down and to the side. A faint flush on the cheeks.

"Ugh, I don't care."

"Hehe. You totally care and you're pretending you don't. Alright, Ren — I'm off!"

Misaki flashed a bright smile and bolted away in a flustered rush.

I watched her back until she disappeared completely from sight.

Shinohara Misaki.

The only color in my world. The only thing that gave my life meaning. The sole light shining in a world drowned in black ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and white.

I loved her.

"…!"

A sudden, splitting pain lanced through my skull. Unfamiliar memories surged up.

What is this?

An incomprehensible phenomenon. In that case, I simply needed to crush it.

My brain was under my control, after all…

"Gaaah!"

I clutched my head and dropped to my knees on the ground.