pMonster.
That was Benjamin's first thought the moment he laid eyes on Aiden.
If that wasn't a monster, then nothing could be called one.
Black hair that matched the shape of a demon, and above all else, those eyes.
Red eyes that radiated a demonic glow.
He knew the guy had red eyes, but when had he ever exuded an aura like this?
The presence radiating from his body was so terrifying it was practically visible, like steam rising from a hot surface.
His expressionless gaze looked at a person like a mere pebble underfoot.
Death itself.
Or a tyrant who wouldn't even receive another's opinion.
Honestly, he didn't have the guts to even meet those eyes.
Yet he had gathered every ounce of false bravado he'd worn his entire life and stood before Aiden, ready to throw a punch.
The reason was simple: he didn't realize how dangerous that man was, and as a noble's daughter who had received only love, he clung to his foolish pride that he could never let go.
The room had gone eerily quiet.
Someone had already foamed at the mouth and fainted.
Others, desperately trying to survive, turned their gazes away, staring harshly elsewhere as if they knew nothing at all.
And then came the courage that had fueled Benjamin's entire life.
-Step.
The instant Aiden took one step toward him, it ended.
-Thud.
He collapsed right there, legs limp, unable to move.
And the man who had caused it all—Aiden Starfive.
He stood there, staring blankly into the empty air as if nothing at all were happening.
As if words were being engraved in thin air.
Most of all, Benjamin felt nothing but contempt for this man who was nothing but trash to him.
So you got abandoned by your family.
You foolish kid.
Your parents must feel so sorry.
How did he know?
No, it was a well-known fact that he had been abandoned by his family.
It was a public secret.
But the words coming from Aiden Starfive carried a different weight.
The way he acted like he knew everything.
Do you know?
Up to what point?
If you knew that, Dad would scold me.
Did this man know my secret?
“Guh…”
An unnatural sound leaked from his own voice, yet Aiden Starfive simply stared into the empty air without a care.
Something was boiling inside him.
He couldn't let it out.
Benjamin forced the hot lump down his throat.
Then, clenching his teeth, he crawled toward Class B.
With his pride completely shattered.
Lydia was no different.
Even though she was the weakest among the Saint Candidates and received nothing but mockery and rejection because she was worth only a fraction of a coin, she was still one of the Saint Candidates.
The aura flowing from Aiden Starfive's body was even more distinct to her.
Black, yes, but the kind of black defined by the Church as villainous or worse than a monster—mere faint black.
At least, it was something her common sense couldn't understand.
She didn't know what a Stigma was, and she didn't know he had thrown himself into danger for her sake.
She would have immediately rushed to the Church begging for a monster to appear.
Yet Lydia Strou gave it her all.
No matter what, he was the first person who had stepped forward for her.
Since the entrance ceremony, the one who had rebelled against Benjamin for bullying her for a week.
Even if his appearance sometimes strayed from human form, Lydia believed without doubt that his true nature was a good man.
The Church doctrine had said the same thing.
There are no evil people in the world.
They are only created.
“…”
That was why she had to repay him.
Lydia's gaze turned to Aiden's wrist.
Aiden Starfive was clenching his fist as if a mouse had been inside, then opening it again.
Gathering every ounce of courage, she approached Aiden Starfive.
Everyone's eyes turned to her, and above all, his indifferent expression.
“Th-th-there…”
She tried to speak her thanks, but the moment she felt that terrifying pressure, her mouth went dry.
“G-g-g-g-g…”
“…”
“Th-th-thanks…”
And after somehow forcing out the words she couldn't say, Lydia Strou extended her hand toward him.
Her glowing hand touched the man's wrist.
The man, startled, turned his wrist and looked at Lydia.
“…”
Was he trying to give thanks?
The man opened his mouth, staring at her.
“Kneel and live.
Rise and die.”
“…Huh?”
He said it like that, then turned and walked into the classroom without another word.
The bell signaling the start of morning classes rang in Lydia's bewildered ears.
Hastily distancing himself from Lydia Strou, he walked as if fleeing.
I said thanks, what crazy nonsense is that?
Recalling the memory while grinding his teeth in his mind.
Lydia Strou.
That crazy bitch.
A mid-game boss character that appeared around the mid-to-late stages in the game.
Even her in-game nicknames were actually crazy bitches.
Her in-story actions were crazy bitches, and her attack patterns and skills were just like crazy bitches.
She fired attacks that would kill on contact, and real curses slipped out.
Add her insane personality, and it was over.
If you knew her, you'd die too.
Even though she was a Saint Candidate, she was only worth a fraction of a coin, so her healing skills were weak.
When she was an enemy, she would beat my party members to a pulp.
Even though I had actually been healed, my wrist still tingled as if a mouse was running around, just like before.
He entered the classroom and sat in his seat.
People who had turned to look at him now turned away again.
Yeah, I get it.
I know what kind of terrifying aura is coming off my body right now too.
And at the same time, the professor entered.
Even though he was a military student, the Academy was still the Academy, and professors were there.
“Now, class starts?”
The professor, with tired eyes and drooping eyelids, scanned the surroundings and flinched as if he had seen something wrong.
“…Aiden student?”
And to know that…
“…Status window.”
In a voice no one else could hear, he whispered, and a semi-transparent window floated before his eyes.
[Name: Aiden Starfive]
[HP: 7]
[MP: 17]
[Agility: 7]
[Luck: 7]
[Current allocatable points: 0]
[Traits: Cursed Swordsmanship]
[Negative Traits: Isolation]
[Stigma: Dread]
“…”
The status window that had become familiar after countless views.
Thankfully, the design hadn't changed.
First, let's check my traits.
[Cursed Swordsmanship]—he tapped it with his finger, and the explanation expanded.
"[Cursed Swordsmanship: She poured her entire life into the sword, becoming the swordsmanship itself and cursing others as she wandered."
"Powerful sword techniques can be used, but they consume HP and MP, and occasionally a curse is heard.]"
⟨ Cursed Swordsmanship ⟩
Is that all?
Just like when I used the whirlwind earlier, my wrist ached as if a mouse was running around.
The penalty was lighter than I thought.
The boss hadn't even vomited blood or anything.
Probably because it was in the realm of restraint, the whirlwind could be used more comfortably.
If it continued for a long time, I might need to think about using main skills.
In terms of pure power, it was a god-tier technique.
The curse voice…
Eyes closed, listening carefully, but all I heard was someone nearby taking in a terrified breath.
I scrolled down as if turning pages, but the scroll was blocked as if there was no more information.
“…”
No choice.
Turned my gaze to the negative trait.
The Dark Fantasy Saga doesn't lack negative traits even for protagonists.
It seems to have been based on the idea that all humans are equal, so the protagonist is also given random negative traits.
A garbage game.
But.
“Isolation…”
This was a negative trait I had never seen even once while playing the game.
Slowly lowering my hand, I touched the negative trait, and the explanation scrolled down smoothly.
[Isolation: You are alone.
You cannot like anyone, and no one can harm you.
Solitude is your friend, and it is an inescapable curse.]
[Currently resisting the negative trait due to mental strength beyond that of humans.]
Resistance?
Slightly raised my gaze and checked the stats.
Mental strength stat 17.
A value I had never seen in a single view before.
My highest stat from endlessly circling the status window had been 12.
Next, finally, the awaited stigma.
If the cause of this bizarre aura wasn't the negative trait and moreover not the influence of the swordsmanship, then it had to be the Stigma.
Stigma.
The special ability all students in this Academy possessed.
And the original culprit that made this game blow up along with the negative traits.
Eyes narrowed, I clicked [Dread].
"[Dread: Your aura surrounding your body is utterly terrifying!"
"Simply by existing, those with low mental strength are constantly afflicted by the mental strength reduction effect."
"Corrections are applied to what you say.]"
"[The more people revere you, the stronger you become!"
"Make others respect you!]"
"[Next trait bonus: 0%]"
“…”
So that's it.
No matter what words I used, the words that came out were all bizarre, and the terrifying aura from my body was all because of this.
Even to become stronger, I had to make others respect me?
I thought about running, but running wouldn't mean anything anyway.
The Dark Fantasy Saga is a game destined for destruction.
If the protagonist doesn't stop it, the world will be destroyed.
But the problem was there was no one who had cleared this game.
That meant there was no strategy guide for the ending.
Even the protagonist wasn't reliable.
What if the protagonist fails?
Then even if I ran, I'd die together with the continent.
The bad ending of the Dark Fantasy Saga inevitably led to the destruction of humanity.
“…”
In the end, whether I liked it or not, I had no choice but to fight.
It would have been nice if the status window had given me a quest and told me to die if I couldn't save the world.
“…”
No, let's think positively.
I was the furthest user to reach this point.
That meant there was at least no one who knew the game as well as me until I entered.
Take courage.
I thought no one but me could do it.
At least I had to hold on until the protagonist arrived.
And, above all, I pondered the biggest problem.
So… first, I had to get stronger.
Read the Stigma once more.
"[Dread: Your aura surrounding your body is utterly terrifying!"
"Simply by existing, those with low mental strength are constantly afflicted by the mental strength reduction effect."
"Corrections are applied to what you say.]"
In the Dark Fantasy Saga, the Stigma was the core of this character.
The way the character was operated depended on which Stigma they had.
It was like classes in other games.
All different, of course.
That meant in this shitty world full of death threats with every step, where I had to get stronger and take even one step at a time, it was essential.
Whether I liked it or not, I had no choice but to live as a concept-charged person.
What the hell is a concept-charged person?
From the way he said it, you could guess.
This was the so-called ga-choong.
Isn't there? Those who live off their own conceit.
They chew up every word they speak and spit it out, only acting conceited.
As of now, it seemed there was no choice for me.
I hadn't learned acting, but luckily this correction of the Dread would help me.
“Ah, Aiden student.”
“…”
While lost in thought, someone called my name.
I looked at the person who had spoken.
It was someone familiar.
Professor Albert.
A professor of Class B and a man once known as the Ironblood Albert.
A character who appeared more often than expected in the Academy's party.
“Eh, your atmosphere looks quite different from yesterday.
Did you awaken the Stigma…?”
What was I supposed to answer?
I couldn't say the Aiden from yesterday was dead and I was reborn.
It was awakened, after all…
I slowly nodded and opened my mouth.
Yes.
“Yeah, even breathing the same air as this trash makes me want to puke, but I've changed.”
“Th-that's right.
Thank you for working hard for the continent.”
The professor kept nodding.
Called Aiden, it felt fresh.
I was Aiden, right?
Aiden Starfive, the protagonist of the prologue and the first dispatch trainee of the first year who died horribly.
If my memory was correct, it was the team composition event that happened after the prologue battle with Benjamin—
“Ah-ah-ah-ah-Aiden student…!”
In a timid voice, he finally snapped out of his trance.
I looked up and saw a professor trembling with hands as he looked at me.
“T-the team over there is yours.
This time we're going on our first practical training—”
“…Hah.”
“Hic…!”
The moment I sighed, the professor froze.
I see.
This was an event that was happening right now.
The team going with the protagonist…
I turned my gaze and looked at the three of them.
A girl with black hair and a bad attitude.
After being swept up in madness in chapter one, she set the music room on fire and committed suicide.
A hot-blooded man with red hair.
In chapter two, his negative trait exploded and he turned into a monster, killing twelve people and being exterminated by the protagonist.
A woman with white hair wearing a witch hat.
“…”
The biggest problem was this woman.
If this woman suddenly exploded her negative trait and turned into a monster, the in-story Aiden would die while exploring.
That's right.
Aiden Starfive was originally going to die in this prologue.
And one year later, the protagonist would enter the Academy.
In the meantime, the Academy and the continent would be even more intense.
I turned my gaze again and looked at the three of them.
Mines.
No, the three of them weren't the only mines.
All the Academy students here were mines.
Each one walking around like a monster, carefully keeping their own bad ending as moving mines.
What? I was supposed to team up with these guys?
Was I crazy?
Where would I have a suicide special force team?
What I learned from playing the game countless times was that I absolutely couldn't be with these guys.
These guys were all potential mines, terrorists, and monsters.
Human mines that would kill my life and everyone else's in a moment of carelessness.
Compared to them, what about me?
Now I was a complete being with Cursed Swordsmanship, which even didn't receive the influence of negative traits.
Good.
Decided.
“Aiden student…?”
Looking at the professor still staring at me in horror, I opened my mouth.
I’ll do it alone.
“I don't listen to orders from people weaker than me.”
Amid the cooling atmosphere, I continued speaking.
“There's no need to bring garbage baggage.
I'll take just one.”
Silence.
Not a single team member or the professor who heard the apocalyptic words showed anger or rebellion against me.
Probably because of the atmosphere I was emitting.
“…T-th-then… who…”
And, mustering courage, the professor opened his mouth.
“I have someone in mind.”
The Academy students who lowered their heads or looked elsewhere at my words were all emitting a strong feeling of wanting to stay away from me.
Were you crazy? Would I take care of you guys like these mines?
No, just one.
Benjamin was staring at me intently.
Whispering incomprehensible words, with a dark gaze.
I had to watch him closely.
For now…
“Hmph.”
I sneered and crossed my arms.
Since it was automatically corrected, it really did sound like everyone was looking down on me.
“I have no intention of taking you guys like weaklings.”
“Then…”
“I'll hire a mercenary.”
Mercenary.
People who were excellent fighters before stigmas appeared, but now had lost their jobs as they were pushed aside by those with stigmas.
In the game, they were characters with low attack power that were supposed to be unused.
But that was prejudice and a mistaken thought.
I had the most trustworthy person in the world.
The soul partner who had gotten closest to me after countless loops.
“Haah…”
A round belly sticking out, dirty beard, and beetle-like eyes buried in flesh that glowed.
A middle-aged man holding a giant shield in proportion to his round body that could roll with a touch.
Gerd was drinking alcohol at the mercenary office today as well.
“No work again today.”
“Wasn't it the new student practical training at Genua Academy starting tomorrow?”
And the wrinkled man answered his inner monologue.
“Were you still thinking we'd be taken there?”
Genua Academy.
A place that locked away young people with stigmas under the pretense of training, used them as military students, and raised them as the only hope to reclaim the ruined continent.
The students there were said to be overwhelmingly strong, manipulating mana and holy power while using the mysterious and enormous power of the Stigma.
That meant they were the hope of everyone gathered in this continent right now.
Such students wouldn't need our help, would they?
According to rumors, the student council president of Genua Academy was even on par with the knight commander in a one-on-one fight.
Why would such a mercenary go?
With a sound like kruk, ha, Gerd set down the wooden cup of alcohol and wiped his chin.
“Eh, even though a while ago he was called Iron Wall Gerd…”
“Hey.”
“…Sorry.”
Gerd straightened his face and looked at the man, and the wrinkled man immediately apologized.
His life had ended the same as when the Il Mare Barrier, once called humanity's last fortress, collapsed.
“In the first place, there's no need to call us, so dream appropriately—”
“R-re-re-re-request!”
One of Gerd's colleagues, a man famous for his lack of emotional expression, opened the door of the bar and rushed in.
His eyes were already trembling with terror, and his voice trembled even more severely than when facing a monster.
“G-G-Genua Academy…! Aiden Starfive's directive…!”
Directive from Genua Academy?
But why was that guy trembling with terror like this?
Gerd briefly had a request.
A terrifying aura was felt.
An aura like a demon that he had never felt even once.
An aura he had never felt even when fighting mutated humans who crossed countless lines.
If facing death itself, wasn't this the feeling?
“…U-uh…”
And it wasn't just Gerd who felt the aura.
The wrinkled colleague he had been talking to couldn't continue and knelt.
The face that hadn't lost its smile even when the Il Mare Barrier collapsed now held an unseen terror.
-Step… Step…
Someone moved.
No, death was approaching.
Gerd squeezed out the last bit of his life's courage and raised his head to look ahead.
It was a handsome man.
Black hair, red eyes.
The hair was one thing, but those eyes.
Eyes of a cold killer with no emotions at all.
A man walking with a sword at his waist, wearing an Academy uniform…
Was this a student?
If the atmosphere this guy was emitting was like that, Gerd was no different from a child.
That was why he prayed.
As always.
Let him pass me by.
Let me live.
And, after that man approached and stopped in front of Gerd.
“I've found you.”
He muttered in a sinister voice and smiled.
A smile that felt like his mouth was being torn with a sound like jjeo-eok.
Gerd peed himself and fainted right there.