Game Character Transferred to Reality 2화
I am a reincarnator. A reincarnator carrying memories from my previous life. From Earth, where magic and miracles barely exist and my life revolved around mechanical engineering, I was granted a new beginning in a fantasy world filled with magic and miracles. As a result, my nationality changed from “South Korea” to “Lheinhatz Kingdom,” and my name from “Kim Min-gi” to “Adrian Lawrence.” My background shifted from an ordinary middle-class family to that of the second son of a viscount with his own fiefdom. My death in my previous life had been utterly pathetic. Before I passed, I was still on active duty, and under the pretext of “people’s support,” I was being forced to labor away. While riding in a double-cabin truck, it overturned and I died. It was one of the worst kinds of death one could imagine—even worse than dying on the job. What made it even sadder was that I only had a month left before my discharge. Back then, even the platoon leader would give you a break from work and spare you the annoying chores. Whether it was bad timing in the service or simply terrible luck, I met an end far worse than any of my peers. Thanks to that, I had to suffer for a long time after my reincarnation when I remembered the family I left behind on Earth. ‘Nothing can be fixed by just feeling sorry for myself. Right now, I need to adapt to this new environment first.’ Fortunately, that sorrow eventually faded with time. It took me two full years to accept reality and decide to settle down in this world. “My lord Adrian is incredibly bright. I’ve tutored many young masters before, but I’ve never seen a student with this kind of learning ability.” The memories of my previous life brought me pain, but the life experience I accumulated over twenty years also became a massive advantage in my new life. While other children my age played without a care, I threw myself into my studies and successfully portrayed the prodigy who earned everyone’s respect. My father always looked at me with hopeful eyes, and that soon translated into special treatment. As my head grew larger, one thing disappointed me: in this world of Rondel, my previous-life knowledge would prove useless. Rondel was a fantasy world, but it was far beyond the medieval era—a civilization on par with 21st-century Earth, complete with teleport gates, floating fortresses, and virtual reality games. Like the protagonists in web novels, I could not simply use my memories to revolutionize the world. All I could do was keep working hard, pouring my energy into academics, and raising my own value. “Ugh…” -Clang! However. Life is not that easy. “Adrian!” At seven years old, I was poisoned. “Thank goodness. If only a little longer, we would have lost you.” Happily, I survived two consecutive pathetic deaths, but the poison attempt was enough to instill a constant sense of dread. “Oh, Adrian, I don’t know how much your aunt worried about you. Are you alright?” “Thank you for worrying.” The culprit didn’t need to be asked. My biological mother was a commoner second wife, and my father had a legitimate wife from a highborn noble family. It was clearly the work of Anna, the mother of my half-brother Cedric and my father’s legitimate wife. Of course, there was no direct evidence. But the murderous glint in her eyes when she came to visit me would haunt me for the rest of my life. Back then, her gaze seemed to say, ‘If you’re the child of a concubine, act like one.’ Who would have thought she would show her fangs so openly? In a nice way, it was bold. In a cruel way, it was foolish. The problem was that her foolishness actually worked. If I were alone, I could have fought back with sheer stubbornness. But when Anna’s claws reached my biological mother, I couldn’t act rashly. Many retainers paid attention to me, but that was just curiosity. Compared to Anna, I had no real power. So I considered asking my father for help, but I never did. I had no guarantee he would side with me over Anna, and I might only end up digging a bigger trench for myself. ‘Damn it. Even if the world is so advanced, what good is it? The country’s political system is still so backward. Damned feudal system.’ This wasn’t a democratic nation like South Korea. It was a feudal kingdom of Lheinhatz. There was no way a powerless child could bring charges against a viscountess backed by a powerful noble house. In the end, I succumbed to her threats. I dropped the prodigy act, portrayed an ordinary person, and minimized contact with retainers, isolating myself. “How could our once-bright Adrian turn into this?!” “Maybe the aftereffects of the poison…” My father’s reaction was exasperating. Was he really that clueless? If his head wasn’t just decoration, he should know that Anna was the prime suspect in the poisoning. Or perhaps he simply chose to ignore the obvious. Later, my father became uncomfortable facing me. Maybe he stopped caring about the prodigy and only saw the son of a concubine. Thanks to his attitude, no one tried to kill me again. But I gained safety at the cost of my reputation bottoming out, and my treatment changed completely. After ten long years of living like a shadow, I became a twenty-year-old adult. * * * May 1st, 2019. “Welcome. Ford Convenience Store.” In the Lheinhatz Kingdom, Ford Convenience Store was the largest chain of retail shops, boasting the most locations. With friendliness and convenience as our motto, when a silver-haired young man entered, the clerks reflexively bowed their heads. When they lifted their eyes again, they saw his face. “Thank you for your hard work.” The silver-haired, blue-eyed young man gave a kind smile and walked toward the book section. Every woman would fall for his looks. Yet the female clerk winced, looking more startled than impressed, while the new hire tilted his head in confusion. “You know him?” The woman narrowed her eyes like she was checking if he was sane. “He’s the second young master of the Lawrence family.” “What?” The Lawrence family meant the ruling house of the region. Naturally, the new hire’s eyes widened in shock. The woman, looking at him with disdain, poked his side. “Snap out of it.” Suddenly, his gaze shifted to the entrance. Men in black coats were staring at them intently. They were clearly the young lord’s guards who had just entered. “Excuse me.” “Huh!” Thanks to that, the terrified new hire nearly swallowed his tongue when the noble young master approached. “How may I help you?” The female clerk quickly pushed the frozen new hire aside, leaned in naturally, and asked for his business. “I can’t find my Chronicle Online point card.” “Oh, here it is. The policy changed—point cards are only sold at the register now. How many would you like?” Even though he was the young lord’s son, his attire didn’t stand out from the common people, probably to blend in. His looks were striking, but without the noble clothes, no one would guess his status. “All of them.” “The point cards came in yesterday, so we have 5 million roots in stock.” “Yes, give me all of them.” “Then I’ll help you check out.” 5 million roots was a full-time salary for three months. Seeing him pay so casually for snacks like it was nothing, even plain clothes couldn’t hide that he was a noble. “Thank you for using our service.” A while later, the convenience store that had been swept by a storm fell silent. The female clerk, her tension finally easing, kicked the new hire’s calf. “Did you forget how to breathe?” “Sorry.” The woman shook her head. If the young lord had been a difficult person, she might have been in trouble. “I could have just sent a subordinate. Why did you come to the convenience store yourself?” “How would I know? When I first saw him, I nearly fainted on the spot.” “Does the second young master come here often?” “A couple times a month, I guess. You can tell he’s really into the game.” “I’m jealous. How can you just spend money like that without working?” “Our worlds are different.” * * * As I left the store, the guards guarding the entrance approached me. With their blue-glowing swords, the eyes of the commoners bustling through the fiefdom were fixed on us. No matter how advanced the world became or how much commoners’ rights improved, nobles in a feudal society were still objects of fear. The commoners quickly made way when they recognized me. “My lord.” After only a few steps, my trusted retainer and guard knight Bais cautiously spoke up. “I received a message that Cedric young master visited the residence.” The news wasn’t exactly pleasant. I frowned deeply, and Bais forced an awkward smile. ‘Cedric’ was my half-brother. After graduating from the academy I attended from age ten to sixteen, I left the lord’s estate—one of the reasons being him. ‘Annoying.’ Some families got along fine with half-siblings, but his mother was the one who tried to poison me, and he wasn’t even a true noble. On top of that, the guy was a womanizer with a terrible temper, and trouble followed him everywhere. The thought of that half-brother visiting my residence made my mood sour. “Let’s walk quickly.” I didn’t want to see him, but for my mother’s sake, who was already uneasy about him, I quickened my pace. “Oh, Adrian’s back?” I had traveled the ten-minute distance in five minutes and arrived home to find a beautiful middle-aged woman with silver hair and blue eyes waiting for me. She was my mother, Silvia Lawrence, the second wife of the viscount Lawrence family. Judging by how fidgety she was, Cedric had been blabbing nonsense again. “What about my brother?” Before my mother could answer, a booming voice echoed from the hallway. “You walked around the fiefdom without a carriage like that? Are you out of your mind?” A black-haired man with a bear-like presence strode toward us. ‘Annoyance’ was too weak a word to describe my half-brother Cedric’s entrance. “It wasn’t that far. I had guards with me.” “I’m not worried about your safety! As the young lord, you should think about the family’s honor!” After all, noble power was hereditary. There was no point in acting friendly with commoners who couldn’t climb up. Some lords actually tried to experience commoners’ lives firsthand, but I doubted Cedric had it in him. But speaking my thoughts outright would only make him angry and prolong the conversation, so it was better to let him have his way. “My apologies. I’ll pay more attention from now on.” “It’s not like he’s proud of the commoner blood in his veins or anything.” Cedric poked at my patience, as if he were testing it. Though his words grated on me, I wasn’t childish enough to show my emotions. Instead, I pitied him. After all, I had been compared to him so much as a child that he must have felt inferior. “So, what business did you come for?” When I asked directly, he hesitated. Then he cleared his throat unnecessarily. “Father seems to want to entrust you with a business.” The nobles of Rondel were a powerful hybrid of Earth’s tycoons and politicians. They used their status to run various businesses, and as a lord, I had my share. Since the family ran more than just one company, I waited quietly for him to finish. “You mean Pars Transport, right?” “Um…” I finally understood why he had barged in. Pars Transport was the next money line after mining in the Lawrence family’s operations. “In short, you’re saying you don’t want me to inherit a business?” I didn’t need to ask. Greedy as he was, he already thought he owned everything. “Correct.” Cedric looked down at me with aggressive eyes. I shrugged lightly. “Understood. If Father offers Pars Transport, I’ll decline.” Did I accept it too easily? Cedric stared silently, then smirked. “You really do know how to talk.” For my safety, I had already made one concession, so there was no point in arguing about the words. I pulled the game point card from the convenience store bag and showed it to him. “Now you can leave. I spent a fortune just to get these.” It was obviously a dismissal, but there was no need for pleasantries between us. Seeing the stack of point cards, Cedric laughed heartily and patted my shoulder. “Yeah, you do you.” With that line full of meaning—that I shouldn’t try to rise—he kissed the back of my mother’s hand elegantly and left the residence. “Are you alright?” “It’s best not to get involved at all.” My top priority was the safety of my mother and me. If I lacked strength and got greedy, I’d choke. I had to know when to hold back and when to push. “I’m heading to the game.” “Alright, don’t stay out too late.” “Yes.” Smiling at my mother that I had nothing to worry about, I shook the convenience store bag playfully and headed to my room. On the way, I glanced back. The retainers who had met my eyes quickly stepped aside. This was my mother’s and my residence, but most of the servants here were under Anna’s influence. That was why I couldn’t speak freely even at home. After sending everyone away, I stepped into my room, took out the gaming headset, and curled the corner of my mouth up. ‘If they want to monitor me, they’ll have to do it in the virtual world too.’ I was killing my own personality only for my safety, not because I lacked pride. I was a very selfish person who would harm others for my own gain. Of course, there were exceptions like my mother who used calculators and compasses, but I felt confident I could handle the rest without issue. If I was so calculating, why was I only diving into the virtual world for escapism? ‘There’s no way.’ The reason I immersed myself in games and virtual worlds was because I had a clear purpose. Anna and Cedric could keep believing my smile until the right time. ---