chapter 1
chapter 1
Prologue
They say these days it’s trendy to possess a character inside a novel.
“Ha….”
In my case, it wasn’t possession, but reincarnation.
It was a game I used to play in my previous life, an MMORPG set in Trigger Academy.
You summon hero characters through a 10-pull gacha, draw their exclusive equipment, and then play something called a character scenario.
“You build a party by growing the stats of SSR characters you summon through their character scenarios.”
Muttering to myself—
You raise a total of five characters to form one party, and with that party, you push through the main story.
At this point, players who spent money could easily clear stages using strong characters, while free-to-play users struggled due to the high difficulty.
‘I think I spent quite a lot… isn’t there something like a reincarnation bonus?’
This game’s world had a unique field called the Contaminated Zone.
The problem was that if you didn’t kill the monsters in the Contaminated Zone, the contamination would continue spreading outward.
And unfortunately, humanity failed to stop that spread.
‘Forty percent, was it.’
A world where 60% of the planet had been consumed by contamination, and humanity barely survived on the remaining 40%.
Waaah! Waaah!!
“Suhan!! What are you doing? Your sibling is crying!”
“Haah~”
At least, the fortunate thing was that humanity was somehow holding onto that remaining 40%.
“That’s not what’s important right now.”
“Your sibling crying is what’s important! What could be more important than that?!”
“I think I’ve awakened.”
“What?”
“I said I think I’ve awakened.”
“You just started growing a bit of hair and now you’re acting like this too.”
The ones who protected that 40% of land were not just anyone.
In the Contaminated Zone, a deadly toxin was dissolved in the air, so ordinary people couldn’t survive.
However, special beings called Awakeners could live there without issue.
Of course, staying too long wasn’t good for the body, so they usually only entered when fighting.
The only ones who could save humanity were Awakeners, and because of that, becoming one meant possessing a very special talent.
‘In this class-based world, if you become an Awakener, you can immediately become a noble.’
It was natural for my mother to think I was lying.
“Get a hold of yourself! You’re a commoner. There’s no such thing as some secret of your birth.”
Ninety-nine percent of Awakeners were nobles.
There were rare cases where a commoner became one, but how could anyone believe that 1% chance would be ‘me’?
Most kids my age dreamed of becoming Awakeners, and as they grew older, they came to understand it was realistically impossible.
‘The shop window is right in front of me, so how could this not be awakening?’
But I was definitely someone who had broken through that 1% chance and awakened.
Otherwise, why would a window like this appear before my eyes the moment I regained memories of my previous life?
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“It’s really true. So please let me get tested.”
“We don’t have money!”
“You know everyone gets one free test when they’re born.”
“Sigh, what are you going to do if the test says you’re not one?”
“I’ll accept the result.”
Seeing the items available in the shop made me swallow hard.
I planned to be recognized as an Awakener, enter the academy, earn money, and buy the items in the shop.
If I could use what the shop sold, it would only be a matter of time before I became rich.
“Fine, let’s go. Go! They say kids your age are all like this…. We’re done talking, right? Then go calm your sibling!”
Waaahhh!!! Waaahhh!!!
Intimidated by my mother’s fierce glare, I quickly ran to the room where my sibling was.
For reference, my sibling was crying because they had wet themselves.
＊＊＊
‘There was a time when I was full of hope like that.’
Ptoo—
I spat out the blade of grass I had been chewing instead of gum.
The sixteen-year-old me who had boldly told my mother to take me for an awakening test ended up being unfairly labeled as going through rebellious puberty.
‘It’s not like I was mentally ill.’
If I had actually been mentally ill, it would have felt less unfair.
I wouldn’t have chosen to run away from home and become a mercenary.
“Hey, Ghost. You really retiring?”
“I have to.”
This year, I turned thirty.
At sixteen, I took the awakening test, but I couldn’t accept the result that I wasn’t an Awakener.
The shop window kept appearing before my eyes, so I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t one.
I wanted to prove my ability, but I had no money, so I couldn’t.
So I chose to run away and become a mercenary.
I planned to earn money and prove that I was an Awakener.
“Cheers?”
“…Cheers.”
Clink—
The two glasses collided.
Gulp gulp—
I drained the beer in one go and wiped my lips with the back of my hand.
“You live pretty cool, bastard. I’m jealous.”
“Cool my ass.”
I’d been crawling in the gutter for years—what was he even talking about?
“Saved up a lot of money? I mean, that’s why they call you Ghost, right?”
“Stop calling me that. I’m sick of it.”
“Why? I’m just jealous.”
“It’s not just Ghost. It’s Money Ghost. Is that a compliment? It’s an insult.”
I saved money to prove I was an Awakener, but unfortunately, the shop window didn’t accept cash.
‘Who knew it would be this picky. It won’t even exchange unless it’s monster byproducts.’
I wasn’t an Awakener, yet to use the shop window I had to obtain monster byproducts?
‘What kind of ridiculous system is this?’
Do you understand how absurd my situation is?
Because of that, I didn’t just become a mercenary—I became the kind that hunts monsters, something only money-crazed lunatics do.
That’s also why I got that nickname.
To others, I could only look insane.
“Then what else should we call a money ghost? You saved up like crazy, so you can retire at thirty. Just think of it as a good thing.”
How does a commoner mercenary who isn’t an Awakener hunt monsters?
Usually, monsters live in the Contaminated Zone, but occasionally some leave it.
Those monsters become the targets of mercenaries like me.
But since we’re just commoners without extraordinary powers, the chances of dying are extremely high.
In fact, plenty of people who worked with me died.
‘I died twice myself.’
If not for the items I bought from the shop window, I wouldn’t have survived until now.
The shop window that caused the unfair misunderstanding of puberty rebellion ended up being very helpful during my mercenary life.
‘It’s ironic. The shop window made me become a mercenary, yet it’s also what helped me survive.’
I earned money through the shop and drew items, and those items kept me alive until now.
At first, I thought I could summon characters from the shop and become their master.
But the shop wasn’t designed to help me in that way.
‘How the hell do I open this? It’s been 14 years and it still won’t open.’
The biggest problem was that I couldn’t access the window where you summon characters.
It was tightly sealed with a lock icon.
There must be certain conditions to unlock it, but without any information, I couldn’t figure it out.
At this point, I had almost given up.
Even without summoning heroes, I had enough ways to survive, so I was trying not to care anymore.
“Where are you going after retirement? Heading inside, right?”
“Of course. I’m sick of this place.”
“Damn, I should’ve saved like you. Did you hit the jackpot with all those byproducts?”
“You asking how much money a mercenary has? Do I look that easy?”
“Tch! Still not letting your guard down to the end.”
“I know you guys have your eyes on my stuff. Give it up.”
“I knew it when a retired guy was only drinking one beer, you bastard.”
Since I was retiring, I could’ve drunk to my heart’s content.
But in a place full of mercenaries, I had no intention of getting drunk and letting my guard down.
Word had probably already spread that I’d made enough money to retire.
So why would I do something as stupid as getting wasted?
That would just mean inviting robbery.
“You leaving already?”
I raised my middle finger at the mercenary staring at me regretfully and headed upstairs.
I packed my belongings in my room on the third floor.
If I stayed here any longer, only hyenas would gather around me.
“Excuse me!”
“Hm?”
As I came out after packing, a kid who looked just like me when I first started as a mercenary approached nervously.
“What.”
“I-I’m Jack, a new recruit who joined today! I wanted to greet you.”
“A greeting? You don’t need to do that to me.”
“Eh?”
Isn’t greeting something you do for people you’ll be working with?
“I’m retiring today.”
“W-What?!”
The kid reacted like he was having a seizure.
Anyone would think we knew each other.
“Never seen a retiring mercenary before?”
Well, to someone who had just started, someone like me must seem far off.
“Uh, uh… that’s not good.”
“?”
What does he mean it’s not good?
“Hey, Ghost!!”
“?”
“Good thing you haven’t left yet!”
Why is this guy calling me again?
I was getting annoyed.
I didn’t like being called that nickname even at the end, and it was bothersome to be stopped when I was leaving.
“Why do you keep calling me? You’ll wear me out, so stop.”
“Come on, don’t be like that. It’s the last time.”
“Get to the point.”
If this bastard kept wasting my time, I’d be the one losing out.
“Can you just take on this one request before you go?”
“You’re seriously talking nonsense.”
A dog barking doesn’t deserve a response.
Since I was human, I decided not to respond to something I couldn’t understand.