Chapter 0
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 0
Chapter Title: Prologue - Why Is My Genre the Only One Like This?
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Chiiik.
The sound of snapping open wooden chopsticks filled the silent studio apartment.
Han Jaewoo stirred the steaming cup of instant ramen, staring blankly at the TV screen.
An unreal scene was being broadcast live on the screen.
S-Rank Gate Dragon's Nest Subjugation Complete!
Heavenly Demon Baek Seorin Slashes the Dragon's Neck Single-Handedly!
Filling the screen was a woman in dazzling white martial robes, splattered in blood, standing triumphantly atop a massive dragon's severed head.
Heavenly Demon.
Humanity's strongest martial artist, returned from the murim world.
The red blood splattered across her pristine white robes made her all the more terrifying.
The camera panned.
This time, it showed Archmage Seo Yulha summoning a colossal tidal wave with a single staff.
Hero Cha Haewon wielding her holy sword to resurrect the dead.
And even Vampire Lord Ibia, smirking arrogantly amid a red mist.
They were the chosen ones.
Returnees who had gone to another world, become gods and demons and heroes, and come back.
Korea was enraptured by them.
"...I'm so damn jealous. For real."
Han Jaewoo slurped his ramen broth and muttered.
If only I'd gone too, I could've done great.
I could've swung a sword, cast some spells, lived that S-Rank life.
Reality was a 300,000-won monthly rent semi-basement existence.
He set down his chopsticks and yelled into the air.
"Hey, God! Let's do a balance patch! Take me somewhere too!"
That was when it happened.
Fwaaah-!
With a deafening roar like the ceiling was collapsing, a blinding light swallowed the room.
Han Jaewoo's eyes widened.
His heart pounded like mad.
This light.
He'd seen it hundreds of times on Mitoob.
Otherworld summoning. Or awakening phenomenon.
It's here!
Finally, my turn.
Should I learn martial arts like the Heavenly Demon? Or magic like the Archmage?
Didn't matter what.
This grueling dirt-poor life was over.
I'll devour you all. Wait up, monsters!
He surrendered to the ritual in ecstasy.
When he opened his eyes, he was surrounded by white void.
A world of nothingness.
A transparent system window floated in the empty space.
Dimensional transfer complete.
Scanning player information.
...
Fatal Error Occurred!
"Error? What error?"
Han Jaewoo asked in confusion, but the system delivered its cold verdict.
Genre: Romance Fantasy
Player Appearance Grade: C (Utterly Average)
Verdict: This face can't seduce the heroine.
Difficulty: EX (Impossible to Clear)
"...Hey."
A surge of anger hit him.
No, I'm no Won Bin or Cha Eunwoo, but I'm not ugly either.
Impossible to clear? That's a personal attack.
"What's wrong with my face! This is handsome enough!"
Fails romance fantasy male lead standards.
Conducting balance patch.
Select one perk for clearing.
Three options appeared before his eyes.
1. Swordmaster's Swordsmanship (SSS)
2. Great Sage's Mana (SSS)
3. SSS Plausibility
Swordsmanship? Mana?
Any man would pick power.
1 or 2, and he'd be like the Heavenly Demon or Archmage.
But Han Jaewoo's gaze locked on 3.
Plausibility?
His heart thumped wildly.
Anyone who's read genre novels knows it.
Plausibility. Causality.
A power transcending mere physics.
Twisting fate, creating paths from nothing, turning coincidence into inevitability—the authority of a god.
SSS swordsmanship? SSS magic?
Just physical destruction in the end.
But SSS Plausibility?
This is the cheat key.
Reality manipulation. Fate interference.
With this alone, monsters might die on their own just by breathing, or he could pick up S-Rank items walking down the street.
No need to hesitate.
"Number 3. Give me Plausibility."
Selection complete.
Perk 'SSS Plausibility' applied to body.
Crack. Grind.
Pain like bones being shaved and muscles twisted engulfed his body.
Han Jaewoo screamed and rolled on the floor.
It felt like full-body plastic surgery without anesthesia.
Urgh... Yeah, for a god's power, this pain is nothing!
He gritted his teeth and endured.
Beyond this agony waited the transcendent power to twist causality.
How much time passed?
The pain subsided, and a system window appeared alongside a full-body mirror.
Application complete.
Tip: In romance fantasy genre, 'Plausibility' means 'face'.
"...Huh?"
Han Jaewoo blankly looked up at the system window.
What did it just say?
A stranger stood in the mirror.
Jet-black hair like midnight.
A sharp jawline and nose like a veil.
But the crowning glory was his eyes.
Cold and deep-set, yet drawing you in—dark blue irises.
Decadent beauty and chill aloofness coexisting, the Northern Grand Duke incarnate.
The muscles honed in the gym his whole life were gone, replaced by a slim, toned model physique.
"This... is me?"
He touched his face in a trance.
He's handsome.
He admits it. Insanely handsome.
On Earth, he'd be a shoo-in for idol center.
But.
"Hey! What kind of Plausibility is this!"
Han Jaewoo screamed into the void, wanting to grab someone by the collar.
Causality manipulation? Reality warping?
Just a face makeover is SSS power?
Not satisfied with changed ability?
Cancel ability application?
Yes / No
Han Jaewoo met his mirror self's eyes.
And in 0.1 seconds, he yelled desperately.
"No! Absolutely no! No!!!"
Cancel? Crazy.
Power or not, he couldn't give up this face.
Thrilling every time he looked. How could he?
Settings confirmed.
Synchronizing as Northern Grand Duke of Rosenstein Empire.
Light flashed, vision blurring.
Only then did Han Jaewoo's reason return.
Wait, wasn't I supposed to awaken as a Hunter?
The face as Plausibility is fine.
But how to hunt monsters with this face?
Pose handsome in front of a dragon and make its heart burst?
"Ah, damn it! If I'd known, I'd have picked swordsmanship or magic!"
Too late for regrets.
My 1. My 2.
My SSS combat power.
"How am I supposed to hunt beasts with this faaaaace!"
With his desperate scream, Han Jaewoo's body vanished into another dimension.
The chirp of birds.
A faint rose scent tickling his nose.
Han Jaewoo slowly opened his eyes.
A ornate chandelier with gold leaf caught his sight.
His body was wrapped in the finest silk sheets.
Then, the door opened, and an elderly man in uniform entered.
"Have you awakened, Your Grace the Grand Duke?"
"...Who?"
"You have tea time scheduled with Her Highness the Princess today. You must hurry."
Grand Duke? Tea time?
No raid or siege?
As confusion gripped him, a quest window appeared once more.
Become the Flower of High Society
Your Role: Northern Grand Duke (Male Lead Candidate 1)
Traits:Fatal Charm (S), Cringy Speech (A), Fragile Body (F)
"...Ha."
Han Jaewoo let out a hollow laugh.
Others sharpen swords and cast spells to save the world.
And me alone, relying on this face to woo the heroine?
He grinned at his mirror self.
His lips curled arrogantly.
Strangely, he felt confident.
"This might be doable."
While others crawl through hell.
I'll just sip the honey.
Live comfortably here as the Emperor's husband or whatever?
But he didn't know.
This peaceful romance fantasy life would forcibly end in a mere year.
And that with only this useless 'face' and 'tongue', he'd be chased back to hellish Earth.
This was a hunter story, a returnee tale.
And at the same time, a veteran romance fantasy pro's desperate Earth conquest saga.