The Goddess's Gift

While staring at the congratulatory message floating on the monitor, I finally let out the breath I’d been holding.

“Fuck yes! I finally cleared it…!! I’m the first clearer!!”

My name is Oh Han-soo. I’m twenty-four years old.

A regular office worker who recently took a leave of absence after an incident and has been living the pure gaming life at home ever since. The “incident” in question was me saving a subcontractor from a near-fatal accident during an on-site visit, only to have both my legs shattered in the process.

The doctor told me that if I rested properly and focused on rehabilitation for about a year, I should be able to walk again. My boss, showing rare consideration, told me to take all the time I needed. Thanks to the story even making the news in a positive light, the company kept paying my salary the entire time.

So there I was, enjoying an unintentionally legal life of leisure, when a certain adult game landed in my lap like destiny itself.

Holy Demon Chronicles.

The title alone reeked of cheap trash, but the ridiculously hot character designs and CGs grabbed my attention first. For an adult game, it actually had a surprisingly well-crafted world that pulled me in even deeper.

Most importantly, it wasn’t some simple RPG Maker title. It used a turn-based roguelike system where the protagonist’s stats, potential, and every item were completely random. The major characters and big events were fixed, but their movements and decisions changed every run, meaning your party members could be completely different each time.

Anyone who’s played roguelikes would probably get a migraine just hearing the concept. And on top of all that, it was an adult game.

The files were encrypted so thoroughly you couldn’t rip the CGs even if you wanted to, and the methods for unlocking them were pure luck. As a result, the community was split into three eternal warring factions: the harem route players who ignored the story and hunted every CG, the hero route players who treated it like a serious game and went all-in on the main story, and the pure-love route players who only used their favorite character in the most degenerate ways possible.

Fights in the forums were a daily occurrence. Ten months after launch, there still wasn’t a single clear record. The difficulty was so brutal that even the hero-route crowd had started to burn out.

But not anymore.

Because I had just cleared it. The Hall of Fame would be updated soon, and the community was definitely going to explode.

Oh, and for the record, I was a pure-love route player who focused on the story. There were a few impossible sections if you only used your favorite character, so I reluctantly brought in a couple of meta characters just for those parts.

Anyway, right after I finally took the Demon King’s head, before I could even snap a proof screenshot, I opened the reward chest.

“Huh?”

What I saw was unbelievable.

“The Demon King… the final boss… is a beggar?”

I opened the treasure chest that dropped after all that effort, but the final boss had given absolutely nothing.

…Exactly. It was a luck-based trash game to the very end, even the final boss drop table was pure RNG.

“Ha… This is actually insane.”

The soaring sense of achievement vanished in an instant, replaced by nothing but hollow emptiness.

“Well, I might as well watch the rest of the story.”

Pushing down the urge to uninstall the game immediately, I decided to at least flip off this penniless Demon King bastard. I set his castle on fire, took a screenshot, posted it on the community under the title ‘Uninstalling This Dogshit Game,’ and returned to the capital with my party.

Then I saw the continuation of the story and immediately stopped caring about rewards altogether.

The collection book said five more CGs remained. According to the story flow, after confessing to my favorite character there would be a sticky night together and then a wedding. Which meant the remaining CGs were definitely…

“Holy shit…! A marriage ending? I get to see the pure-love pregnancy ending? I can’t pass this up!!”

After returning to the capital, I dismissed the temporary meta characters, watched the proposal scene, savored the steamy night CG, and followed the story to the castle the next day.

-Ahh… The Hero has finally defeated the wicked Demon King!!

The clueless princess approached my character—who was standing right next to my favorite—and started talking.

Thinking, Where the hell does a princess get off approaching someone who cleared the final boss using a pure-love one-tool while everyone else was busy with harem hypnosis porn routes? I kept mashing the skip button.

Finally, the moment of the grand wedding in the capital’s castle arrived.

I was eagerly waiting for my favorite character’s wedding dress CG when the unskippable cinematic suddenly froze. A new icon appeared on screen.

It was a gift box wrapped with a ribbon, and beneath it was a letter.

When I clicked the letter, it unfolded and enlarged. Inside was a single sentence.

I cursed under my breath, thinking they should’ve waited until after the credits, and clicked the gift anyway.

A blinding light suddenly burst from the screen. I reflexively covered my eyes.

“Goddamn it… what the hell…”

When I finally opened my eyes, the luxurious ceiling lights stung them.

“…Ceiling lights?”

A breeze that shouldn’t exist indoors brushed across my skin.

“Where… am I?”

Even my voice sounded wrong.

“Ahh… ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Behold, everyone. Thanks to all your sacrifices, the Hero who will defeat the Demon King has descended upon this land.”

A woman’s voice with a strangely familiar tone came from beside me. When I turned my head, I couldn’t hold back the curse.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me…”

The princess who had annoyingly spoken to me through the monitor moments ago was now standing right in front of me in the flesh.

She had definitely said “Hero.”

The victory celebration after clearing the final boss, that mysterious light from the monitor. I had seen this exact plot in countless manhwa and novels.

It looked like I had been dropped into the hellishly difficult roguelike adult game with a single coin.

Without even getting to see my favorite character’s wedding dress or pregnancy ending.

“At least show me that much, you bastards…”

* * *

Princess Emilia had taken first place in the community popularity poll thanks to her overwhelming number of exclusive CGs. She lost the top spot in the second poll to the Saintess’s absurd performance stats, but it was easy to see why her looks and CGs alone had carried her to victory the first time.

Radiant silver hair that seemed to sparkle, ruby-red eyes, a generously proportioned chest, and a flawless figure. She had zero combat ability and was complete trash in terms of gameplay performance, but seeing her in real life, I finally understood why so many people worshipped her.

She wasn’t even my favorite character, but as a man, I couldn’t stop my eyes from drifting to that porcelain skin and the deep cleavage her dress couldn’t hide. I quietly made excuses to myself.

According to the story, a being known as the Demon King had appeared in this world and begun threatening humanity. In response, the empire founded by the first Hero—Inglis—had summoned a new one.

Countless mages had sacrificed their lives to make the summoning possible. The result of their efforts was standing here right now. Me.

I followed the princess as she explained the world in great detail. When I caught my reflection in a passing mirror, I was genuinely shocked.

My old body had been decent but plagued by the complex of only being a little over 170 centimeters tall. Now I was an incredibly handsome man with blond hair, blue eyes, and a height well over 180 centimeters.

While following her, I tried shouting “status” and “window” both out loud and under my breath, but nothing happened. It was a little disappointing.

More importantly, was this the kind of summoning I could return from? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠What had happened to my real body? I had too many questions.

“This is the place, Hero.”

“Ah, yes.”

Lost in thought, I arrived at our destination with the princess. As expected, the Emperor of Inglis sat waiting on his throne.

“Ooh… Emilia. You truly succeeded?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Though it came at the cost of our loyal mages’ lives. If they knew the Hero had been successfully summoned, I’m sure they would be rejoicing.”

“Make sure to show the utmost gratitude and respect to everyone connected to them.”

“Thank you for your grace.”

After the exchange, the Emperor gestured to a retainer standing behind him. The man carefully brought forward a crystal orb of unknown origin and approached me.

“Hero. I am Vincent von Inglis, Emperor of the sole empire of this nation, Inglis.”

“I am…”

Giving my real name, Oh Han-soo, felt too jarring, so I quickly thought of something else. The default name the game gave when you didn’t set one came to mind.

“Ian. My name is Ian.”

“The Goddess’s Gift… A fine name. As the princess has likely told you, a threat known as the Demon King has appeared in our world. We tried to stop the calamity with our own strength, but it was not enough. Following the ancient legend, we have summoned you—a Hero from another world—to borrow your power.”

“I see.”

“You must have had your own life. I apologize for summoning you so abruptly. It may not be much of an apology, but is there anything you desire?”

“It’s all right. Helping those in need is simply the duty of any decent person. Would it be acceptable to ask for a favor when I eventually have a request of my own, Your Majesty?”

I wanted to ask what had happened to my body and whether I could return home after defeating the Demon King, but my instincts screamed that saying any of that here would lead to something irreversible. I would have to figure it out myself as I progressed.

The Emperor’s serious expression softened into a smile at my answer.

“Hehe… You seem like a fine young man the more I look at you. Would you like to meet my daughter?”

“Father! Ah! Forgive me, Your Majesty!”

“It’s quite all right. So, what do you think?”

“I believe the princess is far too good for someone like me.”

“Hmm… A shame. We’ll speak of this another time. For now, look at the orb beside you.”

If I had accepted, I would have been locked into the princess pure-love route where I couldn’t even glance at other women, so I refused exactly as the game script dictated.

Looking slightly disappointed, the Emperor had me examine the orb the retainer was holding. This was an item I had never seen in the game.

“That orb is a relic left behind by the first Hero. A special treasure passed down through our royal lineage. To the people of this world it is merely a useless glass ball, but when someone from another world touches it and focuses ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠their mind, they can supposedly view their own status.”

In other words, a status window for otherworlders only.

“Go ahead and try it.”

“Yes, then…”

I placed my hand on the orb and concentrated. Something slowly began to rise above it.

Setting aside the weird stat distribution, this was incredible.

In Holy Demon Chronicles, the maximum starting stat was 10. An average of 7 was exceptionally high. Since starting stats affected growth bonuses, higher numbers meant significantly stronger late-game potential.

The intelligence score of 3 felt like a personal insult, but the Luck stat of 99 was even more shocking. In a game where 10 was the cap, 99 looked like a bug. Still, luck was luck. I decided to see it as a good thing.

The special abilities were also excellent. Sword Master dramatically increased proficiency gain for all sword-related skills. As for Blessing of Blue Mana, I needed to explain the world’s mana system first.

Every being in this world is born with one of five attributes. These are distinguished by the color of their mana: Fire (red), Water (blue), Wind (green), Earth (brown), and Lightning (white).

Each attribute greatly increases the efficiency and power of corresponding magic. Blessing of Blue Mana was an ability that strengthened water-attribute mana, providing additional bonuses when using water magic—similar to how Sword Master worked for sword skills.

Goddess’s Gift was an ability I had never seen mentioned anywhere in the game or on the forums. I had no idea what it did, but just looking at the rest of my status, I could tell I had rolled extremely well.

I remembered that unknown abilities could be identified by praying at a statue in the church.

“Hero?”

“Ah, it seems only I can see this. As you said, my information has been converted into numbers.”

I had been standing there in a daze with my hand on the orb. The princess called out to me from the side. I almost clicked my tongue at this NPC who was famous for ruining the mood at every story beat, but I caught myself remembering I was standing before the Emperor.

“How is it, Hero?”

“It appears in a format only I can understand, so it’s difficult to explain, but I believe I will be able to help this world.”

“Haha! That is good to hear! Attendants! This is the Hero who will save our world! Prepare everything so that he may rest comfortably before beginning his journey!”

“Then, Your Majesty, I shall attend to the Hero.”

“Do so.”

Since we wouldn’t be seeing each other often, I gave a polite bow and followed the princess to my assigned room.

Over the next three days I chose weapons, learned common sense about this world, received some travel funds, a map, and various warnings. Then my journey began.

I was curious about what had happened to my body and whether I could truly return home.

But more than anything, after ten months of being obsessed with the game while my legs were destroyed, I wanted to see my favorite character with my own eyes.

Recalling the game’s map as best I could and taking the shortest route possible, I set my first destination as the Holy Kingdom. Because of the game’s system, the first heroine you met became the main heroine of that playthrough. I planned to recruit her as my companion as soon as possible.

* * *

The Demon King, huh.

My head hurts.

It has been five years since I overexerted myself to save Leila. The backlog of work that had piled up while I was focused on her had only recently been cleared.

And now it’s the Demon King again.

I had hoped my cute little Saintess could simply rest in peace, but it seems she has a talent for attracting trouble.

“So, how are the lower realms responding?”

“The Empire, the Holy Kingdom, and the other nations appear to be joining forces to stop the Demon King’s army, but it seems insufficient.”

“What do you think we should do?”

Archangel Ramiel, who was discussing the matter with me, looked like she had something she wanted to say.

“…Wouldn’t it be fastest, easiest, and best to simply send the Saintess?”

“Rejected.”

“Haa…”

I knew what she wanted to say, but I refused.

Leila had grown in a slightly strange direction compared to my expectations, but she was truly happy and smiling with genuine joy these days, so I had let it be.

Still, I sometimes worried that if I called her, she would smile and solve everything for my sake. Even so, the love I had given her wasn’t meant for her to handle every incident and cleanup.

“…The Empire is preparing to summon a Hero.”

“A Hero?”

“Yes. They succeeded in restoring the records from the first Hero’s summoning before the empire’s founding. They are currently gathering materials and searching for a suitable soul.”

Hero summoning. A forbidden art that pulls a soul from another world and anchors it here despite the world’s rejection.

Summoned Heroes usually possess powerful abilities and display absurd growth rates. However, past summonings had been unstable—many were sent back mid-journey or lacked sufficient power.

If they had restored the records from the very first summoning, this would be a perfected version.

A good idea came to mind.

“Then let’s send Leila as well.”

“Pardon? The one who cherished his daughter so much is suddenly suggesting this?”

“She will only act as support for the Hero’s party. I’m thinking this is a good opportunity for her to travel and see the world.”

“Haa…”

“Having Leila around makes it awkward to create another Saint. So I’ll give that role to the Hero instead.”

“Do as you wish. It’s not like I have any say in the matter.”

Looking at the rude angel who could no longer distinguish between up and down out of sheer exhaustion, I thought to myself.

Once this matter is settled, it seems I’ll need to give Ramiel a vacation soon.

To hell.

“Hmm~♪ Hmmm~♪ What would be a good gift for our cute little Saintess~”

They say that in a Hero’s party, a blessed couple always forms.

Since she still hadn’t realized her own feelings, I decided to meddle a little. Rather than pairing her with some old man nearly twice her age, it would be better for her to connect with someone her own age.

If I gave the Hero an ability that let him give her anything she liked at any time, wouldn’t she fall for him quickly?

And if using that ability required physical contact as a condition, they would grow close in no time, right?

Since I was already interfering, I decided to meddle in the Hero selection process as well. Since this person might become Leila’s partner, I wanted someone with a pure soul.

Fortunately, the search was already underway in a world I was familiar with, so I received a little help from the angels there.

I really had no idea.

I never imagined that a matter I had started out of mere interest would turn out like this.