Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Identity
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Identity is an important concept that indicates a person's social position or role.
"In the past, inherited status like nobility or royalty mattered, but not anymore."
Even in modern times, people born into chaebol families or political dynasties can flaunt it, but it's just something like, "Wow, you were born into an impressive family." The truly important thing was different.
"Occupation."
Whether the knowledge required for the job is specialized.
The annual income earned from the job.
The difficulty of the job and the size of the organization it belongs to.
"In a capitalist society, occupation is identity."
Unfortunately, I didn't have one. Most people seek jobs to make a living, but I had the wealth to live without working in the past and present.
[According to your resume, you have no work experience at all?]
[No, as I wrote, I work as an internet debater.]
[That's not a job.]
I once applied to a company out of curiosity to experience office life, but I got rejected in the interview.
"Without a job, your options are limited."
Entities don't discriminate by time or place. That's why I needed an identity that let me go anywhere, something impossible with an ordinary status.
"What I need is an identity with exceptional versatility that grants access everywhere."
And I was about to acquire it now, using the legacy of the Great Author.
"A fountain pen that makes the person reading what you write believe it as truth."
According to the wiki, the original owner was an aspiring writer who realized the pen's usage, wrote that he was a Great Author, spread it around, and became one. But that backfired.
"People's perception changed, but his writing skill didn't, so every time he published, he faced criticism and ridicule he couldn't endure, leading to suicide, right?"
I recalled one of the settings from the Great Author's Legacy wiki: the experiment log.
[Experiment Result: All text written with this entity is accepted as truth by the reader. However, if settings conflict, people forget all previously accepted truths, and the user who caused the conflict can never activate the entity's ability again.]
[Subject writes in notebook: "○○○ is handsome." ○○○ is the subject's own name.]
[Have others evaluate the subject's appearance. 95 out of 100 rate it as below average.]
[Show them the text "○○○ is handsome" written with the entity, then re-evaluate. 100 out of 100 rate it as top-tier. Some ask for contact info.]
[Subject then writes "○○○ is average-looking." Show to different evaluators and have them rate. 95 out of 100 rate below average.]
[Result: Truth created by entity destroyed. Subsequent experiments fail; subject can no longer activate effect.]
Once a setting conflicts even once, it becomes just an infinite-ink fountain pen with no ability.
[Subject writes: "I am a hero." Instructed to visualize a specific hero while writing. Subject thinks of Superman.]
[Evaluators see subject and ask for autographs. They see him as Superman manifested in reality and find it natural.]
[Another subject writes the same, visualizes Batman. Evaluators see him as Batman.]
[Minor disturbance as one evaluator demands violence: "Why not kill the Joker and just lock him in an asylum every time?"]
[Confirmed: Vague content reflects the mental image during writing.]
When writing proper nouns or broad terms, you can craft the setting yourself.
"In conclusion, the most effective way is to write just one truth consisting of a single specific setting."
It's a shame, but better than abusing it elsewhere, causing a conflict that erases all effects and permanently locks the pen's power.
"Especially for identity."
I'd already decided what identity to claim with it, so I went to a print shop and ordered a large batch of business cards.
"I'll write the content myself. Just print the card stock."
I printed tens of thousands of sleek, premium business cards. Back home, I wrote on them with the Great Author's Legacy.
"Fame enough to enter anywhere, a job where people from sites of inexplicable entity incidents seek me out."
No such job exists in reality.
"Then I'll make one."
Gripping the fountain pen, I visualized detailed settings. After hours of deliberation, I wrote on the business cards.
"World's Greatest Fixer, Lee Seung-hoon"
There is no job called "fixer." Similar ones like mercenary, errand service, or detective exist, but none operate under the name "fixer."
"But for me, fixer is an official job."
First, I renovated the Bongcheon Donut shop I'd bought earlier. No longer a restaurant, it became a proper office, with the sign changed to "Lee Seung-hoon Fixer Office."
"What's a fixer?"
"Like a detective, I guess."
The nearby merchants didn't know what a fixer was. A natural reaction, so I handed them my business cards.
"Hello? I'm Lee Seung-hoon, the owner and fixer of the new office."
Until they took the cards, they showed no reaction, but the moment they read them, their eyes changed.
"Uh, uh, you're really Fixer Lee Seung-hoon?"
"Yes."
"The one who found the true culprit in the JFK assassination, discovered the Loch Ness Monster, and exposed the Roswell UFO crash conspiracy?"
"That's right."
"Ooh! Can I get your autograph?"
After signing for them, I asked.
"You seem to know me well."
"Of course! You're famous!"
"Who was the true culprit in the JFK incident?"
"Uh, who was it? I knew, but I forgot! Haha!"
"What does the Loch Ness Monster look like?"
"Forgot that too!"
"What's the Roswell UFO crash conspiracy?"
"I knew, but can't remember now! Haha!"
The entity's power is dangerous indeed.
"Got it. If you have any needs, please contact me."
"Sure! You mean mysterious, bizarre events beyond human understanding, right? Definitely!"
The settings took hold perfectly, so next I used online ads.
"Haha, to think I'd meet Lee Seung-hoon like this."
"Nice to meet you."
"The pleasure's mine. Meeting the man who uncovered the Moai statues' secret in person. I saw them once and wondered, 'Why were they made?'"
The ads were simple: scan the business card I'd written and spread it online.
"The aspiring writer printed and distributed his writing in the settings, and it worked."
Days after running the ads, I searched my name on internet communities.
[Lee Seung-hoon <- Isn't this guy famous? But why's the ad so crappy lol]
└[Who's that?]
└[Wow, someone doesn't know Lee Seung-hoon. Are you a natural?]
└[Talking about their niche stuff again.]
[Who's Lee Seung-hoon?]
[The first to uncover Atlantis's secret, the Jukai Forest's secret, the truth of the red mask, proud K-Fixer—that's Lee Seung-hoon!]
└[??? What? Crazy? Can't tell reality from fiction?]
└[Checked Namuwiki. Lots of 'solved' claims, but no actual solutions listed?]
└[Viral marketing. Hype.]
Reactions were polarized. The ads weren't big, so not many posts.
"But it hijacked search algorithms, so people involved in entity incidents will find me."
I'd linked keywords for mysteries, horror, inexplicable events. Those who need me will come.
"As long as no setting conflict from the Great Author's Legacy, my fixer identity won't vanish."
I stored the fountain pen in the safe I'd bought.
"No more use for it."
I'd secured everything for survival. The fixer office open, tips would come even if I waited, and I'd hear of entity incidents via Dial TV or Mr. Shin Young-moon.
"Before that."
I headed to the library.
"I need to get that."
I arrived at the private library Mr. Shin Young-moon mentioned and thoroughly searched until I found the book I wanted.
"Found it."
A single line title on the black cover.
"For You Who Want to Transfer to Another World, Book 6: Medieval Fantasy"
I slipped the book into my coat. No barcode, no anti-theft sticker—it was easy to take from the library.
"It was this series after all."
Back at the office, I examined it.
"Isekai Transfer series."
The moment you agree to the contract inside, it transfers you to another world.
"Book 6—my memory only went up to 4."
Composed of multiple volumes like a series, each sends you to a different isekai.
"Book 1: Hunter world, 2: Gates, 3: Tower, 4: Cyberpunk."
A Book 6? Must've come out after I quit gaming.
[This book speaks only truth, not lies, and actually transfers you to another world. But remember: you are not the protagonist, most isekais are harsh, and the chance of smooth success like a protagonist is very low.]
[However, your preparation raises success odds, so please prepare thoroughly before transferring.]
The next page had specifics.
[Transfers to an isekai equivalent to Earth's Middle Ages. Number of possible isekais per contract: 111,111,111. Random selection—no specific choice possible, pure luck.]
Next, average isekai levels.
[Most isekais have magic, but usable only if you awaken mana—1% chance. Same for previous transferors. Again: you are not the protagonist.]
[Low chance (5%) of soft, happy isekai.]
Next page.
[Previous Transferor List & Outcomes]
I recalled this entity's hazard rating.
[1. Seo Min-woo (30), Deceased: Former science teacher. Taught science to isekai natives, conducted experiments, made golem microscope to show bacteria, burned at stake by church for summoning demons.]
"Worth the hazard rating."