The Crown Prince of the Failed Game is Good at Being an Idol
A snowstorm raged.
Despite the weather being so violent that even the Northern Light Dragon wouldn't dare show its face outside its cave, I couldn't rest.
“Crown Prince Karis! Crown Prince Karis!”
Along with the sound of someone calling me from afar, the entrance to the leather tent was flung open.
The soldier, his black helmet completely covered in white snow, gasped for air as he knelt before me.
“Reporting! General Grant’s detachment has broken through the western wall and successfully opened the eastern gate!”
“The news I’ve been waiting for has finally arrived.”
I checked the map once before speaking to the knight standing beside me.
“Hugo. Is the entire force currently at the main camp ready for deployment?”
“Yes, Your Highness. We are fully prepared to move at any moment.”
“Then we deploy immediately. Lead half the troops through the eastern gate that Grant has opened. I will take charge of the west myself.”
“By your command!”
Hugo immediately adjusted his armor and stepped out of the tent.
As I folded the map and strapped my sword to my side, a notification I had been waiting for appeared before my eyes.
‘Once this final battle is over, the game is cleared.’
With that excited heart, I mobilized all my troops and marched toward the western wall of the Demon King’s castle.
Everything after that... is just a memory filled with snow, blood, and the frenzy of battle.
As I watched my white breath spread through the cold air and plunged my sword down, the status window appeared again with a crisp sound.
Congratulations! The character ‘Karis von Walden’ has defeated the Demon King.
The possessor, ‘Han Jihyuk’, has cleared the final chapter of Grand Quest Saga.
As a clear reward, an audience with the God is available. Would you like to move now?
[Yes ∥ No]
“……Yes.”
I pressed the Yes button with my blood-soaked hand.
Instantly, my body, which had been in the middle of the battlefield, was transported into the dark interior of a temple.
“Congratulations. To think someone would actually reach this point. It was worth calling an otherworlder to this world for the first time in my life.”
A message containing immense power echoed from the front.
My body, exhausted from hours of continuous fighting, reacted with difficulty.
As I barely lifted my head to look forward, the figure of an old man revealed itself alongside a golden light.
“Are you…… the God of this world?”
“Indeed. Karis von Walden—no, Player Han Jihyuk. The achievements you have made will be remembered for ages. To think you not only broke through the Demon King’s castle, which no one had ever conquered, but even severed the head of the Demon King Valderich.”
“Enough with the sugar-coated praise; I hope you explain the reason quickly.”
Pressure was applied to my grip, still holding the holy sword Durandal even here in the temple.
The reason I was openly resentful in front of the God of this world was simple.
“You dragged me into this world out of nowhere and threw me into a war for a full 10 years. There must be a purpose, right? Isn't that so?”
“Ah, so you were curious why I selected you, Han Jihyuk, as the suitable vessel for possession. Unfortunately, my answer is very simple.”
The God chuckled, stroking his lush beard.
“Because you were the person who played Grand Quest Saga in the world called Earth for the longest time. I judged that you would adapt to this world much better than any other entity.”
“Just…… that’s all?”
“As the God overseeing this Arcadia continent, I was simply curious if the Demon King could truly be defeated.”
The person who played Grand Quest Saga the longest.
Hearing that, no counter-argument came to mind.
As the God said, I had spent almost every day in the real world clinging to Grand Quest Saga, which was called a ‘failed game’.
I, who was originally an idol trainee, had failed to bear the fruits of my six years of effort.
If it had been a large agency, it would have been more than enough time to debut with suitable trainees, but the limitations of a small agency with very few trainees were clear. On top of that, the constant agency issues and the character problems of other trainees. There was nothing I could do.
It’s not that I didn’t put in the effort myself.
Since I was young, I had been evaluated as having outstanding talent, enough to be praised for my musical aptitude, but I didn’t rest on that; I practiced, shedding blood and sweat just like everyone else.
So, as a final gamble, I participated in Idol Producing Simulation, an idol survival program hosted by KNet.
It was a survival show I entered with the mindset of starting over from scratch, but perhaps it was a cruel twist of fate—I stumbled right before the threshold of debut. I took 8th place, just one step short of the 7-person debut lineup.
That was how I let go of the idol dream I had nurtured for so long and faced reality.
Because earning money to survive was the most important thing.
I worked part-time during the day and locked myself in my room at night to play games.
That was how I naturally came to know Grand Quest Saga, a strategic RPG known for its top-tier difficulty.
I played the game every day with a challenging spirit, having heard that no one had yet seen the Demon King subjugation ending.
Everything after that was... well, it was like a common fantasy novel development.
The status window that suddenly appeared before my eyes gave me a simple order.
If I broke through the Demon King’s castle and killed the Demon King in the body of the game character, Crown Prince Karis von Walden, it would send me back to my original world.
I took a deep breath and brought up the most important matter.
“The reason you brought me here doesn’t matter. In any case, didn’t I fulfill the conditions you set? Then I hope you send me back to my original world quickly.”
“A promise is a promise. I am very grateful to you for showing me a sight I had never seen before. Still, you seem to have adapted quite well to the position of Crown Prince; do you not have any thoughts of staying here—.”
“Not in the slightest.”
“What a pity, what a pity.”
No matter how frustrated my life had been, returning to reality is better than being stuck in a game world.
News that I am the person who killed the Demon King might spread, and the Demon Realm forces might come to assassinate me from anywhere at any time.
Also, I didn’t want to follow the words of the God who had abruptly transported me into Grand Quest Saga any longer.
The God stretched his hand forward. Then, several system windows made of light particles were generated.
“Where did I put the function to return to the real world…… Ah, here it is.”
[Return to original body]
Finally, I can escape this body of Karis von Walden and return to my original body.
I inhaled, staring at the status window sent to me.
Well, it was a 10-year period that wasn’t too bad, in its own way.
Of course, I had to keep planning the Demon King’s castle conquest operation from the position of Crown Prince, and training in weapons and magic was a given, and I even had to learn army management skills, so my head hurt terribly.
Still, where else would I ever be treated like royalty?
I pressed the Yes button and closed my eyes for a moment.
I waited to feel my body being transported as space-time twisted like before, but.
‘Hmm?’
Why don’t I feel anything?
Thinking something was strange, I opened my eyes, and the God in front of me was waving his hands in confusion, his beard fluttering.
It’s not like he’s doing some surprise comedy act.
“Uh, uhh, why is this happening? I definitely configured the system correctly.”
“What on earth…… is the situation?”
“To think there would be an error in the function to return to reality. No matter how many times I press it, there’s no input. I clearly put my heart and soul into creating this system, to show such an embarrassing sight!”
How could he be so hopeless until the very end?
I left the somewhat incompetent God to struggle with the system he had created and sat down on the floor with a thud.
Watching his silver beard flutter, I healed the wounds all over my body with recovery magic, and in the meantime, I even used creation magic to make bread to eat.
But even by the time I finished eating the bread and dusted off my hands, the God was still struggling with the system.
Seeing the God drop his head, a sigh escaped me automatically.
“I, I’m sorry. I have no face to see you.”
“Does that mean I cannot return to the real world?”
“Hmm, it’s not that you can’t return at all. It means you can’t return to your original body, Han Jihyuk, but you can go to the real world through another method.”
“If you mean another method?”
“The body you are currently using. If it’s the body of Karis von Walden, you can go to the real world.”
For a moment, the temple went quiet.
I let out a groan and slowly weighed the options currently placed before me in my head.
Will I live in Grand Quest Saga as I am now?
Or will I return to the real world in the body of Karis von Walden?
Unexpectedly, it didn’t take much time to decide.
“Fine. I will return to the real world in this body.”
“Th, then I will immediately—!”
“However. There is a condition.”
I smiled, ruminating on an idea that had suddenly occurred to me.
“I cleared the quest you gave me under fair conditions. But what has come back to me now is a completely unreasonable reward. I think it wouldn’t matter at all if I demanded a price corresponding to that unreasonableness from this side.”
“C, cough! Since the system error is my fault, I have nothing to say. Do you have a separate compensation plan you want?”
“It’s simple.”
This is an opportunity.
If I returned to the real world right now, there was almost nothing I could do immediately.
I would probably just work part-time jobs like I did when I lived as Han Jihyuk, and stay locked in my house at night just the same.
But right now, there is a God standing before my eyes. Even if he looks incompetent and pathetic, he is a God who truly handles the system he created.
It means I could reassemble the life I’ve lived.
“When I transfer to reality, I want you to turn back time as well. The time is…… yes, turning it back about 12 years would be perfect.”
“It seems you had some unfinished business? That’s not particularly difficult.”
“Additionally, can you make it so that I can use that system you handle even after I return to reality?”
If I just simply regress, that’s too easy of a deal.
The fact that I am going back exactly 12 years means I am going back to the time when I had my last chance at an idol life.
To the time when that survival audition, where I fell at the threshold of debut, took place.
This time, no matter what happens, I must succeed.
By getting help, regardless of the means or methods.
“As you said, I had one unfulfilled dream. I am turning back time to challenge it again. And to ensure I achieve that dream, I want to use the power of that system.”
“Dividing the core of the system isn’t difficult either…… but this was implemented in a format to help players possessed in Grand Quest Saga. Even if you use it, you’ll only be able to give quests and create status windows in a similar format.”
“That alone is enough.”
I stared at the holy sword Durandal for a moment.
Then, I slowly headed to the center of the temple and plunged the sword into the floor.
Thud—!
“Since I achieved my goal in this world, I will achieve it in that world as well.”
“Are you really okay with just this? Other compensations—.”
“Not needed.”
As I responded short and thick, the God finally nodded.
Golden light swirled at his fingertips.
“Very well. Then, I will now begin the transfer and system fusion process for Karis von Walden, the Crown Prince of the Walden Kingdom. I hope that luck will be with you in that world.”
I closed my eyes and welcomed the waterfall of light.
Feeling the thrill of space-time twisting with my whole body, I steeled my will once again.
‘This time, I will definitely succeed.’