Chapter 1
Chapter 1
I was born dirt-poor.
People said others were at least born with a silver spoon in their mouths, but I didn’t even have a spoon.
Must be nice, being born with a silver spoon.
No, even just an ordinary family would have been enough.
I can’t say how jealous I was of the other kids every time Children’s Day came around.
Presents.
Toys.
Amusement parks.
Eating out with their families.
They were all things I couldn’t even dream of.
My reality was a father addicted to alcohol and gambling.
A mother suffering from a rare, incurable disease.
And a steady stream of debt collectors who came by every other day.
I had no choice but to take whatever work I could get just to survive, even before I was old enough to understand what it meant to be grown up.
When I’m older, I’m absolutely going to be happy.
The one good thing was that, even though I’d been born without so much as a spoon in my mouth, I had a pretty strong will.
I took whatever work I could find.
Going to college was never even a consideration.
While my peers prepared for entrance exams, I bounced from one part-time job to another. While other people enjoyed their youth in their twenties, I made money in factories and on construction sites.
“Son, I’m sorry. I’m such a useless mother.”
When my mother said that as she was dying, I shook my head.
It would be a lie to say I didn’t resent my parents.
Especially my father, with his addictions to alcohol and gambling—I could never forgive him.
I couldn’t count how many times I’d wished I’d been born into an ordinary, well-off family instead.
But I believed that my future depended on what I did with it.
“It’s okay. Someday, I’ll live happier than anyone else. I promise.”
I didn’t say it just to make her feel better.
I had a goal.
I’ll save up as much money as I can as fast as I can, then retire and live a happy life.
Ever since I was a child, I’d lived without enjoying a single thing other people took pleasure in.
Even if I was getting a late start,
I was going to make up for all the hardships I’d been through, even if I had to wait until I was older.
I’ll enjoy life more than I’ve suffered up to now.
With that goal in mind, I worked with everything I had, and at last, an opportunity came my way.
The CEO of a mid-sized company took a liking to me and hired me as a sales employee at his company.
Sales felt like a calling to me.
“Boss, that was a nice shot!”
“Heh heh. When I play with you, Assistant Manager Lee, it feels like the ball just sticks to my club.”
“I’m honored! Call on me anytime—day or night, even in the middle of the night!”
My grit, which made me willing to take on any unpleasant task, my permanently ingrained attitude of deference, and my readiness to give up anything and everything for success had turned me into a sales prodigy.
Within three years of joining the company, I’d reached an annual salary in the hundreds of millions of won and become the company’s top salesperson.
My success kept rolling on.
I even claimed the title of “Sales King.”
Of course, it hadn’t been an easy road.
“Ugh, I could never do what that guy does.”
“Yeah. Does he have no pride? No matter how important results are, why does he have to go that far?”
King of the Subordinate.
That was the nickname the people around me had given me after seeing the way I did sales.
I didn’t care.
I had a goal.
Do you think I enjoy living on my knees? Once I reach my goal, I’ll retire right away and spend the rest of my life doing nothing but having fun. Of course… that goal is still a long way off.
I sighed.
Retiring young and living a life of leisure was easier said than done.
I was steadily moving forward, but it still felt a long way off.
If I’d been born with a silver spoon, I wouldn’t have had to go through all this.
I felt bitter, but soon shook my head.
Rather than waste time on useless thoughts, I was better off doing whatever I could to increase sales, even if only a little.
Thanks to my outstanding sales figures in the first half of the year, I’d been given some time off, but I had no intention of simply relaxing.
My next client is a game company. I need to master a game made by that company.
Mastering the game a company had made so I could supply them with products.
There probably weren’t many salespeople who would go this far, but this was my style.
I’d do anything to increase sales.
The company did force me to take a refreshment leave, but if I want to reach my goal as soon as possible, I can’t just sit around resting.
I started playing a game called Hero Academy.
Of all the games that company had made, it was the hottest one lately.
It’s about several protagonists growing into heroes at an academy? I don’t know much about games.
My awkwardness didn’t last long.
I was soon absorbed in the game.
Maybe it was because I’d spent my entire life struggling and had never had a chance to enjoy this kind of entertainment before, but it was incredibly fun.
There was only one thing that bothered me.
Why are all the protagonists’ pasts so miserable?
A story about people with miserable pasts struggling and suffering as they grew.
I didn’t like it, because it reminded me too much of my own life.
I’d rather be a character like this.
I thought of one of the characters in the game.
—Ban Ecclesia.
He was the most pathetic extra in the game.
First, there was his talent.
He was hoping to become a mage, but suffered from “Mana Insensitivity.”
You could call him the greatest talentless fool in the game.
And it wasn’t as if he had any grit, either.
He used Mana Insensitivity as an excuse and had never made the slightest effort.
Was his personality at least any good?
He was a complete bastard.
He’d caused so much trouble that there wasn’t a single person in the Empire, where the game was set, who hadn’t heard of him.
Still, he’s the son of a rich family.
Ban was the legitimate heir of a Ducal House, of all things.
A diamond spoon—better than a mere gold spoon!
The exact opposite of me, who’d been born with nothing.
Must be nice, being born with a silver spoon! How wonderful would it be if I could become Ban?
It was at that very moment.
—You have cleared all major scenario routes in the game!
I looked a little surprised.
Apparently, I’d worked too hard to impress my client.
—The hidden scenario, “Salvation of the World,” is now available!
—Will you accept the invitation event?
I nodded.
I figured that if I cleared the hidden scenario too, I might win the client over even more.
“Accept. But why is it an invitation event?”
It was just as I tilted my head in confusion.
Something I never could have expected happened.
Fwaaaash!!!
Light burst from the monitor.
“W-what is this?”
—The “Salvation of the World” scenario will begin!
—O summoned savior! Please save the world with your abilities!
My consciousness began to fade amid the incomprehensible messages.
When I opened my eyes, I was inside the game Hero Academy.
‘Can this really be happening?’
At first, I thought I might be dreaming.
But I wasn’t.
After a week had passed, I accepted reality.
There was just one problem.
‘…Of all people, why Ban Ecclesia?’
I had possessed the single most irredeemable, pathetic character out of the countless people in the game!
‘…Wait, is that really so bad? Isn’t it actually great?’
I blinked.
As I’d said before, Ban was the absolute worst kind of trash character.
The worst personality. The worst reputation. The worst talent.
But he had one huge advantage that outweighed every one of those shortcomings.
Ban was more than just born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He’d been born with a diamond one.
After all, he was the blood of a ducal house.
‘Me, born with a silver spoon! This is way better than being one of those protagonists who have to go through endless hardship!’
I threw both arms into the air and shouted in triumph.
A reality where all I had to do was struggle? I didn’t miss it at all.
From what I’d experienced over the past week, this place was every bit as real as reality.
‘From now on, I’m going to live the easy life as a rich kid!’
But then I looked puzzled.
‘What are these entries?’
I could see Ban’s traits, just like in the game.
<Mana Insensitivity>
‘This one I already knew about.’
???>
???>
???>
???>
There were no fewer than four question marks in the trait section.
They seemed like latent traits.
‘What traits are lying dormant?’
I was curious.
—Possession bonus granted!
—Would you like to unlock your latent traits?
Without giving it much thought, I nodded.
‘He’s a trash character anyway. His latent traits are probably trash, too.’
But then—
—The “Grandmaster of Magic” trait has been unlocked!
—You possess the qualities to become the master of magic!
—You instinctively see through the essence of magic!
I fell silent.
‘…What?’
And that wasn’t all.
—The “Black Flame Dragon’s Charisma” trait has been unlocked!
—You possess a charisma like deep darkness and blazing flames!
—The “Thousand Changes Versatility” trait has been unlocked!
—You demonstrate competence regardless of the field!
—The “Gambler’s Judgment” trait has been granted!
—You can accurately judge the success or failure of an undertaking, and the odds of winning a contest!
‘How can a trash character have latent traits this absurd?!’
I broke into a cold sweat.
They were traits I had absolutely no use for if all I wanted was to laze around and live comfortably.
‘Why does he have such over-the-top traits?’
A strange unease crept over me.
Only then did I recall the messages I’d heard when I was transported into the game.
—O summoned savior! Please save the world with your abilities!
‘…Don’t tell me they expect me to save the world with these abilities?’
Just as a cold sweat ran down my back, a holographic message appeared before my eyes.
—Welcome, possessor!
—The “Salvation of the World” scenario will begin!
—May heaven’s blessing be with you in the adversity and hardship that await you!
—Your first quest has been issued!
—Please check the quest details!
The message blinked, as though urging me to check it.
I grimaced.
‘…No thanks. Why should I? Adversity and hardship, my ass.’
I’d had enough hardship in my previous life.
In this life, hardship was absolutely off the table.
‘I didn’t choose to come into the game in the first place. You abduct me by force, and now you expect me to save the world?’
The protagonists were going to save the world anyway.
‘I’ll just keep my head down and enjoy the easy life.’
But the message didn’t disappear. It kept blinking, distracting me.
As if it would force me to take the quest one way or another.
—Please check the quest details!
—If you do not check the details, the quest message will not disappear!
I frowned.
I had a bad feeling this was dangerous.
‘I mustn’t open that message.’
The moment I did, I felt like I’d be forced to take on the quest!
‘But what is this message, anyway? Magic? How do I get rid of it?’
The moment I thought that, I started seeing something that hadn’t been visible before.
The transparent lines that made up the message.
‘A spell formula?’
I had no knowledge of magic.
I was just an ordinary modern-day Earthling.
I didn’t even know what kind of spell formula this was.
But—
‘…For some reason, I feel like I can dismantle it.’
I didn’t know why.
I simply knew it “instinctively.”
Which of those linear structures mattered most, and where it was most vulnerable.
‘How do I know this? Could it be…?’
—You possess the qualities to become the master of magic!
—You instinctively see through the essence of magic!
It seemed to be because of Ban’s latent trait, the “Grandmaster of Magic,” that I’d unlocked a moment ago!
Following my instincts, I raised a hand and moved the tiny speck of mana dwelling within my body.
Tap.
I’d only touched it lightly, but something astonishing happened.
—Crash!!
The letters in the message collapsed as if they were made of glass!
‘That startled me.’
A new message soon appeared.
—Warning! Warning!! Forcibly removing an oracle’s message is an act that violates the laws of the world! Do not violate causality!
Fwaaaash!!
The messages appeared in the air again.
Their spell formula was completely different from before.
Far more sturdy and imposing.
It felt like an impregnable fortress.
But—
‘This one looks weak.’
Tap. I touched the spot that looked the shoddiest.
And then—
—Warning! Warn…!! …Krrzzzt.
With a strange noise, the quest message disappeared.
—Causality violation… Causality violation…
Like a broken machine, warning messages popped up, and I got rid of those, too.
Everything fell completely silent.
‘…Did I just mess something up?’
Words that seemed ominous, like “divine revelation” and “causality,” nagged at me, but I shook my head.
‘I’m never going to suffer again in this life.’
I made that vow firmly.
‘From now on, I’m going to live the good life!’
And so.
My life of struggling to live the good life began.