Chapter 1
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Becoming the Villainous Pig Count
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Another World Online.
This game burst onto the online MMORPG scene like a comet and achieved unprecedented popularity.
Graphics indistinguishable from real life, NPCs that felt utterly alive.
Served in 20 countries worldwide, it boasted nearly a billion logged-in playersa legend among online games.
I was a huge fan of this game.
No, more precisely, I was a fan of the original novel it was based on, Another World.
The characters and story were captivating enough on their own, but even setting that aside, it held a special place for me.
Why? Because the author of the original novel, Jeong So-ra...
Was none other than my little sister.
Another World was a novel So-ra had been scribbling away at since her high school days.
Back then, I was just the big brother reading her drafts and giving feedback at her request.
But before I knew it...
Id become a devoted reader.
Oh man, it was way more fun than I expected.
Anyway... right after she graduated, she submitted it to a contestand damn, it actually won.
That much was within my expectations.
If it hadnt won, it wouldve been a trashy work.
But it didnt stop there. A major game company bought the IP rights.
It was a massive hit.
As a result, Another World was released to the world not as a book, but as a game first.
Vast maps, freedom rivaling reality.
Everything was exactly as Id imagined.
No, it exceeded my imagination!
Holy crap... this is insane!
There were countless NPCs there.
Ones with emotions so real you couldnt tell them from actual people.
Being able to interact directly with characters recreated from the original novel as NPCs!
As the original authors brother, as a fan, it couldnt get any better.
Thats how it was supposed to go...
-You know that thing? You can kill NPCs too.
-What?
-Theres that junk merchant in the square, right? Tried killing him on a whim, and the bastard actually died for real lol
-so? Off to behead the blacksmith who just blew up my weapon.
What started as some bored players messing around quickly spread across the entire server.
Countless NPCs were slaughtered for fun. But once an NPC died, they didnt come back.
Eventually, players couldnt even get quests anymore.
Ha... these crazy bastards...
Id hoped players would team up with the charming characters, build relationships.
Once anyone saw their appeal, theyd have no choice but to befriend them.
I believed that.
As a fan of the original.
As a gamer.
That players would craft the ideal game.
But sad hunches never miss, and my hopes were utterly crushed.
Once players started hunting NPCs, the Neverland Continentthe games stagefell into total chaos.
Pissed them off.
Didnt like their looks.
Wouldnt give quests.
For no reason other than being annoyed, players began killing characters left and right.
A few of us, including me, tried to stop the NPC killers, but it was hopeless.
All we could do was watch as hordes of players thoroughly destroyed the world I loved.
And finally...
The Last Empire Has Fallen to the Players
GAME OVER
That was the result after just one year of service.
I knew it. You crazy fuckers...!
I immediately called my sister in a rage.
Riiiing.
-Oppa? Whats up?
-So-ra, those asshole players finally ruined the game.
-Oh yeah... I heard. Probably shutting down service today.
-What?
-Its over now. No more story to progress anyway.
-So thats it? It ends like this?
I was seething.
There were so many untold stories left.
What about all those unique characters?
And it wraps up like this?
-Hey, arent you pissed? Your characters all died without doing shit.
She'd handled the story for the online game too.
Id seen tons of endings she'd crafted based on the original.
But nothing like this crap.
-Well... what can you do? It doesnt have to follow my story exactly. Plus, the devs seem to see this as an ending too.
-This isnt the ending I wanted! These players are all idiots from one to ten! Ugh, the NPCs are the pitiful ones. Any one of them as protagonist wouldve had a better ending than this.
-Oh... you think so?
-Damn straight!
-Hahaha. So typical of you, Oppa.
Her laughter was full of mischief.
So I thought the words that came out of her mouth next were a joke too.
-Alright then. Show me. The ending you want, Oppa.
-What?
What was that...?
Were you asking how much?
The next instant, a slender shadow turned around.
Where the hell did she come from?
A woman so breathtakingly beautiful stood before me, it felt like my breath had stopped.
,
My brain froze.
Looking around, I was surrounded by antique-style furniture.
No matter how I looked at it, this wasnt my room.
Ha... are you even listening to me?
Huh? Oh... yeah...
Our eyes met.
She was a beauty. An absolute stunner.
Her features radiated nobility and grace. Beneath silver hair glowing in the backlight, blue eyes sparkled beautifully.
But the emotion in them was pure hatred.
What the? Whys she looking at me like that?
And... that woman looked familiar somehow.
Who was she?
As I racked my brain, she spoke.
Fine. Then let me ask you instead. How much do I look like to you?
How much... I look like?
Thats when my gaze locked onto the fan she held.
More precisely, the message bubble floating beside it, like a speech bubble.
Name: Cheap Fan.
Description: A mass-produced fan with a pretty design but cheap quality. Worth exactly that much.
Appraised Value: 500 kael.
500 kael?
Ha! As if throwing that kind of money at me would buy my heart. Hmph. As expected from you, everythings about money... Wait, wait... what did you just say?
Didnt hear me?
500 kael.
Her face stiffened at my response.
It didnt take long for it to flush red with humiliation.
Y-You think Im worth only...! No, forget it! Talking more is pointless!
Unable to bear it anymore, she shot up from her seat.
As she stormed toward the door, she turned back to me.
Not 500 kaeleven if you paid 1 billion kael, you couldnt buy my heart!
No, that fan...
What did you say!? A-Are you saying Im worth less than this fan!?
This woman isnt even listening...
Then, a scene flashed through my mind.
Ah, I remember!
On top of everything, I never imagined youd insult me like this at the end!
This familiar situation.
At the end, she definitely...
I could never marry a man like you. I wont forgive you until the Ruelverta name is erased from this country!
Bam.
Reciting the lines I remembered verbatim, she stormed out.
Ah, well, aside from her being even more pissed than in the original, it was almost identical.
Which means...
A novel... no, inside the game?
What Id just gone through was a scene from the novel I loved, Another World.
That beautiful woman was definitely Bella Izarkhel, daughter of the duke.
The Cliff Flower, hailed as the empires greatest beauty. Though... her only flaw was her fiancé being trash.
But wait...
Bellas lines just now were announcing the breaking of the engagement. But why say them to me...?
A bad feeling started creeping in.
No way...
I checked the mirror.
And confronted the reality I was in.
No... even so, this is too much.
I know all the charming characters in the novel.
And I can say for sure.
No matter which one I became, Id be happy.
But not this guy.
This bastard alone...
Why you, of all people...
The mirror reflected a fat man.
The worst kind of noble, with a personality twisted to hell at first glance.
Tristan Ruelverta...
I had become the villainous pig count who would one day sell out this country to the players.