My cryptocurrency investments hit it big, stocks reached the upper limit, and I even found a 50,000 won bill on the street. (TN: 10,000 Korean Won = 7.47 US Dollar)
The government announced that a highway would pass through my orchard, and I heard rumors that our apartment complex would be redeveloped.
That’s not all. I also heard that Teacher Yeongdo would soon publish his third and fourth books.
It was a good day.
[Observe the True Ending]
[Reward: Return]
[※While you are in this world, time in the real world does not flow.]
[※If you die in this world, you will also die in reality.]
Except for the fact that I was possessed into a game.
***
It was an incredibly good day.
I was possessed into a game.
Some might desperately wish for such possession, but it wasn’t such a good thing for me.
I mean, I had no complaints about reality, so why…?
But there’s no use in just complaining.
The silver lining, if any, was that there was a clue to return and that I knew what kind of world this was.
Ragnarok – Traveler of the Three Stars.
It was an academy-style RPG featuring three main characters. It was quite popular due to its balanced gameplay and decent storyline.
I played it quite a bit, too.
To see the true ending in this game, you need to defeat the Demon King, who’s trying to destroy the world.
The condition itself is simple.
The problem is that I’m not in a situation where I can clear that condition.
First,
There’s the issue of my role in this world.
If I had been possessed by one of those three protagonists or even one of the main or supporting characters moving with them, I could appropriately lead them to the true ending.
But I am me.
I entered this world as my real self.
Of course, I’m not enrolled in the academy and have no connection to the main or supporting characters.
I don’t even know if I could even meet them.
And second,
This is the most serious problem I realized on the third day after entering this world.
“…Ten years before the game starts…”
The start of this game, when the three protagonists enter the academy, is in the year 945 of the Continental Calendar.
And now it’s 935.
It’s a whole ten-year difference.
How can this be so absurd?
If you’re going to drag me into this world, shouldn’t it at least be in the same time period?
Whoever is responsible for this lacks common sense…
“Haah…”
Well, if they were considerate enough to care about such circumstances, they wouldn’t have put me in the game world in the first place.
Anyway, it’s clearly impossible for me to enroll in the academy when the protagonists do.
Even old students have their limits.
So I need to find another way…
“I guess there’s no choice.”
Even if the sky falls, there’s always a way out.
It’s not like there was absolutely no method.
The solution was to get a job as an academy teacher and become the homeroom teacher for one of the protagonist’s classes.
I clearly remember from the game.
If you fulfill certain conditions, you could even recruit the homeroom teacher as an ally.
That’s what I need to aim for.
Of course, it’s not an easy task.
Getting into the academy is tough enough, let alone becoming a teacher.
Moreover, it’s not something an otherworlder who just arrived can easily do.
In other words, from now on, for ten years,
I need to improve my skills enough to enter as an academy teacher.
Still, I didn’t think it was impossible.
At least, as someone who has played this game enough to be considered experienced–a veteran–I know where everything is and what to do to get what.
In other words, if I use that knowledge, it should be possible to improve my abilities and become an academy teacher.
But before that, there was something I needed to do.
“…Should I get the Sage qualification first.”
Sage.
One of the occupations in Ragnarok, which gives bonus points when teaching something.
Having this would make getting a job as an academy teacher easier.
And to get the Sage occupation…
“It’s quite far.”
I had to go to the Sage’s Tower at the edge of the continent.
It’s really a path of hardship and adversity from the start.
Well,
That doesn’t mean I’m going to give up.
.
.
.
To obtain the Sage occupation, you need to clear the job quest.
The task is to take at least two disciples and raise them to a certain level.
The problem is that I don’t know what this “certain level” is.
To find out, I needed to receive the Sage job quest, so I had no choice but to head to the Sage’s Tower at the edge of the continent.
“Ah, finally arrived.”
It took a full year to reach the Sage’s Tower.
Of course, the distance was far, but I also spent time obtaining skill books, equipment, and elixirs necessary to increase my abilities along the way.
Anyway, the important thing is that I’ve arrived at the edge of the continent, and I can finally receive the job quest.
“To become a Sage, you must take at least two disciples and raise them to a certain level.”
[Job Quest – Sage]
[Take two disciples and raise them to a certain level.]
[0 / 2]
A window that appeared as soon as I received the job quest.
Yes, this is how I can know whether I’ve taught them enough.
“Leading someone is not an easy path. Are you sure you can do it?”
“Well, let’s give it a try.”
The old man at the reception smiled faintly at my answer.
“I pray that wisdom be on your path. This skill will help you find your disciples.”
In the end, forget wisdom. I just hope there’s a true ending.
Anyway, what he handed over was a skill book.
It was ‘Search Eye.’
It’s one of the skills used to find talent, a skill for recognizing potential.
It was worth coming all this way.
This was all I needed to do at the Sage’s Tower.
It was quite tiring to come all this way just to hear a few words, but what could I do?
I’m the one in need right now.
Now… the problem is finding talented individuals to take as disciples…
In the game, if your fame is high, people come from everywhere begging you to be their master, but my current fame is rock bottom.
There’s no way anyone would come to me and ask me to take them as disciples, so I have to go out and find disciples myself.
Then I should go somewhere with lots of people first.
Once I made the decision, there was no reason to hesitate.
I immediately moved from the Sage’s Tower to the capital of the kingdom with the most people, and sitting in an inn, I continued my thoughts.
Who would be good? Who would obediently follow my teachings?
The conditions were clear.
First, someone who has nothing is good.
Those who live in the dark would never give up the small light they could keep.
If I provide them with decent food and a place to sleep while teaching, they will follow obediently, whether they like it or not.
And someone who needs to be desperate is good.
I don’t have unlimited time.
What I need to obtain is not just the Sage occupation. I need to gather things to increase my abilities immediately and things necessary for an efficient true-ending strategy.
To do that, I need to use time wisely, and I can’t afford to waste time just doing the job quest.
Considering other conditions, the answer was to take in a talented kid among the street urchins who have nothing.
Then…
“Hey, innkeeper.”
“Yes?”
“Where’s the back alley around here?”
“The back alley? If you go out from here and head towards the inner part, you’ll find it. But that place is a bit dangerous.”
Where in the world isn’t dangerous?
I waved off the innkeeper’s concern and immediately headed to the back alley.
“……”
I used to get disciples this way in the original game, so why isn’t it working?
No matter how much I searched the back alley, no one was caught by my Search Eye.
“Ugh…”
How can this be happening?!
I didn’t expect such a hurdle from the start. But it’s too early to give up.
Right. I’ll probably meet someone if I keep wandering around.
There’s still plenty of time, right?
So I wandered here and there, crossing rivers, mountains, and plains, looking for disciples.
But there were none.
There was truly not a single person caught by my Search Eye.
In the game, there were so many talented individuals caught by it that you’d trip over them, but just because it’s about ten years earlier than the main story, how can there be no one?
“Ugh…”
After searching and searching to no avail, I eventually went to another country, but there were no notable talents either.
Still, as if there’s always a way, I heard a rumor about an outstanding talent in a village while searching.
They say the person is just entering their teens and from a good family.
Originally, my plan was to pick up a suitable orphan, raise them, provide them with a basis for living, and then go our separate ways, but can I afford to be picky now?
So, as I was heading to that village…
“…I’m hungry.”
To think I’d get lost.
I was sure I was on the right path, but why do I keep ending up on mountain roads?
“…Are you a beggar?”
Sitting on a roadside rock due to hunger, I heard a voice.
A beggar, huh.
That’s a first in my life.
“…Do you have anything to eat?”
I haven’t eaten properly for three days now and can’t think straight.
I reached out to the pink-haired girl who spoke to me, and the girl looked at me for a moment before taking something out of her bag and holding it out.
“Here.”
Her voice was blunt, but the aroma of the bread in her small hand was very pleasant. After eagerly eating what I received, I finally sighed in relief.
“Phew… Thanks, kid.”
“It’s not a big deal to give a piece of bread to a beggar. It’s fine.”
As the girl was about to turn away with an indifferent expression, I saw it.
Her overflowing talent.
An incredible talent that made all the others I’ve seen so far pale in comparison.
Whoever this girl is, I can’t let this opportunity slip!
“As repayment, let me guide you! You! Become my disciple!”
Maybe it was thanks to my soul-filled cry? The girl about to leave stopped her steps turned around casually and shrugged.
“Are you also here to apply for the position of my teacher?”
Translator’s Corner
Heyo, new novel. I’ll stick to free chapters every other day, and coin locked ones when I have time.
Also if you’re curious about the heresy inquisitor novel, another group picked it up the same day as me, so go check it there. No point in translating the same story,
-Ruminas