A quiet rural village.
A small village where, at best, travelers might pass through once or twice a month.
The children are all childhood friends, and if a couple gets into a fight, by morning the whole village knows about it—that kind of countryside.
There, in the village’s only inn and restaurant, lives a hard-working young man.
“Hahaha! The weather’s great today! Hello, everyone?”
Even on a gloomy, humid day when it looks like rain might pour at any moment, this young man laughs heartily, as if he’s blind to the weather.
His name is Hio.
His real name is Hyunseung Lee.
He introduced himself as Hyunseung to the villagers, but since the pronunciation was difficult for them, he barely avoided being called ‘Hionsuung’ and managed to settle for Hio.
As Hio brushes the area in front of the inn and greets everyone, the village kids come running over in a group.
“Hey! It’s Hio! Hio!”
“The village’s number one pushover!”
“Don’t call him that! You’ll get scolded by your mom!”
“But… what else should we call a pushover if not a pushover?”
“Hmm… idiot?”
Hio grins wide at the children’s laughter.
“Hahaha! You little troublemakers! You shouldn’t tease adults, you hear? Now, go play over there. Hahaha!”
“No! You pushover!”
“Don’t give orders when you’re just a pushover!”
“Ugh! He’s a pushover! Pushover!”
A vein twitches on Hio’s forehead, but he keeps smiling as he deals with the kids.
Only after being surrounded and teased for quite a while does Hio manage to get back inside.
“Phew… what a life.”
Letting out a deep sigh, Hio shuffles into the inn, where a red-haired girl is sitting with her chin propped on her hand.
“Why do you let them do that to you every day?”
She’s more mature than the village kids but younger than Hio.
Her name is Claire.
Claire is the only daughter of the innkeeper who took Hio in.
“Well, you could say it’s a kind of training.”
Hio brushes off the question and starts cleaning the inn.
It’s been over two years since Hio—no, Hyunseung Lee—settled in this village.
So much time has passed that the story on the Test Server of Ventair Online should be progressing by now, but nothing has changed for Hyunseung since two years ago.
The only thing he’s learned is that it’s hard to live in this damned world without resorting to violence.
And that patience is annoyingly hard to increase.
That’s about all he’s realized in two years.
“Training, my foot. You just don’t have the courage to resist.”
Claire mutters quietly as she watches Hio wipe the tables.
“Pathetic.”
Hio’s hand pauses for a moment, but he soon resumes cleaning, pretending not to have heard.
“Instead of standing there, why don’t you help clean up? We need to get ready to open.”
“Hmph. Open for what? There aren’t any customers. I’m not someone who should be cleaning in a backwater village like this.”
“There you go again. Still talking about going to the Imperial Academy?”
Claire’s dream was to leave this rural village and head to the imperial capital.
Whenever Claire brought it up, Hio would scoff as if it was ridiculous.
“Hey, you should live according to your place in life. According to your place.”
Honestly, it’s a preposterous dream.
Everyone in this world has their own innate trait and skills.
But unlike possessors, the residents here have no way to check their own traits or skills.
Most people here live their whole lives without ever discovering or mastering their own traits and skills.
So it’s understandable that Claire acts so proud.
A year ago, she awakened to her own skill and learned to use it.
“I’m not a coward like you.”
Claire jumps up, and a small flame flickers at her fingertip.
“Fire attribute has amazing destructive power! Only a tiny fraction of those who awaken get that as their innate trait.”
“You heard that from those travelers last month, right? I’m telling you, they don’t know anything.”
Claire glares at Hio with fierce eyes.
“What do you know, you coward!”
With that, she shouts and storms upstairs.
In truth, Claire isn’t entirely wrong.
Those who awaken to their own traits and skills—and can use them—are rare, and among them, fire attribute is famous for its powerful destruction.
But…
‘There’s no way a country girl could get into the Imperial Academy just because of that.’
You still have to hone your skills.
And there’s no way to know the upper limit of your trait or skill.
The ten thousand possessors brought from Earth can open their status windows, but the locals have no such convenience.
If you work hard only to find your trait and skill have a very low cap, you’d lose out big time, so only proven people can enter the Imperial Academy.
‘And there’s no way to afford that huge tuition, either.’
Even if Claire’s trait and skill have high potential, how could the meager income from this country inn pay the astronomical fees of the Imperial Academy?
So Hio keeps talking her down, hoping she’ll give up on her own.
“Sigh… Claire used to be so sweet.”
She used to follow him around, calling him “big brother,” but in just two years, she’s grown up and now treats him like a useless bum.
…Well, it’s not exactly wrong, which makes it hurt even more.
“That little miss is still as lively as ever.”
As Hio sighs and wipes down the tables, a man’s voice comes from behind him.
There was no one else in the inn but Claire and Hio, yet suddenly a voice is heard.
And there’s only one person who could do that.
“Jason?”
“Yeah, it’s Jason. Why do you keep asking, when you don’t have any other friends?”
“…Just sit down.”
Hio tosses the rag aside and sits at a table, while the man called Jason plops down across from him.
A man with light brown hair and a distinctive scar at the corner of his mouth.
He’s been inside for a while, but Claire didn’t even notice him—a master of stealth.
Any player who’s spent time in Ventair Online would know this named NPC.
Jason Klarok.
Leader of the Assassin Guild and the Information Guild.
Ruler of the underworld.
“I gathered the intel you wanted. Like you said, that professor was a possessor too.”
The only reason Hio could become friends with such a big shot was through his own effort.
Even in the game, very little was known about Jason Klarok.
Before he became the undisputed ruler of the underworld, during the time when invisible wars were raging, Hio knew Jason used Delphir Village as a safe haven.
That’s why he chose this place as his starting point, since it wasn’t far off.
Even if it took months, it was worth it for Jason to be in this village.
Though rescuing a wounded Jason was partly luck.
***
After spending a few days together, Hio gradually leaked information about the future to Jason.
At first, Jason was wary, but soon he confirmed most of Hio’s information was true.
Thanks to that, he was able to take over both guilds more easily, and that’s how their current relationship began.
Of course, Jason would have eventually become ruler of the underworld on his own, but Hio’s information definitely made it easier.
Naturally, it also helped that Jason, for a crime boss, had a strong sense of loyalty and trustworthiness—something Hio knew very well.
Other major NPCs were impossible to approach, so Jason was Hio’s only lifeline and the biggest achievement of his two years.
“As expected… that guy is definitely one of the top players.”
Hio had even told Jason about the possessors.
The more information he gave Jason, the more he’d get in return.
Of course, he didn’t say it was a game—just that powerful people from another world had possessed bodies here.
“By top players… you mean those who crossed over to this world with special privileges?”
“Yeah. That Academy professor was one of the top five.”
“So even a professor was that big of a deal…”
“That’s why you should keep an eye on him. He’s obsessed with making connections. He’ll be useful.”
Besides himself, the other nine rankers who received privileges.
They would definitely stand out one way or another.
All traits had been reset and reassigned, so it wasn’t easy to tell who was who, but some were so distinctive you could figure them out quickly.
Like that guy who became a professor at the Academy.
“There were some real lunatics among them, so it doesn’t hurt to be careful.”
These were people who’d poured their lives into this broken game.
Who knows what changes the other rankers have gone through, so better safe than sorry.
“Yeah, got it. Oh, and there’s been some weird talk at the Adventurer’s Guild lately…”
“Weird talk?”
Jason nods, frowning as if trying to recall.
“It was a word I’d never heard before… something like ‘Jijun Heavenly Demon’? Anyway, they’re moving secretly, looking for someone by that name. Don’t you think it’s related to the possessors?”
“…No idea…? Whatever, since you’re here, have a drink before you go.”
“No thanks, man. I’m busy.”
Hio, managing to keep a straight face, waves him off.
Tyftc
This “hidden master” development was a pleasant surprise.