It was a good day.
Coin hit the jackpot, stocks skyrocketed, and I even found a fifty thousand won bill on the street.
There was an announcement from the government that a highway would be passing through my orchard, and I also heard that our apartment was going to be redeveloped.
Not to mention? I heard Teacher Yeongdo was going to publish the third and fourth birds soon.
It was a good day.
[Observe the True Ending]
[Reward: Return]
[※Time does not flow in the real world while you are in this world.]
[※If you die in this world, you die in reality as well.]
Except for the fact that I got sucked into a game.
Other than that, it was an unbelievably good day.
I was sucked into a game.
Some may have longed for such an experience, but for me, it wasn’t all that great.
I mean, why should I… when I had no complaints about reality?
But sulking won’t get me anywhere.
At least I was lucky enough to have a clue for returning and to know what kind of world this was.
Ragnarok – The Traveler of Three Stars.
A fantasy academy RPG featuring three main characters, and thanks to its balanced playability and decent story, it was quite a popular game.
I’d played it a fair bit myself.
To see the true ending in this game, you must defeat the Demon Lord who seeks to destroy the world.
The condition itself is simple.
The problem is that I’m not in a situation to clear that condition.
First.
It’s about my role in this world. If I had possessed one of the three protagonists or at least one of the supporting characters who moved with them, I could lead them properly to the true ending.
But I’m just me.
I’ve entered this world with my real body.
Of course, I haven’t even enrolled in the Academy and have no ties with the main or supporting characters.
Whether I can even be in the same class as them is questionable.
And then there’s the second problem.
This is the most serious issue; I found out three days after entering this world.
“…The game starts ten years ago…?”
The game’s beginning, when the three protagonists enroll in the Academy, is in the year 945 of the Continent’s Calendar.
And right now, it’s 935.
A whopping ten years difference.
Is this a ridiculous situation or what?
If you’re going to drag me into this world, can’t you at least have the timelines match?
Whoever did this has no sense…
“Sigh…”
Well, if they were the type to care about such things, they wouldn’t have thrown me into a game world in the first place.
In any case, seeing how it looks, there’s no way for me to be enrolling in the Academy when the protagonists do.
A late bloomer has its limits.
In that case, I need to find another method…
“I guess this is unavoidable.”
Even if the sky falls, there’s always a way out.
There’s actually a way.
To get a job as a teacher at the Academy and become the homeroom teacher of one of the protagonists.
I’m pretty sure that’s how it went in the game.
If I meet certain special conditions, I can recruit my homeroom teacher as a companion.
I need to aim for that.
Of course, it wouldn’t be easy.
Enrolling in the Academy itself is tough, and becoming a teacher is another level.
Let alone some random guy from another world just barging in and saying he wants in.
So, that means I have ten years.
In this ten-year span, I need to build my skills to the point where I can become an Academy teacher.
Still, I didn’t think it was impossible.
Having played this game enough, at least I’d learned where to find things and how to obtain them.
So if I use that knowledge, boosting my abilities should be possible, making it not impossible to become an Academy teacher.
But first, there’s something I need to do.
“…Let’s see about obtaining Sage qualifications first.”
Sage.
One of the classes in Ragnarok – The Traveler of Three Stars that earns bonus points for teaching something.
Having this would make it easier to get a job as an Academy teacher.
And to obtain the Sage class…
“It’s pretty far away.”
I need to go to the Tower of Sages at the end of the Continent.
Right from the start, I’m facing hardships and struggles.
Well.
That doesn’t mean I’m planning to give up.
.
.
.
To acquire the Sage class, I must complete a job quest.
Accept at least two disciples and raise them to a certain standard.
The issue is that I have no idea what that ‘certain standard’ is.
To find this out, I have to take on the Sage class quest, so I had no choice but to head to the Tower of Sages at the end of the continent.
“Ugh. I finally arrived.”
It took me a full year to reach the Tower of Sages.
Of course, the distance was a factor, but I spent a lot of time along the way getting skill books, equipment, and potions necessary to boost my abilities.
Anyway, the important thing is that I finally reached the end of the continent, and now I can finally take on the job quest.
“To become a Sage, you must accept two disciples and raise them to a certain level.”
[Job Quest – Sage]
[Accept two disciples and raise them to a certain level.]
[0 / 2]
Upon receiving the job quest, a window popped up. Sure. This is what’ll tell me if I’ve taught them or not.
“Leading someone isn’t an easy path. Are you sure you can do it?”
“Let’s give it a shot.”
The old man at the reception desk smiled at my response.
“I wish wisdom on your path. This skill will help you find your disciples.”
With that, he handed me a skill book.
It was called ‘Search Insight.’
One of the skills used to identify talent, employed when searching for promising students.
I felt the journey was worth it.
That was all I needed to do at the Tower of Sages.
It was exhausting to have to travel all this way just for a few words, but what can I say? I’m the one who needs it.
Now, the problem is finding a talented individual to take on as a disciple…
If I had a high reputation in the game, people would be flocking to me begging to be my disciple, but currently, my reputation was rock bottom.
It’s not like there’s someone coming to want me to take them on as a disciple, so that means I have to go out and search for them myself.
In that case, I should head to a place with a lot of people.
Having made up my mind, there was no reason to hesitate.
I used my skill to teleport right from the Tower of Sages to the capital of the kingdom, where the most people were, and sat down in an inn to continue my thoughts.
Who would be good? Who would obediently follow my teachings?
The conditions were clear.
First, I needed someone who has nothing.
After all, those in darkness would desperately cling to any semblance of light.
If I provide them with food and a place to sleep, they’d have no choice but to follow me, whether they liked it or not.
And it’s good if they’re desperate.
Time isn’t limitless for me.
What I need to obtain is not just the Sage class. I also need to gather things that will immediately boost my abilities for efficiently achieving the true ending.
For that, I need to use my time wisely; I can’t dawdle around just doing this job quest.
Thinking of other conditions, the answer kept coming back to taking in some kid with talent among the nothingness.
So then…
“Hey, innkeeper.”
“Yes?”
“Where’s the back alley?”
“The back alley? Just go out and head that way. But the back alley can be a bit dangerous.”
What part of the world isn’t dangerous? After giving a casual wave to the innkeeper, I got up and made my way straight to the back alley.
“……”
In the game, I used to find disciples like this, but why isn’t anyone showing up?
No matter how much I searched the alley, no one caught my Search Insight.
“Ugh…”
How could this be?!
To hit such a roadblock right from the start. But giving up now would be premature.
Yeah. I’ll probably encounter someone if I keep wandering.
I still have plenty of time, right?
So I searched for disciples, crossing rivers, climbing mountains, and wandering across plains.
But there was no one.
Not a single person showed up in my Search Insight.
In the game, talented individuals crowded my path, while here, this early ten years before the main story and there’s hardly anyone around?
“Ugh…”
After searching high and low, I ended up in another country without finding anyone particularly talented.
But just as I was about to give up, I heard rumors of a talented kid in a village.
Apparently, they’re in their early teens and come from a good family.
My original plan was to grab a decent orphan, provide a living foundation, and then send them on their way, but now? Is this really the time to be picky?
So off to that village I went.
“…I’m hungry.”
I can’t believe I got lost.
I was definitely headed the right way, but why does it keep leading me up these mountain paths?
“…Am I homeless?”
As I sat on a rock by the road, someone spoke up.
A homeless person, huh?
That’s a comment I never thought I’d hear in my life.
“…Uhm, do you have anything to eat?”
I hadn’t eaten properly in three days and was losing my mind.
I reached out to the pink-haired girl who spoke to me, and after staring at me for a moment, she pulled something out of her bag.
“Here you go.”
She had a blunt tone, but the scent of the bread in her tiny hand was absolutely inviting. I took it eagerly, breathed a sigh of relief after eating.
“Ah… Thanks, little one.”
“Giving a piece of bread to a homeless person isn’t a big deal. It’s nothing.”
She said with an indifferent expression and was about to turn away when I caught a glimpse of her overflowing talent.
She had an unbelievable talent that made everyone else I’d seen seem insignificant.
I couldn’t let this opportunity slip by!
“To repay you, I’ll teach you! You! Become my disciple!”
Maybe it was my soul-piercing cry? The girl who was about to leave stopped and turned back, shrugging her shoulders.
“Did you come to apply for the position of my teacher as well?”
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