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The world of Fantasia consists of a single hotdog-shaped continent called Pangaea. At the western edge of this continent lies a beautiful port city known as the Sanctuary. It’s the City of Beginnings, Prologin!

The pure white temple at its very center was bustling with activity for the first time in a long while. “Wow!” “Amazing…”

“Awesome!”

“Cool…”

High school students, summoned to the heart of the temple, spun their heads from side to side, exclaiming in admiration.

Perhaps it was because they had asked the goddess so many questions before arriving here? Instead of confusion, they were busy sightseeing, like foreign tourists.

That was until a dignified woman’s voice was heard. “I sincerely welcome the heroes who have come to the Fantasia dimension.” “Another beauty…” “A goddess…?” “Could it be a saintess?” “She’s pretty…” The male students’ reactions were honest. But the female students were in no position to criticize them.

“Look behind her.”

“Why? Huh?! Whoa!” “He’s really handsome…” “Could he be a prince?” They were utterly captivated by the handsome appearance of the boy waiting behind the woman who had welcomed the students. For whatever reason, the woman, seeing that the heroes’ gazes were focused on her, opened her lips again. “I am a saintess who received the goddess’s oracle and was waiting for your arrival at this temple.”

The woman, who introduced herself vaguely as a saintess, without giving her name, stepped slightly to the side.

Then, the boy who had captivated the female students bowed politely and introduced himself. “It is an infinite honor to meet the legendary heroes. I am Arthurs Swordmaster, the first prince of the Swordmaster Kingdom, which governs the northern territory of this temple.”

“Kyaa!”

“He’s really a prince!”

“This isn’t a dream, is it?!”

Prince Arthurs flashed a charming smile at the excited female students. However, the excitement was instantly shattered by a sudden noise.

CRASH!

A girl, flinging open the temple’s main gate with enough force to shatter it, appeared with tears welling in her large eyes and shouted, “I am so sorry! I overslept due to a hangover…!”

“…Princess Ethena. Your honesty is both a strength and a weakness. You didn’t need to say that last part.” “Huh?! What mistake did I make this time—Ack?!”

THUD!

The girl, who had been running while cutely tilting her head, tripped on her skirt and slid spectacularly.

Is she okay?

However, as if betraying everyone’s concern, the girl sprang back up as if nothing happened and was busy making excuses. “The temple floor is slippery! I didn’t fall once until I got here, so it must be that!”

When no one responded, the girl’s face turned beet red like a cooked radish. But that was only for a moment, as the male students began to get wildly excited. “Cute!”

“She’s cute!” “Princess, you’re cute!” “Long live fantasy!” The knights and priests around them frowned at the heroes’ behavior, which showed no hint of manners.

“A bit…”

However, since the highest authorities, the Saintess and the Prince, remained silent, they did not take further action.

The girl also seemed quite flustered by the unprecedented rudeness (?).

“Uh… hmm. Thank you?”

“Wow!”

“Whoa!”

The male students, seeing her innocent reaction, became even more frenzied. Did the Saintess decide that things wouldn’t progress no matter how long she waited? Her patience was not as infinite as the goddess’s. “She is Ethena Arkmajing, the princess of the Arkmaging Kingdom, which governs the southern lands of the temple. She will support your adventures along with Prince Arthurs.”

“Ohh!”

“Wow!”

Cheers erupted from everywhere.

Is this what it would be like to go on a school trip with an idol you admired?

However, not everyone was caught up in this atmosphere.

[Name] Oh Han-woo [Level] 1 [Blessing] Hero F [Curse] – [Share] 0.64

“What’s a curse…?”

Oh Han-woo, a hero who prided himself on mastering fantasy novels, comics, and games. He wanted to be ahead of others, like a “protagonist” in a fantasy creation. So, he had activated the “status window,” which hadn’t even been explained yet, and was diligently examining it.

Prince? Princess?

He could meet as many as he wanted if he leveled up and gained skills to become stronger.

Wasting time by fawning over the prince and princess like those fools was a waste of time!

Oh Han-woo poked the status window with his fingertip, checking each item. “First… let’s look at the Hero’s Blessing.”

[Hero] ▶The language of races friendly to the hero is automatically translated. ▶Experience points gained from hunting and achievements are greatly increased!

Experience points greatly increased? He didn’t know the exact efficiency of that “greatly,” but if there was no level cap, it was a truly overpowered effect. The automatic language translation function would also be very useful. The only thing that bothered him? There were many rival heroes who had received the Hero’s Blessing around him.

Among them, a few individuals particularly caught his attention. “Saintess. The goddess told us to receive the gods’ blessings, but how do we do that?”

Choi Kang-min.

This handsome boy didn’t show it outwardly, but he was thoroughly enjoying the current situation.

At home, at school, at the academy, in his neighborhood… Everyone praised his looks and talent, but it wasn’t enough! He was sick of a society where he was on par with mediocre peers and treated equally. On the other hand, what about this world? It was an unequal society that discriminated against people by class and ability. It was an unkind and harsh world for the weak and elderly, but Choi Kang-min didn’t care at all.

He was a “hero” chosen by the goddess!

Therefore, he was confident.

The world of Fantasia was a stage prepared just for him.

“That’s a good question, hero. To receive a god’s blessing, you must please the god.” “How…?”

“The criteria differ for each god, but it’s certain that the gods are looking for talents who can defeat the Great Demon King. Does that answer your question?”

“Suffice.”

Choi Kang-min was satisfied.

Objectively speaking, he was the most suitable person to defeat the Great Demon King.

Class President Yoo Bo-ra bothered him a little, but in the end, she was a girl. No matter how smart she was, she couldn’t fight properly with a frail body. Gods wouldn’t be interested in a girl if they were in their right minds… A certain male god looks on with satisfaction. A certain hasty demon god looks on with satisfaction. A certain evil god looks on with satisfaction. A certain innocent goddess asks what they’re looking at. A certain water god advises their friend that they don’t need to know. A certain god…

A sudden, unannounced barrage of messages! Choi Kang-min was flustered, and before he could even ask the Saintess, his surroundings grew noisy. “What are these messages?” “Which god? God…?” “Really a god? This?” All the students, all the heroes, were seeing the same phenomenon.

The Saintess, clasping her hands as if in prayer, spoke as if singing. “Though you cannot see them, the gods are watching over you, heroes. They convey their will through oracles, just like now.” “Gods? Really?” “These are gods?”

“But please remember that their interest won’t last forever. I pray that you all acquire a god’s blessing.” “Excuse me! What if we don’t get any blessings?”

Someone among the students asked in a very annoyed tone.

To this, the Saintess smiled captivatingly and asked back, “Should I even care about trash?”

The adventure in a fantasy world full of dreams and hopes had begun!


Damn it! If I had known this future would come, I would have exercised diligently! I was running through a dark forest.

“Pant, pant!”

My breath was catching in my throat, but I couldn’t stop moving for a second.

I knew well that the moment I stopped, I would meet a terrible end. “Meat! Human meat!”

“My lunch!”

“Meat! Stop!” Bipedal hyenas, wielding crude weapons, were hot on my heels. Hyenas that use tools like humans, run on two legs, and can even speak? Creatures that don’t exist on Earth. It was clear evidence that I hadn’t returned to my home planet, Earth. Thwack, thwack, thwack.

If I hadn’t protected my head with my bag, I would have already collapsed from a concussion from their stone-throwing.

Dangerous! Really dangerous! I’m not a marathon runner. It was clear that at this rate, I would collapse from exhaustion first. “Think, think, Kang Han-soo…!” If I didn’t want to end up in those hyenas’ stomachs, I had to use some kind of magic or miracle. Magic. If this were Earth, it would be an absurd thought, but I was still stuck in the fantasy world due to the wicked goddess’s machinations.

Anything is fine, please…!

[Name] Kang Han-soo [Level] 1 [Blessing] – [Curse] Hero E [Share] 2.56

Huh? It really appeared? My personal information displayed like a translucent hologram before my eyes.

It was definitely the status window the wicked goddess had explained.

There had to be a breakthrough here.

“…Or not?”

Looking at “Hero” in the curse list of the status window, only a hollow laugh escaped my lips.

[Hero] The language of races hostile to the hero is automatically translated. Experience points gained from hunting and achievements are greatly reduced!

A curse packed with malice, designed to bury me in the fantasy world!

In a game system, the importance of “level” is on par with life itself. But to apply a permanent penalty to experience points, a prerequisite for leveling up?

It was tantamount to telling me to give up on the status window, the very flower of the fantasy world.

“The language function, too…” This seemed like a good effect for a curse, but experiencing it firsthand, it wasn’t necessarily so.

“Give me your heart!”

“Meat! Human meat!”

“Let’s chew on the bones!”

Those fantasy hyenas were livestreaming how they were going to cook me in real time. Throb, throb! Just listening to it was putting a strain on my heart. As someone born and raised in a peaceful country on Earth where I only had to watch out for car accidents, this translation was unwelcome.

“Friends who like meat! Let’s talk it out…!”

“Lunch spoke!” “Meat! Talking meat!”

“Let’s eat and talk!”

Thanks to the curse, even though the language barrier was gone, having a normal conversation was another problem entirely.

“Huff, huff…”

My breathing grew ragged, and the world began to turn yellow. A grim warning that my stamina was reaching its limit.

Would I really die in this fantasy world? Mother, Father. Forgive this unfilial child who goes before you. It’s all because of that damn wicked goddess…

“□□□□□…!” “□□□? □□□□□!”

“□□□!”

Just then, a chorus of shouts came from deeper within the dark thicket.

What are they saying?

Whizz—Thunk!

“Ack?!”

My legs tangled from the intense pain, I screamed and tumbled head over heels in the dirt.

An arrow?! That really hurts?!

I saw an arrow lodged in my right thigh.

The silver lining, if any, was… “Elf! Elf meat!” “Up in the tree! Cowardly elf!”

“An arrow! New lunch!” The fantasy hyenas left me, incapacitated, and charged en masse towards their new prey. “OO! D!” “Meat! Elf meat!”

“□□□!”

“My elf! Meat~!”

Amidst the chaos, there was a word heard frequently after “meat.” Elf. A fantasy race that frequently appears in fantasy settings.

No. None of that matters. “! You damned barbarians!” To attack a civilian who’s being chased by cannibals! Even if there was a language barrier, a civilized person with normal thoughts wouldn’t do this.

I took advantage of the fight between the elves and hyenas to hide behind a large tree.

I know.

This place isn’t safe at all.

But in this desperate situation, with my stamina depleted and my leg injured, there was nothing I could do. Should I pray to a god? “No way.”

The goddess is the cause of all this, so who would I pray to?

I, Kang Han-soo, would choose death rather than pray to a god.

A certain god peeks out. …What’s this? My body reacted before my mind. “Help me!” I, Kang Han-soo, will do anything if it means I can be a good son to my parents!

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