When the helicopter landed, I wasn't even sure if this body was still alive or just a decaying carcass wrapped in bandages.
"…Young Master."
The voice came as the cabin cabin door opened. An old servant with silver hair bowed politely, as if welcoming a king returning from the battlefield.
"Hmm…"
I turned sluggishly. My vision was blurry. The world looked like a cheap, unfinished dream.
"We have arrived at the Mansion."
He spoke again, softly, as if afraid his voice might crack my head more severely than before.
I didn't answer. I just got up slowly, my body heavy as if weighed down by burdens from another world. My breath felt constricted, but I moved. Slowly. Dragging my feet.
The servant tried to help me, but I brushed his hand away.
"I can walk by myself," I muttered. My own voice sounded unfamiliar.
From the corner of my eye, I could see an old man standing on the mansion's terrace—perhaps the head butler, or something more. He stared at me as if counting the seconds before I collapsed.
"His walk is erratic… Is Young Master still half-conscious?" he whispered softly to himself, but clear enough for me to catch.
I kept walking. Somehow, my instinct knew where to go. Long corridors. Cold marble. The aroma of antiseptic mixed with expensive perfume. This world… felt strange, yet familiar. As if I had seen it on a screen, but now I was in it—on the side that couldn't be paused.
As soon as the bedroom door opened, my body immediately collapsed onto the soft bed like a surrendering mist. In a matter of seconds, I sank into a sleep darker than before.
Sunlight.
Pain.
My head exploded.
"A—ARGHHHH!!!"
My scream echoed, tearing through the air like an emergency alarm. The sound of running footsteps approached, and in a matter of seconds, a group of servants burst in.
"T-Young Master! Calm down! Don't get up yet!"
'Young Master?' Once again with that address.
Oh, right. I'm Seo Hyeon-woo now.
Damn.
******
One of the servants—whoever it was, all their faces were still like a blurry filter to me—gently pressed my body back down.
"Don't get up yet, Young Master. Your wound could open again!"
Their hands felt soft, but too quick, too panicked. They acted like surgeons in a live broadcast watched by the entire world.
Then a strange light ignited.
Yellow. Warm. Strange. Dazzling.
That light emerged from their palms.
'What is this, healing magic?'
I stared with wide eyes, even though the pain was still dancing wildly in my skull. No mistake. They were using magic. Not technology. Not medical tools. This wasn't a hologram or an augmented device. This was real.
Magic. In the modern world?
Of course. This world was annoying like that.
Consciousness slowly faded again as the pain receded. My vision blurred, and their voices began to sound like a hum underwater. A few seconds later, everything vanished into darkness.
******
I woke up. Again.
This time, without a scream. Only heavy breaths and an unfamiliar ceiling.
This bed was too soft. These linen sheets probably cost more than my total lifetime income in my previous life. Even the pillow kissed me more gently than my last lover—who, well, the last one only ever appeared in my dreams.
"What kind of place is this…"
I sat up slowly, my head still bandaged like a luxurious mummy. Even a small movement triggered a pulse in my temple.
Then the sound of a door opening. A middle-aged man in a white suit entered. A doctor, by his appearance.
"Ah, Young Master is awake," he said, his tone professional but careful, as if speaking to a landmine.
He explained my condition at length. Traumatic Brain Injury, Post-Traumatic Amnesia, nerve damage that made my face lose expression.
"So… I can't smile?"
He nodded. "Technically you can, but your muscles will tire out in a very short time. Your body needs adaptation."
A fake smile was no problem. I was already used to pretending to be fine.
But the amnesia part… that was pure gold.
It was the perfect reason not to know anything about this world. About who I was. About this family. About the political games and social traps that would surely greet me once I left the room.
Funnily enough, this head injury actually saved me from expectations.
I wasn't Seo Hyeon-woo, or at least that's how I had to state it now.
But now, I had to play as him.
******
Why this game? Why this NPC? And why now?
My temporary theory? My original body might have died from a relapse of illness during sleep. Or did a thief kill me silently? Or… a meteor fell right on my house?
Any possibility sounded absurd. But here I was now, and all the reality tests in that room showed this was no dream.
"I'm tired of pinching and slapping my own face... damn, this is too real."
Whether it was my nature, or an old habit decaying in my head, I still couldn't stay still from curiosity. Why? Why me?
If my life were a movie, the audience would surely be annoyed. "Why is he always too reflective? Why so skeptical all the time?"—they might say.
But seriously. Who could think positively after suddenly being transferred into the body of a game character from a class that was kidnapped and tortured, with a body that suffered trauma?
Perhaps I was just being whiny because I hadn't yet accepted reality. But isn't that the most human thing to do?
Ah, never mind. These were just voices in my head that needed to be suppressed.
I sighed, put on the clothes the servants had prepared, and went down to the dining room.
There, a man sat. His posture was tall and sturdy, a thin mustache curved at the corners of his lips, with jet-black eyes and neatly combed hair that implied rich old Korean blood.
Handsome? Yes. Elegant? Very. But more than that—he exuded the aura of a king. An authority that made you want to submit, even without a single word.
If someone needed a perfect example of Old Money and an ideal Sugar Daddy—he was the one.
...Ah, almost forgot. He was the head of the Seo family and CEO of Seo Group. His name was Seo Do-hyun.
He was also my father. At least, the father of the body I currently inhabited.
And in the world of Urban Legends? He wasn't just a father. He was the Emperor Magician—ruler of dimensional magic, a figure who challenged logic and reality. In patch 4.6, he was even described as "untouchable."
But why was he my father now…? That was still a mystery.
I sat next to him. Without saying anything, the pressure of his presence felt like a weight on my chest.
But yes, I didn't have the energy to care right now.
Seeing me sit, he turned. I greeted him, simply as a basic courtesy.
"Good morning, father."
He looked a little surprised.
Was I wrong?
But instead of getting angry, Do-hyun instead chuckled. "It looks like after getting thrashed, your manners have returned. Should I hit your head every day so you stop throwing tantrums and burning my money?"
I could only scratch my head, awkwardly.
Honestly, I didn't know how to respond. The memories of this body faintly merged, but my personality? Far different.
But yes, going with the flow didn't seem difficult.
"Y-yeah, I've learned my lesson. The pain at that base was enough to make me reflect on my life…."
"Ohho, so you regret being a naughty child—?"
"I regret not thrashing them more."
My father almost spluttered his morning coffee.
"Pfft—what did you just say, kid?"
Do-hyun seemed amused.
I shrugged. "I was just annoyed that I couldn't do anything when I was kidnapped."
"Hm, if so, become stronger. Look at your hands—thin as twigs. A cat kicking them could break them. You've never even trained."
"Not really, I hit some technicians with a monkey wrench."
"Pffttt—them? Non-combat crew, all weak. Even weaker than F-rank hunters."
He laughed loudly. I sighed.
I looked at my palms. Fragile. No strength whatsoever.
"…Well, you're right, Father. From now on I will train seriously."
His smile transformed into a thin smirk. His mood improved.
Good. As long as he didn't suspect that I wasn't his 'real son,' I would be fine.
"I only hope you don't disappoint me again with your crazy behavior," he muttered.
Hm. So that's it. He didn't expect much from my strength. He just wanted me to stop being a burden to the family.
Perhaps Hyeon-woo, this body, was really that lowly in his eyes?
"By the way, there's something I need to tell you."
Do-hyun wiped his mouth with a tissue, then looked at me seriously.
Next month, I would enter Mighters Academy.
One of the three best hunter academies in the world.
The problem? I was too weak to enter through the normal route.
So Do-hyun would force me in through a cooperation route. A back door, to be honest.
Sounds crooked? Yes. But this was a form of a father's concern for his 'son'. I couldn't refuse it now.
******
Back in the room, I sat lost in thought.
I needed a plan. I had to get stronger. Fast.
Then my memory was triggered. About the routes in Urban Legends.
Mighters Academy—I remembered some early game characters came from there. But I didn't care then because they weren't popular characters.
In this game, there were many main routes: academy, hunter, businessman, romance, mecha, exploration, and others.
If you chose the academy route, you would get stories and characters from the academy world. If hunter, then the hunter world opened up.
Each route had its own story, quests, and rewards. The deeper you delve into one route, the greater your growth and benefits.
The problem?
Out of hundreds of important characters… why did I have to be stuck as a mob?
An NPC who wasn't even on the list of supporting characters. A small villain who died foolishly because of his arrogance.
...But I thought again. This was still better than living as an undead.
Besides, Hyeon-woo's family was rich. What's wrong with living comfortably as a young master for as long as possible?
Partying, chasing girls, splurging... ah, the temptation of a luxurious life. Isn't that a hidden route itself?
But focus first. This game was free, but players were advised to choose one main route so the story wouldn't be corrupted. You could take other routes later for farming additional characters.
And characters on routes you didn't choose? They would still complete their own challenges. According to their destiny.
The problem? You would lose rewards and the potential to unlock larger story chains.
And… perhaps the fun that came with it.
Also, it seems I should use my cheat knowledge?
"Maybe I can try it…?"