Chapter 2
A week had passed.
At this point, I had no choice but to admit it.
“It wasn’t a dream…”
Standing in front of the mirror, a chubby man with a cold expression stared back at me.
Tristan Ruelberta.
An NPC from the game I had become a week ago.
If he had just been an ordinary NPC, maybe my gloomy mood would have lightened a bit.
According to the original setting, Tristan Ruelberta is the villain among villains. Greedy, self-serving trash among trash.
But well… even if I give him the benefit of the doubt, isn’t self-preservation the top priority for anyone?
However, there’s another reason I really hate this guy.
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Character Profile.
Name: Tristan Ruelberta.
Age: 20.
Occupation: Count Ruelberta.
Personality Traits: Tycoon, Calculation, Pride, Greed, Jealousy, Wrath.
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In the original setting, personality traits are like blessings bestowed by the gods upon the chosen.
Simply put, they are important indicators reflecting a character’s abilities and personality.
Blessings aren’t just for show. Characters with personality traits often have significant roles in the original work, while those without are usually extras or minor characters.
From that perspective, Tristan, with six personality traits, is a character of immense importance.
Considering his influence on the story, it’s no exaggeration to say he plays a pivotal role.
But the problem lies in the traits he possesses.
Pride, Greed, Jealousy, Wrath.
You might have heard of these before—they are part of the seven deadly sins. Tristan has four of these sinful traits… making him a born villain.
The issue is, when these traits were implemented in the game, he ended up siding with the player invaders, selling out his country.
With players involved, the story didn’t follow the original plot, but who could have guessed he’d help destroy the world?
Making the NPC too villainous was a huge mistake.
Thinking about how many NPCs suffered and died because of this guy makes my blood boil. This traitorous scum.
I can never forgive him… but wait, that’s me now? Haha.
“Damn it…”
I sighed and grabbed my face.
How did it come to this?
A week ago, I was transported into this game’s character.
And it was all thanks to my younger sister, the game’s original creator.
Over the past week, I seriously pondered the true nature of my sister, who had pulled off this absurd feat.
In fantasy novels, such acts are usually performed by divine beings. Only an omnipotent god could transport someone into a game.
If you’re asking if my sister is a god… absolutely not.
Honestly, if my sister were a god, it’d be a disaster.
She has zero life skills without me. If I leave her alone for a few days, she survives on instant noodles.
If she were a god, the world would be doomed.
But looking at what she did to me, she might as well be an omnipotent god.
Of course, from the perspective of a creator, she is a god, but…
No. Hey, why me?
What did I ever do to you?
If you can hear me, please answer! Sister!
Ah, no. Oh God!
I spent the whole week screaming in my room, but neither my sister nor God answered.
In the end, I had no choice but to accept this situation against my will.
I was trapped in the game.
As the villainous pig count, Tristan.
Questions flooded my mind.
Whether my sister is a god or not, I even doubt if the sister I knew is really my sister, or even human.
But right before I was transported, my sister’s words echoed in my head.
“Alright. Then show me. The ending you want, brother.”
Her words, thrown out like a joke.
Thinking about it seriously…
“So, I have to conclude this story my way…”
Is that the only way back to reality? Maybe. After all, as an NPC in the game, I have no choice but to fight to survive, lest I be killed by players.
Still, in this misfortune, I have some time.
In the past week, I’ve learned something.
This is the world of “Another World Online.”
But there are no players here.
The reason is surprisingly simple.
The game hasn’t officially launched yet.
Meaning, this is before players enter the world.
Exactly 358 days before.
How do I know?
[358 days until service launch]
Such a notification keeps flickering before my eyes. It’s hard to miss.
I opened the window.
Cold air seeped into the room.
Through my breath, I saw the snow-covered cityscape.
The majestic clock tower looked familiar.
This is a city in another world, resembling a beautiful European fortress.
“…Rudrow.”
The capital of the Meikhael Empire, located in the northernmost part of this world.
A city symbolizing NPC resistance, which was thoroughly destroyed by players at the end of the war.
Now, it stands intact before my eyes.
“It’s beautiful…”
Despite this wretched situation, the world I imagined countless times in the novel and vividly recreated in the game is brilliantly beautiful.
Staring out the window, I muttered.
“Maybe… this is an opportunity.”
The game hasn’t fully started yet.
Now, I can protect it.
This beautiful scenery, the unique characters, and this world.
As the sole reader of the original novel, I can do it. But it won’t be easy.
I know the process of how this game was made through my sister.
Among them, when adapting the original novel into a game, they created various storylines based on player choices… a kind of single-player scenario. Initially, it was planned as a packaged game, but midway, the company shifted to an online game.
For my sister, who created various expected scenarios based on choices, it must have been frustrating, but fortunately, remnants of those scenarios remain in the online game.
Anyway, among those scenarios, about 526 are related to Tristan.
The problem is, all 526 scenarios end with Tristan’s death.
He dies in so many ways.
Poisoning, slaughter, hanging, beheading, explosion—nothing’s off the table. He’s the only one with such a diverse fate of death.
His blatantly cursed personality traits are a problem, but the scenarios created back then could influence this world… If I act carelessly here, I might end up dying miserably like in the original ending or one of the 526 scenarios.
It’s a desperate situation, but I have no intention of sitting still.
I know this world well.
From the original setting to the destruction ending of the online game I experienced once… I’ve seen it all with my own eyes.
‘First, I’ll change this damn future.’
I have about a year.
A long or short time, depending on how you see it.
I will definitely avoid the miserable ending where no one pities me.
Moreover, I will stop the players’ invasion and protect everyone.
I closed the window and muttered.
“Hmph. Come at me, you damn players.”
Even as a villainous NPC, I’m way ahead of you now.
Just as I was smiling confidently…
Knock knock.
“…What is it?”
“S-sorry to disturb you, Count… A relative has come to visit, so you might want to come out…”
A relative? Ah, I can guess who it is.
The only relative who would visit Tristan is ‘that person.’
A headache, but I have no choice but to deal with it.
I clicked my tongue and got up.
“Tsk.”
“S-sorry… They were so insistent. I-I’ll go back and…”
“Fine. I’ll be right down.”
“Y-yes?”
As I pushed the door open, I felt some resistance and heard a strange “Huek” sound.
“Huh?”
In front of the door was a young maid with teary eyes, looking up at me from the floor.
She looked like she had just started working.
Squinting, I saw her profile.
This is a game, after all.
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Character Profile.
Name: Wendy.
Age: 12.
Occupation: Servant of the Ruelberta Count Family.
Personality Traits: Crybaby, Clumsy, Sickly, Misfortune.
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“Wendy…”
“Eeek! Sorry, Master! P-please forgive me!”
Wendy started bowing frantically on the floor.
Her reddish hair trembled.
A clumsy, mistake-prone maid.
‘So that’s why she didn’t show up…’
Wendy is the first character Tristan kills in the original.
The reason Tristan kills her is simple.
He just didn’t like her.
This vile villain drove a young girl to her death simply because she didn’t suit his fancy.
‘But that was Tristan’s big mistake…’
Among Tristan’s bad endings, there’s only one where Wendy kills him.
That’s not a big deal.
The real problem is that her death triggers tragic endings in 525 out of 526 scenarios.
Meaning, almost all of them.
“Wendy? Hehe, she’s a walking death flag.”
I remember my sister, the original creator, saying that while creating numerous game scenarios.
Simply put, her death is the trigger for Tristan’s misfortune.
But it’s not as simple as me not killing her.
Even if I don’t kill her, this clumsy girl dies too easily.
It’s all thanks to her personality traits, ‘Misfortune’ and ‘Sickly.’
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Personality Trait: Misfortune.
Rank: Unranked.
Details: Unlucky in life. This trait will make your life a thorny path. If you’re wondering why such a trait exists, that’s normal.
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Personality Trait: Sickly.
Rank: Unranked.
Details: Higher chance of falling ill. Once sick, recovery is difficult.
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Wendy… She’s an extra character with personality traits. While her role is somewhat important, she dies early, leaving her with no significance in the original.
As mentioned, she’s just a character created to trigger Tristan’s death.
“Sigh…”
Thinking that I need to keep this scatterbrained girl alive for at least a year to survive myself… I can’t help but sigh.
But what can I do?
Having been transported into this dreamlike world as a nightmare character… I have no choice but to desperately strive for my own safety.
I spoke in a gentle tone, as if talking to a child.
“Are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?”
“Please, just once… Huh?”
Ugh…
Somehow, my stomach churned.
Whether it’s because I’m going against the character’s traits or due to the influence of being transported into this character…
Such dialogue is clearly out of place for Tristan, a human trash.
But it seems I’m not the only one struggling.
“Kyaaaaaaah!”
Wendy screamed and ran away.
Her face was pale, as if she’d seen a ghost.
“Tsk…”
To be so shocked by a single sentence.
It shows just how horribly Tristan usually treated her.
I scratched my head.
“It’s a problem when a person suddenly becomes kind…”
Moreover, the resistance to such dialogue suggests that a villain should act like a villain.
“Alright.”
Let’s try to speak and act like Tristan as much as possible.
A villain suddenly turning good would only raise suspicions and backfire.
I decided to immerse myself in the character of Tristan.
With that thought, I headed downstairs.
