Episode 193: A boy who longs for a hero (1)
―Themed dungeons devour you.
―Forcibly transports users to the world of the novel 《A Boy Who Adores Heroes》.
―From now on, the user will be possessed by the main character of the novel 《Boy》.
―Clear quests and theme dungeons.
With the last message he heard, Jaehyun’s consciousness began to drift away.
he’s a boy That is, he became the protagonist of the novel.
―There is some resistance to forced synchronization due to the user’s temper.
―Synchronization is complete.
―Current synchronization rate is 50%.
strange ceiling.
The boy woke up with a rough voice waking him up from his sleep.
* * *
[The story of a boy who longs for a hero began in an orphanage.]
* * *
―You have accepted the special quest 《The Boy’s Identity》.
[Special Quest]
boy’s identity
The user is currently possessed by a boy who is the main character of the novel.
Uncover the boy’s identity and clear themed dungeons.
Reward: Acquire the active skill «Cold-blooded (S)».
*Every time the synchronization rate of the system rises, the user’s thinking constraints increase.
*The boy’s face will not be displayed until his identity is revealed.
The quest window suddenly popped up.
Hearing the voice, Jaehyun jumped up and looked around.
‘… … Where are you? The system must have said it was an orphanage… … .’
The scenery around him, which he scanned with his dizzy eyes, was foreign.
Jaehyun was currently lying on a hard bed made of straw. The whispering voices of some children can be heard nearby.
It seemed to be a completely different place from the world I was originally in.
Jaehyun rubbed his forehead with a puzzled expression.
I was just looking through the book a little while ago.
How the hell did you get caught up in a themed dungeon?
‘… … No matter how you look at it, it’s an unforgettable place.
It seems that Hella and Papi have also fallen apart. It seems I was swept away by myself.’
The system said a while ago.
He transferred himself to the themed dungeon and synchronized himself with the main character in the novel called ‘Boy’.
Apparently, he was not wrong.
―Displays user information.
[Person information]
Name: boy
Age: 12
Level: 14
[characteristic]
Emotionless, beautiful appearance, cold-blooded
The boy had no name.
Since the content of the quest was to uncover his identity, it was only natural.
Jaehyun took a moment to examine the characteristics of the boy he possessed.
Emotionless, beautiful appearance, cold-blooded.
A beautiful appearance is not necessary, but emotionless and cold-blooded are different.
These two traits are likely to have a significant impact on this themed dungeon attack.
The status window did not have a detailed description of the characteristics. There seemed to be no other way than to make a vague guess.
‘For now, put off the identity of the boy. I have to find out where this is.’
Finding out the identity of the boy he possessed was the core of this themed dungeon.
However, as usual in dungeons, clearing the quest at an early point would be impossible.
Basically, a dungeon is something prepared to test the Awoken.
‘There’s no way I’ll make it easy to clear.’
It was when Jaehyun, who had come to a conclusion, was about to move to investigate the surroundings.
―A cutscene is in progress. User movement is restricted.
―The user’s actions are allowed only when the scene is blank.
Jaehyun frowned. My body didn’t move at all.
It seems to be a limitation of the themed dungeon. It was frustrating for him.
‘Does that mean I can’t move the character myself right now?’
The same thing happened when we attacked Flanders’ mansion in the past.
I was forced into a cutscene and couldn’t move at will, probably.
Jaehyun sighed and relaxed. No matter how hard you try to move, nothing will change.
Now, you have to wait for the timing when the cutscene is over and you can investigate the surroundings.
It was then that Jaehyun calmly organized his thoughts.
“Trash bastards. Can’t you wake up soon? Do you know that the food and clothes distributed to you come from digging in the ground?”
Suddenly, a harsh voice reverberated through the room.
The owner of the shout was a middle-aged man with sharp eyes and twisted lips.
Jaehyun narrows his eyes to find out his identity.
Suddenly the system reacted and poured out information about him.
[The man’s title was the caretaker of the orphanage.]
[It was his main job to oppress and torment children.]
[He hit the kids every day, and hit them again.]
―The system updates the information for the first character 《Career A》.
That was the moment.
Along with a burning headache, vivid memories of him began to flood Jaehyun’s head.
manager A.
Jaehyun ruminated on information about him for a while.
‘The manager of this orphanage, and one of the main villains in the novel.’
In my newly acquired memory, manager A was a person who did not think about children’s human rights.
Whenever he feels bad, he does not hesitate to torture children as well as assault them.
It’s like the form of a typical villain that has been consumed in many classic novels.
“Hey you. Come forward now.”
Manager A gestured to the girl who was trembling in front of her.
Girl C barely stepped forward, shaking her legs.
“Sorry, sorry… … .”
It was when she apologized.
puck!
Caretaker A’s fist knocked out girl C.
“I would have told you before. Make sure you wake up on time if you want to survive this damn orphanage.”
Girl C’s face was completely turned.
She was the oldest child in this orphanage, where children around the age of thirteen gathered.
The caretaker was holding C responsible for failing to lead the children in the room.
However, even so, I am still a child.
In terms of representation, the janitor’s behavior clearly crossed the line.
“Okay, I was wrong! It won’t happen again, so please save me… … .”
The girl cried and appealed to manager A.
However, it was to no avail.
“If you don’t want to die, come out to the gym right away.”
Manager A went out after doing so.
“Daddy, we have to get out quickly!”
After manager A leaves, the children hurriedly start changing their clothes.
Jaehyun, possessing the boy’s body, also quickly changed clothes. It didn’t take long before all of the children arrived at the gymnasium without saying anyone first.
* * *
“Fight.”
This was the first thing Manager A said to the children who arrived at the gymnasium.
Two children were standing facing each other in the amphitheater in front.
The two children are staring at each other.
Caretaker A, who was watching this, looked at the children and made a disapproving expression.
“If you don’t fight right away, I will kill you first.”
“Ha, I will… … .”
The children, terrified, pretended to swing their fists at each other.
Manager A watched this from the side and continued to give instructions to do better.
‘… … It’s a rubbish novel.’
Again, Jaehyun couldn’t do anything.
It was also a cut scene in the first place, and there was no reason to go out of my way to fake a novel.
Of course, even so, it wasn’t pleasant to keep watching this scene.
After a while, the two children’s mischievous battle ended.
Manager A, as if he didn’t like it, hit the children on the back of the head and pulled them out by force.
The next turn was finally the boy Jaehyun possessed.
“blond hair. Come forward and fight.”
‘blond hair?’
This was important information. When Jaehyun changed his clothes a little while ago, he tried to look at the face of the boy he possessed in the mirror, but failed.
The image of the boy Jaehyun saw in the mirror was not displayed.
There is only one question mark floating in the face.
It was probably due to system intervention.
‘One thing is certain. The boy is most likely someone I already know.’
You can tell just by looking at how he hides his face.
Just as Jaehyun was clearing one option, the boy stepped forward. It was a god who proceeded independently of his own will.
“Fight.”
Manager A said so again.
At that moment, something Jaehyun never thought of happened.
As soon as the janitor’s words ran out, the boy clenched his fist and swung it at the enemy.
It was a movement that did not feel any emotional agitation.
puck!
Courage!
With a sound, the child in front of me turned round.
―The characteristic apathy works.
―The trait cold-blooded works.
―The synchronization rate between the user and the character increases.
―Current synchronization rate is 65%.
* * *
[The boy attacked the child without hesitation.]
reappearance.
To be precise, the boy in front of him was knocked out by the fist of the boy he possessed.
Jaehyun calmly felt his emotions subside.
It was strange.
He assaulted a child no more than twelve years old.
Even if it wasn’t arbitrary, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of rejection.
It may not be a psychopath, but humans are creatures that naturally feel pity.
But now Jaehyun didn’t feel any guilt.
Why?
That part was unknown to him.
I just keep thinking about it to somehow cool my throbbing head.
At that time, information about a new person was suddenly updated in the system.
[Extra D was a small boy.]
[He was cunning and was good at inciting children to his side.]
[Extra D was extremely contemptuous of the boy.]
―The system will update information about the second character 《Extra D》.
Jaehyun looked at Extra D, who had fallen on his fist.
Caretaker A, without hesitation, tapped him on the shoulder as if he liked the fist he swung.
“Good job. Do this in the future.”
The boy possessed by Jaehyun returns to his place.
Training at the gymnasium is all over. The evening when Jaehyun returns.
puck!
Jaehyun began to be beaten one-sidedly.
Extra D, who fought with him in the morning, grabbed Jaehyun by the collar.
“This garbage -like baby! We are all colleagues! But how dare you betray me?!”
Those surrounding Jaehyun were all colleagues from Extra D.
One of the few factions here in the orphanage.
Although they were still children, they instinctively knew that the group was protecting them, so there were quite a few such factions within the orphanage.
‘shit… … It’s been a while since I’ve been beaten with bare fists.’
Jaehyun was ashamed, but he couldn’t move at all.
The restrictions of the themed dungeon were tightening him more than he thought.
Been assaulted for so long.
Jaehyun finally went to bed.
There was no drowsiness at all. The spot where she had been hit felt sore.
Jaehyun felt that he was gradually assimilated into the boy’s body.
He kept trying to vehemently deny this, but an unknown, intangible force was constantly weighing him down.
Lying on the bed bathed in moonlight like that, Jaehyun murmured involuntarily.
“I learned a good lesson.”
Jaehyun felt his head hurt again.
It seems that the synchronization rate has increased.
My thoughts were paralyzed, and eerie words flowed out of Jaehyun’s mouth without my knowledge.
“When you fight, you have to kill the opponent for sure so there is no setback.”
Jaehyun, no, the boy muttered that and nodded.
And in training the next day.
He’s a kid with himself. Killed Extra D.
