* * *

“Ughhh…….”

Only after stepping into my room and properly locking the door could I finally breathe.

This was giving me a headache. There was far too much to think about.

What could Narrow Eyes be after? And what exactly was his identity? What was I supposed to do about that dungeon of his?

After agonizing over it again and again…….

That night.

I stood before a certain building. This was the place Narrow Eyes had mentioned. The Old Student Dormitory, long since abandoned.

I knew this was dangerous. But after hearing the news today that the upper-tier third-year classes had allied with Lion, the second-year, I was certain. No matter how I looked at it, X-Class winning the tournament in its current state was utterly impossible.

‘The structure was never designed for first-years to win in the first place. In game terms, it’s an event rigged for certain defeat. Without some kind of cheat, it’s impossible.’

And that cheat could only be obtained through quests or dungeons.

If even runner-up had been an option, I wouldn’t have gone this far…….

But if I die from failing a quest, I’d harbor a grudge against the System so deep I wouldn’t even be able to move on to the afterlife. I had to struggle with everything I had.

‘Let me check the map again.’

Fortunately, there was no one around. Everyone seemed to be sleeping peacefully.

They were all single rooms, so I decided to ignore whatever those two dots stuck together were supposed to be.

I carefully reached out and opened the door.

Kiiiiek. A chilling sound echoed through the air.

“……!”

I had clearly entered a building that was practically a crumbling ruin.

Yet what unfolded before my eyes was an entirely white landscape. The kind often used to represent a character’s inner mental world.

I understood. I was already inside a dungeon—another world.

It had recognized me as an Illegal Player in an instant……. Creepy, even for a dungeon.

In this world, a dungeon meant an unknown space. That meant you never knew what might appear or what might happen.

But there was far too little here—less than I expected. I looked around and walked forward aimlessly.

“What am I supposed to do here…….”

[Welcome, kki! I’ve been waiting for you, kki, my child!]

“Gah?!”

A voice suddenly rang inside my head, and I screamed before I could stop myself.

W-What was that? I heard it? That expression felt a bit off, though. It was more like someone whispering directly into my brain…….

But more importantly—my child?

At a title I had never heard in my entire life, I narrowed my eyes—and something materialized in the empty air.

An incredibly cute-looking… mon… key…?

Yes. A monkey character, identical to my damn keyring, was bouncing up and down, laughing.

[You really struggled because you couldn’t remember this place, kki! I actually wanted to meet you sooner, kki.]

The monkey looked so overjoyed it didn’t know what to do with itself, slicing through the air as it kept rambling on.

[Of course I understand, kki—your memory can never be perfect, kki. But I can’t tell you how glad I am that we finally met like this, kki! Now I can finally help you, kki!]

“Wait, hold on. Um, Mr. Monkey…?”

At first I thought it might be a monster, but listening to what it said, something felt off.

It was similar to the feeling I got when looking at the ‘System Window.’

It felt like it recognized the real ‘me,’ not ‘Chris’ the roleplay.

“How about you explain the situation.”

[Oops, look at me, kki! I am the Earth God’s ■■■, kki! Simply put, I’m your only ally, kki.]

A word that should have been audible wasn’t, but something else lodged itself in my ear.

Earth God?

[Main Quest: Request of the Earth God]

That guy…… wasn’t he the bastard who assigned me all these pointless antics I’d been doing? In other words, the Earth God was the source of all my suffering.

And this funny-looking monkey was supposed to be its incarnation or something?

[……Why is your expression getting scary, kki?! C-Calm down and listen, kki~! You’re familiar with this kind of development, aren’t you, kki?! It’s the classic ‘contact with the absolute being’ trope from fantasy novels, kki!]

Oops, I must have gotten worked up without realizing. No wonder my fists were clenching.

Right. It was a common event in fantasy novels that borrowed game systems. Usually, this was how you learned the secrets of the System and the world, and the story’s scale gradually expanded.

……I’d rather pass on that, though.

Whatever. Let me calm down and ask.

“Business.”

[How cold, kki. Is that your actual personality, not just your roleplay act, kki…….]

“You’re the one who made me this way. Business.”

[Ugh, sniffle sniffle, kki. You’re such a cold child, kki. You weren’t like this before, kki.]

That’s because when I was living in Seoul, South Korea, I never had to risk my life playing a character roleplay in reality.

Still, I’d say I was quite a warm-hearted Transmigrator compared to most.

This monkey clearly hadn’t met the kind of Transmigrator who’d regressed thousands of times and lost their mind, or the kind who’d been reduced to a mere tool and gone mad from sacrifice.

A Roleplay Addict who was only ‘slightly’ consumed by their roleplay—huh? You should be grateful, you hear?

[I’d love to explain everything about how this came to be, but that’s impossible, kki. The Earth God is in a position to receive ■■, kki. But ■■■■ if you fail, it would be truly terrible, kki.]

Come to think of it, those inaudible words weren’t strange either if you applied fantasy novel logic.

What was it—the amount of information a human could process had a limit? So it got filtered out or something.

[Even meeting you now required a workaround, kki! It’s only because this dungeon won’t be used in future developments, kki. But I wanted to meet you like this so I could help you, kki!]

[And truth be told, the ‘buffs’ granted to you were insufficient, weren’t they, kki? This is about balancing things out to some degree, kki!]

The monkey darted right up to my nose, its round eyes sparkling.

[Are you in a difficult situation, kki? I can make exactly one thing real for you using ■■■, kki!]

“……So you’re saying you’ll grant me one wish?”

[Of course, kki!]

Suddenly, a halo appeared behind the monkey. That wasn’t some item buff—that was the real deal.

Earth God, you were real! Thank you!

I immediately blurted out my most desperate wish.

“Let me use magic.”

[Anything but that, kki. An Illegal Player can’t be helped, kki.]

That ‘illegal’ business—I never did anything illegal!

Phew, no. I wouldn’t be disappointed. I figured this wouldn’t work anyway. It was fine—I could become overpowered through something other than magic.

“Then strength! At least strength! Make it S-rank—no, A-rank would be fine too!”

I was going for <The Strongest Muscle Teacher Goes on a Rampage>. Highly developed muscles would be practically magic-level anyway.

[Uh, that’s also difficult, kki……. Because it’s not in ■■■, kki?]

“Then what CAN you do?”

[D-Don’t radiate killing intent, kkiii! I’m the weakest being here, so how is this aura even possible, kki?!]

I took a deep breath to suppress the urge to kill the kki-ing monkey bastard.

Let me not forget why I entered this dungeon. If this and that were both off the table, let me focus on the most urgent matter.

“Hand over an item that’ll help me clear the quest. Don’t tell me that’s not possible either?”

[Clear the quest? Ah, you mean your class winning the tournament, kki? That much is possible, kki! It’s still an early quest, and you’ve recently killed monsters to establish minimum plausibility, plus from ■■■, ■■■■……. Argh, damn it, kki! Anyway! So that’s your wish, kki?]

“Well, something like that, but if possible, I’d prefer an item I can use long-te— Monkey?”

What, I wasn’t finished talking yet! I recoiled in alarm as the monkey suddenly began emitting light from both eyes.

Come to think of it, didn’t wishes granted by god-like beings usually manifest in bizarre forms?

I just wanted something modest! Like other fantasy novel protagonists! You know, since I was a professor, an item that would help the kids grow quickly—that was all I wanted.

Please, just understand it that way, please……!

With both my hands seized tight and my vision flooding with light, just as I furrowed my brow, a single question slammed into my mind.

The monkey said I had forgotten this place. But it had believed I would come someday and waited.

And today, the person who had finally driven me here.

The person who, for some reason, had made me feel like I needed to come.

For a nameless extra……!

“Yujin! Do you know who Professor Yujin really is?”

[Yujin?]

Fortunately, the monkey delivered an answer to my question just before my consciousness faded.

[A person named Yujin…… does not appear in <Hero Rampage>, kki.]

What?

And then, I opened my eyes to thunderous cheers.

“The ultimate winner of the Bed■lua Acade■y tournament is, the ■-year X-Class!”

Static crackled intermittently between the announcer’s booming voice.

But soon, other voices washed over me, as if to prove that was merely an illusion.

“Professor! What did I tell you? I said we’d win!”

“It’s all thanks to you, Professor. Thank you so much!”

“Professor! Even Gabana is smiling right now, isn’t that amazing~?”

Professor, Professor, Professor. The X-Class kids, faces flushed with excitement, were running toward me, calling my name with beaming smiles.

But I couldn’t bring myself to smile.

Because the text on the System Window floating before my eyes was changing rapidly.

[Quest Complete! You have received ‘One Chance’ as a reward!]

[Quest Complete! Reward: ‘One Chance’]

[Quest Complete! Reward:]

[Quest Complete.]