**Chapter 2**
—
The next page listed the people around him.
Strangely, the moment he saw each name, a face immediately surfaced in his mind.
*Childhood friend?*
Elena.
An orphan the same age as Yuri, someone he had kept in steady contact with even after leaving the orphanage. Even judging only from the brief profile written in text, Elena was nothing like Yuri.
Gifted with talent for magic, Elena had been able to handle mana from the age of ten without being taught by anyone.
On a whim, the director of the Aldor Orphanage had written letters about her to several mage towers. One of them—the Lord of the Dercia Mage Tower—took interest and personally came to see her.
That was how Elena had her talent recognized directly by the tower master and entered the Dercia Mage Tower. Ten years had passed since then. They hadn’t met in person, but Yuri and Elena still exchanged letters.
Jangsam.
A senior member of the Black Snake faction Yuri belonged to. Something like Yuri’s mentor—the bastard who had shown him the path of trash after he left the orphanage.
After cramming several other names and details into his memory, Lee Su-hyeok turned the page again. This time, it contained precautions to follow after possession. In summary, it said:
**1. Do not rely blindly on knowledge from the game.**
More precisely, do not try to easily apply game knowledge. Especially never rely on the “settings” about living beings.
A game and reality are different. Time flows differently here than on Earth. Thirty years had already passed since the first possessor arrived.
Some NPCs Lee Su-hyeok knew from the game were dead now, while others were still alive.
NPCs who repeated preset dialogue and attack patterns were obviously different from real, living humans.
This warning—never rely on the “settings” of living beings—came from mistakes made by many possessors who had been kidnapped before him.
Some had deliberately approached NPCs using game information. Others tried hunting them using “strategies” just like in the game.
Most of them died or were harmed.
**2. Hide the fact that you are a possessor.**
Naturally so—this world didn’t look kindly on possessors.
**3. Do not trust other possessors.**
Just because you were dragged here after playing the same shitty game didn’t mean you shared camaraderie. Competition over wishes was one reason, but some even exploited or sold out other possessors. There were even those who hunted and killed them.
Especially beware of possessors who sided with the evil god—the source of all evil.
“These dangerous bastards are still alive?”
“Who are you referring to?”
“The possessors listed here who sided with the evil god.”
“Ah! You mean those sons of bitches who betrayed the Goddess of Order’s mercy, gave up returning to their original world, and actively spread chaos according to the evil god’s will!”
The coarse language was nothing like that of a priest, and Su-hyeok flinched for a moment, but he continued.
“Yeah. If they’re like that, shouldn’t you at least tell me who they are? So I can be careful.”
“Lee Su-hyeok-nim…! I swear I’m not lying. I truly want to tell you—but I can’t.”
“Why not? Is the Goddess of Order such a pushover that she’d protect even traitors who joined the evil god?”
“What did you say?!”
Lorellia sprang to her feet.
“No matter who you are—even Padlip-Immune-nim! To commit blasphemy in front of a priestess of Order! I, Lorellia, demand you retract that statement!”
“I mean, look at the situation. Why can’t you tell me about those bastards?”
“Because we don’t know!”
Lorellia thumped her chest a few times in frustration, then spread her arms wide and looked up at the ceiling.
“Each priestess is assigned to only one possessor! The assignment is decided the moment an observed soul crosses into this world!”
“But if you’re observing the game, shouldn’t you at least be able to guess? You already knew where I’d possess just from my profile.”
“Determining the body you’ll possess at the moment your soul crosses over—that itself is the Goddess’s miracle.”
She answered through clenched teeth.
“As you said, observing the evil god’s trap lets us roughly guess who might come. But more important than *who* is *whom they’ll possess.*”
“Fair enough.”
“For us priestesses, information about the possessed body is forbidden knowledge. We absolutely cannot reveal any information about a possession we’re assigned to others!”
“Still… if someone you handled turned into a complete asshole, wouldn’t the Goddess loosen the restrictions a bit?”
“That’s only something you can say because you don’t know the circumstances!”
Panting slightly, Lorellia explained.
The moment a soul from Earth crossed into this world, the body it would possess was determined.
Foreseeing that body was the Goddess’s miracle. Reading the body’s memories through that miracle and receiving them as revelation—that was the sealed profile.
The assigned priestess would take the profile and manual and enter this place—a waiting room where minds met.
—The Goddess of Order had fallen into a deep slumber from excessive divine power expenditure and could no longer communicate.
“That’s why we can’t even hint about other possessors. I, Lorellia, don’t know how many possessors there are besides you, nor who they are—and even if I knew, I couldn’t say. This restriction is also meant to protect possessors.”
On top of that, some possessors who joined the evil god and received his blessing had even killed their own assigned priestesses. As a result, the clergy of Order had no way of knowing who had defected.
“Do you understand?”
“Yes…”
“Then retract your blasphemy!”
*She still kind of sounds like a pushover…* he thought, but didn’t feel like arguing.
“I retract it. The Goddess of Order isn’t a pushover.”
“Do you repent?”
“Yes.”
“Then you are forgiven.”
Lorellia, who’d been angry moments ago, smiled brightly and sat back down.
Su-hyeok sighed heavily and closed the book.
The biggest issue was the thirty years that had already passed and the possessors who came first. Even with the warning not to rely on game knowledge, in that time most skills and items would probably already have been farmed.
“Finished reading?”
“Yes. So what am I supposed to do now?”
He asked flatly.
“I get the precautions. But what exactly should I *do*? I can’t use game knowledge, can’t find skills or items. Then what advantage do I even have over others?”
Thrown into the game world and told to kill an evil god—Lee Su-hyeok the human felt pathetically small. If he could at least use his game knowledge, maybe—but if most of it was useless, what was he supposed to rely on?
“As expected of *Padlip-Immune* Lee Su-hyeok-nim! Such a sharp question!”
“…I’m seriously asking. When you keep attaching that nickname—are you mocking me?”
“Mocking? What does that mean? Feeding you something? What did I feed you?”
“…Never mind.”
*She’s doing it on purpose,* he thought, clicking his tongue.
“As I mentioned earlier, souls from another world are very special. When possessors cross into our world, the potential latent in their souls blooms wide~ like a flower.”
She clasped her hands, then opened them like a blossoming flower.
“It’s difficult to explain the details, but basically, otherworldly souls have high affinity and understanding of mana! Most possessors quickly excel at magic or martial arts!”
Her hands clenched into fists.
“But! Even with such privileges, adapting to an entirely new world, surviving against other possessors and enemies, and one day defeating the evil god—it’s terribly harsh. I understand that deeply.”
Srrrk—
The chair, desk, and booklet disappeared.
“The earliest possessors received no explanation about these advantages! Even those who sensed them struggled terribly to adapt!”
“Yeah… I guess.”
“So I, Lorellia, will give you special training! Now, Lee Su-hyeok-nim, please stand.”
He didn’t know why, but he obeyed.
Srrrk—
His chair vanished too.
“*Padlip-Immune* Lee Su-hyeok-nim!”
Lorellia smiled brightly and raised her clenched fist.
“This is a fist!”
“…Yes. A fist.”
“And this is a punch!”
The moment she shouted—
**Thud!**
His head snapped back.
“Urgh!”
Something burst in his vision. His ears rang.
“This is guard!”
In his dizzy sight, Lorellia raised both arms in front of her head, smiling brightly.
“Raise your guard!”
…Why the hell was she suddenly punching him?
Before he could process—
**Thud!**
Another blow landed before he finished speaking. Her pretty hand—impossible to think of as a fist—was brutally sharp.
It wasn’t straight; it sliced across like a hook.
His thoughts were cut clean in half. Half-conscious, he collapsed.
“That’s no good!”
Lorellia warned sharply.
“Talking with your mouth open during combat is extremely dangerous! You might bite your tongue off! Even shouts should be minimized!”
His senses slowly returned. His face didn’t hurt—but he just stared blankly.
“Sitting down like that is also unacceptable! Your movement becomes restricted! Best is not getting hit. Next best is blocking. If you can’t do either, endure with grit!”
“W-wait… hold on…”
He forced out words.
“…Why are you hitting me…?”
“As I said—for rapid adaptation and survival!”
“What does that have to do with punching—”
“Lee Su-hyeok-nim! Possessors have many enemies! Avoiding them is best, but unexpected encounters always happen!”
**Bang!** Her fists clashed with a thunderous sound.
“The perfect self-defense is having the strength not to die in any situation! Teach those who try to kill you why mortals are mortal! Crush potential enemies before they rise! That is true self-defense!”
A violent speech, completely unlike a priestess.
“In our world where order has collapsed, the law doesn’t protect the weak! Especially not possessors! So you must grow stronger!”
She raised her fist proudly.
“Violence is an excellent tool of negotiation and communication in most situations! Petty violence is worthless, but sufficient violence can outweigh mountains of gold!”
She looked happier talking about violence than anything else.
“Lee Su-hyeok-nim! I will train you so you never die meaninglessly!”
Before he could answer, she grabbed empty air—something invisible yanked him upright.
“Your enemies won’t be kind like me! They won’t warn you, won’t knock you out cleanly, won’t help you back up!”
“…”
“Remember that! Now, attack me!”
She beamed.
“Make your hand into a fist—and punch me!”
His thoughts finally settled.
Then rage surged.
He’d been dragged into another world because of a trash game—and now she was punching him?
He clenched his fist.
“Fuuuuuck!”
He swung.
Missed completely.
Lorellia sighed.
“Ahh! Lee Su-hyeok-nim… that… that isn’t a punch!”
“Fucking bitch…!”
“Please refrain from profanity!”
He ignored her.
“Why the hell am I doing this—!”
“Don’t shout during combat—!”
“You’re shouting too!”
“Oh, that’s different! For me, this isn’t combat!”
Her bright smile made it clear—she was openly mocking him.
“Fucking bitch!”
He swung again.
**Smack!**
Light exploded.
“This is a counter!”
He collapsed.
“That was a decent punch! But be more precise next time! Hot heart! Cool head! Heavy fists! Light feet!”
He finally understood one thing.
No matter what he did, he couldn’t beat Lorellia.
“…You said attack… why counter…?”
“I never said I’d let you hit me! Even if I did, you must never trust it! The world is full of snakes with slippery tongues!”
…Fair enough.
He blinked, then asked carefully,
“Um… Lorellia-nim… can you do me a favor?”
“Of course!”
“…Can you let me hit you once?”
Her smile faltered.
“…Sorry. That’s difficult.”
“Why’d you almost say my nickname just now?”
“This is survival training! If I let you hit me, you might despair later when reality feels different! So I can’t just take punches…”
Meaning: *you’re too weak to bother letting you hit me.*
“…Do other possessors get this training?”
“No! This is special training just for you!”
“…Why are you my handler anyway?”
“Goodness! Are you dissatisfied with me?!”
“No—just curious.”
“I wasn’t originally assigned to possessor duty. There were… circumstances within the Order.”
That gave him a bad feeling.
“…You weren’t?”
“Yes! But don’t worry. My enthusiasm surpasses anyone’s!”
“…What were you in charge of before?”
“Violence!”
She smiled brightly.
“…Right. Of course.”
That explained everything.
—
—
“Now, let’s continue the training!”
Seeing her raise both fists eagerly, his eyes trembled.
“When does this end?”
“…Hmm…”
She finally sat down, kneeling properly.
“When you can strike a living person without hesitation, without fear, with killing intent, with full power and accuracy. When you can do that, this training ends.”
That sounded impossible.
“How about weapons or magic…?”
“Weapons?”
Her red eyes gleamed.
“*Padlip-Immune* Lee Su-hyeok-nim! You didn’t use weapons, did you?”
“…Huh?”
“In the game Seronis! Your character never used weapons or armor!”
…True.
He’d built around a skill that granted bonus stats for each sealed equipment slot. By the end, his character fought in nothing but underwear.
Stacking bonuses. Blessings. Broken dodge rate. High-risk skills. Low HP stat pumping.
It was absurd—but it worked.
“That was just a game…”
“*Padlip-Immune* is you!”
“But you said we can’t get skills the same way here—why force the game concept on me?”
“Then make the skills yourself!”
She said it like it was obvious.
“…That’s ridiculous.”
“It’s not! Possessors have great mana affinity. With effort, you can create new magic or martial arts yourself!”
…Even so, fighting half-naked in reality was insane.
“Stats don’t increase just because I don’t use weapons.”
“Not usually. Though… it’s not entirely impossible.”
What the hell did that mean?
“Anyway, I don’t recommend weapons.”
Lorellia puffed her lips stubbornly.
