Chapter 1: Welcome to the Background
Five years. That's how long I bled my sanity into a game designed by sadists. I wasn't just a player—I was a digital archaeologist, combing through lines of code, secret endings, and absurd event triggers that would make your head spin. I completed it, 100%, with every hidden item, every route, every consequence.
And the reward for all that effort?
A one-way ticket into the game.
I woke up in Eldain.
Not as a hero. Not as a villain. Not even as a named NPC.
I was an extra. A literal background character whose only line in the original script was "Yes, sir."
Which is exactly how I wanted it.
Because extras don't draw attention.
And attention gets you killed.
---
"Ticket, please."
I blinked up at the conductor of the mana-train, handing over the crystalline pass I'd found in my blazer.
"Student of Ordanis Academy, huh?" he said. "Hope you survive."
"Comforting," I muttered.
The mana-train roared forward, gliding across steel rails through valleys of glowing forests, cities powered by arcane cores, and farmland dotted with floating tractors. The world was fantasy on the surface—swords, dragons, and ancient towers—but tech thrived beneath it all. Magi-cars, energy shields, smart-scrolls. Magic and modernity cohabited like two awkward roommates.
And I knew every inch of it.
Because I'd played the game. All of it.
There were five major protagonists in the story. Each from different origins, each blessed with absurdly strong cheat traits. They'd form a squad, save the continent, and slay the Demon God after hacking through twelve Demon Kings and seventy-two stylishly overpowered Commanders.
It was beautiful.
It was heroic.
And I wanted none of it.
---
I checked the student roster one last time. Yep—my name wasn't on the main path. Just another mob.
But that was fine.
Because I had one thing no protagonist had:
Knowledge.
Hidden pieces. Secret items. Forgotten dungeons. Legendary skills behind weird quest chains no one ever completed because they were too busy being righteous.
I wasn't here to save the world.
I was here to loot it blind.
---
Ordanis Academy rose like a fortress carved from marble and star-metal, protected by magic barriers that shimmered with cosmic runes. I stood at the gates, one of thousands. Nobles, geniuses, misfits. All of them dreaming of glory.
I just wanted to survive.
And maybe upgrade my inventory.
The orientation ceremony droned on about virtue, unity, and sacrifice. I ignored most of it, too busy marking timelines in my head.
"Library vault unlocks in three days."
"Forgotten altar beneath the cafeteria needs a blood drop at midnight."
"Oh, and someone's pet wyvern goes berserk next week. Gotta dodge that."
Most students were too focused on social hierarchy to notice anything else.
Me? I was already planning my first three relics.
---
"Class C," the assignment golem told me. "Dormitory 4. Room 38."
Ah. The loser class.
Perfect.
No eyes, no pressure. Just time to move in the shadows.
My roommate was some quiet half-elf who seemed allergic to conversation. Great. That left me to set up my real hobby: mapping secret events on my scrollpad.
First target?
[Fragment of the Nameless Codex] – buried in the West Garden under a statue of a hero no one remembers.
Second target?
[Rusted Ring of Eos] – looks useless, unlocks a legendary sword seven arcs later.
Third?
[Dream-Sealed Trinket] – lets you walk through nightmares without taking mental damage.
You think I was stopping at one hidden piece?
Oh no.
I'm here for all of them.
The goal?
Survive.
Thrive.
And maybe, just maybe, cheat the system hard enough to break reality.
---
Later that night, I sat on the rooftop, watching the stars above the Academy shimmer with soft mana-light.
I pulled out a photo from my coat.
Me and my sister. Her smile, untouched by any of this world's insanity.
Back in the real world, she was waiting. Still alive. Still hoping.
And I had one shot.
One Demon King—Nihil'Thar, the Rift Reaper—had the power to open a portal between dimensions. In-game, he was a mid-tier boss with a really nasty teleport mechanic.
But to me?
He was the exit.
Beat him, and maybe, maybe, I could go home.
Everything else? Optional.
So yes, I'll steal every relic. Outpace every chosen hero. Trick every god and outwit every demon.
All to get back to her.
And I'll do it smiling.
"Time to cause problems," I said, grinning at the stars.