There is a game called [Cradle's Reverie].
The narrative in the game was quite common.
A crisis had come to the continent, and to overcome this crisis, the protagonist and her young comrades joined forces to save the world.
The game was difficult but not impossible to clear.
In Cradle's Reverie, there were playable characters.
You could play as a protagonist-like character or those of similar caliber.
I turned on the game as usual to play Cradle's Reverie
[There is a new version of Cradle's Reverie. Would you like to download it? (Y/N)]
I pressed Y. While the update was downloading, I skimmed through the patch notes.
Nothing much was different. Just a patch note fixing a few minor bugs.
But as I scrolled down, my eyes started to sparkle.
To summarize the patch content, a new version had been released, and besides playable characters, I could create a new character that I could customize.
I quickly pressed the character creation button.
[Character Custom Mode is set to difficulty level 'Hell'. Do you wish to continue? (Y/N)]
'Hell Difficulty?'
In Cradle's Reverie, the only difficulty had been hard.
Honestly, I had been getting a bit tired of the hard difficulty and thought it would be nice to have a new level of difficulty.
'That's sweet.'
I moved the mouse and pressed Y.
Then a status window appeared.
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[Character status]
Name: -----
Strength: 3
Agility: 3
Stamina: 3
Mana: 3
Spirit: 3
◈ Talent - X
◈ Skills - X
◈ Arts-X
◈ Physique-X
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The character creation screen was simple.
[You can choose one of Talent,Skill or Physique for free for the new custom character.]
[Limit of Talent,Skill or Physique that can be chosen is S rank]
'I can choose one?'
I looked around and saw that I could choose anything below S+ grade
'Well, if there's an EX grade, the game would be too easy.'
There were many tempting choices.
But most of them I had already obtained and tried. I considered doing a speed run, but I wanted to do something more engaging.
As I looked at talents, skills, and physique, I pondered what would be enjoyable and then remembered a combination I had noted in a corner of my notepad.
'Since its my first time playing hell mode i'll go with something familiar.'
And so, I chose the talent.
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[Child of Swords(S)]
Swords recognize you as one of their own.
- All swordsmanship talent blossoms to its ultimate potential.
-You will receive a massive proficiency gain bonus to anything related to swords.
-You're physical stats growth rate is increased.
-You will receive a stat bonus when holding a sword.
-Any sword wielded by you will not break.
-Stats of opponents that use swords will be reduced.
*Only able to use swords.
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'And with this, I can learn that.'
The owner of [Child of Swords(S)] could master a very special 'sword art' at a very early stage of the game.
After selecting the [Child of Swords(S)], the character customization window appeared.
"...."
In the monitor there was a man who bore an odd resemblance to me.
It felt like a character crafted in my likeness.
'It must be a coincidence.'
I made only minor alterations to the character.
I heightened the nose bridge, increased the stature, shrank the face, elongated the legs, and while adjusting, the shoulders appeared too narrow, so I broadened them, slimmed the figure down, and gave it a muscular build.
'...Pretty good.'
On the monitor screen, there was a strikingly handsome man—185cm tall, with pitch-blonde hair, sharp blackish eyes, and a memorable smiling face.
Then I pressed the character creation button.
[Please enter a name.]
I pondered over what name to choose but soon typed my real name, instead of my usual nickname "ocleus".
Noah Hart
Those two words.
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[Character status]
Name: Noah Hart
Strength: 3
Agility: 3
Stamina: 3
Mana: 3
Spirit: 3
◈ Talent - Child of Swords(S)
◈ Skills - X
◈ Arts-X
◈ Physique-X
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I moved the mouse and clicked Y. Then a flash of light shone from the monitor.
…that was the conclusion of the incident.
When I opened my eyes and regained consciousness, I found myself in the game—a typical development in academy-themed stories.
But.
"Does this even make sense?"
All I had done was play the game.
I hadn't written a review of 5,500 characters, and although I occasionally complained in the community, wasn't that something anyone could do?
In despair, I hit my head on the table, but that wouldn't change reality.
Three days.
For three days, I had tried to figure out the situation I was in.
For some reason, I was in a hotel, and the hotel had prepaid for the accommodation and all the meals, so there were no major problems with necessities.
'The problem is everything else except the temporary provisions.'
The prepaid hotel stay was also running out—about two weeks left. After that, it would end.
If I didn't enroll in Cradle, I would have to survive here with nothing.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, my body was that of an incredibly handsome man.
I thought that was really lucky. Being handsome, I could somehow find a way to survive.
And there was also an ID card.
I pulled the ID card from my wallet. The ID card and a card. My expressionless face stared back at me from the ID card.
The card showed about five thousand U in cash when I checked with a mobile phone.
The U was the currency used in this world and it stood for union, which was the association overlooking humanity.
A U was equal to a dollar and it was used all over the world.
'It's a bit of an ambiguous amount to start over outside.'
With a deep sigh, I collapsed onto the sofa.
Since my fall into this world…
I had mulled over many things. Whether a protagonist-like playable character could truly rescue this world.
Rachel Bastion.
Perhaps she could be the world's savior. But if I meddled in the process, there would be several uncertainties.
Because here, there were villains known as 'Specters'.
People who had made a deal with outer-worldly beings for whatever reasons and ended up becoming corrupted.
This world seemed unlikely to ensure my safety. There were noble and righteous heroes, but ultimately, they were strangers.
The only person who could ultimately save me was myself.
'In the end, the only way to do it is to enroll in the school, whatever it takes.'
Just as I made up my mind and decided,
Ding.
A mechanical sound rang, and a blue window appeared on my retina. Sentences formed by black letters began to appear on the window.
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[System Notification]
You have been chosen to save this world.
A privilege is granted to you.
You obtain the ability to view the status window of items or other entities.
Talent 'Viewing (-)' acquired.
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[Main Quest] Chapter 1: Entrance Exam
Enroll in the Cradle.
◈ Reward:
1,000P. Additional rewards depend on the content; access to a store where you can purchase artifacts, potions, talents, skills, and abilities.
◈ Failure:
Death.
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"...."
A quest window appeared in front of my eyes.
I looked at the quest window with an uncomfortable expression. The timing of its appearance was too impeccable.
I scanned the quest window.
Considering whether I could do this, given the situation I had come to, was a luxury.
I had to accomplish it by any means necessary.
I read the quest window thoroughly.
And my eyes began to show interest.
Could I purchase artifacts,potions,talents, skills,arts and physique?
This could significantly shorten the route I had originally planned.
Honestly speaking, at this level.
It was quite manageable.