I Became the Descendant of My Favorite Character

Prologue

I sat in front of the computer and cracked open a beer can.

The alcohol sliding down my throat was cool and bitter.

I had failed to get promoted to section chief this time too.

With mediocre qualifications, I had barely managed to land this job.

But to make up for my lack of credentials, I worked harder than anyone else to show my effort.

That’s how I became a full-time employee, got promoted to assistant manager, and gradually believed my efforts were being recognized.

But it seemed the ways of the world didn’t reward effort alone.

‘Now, all I have left is you….’

Muttering to myself, I started the game.

‘Tune World’

Nowadays, it was hard to find anyone who knew or played it, but there was a time when it was a hit in the indie game scene.

Unique stories for each race, vast maps and content, and NPCs that interacted with players.

Despite having all the elements of a god-tier game, critics and gamers alike gave it poor reviews.

Who the hell made this to be cleared?

Lol, the daily quests are different every day… how many did they even make?

How on earth do you see the ending?

The reason was simple: no one could ever reach the game’s ‘ending.’

Even renowned gaming YouTubers, who could clear any game within 24 hours, couldn’t reach Tune World’s ending.

Just how do you get to the ‘ending’?

Eventually, when the last famous gamer quit, Tune World’s community became a ghost town with no active users.

But even after every other gamer abandoned the game, I kept playing Tune World.

Because it was fun? Sure, it was fun.

But the real reason I couldn’t quit was simply that I had no other hobbies.

I wasn’t as skilled as those famous gamers, nor could I dedicate hours at a time to it, but I had played this game longer than anyone else.

Thirty minutes to an hour each day.

Through college exams, military service, and getting a job.

Every single day, I carved out a little time for my hobby.

Perhaps it was a part of my insignificant life.

Like eating, sleeping, and going to work, I kept playing Tune World.

Through steady play, I finally reached ‘Myeolji,’ a place even famous gamers couldn’t reach.

Of course, I didn’t think that meant I’d see the ending.

[Congratulations. You have reached the game’s ‘ending.’]

At least, not until that message popped up just now.

“Huh?”

For real? Did I actually…?

With a hollow feeling, I reread the message on the screen several times.

[You are the first to reach the game’s ‘ending.’]

[You have played the game for a total of 10,000 hours.]

[The world acknowledges your diligence.]

[Your record will be adopted as ‘official history.’]

It was a strange feeling.

A game I played while repeatedly facing the bitter rejection of promotion.

A game I played just as a hobby, to kill time.

That game was acknowledging me.

“What the….”

Feeling a sudden lump in my throat, I furiously clicked the screen.

Then, the playable character I had unlocked through a hidden route, the half-human, half-dragon Adjak, appeared.

That Adjak was smiling at me.

As if he remembered the countless days we spent together.

With familiar BGM, the story following the ending appeared on the screen.

The realization that I had truly seen the ending filled me with emotion.

[Adjak and the final five succeeded in killing the Demon King.]

It was tough, wasn’t it?

Especially since it took a whole year to kill the Demon King in the end.

What kind of gamer would spend a year attacking the Demon King in that room?

But I did and now it was time to see the results.

Did Adjak, who killed the Demon King, find happiness?

Did he reach the happy ending I couldn’t achieve here?

[Afterward, the expedition returned, but Adjak could not. The Demon King’s final barrier swallowed Adjak and Myeolji.]

What? Wait, hold on.

What about the heroines waiting for Adjak?

What about his kids?

[Myeolji, which swallowed Adjak, caused no further disturbances and remained silent. Even now, 300 years later, Adjak’s whereabouts remain unknown.]

…300 years?

[However, eternal peace does not exist. Signs are emerging that the silent Myeolji is awakening once more.]

Something felt off.

I had definitely seen the ending, so why did it suddenly feel like Season 2?

[You are a descendant who has inherited part of Adjak’s legacy. Follow your ancestor’s will and conquer Myeolji.]

Looking at the message on the screen, I let out a hollow laugh.

I see.

This wasn’t the game’s ‘ending.’

Rather, it was the start of a new game.

As the hollow feeling faded, energy surged through my body.

Maybe this time, it’s possible.

I could defeat all the demons I couldn’t finish off in Season 1 and conquer Myeolji.

Perhaps due to the slight buzz from drinking, I forgot about my failed promotion and got excited.

I was surprised to realize I was this serious about a game.

Oh, right. I should post my record to the community first.

I thought I was the only one visiting the community lately, but if others who played Tune World saw my record, they might come back.

I’d share my strategy with the world.

That I, and I alone, saw the ending of this world, that the ending they thought didn’t exist was real.

At that moment, a strange voice rang in my ears.

[Our aspirations have not ended.]

It was a voice I’d never heard before, but somehow, I instinctively knew who it belonged to.

[My descendant, I leave my legacy for you. You can surpass me.]

With his final words— the world spun.

* * *

Adjak Autonomous Region referred to the area where Adjak’s descendants lived.

From District 1 to District 23, it spanned a considerable area.

Though the Adjak Autonomous Region was part of the Empire’s territory, its residents followed the hero Adjak over the Emperor.

After long conflicts with the Empire, the Adjak Autonomous Region drove out lords and local officials, forming their own unique culture and living independently of imperial laws or obligations.

District 18, Gullok.

Under a yellow flag planted in the vast grasslands, exhausted children sprawled on the ground.

The instructor clicked his tongue and shouted.

“The only way you lowlife worms from a lower district can avoid tarnishing Lord Adjak’s reputation is one thing. Do you know what it is?”

The panting children, collapsed on the ground, struggled to their feet and shouted.

“The Coming-of-Age Ceremony!”

“Passing the Coming-of-Age Ceremony!”

Children born in the lower-numbered District 18 would never get a proper opportunity and would have to stay here their whole lives.

But those from single-digit districts, Districts 1 through 9, had different circumstances.

Some districts had vast wealth, others had powerful martial strength exclusive to them.

They could live comfortably in this world.

But once in a lifetime, even those from lower districts had a chance to be summoned by the Council of Elders and live a better life.

That was the ‘Coming-of-Age Ceremony’ held by the Council of Elders.

“Our District 18 produced one hero candidate who ranked in the top 10 of the Coming-of-Age Ceremony.”

The children shouted in unison.

“Lord Tayon Adjak!”

“Exactly. Lord Tayon, one of the current Twelve Swords of Adjak, is the sole pride of our district. But even Lord Tayon was once an ordinary boy like you.”

A spark of admiration lit up in the children’s eyes.

The Twelve Swords of Adjak was a title given to the twelve strongest members of the entire clan.

Those who became one of the Twelve Swords, regardless of their background, held a position that even the heads of upper districts couldn’t treat lightly and earned the respect of the entire clan.

The mere mention of the Twelve Swords made the children’s hearts race.

“But he wasn’t someone who collapsed after a few rounds of physical training.”

Perhaps the instructor’s words spurred them on.

The children, who had been sprawled carelessly, straightened their postures.

“Can we become like him?”

“Of course, it’s a stretch for you lot to become like Lord Tayon. But if you achieve excellent results in the Coming-of-Age Ceremony and receive a Heart Engraving from the Council of Elders, who knows?”

I, who was running the final lap around the field, overheard his words.

The instructor looked at me approaching and continued.

“That’s why we make you repeat this simple physical training. If you keep at it, even your worm-like hearts might become strong enough to match a goblin.”

Arriving where the children were gathered, I tried to catch my breath.

Looking around, it seemed I was the last one.

I clutched my pounding chest.

The instructor, watching me, spoke.

“Youngest First-Rank, run ten more laps.”

“Pfft, haha!”

“Polarin! Slow as ever today!”

The ability to sense Mana and store it in the heart is First-Rank; circulating Mana stored in the heart through the bloodstream is Second-Rank.

Mana existed everywhere in this world, but sensing and harnessing it was no easy feat.

Thus, reaching First-Rank at a young age was proof of talent surpassing most others.

But the instructor always pointed out that I had reached First-Rank at birth and hadn’t progressed since, calling me ‘Youngest First-Rank’ to mock me.

I gritted my teeth and answered.

“…Yes.”

And I started running again, panting.

Laughter echoed behind me.

If I had a normal body, I wouldn’t have fallen behind like this.

Those damn kids, what do they know?

In my heart lies a bomb I can’t handle right now.

* * *

“Oh, honey! M-Mana is being sucked into our son’s chest! It’s glowing! Honey…? Honey!”

The day I was born was said to be extraordinary from the start.

The day seven stars aligned in a row.

Exactly 300 years after Adjak disappeared, the starting point of Tune World Season 2.

The biological mother of this body, who was frail, died that day, but my foolish father, Gerd, couldn’t cry.

“It’s unprecedented for someone to reach First-Rank at birth. This child must be blessed by Mana.”

A grand festival was held to celebrate my birth.

But the expectations of District 18’s people didn’t last long.

- Regrettably, this child does not have the ‘Mana Blessing’ like Lord Adjak.

To confirm if I was a child born with Mana’s blessing, the Adjak Council of Elders sent a mage.

The Vice Tower Master of the Frost Magic Tower, who had deep ties with the clan, shook his head upon seeing me.

- Mana is indeed being drawn into the child’s body, but that’s all. It isn’t released or circulated internally. It might be a unique constitution…

- Waa! Waa!

The bishop frowned, annoyed by the child’s cries, and continued.

- …Not that I’d expect a remarkable figure to come from a lower district anyway.

That day, Gerd’s heart shattered into pieces.

Someday, I’ll smack that quack mage in the back of the head.

Everything he said was wrong.

As he said, I don’t have a ‘Mana Blessing.’

But contrary to common belief, Adjak’s trait wasn’t a ‘Mana Blessing’ either.

I raised that guy, so I know better than anyone.

The one who elevated the common noun ‘hero’ into his own proper noun.

Holy Sword Executor, Iron-Blooded Sword Emperor, Nightmare of the Demons.

The core trait of the ‘Great Adjak,’ who bore all those dazzling titles too grand for a single human, was none other than.

[Dragon Heart]

In other words, the damn bomb sleeping in my chest.

This bomb was the ‘Adjak’s legacy’ I inherited.