I Became A Slave To The Mastermind

A strange ceiling… no, it's the sky.

"Ugh…"

I have become… a slave to the Mastermind.

As I lifted my stiff body, the surroundings came into view.

It was like an alley that reminded me of some sort of garbage village.

When I looked up, I saw a small tarp that seemed to be set up to avoid the rain, and on the ground, there was food that looked like scraps thrown about.

It was a dark and narrow alley, but the dazzling sunlight streamed in through the cracks.

The place where I am now…

It's like a back alley straight out of a comic, the kind where you wouldn't be surprised if you got kidnapped at any moment.

Why did I wake up in a place like this?

I pondered the events that had happened before.

'…Have I been possessed…?'

I had lost consciousness, but I still clearly remembered everything up until the moment I closed my eyes.

The text I wrote about the Mastermind, the comment left by a lunatic on that text.

And then I lost consciousness after reading that comment.

Having read countless possession novels, this was a situation all too familiar to me.

But this… this is reality.

Possession, reincarnation—those are only fun when you read about them in novels.

In reality, such things could never happen.

Humanity has advanced alongside science, and nowhere has a technology been developed that could transport someone into a novel.

Damn, if I had known I'd get possessed like this,

I would have delayed my military service as much as possible.

I wouldn't have tried so hard to get a job…

If I had known, I would have confessed to that girl…

As countless regrets flooded my mind, I slowly began to grasp the reality of the situation.

Maybe because I've read so many novels,

I wasn't completely panicked in this unreal situation.

'First, let's sort out the situation.'

If this is like the clichés in so many possession novels, the world I'm stuck in should be that of 'The Indomitable Hero!', a novel's world.

If this is truly the world of The Indomitable Hero…

Then there should be something here for sure.

I lifted my head and looked at the sky.

Thanks to the glaring sunlight, I could barely open my eyes, but eventually, I found it.

'As expected!'

What I found was the moon floating alongside the sun. Of course, it's not the real moon. But that star, which looks like a moon, was described just like this in the novel.

Since the dawn of time, a brilliant sun and a mysterious star resembling the moon have coexisted in the sky.

Although they haven't revealed anything about this yet, I just assumed it was a part of the novel's setting and moved on.

However, thanks to that, I was able to figure out that this place is the world inside the novel 'The Indomitable Hero.'

After confirming this, I slowly began to recall memories about 'The Indomitable Hero.'

'The Indomitable Hero' is a typical hero fantasy novel, centered around the protagonist Robin.

In this world filled with magic, there were various races such as humans, demons, beastfolk, elves, and more. As time passed, conflicts between the races arose.

As the conflicts between the races continued, wars broke out to determine the superiority of each race, leading to countless deaths.

The leaders of each race, deciding that this senseless death could not go on, agreed to a peace treaty to stop the meaningless wars.

Each race established their own territories and promised not to encroach upon one another's domains.

Time passed quickly.

All the races, except for the demons, developed mutual understanding and consideration for each other, eventually leading to a peaceful era.

But eternal peace never lasts.

The demons' rebellion, the invasion of monsters, and various other calamities slowly began to surface.

To prepare for these calamities, the Great Karaz Empire established the 'Regis Academy' to train promising individuals who could wield magic.

The story followed Robin as he met various heroines and companions at Regis Academy, defeating calamities and restoring peace to humanity.

As I thought about it quietly to myself,

'…Isn't this a sweet deal?'

It seemed like there was nothing I needed to do in this world.

This novel isn't the type where everything falls apart.

It's a growth-type fantasy novel where the protagonist gets stronger by overcoming trials and gaining fortuitous encounters.

It had a bright atmosphere with various comedic elements that made the readers laugh.

No matter how tough the situation, the protagonist never gave up and always overcame his trials.

Even if I didn't do anything, the protagonist would likely take care of everything.

So, what should I do?

That was simple: avoid interfering with the protagonist's journey.

If I unnecessarily got involved and interfered with the protagonist's growth, I might end up having to deal with the calamities instead of him, and I absolutely didn't want that.

I could just live peacefully in a safe place until the protagonist reaches the ending, and then I could return to my original world.

"Athena might be a concern though…"

But the author explicitly stated that this wouldn't turn into a tragedy, so a happy ending is guaranteed. Somehow, the protagonist will sort it all out.

All I need to do is ensure my own survival.

With these thoughts in mind, I stood up to get a grasp of where I was.

"Ugh…"

Did I fall somewhere the previous day?

As I got to my feet, my body ached in pain.

But more importantly,

"Ah… what is this voice?"

It wasn't my voice.

The sound that came from my mouth wasn't the deep, rough voice of a man, but rather a pleasant and clear voice of a woman.

Looking down, what I saw was the clothes covering my now well-endowed chest.

It was a woman's chest.

"What the hell!!"

I quickly looked around to see if there was anything nearby that could reflect my face.

I couldn't find a mirror, but I did find a puddle of water nearby.

I immediately leaned over and brought my face closer to the water to check my reflection.

The face in the water was that of a beautiful woman with deep black hair and eyes so red they seemed almost ominous.

Even though she looked somewhat disheveled, she was still beautiful enough to compete with the heroines.

So, not only did they possess me, but they turned me into a girl as well?

You crazy author!!!

I've read a few TS novels before.

But I can confidently say that I have never wanted to actually turn into a woman.

Isn't that how everyone feels?

You like beautiful girls because you want to date them, not because you want to become one.

"Pick one thing, damn it, author!"

But shouting at the sky wouldn't change anything.

I took a deep breath and calmed myself down.

'This can't go on.'

At a glance, this didn't seem like a safe neighborhood.

It might even be one of those lawless zones from the novel.

If that's the case, my current appearance would actually be dangerous.

Even though this was a bright and cheerful novel, that was only true for the protagonist. It would be hard to believe that no one would try to assault me in a place like this.

I tore off the canopy above me to cover my face and stepped out of the alley.

First, I had to figure out where I was.

This was Drax, a lawless zone located on the outskirts of the Karaz Empire.

It was once a prosperous city, but it was destroyed during the process of Athena hunting a monster.

The aftermath of the battle between the monster and the 'hero' was devastating, and the once-thriving city was reduced to ruins in an instant.

Countless people died, their once-comfortable homes crumbled, and all that was left after the monster hunt was unrecognizable buildings and a handful of survivors.

But no one blamed Athena.

The monster that appeared in the city was as large as a dragon.

Once a monster of that magnitude appeared in the city, its destruction was already inevitable.

The fact that Athena managed to subdue the monster was, in itself, a great achievement.

Among the few survivors, those who had wealth or reputation migrated to the cities of the Empire.

Those who were left with nothing became homeless in the ruins.

The damage was so extensive that even the Empire could not restore the terrain, and thus they abandoned the city of Drax, granting it to Athena as a reward for slaying the monster.

But Athena left the city unattended.

Eventually, Drax became a refuge for wanderers and criminals with nowhere to go, turning into a lawless zone where the rule of survival of the fittest prevailed.

"Thanks to that, criminals like me can live comfortably, hahaha…"

Rick wandered the streets again today, looking for something valuable.

Even in this lawless zone, there was still currency, and there were various ways to earn it.

People could trade resources like food, clothing, and jewelry for money.

One could work honestly or help others to earn money.

However, there were few pure-hearted people in Drax, the den of criminals.

'I wonder if that merchant I saw last time will show up again…'

Even though this was a lawless zone, quite a few merchants visited Drax.

This was because they could sell various goods here that couldn't be sold in the Empire.

As long as they weren't one of the merchants marked by the 'boss,' it didn't matter whether you threatened them or killed them to rob them.

Lost in thought about how to steal money, Rick didn't pay attention to his surroundings.

Thud—

While lost in his musings, he bumped into someone.

"Damn it… Who the hell are you?"

"I-I'm sorry…"

A voice so beautiful it could captivate you. Although her face was wrapped in cloth and not clearly visible, when I looked closely, I could see the face hidden beneath.

Her ruby-colored eyes seemed like they could pull you in, and her skin was so smooth that it was hard to believe she belonged to this city. She was a beautiful woman.

Rick, who had an exceptional sense for the smell of money, quickly processed everything in his head and immediately took action.

"Sorry? So, if I smash your face in, would it be okay if I just say sorry?"

"I sincerely apologize. I will make sure nothing like this happens again."

The woman bowed her head 90 degrees and apologized politely once more.

"I'm saying, is 'sorry' all you have to say!"

Rick lost his temper and kicked the woman.

The woman fell to the ground from the kick.

When she hit the floor, the cloth covering her face slipped off.

The face revealed from beneath the cloth was a beauty Rick had never seen before. He stared at the woman, dumbfounded.

'This is top quality…'

Licking his lips, Rick's face twisted into a lecherous smile.

'Maybe I should taste her first… then sell her… but then the price…'

Just as Rick was sinking into all sorts of greedy thoughts, the woman got up and began to run away.

"Where do you think you're going, you wench!"

But Rick was a criminal who could easily kill a grown man.

With her relatively small strides, there was no way she could run far.

It wasn't long before she was caught by Rick.

"Ha… why don't you just follow me quietly?"

Rick grabbed her tightly to prevent her from escaping.

"You disgusting bastard! Get away from me, you piece of shit!"

The woman cursed and threw a punch at Rick.

But even though he saw the punch coming, Rick didn't dodge it.

'I'll have to fix her attitude first.'

To him, a punch from a small woman was nothing to worry about.

Crack!

"Huh…?"

"Wha…?"

Both Rick and the woman were simultaneously surprised.

The last thing Rick saw in his field of vision was…

His own body, far from where his head now lay.