NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1
Yarral… no, Eral-mom
A tiny one-room apartment, barely the size of three pyeong.
Outside the window, the sky had already grown dark. I sat there, my eyes fixed blankly on the computer monitor, mechanically scrolling without pause.
My only joy in life… was browsing the gallery.
Drrrrk. Drrrrk. Pause.
While continuing to lurk, I came across a title that caught my eye—or rather, rubbed me the wrong way.
With trembling fingers, I clicked on the post immediately.
[OP here tried to raise Yarral Lady but rage-quit because it was so fkn hard.. ㅇㅇ Tried to play a relaxing game but got so pissed I challenged Yarral to a duel right off the bat to kill her. But the damn butler who just stood around like background decoration got in the way and messed it up. No matter when I challenge her, the butler always gets the first move and interferes. I swear this mf was made by the devs just to stop people from killing Yarral Lady... Any veteran gallerists know how to bypass the butler?? I feel like if I just stab that bitch Eral de Arlot once, I can move on to my next game stress-free ㅋㅋ]
“This f-fucking bastard—”
It was a post that turned my stomach.
No, my precious Yarral Lady… no, Lady Eral de Arlot, what the hell did you just say about her?
I opened the comment section to prepare for war.
As expected, the comments were already a trainwreck.
[ㅇㅇ(192.1): ㅋㅋ Pretty sure a bunch of veterans already tried and failed miserably… What kinda twisted mindset makes the devs create such a fkn frustrating story and then make her unkillable??]
ㄴ[ㅇㅇ(153.122): Fr fr lmao. Every time she ruins a battle with one of her tantrums, I just wanna steal her wheelchair and Tombstone Piledrive her. Instant upvote. Starting with me~]
[GiveMeMilkSisterNun: ㅋㅋ Nah, that’s not a thing, bro~ But if you post a Yarral hate thread here, Yarral-mom’s gonna show up and lose it lmao. Delete the post, rookie~]
ㄴ[ㅇㅇ(153.122): Oh right. That dude shows up like a ghost anytime someone brings up Yarral Lady. Creepy af lol. Domhwangcha~]
ㄴ[ㅇㅇ(136.85): (Insert meme of someone fleeing)]
Familiar IPs and nicknames.
They were the regular self-appointed security guards who camped out in the now-abandoned Party to Savior gallery.
I immediately added a new comment.
[EralMustBeProtected: What did Lady Eral de Arlot ever do to deserve being murdered like that? Her only crime was being born unlucky with Frost Syndrome. Then she suffered for years, lost her eyesight, became paralyzed from the waist down, and just when it seemed like she might finally be happy with the protagonist, those bastard devs sacrificed her so she couldn’t even end up with him. You tell me—why would anyone wanna kill someone this pitiful, huh???]
ㄴ[GiveMeMilkSisterNun: Yarral-mom enters gallery lmao. Bro, I warned you to delete your post~]
ㄴ[ㅇㅇ(13.235): Yarral-mom or not, I just wanna steal Yarral Lady’s wheelchair and make a break for it. Instant upvote~ Starting with me~]
ㄴ[ㅇㅇ(135.12): You’re nuts lol. Upvoted while crying…]
ㄴ[ㅇㅇ(125.67): Doesn’t our Yarral-mom know why Eral’s even called ‘Yarral Lady’? lol]
“…Fuck.”
Countless handshake requests poured into my comment.
I was about to go full auto defending Eral again—until the last comment from that floating user made me pause.
It made sense, after all.
Yarral Lady was a sub-heroine in Party to Savior, now a dead game.
And due to the game’s combat system, she really was “yarral”—a pain in the ass.
[ㅇㅇ(123.45): But hear me out. I really tried to raise Eral, like really tried, but she keeps sucking the protagonist’s HP, dies in one hit, her abilities are mediocre at best, and no matter how hard you try to main her, she sacrifices herself in the final boss fight and becomes unusable. Fucking useless, this chick. Wanna argue? Bring it, bitch.]
ㄴ[GiveMeMilkSisterNun: Lol bro, you tryna pick a fight with Eral-mom? I'd rather throw hands with 5-star Torino. Arguing with someone whose skull’s been crushed into powder by Eral already? Just domhwangcha~]
ㄴ[ㅇㅇ(125.67): But let’s be real, watching a cute newbie get into a flame war with Yarral-mom is hilarious af. Agreed?]
ㄴ[ㅇㅇ(167.13): Lmao 100%]
ㄴ[ㅇㅇ(136.78): What if our sexy newbie quits Party to Savior after this ㅠ… Lord, we’re losing another one today~]
A new comment popped up while I paused for a moment.
It was the OP, with the IP 123.45.
He had written a detailed rant about the ‘yarral’ aspects I’d mentioned. He seemed genuinely pissed.
“…Hoo.”
He had a point.
Eral actually had to suck the protagonist’s blood periodically in combat due to her incurable disease, Frost Syndrome.
Because the protagonist’s fire-type blood temporarily alleviated her symptoms.
But “suck blood” literally meant draining HP.
And it’s not like Eral regained HP in return.
The protagonist just kept losing blood. That’s it.
And if she didn’t get any, her stats would gradually drop, and she’d be stacked with debuffs…
Basically, it was a no-win situation.
Compared to other OP characters, her performance was underwhelming. Her HP pool was low. And she even chipped away at the protagonist’s HP.
Because of all that, very few players actually kept Yarral Lady in their final party.
Then one question naturally arose.
If she’s that weak and annoying to raise, why do I stan her so hard?
“…Because she’s pitiful.”
Eral de Arlot’s life was utterly tragic.
Born with an incurable disease, lost both eyes and the use of her legs.
Then she meets the protagonist at the academy and finally starts to find some happiness, but…
[…Don’t be sad. Evan… I love—]
“…Shit.”
All the other heroines get to stay alive and bicker their way into harem endings with the protagonist.
But our Eral sacrifices herself right before the ending.
The awakened protagonist then defeats the Demon King and wins the war.
Yeah. From the start, the devs never saw Eral de Arlot as a heroine—
She was merely a “catalyst” for the protagonist’s awakening.
-Crack, crack
I stretched my neck and fingers.
With Party to Savior no longer popular, finding someone to fight in the gallery—aside from the hardcore NEETs—was rare.
The opponent was probably a newbie.
Veteran users usually avoided picking fights with me, knowing how often newbies self-destructed from flame wars with me.
But I never backed down from a challenge.
My fingers, trained from countless online battles, danced across the keyboard.
I started with profanity, moved on to questioning their upbringing, whether they had any relatives, and ended with a passionate hymn to Eral de Arlot.
It was pure madness in comment form.
‘I wonder how long this newbie can hold out.’
With that silly thought, I typed faster than anyone else—just to protect my favorite character.
***
How many hours had passed?
“…This fucker’s got stamina.”
I rolled my stiff shoulders and took a sip of water.
The sun had already risen, casting pale light into the room without even turning on the light.
Morning… or maybe closer to noon.
The flame war that began around midnight had dragged on till now, with neither side yielding.
‘I might be crazy, but this guy’s impressive too.’
I mean, I could talk nonstop about Eral for 24 hours, no problem—but this guy wasn’t letting up either.
His tongue, metaphorically speaking, had seen a lot of battle.
But even that showdown was nearing its end.
[EralMustBeProtected: So, just to summarize—Eral de Arlot was born the daughter of the Duke of the North, a known daughter-con, which led to the weakening of the Northern forces and accelerated the Demon King’s invasion. Are you saying the Duke, who protected the North for generations, lost all his money and military power just because of his daughter? That’s your argument?]
ㄴ[ㅇㅇ(123.45): Ugh, this fkn guy doesn’t listen at all. I made a post asking how to get rid of the damn butler, and now we’re here after an all-nighter. I’m going to sleep. You win. Just go roleplay as the butler and be Eral’s foot towel or whatever.. ㅇㅇ;]
“…I won.”
At last, I defeated this slippery bastard who refused to admit anything and kept dodging the point.
I had won.
I was overwhelmed with the pride of having protected Yarral Lady.
I rubbed my eyes, bloodshot from staring at the screen too long. Time to sleep…
“…The butler, huh?”
I smirked as I reread his final comment.
Telling me to become the butler and wipe Eral’s feet…
Something anyone else would’ve cringed at.
But of course.
Even to me, someone who loved Eral de Arlot…
The butler was just a ‘tool’ to help her move around.
A ‘tool’ created by the devs so the protagonist couldn’t kill her.
Even if I were to possess him, I’d never get a harem or lucky encounters—
Because the Duke of the North, the strongest man alive, was guarding her.
“Even better.”
With a smile, I replied to the final comment:
“Thanks, you too lol.”
To stick close to Eral and do nothing but care for her every need?
“…Haha.”
Just imagining it made me feel good.
I was already a professional when it came to caring for patients.
I was confident I’d do a better job than the butler at Eral’s house.
-Thud
Maybe I’d sat in front of the computer too long.
I collapsed onto the mattress beside my desk.
I felt completely drained.
Well, it’s not like I go outside. All I do is stare at a screen all day—it’d be weird if my body wasn’t breaking down.
“…The butler, huh.”
Rubbing my burning eyes, I fell into thought.
The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea.
If I became the butler, I’d support her, care for her, treat her illness…
“…I’ll make sure she ends up with the protagonist. No matter what.”
Eral, who sacrificed herself just before defeating the Demon King…
If I became the butler, I’d stop that future and make sure she was on the protagonist’s true love list.
“…Eral…”
With that thought, I drifted off to sleep, consciousness fading.
Hoping I’d meet her in my dreams—and help her.
And that’s how I was possessed.