HBWnovel Chapter 1: I Became a Rogue Fox [1]
Chapter 1: I Became a Rogue Fox [1]
I had one friend.
In my narrow social circle, she was my one and only precious friend.
"Seung-woo, what if I gave you a tail on your back?"
Except for when she did things like this.
My friend, Eve, stretched out her hand.
Then, blue particles poured over it.
On her empty palm, nine fox tails appeared.
A miracle that couldn't be achieved with common sense.
This was the manifestation of Eve's specialty and talent—magic.
"Stop making weird things with magic."
"I'm doing it because I have extra mana. If it were wartime, I wouldn't be doing this."
"Wartime or not, just stop making it."
This world had already faced destruction once.
Perhaps because of that, we were granted abilities.
Abilities that were different from others, capable of restoring the destroyed world.
In Eve's case, her ability manifested as magic.
Magic was incredibly rare and precious. Unbound by physical laws, the power born from imagination was utterly transcendent.
Seeing its power and utility, even I wanted to learn magic.
But the magic was Eve's unique ability.
It wasn't something that could be learned.
Well, at least I had my swordsmanship and martial arts.
But still, I couldn't help but feel envious.
"If you're going to use magic like that, why not give it to me?"
"Even if I taught you, you wouldn't be able to use it."
"Yeah, I guess so."
"Instead of that boring talk, how about this?!"
She stretched her hand into the air.
Then, the space distorted.
Beyond the distorted space, a desk came into view.
On the desk were several notebooks, and Eve pulled out one of them. At the same time, the space returned to normal.
"Do you know what this is?"
"Strategic documents or supply accounting?"
"Wrong! You're thinking too rigidly. Anyone can see it's a novel."
She flipped through the book.
The long passages and frequent use of quotation marks proved it was a novel.
Wait, how could she tell it was a novel just by looking at a plain notebook?
"Hold on, that's a novel? It looks like a notebook to me."
Among military entertainment items, novels in this format didn't exist.
All novels existed either as physical books or e-books on specific devices.
I knew this well because I loved reading books.
Novels in this format didn't exist.
At least, not to my knowledge.
"Why? Does the cover look weird?"
"Of course it does. Even illegally obtained novels don't come in this format."
"Well, it's because I wrote this novel myself. Of course, it's like this."
"...What?"
Her answer made me doubt my ears.
She wrote the novel herself?
If Eve had written the novel, then it made sense for it to be in a notebook.
But why a notebook?
A laptop would have been more appropriate for writing a novel.
The answer was simple.
"I wrote it during the war, bit by bit. It's not like I had a reliable way to charge a laptop."
Eve explained in detail the hardships she faced while writing the novel.
She also explained the plot and content of the novel in great detail, but it was so long that it made my ears hurt.
"So, you see. I made you the rogue."
"Why did you have to mess with me?"
"Because it's fun."
Among her lengthy explanations, there were parts I couldn't just brush off.
Especially the part where she used me as a character in her novel.
Not as the protagonist, but as a villain.
And not even a major villain—just a minor extra.
"But I made your family super wealthy. Isn't that enough?"
"Haha, yeah, the head of a noble family sounds great. But then I get betrayed by my younger sister and older sister, turn into a villain, and get killed by the protagonist, right?"
"That's the fate of a villain."
I had a lot I wanted to say, but I couldn't bring myself to interrupt Eve as she explained her novel with sparkling eyes.
I should have stopped her then.
"The title of my novel is 'Academy's Genius Rogue,' about a hopeless rogue who awakens as a genius after a certain incident."
"What incident?"
"His friends die in front of him."
"That's pretty intense, but it definitely has a strong narrative."
She excitedly talked about various things—hidden pieces in dungeons, how the plot unfolds, and so on.
From her explanation alone, it seemed like a typical academy genre novel.
The only unique aspect was the worldbuilding, which was like a magical realm where accidents and incidents never ceased.
So, I didn't feel particularly compelled to read her novel.
But I should have.
If I had known that years later, I would be transported into this novel, I would have twisted her settings and read the novel at least once carefully.
"...I'm screwed."
I had entered the world of my friend's novel.
A modern fantasy world where swords, magic, and science coexisted.
At first, I thought it was a dream or an illusion. But no matter how much time passed, the hazy sensation didn't fade. Instead, I realized that the situation I was in was all too real.
Now, I had no choice but to accept it.
"I... really entered the novel?"
It was hard to believe, but what could I do? This was reality.
I had become the minor villain in my friend Eve's novel, "Academy's Genius Rogue." And to make matters worse, I had a tail on my back.
***
After accepting the situation, adapting to this world didn't take long.
My swordsmanship and the manipulation of mana, the primary energy source for both my abilities and Eve's magic, were the same as in reality, so adapting was particularly quick.
As someone who was used to meditating quietly while refining mana, I thought to myself in a low voice.
Why was it?
Even considering my mana manipulation, my adaptation was too fast.
Was it because of the personality of the body I had possessed? Or was it because I had steeled my resolve to survive no matter what?
Whatever the reason, adapting quickly to this world was a good sign.
If I didn't, I could die at any moment.
"By the way, where is this...?"
Many things caught my eye, but what stood out the most was my "age."
'I'm pretty sure the setting had me at 17 years old.'
The calendar indicates the start of the novel.
In other words, my existence in this world had been twisted in some way.
Baek Seung-woo's age had changed from 17 to 21.
His status had changed from a freshman to a teaching assistant.
A significant portion of the story had changed.
Just in case, I took out my phone and searched for the novel's settings and content that I remembered.
Everything matched what Eve had told me.
Fortunately, it seemed that only my settings had changed.
"Sigh, if I had known this would happen, I should have stopped her from making me an extra villain..."
When my friend Eve said she needed more characters for her novel and decided to model one after me, I should have stopped her then.
'Well, it's too late now. I should worry about what's to come.'
Though regret welled up deep in my chest, I forced myself to ignore it and focused on the "stats" section. From what I remember, the average stats of academy freshmen were around C-rank.
My stats were below the freshman average. However, my mana and senses were exceptional.
'A+ rank' mana and 'S rank' senses were, by this world's standards, higher than most active dungeon players.
At least that fact gave me some comfort.
"Sigh..."
After checking my stats, my gaze shifted to the "traits" and "skills."
There were four of each. Not a small number, but just reading their names made me sigh.
「Nation-Toppling Beauty」, 「Bluffing」, 「Charm」, and so on. These names didn't exactly inspire confidence.
How was I supposed to handle these abilities?
'At least my race is One-Tailed Fox, so that's something.'
One-Tailed Fox.
A fox with a single tail modelled after the nine-tailed fox. As the number of tails increased through training, so did its power and abilities.
With ten tails, it would become a Celestial Fox, capable of controlling even the heavens with its unique divine powers.
Of course, that was just the setting.
But at least the setting existed.
Reaching the level of a Celestial Fox was harder than achieving enlightenment or nirvana, but even becoming a nine-tailed fox would be enough to protect myself in this harsh world.
As I scanned the status window, a document caught my eye.
Among the piles of documents in the research lab, this one was particularly old and worn.
Curious, I flipped through the pages.
It was filled with unfamiliar symbols, characters, and equations.
Below them were explanations.
Let's see.
"...Astrology is an ancient magic that observes the shapes of celestial bodies to predict fate and the future. In modern times, it is closer to sorcery than magic, but the concept of astrology has greatly influenced modern magic systems."
The language was difficult, so I read it aloud.
After reading an entire page, I realized what it was.
It seemed to be a lecture script on magic.
However, unlike the systematic magic I had imagined, this script was more akin to occultism. Every page was like that.
Magic that embodied celestial bodies, rituals that utilized the power of stars, and so on—it was filled with mysterious and complex occult-like systems.
But just because it was complex and difficult didn't mean it wasn't interesting.
Regardless of understanding, reading this document was fascinating. It made me forget, even if just for a moment, that I had entered a novel.
As I read through the document, page by page, I eventually finished the worn-out papers.
I put the papers back in place and thought.
Why did it feel like something was missing?
'It feels like something's been left out...'
Though I was a layman when it came to magic, I could tell that this document was incomplete. It was more of an intuition.
Starting with astrology, it covered celestial bodies and related rituals, but there was no conclusion or examples.
It felt like someone had intentionally removed the latter part.
"...I think I get it."
I didn't understand the symbols or magic circles written on the paper, but I had a feeling I knew what the missing content pointed to.
It was like a puzzle piece clicking into place in my mind.
Without realizing it, I reached for the scattered documents around me.
Grab!
The densely written documents.
But the back pages were completely blank.
Similarly, I picked up a fountain pen lying on the desk and began scribbling down the inspiration flooding my mind.
Repeating sentences and phrases were organized into symbols, and detailed content was filled in. Without any prior knowledge, I filled the pages solely based on intuition and inspiration.
One sheet of paper wasn't enough, so I flipped over the adjacent documents and continued the content.
Filling page after page densely, I began to see the outline of what needed to be done.
The inspiration gradually took form.
With each stroke of the fountain pen, my vision expanded.
[You have entered the state of No-Self!]
[The talent of「Magical Aptitute」is manifesting!]
Something flashed across my retina, but I ignored it and continued writing the next page.
While I was immersed in the state of No-Self, someone entered the research lab.
Even though they entered openly, I didn't notice. My hearing was no longer functioning properly.
All my nerves were focused on the documents being drawn by the fountain pen.
Thus, 20 sheets of paper were completed.
I didn't even know how much time I had spent writing this.
When I came to my senses, I gasped for air as it filled my lungs, and I heard applause from behind.
Very clearly.
──Clap clap clap!
"...!"
Without realizing it, someone had entered the research lab.
Noticing this belatedly, I slowly turned my head.
Deep blue eyes, like a vast ocean. They curved slightly as if seeing something amusing.
"What are you doing now?"
She was an incredibly beautiful woman.
Long, straight black hair like a starless night sky and a pure white suit were enough to stir the hearts of many men. But my attention was drawn not to her appearance, but to the name tag on her chest.
Nam Hwa-yeon.
The name of the owner of this research lab was written on the name tag.
"Well, your academic enthusiasm is commendable. Without effort, there can be no progress."
She chuckled.
Her voice was as beautiful as rolling pearls, but for some reason, her laughter sounded unsettling.
"But you know."
Nam Hwa-yeon's finger pointed to the scattered documents.
"Even so, using my documents as scrap paper is a bit much, don't you think?"
Then her finger pointed to the stack of papers I had written.
"If you've done wrong... you should be scolded, right?"
Nam Hwa-yeon's lips curved into a smile.
But her deep, ocean-like eyes were inscrutable, and an inexplicable sense of unease surged within me.
Uh, this seems like a disaster, doesn't it?