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Chapter 1: Prologue: Two Uglies

Demon King

Every human being had a partner.

It wasn't like that from the beginning. That happened after 1999 when the new millennium started.

Academics used phrases such as soul connection and foreign companion, but no one truly knew what they were.

A chat room opened, and we can now have one-to-one telepathic communication with people who lived outside of Earth even though we couldn't even see their faces.

No, that's not the only thing. The people said that they were inhabitants of Star Hatter, which is not on Earth and was surprisingly different from Earth.

They practiced magic like in old fairytales.

Monsters that are only likely to appear in movies and novels are now alive. Instead of shooting a gun, humankind wielded a sword to get rid of them.

Of course, a considerable shock hit humanity.

Some went crazy because they couldn't stand the voices of strangers that they hear in their heads, and others began to speculate that Hatter might be another planet somewhere in space.

But all of it is to no avail.

No one could stop this phenomenon, and no one could find Hatter.

Without reason, the chat room soon disappeared.

Changes other than telepathic chat rooms came to Earth.

Hater's inhabitants lived a very different life than modern Earthlings. Some were court wizards, some were commanders, and some were nobles of demons who were hostile to humans.

And from that moment, Earthlings were able to use the powers of those connected with them.

Magic, the power emanating from the tempered body, was vivid and deadly.

Humanity, of course, did not know why this was happening.

We didn't know what to do with that power, but it was clear that we had to gather those who had the ability. The governments of each country created large institutions and embraced those who were capable by dividing them into different qualities and potentials. They received special treatment.

It was a belief without any scientific evidence, but many believed that something might be coming to Earth as a counterbalance to all the strange phenomenon. Therefore, competent people were being acknowledged as power representatives to each country.

In the process, it turned out that I couldn't smile.

Chairman of a large company. Beautiful princess. World-famous sports player.

World-renowned people have acquired powerful abilities.

It was not a coincidence.

Hatter's bad guys were connected to the bad guys on Earth as if they had been pre-woven.

It was a filthy world, everyone with a mouth said, but nothing changed.

Nobles are nobles; commoners are commoners—the gold spoons connected with the gold spoons and the soil spoon connected with soil spoons.

There were no exceptions.

Turning your life around after connecting with a powerful partner, was something that would only come true in a dream.

All I have left is resignation, and my disappointment is growing.

I am Korea's ugly representative, poor Samryu University student, Kang Si-ha.

My contractor is Hatter's ugly representative and poor farmer 'Fate.'

It must have indeed been fate.

[Shiha, I want to show you! Farming is a huge hit this year!]

[Okay. That would be great, Fate.]

It was lecture time.

I attended to Fate, ignoring lectures that I didn't understand, grazing my chin and drawing graffiti in the corner of my major.

I was listening to the business report of my partner, who was talking in a lively voice.

[Please be more pleased. If farming goes well, the probability of starvation decreases, so you'll be fine too!]

All Earthlings were bound around their necks. It was straightforward. If your partner dies, you will die as well. Of course, the opposite circumstance was also valid.

[Siha, your world is not starving. I envy you.]

[I am starving too. I don't have the money to buy lunch today.]

It didn't take long for the facts to come out, and from that moment on, all the inhabitants of Earth and Hatter wanted their partners to live long.

There wasn't much that we could do for each other.

[Then, the knights came out from the castle today. It should not have happened.]

[Don't say anything, okay?]

My partner didn't give me the power of a bean, but he still helped me. I was free to say any words to Fate since he was more stupid than me.

"That's all for today. Let's study, Chapter 3 thoroughly."

This way, time can pass quickly.

As soon as the lecture was over, I yawned and put the textbook in my bag.

A friend came to me stretching.

"Shihaya, let's go eat."

"Where?"

"There is a pork cutlet near the door."

I answered with agitation.

"It's expensive there. I have no money."

"Alright, I'll buy the meal, Shiha. Let's go eat it."

"Really!?"

I could call him a friend and my brother. I was afraid he was going to cancel, so I pulled him, then left the lecture room and headed to the Chinese house.

We arrived in less than 10 minutes. I sat in the Chinese house where I saw 'powers' appear on the small TV.

My friend, who noticed my gaze on the TV, looked as well and told me.

"Oh, there's a magic demonstration or something. Maybe today is that day."

"Wizards are good. Did Fate suddenly awaken as a wizard?"

"It would be more likely that our zone will be given the Knights Letter."

Of course, most of the students in college had partners with no abilities.

Some were hiding their abilities as if they were protagonists of a novel, but most of them were quickly overwhelmed by government officials.

It is challenging to hide from other competent humans because they have an unmatched amount of mana. Damn it, it's unfair.

— This is a magic demonstration in Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul. We are with the proud Korean wizard, Young-woo Go.

— The magic to be demonstrated today is Arrow Baptism. It's a powerful magic that creates dozens of arrows at a time and turns targets into ashes.

You can blame yourself for being weak and lacking power, but that's still better than those who have met a wrong partner and died at a young age.

I attempted to comfort myself.

Then the Jjajangmyeon came out, and I picked up chopsticks.

[… Shiha.]

Suddenly, the trembling voice of Fate trembled to my heart.

[Uh, what should I do? The knight, the knight!]

[What's going on? How did you come across those guys!]

The word knight only popped out, but I became extremely anxious. Hatter's class system is absolute. There have been instances where you can lose your life just by opening your eyes incorrectly if you are a class with more than a two-level difference.

I'm glad to be alive, but if you're unlucky …

Arrogant thoughts filled my mind. I lost the chopsticks I had in my hand.

[Shiha, what should I do? What should I do?]

[So tell me what's going on!]

Damn, I've been living calmly and well, without any trouble! Now what!

[This is just the same name. It's just the same name. It's still me!]

[Hey! Hey dude!]

I was looking around strangely, I was to ask why my friend isn't eating, but it wasn't the time.

No matter how many times I called Fate, the guy did not respond.

But the crisis wasn't just happening to Fate.

-Wow!

-Monster, monster! A monster appeared!

-Breaking news.

Something big had happened in the place where the magic demonstration was located; the screen turned into a news studio.

Then a window emerged as if it were in front of my eyes.

[Kang Si-ha (in synchronization)]

[Human Lv 3]

[Strength-3 Stamina-5 Magic-0 Luck-0]

[Skill-None]

"What is this?"

"My eyes are weird! Siha, do you see anything strange?"

[No, Shiha. Sorry… Sorry!"]

This is bad.

— This is a real situation. Currently, monsters appearing in Hatter are also appearing all over the world. In addition to this, natural disasters such as sudden landslides and earthquakes in mountain ranges occurred in many areas. So if you are out, evacuate to the safest place.

At that moment, the announcer tried to calm down and convey the information.

My friend was confused and held me.

There was a sound in my head of something being cut off.

I was sure that Fate was dead.

At the same time, the glass window that was covering my eyes, similar to the status window I saw in a game, disappeared like a ghost.

I didn't even know who I was, and then I disappeared. The loss I felt at that time was beyond imagination. Perhaps I instinctively realized what it meant.

"All of this is real. Dear viewers, please act calmly. The authorities mobilized qualified people to ensure the safety of all the people."

I chocked. My eyes turned bluish. My consciousness blurred.

The Jjajangmyeon bowl fell, and I slumped my head at the table. Only then did my friend notice what was happening to me. He was at awe, trying to shake my shoulders, but I was already unable to say anything.

The Earth seems to be in a crisis of extinction, but I don't know what was happening. All the while, I was dying.

It was a trivial life.

I wanted to live for a long time, but it didn't happen, My life ended insignificantly. It was so funny that I even laughed.

"Shiha! Hey, stay strong! Wake up! Be mindful!"

–The Earth is now in sync with Hatter! It is highly likely that you will suffer in the process of synchronizing with your partner, so viewers who listen to this broadcast will be as safe as possible.

Ah, if I were to die anyway, I wish I had eaten Jjajangmyeon before dying.

That was my last thought as a human.

[Kang Si-ha (Fate)]

[Goblin Lv 1]

[Strength – 7 Health – 9 Magic – 5 Luck-???]

[Skill-Ebon Heart, Predation Lv1, Escape Lv1]

What is this?

And this was my first thought as Monster Kang Si-ha.

Chapter 2: Goblin (1)

Demon King

I remember the feeling of dying. The terrible sensation as the stimulus from the body gradually ceases and becomes impossible to move little by little.

But what is this?

[Gang Si-ha (shoppingmode Fate)]

[Goblin Lv 1]

[Strength – 7 Health – 9 Magic – 5 Luck-???]

[Skill-Ebon Heart, Predation Lv1, Escape Lv1]

It wasn't like the status that came to my mind before I died. Human Lv 3. Poor abilities. And there was no skill. I definitely remembered it. Perhaps if shoppingmode Fate didn't die and synchronization was in progress, I would have been a farmer.

But now I wasn't a farmer.

I wasn't a Level 3.

I wasn't even human. I was a goblin.

A weak monster common in games. With exception to slimes, the goblin was the most prolific threat in fantasy.

"What is this… "

The only voice that I remembered was my voice. It sounded awkward when I was talking on my own. After thinking about the reason for a while, I realized this is because the goblin's vocal organs are different from humans.

I really became a goblin. My arms raised in the dark field of view were more elevated than a human's. My skin was thick, and my nails were sharp.

My head was complicated. I had no idea why I became a monster without dying, what on Earth was I going to do, and what I should do in the future.

But one thing is certain.

"I lived."

I am alive. I thought it was all over, but I survived. I was so happy about that.

I wanted to live. Even if I wasn't human, I wanted to live to the end.

It was then.

[Quest generated!]

[You're a Goblin, the weakest monster in the giant dungeon 'Black Palace.' You have to eat something else to survive. However, all you can eat is goblins of your kind. Hunt your kin and prove you deserve to live in the dungeon.]

[Goblin Hunting 0/1]

[Goblin Predation 0/1]

"Ugh!?"

It was the same as when the status window appeared in front of me. The status window was erased freely, and a glass window written in English with unknown content appeared in front of my eyes.

"Quest? Dungeon? Cognation? Damn, who are you!?"

The Quest I know is all I got when I played the game. But now, someone who knows my situation is instructing me to do what I have to do with the Quest.

I couldn't overcome the discomfort and the fear spreading, but I couldn't hear the answer. My voice was the only voice in the cave. Yes, it has spread to the cave where I am now.

And beyond that, a crackling sound was heard.

I had goosebumps on my neck. There was an enemy that could not be beaten. I could know instinctively.

'It's not the time to be dissatisfied with the situation.'

The fear of death came suddenly, and my mind flashed. I thought I should get away fast from where the sound came from.

Goblin's body survived death. Moreover, now I do not have any information about where I am.

I don't know who is telling me what to do, but having dissatisfaction and fear about it didn't help me. Cognation. Kill goblins and eat them.

It was a very sensible instruction unless there was prey that I could fight against and win.

'I'm hungry.'

After recognition, there was an unavoidable hunger. I moved as silently as possible and carved the Quest in my head.

'Kill the goblins, eat them. Okay, that's it. '

The window disappeared. I recalled the contents of the Quest in my mind. Then a glass window with the contents of the Quest came up in front of my eyes again. I thought about it disappearing, and it disappeared.

'Then… Status! '

It was a success. My ability was quantified just by thinking strongly, and the status appeared.

I cheered myself and looked at what's written on it.

shoppingmode Fate must have died, but the name of shoppingmode Fate was in the brackets next to my name. The question arose, but it wasn't helpful for me to survive right now, so I left it out.

I can't know how high my muscles, stamina, and magic are, because there was only me before the comparison target died. However, since the Quest tells me that I am the weakest monster, it was inevitable that it was not a high figure.

Next, the skill I was most excited about. A skill is a specialty, and it makes things that you can't ordinarily do possible. It is also the most important thing when playing RPG games.

I didn't have any skills before I died, but now I have three skills.

Ebon Heart, Predation, Escape.

I couldn't guess the skill description except for Escape. At the moment I thought I couldn't figure out what power these skills had, I had a glass window in front of my eyes again.

[Ebon Heart]

[???]

[Predation Lv 1]

[Any creature can eat anything. Eating restores stamina. Slight toxicity is negligible. It absorbs some of the power of the consumed.]

[Escape Lv 1]

[You can run away quickly by consuming mana. Can only be used to escape from battle.]

'It's on hard mode!'

The description of the one that seemed to be the best, the Ebon Heart, was filled with question marks. Predation appeared to be an excellent ability, but it wasn't a skill that would boost my fighting power right away.

The only other skill I had was for running away.

'What do I do? I'm going to die even if I meet the weakest goblin. '

At some point, while walking defenselessly, a monster with a small body suddenly appeared from the corner of the road that he had entered.

If you reference a game, you can be sure that 'it is the weakest monster of level 1' from its attire. An attire that only covered the groin with a dirty cloth and armed with nothing else.

It was none other than a fellow goblin. Of course, I was dressed exactly like him.

"Wow aw ah ah ah ah!

"Kee-i-i-i-i!"

I instinctively clenched my fist and beat him. Was I originally so aggressive? It can't be.

I grew up without aspiring to do anything competently. I couldn't study or exercise. If I had also been aggressive, I could not have lived until I was twenty.

But now? As if I lived like that all my life, I was ruthlessly throwing a fist at the goblin that I had just encountered.

I thought that even I couldn't win against the goblin, but I was wrong. If two parties are equally weak, then the guy with the most desperation wins. My fist hitting him was also painful, but my opponent wasn't able to properly hold his body.

It was an opportunity.

I desperately beat him with only the thought of surviving. I hit his face intensively and kicked his stomach with my feet. My fists and feet were throbbing and sore, but I didn't stop.

"Kikikik! Suck! "

The goblin screamed and fell to the floor. I ran quickly to see if he would wake up and trampled him on my feet. The little power contained in the skinny feet crushed the goblin of the same skinny body.

This was not enough. I stepped on him without rest and looked around. Soon a stone larger than my fist came into my sights.

"Kikik, Kikik!"

"It's a profit. Just die, you bastard! Go away! "

I grabbed the stone with both hands and hit it on his head. The goblin screamed to die. The more he shouted, the more anxious I was to hit him with the stone. I hit the goblin until it was no longer making a sound.

[You gained 10 experience]

[You got 1 bronze.]

[Goblin Hunt 1/1]

After such a window appeared on one side of the field of view, I barely calmed down and stopped moving. My whole body trembled. I couldn't hold the stone anymore and dropped it.

"Pant, pant … …. "

My breathing was rough. My heart was beating faster than my breath. Looking at the body of the goblin under my body, I just realized that I had killed him.

"Wook…"

Nothing was eaten, but something came up inside. My stomach was hot.

At the same time, I realized why I was able to attack him as soon as I saw him.

It was because my heart was running wild.

The ebon heart made me move. It made me violent and impelled my weak arm so that it could hurt the enemy. As a result, my whole body was throbbing right now.

There was no skill for fighting, but this skill was the skill that helped me fight.

"Damn it."

I murmured at the end and bowed my head. At the end of my gaze, there was a corpse that was dirtier than the piece of cloth covering its groin.

"But it's hard mode."

It would be a lie if I said that I didn't hesitate. No matter how hungry I was, I didn't want to eat a smashed up corpse.

Anyway, I cannot stay in this place. The corner is especially dangerous. I dragged the goblin's body back into the aisle. If I didn't have a hideout, I had to stay somewhere that I could be vigilant at least.

The goblin's body was still dirty, but I was hungry. I felt an intense hunger that I never felt when I was a human. It made me crazy. It wasn't like this just a while ago, but the hunger got more potent because of the goblin's body.

It seemed that I would die if I didn't eat.

"Damn it!"

Ultimately, I grunted one last time, grabbed the less dirty arm,

and moved it to my mouth.

"Woo-wook."

I pressed it's stomach up and shifted it; then I bit down.

I felt the effect of predation skill.

"Delicious."

Even uncooked, the goblin's meat, which would have been shaped like me, was delicious. The goblin's dirty blood and flesh filled my mouth. From the next moment, I lost my mind and indulged in meat.

And when I woke up, there was nothing in front of my eyes, no bones, no flesh, no blood, nothing.