Corrin jolted awake.
Cold stone pressed against his back, and the metallic smell of blood and mold hit his nose instantly.
"…No way."
He bolted upright, hands flying to his chest, then his sides, then his legs—checking himself for injuries.
Nothing.
Corrin sucked in a sharp breath and immediately pulled up his status.
HP: 52 / 100
He swiped to check every page, making sure not to miss any tiny detail, just in case the system had allowed it but placed some strange restraint on him
Then he'd still be in shackles, part two.
When he'd found nothing, the realization of what he'd just done hit him. Corrin pressed a fist against his mouth, forcing the laugh down before it escaped.
His plan: the poison DoT, crafting the potion, drinking it right before death—it actually worked.
It had respawned him.
Not as a player.
But, actually…even the system doesn't know?
[Classification: Special NPC]
"…What?"
Corrin stared at it.
Special NPC?
What the hell was that?
He'd sunk thousands of hours into Myth Online. If something like this existed, he would've known.
Corrin slowly grinned.
"…Heh. Guess I still have some skill after all."
Something caught his eye.
Corrin's gaze drifted past the system window and settled on the goblin shaman's body.
Or where it was supposed to be. There was no corpse or bloody scene, only a small gray stone that remained and a piece of clothing.
"…Right," Corrin muttered. "The goodies."
He pushed himself to his feet and walked over, boots scraping against the cave floor.
Picking up the core, he turned it over in his hand.
Dull with no fancy glow and trace amounts of magic.
Which, honestly, what did he expect?
This was a tutorial dungeon after all. A goblin shaman wasn't exactly endgame content. If this had been anything higher, the devs would've had an aneurysm.
He shrugged and crushed the stone.
Instantly, light came from inside, into tangible lines that climbed up his skin and eventually settled within his body.
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
"…Yep," Corrin muttered. "The NPC penalty's really screwin' me over here."
A level one would never be able to defeat the goblin boss solo—especially not with the worst class in the game.
Normally, he would've jumped straight to level five.
But he'd take what he could get.
Corrin swiped the level-up prompt away and glanced back down.
Something else lay where the stone had been.
A dark full robe was stitched together with tough threads and fibers, unmistakable gear.
"…No way."
Corrin crouched immediately, already knowing what it was before he even touched it.
[Shaman's Robe – Rare]
Type: Armor (Light)
Bonus: +2 INT
His grin widened.
He usually had terrible luck, often having to grind dungeons at least a hundred times to get his desired drop.
But this? This was the best possible outcome.
Goblin shamans had a trash loot table. Ninety-nine percent of the time, you get trash starting gear.
But this?
This was the one item everyone wanted. Especially so as it unlocked a strong early game build he'd plan to spec into.
Corrin laughed under his breath, lifting it up.
"…Yeah. I'll take that."
He slipped the robe on.
It settled over his shoulders easily, lighter than it looked, the fabric warm against his skin.
"Alright," he said, looking around the room. "Let's get outta here."
The cave was quiet as he made his way out, which told him everything he needed to know.
The dungeon hadn't reset after he defeated the boss yet. They usually do after two hours, which told him that he wasn't out for long.
He let out a small breath and continued forward, boots echoing softly as the cave mouth came into view.
Sunlight spilled in.
Corrin stepped out of the dungeon, the robe fluttering slightly as a breeze caught it.
He did a big stretch, making sure to push any exhaustion away as he soaked the sunlight in.
Corrin was alive, free, and way ahead of schedule.
"…Yeah," he said, a grin creeping onto his face. "This is going great."
The walk back to town was uneventful.
Which, honestly, was exactly how Corrin liked it.
The wooden gates came into view soon enough, and he slipped inside without issue.
Corrin was just about to head for his own stall when he heard it.
"Hey, did you hear?"
"About the goblin dungeon?"
Corrin slowed, immediately hiding behind a small stall.
"Yeah. Someone cleared it."
"…What? Already?"
He kept walking, ears perked up.
"That place just opened today. You're not even supposed to be high enough level yet."
"No clue. Party of rankers, maybe?"
"No, that's the weird part," another player said. "The clear log's scuffed."
Corrin stopped near a crate, pretending to inspect it.
"What do you mean, scuffed?"
"The system listed the clearer as ERROR."
There was a pause.
"…ERROR?"
"Yeah. Like—literally. No name. No class. Just ERROR."
Corrin swallowed.
"You sure?" someone asked. "Could just be a private profile of someone's funny UserID.
"Beats me."
Corrin heard enough, deciding to quietly step away from the stall and slip into the nearest doorway.
"…Great," he muttered under his breath.
He glanced back toward the market, then deeper into the building's shadow.
"…I should lay low," he muttered. "Just in case."
Corrin finally made his way to the square. That was when he couldn't believe his eyes.
His dingy stall, the one set up in the very corner of the street, the familiar counter that sold equally dingy gear—
Someone was standing behind it.
No way…no way, no way!
Corrin broke into a grin and hurried closer, eyes locked on the figure.
He had the same posture, the same idle animation.
But it wasn't him.
"…IT WORKED."
He laughed, the sound slipping out before he could stop it.
His stall had been filled.
The system had replaced him, exactly as planned!
Which meant—
Corrin spun on his heel and scanned the crowd until he spotted a player nearby—a girl flipping through a vendor menu, her brow furrowed in concentration.
Perfect.
He walked straight up to her.
"Hey," Corrin said. "Quick question."
She looked up.
"Huh?"
Corrin closed his eyes.
A small part of his brain still braced for it, being forcefully snapped back behind that stall the moment he opened them.
He waited.
Nothing happened.
"Aha…"
He held his hand to his mouth, trying his best to contain the laughter.
But like a dam holding too much water…everything was let loose.
"AHAHAHAHA!"
He doubled over, clutching his stomach as the sound spilled out of him.
"H—hey! Are you okay?" the player said, backing away.
Corrin wiped at his eyes, breathless.
"I'm free," he wheezed.
The player stared.
"…What?"
"YOU SEE THAT GAME! THY CANNOT SHACKLE ME NO LONGER!
Corrin straightened, arms outstretched like he was flying.
"A FREE MAN, I AM!"
Corrin froze in his dramatic pose, chest heaving.
The girl just stared at him.
"…Wow," she said, eyes sparkling. "You're definitely a whale."
Corrin blinked.
"…What?"
She leaned closer, inspecting him openly now. His gear. His robe. His face.
"Custom face model," she muttered. "And good gear from day two?"
She nodded to herself.
"Yeah. Checks out."
Corrin slowly lowered his arms.
"I—wait, that's not—"
"How much did you spend?" she asked cheerfully. "Five figures? Six?"
"…Zero," Corrin said automatically.
She gasped.
"NO WAY."
She grabbed his sleeve before he could react, eyes wide with excitement.
"Teach me."
Corrin stiffened.
"…Teach you what?"
"Whatever tricks you have, obviously!" she said, grinning.
"I've been stuck on the same area quest, even before the reset patch. If you're rich and cracked, I wanna be on your good side."
"Maybe I can even get over my bottleneck with you, and get some free gear..." she muttered.
Corrin didn't know if she said that loudly on purpose or if she was just a clutz.
She finally let go, clasping her hands together.
"I'm serious. I'll even split rewards. Sixty–forty."
She paused.
"…Seventy–thirty, if you hard-carry."
Corrin stared at her.
This was not how he expected this to go.
"…You think I'm rich," he said slowly.
She tilted her head. "Aren't you?"
Corrin glanced down at himself.
He realized at this point in the game, no one would've received this robe yet—so her assumption was on point.
"…Sure," he said. "Let's go with that."
Her grin widened.
"YES! I knew it!"
She pumped a fist, clearly thrilled, then stuck a hand out toward him like this was the most natural thing in the world.
"I'm Lumi," she said brightly. "Paladin."
Corrin's Ranker personality caught on instantly. Paladin—an overall amazing build, and exactly what he needed most.
Nice. My first pawn—friend. Definitely friend.
Corrin blinked, eyes flicking to her outstretched hand before shaking it on reflex.
"Corrin," he said. "…Merchant."
She froze.
"…Huh?"
He immediately backtracked. "I mean—former merchant. Long story."
Lumi waved it off.
"Hey, whales do weird builds. I don't judge."
She grinned again, far too pleased with herself.
"So," she said, leaning forward slightly, eyes shining,
"what do you say? Wanna help me tackle this next quest?"
Corrin looked at her.
This was where he'd finally take his first step toward clearing the game. He was finally free.
The devs think being an NPC will hinder me?
That's where they're wrong. I'll conquer the main story and be the first ever NPC to do so!
Corrin nodded with determination, then looked back at Lumi.
"…Sure," he smiled.
"Let's go."