Chapter 2: 1.2

Chapter 1: I’m the Lord? (Part 2)

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Jared hurriedly gulped down the glass of iced water and aggressively wiped his face on a damp towel. 

Whenever the towel made contact with my face, I could feel the fat jiggle. 

It’s a very unpleasant feeling, but I have no choice but to accept the fact that this is my body now.

It’s not like my body would suddenly slim up and become robust just because I denied it.

“Huff— I only washed my face but I’m already out of breath. How can a person’s body be like this?”

I drank another glass and washed my face once more.

My body was instinctively telling me to go lie down on the bed to rest. Laughably, the upper part of my body was already leaning towards the bed.

Jared forced himself to stand upright.

In contrast to his heavy body, his mind was quickly turning its gears.

‘Okay, let’s think.’

I decided to calmly reorganize my thoughts.

First of all, this world is <Paradiso>, the game I used to play in my past life. Playing games was the only joy I had in my life. When I wasn’t at work, I would be at home, spending the rest of my time in <Paradiso>. To put it simply, I was close to being a game junkie.

Because of this, I have endless knowledge of the game, ranging from character builds, territories and lands, game strategies, and etc., all from the time and effort I had poured into the game.

I have records of all the news and hot issues regarding the game in my head. It’s no surprise since I proudly am someone who held the #1 rank title for being the Power Blogger on a popular <Paradiso> blogging online community for ten consecutive years.

Of course, not everything was perfect.

I might’ve been a well-known user and the top poster of the community but I wasn’t the top player in <Paradiso>. Being a Power Blogger only meant I was a veteran, an ancient player of the game.

‘The Great Nasu War will take place in five years, which means I will have leisure time for only around those five years.’

Jared set up a major premise. There are still five years remaining until the war that will change the world arrives. This means he has five years to improve himself and his territory. 

He then thought of the next premise. 

‘I have so much knowledge on <Paradiso>, it would be a waste to not use it. I have an advantage that others don’t. There’s just so much for me to gain from this world without anyone knowing. I can use tricks, bugs. There are a lot of methods!’

This is the advantage of having an overwhelming amount of knowledge!

With this, I can preempt the future to my liking to create a brighter future for myself. I can enjoy the benefits that are to come as much as I want.

Of course, I’ll need to consider the variables, but either way it means I will still get a taste of that sweet reward at the end!

‘My past life may have been one of a regular office worker, but since I’ve reincarnated, let’s do my best to succeed. This was actually my dream anyways. My dream to become the strongest warrior of the Nasu Continent and to become a great monarch who unifies the world.’

I now had a goal.

In my past life, I enjoyed setting up long-term and short-term goals to raise my motivation. Although I was only a contract employee, I always dreamed big. My coworkers would point fingers and call them vain but I always believed I could become the CEO of a big conglomerate.

What’s the difference between my past and present life? 

I’m more likely to achieve my goals in this life since, unlike my past life, I know the future here.

‘That means I need to survive. I must survive! I need to know exactly who I am so others can recognize me as somebody I want to be.’

Jared sprang up from his seat.

Well.. tried to. The fat on this body’s belly weighed me down more than I thought. I ignored the bouncing of my belly fat and started to move.

Using the memories of my present life, I navigated myself to the office. As soon as I walked into the office, the first thing that came into mind was testing out the Mind’s Eye skill. This skill reveals things that no one else can see. 

‘This is a skill that I must have. With this, it’ll be much easier to manage the territory and have an overwhelming advantage in attaining a promising future.’

Mind’s Eye is a passive skill.

Like its name foretells, this skill has the ability to scan another person’s stats to reveal powers and capabilities. 

Mind’s Eye grows with its user. Meaning that the skill grows as the user gains more experience and levels. They broaden the skills’ capabilities. For example, one of its higher-leveled abilities is reading into the interest level of the opposite sex or glimpsing into a person’s sense of loyalty.

‘Whether it be running a territory, subordinating vassals, warring for conquest, or just anything in general, Mind’s Eye is absolutely necessary. Before I try to figure out the current situation of the territory, let’s obtain this skill first. If anyone else meets with Demon Isabella first, I might lose my chance to get it. Time is of the essence—every minute and every second counts!’

I was in a hurry. 

Mind’s Eye is a unique skill that only Demon Isabella possesses. Because this skill can only be obtained through a demonic contract, there will be no other way to obtain this skill once she has been contracted to someone else.

Meaning, there can only be one person in the entire continent of Nasu who acquires this skill. I most definitely cannot give up this chance.

‘Today also happens to be the right time to summon Isabella. Lucky, considering she can only be summoned once a month.’

Today is January 1st. I don’t know if God was favoring me, but the date is perfect.

‘I think this is the only artifact that can be used to summon her?’

Digging through my memories, I recalled the artifact that was used to summon Isabella in the game. In order to conduct a ceremony to call out higher-ranking demons, a significant amount of mana is needed. However with my mana stat of 75, it would be near impossible to do so without this one artifact. 

Viscount Barrett—the father of the original Jared—had left this artifact to be inherited by his son.

‘My son, you must use this artifact only for the purpose of your growth!’

The will left behind by my father is still fresh in my memories. I feel like he may have wanted it to be used as a supplementary measure… but I plan to use it on Isabella.

The reason why I had to think about this a bit more carefully is because artifacts used in rituals either lose their vitality, break, or incinerate to ashes. It will no longer be possible to maintain its normal function as an artifact once it directly endures the cursed burden of summoning demons. Meaning, my father’s keepsake will disappear.

Due to the wreck of a land’s conditions, there weren’t enough funds to buy exquisite artifacts. This was the only one we had. 

‘Well, this is for my growth anyway, so I hope that you will understand.’

And so, after my self-justification, I knelt down in the corner of the office. It’s time to perform the ritual ceremony. A ceremony to summon the cursed demon to me! This is the beginning of the process to obtain the Mind’s Eye from her.

“Leverr, Orilingus, Jurr-ha, Himudrio.”

With the artifact in my hand, I cast the spell to summon Isabella.

Rattle! Rattle! Bam!

Pshhh!

The artifact began to react violently to the spell, continuously emitting dark red smoke.

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The summoning created darkness all over the room, making it hard for my eyes to focus.

—Kyahaha! Kyahahaha!

Laughter resembling nails on a chalkboard rang out from the smoke. And then, a blurry figure of a giant woman took form within the smoke.

It was Demon Isabella.

Her demonic figure is as massive as it had been in <Paradiso>. Even compared to my body—which I thought could not lose to anyone in that aspect—hers is twice the size.

When my eyes made contact with Isabella’s gleaming ones, she took a step towards me.

– Ho, was it you who called me?

I nodded.

She questioned me again.

– Foolish human. What is it that you wanted so much to call me?

“I want the Mind’s Eye.”

– The Mind’s Eye? What a greedy desire you have! You wish to look into the hearts of others?

“Yes, I do.”

I answered as calmly as possible. 

If I show fear or tension, Isabella will lose her interest and leave. The only time I can summon her will be this once in my whole lifetime. There will be no next time if I were to fail here.

– Hmm.

At my answer, Isabella seemed to fall into deep thought. She then tilted her head at me.

– What is the dearest thing to you? Think about it now! Right now!

‘Good. This is my chance to obtain the hidden skill!’

Isabella wouldn’t know that she has fallen into my trap. Users in <Paradiso> who dared to try forming a contract with Isabella often wasted extravagant artifacts or significant amounts of gold.

This happened right from the moment Isabella asked them to think of what the most important thing is to them. Their loss would derive from thinking of their most expensive items.

If I hadn’t prepared myself for this question beforehand, I would have thought of the safety of my territory or my father’s artifact of some sort. And the moment I think of either of those, Isabella would have stolen the artifact or cursed the territory.

But of course, I was prepared. I thought of ‘it.’

Thinking I was in a predicament, Isabella laughed in a loud voice.

– Kyahahaha! I wonder which artifact will it be this time! Or how much gold! I will become drunk on the things you think of! Pretty women! That’s fine. I can simply devour their beauty!

She really did seem drunk.

Her reaction and personality weren’t any different than it was in <Paradiso>, but I was about to sober her up.

“Dear God, please look down upon me.”

After a small prayer, I closed my eyes in resignation to give up my ‘important thing.’ If I could obtain Mind’s Eye from Isabella, giving up this much was something I was prepared to do.

[The eternal contract with Demon Isabella has been made!]

[You obtained Demon Isabella’s Mind’s Eye! You can now start using this skill!]

[In exchange for the contract, your “innocence” belongs to Demon Isabella forever.]

– Uh?

My body started to float in the air. The figure of a giant woman that Isabella was in the form of, soon became a clear shape. And then, as if being pulled by a magnet, my body and my face floated towards Isabella’s. 

– You! Why are you getting closer to me! Go away, don’t come any closer!

Isabella tried to push me away, but this was part of the contract, so even she could not evade her fate.

If it were like in the past, she would have left with artifacts and gold in her hands. However, today is a bit different.

The ‘important thing’ that she will become drunk on will be me! Me, my existence itself!

You ask why? Why, this is because the most important thing I thought of was ‘Shin Tae-Pung’s pure innocence that had been protected for 34-years by being forever single!’

“Isabella, the contract has already been made. Accept your fate.”

My lashes fluttered as I gently closed my eyes.

– No! Stop! I don’t want to! I said I don’t want tooo!!

I heard Isabella in begging despair but tried to ignore her. To distract myself, I sang the national anthem.

“Until the day when Mt. Baekdu is worn away and the East Sea’s…1“

Singing the national anthem cleared my mind and calmed my heart. 

Not long after…

Smack. Smooch. Smooch.

And so started my deep kiss with Isabella.

I tried to think of it as making love with a juicy steak. The sounds of chewing on its juicy meat and its oil dribbling down my chin. It was nice. I mean—

– No way! This doesn’t make any s—!

Slurrrrp!

She was in despair and I held a silent vigil.

For the sake of the Mind’s Eye, this is a cheap price to pay. All I need to do now is forget that my first kiss was taken by a demon.

And so, for a very long time, ‘we’ faithfully fulfilled the contract with a very deep, and passionate vow.

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Translator’s Notes:

This is South Korea’s national anthem, the 애국가 [aegukga].

PR/N: If you are disturbed by this weird kissing scene with a demon, here’s a spoiler [please skip if you hate these] that might make you feel better; the demon turns into a pretty girl later and it turns out she isn’t entirely evil like he first makes her out to be.

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