What is reincarnation?
According to the wiki, it’s commonly described as a concept where the body perishes but the soul is eternal, being reborn into a new life after death. This is also an explanation from Buddhism.
And the life one lived before being born is called the ‘past life.’
Typically, when you reincarnate, you lose all memories of your past life. This is close to common sense since there isn’t a single person who remembers their past life.
To begin with, it’s something that can’t be explained scientifically, and since there are no individuals who remember their past life, reincarnation is literally a fantastical concept used only in religion. It doesn’t actually exist.
That’s what I believed… or rather, my past life did.
“Ha! As if.”
I lost everything.
The comrades who were like friends, the honor as a warrior, and even my own future.
No, to be precise, they were stolen from me. Damn rotten luck and my own incompetence.
And so, while somewhat bitterly reminiscing, I began to continue my thoughts not as “Ain, the Unlucky Warrior,” but as “Seong-Yohan,” just another guy from modern-day South Korea.
***
Let me say this upfront.
I… more accurately, Seong-Yohan who isn’t Ain… didn’t do anything special.
I just got hooked on a game that turned out to have surprisingly good gameplay and played it for quite some time. I didn’t trash-talk the developers or send them long emails filled with criticism.
I just played the game. And then, out of nowhere, I experienced either possession or reincarnation.
“Geez, I’m too scared to even play games now.”
Out of all the people, why me? I briefly wondered about this but quickly realized it was pointless.
Who knows? Maybe everyone who plays games experiences reincarnation or possession and is thinking the same thing I am. Thinking about it this way, it doesn’t feel as unfair.
Anyway, the important thing isn’t these useless musings. What matters is the situation I’m in right now.
Let me summarize my current situation.
First off, I—Seong-Yohan—am an orphaned young man who grew up in modern-day Earth, South Korea.
Of course, after experiencing either reincarnation or possession, I’m also “Ain, the Unlucky Warrior.”
Anyway, my past self, Seong-Yohan, played an NTR genre game. The game was titled [This Hero Gets Stolen So Easily!], a hilariously stupid title.
I, Seong-Yohan, played that game for quite some time. Though the story wasn’t exactly my cup of tea—it was an NTR game after all—the game itself was fun.
After playing for a while, collecting all endings, CGs, and item-related completion elements, I turned off the game and went to sleep.
And then… oh my goodness, what in the world is happening?
Seong-Yohan had possessed Ain, and Ain had come to realize the memories of his past life as Seong-Yohan.
To be honest, I’m confused whether this is possession or reincarnation, so please excuse any mixed expressions. I’m even unsure if I’m Seong-Yohan or Ain at this moment. Just by alternating between calling myself Seong-Yohan and Ain, you can see how messed up my current state is.
With Ain’s consciousness and memories mixing with Seong-Yohan’s consciousness and memories, I can’t even figure out who I am anymore.
“…Of course, if you look at just the body, I’m merely Ain.”
Thinking this, I looked at the full-length mirror next to my bed.
Hair as dark as the night sky, lethargic ash-gray eyes, and a slightly sickly appearance… overall, a decadent charm that highlighted a handsome face.
It was both familiar and strange to me. Specifically, it was endlessly familiar to Ain-me but endlessly unfamiliar to Seong-Yohan-me.
“…Am I really going crazy, or am I dreaming?”
For a moment, I thought that maybe all of Seong-Yohan’s memories and consciousness were just a mental illness caused by my insanity. Or perhaps it was all a dream.
But obviously, that fleeting thought disappeared because there was no sense of unreality like in dreams. And it wasn’t like I was hallucinating due to madness either—based on what I could tell, all my senses and cognitive abilities were functioning normally.
Although I’m no expert, I judged that I wasn’t insane at least to the extent that I could distinguish reality from illusion.
Thus, I concluded that the situation I’m in now is real.
Seong-Yohan truly possessed Ain, and Ain became aware of his past life.
“Hilarious.”
Suddenly, a laugh escaped me. How should I take this?
Until just a moment ago, I was simply Ain, the Unlucky Warrior. Now, I don’t even know who I am.
Am I Seong-Yohan? Or Ain?
Well, I honestly don’t know if the current me is really Ain. If it were Ain, I’d probably be crying over all the misfortunes I’ve endured, seeing them as mere playthings of fate.
But right now, I don’t feel anything. All I get is a sense of emptiness tinged with absurdity.
If it were the original Ain, he might have accepted all this quietly despite feeling anger, shame, and disgrace… because he couldn’t do anything about it.
“But I have no intention of doing that.”
It’s already infuriating enough that my life has been plagued by bad luck, and now I’m expected to quietly accept the same fate as in the game?
Absolutely not.
So, I started reflecting again, sifting through my memories.
***
As I may have mentioned earlier, the world where Seong-Yohan possessed Ain is based on the NTR game [This Hero Gets Stolen So Easily!].
What does that mean? It means the game, fitting its NTR genre, is packed with countless bad endings.
There is a happy ending, but among dozens of endings, there’s only one happy one.
The rest are all bad endings.
Let me add one more thing: a bad ending doesn’t simply mean I, the protagonist, get cuckolded and the game ends.
Even if the protagonist Ain gets cuckolded, the game continues. It’s just that things get pretty twisted, and you won’t see the happy ending.
The problem is that every ending except the happy one ends with my death. In short, bad endings aren’t just NTR endings—they’re dead ends.
And the point in time where I possessed Ain is when the initial heroines have already cuckolded him, and a bad ending is in full swing.
“Looks like I’m screwed.”
I blurted out a famous line from a well-known novel and movie back on Earth.
“That’s my carefully considered conclusion. I’m screwed.”
Bad Ending #19: The Queen’s Plaything.
The name of the bad ending route I’ve entered is precisely this.
Ain, who lost his comrades early on and felt somewhat uneasy…
Then, Lillian, one of the bosses in this game—a succubus queen—approached me.
She offered comfort and simultaneously flooded my brain with extreme pleasure, making me her prisoner and kidnapping me—or rather abducting me—to the succubus queen’s stronghold.
I vividly remembered that experience. The sensation of the queen using her unique abilities to make my dopamine surge uncontrollably was unforgettable. Alongside the tender comfort she gave to my broken heart, the original Ain fell head-over-heels for her.
In fact, before realizing I was Seong-Yohan, the original Ain was completely addicted to the pleasure she provided. Always longing for Lillian’s affection, he was essentially suffering from separation anxiety.
Strangely, though, I don’t feel anything now. It’s like an empty void.
“Did my soul get cleansed during the possession?”
Or did the possession of Seong-Yohan finally snap me out of it? Maybe the fool finally became human because he faced death.
Anyway, the bad ending where the original Ain would become the queen’s plaything, losing all his strength, essence, and even his soul, is Bad Ending #19: “The Queen’s Plaything.”
Of course, while the Queen’s Plaything ending is technically a bad ending, thanks to Lillian’s iconic looks, atmosphere, and service scenes, it’s actually quite popular among users and considered one of the better dead ends.
But here’s the issue—I don’t want to die yet. They say this world is better than any dung heap, and I haven’t even tasted the joys of life yet, so I can’t go down like this.
“So, what should I do…”
The problem is that with my current strength, escaping on my own is difficult.
The Queen’s Plaything ending is one of the early bad endings in the game.
Naturally, at the beginning of the game, the characters, including the protagonist, have low stats, and that applies to me as well.
“To be honest, it’s kind of embarrassing to admit, but my growth rate is slower compared to other warriors.”
There’s not just one warrior; there are a few others chosen by the goddess, and they’re also warriors.
Would a warrior chosen solely by the goddess ever get cuckolded if there weren’t other warriors around? There are other warriors, which is why I get cuckolded by them.
Anyway, with my already weak stats compounded by slow growth, escaping from here on my own is tough.
Plus, even if I escape, there’s still a problem…
“Lillian is known for her possessiveness and obsession.”
Succubus Queen Lillian.
She usually pretends to be gentle and kind, but her true nature is a personification of obsession and possessiveness.
Once something is in her hands, she’ll do whatever it takes to keep it, and if something escapes her grasp, she’ll try to retrieve it, even if it means destroying it.
And that applies regardless of whether the object of her obsession is a thing or a person. Same goes for me.
Not to mention, in the game, when she absorbs my soul and essence, she whispers creepily that I’ll belong to her forever.
“To think I’ve become a man obsessed with by the Succubus Queen, the embodiment of beauty. I must be living large.”
While I was mocked as the Unlucky Warrior, now I’ve become a man coveted by the beautiful Succubus Queen. Other men would envy me.
Of course, if they envy me, I’d happily ask them to take my place.
“Anyway, I need to escape somehow…”
Whether I like it or not, I need to escape. The obsession of Lillian is a problem to think about later; right now, my life is on the line, so that’s not the priority.
So, I racked my brain again.
“Lillian and countless succubi guarding the stronghold… how can I slip away quietly?”
Of course, there’s no way that exists. Even if it did, I doubt I could think of it. If I could, would I be a basement-dwelling gamer and an unlucky warrior instead of a genius?
If this place were a real game, I might have been able to escape like speedrunning, but this is reality, not a game.
Though as Seong-Yohan, I had played the game enough to collect all endings, so I knew Lillian’s stronghold inside out. But I wasn’t confident I could use that knowledge to escape from here.
Should I start a riot? But can I even pull that off with my abilities?
What about seducing a succubus? While tempting, all succubi here are absolutely loyal to Lillian. Besides, approaching a succubus out of the blue would be too dangerous—if Lillian finds out, it’s game over.
Wait for outside help? Sure, there might be humans outside looking for me, but in the game, they never arrive in time to save me from becoming the Queen’s Plaything. Waiting for rescue would be meaningless.
“This is frustrating.”
Lying on the bed, I counted the decorations on the ceiling as I thought. This is a situation with no clear solution.
If I’ve been possessed or reincarnated, shouldn’t I at least get some kind of bonus, especially when I’m in such a hopeless situation? Or at least a status window to check my condition? Then I could train and improve.
That’s when it happened.
Poof!
[Player’s intent confirmed. Would you like to view your status window?]
“…Huh?”
Suddenly, a status window appeared in front of me while I was lying down.
“…Wow, the status window shows up only after I think about it.”
What a considerate system. I silently marveled.
