Chapter 3

1. Preparations for Running Away (1)

- You have become the first user of the game "God." Save the continent of Osria from destruction.

- As a special benefit for beta testers, you are synchronized with Jaden Leonhardt at the age of eight.

- Leonhardt's bloodline abilities are incompletely manifested.

- The main quest "Become the Head of the Family" is given to you. Complete the main quest to take a step toward preventing the continent's destruction.

Lee Jung-ho, who entered the body of young Jaden, fell into a panic for a while.

After learning the shocking truth that everything he had done until now was part of a beta test for a game created by a god, he spent about two days staring blankly at the ceiling.

A maid he had seen in his childhood brought him food with concern, but he barely ate, remaining in a daze. Eventually, he managed to regain his composure and calmly assessed his current situation.

One of the highest noble families, the Duke's family, ultimately fell.

The north will be destroyed.

The empire will also inevitably fall, it's just a matter of time.

Although more people might come here, unlike the beta test, they won't be able to prevent the destruction.

After thinking this far, Jaden could only think of one thing.

Surviving until the age of thirty-five.

Before anything else, he needed a strategy to survive, rather than trying to prevent the continent's destruction.

"The main quest has to be abandoned."

Having experienced a complete failure while trying to complete the main quest during the beta test, he quickly decided to abandon it and started thinking about how to survive.

The light that came to him as he was about to die from a traffic accident in the real world.

Perhaps the other beta testers, each with their own stories, were also people with their own reasons.

Despite their desperate efforts for rewards, they were ultimately swept away by the flow of events.

"I died at the age of thirty-one, so..."

He needed to survive four years longer than during the beta test.

If things progressed exactly as they did in the beta test, even if he lived a low-profile life in the capital of the empire, he wouldn't survive for more than two years.

Even if he moved to another continent early, it was doubtful whether he could survive for four more years, as the Void Gate would open in the north there as well.

"I can't survive."

Jaden sighed deeply and abandoned the idea of hiding in a safe place to survive.

Despite his desperate efforts to become the head of the family and fend off the incoming monsters, he couldn't last even two years.

Even if he were in the capital of the empire, it would be fortunate to hold off the waves of monsters for one to two more years.

He had heard rumors that other continents might last a bit longer, but it would only be a slight difference.

"If that's the case, I need to flee to the southern region of the empire..."

To do that, the continent of Osria would have to hold out for a certain period.

Only then could he survive until the age of thirty-five.

For that to happen, the northern region of the empire, the front line of the Void Gate, and the barbarians living in the land of savagery would have to hold out, which was a necessary precondition.

"They can't be swept away all at once like last time."

Thinking this far, Jaden naturally thought about the strongest family ruling the north.

This family, which follows the ancient divine beast, the white lion, is a place that moves very instinctively, as befits a family that venerates lions.

This barbaric family, which worships cruelty and strength, has abilities that are almost cheating.

Jaden, born as the eldest son in this family, had a very ordinary talent, and since his real-world self was also ordinary, it was difficult for him to survive.

To survive in this place and become the head of the family, he had to pull in the royal palace, and eventually became the head of the family.

"But I failed immediately..."

Jaden smiled bitterly as he recalled the past.

After his father, the current head of the family, died in battle and he became the head of the family with the help of the royal palace, he couldn't last even two years and ended up destroying the family.

He thought that things would change as he completed the main quests one by one, but there was no such thing.

There was no reward, and his unchanged talent ultimately became the root cause of the family's destruction.

Although it's called a game, it's just another reality with no status window or skills, and you just have to use your body.

The unique ability is a power derived from the bloodline, so in fact, the title is the only way to borrow the game's power, but it's extremely difficult to obtain.

In other words, there are no game-like elements except for the title.

To survive in such a place, he had to build his strength through his own efforts.

"My talent is at rock bottom, so I have to rely on my younger brothers..."

For the Leonhardt family to function properly, one of his younger brothers would have to become the head of the family, but if any of these brats became the head, they would definitely try to kill him, who is worse than a pest.

He couldn't become the head of the family again.

The family had to function properly to survive a bit longer in the future.

"Is the answer to run away?"

To escape from his younger brothers, running away at a young age was the best option.

But he couldn't think of a way to escape without the family's notice.

Then he suddenly thought of the special nature of the north.

A place that trains special forces from a young age to fend off countless monsters.

A place that nurtures anyone with talent in swordsmanship, magic, strategy, and more.

The northern army training ground.

While others learn numbers, letters, and basic academics at the age of nine, this place teaches them how to wield a sword and kill.

But it's also a place that doesn't discriminate based on status and only considers talent.

It's an opportunity for commoners and noble families on the brink of extinction to revive, and even for the children of noble families who couldn't become the head of the family.

Despite this, the number of applicants was low.

The application requirements were strict.

Once you apply, you must serve for at least 20 years.

You can only serve on the front lines of the north.

These two conditions alone are enough to drive you crazy, and you even have to use a pseudonym.

Upon application, you are assigned a number and trained, and once training is complete and you are deployed to a unit, you must serve under the name given by the military.

In other words, you are erased from the world until you are discharged.

How many people would be willing to become a nameless killing machine with no honor?

"I have no choice."

To escape from the talentless brats, he had to take some risks.

The 20-year service period was a concern, but there was no other way.

However, this alone was not enough.

At least he needed to create an ally within the family who was friendly towards him.

Moreover, the twins, who were two years younger than him, were complete troublemakers, so he needed someone to keep them in check.

The twins, who were already two years younger than him, were already awakening their mana and beating up servants.

To keep such crazy brats in check, he needed someone with a good heart and talent.

The problem was that this was the lion family.

Everyone had outstanding talent, but they were all a bit off.

"Ah... I'll go crazy."

The Leonhardts, who venerate the white lion, tried to emulate the white lion's characteristics, one of which was having many children from many wives in a short period.

The tradition was to hand over the family to the most superior among them, and this tradition has continued to this day.

His father, who had seven wives, had several children of the same age.

He was just eight years old, a few months older than the others, but there were two seven-year-olds and four six-year-olds.

This was due to the current head of the family's vow to have only one child per wife.

If not, like other heads of the family, he would have had over thirty children.

Another peculiarity was that while all the children were alive, only two of the wives were still alive.

The reason was that while protecting the young bloodline of the Leonhardts was a given, it did not apply to wives from outside.

Because of this, his mother also died, and the two remaining wives were in poor health due to the effects of poisoning.

"In short, it's a mess."

The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to leave this family as soon as possible.

"Ah... If anyone is normal, it's only the youngest..."

He didn't have any particular memories of the youngest.

He died before he was synchronized.

Still, he thought the youngest would be better than the others. After he was synchronized, he found out that the youngest was weak and died without support.

One of his younger brothers likely killed him.

The second one had a paladin-like temperament.

The third one was a psychopath.

The twins were full of sadistic tendencies.

The sixth one was a pervert.

One of these crazy brats must have killed the youngest.

According to the records at the time, the youngest's talent was so outstanding that someone must have killed him out of jealousy, which might have been true.

When he heard the rumors about the youngest after being synchronized, he was actually scared.

Because this body had no talent and was still alive.

But he soon found out why.

The eldest son's privilege.

Even in the Leonhardt family, which preaches the worship of strength, the eldest son's rights were considerable. This alone had kept him alive, and he even briefly became the head of the family with the help of the royal palace.

Recalling this, Jaden's eyes reddened as he remembered the hardships he endured during the beta test.

"Ah! First, I'll confirm if the rumors about the youngest are true."

He knew all the sword techniques passed down to the head of the family, thanks to his past memories and the privilege of being the eldest son, who learned the Leonhardt family's secret sword techniques from a young age. If the youngest's talent was as outstanding as the rumors suggested, he planned to teach him everything.

It would be better for his future if a kind, albeit weak, person became the head of the family rather than one of the crazy brats.

If he owed the youngest a favor, the chances of him coming to kill him in the future would be lower.

Moreover, if the youngest became a master in the future, he would be a great help in protecting the north.

"Ah!"

Jaden, who was about to leave the room, checked his body condition.

To check his younger brothers' talents, he needed to have some level of skill himself.

After doing some stretches and a quick check, Jaden's brow furrowed.

"Trash."

He had felt this since he confirmed that this body had no talent during the beta test. The original owner of this body clearly had no talent and no motivation.

Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense for his body to have no muscles at all.

"If you have no talent, you have to work hard. Tsk! I lack effort."

The elders' words were not wrong.

If you lack skill, you have to work hard, and if that's not enough, you have to work even harder.

Of course, you can't catch up to the talents of geniuses, but with 10 or 20 years of effort, you can catch up to the level where ordinary geniuses play.

He himself had proven this during the beta test.

"I haven't even awakened my mana, and my body is a mess."

Even if his body was a mess, if he had at least awakened his mana, he might have had a chance, but this body hadn't even done that.

This body first awakened its mana at the age of thirteen.

It was slightly better than an ordinary person but still a dullard, as a result of receiving support by consuming so many elixirs.

"Ah... I have to build my body first."

Jaden sighed and began a simple warm-up routine in the room.

The Duke's eldest son runs away to the military (3)