Chapter 1

The protagonist’s first impression was underwhelming.

The cover said otherwise.

A timid demeanor that ruined their otherwise decent looks, eyes fixed on the ground, a gloomy voice…

What is this? Did I mistake them for a background character?

[Cadet Kang Han, Joo Yidam, take your positions.]

Unfortunately, the name called out by the operator was unmistakably unique in the academy.

Surname: Kang. Given name: Han. The protagonist of the game I played—Kang Han.

No doubt about it.

The guy who didn’t even look like he could take a single punch from me was supposedly the future hero who would clear the Tower and end the war against the monsters.

But how? His appearance was completely unconvincing.

I intended to surrender after observing the protagonist’s initial abilities, but now I had to dig into every detail about this guy.

How I would act moving forward depended entirely on what kind of person the protagonist was.

[3, 2, 1, recording starts.]

Beep!

With a sharp buzzer sound, the sparring began.

I grabbed a practice sword and faced my opponent.

Kang Han held a practice sword too.

Both were standard swords commonly seen at the academy.

Although the blades were blunt, their weight matched that of real swords, making the impact just as heavy when they clashed.

A direct hit could break bones.

I swung my sword while shouting across the stage at Kang Han.

“What are you doing? If you’re not coming, I’ll head over!”

At that, Kang Han flinched violently, managing to stammer out a barely audible response.

“D-Don’t come.”

I suppressed a sigh and patiently asked, “Why?”

“You’ll… get hurt.”

Through the strands of hair covering his eyes, he glanced at me nervously.

What nonsense was this?

I couldn’t understand his intentions.

Was he still stuck in some teenage angst phase?

And who did he think he was to talk about hurting me?

Well, testing him would answer my questions.

I charged at Kang Han at a reasonable speed.

And then, as I saw his eyes turn red with pain, I realized I had made a terrible mistake.

The next thing I knew, I was staring at a hospital ceiling.

With a throbbing headache, I quickly figured out why I had lost.

The red glow in his eyes—it could only mean one thing.

“He’s… a Berserker.”

Now it made sense why the protagonist seemed so timid.

He must’ve been holding back to avoid hurting others.

If I had known he had a hidden “Berserker” trait, I would’ve surrendered quietly instead of picking a fight.

As always, regret comes too late.

I steadied myself, still dizzy, and sat up on the hospital bed.

How much time had passed?

“Ugh…”

The ache spreading through my body brought back fresh memories of being relentlessly beaten by Berserk-mode Kang Han until I lost consciousness.

“Wow, I really almost died.”

The instructor overseeing the sparring had intervened within three seconds and subdued Kang Han.

But in those brief moments, I was completely obliterated.

There were no better words than “instant annihilation” to describe what had happened.

I had believed no cadet my age could surpass me.

Yet my first assumption was already proven wrong.

Against a Berserker—a near-invincible force in the same level range—size and skill didn’t matter.

Sure, it was great that the protagonist was strong.

But Berserkers had such glaring weaknesses that I couldn’t fully celebrate.

The thought of figuring out how to handle Kang Han was already giving me a headache.

And then, it happened.

“Ah, Joo Yidam! Cadet Joo Yidam is awake!”

A nurse nearby noticed me and called the doctor.

Why was there such a commotion?

Soon, a doctor approached, accompanied by several medical staff, wearing a grave expression.

That’s when I started to feel uneasy.

The doctor greeted me warmly.

“Cadet Joo Yidam, how are you feeling? Is your body okay?”

“Uh, yeah. I feel a bit sore, but otherwise, I think I’m fine. Is something wrong?”

I looked around in confusion, noticing some nurses wiping away tears in the distance.

What was going on?

The doctor wiped sweat from his brow and spoke cautiously.

“Well, we have some… unfortunate news to share.”

I braced myself for the worst.

“Did I lose my magic capabilities?”

The doctor quickly denied it.

“No! That’s not the case. You can still work as a Hunter. There’s no issue with that.”

Then what was the problem?

I demanded an explanation with my expression.

“Um…” The doctor hesitated for a long moment before finally speaking.

“It seems you were… very unlucky. During the sparring, the energy that infiltrated your body from

Cadet Kang Han… completely ruptured your uterus.”

“Uh, excuse me?”

A dumbfounded sound escaped my lips.

A ruptured uterus? No matter how I looked at it, that was completely unexpected news.

“What… what does that mean exactly?”

“In simple terms, Cadet, you are now incapable of bearing children. Although our medical team managed to regenerate the organs near the ruptured uterus, prioritizing the ones crucial for life, this was the result of our efforts,” the doctor explained, bowing his head deeply in apology.

I asked, still dazed, “Why is that a problem?”

“…What?”

The doctor and nurses were visibly baffled by my nonchalant reaction.

I, Joo Yidam, had transmigrated into a game character I painstakingly customized—an S-ranked beauty from the region.

However, my soul remained unmistakably male.

The fact that I could no longer bear a child in this body did not concern me in the slightest.

“Whatever. Doesn’t matter.”

In a world with magic, modern parallel Korea’s medical technology was truly impressive.

They managed to bring me back to life despite severe internal injuries within mere hours.

I couldn’t help but marvel at their advanced science.

Sure, they couldn’t save my uterus from Kang Han’s berserk aura, but I even felt a little lighter now—both physically and metaphorically.

‘No more annoying periods. This is actually great!’

Of course, when I casually made a similar remark in the hospital, the nurses burst into uncontrollable tears, biting their sleeves.

That made me leave as soon as possible, completing my discharge papers in a hurry.

As the chilly February wind brushed my face, I thought absently, “I guess that news would be devastating to most women.”

Thankfully, the news wouldn’t spread to the academy.

The medical team had sworn confidentiality regarding my medical records.

While the instructors responsible for overseeing cadets might see the details and be shocked, I trusted them to remain professional.

All in all, things didn’t turn out so bad.

I confirmed the protagonist’s initial traits and didn’t have to deal with periods anymore.

“Hmm,” I hummed to myself.

My remaining tasks for the day were simple: return to the academy, download the sparring footage with Kang Han, and analyze those brief three seconds to study his unique characteristics.

Despite being packed with tasks, the schedule was fulfilling.

I wasn’t usually this diligent, but maybe it was thanks to my character’s innate trait.

[Perfectionism]

[Pursues perfection in all matters.]

When creating a character, it’s natural to pour all your unrealized aspirations into them.

Setting the gender aside, I wanted my character to be flawless.

Though I never expected to become that character, living as them wasn’t so bad.

The satisfaction of everything going according to plan was a “perfectionist’s euphoria” only those who experienced it could understand.

The disappearance of my period, the last blemish in my otherwise smooth life, was the cherry on top.

Why do periods even exist when I’ll never have kids anyway?

Why build and tear down a nursery repeatedly like some kind of beaver?

Honestly, I was genuinely grateful to the protagonist.

Meanwhile, the three-second sparring footage was causing a stir among the instructors.

The rumors about a cadet with the rare “Berserker” trait and a female cadet who lasted three whole seconds against them spread like wildfire.

The instructors, repeatedly watching the footage, finally received the awaited news.

“Here are the biological data reports for Kang Han and Joo Yidam. Yidam was just discharged from the hospital, apparently.”

“Good thing modern technology is so advanced. If this were the past, her injuries could’ve been fatal.”

One instructor pointed to the footage’s final frame: Kang Han’s berserk hands brutally plunging into Joo Yidam’s abdomen.

It was a shocking image.

But the real bombshell hadn’t dropped yet.

As they scanned Kang Han’s profile with intrigue, they moved on to Joo Yidam’s updated medical records.

Their eyes widened as they reached a specific line, and their mouths hung open in silence.

A chilling quiet enveloped the briefing room.

[Medical Report – Joo Yidam]

[Age: 17]

[Special Notes: Uterine rupture caused by berserk aura during sparring. Multiple organ regeneration attempts failed. Elixir-grade regeneration artifact required. Irreversible damage. Practically infertile.]

To be continued…