As I laid in my bed, my skin was hot and I felt regret. 

Oh, I have a hangover.

I groan as I roll over and after a moment or two I hit the floor with a thud.

“B-brother, are you okay?”

I lazily look up to find my younger brother out of his usual uniform and in his iconic frilly shirt and red pants.

“Fuckin’ hell, are you going now?”

“…I-I'm scouting ahead. I don't want to mess up my second date with her.”

Scouting... Hm.

"..I'd recommend going to a park if you wanna impress her. You had the right idea with a garden." 

"R-really?" 

I nodded.

I understood all the characters and what their perfect date would be. 

Christ to think if I wanted to, I could probably romance any of the- okay, I’m not finishing that thought. 

My stomach grumbles and I turn over on my bed as I wave 'my' little brother goodbye.

If this date goes bad then I'll start intervening with Queen Bitch's help. 

“Later loser, enjoy your date.”

“…I’m not a loser.”

“I know, I know. And you look good.”

With the door shut, my smirk falls off my face and I flop back onto the bed staring at my hand. 

Calluses from a lifetime of hard work, small scars I didn’t know the origin of. 

They were reminders that this wasn’t even my real body. 

“…..shit.”

It was a bitter mutter as I slowly started cooling down, after drinking for the first time in maybe a month I finally felt calm. 

Looking back I must’ve been crazy.

Sleeping through my lessons, treating this world like a video game, treating this body as a toy.

“…..”

I still had goals, ensuring ‘my’ little brother got the girl of his dreams was one of them but beyond that?

Hell, what the hell happened to the original Marcus?

And finally, should I start looking for a way to get back?

Do I even want to?

My heart ached a little as I imagined what was waiting for me but it wasn’t like I couldn’t stay here forever.

After a moment of hesitation, I picked up the cup of water left for me by Topi and chugged it.

Since I recently got a medal, I didn’t necessarily need to attend my next lesson but I decided to.

To try and take this world more seriously.

For his sake. 

“….ugh.”

Between the blaring sun, loud noises and my headache: getting to school was hell.

As I sat rubbing my temples, I felt as the subway began to tilt and climb the large hill. 

At the top was my stop, and near it was my school. 

Walking along the smooth stone, I arrive at the gate and after checking my identity I’m let in. 

Teenagers around me mutter teenage things and I ignore it as I finally check my class schedule for what my class would be.

Matching the day and time to the box, I mutter as I rub my aching head.

“…history huh.”

 

•  

 

•  

 

•  

 

“….and you are?”

Meeting my history teacher for the first time in just under a month, I gave an awkward smile.

“Nice to meet you sir. I’m Marcus Glennden.”

“Ah, the truant. You may sit down at the front.”

Tsk. Guess this is my retribution.

“Who’s that?”

“Hey isn’t that the kid who was head butting a pillar?”

“He did what?”

Ahh, when will these rumors die down.

“I heard he entered the Passage on the first day of school.”

These damn fake rumors. 

“I heard he fought the Duchess’s daughter.”

These incredibly fake rumors.

“Alright, silence class. I’ll begin rocall then begin our lesson.”

Minutes pass and the old man uses chalk to write today’s subject on the board.

‘Ancient Text’

I hear groans from those around me but keep quiet, instead focusing on my headache. 

Spinning a pen in my hand, I lazily read the words on the board and frown a little as they bring up old memories. Letting out a quiet yawn, I’m pulled from my daydreaming by a grey haired man.

“Mr Glennden!”

Glancing over to the black board, I find ancient script written in chalk. 

“Yes Sir?”

“Read this.”

It was one me and my blood brother had made up, it was Equian. And missing parts.

Hm?

Oh, yes that’s right.

My friend made an entirely new language and forced me to help him. 

Did I mention he put his effort into the stupidest of places?

Extras, new language, mapping out an entire city with a working water supply system-

“Mr Glennden, can you read it or not?”

“…right, right. ‘When the Lady spoke, she said-‘. Sir.”

“….”

??

?

Mr Hampston frowned a little before turning to the board bewildered.

“You know ancient script?”

What? 

Was this a trick question?

“…yes…?”

“How much?”

Well I helped create the language so all of it?

Nono, I can’t say that. 

“…So-so.”

“H-how? I could’ve sworn you weren’t educated in it.”

“Ah, that's easy to answer Sir. I’m a genius.”

“....”

“A genius.”

“…”

“A geniu-“

“...yes, I heard you the first time. And stop posing.”

The old man walked over to his desk and pulled out a book, handling it carefully he placed it on my hand. 

Just from looking at the pages I could tell each one had been turned an agonizing amount of times, with notes sticking out. 

“...Marcus Glennden. If you can tell me even a little about the passage I’ve highlighted I’ll give you student credit.” 

Eh? 

“I don’t need it.”

“....”

Fuck, I spoke without thinking. 

“...instead, could you give it to my brother?” 

“....”

I can feel my back burn as eyes all cast over to me so I speak further. “In exchange, I’ll try to translate the whole thing. I used to read some ancient text when I was younger so it isn’t too hard.”

The old man’s eyes widen a little and he clears his throat clearly excited. 

“Y-yes, fine. I’ll give you pen and paper so that’ll be your homework for the wee-“

“I can do it now if you want.”

“…please do.”

 

•  

 

•  

 

•  

 

I snort to myself as I continue translating the ‘ancient’ script into modern day English. 

Originally, there was supposed to be a different set of words for the main language used in the story but I threatened to move out if I was forced to help create another language. 

“….that slave driver.”

I chuckle to myself as I continue jotting down what was written in the journal.

It was a story about how the ancient Hero Lagun killed a tyrannical dragon and ended up marrying a village girl.

The quiet village eventually snowballed into a giant kingdom, it was a story I had created and honestly wasn’t that good.

Wait. 

..Doesn’t this make me a God?

At least to these guys I am- GAH!

Looking up I find an excited old man looking down at what I’ve written, backing away from the notepad: he pounced on it like a hungry wolf.

“G-goodness! It was a story this whole time!”

All eyes on me, I just let out a tired sigh before cradling my aching head. 

Fantasy healing may have fixed my injuries from yesterday but they didn’t rid me of my hangover. 

“...urgh.”

Remembering everything made my head hurt even more, I chose to ignore the old man muttering to himself as he read through what I wrote.

“Yes. Yes! This makes perfect sense. Incredible, how could someone decipher Ancient Script so perfectly, it doesn’t make sense.”

Ok, let’s stop listening. 

Eventually the bell rings and after dodging the Professor's questions, I find a black cat sitting in the hallway. 

Looking around no one else seems to notice the creature. 

Eyebrow raised, I move my hand to pet the cat when it opens it's mouth. 

"The Principal is requesting you."

"CHRIST! Ugh, my head.”

"Is that guy making a scene again?" 

"He's always so loud." 

"What's 'Christ'?" 

Ignoring the muttering around me, the black cat merely licked its paw before speaking. 

"The Principal is requesting you."

"Why? Why now?" 

The cat does a cat version of a shrug then leaves, covering its butt with it's tail. 

...at least it has self-awareness. 

"...The Principal huh." 

Better go now. 

 

•  

 

•  

 

•  

 

Rubbing my forehead, I bang on the fancy looking office door. 

"Heard you were looking for me?”

The ornately designed door opens and I walk in to an office soaked in darkness. 

"....."

"You can stop there."

An old woman's voice dripping with exhaustion rings out from the darkness and I frown a little as I try to guess her location. 

Silence. 

Ha... I guess I should start. 

"Can we get this over with? I'm hungover." 

"....Yes. You were drinking heavily last night."

"Been coming to terms with a lot of things."

I shrug, quietly guessing her location. "So... why did you call me?" 

"...Since you don't seem to be hostile, I'll be straight with you."

Snap!

With the snap of her fingers, the darkness vanishes revealing a large office with bookshelves for walls.

Sitting behind a desk is one of the strongest beings in this game. 

[Moira Venus] 

Black greying hair tied into a bun, wrinkles around her mouth and bags under her eyes.  

She smoked a pipe in one hand and lowered her fingers with the other. 

"Why are you in Marcus's body?" 

???

Stiffening, I get into a combat stance like a large cat ready to pounce but the old woman seemed unbothered. 

Tsk. 

Taking a deep breath, I speak in a slightly lowered voice. 

"...how could you tell?" 

The old woman lifted an eyebrow before breathing out smoke. "Were you trying to hide it?" 

"Not really but I wasn't exactly showing off-" 

"Challenging the Passage on day one, sleeping through all your classes, treating the King's daughter casually, knocking out the Eastern Prince, fighting off the Arcane Purists and..."

She stopped speaking to read a piece of paper sat on her desk. "Translating a hundred year old text from Ancient Script to Common Language. Do you think a regular teenager would do any of these?"

....

...

Man, I have not been hiding it at all.  

In my defense, I was seriously stressed out. 

"...None of those would get me out of trouble though."

"Indeed. And so it comes to why we're left you alone for so long. Why have you been playing around, Divine?" 

"..Divine?" 

"I noticed it on your first day of school. I have been watching you since then and trying to figure out why you were here. I would've assumed you were playing around as it was written in the records you were mischievous but then you started acting like an actual student. Why? Do you plan on replacing the real 'Marcus'?" 

Ahh, so that was it.

".....hm." Scratching the back of my aching head, I couldn't force myself to joke around as I let the smile on my face fall. "...No. I don't plan on staying for long. I'm not sure why I entered up here but I'm just messing with Fate a little before looking for a way to leave." 

They were bitter words to spit out but it wasn't like I could pretend to be Marcus for the rest of my life.

For now, I'll get Topi his happy ending.

Maybe Queen Bitch too, if I have the energy. 

"Fate..."

The old woman let out another tired sigh before nodding. "I see. Fate." 

Phew, glad I remembered it was a key word. "Do you have any more questions?" 

"Yeah.. What did you mean 'written in the records'?" 

The old woman blinked for a moment. Dark, almost black eyes, looked at me in confusion before her voice rang out inside the office. "It was the Creator that built our cities. It was He who created life in his image, it was He who placed clouds in the sky and it was He who filled craters that became rivers and the sea. 

“In the Holy Books he left behind before resting, he mentioned a half-devil companion who helped him. With a mouth that spewed Chaos, it was the Half- Devil who created Volcanos to vent his anger. It was the Half- Devil who created natural disasters to mess with his friend's creation and it was the Half-Devil who created Sin and gifted it to mortals for fun."

“I-I see..”

OIII, THAT BASTARD MENTIONED ME LIKE THIS!!

NO WONDER SHE WAS SO WARY WHEN I FIRST ENTERED!!

....that damned bastard.

Seeing the Principal frown as the ends of my mouth curl into a smile, I cough wiping any expression off my face as I look away. 

"Ahem. My bad. I guess."

The old woman frowned a little more before rubbing her eyes and shaking her head. 

"....Any more questions?" 

"Yeah, one more. Why do ya look so tired?" 

Frowning completely this time, she pointed a wrinkly finger in my direction. 

"It's because of you! Do you think you can knock out a Prince without any repercussions?!? I've barely prevented a war between nations because of you!" 

Ah....

Yeah, that makes sense. 

"...I never asked you to-" I stop my shameless words as a heavy atmosphere spreads within the office. In the same way a human couldn't fight a waterfall, there was only so much I could do against Humanity's strongest. "..However, I've decided your hard work deserves a reward. I'll answer some questions about the future if you like." 

Keeping an iron plate on my face, the old woman scowls for a moment before sighing. 

".....What Fate are you intervening with?"

Her eyes grow heavy as she imagines the possibilities.

I take a minute to respond, deciding to go for a dramatic pause before speaking in a serious voice. 

"I'm... helping Marcus's younger brother date the Princess." 

"Date the... What?" 

"Princess." 

"....."

"......"

"......"

"......"

After staring at me dumbfounded for a moment, a confused voice spoke. 

"Just for something like that? Is it so important who she dates?" 

"It is to me." 

"...I see. And how long do you plan on staying in 'his' body?" 

"......"

Scratching the back of my head, I quickly decide to be honest. "Not sure where to start looking for a way back. I plan on doing it once I've got this romance thing down." 

I feel a bitterness spread through my mouth but I ignore it.

"Tell me. What do you know of the Passage?" 

Beyond it being a place to make money to buy gifts? 

"It creates monsters." 

The old woman stared at nothing for a moment, "It was written you had asked for it to be created." 

After a moment, I nod. I did ask for more combat and that was what I got. 

"...When I was younger, I often heard that the Creator's temple resides in the deepest part of the Passage."

"Deepest part you say?"

I hadn't explored the Passage even when playtesting. 

"From my understanding, the Passage is guarding the Creator's temple. What's inside the last room though I don’t know." 

"How come?" 

She was one of humanity's strongest. 

If all that was blocking her were monsters, she should be fine. 

The old woman's eyes grew tired as she explained. 

"There are restrictions when entering the Temple. You can only have five people challenge it at the same time, the last room isn't about fighting and finally, you cannot reenter once you've failed."

..huh, there was this much lore behind it.

I never knew. 

"..Challenging the Temple, huh? It's a direction at least. Thanks."

Even if I wasn't hungover, I was nowhere near combat ready.

In the end it's better to bring some people along to help, I can't risk fucking up. 

If the world follows the game plot then I just need to wait a year or two for all the characters to get stronger, in the end I should be able to leave then. 

Allowing 'Marcus' to experience graduation like a regular teen.  

The old woman nodded and I heard the door behind me reopen as she spoke.

"I'd ask for you to not get into any more trouble or attract any more eyes but I can't see it working, so instead. Stay away from romance."

I snort at the old woman's words. "No one's in my strike zone. And I prefer mature women."

"....." 

The Principal's eyes narrow a little and I frown. 

...The mood seems weird. 

"Ahem. Regardless.. I'd have to leave eventually. There's no point in making anyone miss me before I'm gone."

"Hm. A fair point. What are you going to do now?" 

"Who knows, question my existence, chat with my friends. The norm." 

"Do you have friends?" 

"I have Topi."

"........"

".....and Qu- Violet." 

The old woman just lifted an eyebrow and I decided to leave before I continue thinking about my definitely full list of friends. 

"Alright, cya."

"....Goodbye, 'Marcus Glennden.'" 

Christ that was a lot to take in...

Guess I should look for something to eat.