Suddenly, fragments of blurry memories came alive in my mind.

'Mom, I will be a mage when I grow up!'

I could tell right away.

This was Baek Yu-Seol's memory.

In other words, the character of Aether World, Baek Yu-Seol, had the same name as the real me.

'Yeah. You can do it.'

In a world where magic was the only law, non-magicians came at the lowest of hierarchy.

Baek's family was pitiful.

Born and raised by Ivani and his father, who could not learn magic, Baek Yu-Seol dreamed of becoming a mage despite the fact that they were hanging beyond the line of poverty.

His parents somehow saved enough money and bought him an expensive second-hand magic book. He devoted himself to studying until his eyes bled.

However, a fatal flaw was found in him.

"Of course, Doctor... Did you say my son has Mana Accumulation Retardation?"

He was unable to accumulate mana in the body. A cursed constitution for a mage, Mana Accumulation Retardation.

To have such an extremely rare constitution that only appeared once in a hundred years, he wanted to curse the world, but he did not give up on his dream of becoming a mage.

Even with the disadvantage of mana accumulation, he could freely use just one magic skill, and that was the 'Flash'. Though, it had a delay period as his mana would exhaust after every activation.

From that day on, he started to hone his Flash skill.

"Huhhhh"

As I breathed air into my lungs and raised my upper body, my mind blanked.

"Ugh, uh... !"

A throbbing pain raided my senses as I couldn't but clutch my head tightly. It came along with the flood of memories that were strange as well as oddly familiar.

In reality, my name was Baek Yu-Seol.

The name of my character which I raised in the game 'Aether World' was also called Baek Yu-Seol.

However, we are not the same.

The real me and Baek Yu-seol in the game are different.

'... That's not it. Were they both me?'

'What the hell...?' When I opened my eyes and looked around, I realised that the place where I was lying was falling apart.

Woo!!

A mediaeval board swayed under the cold winter wind and hit the ground!

It was torn apart due to the impact, followed by a disturbing sound.

While curling up in the stinging cold, I accidentally discovered a mirror; it was broken and left lying in a corner, neglected.

My next action was almost instinctive.

I picked up the mirror to see my face, and soon I couldn't help but doubt my eyes.

"... I've gotten younger, haven't I?"

I was 29 years old.

I used to hear a lot that I looked young for my age, but I still didn't have this teenager-like face.

My face in the mirror seemed youthful as if time had gone back to when I was in middle and high school.

It was difficult to understand the situation properly.

At that moment, a message hovered in the air, barring my vision.

[Avoid the pursuers and run away!]

"Ehh...?"

Rather than a message hovering in the mid-air, I was more surprised by the fact that it was such a familiar phrase.

'Wasn't that the Prologue Quest of the character 'Baek Yu-seol'?'

The game 'Aether World' ran with a myriad of characters, and most of the episodes started with the entrance ceremony at the academy.

However, the weird thing was that this episode started with me running away from the pursuer.

"No way."

I knew the reason very well, so I had no choice but to get up.

I was wearing an old and worn out commoner's outfit with a twist of fantasy vibe. A dagger was tied to my belt for self-defence along with a water bottle.

In the waist pocket, there were biscuits and miscellaneous items such as a few pennies and a certificate of admission to Stella Academy.

"... Is that for real?"

It was precisely Baek Yu-Seol's starting item list.

I hurriedly stroked and pinched myself, but the reality before my eyes stubbornly stuck around me, making me aware that this was no dream.

In the first place, the chilling cold I felt assured me that this was a reality.

'At least...'

Since most of the other characters were from aristocratic families, they had quite generous starting items.

However, because Baek Yu-Seol came from a poor commoner family, he started with nothing.

Such a disadvantage was a good thing for a hard-core gamer, but in reality, it didn't mean anything.

"I have to think calmly."

I hurriedly looked for the memories of the moments before I fell here.

'True Ending.'

I was sure it said something like that.

But, this was an otome-game with multiple-ending and a single 'True ending' didn't exist at all.

"Is it possible that for over 10 years, no other users have seen the end of the game?"

It was understandable that no one had reached the true end of the game.

"Damn it."

I put the matter of true ending for later and quickly decided to grasp the situation that was right in front of me.

Snowy mountains in a blizzard, a crumbling hut, a dagger, and a certificate of admission.

'As far as I can remember, as soon as I woke up, the pursuers came into the hut...'

As those thoughts fell, I could hear the sound of footsteps from far away.

"You bastard, how far will you run!"

"There is a hut over there!"

"Go and search!"

'I'm fucked.'

I bent down and hid under the half-broken board, to not get caught right away, but it was only a matter of time before they could catch me.

I checked the pursuers' weapons and stuff through the holes in the board.

Armour made of steel or something unknown and weapons with mysterious magic runes on them.

In this world, those weapons were something only street mercenaries who were at the bottom in terms of combat power would use.

However, the only combat experience I had in my life was as an elementary school kid in the neighbourhood, so even if they were not magic weapons, my demise was set in stone.

'What should I do? How should...'

[You can use the skill 'Flash'.]

Something flickering in front of me.

The moment I recall those familiar words, a message hovered before my eyes.

[Flash]

[Class: 0]

[Maximum Range: 9m]

[Maximum Charge: 1]

[Cooldown: 3 seconds]

The only hope and magic skill given to me, Baek Yu-Seol, was 'Flash'.

And it was a skill that I practised the hardest throughout my life.

However, it was in a mouse and keyboard game......!!

But, there was no way it was possible anymore. Because the sound of footsteps creeped closer and closer.

I gritted my teeth, got up from my place, opened the door of the hut, and ran out.

"I found him!"

"Catch him and kill him!"

The worst downside of Flash was that if you fail to control the range, you might crash into an object and die.

However, it would be different when I use it.

'Haven't I already used it countless times?'

Instinct understands timing better than the brain.

[Flash]

In an instant, my body was teleported toward the front, and a tree that seemed far away appeared in front of me instantly.

"What, what!"

"Flash? Was he a mage?!"

Some of the pursuers panicked, but the experienced ones were already pointing weapons at me.

They were aiming for the 2 seconds of stiffness that followed immediately after using Flash.

However, such a limit didn't apply to me.

Because I'm Baek Yu-Seol, the Flash Mage.