Surviving as a Con Artist at the Academy

---

267th Chapter. Dantia Aligieri

On the surface, he appeared to be an adult man, yet his physical age was that of a primary school student.

This was my… Choi Soo-hyun’s physical flaw.

It’s laughable that I found out about this only when it was already too late.

Had I known my body was inherently so dull, I would have taken action earlier.

Why couldn’t I notice this curse?

I felt truly unfair.

I was on the verge of losing my sanity, yet I didn’t have the confidence to cause a bloodbath.

I could just die without achieving anything.

The only thing that could comfort me was the game.

Since I had only a dying body, did it really matter if I did what I wanted?

Yeah, if I just quietly passed away, I could consider it a comfortable euthanasia.

‘Let’s just think positively. Positively….’

Positively…

With the utmost comfort…

‘Ha…’

That wasn’t possible.

What kind of fool thinks positively about dying?

Trying to force myself to be positive only backfired.

Unbeknownst to me, a deep instinct began to sprout within me, compelling me to survive at all costs.

Perhaps that’s why.

The moment I was transported to this world and realized it was within the Devilaka universe,

I instinctively surrendered my body to that instinct.

With a fanatical desire to live.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

“To be honest, I wanted to live. Dying young was scarier than I had expected.”

Right before my death, I found myself suddenly summoned into the world of Devilaka?

Of course, it felt unfamiliar at first.

What was I supposed to do with this body called Radon Crawler?

This damned body bogged down by Liara’s hesitation.

“But aside from those worries, another sentiment began to blossom in my heart.”

Gratitude for being able to restart my life.

It was a feeling I experienced alongside my anxiety.

Liara’s curse: if I couldn’t lie, I would die.

It was then I finally understood why this extra character Radon Crawler became a liar.

If I hadn’t possessed this body, I thought the original Radon would have died unaware of the curse.

Just like I did back when I was Choi Soo-hyun.

“Of course, it wasn’t without hardships.”

As you might know, Radon Crawler was just a disposable side character.

And because he wasn’t on the side of good, he already had a lot of karma built up before I’d inhabited the body.

Thanks to that, I was also threatened by Jenny from the start and had even frozen in fear at one point.

With the stigma of being a scammer, everyone looked at me with distrustful eyes.

Still, I didn’t want to give up.

I refused to let my life turn out like before.

“And the curse didn’t only affect me.”

I’m not just referring to Liara’s curse.

Just as I was born with a physical flaw, others were also experiencing similar circumstances.

-Jenny lost her mother due to a congenital power she didn’t want, and she loathed herself for being swayed by that power.

-Luska, who was born in a harsh environment and lost his mother, became hostile towards the world and lost his will to live upon realizing he had harmed his younger sibling, whom he was supposed to protect.

-Mary, despite her innocent appearance, harbored a demon king within, burdened by the guilt of having triggered the Demon Beast War thirty years ago.

-Nebia, aside from being abandoned with her family in the slums, lost her father and brother, leaving her home even worse off, and if she hadn’t been chosen as a saint, she would have likely hanged herself.

Perhaps that was it. I had to prevent them from falling off the cliff.

There were reasons for maintaining the story’s flow and personal circumstances, but I felt compelled to stop their destruction for some reason.

They all had at least once thought, “Should I even continue living?”

Jenny felt that way because of her guilt over her mother’s death.

Luska thought so when he realized his revenge was meaningless.

Mary felt that shock because of her identity as a demon king.

Especially Nebia, who wanted to die upon realizing she was worthless.

“I was desperate to live, yet I couldn’t stand how easily they wanted to give it all up.”

That might be why I wanted to show them what life truly was.

I wanted them to realize, ‘Oh, I truly am a needed presence in this world.’

Giving up on life while being so full of youth grossed me out.

“And your son goes without saying.”

The one who was the epitome of giving up was Lyman.

I felt as if he was the reason I was drawn into Devilaka.

“In the end, curses can eventually be lifted.”

Freeing Lyman, my only child, from the shackles of responsibility.

That was the goal of the Great Sage Dantia.

And that goal was now approaching its fruition.

Dantia said to me,

“Thank you for all the help you’ve given that child.”

“Thanks? I’m the one who should be grateful.”

I expressed my appreciation to her for saving me from my predicament.

Had she not made me inhabit this world, I might have done terrible things just to survive.

Beneath that quiet facade, I was on the brink of madness back then.

Still, there’s room for leniency for sending me over without any consultation.

“But why did it take ten years to possess me?”

It took nearly ten years from the release of Devilaka until my terminal diagnosis.

I wondered what Dantia had been up to during that time.

She began to explain that.

“Basically, I was looking for someone suitable for possession. First of all, it needed to be someone who was good at my game or thoroughly knowledgeable about the lore, right?”

“What if that person refused?”

“Yeah, that was the problem.”

As mentioned earlier, even an experienced player has family and friends.

You can’t just forcibly drag an ordinary person out without a trace.

So, I was chosen because I could no longer live.

“Finding someone like me wouldn’t be easy. Ten years wouldn’t be surprising.”

“That’s not all. It also took time to develop this.”

Dantia gestured, and something appeared in thin air.

It was the interface of Devilaka, familiar to my eyes. The very system window I always used.

“No matter how experienced someone is, surviving in our world with just that knowledge is tough. So I created this to make it easier for you to gain power.”

In fact, I had constantly relied on the system window for assistance.

From acquiring credits to leveling up my stats and skills, I became stronger thanks to the system window.

Most importantly, being able to check the curse’s erosion rate greatly benefited my survival.

“Wait, but why was it specifically this cursed body I possessed?”

The more I thought about it, the weirder it seemed.

It was good to be free from the terminal illness, but did it really need to be this Radon Crawler character?

Once again, Dantia began to explain this matter.

“The only body suitable for possession was this one. Because that body… belonged to the bloodline of Makia.”

This time, Dantia spoke with a considerably serious tone.

Since it was tied to that psycho demon king, it carried a sense of weight.

The one responsible for putting her in this state was none other than him.

“Makia broke taboos and gained a special privilege. Originally, the cost for violating those taboos should have fallen on Makia. However, he was able to pass that cost onto his bloodline instead.”

That was possible thanks to the Destruction God.

He broke the world’s taboos with the power of the Destruction God and sought to dodge the consequences by borrowing that power again.

In the end, innocent people like Radon, his daughter, were cursed.

“Generally, those who are cursed find it easier to experience out-of-body experiences. Possession or reincarnation tends to be less difficult.”

“So that’s why this body got chosen.”

“Other ordinary bodies weren’t suitable for that, so attempts couldn’t even be made.”

In conclusion, that meant Radon Crawler was indeed the most suitable body.

It made sense, especially since he was enrolled in the Aligieri Academy where the protagonist attended.

“And remember this: defeating the Destruction God doesn’t mean your curse will be lifted.”

That wasn’t false. As if to prove it, the erosion rate was still rising.

But didn’t I die just once a moment ago? Shouldn’t that have freed me?

What a truly spiteful curse.

“That curse isn’t one granted by the Destruction God, but a consequence of violating the world’s taboos.”

The Destruction God Endless merely changed the target of the curse. The source of the curse couldn’t be attributed to him.

However, it was impossible to twist the laws of the world.

“In the main game, you can lift curses using Eternal Flame and Archive.”

“Right. That would free Mirona… Maya, and our Lyman from their curses. But….”

Only one of the two can survive.

Starting to lift the curse was good, but the sudden backlash from the curse would cause the body to collapse.

To prevent this, Lyman would sacrifice himself, handing over all his life force to her.

Since he had already lost his heart, even if the curse were lifted, he wouldn’t live long.

“Lyman, just like me, has inherited the blood of an evil god. Even without a heart, he can survive for a few years.”

He certainly had a life force that surpassed humans.

If he had managed to survive even like that, at least he could have spent the remaining time with Mirona.

“And Eternal Flame, in truth, was created from the light I generated by breaking taboos.”

“So, it’s like spreading light across the entire continent. That means….”

“The saints born from absorbing that light can also be said to be Eternal Flame itself.”

I had often wondered why the erosion rate decreased or the silence was lifted whenever Nebia and Angela gathered.

This meant there was no need to struggle all the way to graduation after all.

“Of course, initially, those kids were inexperienced, so they couldn’t fully harness the power of the flames.”

“But, you see, lifting the curse would cause the curse to fight back and eat away at my body, right?”

In fact, Mirona in the main story almost died because of that. Were it not for Lyman’s sacrifice, she would have.

“I thought about it deeply, and I honestly think we need another entity with wicked power that can interfere with that curse.”

“Wicked power…?”

“Conveniently, there’s one near you. That short pink-haired girl.”

Mary, she was referring to the demon king.

“The reason I failed to break the curse in the future I saw was precisely because of that. But now things are different.”

It was a very hopeful situation.

Now, just by using Archive, all conditions needed to lift the curse were fulfilled.

“Not just the curse on you, but also the special privilege imposed on her can be released.”

Makia’s privilege was reincarnation and possession.

If that were lifted, her life would come to an end forever.

“Actually, I ended up causing Lyman to be cursed with immortality because of the Eternal Flame.”

“….”

“It turns out he’s been suffering because of me.”

Dantia still seemed to feel deeply sorry for her son.

Lyman himself had resentments towards his mother for the unwanted immortality.

At that moment, Dantia’s body began to fade away.

And….

“It’s almost time to say goodbye.”

I too was fading away to return to reality.

“I’ll now cease to exist in this world. I’ve squeezed out my last strength to give you the power to live.”

How sad it must be for her to leave without even conversing with her son.

She approached me and extended her hand.

“Give me your hand.”

As she said, I reached out. And at the moment of our handshake, something was transmitted into me.

“This is….”

“Show this to the current principal of Aligieri Academy. It will help.”

“And there are several other things in my mind….”

“You’ve struggled a lot adapting to this unfamiliar world, right? This is a gift for that.”

Now, even the hand we held was starting to vanish.

The moment of complete farewell was approaching.

“Convey to Lyman that I’m truly sorry, that I always loved him. And….”

This time, with one last word to me, she completely vanished.

“Thank you so much for being my son’s friend.”

With that, my conversation with the creator of Devilaka and the Great Sage Dantia came to an end.

“Not exactly a friend, though.”

As I quietly mumbled, the scenery around me began to change suddenly.

Somehow, my eyelids were closed, and I opened my eyes, looking disheveled.

In the open field of vision, there were the girls who had always been by my side.

“Welcome back, Radon.”

“We’ve been waiting a while.”

“Friend!”

“Please don’t make us wait next time, Senpai.”

Their expressions were varied, but they all looked angelic; it wasn’t just my imagination.

Surviving as an Academy Scammer