Current time, 8 PM. 「Dong-! Dong-! Dong-! Dong-! Dong-! Dong-! Dong-! Dong-!」 The grandfather clock chimed right on time. Perhaps because it was night, the sound struck my ears with unusual harshness today. “Ended up working Overtime again today. Gotta finish up quickly and head home.” Habitually muttering to myself, I sped up the closing process. ㅡClatter, clatter...!
ㅡSqueak, squeak! Washing the mountain of cups piled in the sink took ages. Simple labor is always the most tedious. Why were there so many dishes, you ask?
Simply because there were so many Guests.
After John Johnson first visited, they all swarmed in at once. Of course, those Guests were all Academy Faculty members. Thanks to my year of experience working at a cafe with a bakery during college, it was work I was somewhat used to. Even so... when guests flood in all at once, dishes inevitably pile up, no matter how fast you move. “Even if they worked Overtime after a long time, they’re really too much. The cafe’s closing time is 6 PM......” The Faculty originally preferred to leave work on time.
But it seemed unavoidable today.
This made sense, as the New Semester starts tomorrow. Because of that, the Faculty members who finished their unwanted Overtime swarmed in like a pack of dogs exactly before 6 PM. Calling it Overtime, how is leaving before 6 PM Overtime? They even get Overtime Pay punctually. As far as I knew, they were also supposed to receive a Retirement Pension later. It was an Adamantium tier pension at that!
I didn't know what their salaries were,
But I envied the Faculty's Work-Life Balance.
Looking at the conditions alone, it was practically God's Workplace. 'What? They complain like they’re dying after doing just about an hour of Overtime Work?' Most of the Faculty who stopped by here after work had an obvious purpose. They would vent their work stress over coffee and unload their grumbling onto me. While drinking free coffee and tea, no less.
I received Tips very occasionally,
But since there was no way to leave the Academy, I didn't really have anything to spend money on. “Still, compared to John Johnson, everyone else is relatively kind......” While wiping the last cup with a towel, I mulled over the faces of the Faculty members I'd met this past month. The Dwarf John Johnson from the General Affairs Department,
The Elf Erdin from the Management Department,
The Lion Beastkin Berman from the Security Department,
The Woodman (木人) Indrako from the Academic Affairs Department. Up to this point, they were all Section Chief Level. Besides them, countless other faculty members had passed through the Lounge and Cafe. A perceptive person might have noticed,
But this place was only crawling with Other races.
I was the only Human here.
To them, I suppose I was also one of the Other races. Furthermore, I wasn't a Faculty member.
Just a Servant, no different from a Slave.
A body dragged here for committing a crime.
That's why I didn't have a set quitting time either. Calling me a Servant and Dormitory Supervisor sounded nice, but for One Semester, I was no different from a Prisoner sentenced to Hard Labor. Why whine about being a Slave for just One Semester? Why else? Since this academy was only attended by Dragons, One Semester here was roughly 50 years long. That's why complaints about my situation came out naturally, even if I didn't want to whine. My current age is Twenty-Six...... To be liberated from this damn place and become a Freeman, I'd have to be at least Seventy. 'Damn it, even one month felt incredibly long, but I have 49 years and 11 months left......!' ㅡTrickle...! Hot water flowed from the kettle in place of my tears. The hot water dampened the coffee filter, not my eyes. Having finally finished my Daily Routine, I could now brew a cup of coffee just for myself. ㅡDrip, drip, drip...! Dark coffee gathered through the filter.
Watching the coffee drip like this,
My mind felt strangely at ease. 'Damn it, how did I end up in this state?' I perched on the table, waiting for the coffee to finish brewing, recalling the wretched Starting Point of Fate. * Exactly one month ago. [!!Destiny Dragons Grand OPEN!!] An internet ad banner I stumbled upon by chance.
This was the root of all problems.
The Starting Point of Fate, that is. ㅡClick! As if drawn by something, I clicked the banner.
It was as if the mouse cursor moved on its own.
Anyway, clicking the shoddy ad banner opened the game's download page. Illustrations of numerous moe-fied Dragons tempted me to download the game. Looking it over briefly, it was, as expected, a common, run-of-the-mill Collection-Type Gacha Game. The game concept was to collect Heroines of various Attributes to clear the Story. It looked like a typical Mass-Produced Game, nothing special. Despite that, I...... [Download ‘Destiny Dragons’?] The game illustrations were quite well-drawn, so out of curiosity, I installed the game without hesitation. Besides, I had just quit the company I'd worked at for nearly two years, so I had plenty of time. I also had some financial leeway, so I thought I'd splurge on gacha for the first time in a while. “Huh? But this...... It was a game based on an original work?” After downloading the game, I searched for information related to Destiny Dragons, such as Gacha Tips and Strategy Guides. Rather than mindless spending, I preferred to plan strategically and decide what to pull before rolling the gacha, so I gathered preliminary information. But...... “Why is there no information other than this?” An Online Community for Destiny Dragons existed, but strangely, there wasn't a single post related to the game. Something felt fishy. No matter how abandoned a forum board is, there should at least be some junk posts or advertisements...... I should have stopped there.
But I was too bored back then.
And the game installation was already complete. Maybe it was because the game had just launched today without even a Closed Beta, I thought dismissively. With the careless mindset of trying just a little, I boldly charged 1 million won. Whales might scoff at calling that bold, but spending 1 million won on a game with no information was an enormous gamble. And the result of that gamble was...... “One R-Rank and the rest all N-Rank......?” Predictably, only my wallet was massacred.
Yet, I still didn't come to my senses.
Dismissing it as just bad luck, I threw in another 1 million won. But the result was the same this time too.
I liked the illustrations,
But I didn't like the character Ranks at all. 'No matter how unlucky I am, how can I not even get a single SR-Rank, let alone an SSR-Rank?' Yes, I admit it. I was a sucker.
And this game was also somehow flawed.
These were definitely not normal gacha rates. Therefore, I immediately went to the Developer Company's website and wrote a detailed Inquiry message. With a title that would startle the operator and make them check immediately. [Inquiry Title: Diamond Duplication Bug Found] It was an Aggro Title unrelated to the actual content. Game Companies are always more sensitive to issues with their payment systems than things like Bug Reports. I used this fact to submit an Inquiry with an Aggro Title. 「Content: I found a bug that duplicates diamonds infinitely... just kidding? Hey Game Devs? What's the SSR-Rank probability here? How come there's no guaranteed pull, and, after spending 2 million won, I couldn't even get a single SR-Rank...... This looks like a probability error to me. If you have any conscience, please issue a refund immediately or at least provide some compensation. I'm the idiot for spending 2 million won on this crappy gatcha game.」 I figured a refund would be difficult anyway, so I just vented my frustrations. I didn't expect a proper response either.
I just wanted to express my frustration.
However, 5 minutes after I submitted the Inquiry. ㅡDing! A surprisingly proper response arrived from the GM in the game messages. 「Hello User! Were you surprised by the Server Error? The Gacha Ticket consumption occurred normally, but we would like to offer Compensation to you, User, who were surely shocked. As Compensation for the Gacha Tickets, we will send you an Origin Rank character.」 [Click here to receive the Compensation.] 'Huh? They're giving Compensation so readily?' I thought it was just a ghost company that would suck up money initially and disappear, but surprisingly they offered compensation. By the way, Origin Rank?
It's a rank I've never heard of.
Is it a hidden rank above UR-Rank? ㅡClick! There was no reason to refuse, so I clicked the link immediately. “Hm? What’s this?” With the click, an illustration of a rather handsome Silver Hair male character popped up. He had black eyes but exuded an overall exotic atmosphere. 「‘Origin’ Rank - Breeder」 [Are you sure you want to receive the Compensation? Once decided, the choice cannot be reversed. Just like the fate of the Drango Continent.] And below the illustration was the text above. I just assumed it was some plausible-sounding phrase added to enhance immersion in the Story. 'Ha, but I didn't install this game to pull a male character......' I experienced momentary internal conflict,
But I didn't really have any other options.
Either I receive something or lose 2 million won outright. Still, if it's a rare rank, maybe I could make much more profit just by selling the account. ㅡClick! With this thought, I pressed the accept button without hesitation. But at the same time...... ㅡFwoosh! The screen flashed white, and my vision went dark. That was it. I had fallen into the game. And when I opened my eyes, I found myself Possessed in the body of the ‘Breeder’ I had received as Compensation. 'Damn game. Just because I wrote a little complaint letter, they Isekai'd me......' ㅡSip...! I took a sip of the drip coffee, savoring the bitterness. Still, the coffee tastes good.
Indeed, coffee after a day's work is refreshing.
I should just drink this today and head back to my Lodging early. While soothing my complicated feelings with a cup of coffee. ㅡKnock, knock, knock...! “Mr. Breeder? Are you inside?” “Hm?” With the knocking sound, a Clear and Serene Female Voice came from beyond the Lounge door. I definitely hung the 「CLOSE」 sign outside the door.

Servant of the Dragon Academy