'Thanks to this unexpected Blessing, my presence is currently on par with an SS+ Ranker, despite the fact that I'm nothing more than an F- ranker, a mere bottom feeder in the World's rankings. It's almost laughable how a single stat, breaking its limits with the help of this Blessing, has granted me the appearance and aura of someone far more powerful. Yet, beneath that façade, my actual abilities and status remain depressingly weak.
The real issue, however, isn't the presence itself—it's the trait the world decided to bestow upon me. In the game, such personality traits are typically overlooked, having minimal impact on the overall experience. They usually only influence dialogue options, occasionally causing small drops in NPC favorability. And even then, that can easily be recovered with the right actions.
In the game, it was all in good fun—watching your character speak with an over-the-top, 8th-grader Syndrome or Chūnibyō style, delivering ridiculous lines to NPCs. But this is the real world, where a misplaced word or gesture could get you killed in an instant. If I were to speak like a monarch to the real Emperor, wouldn't that result in an immediate execution?
If I had possessed that trait alone, without the Blessing, it wouldn't have been much of an issue. The trait itself required a certain level of attention to activate—who would even spare a glance at an exiled noble, stripped of their title, now nothing more than a commoner? But with the Blessing of Charisma, everything changed. Now, I'm like a living, breathing sun, radiating an aura that demands attention. Who in the World could ignore someone who, despite having the mana of a bottom feeder, exudes the unmistakable presence of a top-tier Ranker?
I have to do something about this Presence. If I want to survive in this world' thought Ashok.
Ashok set aside his overwhelming charisma and the trait that came with it, focusing instead on the task at hand as he donned the Academy's uniform. The simple act of wearing the uniform felt like a return to normalcy, but in his mind, the wheels were already turning, he was analyzing every possible way he could get stronger than the true Main Character with his current status.
His thoughts raced through each run he had played in the game, dissecting everything related to weapons, magic, and attributes. Getting rid of even one of three Divine Grade curses on him would require the interference of another God. But not just any god—only those with a specific Divinity related to purification, a power that is held only by two gods. Both of them belonged to the Heavenly Faction. There was no way he could ask for help from the same Faction to which the God of Fate belonged.
It took him nearly twenty minutes just to wear the uniform while he went through every single one of his runs. He was methodical, segregating his future actions according to the semesters of the Academy, planning out each move with precision. His goals for the First Semester were:
1. Acquiring an Artifact that Suppresses His Overwhelming Presence - Extreme Priority
2. A Backer to support him in the future - Money
3. Mastering his Gravity Soul Trait - Currently, his only way of Fighting
4. Acquiring a Different Kind of Weapon that does not come under the Curse.
5. Securing a Bodyguard - For Unforseenable circumstances.
6. Getting a Physique-Related Trait - For Long Run Growth.
'If the story moves according to the game, then I will be raising the most absurd character of my life,' thought Ashok a smirk forming on his lips and he opened the small pouch and flipped it over his hand.
5 shimmering gold coins glinted in the light fell on his hands.
'I should say, if I had started from a rural area or the slums, this would have been an excessive amount. But here, in the capital, this is negligible at best.
Well, what can I say, I haven't been on the choosing side since my transmigration.'
"Inventory," Ashok thought, and with that, both his Identity card and the gold coins disappeared from his hand, vanishing into the void of his storage. 'Well, this one is simple to use'
His gaze then shifted to the shirt he was wearing, which still bore faint blood stains from his earlier encounters. An idea sparked in his mind. With the need to conceal his identity until he could get into the Academy, he decided to make a makeshift mask—something to hide his face from the common public.
He used the shard he had in hand to rip apart the shirt, the fabric tearing effortlessly under his touch. Within moments, he fashioned a crude bandana that covered most of his face, leaving only his eyes exposed. It was far from perfect, but it would do for now.
'In the game, it wasn't possible to make this kind of bandana out of a shirt. Only real life allows for innovation like this.'
Leaving behind the shard and the tattered shirt in the cupboard, Ashok exited his room and descended the stairs, his steps echoing in the quiet inn. He was staying on the second floor, and as he moved down, he felt that the inn felt unusually still this morning, a stark contrast to the busy atmosphere he had expected. As his gaze shifted toward the main hall, his eyes fell on the empty tables and chairs.
'At least nobody is here', Ashok thought, feeling a brief sense of relief as he scanned the hall. But the moment his eyes fell on the receptionist, he realized just how wrong he was.
The receptionist, a teenage girl who most likely was the daughter of the Innkeeper, slumped behind the corner of the reception, her face an unnatural shade of pale. Her body was motionless, clearly having fainted from the sheer weight of Ashok's presence. The absence of other customers made sense to him now. They had fled the moment they felt his overwhelming pressure, unable to stay in the face of it. But the poor girl hadn't been so fortunate.