Back when I was still a high school student.
[You, the first awakener! You are so incredibly lucky! Especially for you, the first to awaken! We are calculating the most suitable job for you based on your personality and aptitudes. Please wait a moment!]
"? "
A strange screen and message suddenly appeared before my eyes.
[Scan results: You, who can tame animals better than anyone! But based on your aptitude for acting normal on the outside while having perverted tastes inside... Congratulations! You have awakened as a Pig Farmer!]
"??? "
A transparent screen popped up in front of my eyes as I was dozing off, hiding from the teacher's gaze during the moral studies class—the perfect class for a good sleep. Naturally, thinking I must have been so sleepy I was seeing things, I just laid my head down and fell asleep right there.
But a few days after that, a big commotion erupted at school when some guy suddenly started spewing fire from his hands during class.
Moreover, the panicked guy swung his hands around, setting fire(?) to various places, which caused quite a scene—firefighters and police were dispatched to control the situation, and the whole neighborhood was in an uproar.
The guy claimed that a nonsensical message—'You have awakened as a Flame Wizard'—suddenly appeared before his eyes, and when he tried to swipe it away, fire suddenly shot from his hand.
Of course, no one believed him.
From the start, his behavior had been poor; he even smoked secretly behind the teachers' backs. Based on the lighter found on him, the firefighters concluded it was just a minor incident of him playing with fire during class, and the case was closed!
Or so I thought.
But it turned out this wasn't just a minor incident limited to our neighborhood.
All over the world, people like that guy at school—those who could shoot fire and lightning from their bare hands without any tools or lift steel beams at construction sites with their slender hands—began to appear.
These individuals, transcending ordinary humans, claimed to have seen message windows stating they had awakened into jobs that seemed straight out of RPG games, like warriors or mages, just as the fire-starting guy had said. This phenomenon occurred not only in Korea but also in Japan, China, and all over the world.
And not long after that, as if waiting for human evolution, strange creatures began to appear worldwide.
Goblins and orcs emerged, alongside monsters that seemed straight out of RPG games. Naturally, a hunter society formed, where those who had awakened hunted these creatures and gathered resources from them.
In just ten years, those who called themselves hunters affiliated with nations or formed their own groups.
Humanity, which had started walking on two legs and building its own civilization, was now experiencing an unprecedented rate of change.
...Or so they say.
But back then, watching the hunters being hailed as heroes and treated like celebrities in the media, I thought it had nothing to do with me.
Of course, ten years ago, when the first awakeners said they saw a transparent screen like I did, I was thrilled. No, 'thrilled' doesn't even cover it—I felt like shouting from the rooftops.
But that feeling was short-lived. Soon, I couldn't help but feel disappointed.
Well, because I'm a Pig Farm Owner, right?
What kind of job is this, anyway?
While others were awakening into the four major jobs representative of RPG games, I got a different job—and not even a combat one at that.
What if I went out, boasting about my awakening, and someone asked about my job?
'Excuse me, but what is your job?'
'Ah, I'm a Pig Farm Owner!'
Yeah, let's just forget it.
Besides, nothing particularly special happened after that, so I naturally forgot about the whole thing. Shortly after being discharged from the military, I decided to take over my father's pig farm and started learning the ropes from him.
A year? Two years? I'm not sure how much time passed.
Finally, yesterday, after my father retired and told me I was on my own, I, today, finally gained the honor of putting down roots in this holy ground where the hero of our family—who had supported us for 40 years with his blood, sweat, and grace—had worked.
The smell of pig poop wafting from all directions, as always.
Far from being repulsed, it was a familiar smell, my father's smell, making me truly feel that I was now following in his footsteps. Just as I grabbed the doorknob of the pigpen—
Ba-ba-ba-bam!
Suddenly, a fanfare started playing from somewhere.
[Welcome! If you are seeing this screen now, first of all, I'd like to congratulate you!]
"What the fuck?!"
Startled by this message window that popped up without any warning, I cursed out loud.
Thanks to that, Ddongchi, the guard dog who was fast asleep, startled by my loud voice, flapped around like a live fish out of water.
[But you have just stepped out of being a novice! Surely you don't think that just because you learned the job from your veteran farm owner father, you are now a fully-fledged farm owner, do you?!]
"Are you watching me or something?"
What is it saying, appearing after 10 years?
Other awakeners said they only saw a message stating what job they awakened into, nothing more. Seeing all this trivial talk, either they secretly hid what they saw, or I'm the only one seeing these additional messages?
I looked around, but I couldn't feel anyone watching me. The only one looking at me was Ddongchi, the guard dog, still wide-eyed, staring at me intently.
Not knowing what would happen, I reached out to the message window to see what it was saying. The message disappeared, and the next one appeared.
[First of all, you! Even though you were the first to awaken, you've been a lazy pig, wasting precious food and living comfortably under your father's care, warm and well-fed!]
"What do you mean, lazy pig?!"
[There is much to learn to develop this farm, built by your grandfather, and make it prosper.]
"Things to learn? I thought I learned most of what I needed from my father?"
When to feed them, how to give injections, how to tell what's wrong and what's not, etc.—I thought I'd learned most of the basics.
[If you were an ordinary farm owner, that would be the case!]
"…"
This bastard seems to be listening to me.
Worried I might say something rash in the heat of the moment, I kept my mouth shut, and the message started appearing again.
[Now, before we proceed, please take a look at this data screen!]
The screen, which had only been showing text, stretched out, and a picture began to appear.
A forest fire picture I'd seen in a textbook once? Something similar appeared, and as I tilted my head, a message popped up.
[That is the future of this farm if you fail this tutorial!]
"This... this thing burning fiercely right now—is that our farm?"
[Yes]
Looking closely at the picture, indeed, the mountain ridge in the background resembled this place, and looking at the burnt building pillars and the pillars here, it certainly seemed plausible.
I don't know what's going on, but if failing the tutorial results in the farm burning down, what kind of choice-based crap game is this?
[This tutorial was planned based on the adult games you usually play, you know?]
...So it reads minds, huh?
More than that, it even knows I play eroge?!
[Of course, that includes your sexual preferences and proclivities.]
The message spoke as if it knew everything about me. I sighed briefly but soon realized that if this message wasn't nonsense, I was in a major crisis and opportunity that could determine the rest of my life.
It's hard to believe, popping up after 10 years and suddenly saying you're in crisis, but just in case, it wouldn't hurt to be cautious.
[You're quick to judge the situation. Then I'll continue right away.]
After a pause of a few seconds, as if clearing its throat, the message appeared again.
[First, you, the first awakener! Despite being the first awakener and gaining the privilege of awakening into a special job, what is this?! You awakened into a non-combat job! If things continue like this, the possibility of you enduring the harsh storms to come is 0 percent! For you, who bears the title of 'first' yet couldn't even protect your own assets, we have prepared this tutorial!]
It talks nicely after threatening that everything will be shattered if I fail the tutorial.
[Your job, Pig Farm Owner, literally means the ruler of all pigs on the farm! It was only natural for you, who admired your father's back and followed in his footsteps, to awaken into this job!]
It's too embarrassing to say in front of my father, but...
This bastard messenger doesn't seem to have any qualms about blabbing other people's inner thoughts.
[But unlike the word 'ruler,' you possess miserable combat power, unable to protect even your own body or assets from the coming storms. We do not wish to see you, especially you who bears the title of 'first,' fall so meaninglessly.]
"Storms?"
I thought if I failed, the farm would explode like a bomb was planted, but that's not it? It sounds like there's some other factor... I remained silent to hear more.
The message continued.
[So I thought! If the ruler, the monarch of the pigs, lacks combat ability, shouldn't they fight using the pigs under their command?!]
"Whaaat?!"
What kind of bullshit is this?!