MTLNOVEL Chapter 2
#2. The Angel of the Slums (1)
[Mom: Yuna, are you okay?]
[Mom: You’re not answering my calls or coming home. I’m worried.]
[Mom: If you see this, please call me. Make sure to eat properly.]
“…Mom.”
I stared at the messages flooding my phone before turning my gaze away.
I was standing on the rooftop of a building.
It was dawn, and below, only the occasional car passed by. There wasn’t a single person in sight.
This might be sudden, but I have a confession to make.
I plan to die today.
“Even if the surgery is successful, maintaining your vision will be difficult.”
I have cancer in my eyes.
‘Just my luck.’
Being diagnosed with cancer at such a young age was already ridiculous, but for it to be in my eyes of all places?
‘As if I wasn’t already broke…’
I touched the area around my eyes.
My left eye, where the disease had progressed, was already blind. My right eye was also starting to blur.
“The cancer has already spread to your brain… To be honest, your chances of survival are less than 5%.”
“If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have bothered with grad school.”
I had poured every last bit of money I had into finishing my doctorate, only for it all to become useless.
With a sigh, I took a step forward.
If I was fated to die soon anyway, shouldn’t I at least have the right to choose how?
One more step, and I could finally be at peace.
But then…
[Detecting a vaccine program.]
[Program name: Lee Yuna.]
[Installing……]
“…What?”
A blue window appeared before me.
In a world that had become nothing but a blurry haze, the translucent screen was strangely vivid.
[Wish detected.]
[New Quest!]
[If you successfully fulfill your role, you will be granted full physical recovery, a return to reality, and a generous financial reward.]
[Will you accept?]
[Yes / Yes]
…What the hell is this?
“You’re saying you’ll cure my disease?”
At my murmured question, another message popped up.
[Yes.]
“And you’ll give me money too?”
[We promise a reward equivalent to approximately 100 billion KRW.]
“…Holy shit. I’ll do it.”
The moment I saw the amount, I pressed “Yes” like I was possessed.
Not that I had any other choice.
***
And just like that, I found myself reincarnated.
As a beautiful girl with silver hair and blue eyes named Justinas.
[Main Quest]
Save 1 billion people.
Current count: 0
“…What the hell.”
When I first checked the main quest, I thought my eyes were deceiving me.
1 billion people?
1 BILLION PEOPLE?!
“How the hell am I supposed to save a billion people?!”
Let’s be real—even if I spent my entire life traveling the world, I wouldn’t even get the chance to introduce myself to a billion people.
And now they expect me to save them?
“This is insane.”
Is this even a mission that can be cleared?
[We promise a reward equivalent to approximately 100 billion KRW.]
‘…Screw it. I’m doing it.’
They’re offering 100 billion won and even curing an illness that no amount of money could fix.
The real question is: What exactly counts as ‘saving’ someone?
So, I decided to test it out.
I saw a man collapsed on the street and handed him a bottle of water.
“Sir, please drink this.”
“O-Oh… Thank you, kid.”
As soon as he gulped down the water, my status window changed.
[Main Quest]
Save 1 billion people.
Current count: 1
“…Oh.”
If something this simple counts, then maybe this mission isn’t as impossible as I thought.
And that wasn’t even the end of it.
[Austin feels grateful toward you.]
[Virtue Points +1]
[Tip: You can use Virtue Points to purchase items.]
“Virtue Points…?”
I blinked, and a flashy item shop appeared in midair.
***
[Cleanliness Maintenance: 10,000p]
You will always remain fresh, dry, and fragrant, even without washing. Grants immunity to all diseases.
[Halo Effect: 5,000p]
Makes your back glow as if a light is shining behind you. Others will perceive you as sacred.
[Extra Life: 100,000p]
Grants a one-time resurrection if you die.
[Pain Suppression: 200,000p]
Reduces all pain to less than 10%. You can still die, so be careful.
***
“…They have everything, huh?”
But the prices were way too high for me to afford anything right now.
[Gentle Speech: 1p]
Makes people view you more favorably.
This one, at least, was cheap.
‘Might as well try it out.’
I decided to buy it.
[‘Gentle Speech’ has been applied!]
[Tip: This skill evolves as your Virtue Points accumulate.]
“Ahh—! (What the hell, shit!)”
…Huh?
Startled by my voice, I tried swearing just to check.
“Mmff! Mmff! Mmff! (Shit! Shit! Shit!)”
Crazy.
“Did I just get scammed?”
It was only 1 point, but having my speech forcibly adjusted didn’t feel great.
“Ugh, whatever….”
It didn’t seem like I could turn it off anyway.
Might as well focus on collecting more points.
***
After some experimentation, I discovered a few things.
First:
“Thank you, you’re so kind.”
[Virtue Points +2]
The amount of Virtue Points I earned depended on how genuinely grateful the other person felt toward me.
Second:
“You’re giving this to me, sis? Thanks!”
[Virtue Points +10]
Helping children gave me significantly more points than helping adults.
Third:
“Hey, do you want to live with me?”
“R-Really? Can I?”
[Virtue Points +100]
Taking responsibility for someone gave me a massive amount of points.
And just like that, I unintentionally became a collector of orphans.
‘This is the best way to farm points.’
Kids constantly needed things—shelter, food, water, care…
And as long as I fulfilled their needs, my points kept increasing.
[Virtue Points: 32,435]
This was the result of two years of work.
At first, I wondered if I’d ever be able to afford the 5,000-point skills. But now? I had several of them.
One of the most useful was “Cleanliness Maintenance.”
‘A skill that keeps me fresh without washing—it’s amazing!’
No matter how long I slept, my face never got puffy or oily.
And thanks to its built-in virus-repelling effect, I hadn’t even caught a mild cold.
This alone had dramatically improved my quality of life.
***
[Main Quest]
Save 1 billion people.
Current count: 514
***
…Of course, my actual main quest was still a long way from completion.
“How the hell am I supposed to save a billion people?”
According to the census, this entire planet only had about a billion people.
The mission was practically telling me to save every single person in the world at least once.
“…Do I need to become a war hero or something?”
No, that wouldn’t work. At best, I could save an empire, but that wouldn’t be enough to save the entire world.
Sigh. But I had no choice—I had to do it.
If I kept working at it little by little, maybe, just maybe, I’d get there one day.
Still, I couldn’t deny that I had fallen into a bit of a rut lately.
If I kept increasing the number of children under my care, I could ensure a steady stream of points. Maybe I should buy some useful skills and become a religious figure or something?
After all, “saving” someone didn’t necessarily mean physical rescue.
For example, convincing a suicidal person to find the will to live also counts as saving them.
Bringing peace to the heart. Something like that.
Countless people in the world found salvation through religion.
Though even then, saving the entire world seems impossible…
More than anything, I was still too young.
For now, my top priority was taking care of the orphans and accumulating more points.
That had been my plan—until an unexpected event completely changed my course.
***
It started like any other day.
“Are you okay? You look sick.”
I had found a scrawny boy collapsed in an alleyway.
Nothing unusual about that.
In Kieto, starving children were as common as pebbles on the ground. The only difference was that this boy had been lucky enough to catch my attention.
“Can you stand up?”
I reached out toward what I saw as a walking treasure chest of points.
Black hair? Is it just dirt?
People with black hair didn’t exist in this world.
Even after living in the slums—where people of every race and background gathered—I had never seen a single person with black hair.
I had always assumed it was some kind of genetic peculiarity unique to this world.
So, naturally, I figured this kid’s hair was just darkened by layers of filth. Poor thing.
“I’m Eustinas!”
His pitiful state stirred my sympathy. I quickly introduced myself and offered him some bread.
“Here, eat thi—whoa!”
Before I could even finish my sentence, the boy snatched the bread and devoured it in an instant.
His speed was almost shocking.
***
[Cedric Neon feels gratitude toward you.]
[Virtue Points +100]
***
…Huh?
I froze when I saw the name appear.
For some reason, it felt… familiar.
Have I met him before?
But if that were the case, I was sure I’d remember seeing a boy like him before.
Cedric Neon… Cedric Neon… Cedric Neon?
I repeated his name in my head over and over—until a sudden realization struck me like lightning.
“Taking in a filthy slum rat like me as a companion? Eastern Continent folks are impossible to understand.”
Cedric Neon.
He was…
“A hero’s party in this day and age? It feels like something straight out of an old fairy tale.”
A supporting character in the anime I Reincarnated as an Extra in Another World and Must Defeat the Demon King to Return Home.
“Hey, don’t cry. It’s not like I’m dying for your sake because I like you.”
A character who died in place of the protagonist, leaving him with deep trauma.
“Did you trust me? Too bad. You’re going to die here.”
Later, he betrayed the hero, reappearing as an officer in the Demon King’s army—stabbing him in the back.
Are you kidding me?
This wasn’t just an isekai situation—it was a full-blown anime reincarnation.
And not just any anime—a hero’s journey story, of all things.
The realization was shocking.
I struggled to keep my expression neutral as I asked him,
“Do you want to come live with me?”
Thankfully, he nodded.