2. A Different World Beyond the Alley (1)
40 years ago.
The universe had been cruel.
Twenty-five-year-old Lee Jeong-jin had known how cruel and cold the world could be, but never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that cruelty extended to the scale of the universe.
Early 21st century. December 24th.
Past 11 p.m.
"Solo again today."
Jeong-jin fiddled with the smartphone in one hand, uploading a post to social media. In his other hand, he carried a bag of takeout.
Lee Jeong-jin had lucked out, stopping by a Chinese restaurant that was still open late to pack jjamppong and mini sweet and sour pork, and was now walking home.
At the time, he was nothing more than one of the countless job seekers milling about. His biggest concerns were, first, finding a career, and second, deciding whether to find a new part-time job or devote himself entirely to finding a new job while surviving on his savings.
A man who enjoyed being alone by nature, the sad fact that he had no girlfriend didn't bother him much. It was simply that, on a special day like Christmas, the sentimentality of being solo had prompted him to write such a post.
Right now, what mattered more than not having a girlfriend was that he had quit the part-time job he had worked for the past year. Truthfully, the jjamppong and mini sweet and sour pork he had bought on the way were, from his perspective, an enormous expense.
"Damn it. At this rate, how long I can last is..."
Jeong-jin fiddled with an app, mentally calculating his account balance and monthly expenses. Since he had never developed the habit of carefully managing his money, his spending was far greater than he'd thought.
It was only because his previous workplace had operated on a day-evening-night three-shift schedule, twelve hours a day, that he could even afford this. Otherwise, he would never have had the guts to eat out immediately after quitting a part-time job like this.
"Day-evening-night, my ass..."
Of course, during the interview, he had been enticed by the appealing proposal that they strictly adhered to the day-evening-night shifts, but reality was different. Rotating through day-day-evening-evening-evening-night or day-day-day-evening-evening-night was the norm, and when staffing fell to less than half, he was sometimes greeted by brutal schedules with only half a day's rest between day and evening, or night and day.
He had endured that desperately, finishing one year and two months of work last month. Finally, his severance pay had been deposited that very afternoon, and he was on his way home after buying late-night food to commemorate the occasion.
Jeong-jin resolved that after spending the short Christmas break, he would definitely find a new job next year. Escaping the six-pyeong studio tormented by inter-floor noise was his greatest dream.
Of course, Jeong-jin was unaware that even in most apartments, one couldn't avoid inter-floor noise. For now, Jeong-jin was a dream-filled youth in his twenties, heading into his nest with jjamppong, mini sweet and sour pork, and a bottle of soju from the convenience store.
At least, until now.
"...Huh?"
Jeong-jin, shivering in the cold while focused on his smartphone, raised his head at a strange sensation. His surroundings had suddenly brightened.
That wasn't all. The temperature had shot up. It was a sweltering heat rivaling the dead of summer, like the rainforests he had only seen on TV, stimulating his entire body, which had been protected by a thick coat.
He stood blankly, looking around.
The place he had clearly been walking was a studio complex in Gyeonggi-do. It had been a narrow alley where if he moved one step to the side, a stone wall would touch his shoulder—not a place surrounded by trees grown so high they blocked out the sun.
Even the air was different. With every breath, a sweet air stimulated his lungs. The refreshing sensation entering his lungs spread through his heart to every corner of his bloodstream, bringing a coolness that seemed to scrape away the sticky clumps of filth filling his body.
In the heat, where sweat poured down just from standing still, Jeong-jin acted with rational thought rather than emotional panic. Simply put, he took off his thickly layered jacket.
In an instant, insects drawn to the sweat trickling down his nape bit his neck.
"Ow!"
When he waved his hand to chase off the thing clinging to his neck and sucking blood, the insect leisurely flapped its thin, chitinous wings and flew away.
"What the hell is this..."
Jeong-jin muttered in absurdity as he watched the insect buzz mockingly before his eyes a few times before disappearing into the forest. The culprit that had clung to his neck and sucked blood was something resembling a butterfly, flapping its small orange wings.
"Since when do butterflies drink blood..."
Lee Jeong-jin, shivering as he rolled up his sleeves. There were several people watching his actions.
Jeong-jin hadn't noticed because he was distracted, but behind him stood a massive castle wall reaching over twenty meters high.
Dozens of people waiting at the gate in the old-fashioned clothing unique to jungle regions.
And a muscular soldier holding a spear, lowering his stance as he approached Jeong-jin. The soldier, extremely tense, gestured to the soldier beside him, then spoke to Jeong-jin, who was absentmindedly staring at the jungle.
"$^@%$^! Are@ you #%^ of ^!"
Jeong-jin reacted to someone speaking to him in an unknown language. When he turned his head following the voice, four armed soldiers guarding the gate were looking at him with displeased eyes.
"...Huh?"
That was the first word Jeong-jin uttered upon entering another world.
* * *
Senior Soldier Jun, who had served as a soldier of Carbon Territory for ten years, doubted his own eyes. Even while his colleagues and juniors were roughly checking people, he monitored those lined up waiting in front of the gate as diligently as always.
Jun, who was dreadfully diligent and inflexible, had finally been promoted to senior soldier in early the year before last, recognized for his diligence and ability. What he was given was a salary increased threefold and dangerous additional missions increased thirtyfold, but he did not complain.
Because he believed that silently doing his duty as before was the role of the first shield protecting the territory and the Lord.
But even so, seeing a mysterious stranger suddenly appear before his eyes, it was impossible not to panic. Senior Soldier Jun reflexively pointed his spear at the stranger and shouted.
"Who are you! Identify yourself and your purpose...!"
Ah! Having spoken that far, Jun slightly regretted his rash action. What if that stranger was a mage? He might be an acquaintance of Mage Tolji of the territory.
"Senior! Why are you—... What?!"
A junior soldier guarding the gate with him approached Jun, then shouted in surprise at the stranger's bizarre attire. He matched Jun's stance and pointed his spear at the stranger.
Jun gestured for the junior to lower his spear. The stranger had turned around with his attention absorbed in looking at the forest. They could still somehow make this into nothing.
Those waiting at the gate held their breath, watching them in extreme tension at the soldiers' sudden bizarre behavior.
"Ahem... Ahem...!"
Jun loudly cleared his throat to announce his presence. The other soldiers controlled the people waiting at the gate, and one quickly ran inside to report to a knight.
The stranger wore attire that seemed out of season. But even to Jun, who had no aesthetic sense, the clothes the stranger wore looked sophisticated and luxurious.
Jun spoke to the mage, who still wasn't looking at him.
"Excuse m—!"
Jun's words didn't reach the end. The mage had suddenly taken off his clothes. Jun, fearing an attack, unknowingly raised his spear again.
Behind him were three soldiers similarly trembling as they pointed their spears.
Jun asked one of the junior soldiers.
"Where is Knight Corn?"
"The maknae just went to deliver the message."
"What?! Hey, you crazy..."
"Why again, Jun hyung."
"You punk, what does the maknae know to deliver? Then what will he say? A mage suddenly appeared in the territory? So we all came out armed, and it turns out he was an acquaintance of Mage Tolji?"
"..."
The junior soldier who heard that closed his mouth. If an acquaintance of Mage Tolji came to Carbon Territory and the first sight he saw was armed forces greeting him?
The stranger who took off his clothes looked definitely like a mage. A clean monochrome top and bottom with not a trace of energy, a skinny body without muscles, white skin, and pure white hands without a trace of hardship.
"Goodness..."
Goodness, my foot. Senior Soldier Jun cuffed the junior hard on the back of the head, then approached the stranger.
"Excuse me. Are you by any chance an acquaintance of Mage Tolji?"
Everyone gulped and strained their ears at Senior Soldier Jun's words. They would rather the stranger be an enemy.
Finally, the unidentified stranger—that is, Jeong-jin—turned his head.
"Whoa!"
The soldiers gasped in terror at Jeong-jin's action and thrust their spears at him. These were soldiers who feared the wrath of the powerful more than the monsters they fought on the front lines.
Their faces were drenched in fear, but Jeong-jin, seeing bladed weapons for the first time, lacked the experience to notice.
"Huh...?"
Jeong-jin, looking at Jun, suspected he was dreaming.
Or a hidden camera? Was there a hidden camera that drops you in the middle of a jungle while walking through an alley?
Goodness. He never dreamed there'd be such a huge wall when he turned around. No, the wall was nothing.
The soldiers in medieval attire thrusting spears at him all had muscles swollen as if on steroids. The nails on their hands gripping the spears were thick like a beast's, and sweat beading on their biceps flowed as if bouncing off trembling muscles.
Even the people lined up at the large wooden gate boasted muscles no less impressive.
Jeong-jin had been going to the gym himself, but having such wild, muscular people pointing spears at him turned his mind blank.
'He is not an acquaintance of Mage Tolji!'
Senior Soldier Jun, reading Jeong-jin's face, judged so. The stranger's face was definitely not one that knew Carbon Territory. His expression looking at the soldiers was also not one of aristocratic dignity.
That stranger was definitely a mage. But not a noble. He could be a wealthy merchant or a young master from a rich family.
Senior Soldier Jun had figured out that much.
Of course, his judgment was completely wrong, but not provoking the sudden visitor was enough to qualify him as a senior soldier.
"From which territory do you come? Please state your name and affiliation."
He relaxed his stance and approached Jeong-jin. But Jeong-jin couldn't perfectly interpret Senior Soldier Jun's words. Jeong-jin only understood two words: affiliation and want.
Jeong-jin suddenly thought of the fairy tale *The Little Match Girl*. Had someone lit a match on Christmas to bring him to such a world? Then to escape the fairy tale, did he have to light a match again?
That was the most rational thought process he could manage, and it was a thoroughly messy one.
However, in this first-ever experience of being surrounded by bladed weapons, not making provocative actions like screaming or collapsing was praiseworthy enough. But only that far.
In the continuing panic and tension, he naturally chose the cheapest means of calming his mind. Simply put, he took out cigarettes and a lighter, putting one in his mouth.
Senior Soldier Jun thrust a sharply pointed spear right before Jeong-jin's eyes and shouted.
"Do... do-don't move! State your affiliation and name!"
Though Jun had earned his senior soldier position by handling mana, even among mana users there were ranks. And to the vast majority, mages were beings more mysterious and veiled than nobles.
That was the biggest reason Jun felt fear at the miraculous movement method by which Lee Jeong-jin had suddenly appeared.
Therefore, Senior Soldier Jun, who had been silently watching Lee Jeong-jin's bizarre actions, regretted his complacency. The mage's actions could injure not only the soldiers here but also the civilians waiting at the gate.
"Aaaack!"
People who had been watching the stranger's bizarre actions and Senior Soldier Jun's reaction with tense eyes screamed and moved away from them. Because they had ears too, they knew that this stranger was a mage and hadn't appeared here with good intentions.
Of course, they were all completely wrong.
"C-calm down! Everyone, don't provoke the mage and slowly enter the castle!"
Other soldiers scouting nearby slowly guided the panicked people inside the castle.
Jeong-jin watched that blankly. With a cigarette clenched in his mouth, he lightly touched with his finger the spear thrust up to under his chin.
His finger was cut, and blood flowed out.
Other soldiers witnessing that scene raised their bows.
"Senior, I'm sorry!"
A junior soldier named Worman shouted while crying. He judged that the mage was using his own blood to cast a curse on Senior Soldier Jun.
Senior Soldier Jun also felt strength draining from his entire body. The pungent smell wafting from the white cloth bundle the stranger held guided the confused Senior Soldier Jun into deeper confusion.
Senior Soldier Jun couldn't have imagined the smell was that of chemical seasonings, onions, and garlic. He merely looked at the faintly visible red thing inside the white cloth bundle and thought, 'Ah! He's already in the middle of looting somewhere!'
And Lee Jeong-jin...
'It's a real spear?'
Jeong-jin laughed incredulously at the throbbing pain at his fingertips. The blood and pain flowing from his fingertips were extremely realistic. The problem was that they were too realistic.
Jungle, muscles, spear, muscles, people in outdated clothes, muscles, and soldiers and muscles.
Every sensory organ except pain perception brought confusion to him, and the spear thrust to the bottom of his chin and the momentum of Senior Soldier Jun faintly emanating mana completely stripped away Jeong-jin's last sense of reality, which had no resistance to higher energy.
Unable to realize the situation was deteriorating by the moment, Jeong-jin lit a fuse to the powder keg.
In a sense that included both physical and mental meanings.
Jeong-jin flicked his lighter and lit the cigarette, and that action crossed the limit of Senior Soldier Jun's tolerance. Then Jeong-jin took a deep drag and exhaled a puff of smoke.
The cigarette smoke softly enveloped the face of Senior Soldier Jun, whose hand gripping the spear trembled violently, then dispersed and vanished into the air.
"Fi...! It's fire magic!!"
Someone peeping out from inside the castle shrieked in terror. At that scream, everyone watching Jeong-jin and Senior Soldier Jun moved away from them.
Some tripped over their feet and some prostrated themselves on the ground, bowing their heads deeply. The soldiers charged at Jeong-jin, honoring Senior Soldier Jun's sacrifice.
Senior Soldier Jun, inhaling the white smoke the mage exhaled, sensed his end. Merely hoping his final struggle wouldn't be a meaningless act, he swung the spear butt at the mage.
The reason he swung the spear butt rather than the blade was the possibility that the mage might be a scion of another noble house. If so, committing murder in front of everyone would endanger not only Senior Soldier Jun but also his family and, on a larger scale, Carbon Territory.
He merely hoped his life-risking action would buy time from the mage. If he could just stall somehow, Knight Corn would arrive and settle the situation. That's what he thought.
Thwack! Crunch! Thud!
And Jeong-jin, unable to resist at all, took the blow squarely on the chin from Senior Soldier Jun's attack. Three molars, two canines, and four incisors broke, his jawbone cracked, and he cleanly lost consciousness.
"Waaah!! ...Huh?"
The soldiers running and shouting toward Senior Soldier Jun couldn't hide their confusion at this bizarre ending.
"...?"
Senior Soldier Jun looked down at Jeong-jin in an awkward stance with his elbow still extended. No matter how much he thought about it, the unconscious Jeong-jin, bleeding from his teeth and nose, showed no mage-like qualities.
"The smell of tobacco?"
Senior Soldier Jun, smelling the white smoke, realized it was similar to the tobacco the Lord smoked. He cautiously tapped Jeong-jin's side.
"Senior?"
A junior awkwardly approached him. The people who had fled all slowly approached Jeong-jin. Though they were soldiers who should have kept people away, they too were confused about how to receive this stranger.
While they all looked at the unconscious Jeong-jin, bleeding from his nose, in awkward silence, a huge roar that seemed to shake the heavens rang out.
"Senior Soldier Jun!"
The owner of the voice lightly jumped over the wall of people, landing before Senior Soldier Jun and the unconscious Jeong-jin.
A giant of two meters equipped with metallic armor tinged with brown. Knight Corn had arrived.
Knight Corn first dismissed the people. At his orders, the soldiers came to their senses and returned to their routines, and under the soldiers' guidance, the others also walked to the front of the gate.
"I heard the story from Soldier Hamon. What happened?"
Faced with Knight Corn emanating a fearsome momentum, Senior Soldier Jun returned to his usual self. He briefly explained what they had experienced.
He revealed everything: the stranger's attire, how seeing the small fire magic he used last made him think the stranger was hostile, so he attacked, and why he didn't kill him.
"..."
Knight Corn listened to Senior Soldier Jun, frowning and falling into deep thought. It was a reaction completely unexpected by Senior Soldier Jun, who had thought he would surely be praised or punished for a grave mistake.
"Come with me to the Lord's chamber for a moment. Soldiers, carry him and follow."
"Yes sir!"
The inflexible Senior Soldier Jun didn't ponder further and followed Knight Corn's words.
The people of Carbon Territory watched with curious eyes as the knight and soldiers urgently ran down the street. That was because the sight of several soldiers behind the leading knight carrying a man bleeding from his face was quite rare in this territory.
Knight Corn held in one hand a translucent cloth through which the inside was visible; inside the cloth with an unpleasant texture was a bright red liquid. Moreover, from that liquid wafted a pungent, foul odor similar to yet different from spices.
"K... Knight, I will carry that."
Unable to watch that any longer, Senior Soldier Jun spoke to Corn. He suspected the red liquid the mage held was some kind of poison or narcotic.
"Ah, no need. It is likely nothing to worry about."
Because Corn knew what Senior Soldier Jun was worried about, he gently refused his meddling.
'Has he been bewitched by something...'
Senior Soldier Jun, running after Corn toward the lord's castle, was still dazed. He was wondering if this too was an illusion cast by the mage. It was because the series of events after meeting the mage had progressed far too quickly even for him.
He glanced at the unconscious mage.
A thick outfit completely unsuited for Carbon Territory located in a jungle where sweat poured just from standing still. A face whiter than even the Lord's family, as if coated in bone powder. In contrast, black hair and pupils. And an unidentified method of movement by which he suddenly appeared before the gate.
All these factors dramatically combined to make him and the soldiers fear Jeong-jin and overreact. In particular, the foul smell of garlic and chili wafting from the jjamppong takeout bag Jeong-jin held also contributed to driving him mentally into a corner.
"Jun, you go to Mage Tolji and get a potion. This man and I, along with the soldiers, will take him to the Lord."
While Jun was pondering, the group arrived before the lord's castle. The soldiers standing guard, having heard the news, naturally let the group inside, and Jun hurriedly ran to the spire in one corner of the castle.
"Mage Tolji! Mage Tolji!"
Bang! Bang!
He knocked on the wooden door as if to break it, calling for Tolji. Normally such behavior was rude enough to warrant severe punishment, but he urgently sought Tolji, recalling Knight Corn's unusual expression.
Mage Tolji opened the door annoyedly, but when Senior Soldier Jun explained the situation, he similarly put on a serious expression and ordered Jun to guide him to the Lord's chamber.
Senior Soldier Jun had no idea how the situation was unfolding. He merely thought that a fellow mage would be more suitable than a knight for extracting information from a mage, so he obediently guided Tolji to the reception room.
"I shall ask for permission, so could you wait a moment?"
Now that they had arrived at the reception room, slightly frightened at his own unauthorized actions, Senior Soldier Jun asked Tolji for understanding in front of the door.
"Just come in!"
Someone shouted loudly from inside. Senior Soldier Jun knew it was the voice of Count Carbon Verdo, the Lord of Carbon Territory.
Senior Soldier Jun wanted to run away. But that went against the philosophy of his ten-year soldier's life. He suppressed his tension as much as possible, recalling the simplified etiquette learned from junior knights, and knocked on the door. And after taking a deep breath.
"I am Senior Soldier Jun, in charge of gate entry and exit at Carbon Territory! I have brought a potion by Knight Corn's order! By the Lord's command, I shall bring Mage Tolji into the reception room!"
he shouted and entered with disciplined steps.
The sofa and table that had been in the middle of the spacious reception room were moved aside, and Jeong-jin was lying on the floor. The soldiers who had brought Jeong-jin were nowhere to be seen; Knight Corn and Count Verdo were looking at the unconscious Jeong-jin with serious expressions.
"Potion."
Corn reached out to Jun while looking at the unconscious Jeong-jin. Jun approached Corn with a composed gait and handed over the potion.
"So this man..."
Count Verdo, watching the bleeding, cracked face slowly recover as the potion was poured, pointed at Jeong-jin and spoke.
"Yes. It is almost certain. Senior Soldier Jun, did this man understand what you said?"
"Yes? Ah! Ah, no. He seemed to have no idea what I was saying."
"Step aside for a moment, Corn."
"Yes, Tolji."
Putting behind them Senior Soldier Jun, who was sweating profusely at his mistake of stuttering, the three examined Jeong-jin's clothes and the spilled jjamppong he had brought.
Tolji took out the lighter Jeong-jin had been holding, pondered for a moment, then skillfully lit it. Though it was his first time seeing the object, Tolji instantly figured out roughly how the lighter produced fire.
Mage Tolji observed the metalworking technique, sealing method, and refining technology that comprised it with more interest than the fact that it made fire; he seemed to not even care about the unconscious Jeong-jin.
"Ahem!"
At Count Verdo's clearing of the throat, unable to bear it, Tolji came to his senses. He straightened his clothes for a moment to hide his embarrassment and spoke.
"Ha... that's right. Exactly. It's almost certainly true. It's a bit faster than expected, but I've never seen items like these."
Having spoken thus, Tolji was having a serious conversation with Knight Corn and Count Verdo.
Senior Soldier Jun had no way of knowing what they were talking about. He blankly watched the three exchange opinions.
Rather than risk hearing their conversation, Jun plugged his ears tightly. What they were discussing was clearly a secret not permitted to him, and Jun did not want to burden Count Verdo even accidentally by overhearing such clandestine information.
"Ah...!"
It was Knight Corn who noticed Senior Soldier Jun's presence. He hurriedly guided Jun outside the reception room, praised his wise action, and ordered him to return to his duties without worry since he hadn't committed any wrongdoing.
"Yes, understood. Senior Soldier Jun, I shall return to gate entry surveillance duty."
Jun left the lord's castle with a face clearly showing joy at Corn's words. So happy was he that he even forgot to salute Knight Corn.
Jun didn't even suspect that the unidentified mage might harm the three in the reception room in the slightest.
Count Verdo. Knight Corn. Mage Tolji.
These three were the Blessed who received the benefits of a system that only about a hundred people in Carbon Territory possessed, and because Knight Corn was a powerful superhuman who had reached level 69.
'Those three are among the strongest in our territory. Let that mage try anything useless.'
Jun didn't know exactly what level 69 represented in terms of strength, but he recalled the ghost-like breakthrough power of Knight Corn during their regular weekly training.
Mage Tolji, stronger even than such a Knight Corn. And even Count Verdo, stronger than Tolji. With the three of them, there was nothing they couldn't do in Carbon Territory, at least.