-My Residence
On the way home, I stopped by a convenience store and bought some simple things to eat—gimbap, sandwiches, ramyeon, and the like.
I had plenty of money now, but rather than going to a restaurant, I wanted to get home quickly and do some research.
‘I need more detailed information on black mages and Magic Towers.’
I had to unravel the clues concerning Samir.
Once I entered my room, I turned on the computer on my desk while eating the food I had bought.
Fortunately, the way the computer worked was no different from the previous world, and the internet existed as well. Only the names of programs and companies were different; everything else was almost identical.
For a while, I sat without moving and searched the internet.
Nothing came up under Samir’s name. As Hwangga had said, even if it was not top secret, it did seem to be information not known to the public.
‘So the information that came through the underground organization must be accurate.’
As for black mages, a great deal of information came up, starting with news articles.
Most of it concerned terrorist attacks in other countries, and there were also rumors circulating online that black mages existed in our country as well.
When people said the atmosphere these days was ominous, they were not merely talking.
Black mages were carrying out bioterrorism all over the world. They created strange life-forms and released them, or unleashed viruses that caused epidemics.
‘This world isn’t in a good state either.’
The nature of the disasters differed from those caused by the Samir Order in my previous world, but their purpose did not seem all that different.
To plunge the world into chaos. To lead it toward endless violence and destruction.
In the end, this world too had entered an age of great calamity.
Our country seemed to be just on the verge of cracking. So far, there had been no news of black mage terrorist incidents in Korea.
But today, there had been an explosion at Incheon Port.
‘Is the Incheon Port explosion going to be the starting point of black mage terrorism in the country?’
I firmly engraved the face of the old black mage and the magic circuit that had drawn the infinite pentagon into my mind.
I continued searching for Magic Towers.
A Magic Tower referred to the base of black mages.
While mages operated openly under government supervision, centered around organizations like the Hall of Magic, black mages moved secretly within the underworld.
A Magic Tower carried the spatial meaning of being the stronghold of a black mage group, while also referring to the organization itself, centered around the leader of that group.
However, no matter how much I searched, I could not find any information about a Magic Tower existing in the country.
Caw! Caw!
Suddenly, I heard the cries of crows.
When I raised my head, I saw Huginn and Muninn outside the window. They were noisily flapping their wings, urging me to open it quickly.
I opened the window wide.
Looking outside, I saw that the sun had already set. The brilliantly lit Hall of Magic came into view.
[Oudin, you were home?]
[We’ve brought back astonishing news!]
The crows flew into the room and sent me breathless telepathic messages.
“Astonishing news? What is it?”
[There was an explosion at Incheon Port, and it looks like black mages were behind it. It was terrorism! Black mages have finally appeared in Korea too!]
[And they say they released strangely altered orcs. The orcs even charged all the way to Chinatown and caused a rampage!]
It was so loud it was as if they were shouting right in my ears.
As expected, the crows seemed to serve the role of flying around and bringing back news of the world. They had brought information that had not even appeared on the news yet.
I had been on the internet for hours, but no news about orcs had gone up. There had only been a brief report that an explosion had occurred at Incheon Port.
“I know. I went there today.”
[Oudin was there?]
[Really? Why did you go to Incheon?]
“I went for mercenary work. There was a security job Jang Pildu had asked me to do.”
[What? At Incheon Port? At that pier?]
“I was right at the scene where the incident happened. That’s right. A black mage caused an explosion on the ship and disappeared. Orcs poured out of the ship.”
After hearing my words, the crows chattered all at once so much that I could hardly understand them.
They said that black mage terrorism had finally begun in Korea too, that things would only get worse from now on, that the orcs had somehow looked strange, and so on…
“Wait. The orcs looked strange? You two saw those orcs too?”
As I listened, it sounded as if the crows had encountered the orcs themselves. When I asked, Huginn and Muninn nodded.
[Yes. We saw them. They brought them to the Hall of Magic a little while ago.]
[They were sneaking them in on a food truck.]
“They brought the orcs to the Hall of Magic?”
Since they were orcs that had changed strangely, unlike ordinary orcs, the mages must have intended to investigate them.
If it had simply been an illegal immigration case, it would have been something for the police and immigration office to handle, but since a black mage was involved, it made sense.
What would happen to those orcs now? The Hall of Magic would investigate the old black mage too, wouldn’t they? I became curious about what would happen next.
[But Oudin, what were you eating all by yourself?]
[That’s too much. You should let us eat dinner too.]
The crows buried their beaks in the sandwich wrapper I had left on the desk, sniffing and grumbling. It seemed their excitement had finally settled down somewhat.
“Oh, right. You two need to eat dinner too. But where was your food…?”
I looked around the room.
I was slightly flustered. I had not known I was supposed to take care of the crows’ food.
To be honest, I did not even know what crows ate. Since they were birds, I had simply thought they would catch bugs or something on their own.
Since they were crows being kept as pets, was there separate feed for them?
[What? Where our food is?]
[Tsk, tsk. Looks like your memory still hasn’t fully returned.]
The crows looked at me with worried faces. They even clicked their tongues.
I had no idea where their feed could possibly be that they were looking at me with such pitying expressions.
“What’s with you two? I just forgot for a moment. Where did I put it…?”
[Wow! He really doesn’t remember.]
[This is no ordinary matter.]
[What can we do? We’ll have to help Oudin.]
[Oudin! Look over here.]
Huginn fluttered over and perched on the desk. More specifically, on top of the thick magic book lying on the desk.
He tapped the book with his beak. It seemed he wanted me to look at it.
When I did as he wanted and turned my gaze to the book, Huginn shifted slightly to the side.
I looked at the cover of the magic book. Suddenly, the pattern in the center of the cover caught my eye.
It was a design with something like a mountain shape geometrically transformed inside an oval, engraved in relief.
For some reason, I felt drawn to that pattern. Without realizing it, I brought my fingertips to it and slowly rubbed it.
[Oh! You remember now?]
[That’s right. Tell us everything up until now was just a joke.]
All of a sudden, the crows’ expressions brightened, and they nodded fervently.
At that very moment, something astonishing happened. The wall opposite me began to change in a bizarre way.
A bluish light rose over the plain, empty wall, and gradually, something like a portal formed.
A space beyond the wall was opening. A space that had been hidden until now revealed itself.
There was no other way to describe it. A magical space had opened before my eyes.
[Let’s go in already.]
[We’re going in first.]
While I stared in a daze, the crows took the lead without the slightest hesitation and flew into the space.
‘To think a space like that was hidden inside this cramped house!’
It had to be a magical space Oudin had created. I was intensely curious about what it was like inside.
I could not just stand there and watch. I willingly stepped into the bluish, shimmering portal.
“My god…!”
An exclamation escaped me on its own. Beyond the portal was still indoors. But it was the interior of a magnificent house that could not even be compared to the rooftop room I had been in a moment ago.
It was a spacious hall with a high ceiling. Should I say it was like an ancient temple, or perhaps a medieval castle or palace?
The structure of the house and the interior decorations were extremely antique and stately.
The decorations all gleamed with golden light, but rather than feeling excessive, they blended well with the base colors and gave off an air of luxury.
In any case, it was an incredibly vast and splendid mansion.
‘No wonder… I wondered why such an outstanding mage would simply live in such a shabby house.’
[Then we’ll fill our bellies first.]
The crows flew straight across the hall and out onto the veranda through an open window.
I too slowly followed the crows toward the veranda. I was curious about the outside as well.
I wanted to see whether the magical space was limited only to the inside of the mansion, or whether an exterior existed too.
Beyond the veranda, a garden that looked like a small forest spread out.
Trees grew thickly, and various flowers, grasses, and shrubs mingled together in abundance.
The crows were flying toward that thicket.
When they asked for food, I had thought there might be some crow feed, but that was not it.
They had meant for me to open the door so they could enter the forest where their food was.
The crows soon vanished into the undergrowth.
I stepped out onto the veranda and looked at the garden. Warm, humid air rushed in. It felt like a tropical forest.
“This is nice. It feels like I’ve come to a resort.”
I had never once gone to a resort, yet that thought occurred to me.
My heart relaxed on its own. Here, I felt as if I could forget every worry in the world.
That was how beautiful and peaceful the space was.
‘How far does this magical space extend? Up to this garden?’
The forest obscured my view, so I could not see beyond it clearly. I stepped down into the garden.
The scent of soil and grass rose thickly around me. My mind grew even more at ease.
Suddenly, when I lifted my head, I saw that it was not an open sky. A transparent ceiling was visible.
Now that I looked, the garden was a closed space, like a greenhouse or botanical garden.
Curious about where the space ended, I pushed through the garden thicket and moved forward.
I walked until I reached a dead-end wall. But beyond the garden forest was not the end.
Another space spread out before my eyes.
“Ah!”
A gasp escaped me on its own.
The perimeter of the garden was also enclosed by walls as transparent as glass, and beyond them, a vast natural landscape revealed itself.
It was a scenery utterly different from the warm, abundant garden greenhouse.
Tall blue-gray mountains with white eternal snow crowning their peaks; beneath majestic cliffs of ice, bluish glaciers shone like jewels.
A cold, immense landscape stretched endlessly.
‘…Hm?’
In that instant, I felt something indescribably refreshing fill my chest. It was as invigorating as drinking cold ice water.
Then, soon, an intense wave of mana prickled and surged from the crown of my head to the tips of my toes.
Energy flowed through every corner of my body like an electric current.
‘This is my space.’
Oudin’s memories surged into me like a flood.
A powerful, magnificent feeling filled my chest.
This is my residence.
This cold and vast world. My Asgard.