Harun

《Science Village》

 The dry wasteland seemed endless . There were no plants anywhere except for some bushes randomly growing .

 They had to walk for another five hours without resting, so Haroon was able to focus on his Messenger Walking .

 ‘The properties of this Ki is different . ’

 If he were to compare them, the ki he absorbed in the desert was like fire and the ki from the desolated land was more like wind .

 However, once it entered the body and was circulated, it changed into a different type of energy . Haroon could feel it changing into a liquid-like substance as the properties mixed and condensed .

 As proof, the chunk of ki that had grown to size of a bean didn’t get any bigger even though he absorbed ki for several hours .

 This journey was so exhausting for the others that they even avoided talking to each other, but it became the most precious journey for Haroon . No one cared about Haroon quietly following them . They were too focused on moving one step at a time .

 Fortunately enough, they were able to arrive at a safe point before the sun set, where the Yeongheung Village people said they usually camp . It was the ruins of a building built in the Age of Doom . It wasn’t as big as a village, but still a giant building, and it was covered with inedible gra.s.ses . Nain guided the group inside the ruins, and found a small hole . It was a way to the bas.e.m.e.nt . It wasn’t artificially made but was created as the building collapsed, and it was big enough for a person to pa.s.s through .

 Nain hid their three ranadues somewhere in the ruin and entered the hole . Some people lit lanterns for better visibility, while the others followed them to find a large bas.e.m.e.nt .

 It seemed to have been used by outers for a long time . There were oil lamps hung on the walls . People lit them so it was bright enough for people to comfortably stay . On one side there were beast leathers covering the ground, and on the other side there were some fire pits and pots for cooking .

 It was only ten hours of journeying, but everyone was too exhausted to prepare dinner . They relieved their hunger with dried foods, and lied down anywhere to sleep . They walked during the day when the sun was at its hottest with 40 kilogram loads on their backs, so they fell asleep snoring as soon as they laid down .

 The air was cooler than on the surface as they were deep underground, which felt good for a while but then it became rather chilly . The chilled air from the outside was flowing into the room through gaps between the debris .

 ‘Oh no, this can’t be good for them . ’

 The workers and even the warriors of Yeongheung Village were exhausted . They’d been sweating for the entire day, and sleeping in such cold air couldn’t be good for them . So Haroon lit the fire pits to warm the room .

 Haroon was not physically tired, but he was mentally exhausted from concentrating for hours causing headaches . Lying on the ground, he fell asleep as soon as he shut his eyes .

 They were on a tight schedule the next day as well .

 The wasteland was finally ending . Green fields appeared, and soon they were able to see forests . They took a break under a giant tree for lunch, then hurried to continue their journey . Better environments meant more threats, so the warriors got into positions around the others with their weapons ready . The fear of monster and beast attacks quickened their feet .

 ‘Strange! How come the properties of ki are so different?’

 It was risky to continue circulateing ki because it was unknown when and what dangers might appear, but Haroon didn’t stop messenger walking . The ki that was being absorbed now was rather fresh and lively .

 Haroon could see that the properties of ki differed depending on the environment . The ki outside the Union was ten times denser than inside . If he was to compare it to taste, the ki inside the barrier was very bland whereas the ki outside the barrier had various tastes and textures .

 Moreover, the amount of ki being absorbed couldn’t be compared . It was just like training Messenger Walking on the mineral lands in Huk’ran Mountains . The amount of ki flowing into his body was incredible .

 ‘Training here for about a month might make me really strong . ’

 Haroon couldn’t help but think in that way as he thought the reason he couldn’t control his ki at will was because he hadn’t acc.u.mulate enough Ki in his body .

 “We’re almost there, look!”

 Hearan shouted as she went over a small hill, and it quickened everyone’s feet . Haroon was the last one to go over the hill, and when he was at the peak he looked over to see the village .

 There was an almost dried up river where the riverbed could be seen . Over the river, there was a stand of giant trees tens of meters tall, and there was debris from buildings scattered between the trees .

 At the thought they’d arrived at their destination, the workers tension eased and they sat down on the ground . Their clothes were wet with sweat, and their bodies were drooping like loosened threads .

 “Get up, and pull yourselves together! We’re almost there so don’t ease the tension now!”

 Varan shouted and grabbed their hands to jerk them up to their feet . The hardest part of the journey was always when their destination wasn’t too far away . The experienced workers knew it was hard to recover once they eased the tension .

 It took over an hour to reach Science Village which seemed so close . The group was exhausted, of course, but it was because they were moving slowly after the warning from the warriors that there were still live landmines around that were planted several hundred years ago during the War of Doom to protect the power plant .

 Nain was at the front of the group, and it seemed she had a special ability of some sort . They couldn’t tell what was actually going on, but even Rosu, the leader of the Warriors seemed to rely on her for guidance .

 The group carefully moved even after crossing the river, and when they arrived to where they could see the buildings, there were people welcoming them . They were wearing white clothes that looked similar to lab coats .

 Nain was the first one to be greeted, then in the order they arrived . After they greeted Varan, Hearan and Seran, everything seemed totally different in the way they welcomed people . The village chief and folks halfheartedly welcomed the workers with their eyes fixed on Haroon . He was the last one to meet them .

 “Nice to meet you . I’m Alyong, the chief of this village . ”

 “Haroon . ”

 Alyong shook his hand for quite a while . Haroon thought it was strange how they welcomed him more than anyone else . It felt good for sure, but it bothered him as well .

 “Varan contacted us before . I heard you’ve got some business with our village?”

 “Yes I do . ”

 On Haroon’s answer, the chief looked at him with eyes of antic.i.p.ation . .

 “Do you happen to know Dr . Cheong-il?”

 “Yes, he was my foster father . ”

 “I see . I presumed that it was you as no inners would visit our village . Your father promised us that he would send his son somewhen, and you kept the promise . He wasn’t kidding when he was boasting that you were a powerful warrior . Welcome!”

 Surprisingly enough, he knew about Haroon already through his foster father Cheong-il .

 “Right, let’s not just stand here and talk . Come in, come in!”

 Alyong guided him inside, still holding his hand . Nain’s group and Varan’s group were both confused about what was going on, but Alyong pa.s.sed them and took Haroon to a crumbling building . A few people pushed a concrete wall aside to reveal a staircase leading to the bas.e.m.e.nt .

 Alyong went down the stairs, still not letting Haroon’s hand go . Haroon was puzzled, but followed him, feeling the strangely comfortable warmth of Alyong’s hand .

 The place Alyong guided the group to was a large room in the seventh bas.e.m.e.nt . From the ceiling, all the way to the surface, was a huge chunk of gla.s.s . And through that, strong sunlight was filtered through several contraptions to light the bas.e.m.e.nt .

 On the way down, Haroon saw the artificial farm made underground that utilized the sunlight coming through the gla.s.s .

 The seventh bas.e.m.e.nt was full of people .

 There were at least several hundred people . Their eyes were full of excitement and curiosity . If they had visitors more often, they wouldn’t gather like this to see them . Haroon could see that this village didn’t get many visitors or they were the first in the long time .

 “This place was used for meeting rooms, but we’ve removed the walls to make it into a place for villagers to gather . ”

 “I see . ”

 “At the news that we’re having guests in the middle of summer, everyone who was out of the village is returning . You’ll be able to see them all if you wait a bit longer . ”

 This made him feel more uncomfortable . It was almost frustrating as he didn’t know for what reason he was getting such a warm welcome .

 “Well, people are wondering who you are so let me introduce you to them . ”

 Alyong went to a place that seemed like a stage .

 “Let me introduce our guests who visited us even during these hot days . Varan, his sisters and the Warriors of Yeongheung Village . Please, welcome them with big applause!”

 Varan’s and Nain’s group bowed . The villagers welcome the familiar faces with a round of applause .

 “And there is another . This young pal here is our special guest who we’ve been waiting for . ”

 Then Alyong paused, and looked at the people’s faces . There were expression of hope showing up on the people’s faces at his words . Even Varan’s and Nain’s group seemed interested about this .

 “This pal here, is the son of our old friend Dr . Cheong’il!”

 “OOOOH!”

 “He really came!”

 The people started to react enthusiastically .

 He was introduced, so he had to greet them . It was their first time meeting him unlike the others . He took of the clothes wrapped around his body . As his leather armors was revealed, people became abuzz with commotion . When they saw his belt equipped with his sword and throwing knives, the reaction became much more enthusiastic .

 “For real? Look at those muscles!”

 “Yeah . He seems really strong . ”

 Haroon could hear people in the front line saying things about him . He didn’t know how and what kind of rumors were going on about him, but he could tell there was some big misunderstanding going on .

 ‘What on Union did he tell them about me?’ He wondered .

 “My name is Haroon . Nice to meet you . ”

 Haroon bowed down and the villagers welcomed him with a big applause . He secretly gave a sigh, and looked at Alyong with a worried look .

 “Finally Dr . Cheong’il sent us his son, Haroon! He will protect us from the harks that took several lives from us . This means we’ll finally be able to expand this small bas.e.m.e.nt village out! He even sent us all these food and medical supplies!”

 People cheered, hurrayed, jumped and danced . There was unhidable joy, hope, antic.i.p.ation and excitement on their faces .

 ‘Harks? Me? I’m fighting with harks?’

 Haroon was dazed by such an unexpected turn of the event . The others too looked at Haroon, surprised .

 “I know everyone would like to talk to him, but for today let’s not poke our noses at him since the’ll be exhausted from such a long journey . ”

 On the chief’s words, people nodded and started to disperse . Most of them just dwardled though, hesitate to leave while looking at Haroon .

 “Hahaha! Can’t you wait for just another day when you’ve been waiting for years?”

 Dispersing the crowd with a light reproach, Alyong grabbed Haroon’s hand and guided their group .

 They went down to the next bas.e.m.e.nt where there were multiple rooms that looked like labs on both sides of the corridor . The place the chief guided them was a room at the end of the corridor .

 They entered inside, and there was a large living room with four bedrooms .

 “Get some rest for now . I’ll be with my people to arrange the gift you brought us, and will get back to you . ”

 “Sounds good . ”

 The chief left the room, still excited about meeting Haroon . The eyes of everyone left in the room were fixed on Haroon .

 “Haroon, what’s going on? Didn’t you say this is your first time coming here?”

 “Yeah . We’ve traded with this village several times, but this is the first time we’ve been  welcomed like this . Also, what do they mean you’ll be fighting the harks? Just who are you to these people?”

 Haeran and Seran asked Haroon whom was still in a daze after the event . He knew they would be wondering, but even he didn’t know what was going on .

 “I don’t know what they mean . All I know is that my father has some relation with them . ”

 “Who exactly is your father?”

 Hearan asked, but Haroon shook his head . His foster father was exiled by the Union government, so he had to be cautious mentioning him .

 Hearan asked, but Haroon shook his head . His foster father was exiled by the Union government, so he had to be cautious mentioning him .

 “I’ll tell you later . Why don’t we get some rest for now?”

 Everyone seemed disappointed that he was avoiding the answer, but Haroon reminded them of the state of their bodies .

 “Haa! I’m so tired . ”

 Haeran collapsed on the sofa . Nain had a small pool of stamina, so she was leaning on the wall with her eyes closed as soon as she entered the room . Starting with Haeran, they collapsed on the floor .

 The state of their body couldn’t be any worse . They weren’t feeling it for a moment because of the warm welcome, but their bodies were complaining about being mistreated with harsh sunlight and its murdering heat waves .

 Haroon was the only person not tired . Unlike the others, he felt full of energy thanks to the ki circulation he experienced while he was walking unconsciously . Opening doors, he checked the rooms . There were two toilets with shower booths, and the rooms were large .

 “We can give this room to the girls, I suppose,” said Haroon .

 “Where?”

 Seran got up and dragged her body to see the room . The room had two single beds placed side by side, and it was smaller than the other rooms but was big enough for three people .

 The other three room were big enough for everyone . Varan, Haroon and Rosu agreed to share a room, and the others decided to use a room each by splitting into their groups . Once the rooms were a.s.signed, they laid on the beds or floors to get some sleep . Even Haeran fell asleep right away, snoring lightly . Haroon was feeling alright, so he decided to take a shower first .

 After washing off the dusts and sand, he felt so light and refreshed that he could fly . After changing his underwear, he re-equipped the leather armor . After seeing that everyone else had fallen asleep, he sat on the sofa and closed his eyes .

 He recalled all the moments of the journey as they flashed before him .

 The outside of the barrier had such a harsh environment compared to the inside . Walking through the scorching heat of the day and enduring the frigid cold of the night was exhausting .

 Fortunately the warriors of the Yeongheung village guided the group along safer paths so they could avoid meeting mutated species, but it was truly the worst environment a human could live in .

 However, Haroon felt a strong sense of life from the land . There was freedom outside the barrier .

 He was surrounded by emotions he couldn’t explain, but felt someone coming to the room .

 Fixing his hair that hadn’t dried yet, he headed to the door .

 There was nocks at the door, and Haroon opened it as soon as they knocked .

 “Welcome, Alyong . ”

 Chief Alyong seemed to be surprised by how Haroon acted as if he knew they were coming . But he calmed down pretty quickly and entered the room . There were two people following him .

 “Did you get some rest?” Alyong asked .

 “Yeah . I’ve just had a shower . The others are resting in their rooms . ”

 “I see . That’s great, actually . I actually wanted to talk with you quietly . ”

 That’s was exactly what Haroon wanted as well . He had to know what promise his foster father had made them .

 “Ah, forgive me . This is Ahri and Bari, the vice-chiefs of the village . ”

 They were both wearing white gowns . Ahri was a middle-aged woman with a pair of gla.s.ses and a cold look, whereas Bari was a chubby middle-aged man with a good smile on his face .

 “Nice to meet you . I’m Ahri . ”

 “Glad to meet you, sir Haroon . ”

 “Nice to meet you both . ”

 After exchanging greetings, they sat down around the table in the living room . Where the table made it feel more like a dining room .

 “The food and medical supplies you brought are a great help to us . We’re always low on both of them, so the villagers really appreciate your help,” said Alyong .

 “I’m glad it helped . I was worried that I might have brought unnecessary things since I prepared things not knowing what you’d need . ”

 “Haha! Aren’t you a humble, polite young man? You’re just like your father . That’s why I like you . ”

 “Is that so?”

 Haroon didn’t have many memory of Cheong-il, but he heard that Cheong-il’s personality wasn’t that good as his wife never quit backbiting about it . But the chief was saying the complete opposite . However, there was someone who confirmed the truth . It was Ahri . Making a complicated look, she disagreed .

 “No, not at all . What do you mean he was humble and polite, Alyong? He was arrogant, hot-tempered and scolding . Don’t you remember how many kids he made cry?”

 “Huh, did he? I’m not sure about that . Bari, do you think the same?”

 “Hahaha! Well, I have to admit that I don’t really have many good memories of him . Especially since he was a rival who stole Ahri’s heart that I strived for my whole life,” said Bari .

 He was smiling, but there were thorns in his words .

 ‘Rival? I guess Cheong-il liked Ahri, then . ’

 “Hah! Rivals? Ridiculous . You still don’t know that I have no interest in men? Also, it’s funny how you’re casually saying how you loved me . You always say I’m your love without any actions and…… . . ”

 “We-well, I tried so many times to confess my love but you wouldn’t even listen and would just walk away!”

 As Bari had raised his voice . The chief stopped them .

 “That’s enough! Our guest is here . ”

 They both shut their mouths and lowered their heads, realizing what they were doing in front of their guest . Haroon quickly changed the subject to change the awkward situation .

 “By the way, Alyong, there’s something I want to ask . ”

 “By the way, Alyong, there’s something I want to ask . ”

 “You do? Go ahead . ”

 “So…… What exactly is the promise that my father made?”

 Their expressions changed right away . It seemed they were quite surprised seeing how their face colors darkened a bit .

 “…… Don’t tell me you don’t know anything and just came here . ”

 “That’s how it is . I came here because my foster father left in his will for me to visit the village to pay back the hospitality you’d given him . ”

 The three’s faces darkened hearing his words

 “N-no way!”

 “‘Foster’ father?”

 “What……?”

 Alyong and Bari was dumbfounded, and Ahri seemed to be surprised that Haroon was only an adopted child to Dr . Cheong-il . So Cheong-il didn’t even reveal that simple truth .

 “Please, tell me . I might be just a borderer in Union who’s been considered incompetent, and I don’t know what kind of promise my foster father made, but I’ll keep it if I can . ”

 Haroon almost begged, but they were just looking at the table . It seemed they were shocked, Haroon felt sorry for them .

 They looked at each others’ faces hopelessly and disappointed .

 “So you really don’t know anything,” said Alyong, giving a sigh .

 “He doesn’t . I hate Dr . Cheong-il so much . He was our only hope . ”

 Haroon’s curiosity continued to grow . He couldn’t understand what circ.u.mstance they were in to leave them so disappointed . Ahri was looking down at the table . There were small tear drops falling down to the floor .

 “Please tell me what it was about . No matter what it is, it’s still the promise that my father made, so I have to hear it even if I cannot keep it . ”

 As Haroon asked determinedly, the chief gently closed his eyes . It seemed like he’d aged 10 years instantly .

 “So there was a promise that Dr . Cheong-il made before he died . You may know that this place was a nuclear power plant built in the Age of Doom . It was built to withstand earthquakes and nuclear impacts, and it’s done a good job protecting us for several centuries . ”

 Haroon focused on every word he spoke .

 “When the War of Doom broke out, the few scientists and their families who luckily took refuge in this power plant were able to avoid the polluted environment outside, outer robberies, the mutated species that hunt humans for food and Unions who’ve been searching for us to exploit . ”

 That explained the origin of the village, and why it was known as the Scientists Village .

 “But then, one day, a horde of harks started living not far from our village . We estimate it to be thirty years ago, as that’s when people started to go missing . We believe they found us through the gla.s.s ceiling our village has . At first, we didn’t know what was going on . But as three villagers went missing straight after going out to do field work, we’ did some investigations and found out the sick truth . ”

 He paused for a bit . He didn’t explain what it was, but it was enough for Haroon to understand what they’d found .

 “Now the building’s so aged after going through the nuclear war and the dark ages, that it’s at the point of collapsing if not repaired frequently . Not only the nuclear reactor parts, but the whole building . ”

 It was understandable . Even if the power plant was built with the latest technologies of the Age of Doom, around 400 years had pa.s.sed since then so it would surely be aging .

 “The building would have lasted for several more centuries, but the main framework got distorted due to four big earthquakes . That’s what’s allowed the harks that now know the taste of human flesh to start breaking into the village since twenty years ago . We tried to repair places, block anywhere they can break through, but they’d just make another hole . Until Dr . Cheong-il showed up, a third of us were killed by the harks . At least they were coming periodically, so once they attacked we knew we were safe for a couple of weeks, but that lasting for years drove people crazy . We’ve travelled to different outer villages to find warriors to kill the harks, but n.o.body came forward . We couldn’t contact any unions either . We don’t have anything to trade with the Union government, and as far as we know, the union troops could only chase them away, but not entirely . ”

 Haroon once heard that harks’ favorite food is human when he was working at crematoriums . He thought the reason the harks settled down near the village was probably the humans in the first place . A guy who worked at the crematorium also said they’ve never seen a dead hark . Cla.s.sic gunpowder weapons weren’t effective and the only weapon that could kill the harks were photon cannon equipped electromagnetic drones, but the harks that got hit by photon phases left no corpse behind .

 But as the abnormality of the magnetic field on Earth intensifies, the use of electromagnetic drones became even rarer . That left harks almost no natural enemy, causing trouble for humans everywhere .

 “In such situation, Dr . Cheong-il came to our village and said he’ll grant one of our wishes if we support his research . We said we want him to deal with the harks . He said he can do that for us, but only after his research was done, and when his son in warrior training grows up . ”

 Haroon couldn’t have been any angrier . He couldn’t understand how Cheong-il could just squeeze everything out of him who was an orphan, and still use him to continue his research even after being kicked out of the Union for doing so . The village chief didn’t have the slightest idea of how Haroon was feeling, and continued the story .

 “Though he was exiled from the Unions, we’ve confirmed that he had a hot line with WCG and the senate of nearby Unions, and the authority to access the Mothercom, we helped him with his research with everything we had; men, materials, technologies and anything we had . Even while being busy with his research, he provided better solution on repairing the building, and some defensive weapons that use shockwaves to minimize the damage from the harks . That’s why we never doubted his words . ”

 ‘f.u.c.k!’

 Hearing that, Haroon couldn’t help but to swear inside . Cheong-il didn’t mention anything about it in the voice message he left on the capsule, nothing other than ‘pay back the hospitality . ’

 ‘I can’t believe you’d deceive them with such an important matter…… . ’

 Haroon unknowingly opened his mouth to let a sigh, then shut it as soon as he realized they were watching him . Seeing how perplexed Haroon was, they were now sure they weren’t mistaken that Haroon had no idea, and let out a sigh .

 Haroon couldn’t feel sorrier, seeing how they were wordlessly, hopelessly looking down . He couldn’t feel angrier with how his foster father made not just a promise but gave unsubstantial hope for a safe life .

 “I’m sorry . It might sound like an excuse, but I can’t keep that promise now as I heard nothing about this from my foster father . But give me more time . I’ll keep it for you . It is true that I’m in training to be a warrior like he said, I’ll come back to keep the promise when I’m ready . ”

 Haroon apologized from the bottom of his heart .

 “Don’t be . We feel sorry for you . You were kind enough to spend a fortune to give us food and medicines to pay us back for your foster father, and you must be so perplexed by such an unexpected turn of events…… . ”

 Alyong consoled Haroon, even while he was feeling such great disappointment . He had a broad mind and was wise enough to not blame it on Haroon .

 ‘So, apparently the whole reason Cheong-il recommended me to play Beyond by using Bell was to get me physically ready to help these people, and that’s what he meant by pay them back . ’

 It was the most logical conclusion he could make .

 In fact, he’d experienced exponential growth in his strength in just a few months of playing Beyond . At this rate, he would be able to fight off harks in a couple of years .

 ‘Alright! Why not, to be fair?’

 Haroon still couldn’t understand his foster father, but he thought he could do that much for giving him Bell . She was invaluable to him .

 ‘Alright! Why not, to be fair?’

 Haroon still couldn’t understand his foster father, but he thought he could do that much for giving him Bell . She was invaluable to him .

 ‘I know they can’t say anything even if I say this is none of my business, but I just can’t do that . Also, I wanted to fight the harks someday anyway . ’

 Haroon did want to kill harks that had been the symbol of terror for him since his childhood . It felt like being able to fight them would free him from the mental limit that exists in his subconscious .

 “By the way, how did the harks appear?”

 At Haroon’s question, the chief collected his thoughts and opened his mouth .

 “Hmm, where should I start? Well, it goes all the way back to the Age of Doom . ”

 According to the chief’s explanation, there was two theories about how the harks appeared .

 The first one was that mutated species like harks, orgs or bigwings that were fast enough to attack electromagnetic planes were created from the gene labs of the Age of Doom . As the important political or military bases were built deep underground, making them hard to be detected or attacked, they started working on biological weapons of ma.s.s destruction, and the mutated species were created during the process .

 The mutated species with seven layers of skin and biological tissue with high adaptability were being improved in the gene labs, and when the war broke out these species escaped the labs and populated rapidly when the humans were struggling with opening up the new era of Unions

 The second one is based on the old mysteries of the Age of Doom .

 In the Age of Doom, Northern Europe, including Greece, had different mythologies unlike most other places . These mythologies were handed down among the people, then were brought to the world in a frame of literature by a writer named Tolkien .

 In fact, many VR games had this mythology as their motive .

 There are monsters and human-like creatures in the mythology, and one race of them was orgs . Except that they have skin without any body hair, they looked exactly the same as humans, and it was described as an evil creature in the novel .

 The Northern Europe mythology says that not only humans but these creatures came from the farthest north, and this meant the north pole . This mythology earned its credibility when combined with The Hollow Earth theory .

 The Hollow Earth theory claims that the Earth is empty, and there are entrances to the interior word at the north and the south pole .

 This theory was suggested In 1692 of The Age of Doom,1 by Edmond Halley, a famous astronomer who found the h.e.l.ley’s comet, and Leonhard Euler suggested the same theory as well . It became popular during the 19th century, and by the end of 20th century, there were written works and evidence that supported the theory, but was never accepted as scientific consensus . However, it was believed by many people, and had became the basis of many science fiction works .

 The theory also suggested that there is a sun, ocean and land inside the earth, and the gate to the world opens three times a year . Some even suggest that there is a civilization named Agalta, and the ancestors of the human race took refugee in such a world at the time historical civilizations were growing . The climate inside is warm and humid all year round, which creates the perfect environment for creatures to grow, so the theory claims that there are many species that were believed to have gone extinct that have survived inside .

 There was a eye-witness as well . A autobiography of a norwegian named Olaf Jansen describes giants that are four to six meters tall that communicates by telepathy, and giant animals .

 The main point of the second theory was that these creatures might have came from the interior world . It was an interesting story, indeed, but had a slim chance of being true .

 “The theories are not important, though . What we need to know, is their behaviour, their weak spots, and how we can fight them . ”

 Haroon said no more words at the chief’s conclusion .

 ‘So all I can do is get stronger for now . ’

 He concluded .

 “I know how disappointed you are, but consider this as my investigation to see what the situation is like . I’m training day and night, and now that I have my goal for training, I won’t let you wait for long . I will kill the harks that put the people of this village in danger no matter what . ”

 Said Haroon, determinedly .

 It slowly brightened up the three’s faces .

 “Right . That sounds better . I’ll think of your visit as pre-investigation on how the situation is . ”

 Finally, a smile came back to his face .

 “Alright . I don’t know about fighting, but you look like a good warrior . I’ll trust you . ”

 Ahri smiled too, supposedly to make Haroon feel rather comfortable .

 “We’ve waited for more than a decade . One or two more years are nothing to us . I trust you,” said Bari .

 Only after than, did Haroon feel better .

 “We’re doing our preparation as well,” said Alyong

 “Huh? Preparation?”

 “Yes . Cheong-il crafted us three game capsules, and using them, we’re training three warriors through the game called Beyond . We’ve selected three kids with the most potential, Dr . Cheong-il chose, to be exact . Even now, they are training combat skills learned from the game to use in real life . They only come out once a week, so you can’t meet them right now, but they’ll be good supports when you come back to fight the harks . ”

 Haroon could see how good those capsules were . Although he didn’t expected them to have A . I . s installed like Bell, they must share a good amount of technology .

 So his foster father at least left some supporters . Haroon felt like he wanted to give them help if they happen to meet .

 ‘Man, I came for wool and i’m going home shorn . ’

 He brought gifts that were worth $30,000 total, but he didn’t feel happy about it .

Translated by Channy
Edited by Kmatt

Footnotes:

1 Probably a mistake by the author . The Age of Doom =/= AD, as far as the definitions are concerned .

Kmatt: I wonder if his dads left any more “surprises” for Haroon?

Channy: Kmatt is soooooo slooooooow editing, sorry this took ages .

《Science Village》.

 The dry wasteland seemed endless . There were no plants anywhere except for some bushes randomly growing

 They had to walk for another five hours without resting, so Haroon was able to focus on his Messenger Walking

 ‘The properties of this Ki is different . ’.

 If he were to compare them, the ki he absorbed in the desert was like fire and the ki from the desolated land was more like wind

 However, once it entered the body and was circulated, it changed into a different type of energy . Haroon could feel it changing into a liquid-like substance as the properties mixed and condensed

 As proof, the chunk of ki that had grown to size of a bean didn’t get any bigger even though he absorbed ki for several hours

 This journey was so exhausting for the others that they even avoided talking to each other, but it became the most precious journey for Haroon . No one cared about Haroon quietly following them . They were too focused on moving one step at a time

 Fortunately enough, they were able to arrive at a safe point before the sun set, where the Yeongheung Village people said they usually camp . It was the ruins of a building built in the Age of Doom . It wasn’t as big as a village, but still a giant building, and it was covered with inedible gra.s.ses . Nain guided the group inside the ruins, and found a small hole . It was a way to the bas.e.m.e.nt . It wasn’t artificially made but was created as the building collapsed, and it was big enough for a person to pa.s.s through

 Nain hid their three ranadues somewhere in the ruin and entered the hole . Some people lit lanterns for better visibility, while the others followed them to find a large bas.e.m.e.nt

 It seemed to have been used by outers for a long time . There were oil lamps hung on the walls . People lit them so it was bright enough for people to comfortably stay . On one side there were beast leathers covering the ground, and on the other side there were some fire pits and pots for cooking

 It was only ten hours of journeying, but everyone was too exhausted to prepare dinner . They relieved their hunger with dried foods, and lied down anywhere to sleep . They walked during the day when the sun was at its hottest with 40 kilogram loads on their backs, so they fell asleep snoring as soon as they laid down

 The air was cooler than on the surface as they were deep underground, which felt good for a while but then it became rather chilly . The chilled air from the outside was flowing into the room through gaps between the debris

 ‘Oh no, this can’t be good for them . ’.

 The workers and even the warriors of Yeongheung Village were exhausted . They’d been sweating for the entire day, and sleeping in such cold air couldn’t be good for them . So Haroon lit the fire pits to warm the room

 Haroon was not physically tired, but he was mentally exhausted from concentrating for hours causing headaches . Lying on the ground, he fell asleep as soon as he shut his eyes

 They were on a tight schedule the next day as well

 The wasteland was finally ending . Green fields appeared, and soon they were able to see forests . They took a break under a giant tree for lunch, then hurried to continue their journey . Better environments meant more threats, so the warriors got into positions around the others with their weapons ready . The fear of monster and beast attacks quickened their feet

 ‘Strange! How come the properties of ki are so different?’.

 It was risky to continue circulateing ki because it was unknown when and what dangers might appear, but Haroon didn’t stop messenger walking . The ki that was being absorbed now was rather fresh and lively

 Haroon could see that the properties of ki differed depending on the environment . The ki outside the Union was ten times denser than inside . If he was to compare it to taste, the ki inside the barrier was very bland whereas the ki outside the barrier had various tastes and textures

 Moreover, the amount of ki being absorbed couldn’t be compared . It was just like training Messenger Walking on the mineral lands in Huk’ran Mountains . The amount of ki flowing into his body was incredible

 ‘Training here for about a month might make me really strong . ’.

 Haroon couldn’t help but think in that way as he thought the reason he couldn’t control his ki at will was because he hadn’t acc.u.mulate enough Ki in his body

 “We’re almost there, look!”.

 Hearan shouted as she went over a small hill, and it quickened everyone’s feet . Haroon was the last one to go over the hill, and when he was at the peak he looked over to see the village

 There was an almost dried up river where the riverbed could be seen . Over the river, there was a stand of giant trees tens of meters tall, and there was debris from buildings scattered between the trees

 At the thought they’d arrived at their destination, the workers tension eased and they sat down on the ground . Their clothes were wet with sweat, and their bodies were drooping like loosened threads

 “Get up, and pull yourselves together! We’re almost there so don’t ease the tension now!”.

 Varan shouted and grabbed their hands to jerk them up to their feet . The hardest part of the journey was always when their destination wasn’t too far away . The experienced workers knew it was hard to recover once they eased the tension

 It took over an hour to reach Science Village which seemed so close . The group was exhausted, of course, but it was because they were moving slowly after the warning from the warriors that there were still live landmines around that were planted several hundred years ago during the War of Doom to protect the power plant

 Nain was at the front of the group, and it seemed she had a special ability of some sort . They couldn’t tell what was actually going on, but even Rosu, the leader of the Warriors seemed to rely on her for guidance

 The group carefully moved even after crossing the river, and when they arrived to where they could see the buildings, there were people welcoming them . They were wearing white clothes that looked similar to lab coats

 Nain was the first one to be greeted, then in the order they arrived . After they greeted Varan, Hearan and Seran, everything seemed totally different in the way they welcomed people . The village chief and folks halfheartedly welcomed the workers with their eyes fixed on Haroon . He was the last one to meet them

 “Nice to meet you . I’m Alyong, the chief of this village . ”.

 “Haroon . ”.

 Alyong shook his hand for quite a while . Haroon thought it was strange how they welcomed him more than anyone else . It felt good for sure, but it bothered him as well

 “Varan contacted us before . I heard you’ve got some business with our village?”.

 “Yes I do . ”.

 On Haroon’s answer, the chief looked at him with eyes of antic.i.p.ation .

 “Do you happen to know Dr . Cheong-il?”.

 “Yes, he was my foster father . ”.

 “I see . I presumed that it was you as no inners would visit our village . Your father promised us that he would send his son somewhen, and you kept the promise . He wasn’t kidding when he was boasting that you were a powerful warrior . Welcome!”.

 Surprisingly enough, he knew about Haroon already through his foster father Cheong-il

 “Right, let’s not just stand here and talk . Come in, come in!”.

 Alyong guided him inside, still holding his hand . Nain’s group and Varan’s group were both confused about what was going on, but Alyong pa.s.sed them and took Haroon to a crumbling building . A few people pushed a concrete wall aside to reveal a staircase leading to the bas.e.m.e.nt

 Alyong went down the stairs, still not letting Haroon’s hand go . Haroon was puzzled, but followed him, feeling the strangely comfortable warmth of Alyong’s hand

 The place Alyong guided the group to was a large room in the seventh bas.e.m.e.nt . From the ceiling, all the way to the surface, was a huge chunk of gla.s.s . And through that, strong sunlight was filtered through several contraptions to light the bas.e.m.e.nt

 On the way down, Haroon saw the artificial farm made underground that utilized the sunlight coming through the gla.s.s

 The seventh bas.e.m.e.nt was full of people

 There were at least several hundred people . Their eyes were full of excitement and curiosity . If they had visitors more often, they wouldn’t gather like this to see them . Haroon could see that this village didn’t get many visitors or they were the first in the long time

 “This place was used for meeting rooms, but we’ve removed the walls to make it into a place for villagers to gather . ”.

 “I see . ”.

 “At the news that we’re having guests in the middle of summer, everyone who was out of the village is returning . You’ll be able to see them all if you wait a bit longer . ”.

 This made him feel more uncomfortable . It was almost frustrating as he didn’t know for what reason he was getting such a warm welcome

 “Well, people are wondering who you are so let me introduce you to them . ”.

 Alyong went to a place that seemed like a stage

 “Let me introduce our guests who visited us even during these hot days . Varan, his sisters and the Warriors of Yeongheung Village . Please, welcome them with big applause!”.

 Varan’s and Nain’s group bowed . The villagers welcome the familiar faces with a round of applause

 “And there is another . This young pal here is our special guest who we’ve been waiting for . ”.

 Then Alyong paused, and looked at the people’s faces . There were expression of hope showing up on the people’s faces at his words . Even Varan’s and Nain’s group seemed interested about this

 “This pal here, is the son of our old friend Dr . Cheong’il!”.

 “OOOOH!”.

 “He really came!”.

 The people started to react enthusiastically

 He was introduced, so he had to greet them . It was their first time meeting him unlike the others . He took of the clothes wrapped around his body . As his leather armors was revealed, people became abuzz with commotion . When they saw his belt equipped with his sword and throwing knives, the reaction became much more enthusiastic

 “For real? Look at those muscles!”.

 “Yeah . He seems really strong . ”.

 Haroon could hear people in the front line saying things about him . He didn’t know how and what kind of rumors were going on about him, but he could tell there was some big misunderstanding going on

 ‘What on Union did he tell them about me?’ He wondered

 “My name is Haroon . Nice to meet you . ”.

 Haroon bowed down and the villagers welcomed him with a big applause . He secretly gave a sigh, and looked at Alyong with a worried look

 “Finally Dr . Cheong’il sent us his son, Haroon! He will protect us from the harks that took several lives from us . This means we’ll finally be able to expand this small bas.e.m.e.nt village out! He even sent us all these food and medical supplies!”.

 People cheered, hurrayed, jumped and danced . There was unhidable joy, hope, antic.i.p.ation and excitement on their faces

 ‘Harks? Me? I’m fighting with harks?’.

 Haroon was dazed by such an unexpected turn of the event . The others too looked at Haroon, surprised

 “I know everyone would like to talk to him, but for today let’s not poke our noses at him since the’ll be exhausted from such a long journey . ”.

 On the chief’s words, people nodded and started to disperse . Most of them just dwardled though, hesitate to leave while looking at Haroon

 “Hahaha! Can’t you wait for just another day when you’ve been waiting for years?”.

 Dispersing the crowd with a light reproach, Alyong grabbed Haroon’s hand and guided their group

 They went down to the next bas.e.m.e.nt where there were multiple rooms that looked like labs on both sides of the corridor . The place the chief guided them was a room at the end of the corridor

 They entered inside, and there was a large living room with four bedrooms

 “Get some rest for now . I’ll be with my people to arrange the gift you brought us, and will get back to you . ”.

 “Sounds good . ”.

 The chief left the room, still excited about meeting Haroon . The eyes of everyone left in the room were fixed on Haroon

 “Haroon, what’s going on? Didn’t you say this is your first time coming here?”.

 “Yeah . We’ve traded with this village several times, but this is the first time we’ve been  welcomed like this . Also, what do they mean you’ll be fighting the harks? Just who are you to these people?”.

 Haeran and Seran asked Haroon whom was still in a daze after the event . He knew they would be wondering, but even he didn’t know what was going on

 “I don’t know what they mean . All I know is that my father has some relation with them . ”.

 “Who exactly is your father?”.

 Hearan asked, but Haroon shook his head . His foster father was exiled by the Union government, so he had to be cautious mentioning him

 “I’ll tell you later . Why don’t we get some rest for now?”.

 Everyone seemed disappointed that he was avoiding the answer, but Haroon reminded them of the state of their bodies

 “Haa! I’m so tired . ”.

 Haeran collapsed on the sofa . Nain had a small pool of stamina, so she was leaning on the wall with her eyes closed as soon as she entered the room . Starting with Haeran, they collapsed on the floor

 The state of their body couldn’t be any worse . They weren’t feeling it for a moment because of the warm welcome, but their bodies were complaining about being mistreated with harsh sunlight and its murdering heat waves

 Haroon was the only person not tired . Unlike the others, he felt full of energy thanks to the ki circulation he experienced while he was walking unconsciously . Opening doors, he checked the rooms . There were two toilets with shower booths, and the rooms were large

 “We can give this room to the girls, I suppose,” said Haroon

 “Where?”.

 Seran got up and dragged her body to see the room . The room had two single beds placed side by side, and it was smaller than the other rooms but was big enough for three people

 The other three room were big enough for everyone . Varan, Haroon and Rosu agreed to share a room, and the others decided to use a room each by splitting into their groups . Once the rooms were a.s.signed, they laid on the beds or floors to get some sleep . Even Haeran fell asleep right away, snoring lightly . Haroon was feeling alright, so he decided to take a shower first

 After washing off the dusts and sand, he felt so light and refreshed that he could fly . After changing his underwear, he re-equipped the leather armor . After seeing that everyone else had fallen asleep, he sat on the sofa and closed his eyes

 He recalled all the moments of the journey as they flashed before him

 The outside of the barrier had such a harsh environment compared to the inside . Walking through the scorching heat of the day and enduring the frigid cold of the night was exhausting

 Fortunately the warriors of the Yeongheung village guided the group along safer paths so they could avoid meeting mutated species, but it was truly the worst environment a human could live in

 However, Haroon felt a strong sense of life from the land . There was freedom outside the barrier

 He was surrounded by emotions he couldn’t explain, but felt someone coming to the room

 Fixing his hair that hadn’t dried yet, he headed to the door

 There was nocks at the door, and Haroon opened it as soon as they knocked

 “Welcome, Alyong . ”.

 Chief Alyong seemed to be surprised by how Haroon acted as if he knew they were coming . But he calmed down pretty quickly and entered the room . There were two people following him

 “Did you get some rest?” Alyong asked

 “Yeah . I’ve just had a shower . The others are resting in their rooms . ”.

 “I see . That’s great, actually . I actually wanted to talk with you quietly . ”.

 That’s was exactly what Haroon wanted as well . He had to know what promise his foster father had made them

 “Ah, forgive me . This is Ahri and Bari, the vice-chiefs of the village . ”.

 They were both wearing white gowns . Ahri was a middle-aged woman with a pair of gla.s.ses and a cold look, whereas Bari was a chubby middle-aged man with a good smile on his face

 “Nice to meet you . I’m Ahri . ”.

 “Glad to meet you, sir Haroon . ”.

 “Nice to meet you both . ”.

 After exchanging greetings, they sat down around the table in the living room . Where the table made it feel more like a dining room

 “The food and medical supplies you brought are a great help to us . We’re always low on both of them, so the villagers really appreciate your help,” said Alyong

 “I’m glad it helped . I was worried that I might have brought unnecessary things since I prepared things not knowing what you’d need . ”.

 “Haha! Aren’t you a humble, polite young man? You’re just like your father . That’s why I like you . ”.

 “Is that so?”.

 Haroon didn’t have many memory of Cheong-il, but he heard that Cheong-il’s personality wasn’t that good as his wife never quit backbiting about it . But the chief was saying the complete opposite . However, there was someone who confirmed the truth . It was Ahri . Making a complicated look, she disagreed

 “No, not at all . What do you mean he was humble and polite, Alyong? He was arrogant, hot-tempered and scolding . Don’t you remember how many kids he made cry?”.

 “Huh, did he? I’m not sure about that . Bari, do you think the same?”.

 “Hahaha! Well, I have to admit that I don’t really have many good memories of him . Especially since he was a rival who stole Ahri’s heart that I strived for my whole life,” said Bari

 He was smiling, but there were thorns in his words

 ‘Rival? I guess Cheong-il liked Ahri, then . ’.

 “Hah! Rivals? Ridiculous . You still don’t know that I have no interest in men? Also, it’s funny how you’re casually saying how you loved me . You always say I’m your love without any actions and…… ”.

 “We-well, I tried so many times to confess my love but you wouldn’t even listen and would just walk away!”.

 As Bari had raised his voice . The chief stopped them

 “That’s enough! Our guest is here . ”.

 They both shut their mouths and lowered their heads, realizing what they were doing in front of their guest . Haroon quickly changed the subject to change the awkward situation

 “By the way, Alyong, there’s something I want to ask . ”.

 “You do? Go ahead . ”.

 “So…… What exactly is the promise that my father made?”.

 Their expressions changed right away . It seemed they were quite surprised seeing how their face colors darkened a bit

 “…… Don’t tell me you don’t know anything and just came here . ”.

 “That’s how it is . I came here because my foster father left in his will for me to visit the village to pay back the hospitality you’d given him . ”.

 The three’s faces darkened hearing his words.

 “N-no way!”.

 “‘Foster’ father?”.

 “What……?”.

 Alyong and Bari was dumbfounded, and Ahri seemed to be surprised that Haroon was only an adopted child to Dr . Cheong-il . So Cheong-il didn’t even reveal that simple truth

 “Please, tell me . I might be just a borderer in Union who’s been considered incompetent, and I don’t know what kind of promise my foster father made, but I’ll keep it if I can . ”.

 Haroon almost begged, but they were just looking at the table . It seemed they were shocked, Haroon felt sorry for them

 They looked at each others’ faces hopelessly and disappointed

 “So you really don’t know anything,” said Alyong, giving a sigh

 “He doesn’t . I hate Dr . Cheong-il so much . He was our only hope . ”.

 Haroon’s curiosity continued to grow . He couldn’t understand what circ.u.mstance they were in to leave them so disappointed . Ahri was looking down at the table . There were small tear drops falling down to the floor

 “Please tell me what it was about . No matter what it is, it’s still the promise that my father made, so I have to hear it even if I cannot keep it . ”.

 As Haroon asked determinedly, the chief gently closed his eyes . It seemed like he’d aged 10 years instantly

 “So there was a promise that Dr . Cheong-il made before he died . You may know that this place was a nuclear power plant built in the Age of Doom . It was built to withstand earthquakes and nuclear impacts, and it’s done a good job protecting us for several centuries . ”.

 Haroon focused on every word he spoke

 “When the War of Doom broke out, the few scientists and their families who luckily took refuge in this power plant were able to avoid the polluted environment outside, outer robberies, the mutated species that hunt humans for food and Unions who’ve been searching for us to exploit . ”.

 That explained the origin of the village, and why it was known as the Scientists Village

 “But then, one day, a horde of harks started living not far from our village . We estimate it to be thirty years ago, as that’s when people started to go missing . We believe they found us through the gla.s.s ceiling our village has . At first, we didn’t know what was going on . But as three villagers went missing straight after going out to do field work, we’ did some investigations and found out the sick truth . ”.

 He paused for a bit . He didn’t explain what it was, but it was enough for Haroon to understand what they’d found

 “Now the building’s so aged after going through the nuclear war and the dark ages, that it’s at the point of collapsing if not repaired frequently . Not only the nuclear reactor parts, but the whole building . ”.

 It was understandable . Even if the power plant was built with the latest technologies of the Age of Doom, around 400 years had pa.s.sed since then so it would surely be aging

 “The building would have lasted for several more centuries, but the main framework got distorted due to four big earthquakes . That’s what’s allowed the harks that now know the taste of human flesh to start breaking into the village since twenty years ago . We tried to repair places, block anywhere they can break through, but they’d just make another hole . Until Dr . Cheong-il showed up, a third of us were killed by the harks . At least they were coming periodically, so once they attacked we knew we were safe for a couple of weeks, but that lasting for years drove people crazy . We’ve travelled to different outer villages to find warriors to kill the harks, but n.o.body came forward . We couldn’t contact any unions either . We don’t have anything to trade with the Union government, and as far as we know, the union troops could only chase them away, but not entirely . ”.

 Haroon once heard that harks’ favorite food is human when he was working at crematoriums . He thought the reason the harks settled down near the village was probably the humans in the first place . A guy who worked at the crematorium also said they’ve never seen a dead hark . Cla.s.sic gunpowder weapons weren’t effective and the only weapon that could kill the harks were photon cannon equipped electromagnetic drones, but the harks that got hit by photon phases left no corpse behind

 But as the abnormality of the magnetic field on Earth intensifies, the use of electromagnetic drones became even rarer . That left harks almost no natural enemy, causing trouble for humans everywhere

 “In such situation, Dr . Cheong-il came to our village and said he’ll grant one of our wishes if we support his research . We said we want him to deal with the harks . He said he can do that for us, but only after his research was done, and when his son in warrior training grows up . ”.

 Haroon couldn’t have been any angrier . He couldn’t understand how Cheong-il could just squeeze everything out of him who was an orphan, and still use him to continue his research even after being kicked out of the Union for doing so . The village chief didn’t have the slightest idea of how Haroon was feeling, and continued the story

 “Though he was exiled from the Unions, we’ve confirmed that he had a hot line with WCG and the senate of nearby Unions, and the authority to access the Mothercom, we helped him with his research with everything we had; men, materials, technologies and anything we had . Even while being busy with his research, he provided better solution on repairing the building, and some defensive weapons that use shockwaves to minimize the damage from the harks . That’s why we never doubted his words . ”.

 ‘f.u.c.k!’.

 Hearing that, Haroon couldn’t help but to swear inside . Cheong-il didn’t mention anything about it in the voice message he left on the capsule, nothing other than ‘pay back the hospitality . ’.

 ‘I can’t believe you’d deceive them with such an important matter…… . ’.

 Haroon unknowingly opened his mouth to let a sigh, then shut it as soon as he realized they were watching him . Seeing how perplexed Haroon was, they were now sure they weren’t mistaken that Haroon had no idea, and let out a sigh

 Haroon couldn’t feel sorrier, seeing how they were wordlessly, hopelessly looking down . He couldn’t feel angrier with how his foster father made not just a promise but gave unsubstantial hope for a safe life

 “I’m sorry . It might sound like an excuse, but I can’t keep that promise now as I heard nothing about this from my foster father . But give me more time . I’ll keep it for you . It is true that I’m in training to be a warrior like he said, I’ll come back to keep the promise when I’m ready . ”.

 Haroon apologized from the bottom of his heart

 “Don’t be . We feel sorry for you . You were kind enough to spend a fortune to give us food and medicines to pay us back for your foster father, and you must be so perplexed by such an unexpected turn of events…… . ”.

 Alyong consoled Haroon, even while he was feeling such great disappointment . He had a broad mind and was wise enough to not blame it on Haroon

 ‘So, apparently the whole reason Cheong-il recommended me to play Beyond by using Bell was to get me physically ready to help these people, and that’s what he meant by pay them back . ’.

 It was the most logical conclusion he could make

 In fact, he’d experienced exponential growth in his strength in just a few months of playing Beyond . At this rate, he would be able to fight off harks in a couple of years

 ‘Alright! Why not, to be fair?’.

 Haroon still couldn’t understand his foster father, but he thought he could do that much for giving him Bell . She was invaluable to him

 ‘I know they can’t say anything even if I say this is none of my business, but I just can’t do that . Also, I wanted to fight the harks someday anyway . ’.

 Haroon did want to kill harks that had been the symbol of terror for him since his childhood . It felt like being able to fight them would free him from the mental limit that exists in his subconscious

 “By the way, how did the harks appear?”.

 At Haroon’s question, the chief collected his thoughts and opened his mouth

 “Hmm, where should I start? Well, it goes all the way back to the Age of Doom . ”.

 According to the chief’s explanation, there was two theories about how the harks appeared

 The first one was that mutated species like harks, orgs or bigwings that were fast enough to attack electromagnetic planes were created from the gene labs of the Age of Doom . As the important political or military bases were built deep underground, making them hard to be detected or attacked, they started working on biological weapons of ma.s.s destruction, and the mutated species were created during the process

 The mutated species with seven layers of skin and biological tissue with high adaptability were being improved in the gene labs, and when the war broke out these species escaped the labs and populated rapidly when the humans were struggling with opening up the new era of Unions.

 The second one is based on the old mysteries of the Age of Doom

 In the Age of Doom, Northern Europe, including Greece, had different mythologies unlike most other places . These mythologies were handed down among the people, then were brought to the world in a frame of literature by a writer named Tolkien

 In fact, many VR games had this mythology as their motive

 There are monsters and human-like creatures in the mythology, and one race of them was orgs . Except that they have skin without any body hair, they looked exactly the same as humans, and it was described as an evil creature in the novel

 The Northern Europe mythology says that not only humans but these creatures came from the farthest north, and this meant the north pole . This mythology earned its credibility when combined with The Hollow Earth theory

 The Hollow Earth theory claims that the Earth is empty, and there are entrances to the interior word at the north and the south pole

 This theory was suggested In 1692 of The Age of Doom,1 by Edmond Halley, a famous astronomer who found the h.e.l.ley’s comet, and Leonhard Euler suggested the same theory as well . It became popular during the 19th century, and by the end of 20th century, there were written works and evidence that supported the theory, but was never accepted as scientific consensus . However, it was believed by many people, and had became the basis of many science fiction works

 The theory also suggested that there is a sun, ocean and land inside the earth, and the gate to the world opens three times a year . Some even suggest that there is a civilization named Agalta, and the ancestors of the human race took refugee in such a world at the time historical civilizations were growing . The climate inside is warm and humid all year round, which creates the perfect environment for creatures to grow, so the theory claims that there are many species that were believed to have gone extinct that have survived inside

 There was a eye-witness as well . A autobiography of a norwegian named Olaf Jansen describes giants that are four to six meters tall that communicates by telepathy, and giant animals

 The main point of the second theory was that these creatures might have came from the interior world . It was an interesting story, indeed, but had a slim chance of being true

 “The theories are not important, though . What we need to know, is their behaviour, their weak spots, and how we can fight them . ”.

 Haroon said no more words at the chief’s conclusion

 ‘So all I can do is get stronger for now . ’.

 He concluded

 “I know how disappointed you are, but consider this as my investigation to see what the situation is like . I’m training day and night, and now that I have my goal for training, I won’t let you wait for long . I will kill the harks that put the people of this village in danger no matter what . ”.

 Said Haroon, determinedly

 It slowly brightened up the three’s faces

 “Right . That sounds better . I’ll think of your visit as pre-investigation on how the situation is . ”.

 Finally, a smile came back to his face

 “Alright . I don’t know about fighting, but you look like a good warrior . I’ll trust you . ”.

 Ahri smiled too, supposedly to make Haroon feel rather comfortable

 “We’ve waited for more than a decade . One or two more years are nothing to us . I trust you,” said Bari

 Only after than, did Haroon feel better

 “We’re doing our preparation as well,” said Alyong.

 “Huh? Preparation?”.

 “Yes . Cheong-il crafted us three game capsules, and using them, we’re training three warriors through the game called Beyond . We’ve selected three kids with the most potential, Dr . Cheong-il chose, to be exact . Even now, they are training combat skills learned from the game to use in real life . They only come out once a week, so you can’t meet them right now, but they’ll be good supports when you come back to fight the harks . ”.

 Haroon could see how good those capsules were . Although he didn’t expected them to have A . I . s installed like Bell, they must share a good amount of technology

 So his foster father at least left some supporters . Haroon felt like he wanted to give them help if they happen to meet

 ‘Man, I came for wool and i’m going home shorn . ’.

 He brought gifts that were worth $30,000 total, but he didn’t feel happy about it

Translated by Channy. Edited by Kmatt.

Footnotes:.

1 Probably a mistake by the author . The Age of Doom =/= AD, as far as the definitions are concerned

Kmatt: I wonder if his dads left any more “surprises” for Haroon?.

Channy: Kmatt is soooooo slooooooow editing, sorry this took ages