Chapter 74: Reminiscing The Past
It was not possible to know exactly why the war broke out in the past, or, to be precise, in a future that had not yet occurred in this timeline.
At that time, I was far away from the center of the continent. Such an event had not been part of my expectations.
There had also been various issues with the tutorial and even with other ideologies a.s.sociated with this world. In such cases, people generally looked forward to the outcome rather than the reasons behind such actions. Small conflicts that had acc.u.mulated over the years soon sparked a war that engulfed the entire continent.
Several groups began to turn on each other, forgoing their faith in their own beliefs. Instead, they began to focus solely on undermining those they deemed as enemies. Their malice bred more malice, their wrath bred anger, and their attempts at exacting revenge bred hatred.
This was the war between the Earthlings and the Aboriginal people - a battle between the newcomers and the natives.
Everyone immersed themselves in the war and did everything they could to enslave or slaughter their enemies.
It was not difficult to witness such conflicts everywhere I went, but it was like no one wanted to address the elephant in the room. I, too, pretended not to know a thing about this. As a result, the distrust only grew, and it was impossible to find stable grounds to form treaties, alliances, or to even come to an agreement.
Because of such events, the Archmage, who had been the envy of everyone, eventually hung himself. j.a.panese shamans were slaughtered. The Mercenary Queen had her life regularly threatened. Those they called their family, even those who belonged in clans, lost their lives.
Many of those who were called heroes were killed or destroyed.
The holy sword of the chosen warrior also lost its light.
As time pa.s.sed and the coalitions eventually broke down, the first part of this meaningless war ended with countless casualties.
Karma had come for its debt. This was all humanity’s fault.
“A war is different from a battle.”
“What…”
“Honestly, I will admit that you are strong, to the point where I - nor those who are beneath me - cannot defeat you. No matter how annoying this is to admit, this fact is undeniable.”
“But… you are human…”
“Yes, I am human. I thought I would be unrecognizable because of the mask… But I heard that the genius prosecutor who is praised by everyone looks different, too. I heard that you are protected by magical power, but the quality of that power in itself is not good.”
“It’s just a feeling. You look a little bit different from them.”
“It’s hard to tell if that is a praise or an insult.”
“Why did you choose to stand on their side?”
“It’s only rational for me to choose the side that’s more likely to succeed.”
“Many humans have died because of this!”
“I know. However, the act of humans killing each other isn’t new. These people want to maintain the population in a peaceful and standardized place. They believe that this would be more beneficial in the long run.”
“You betrayed humanity.”
“Well, I obviously wasn’t the only one to do so. You know that.”
“Don’t you feel any remorse?”
“I do not know. My heart did ache when I had to kill a civilian, and it definitely hurt when I had to kill that cute, little wizard who loved me endlessly. Such an innocent girl’s life was wasted just for loving someone she happened to meet by chance. I never even thought I’d end my own life. Why did I have to do that? There were so many things I still wanted to do. I guess I couldn’t take the guilt.”
“You…”
“It hurt even when I watched the Empire’s Queen kill the very people she loved. However, it had to be done. It was necessary. My heart broke even more when I saw the warrior who had to watch my loved one die. He seemed to think you had betrayed him. Don’t get me wrong.”
“You… Who are you? Who are you talking about?”
“You don’t need to know that. I didn’t even think you’d react so pa.s.sionately. I guess it’s different for someone who doesn’t have anything to do with these deaths.”
“…”
“You can’t keep insisting that you’re a good person, Kim Hyunsung.”
“You…”
“You hypocritical piece of sh*t.”
“I asked you who you are.”
“I told you, you didn’t need to know. Even if I tell you, you wouldn’t remember anyway. What’s important now is for you to survive.”
“Kill.”
“Stop pretending to be n.o.ble, sc.u.m. You don’t have a choice. Of course, I know it will be a little hard for you. So let’s do this, Kim Hyunsung. I’m not a bad person either, so I’ll find a way for you to ease your conscience. Kill that motherf.u.c.ker gasping next to you. Otherwise, your beloved will die. Did you really think I didn’t know? How funny. You two have done it, haven’t you?”
“You son of a b.i.t.c.h…”
“Let me say this again. You don’t have a choice. If you refuse, she’ll be handed over to a bunch of inhumane perverts who would gladly spend the rest of their days enjoying what she has to offer. You’d better make a choice before my patience reaches its limit… And you know I keep my promises. I’m a man of my word, unlike someone here…”
“…”
“Puh!”
“…”
“Look, eunni. I said I’d do it. Of course, I’m going to keep my promise. I’m going to let him live, and I’m going to let the woman go. It’s a little wasteful to kill her now. Anyway, you can’t die here. I’ll make sure to talk to my superiors about it. I’ll be right back so we can continue our little chat, my dear best friend.”
“…”
“…”
“Good job, Kim Hyunsung. I don’t really know what to say… So I guess I’ll see you later.”
Quazzik!
“Ah!”
In an instant, my eyes had opened. My entire body was soaked in sweat.
Amidst my panting, I struggled to recognize the ceiling’s layout, gradually doing my best to a.s.sess the rest of my surroundings.
‘I’m back… Or am I?’
It was a question I asked myself several times a day.
This was not the place I was in before - this was my room back in the Blue Guild. I could see a sword hanging from one side of the room. A similar-looking sword was also on the nearby table.
Judging from the minimalistic interior, I could attest that this was my room. I could no longer smell blood from my body as I had in my dream.
Instead of the screams that had enveloped my senses, what I heard now was the cheerful chirping of the birds, signaling the start of another day. Instead of sensing dark and ominous magic, I could feel warm, cozy sunlight pouring down from the crack in my window.
It had been a very long time since I last dreamt about the past.
I could still feel the unpleasant emotions coursing through me as I plunged a knife into the chest of a dying colleague. Even the atmosphere and the conversation that took place within the dream felt very vivid to me.
It was no wonder I felt so dirty. My body had unknowingly filled itself up with power and hardened its defenses. My breathing had quickened, and my head hurt. A lot of thoughts swirled in my head as I tried to calm myself down.
However, as memories from the past began to present themselves to me, I couldn’t stop sweating, struggling to find my balance.
“Hah… Hah…” I found myself holding my own trembling body.
‘It’s different now…’
Of course, it was different now.
I had prevented any accidents from happening in the tutorial dungeon and saved tons of people.
‘It’s different now…’
I corrected my previous mistakes as much as possible. I had atoned for my mistakes.
“This is different. This isn’t like before…”
I found Jung Hayan right from the start and got Kim Ye-ri to join the team. Being able to kill Jung Jinho in the tutorial dungeon was a really big achievement.
Of course, I still had to find many people and had some more work to do, but I felt as if I had been doing quite well so far.
It was different now. Simply saying that the current situation had improved was not enough.
The world I was in now had indeed changed. However, it wasn’t from my actions. Someone else was responsible for it.
‘Lee Kiyoung…’
I had not noticed both Park Deokgu and Lee Kiyoung the first time around. They possessed the talent I didn’t know I was looking for. Deokgu was someone who focused on his training with all his might, and Kiyoung was responsible for managing every little detail of our party. It was hard to believe that an alchemist could have so much worth, but Lee Kiyoung’s true value surpa.s.sed what most people expected him to have.
‘He’s a capable person.’
No, simply calling him capable was not enough. He was the type of person who could perform miracles even when he acted as a pa.s.ser-by in most scenarios. He had the Blue Guild members play right into his game and even managed to form an agreement with the Red Mercenary Queen. In addition to this, he also succeeded in recruiting Sun Hee-young, a remarkable talent, into the guild.
I felt like he contributed more to the party than I ever did.
That wasn’t even everything he had done for us.
He was also responsible for the alliance between the Black Swans and the Red Mercenaries, an alliance that would have been unimaginable if he hadn’t sparked the change.
‘The future itself has changed.’
I could say that it had changed for the better. The war that had transpired in the past had killed so many talented people.
In the first place, many non-combatant soldiers were caught up in a power struggle between officials, regardless of their will. It was only natural for us to lay the groundwork for these people to grow now than to have them suffer through all that again in this timeline.
I knew positive changes would come, but I hadn’t expected it to reach this extent.
They called this the b.u.t.terfly Effect, where a single flap from a b.u.t.terfly could cause a typhoon to happen.
I could hardly believe it myself. The little friendships I had formed slowly became responsible for transforming Lindel for the better.
Of course, I also knew that changing the future too much wasn’t a good thing, but what could go wrong, right?
‘Anyway, I have to stock up.’
Now was the time for me to cultivate my strength and make sure I do my job right. As I was thinking of all of these, a voice came from outside my room.
“Oh, hyung.”
“Yes, Doekgu?”
“It’s time to eat breakfast. Everyone else is waiting.”
“Sorry, I overslept… I’ll be out soon.”
“When you go to sleep early and still wake up late, doesn’t that seem a bit annoying?”
“I guess you can say that.”
“You had a dirty dream, didn’t you?”
“…”
“Oh, I’m only kidding. Everyone’s waiting, so come down quickly.”
“I will. Thank you for informing me.”
Although indescribable anxiety soared in the corner of the heart, I knew I could change what would happen in this timeline. I wanted a life filled with no regrets. I wanted to atone for all my wrongdoings.
‘It can be different.’
I could change the future.
That was the whole reason why I came back here.
“Forgive me for being late.”
Only
“It’s alright, Hyunsung.”
“Then, let me explain the direction the party should take in the future.”
“Yes, of course.”
“Please, keep eating. I want everyone to be comfortable as I explain.”
“Thank you.”
“We need to focus on spec-ups, stats, and job changes.”
“You mean we have to get new jobs?”
“Yes, that’s right.”