[3 years ago, Akatrina]
s.h.i.+n Jonghak woke up inside a forest. The leaves shook amidst the cold, blowing wind. Only the sound of nature entered his ears.
“….”
s.h.i.+n Jonghak shot up after staring at the leaves blankly.
The forest was full of things he’d never seen before. The trees looked different than the ones he’d seen on Earth. Before he could even wonder where he was, hunger struck him.
‘Let’s find something to eat first.’
With that in mind, s.h.i.+n Jonghak began to quest for survival. He tasted different leaves, looked for edible roots, and pondered whether his body could combat clearly poisonous mushrooms.
After wandering in the forest for about an hour…
“Hm?”
He found a leather bag on the ground.
‘I heard leather can be cooked and eaten…. Wait, is that what I think it is?’
“…!”
A sudden thought crossed his mind, and s.h.i.+n Jonghak quickly ran up to the bag.
“Ah!”
After examining the bag closely, he became certain that this was the ‘food bag’ that Kim Hajin brought. It was imbued with [High-grade s.p.a.ce Expansion], [High-grade Freshness Preservation], and [Weight Reduction].
Gulp.
s.h.i.+n Jonghak swallowed hard and checked the contents of the bag. Then, he exclaimed subconsciously.
“Ooh….”
The bag was practically a moving food warehouse. There was enough food in the bag to last him a year.
“Hm, I guess he’s useful after all.”
s.h.i.+n Jonghak took out a strip of beef jerky from the bag. Nom, nom. As he filled his stomach, he began to look for his comrades.
But he couldn’t find anyone no matter how hard he looked, and night soon set in. Without any other choice, he started a campfire to have a proper meal by himself. It was then.
“…Who’s there?”
Uninvited guests arrived. A group of eight people carrying baskets and spears. They looked weak even at a glance and were clearly starving.
“I will kill you if you do not answer.”
s.h.i.+n Jonghak raised his spear.
“Ah, u-um, sorry, we made a huge mistake….”
They introduced themselves as hunter-gatherers. According to them, many citizens had died from the prolonged war between Schupert and the Royal Palace, and those who survived were runaways who formed groups of their own.
s.h.i.+n Jonghak had no clue what they meant, but he had to admit that he was sent to another world.
“Then lead me there.”
Curious, s.h.i.+n Jonghak visited the hunter-gatherers’ base. Just like their name suggested, they lived day-to-day by looking for food, often starving on days they couldn’t find any.
s.h.i.+n Jonghak offered them food.
However, thugs who smelled the food came to him.
“…Where did you lot get that food?”
Three armored knights appeared from the darkness. The hunter-gatherers trembled in fear.
“Offer it to Count Schupert if you want to keep your life.”
The knights were arrogant and forceful. s.h.i.+n Jonghak sneered and pierced their hearts with his spear. The three knights were killed in the blink of an eye.
When the battle ended, the hunter-gatherers suddenly bowed to s.h.i.+n Jonghak. s.h.i.+n Jonghak liked the feeling of being treated like a king.
“P-Please accept us….”
The hunter-gatherers’ chief cried and pleaded. Since s.h.i.+n Jonghak needed men to look for his comrades, he decided to take in these barbarians.
…Just like that, a month went by.
s.h.i.+n Jonghak found a farmable plot of land and made the hunter-gatherers sow seeds. He picked 30 men and women with talent for martial arts and taught them the way of the spear.
Because the atmosphere had ample mana, they grew quickly.
…Just like that, half a year went by.
They ran out of food. Their small farms weren’t enough to feed 500 mouths. s.h.i.+n Jonghak had no choice but to form the Vigilante to steal supplies from Schupert’s territory.
…Just like that, a year went by.
s.h.i.+n Jonghak had become the full-fledged leader of the Vigilante. His hair reached his shoulders, and he trimmed his goatee to look cool.
The members of the Vigilante also grew stronger by the day. Hard-working disciples learned many things from their good master, and they became powerful enough to be called ‘knights’.
…Just like that, two years went by.
While protecting the hunter-gatherers from monsters, stealing supplies from Schupert’s territory, and fighting the Count’s knights, s.h.i.+n Jonghak came to a big realization. His black-flame spear had become capable of scorching the enemy’s magic power as well.
s.h.i.+n Jonghak gave his newly evolved Gift a cool name, ‘Magic Devourer’. But that only increased his desire to go back to Earth, and his hatred for the ones who placed him in this world grew.
…And three years later, in the present.
s.h.i.+n Jonghak finally found the person he’d been looking for.
Kim Hajin.
He was cornered by Schupert’s knight, Raylen, but Raylen didn’t enter s.h.i.+n Jonghak’s eyes.
“I waited three years.”
He pointed his spear at Kim Hajin’s back. Kwaaaa… Black flames shot up from his spear intensely.
“What happened and where…”
During the past three years, s.h.i.+n Jonghak killed thousands of monsters and defeated hundreds of knights. He fought as often as he ate, and survival was the only thing on his mind. In this unknown world, he even had to take care of 500 lives. As even the slightest carelessness could mean death, he had to be on guard at every second.
“What have you been doing for the past three years…”
Under the heavy weight of responsibility and life-or-death situations, s.h.i.+n Jonghak reached a never-before-seen realm.
“You better explain properly if you don’t want to die.”
As the Spear G.o.d who surpa.s.sed all limits, s.h.i.+n Jonghak emitted a boundless magic power and an overwhelming presence.
**
“Well d.a.m.n….”
I became speechless. I was surprised by s.h.i.+n Jonghak’s sudden growth, but his killing intent was what surprised me more. It seemed like it was stabbing my heart.
“He’s tough to deal with. Retreat.”
Even Raylen, who introduced himself as a Sword Master, put on a troubled face. Then, he retreated as soon as s.h.i.+n Jonghak made his move. None of his knights uttered a word of complaint.
Poke—
Jin Sahyuk poked my side.
“Oi, what’s up with him?”
“…Looks like he’s been here for three years.”
“Three years?”
“Yeah, it happens occasionally. He’s been trapped in time alone.”
When Raylen and his knights disappeared, s.h.i.+n Jonghak and the Vigilante members quickly moved. They surrounded us in the blink of an eye.
s.h.i.+n Jonghak came up to me, glaring at me. He seemed to have aged by at least 6~7 years.
“Explain, Kim Hajin. I might kill you depending on your answer.”
He was genuinely enraged. Because the presence he was giving off was completely different than the old s.h.i.+n Jonghak I knew, tension enveloped my body.
“…I will. We’ve been looking for you too, kuhum.”
I cleared my throat and pointed at Jin Sahyuk.
“First, it’s all because of her.”
…1 hour later.
I finished explaining everything to s.h.i.+n Jonghak. He became furious when he heard what happened, and he charged at Jin Sahyuk.
To my surprise, they fought on equal footing. In fact, s.h.i.+n Jonghak overwhelmed her initially. It was yet again a matter of suitability.
s.h.i.+n Jonghak’s black flames burned up Jin Sahyuk’s magic power, and Jin Sahyuk was put at a disadvantage without her [Magic Weapon Emission].
Watching their fight, gooseb.u.mps shot up on my body. I never expected s.h.i.+n Jonghak to fight evenly with Jin Sahyuk. Since he even pushed close to victory at first, my shock couldn’t be described with words.
Of course, if the fight prolonged, Jin Sahyuk would have won with her cheaty Gift, [Reality Manipulation].
In any case, after a conversation of fists, we returned to s.h.i.+n Jonghak’s town.
“The crystal you talked about is in the town.”
s.h.i.+n Jonghak had a crystal shard inside the town. But I was more surprised with the town than the crystal shard. It had fences, guards, watchtowers, and most things that a town needed.
“…You built all this on your own?”
Jin Sahyuk asked s.h.i.+n Jonghak. With their fight, she had acknowledged s.h.i.+n Jonghak’s strength.
“Everyone helped. Though, of course, I did 70% of the work. 673 people live here now.”
s.h.i.+n Jonghak explained proudly. But soon, he looked back at me with a complicated expression.
“But this place is really just a materialized fake world?”
“…Yeah.”
I nodded.
“….”
s.h.i.+n Jonghak didn’t say much, but he couldn’t hide his bitterness.
“Anyways, take it. You can go back if you have six, right?”
s.h.i.+n Jonghak handed the shard over.
===
[Continental Fragment Piece]
—A crystal that maintains the Recorded Past.
—Supplies mana for growth.
===
As expected, each crystal shard had its own function. This was what helped s.h.i.+n Jonghak grow so quickly.
Now, I had two.
“Bring your townsmen to the capital. It’s a much better place now.”
“…Capital?”
“Yeah.”
s.h.i.+n Jonghak seemed reluctant. It was the same for the Vigilante members standing next to him. They were clearly unhappy with having us here.
“Staying here is dangerous. Monsters will arrive soon.”
Jin Sahyuk tried to persuade s.h.i.+n Jonghak, but he only scoffed at her, asking how she knew that. Jin Sahyuk scoffed back and explained.
“This is the world I lived in. I know better than anyone else what will happen in the future.”
“….”
s.h.i.+n Jonghak stared at Jin Sahyuk fixedly, then turned his head towards me.
“Kim Hajin, what is this crazy b.i.t.c.h blabbering on about?”
…The second fight between s.h.i.+n Jonghak and Jin Sahyuk started.
**
[Pandemonium, Chameleon Troupe’s Base]
When news broke that Fenrir was captured, Boss wanted to head out immediately to rescue him. That day, she lost her cool. She couldn’t see what was in front of her and couldn’t hear what anyone said.
However, Spartan was there to stop Boss. Spartan let Boss know that Kim Hajin was safe, and knowing that Kim Hajin and Spartan were connected, Boss had no choice but to believe him.
“…I’ll say it once again, if anything happens to Kim Hajin, you’re dead.”
From that day, Boss always had Spartan by her side. She wanted to know if anything happened to Kim Hajin as soon as possible.
—Pieeek.
Spartan shook his beak sorrowfully.
“…I’m kidding. Well, half-kidding.”
Boss smiled and held Spartan in her arms.
“So, Boss, what are we going to do~? We kidnapped her parents too.” Jain asked. She was staring at Boss from the couch.
Boss replied briefly, “First, let the three of them talk.”
“Un~ Okay, but there’s something else you should know before that~”
Jain’s expression stiffened frighteningly.
“There’s a rumor going around that ‘Bell’ joined the Orden a.s.sa.s.sination Team.”
“….”
Boss’ shoulders froze. Just hearing his name filled her with rage. However, she constantly told herself to cool her head. All for a more thorough revenge.
“Also… about the Kw.a.n.g-Oh Incident. We found out who was behind it. You’ve heard of Kim Sukho, right? He’s the former president.”
Boss nodded. Kim Sukho, the former president of Korea and the man who seized authority of the a.s.sociation.
“We have a lot of work to do~”
“You’re right.”
Jain snickered and stretched.
“Mmm~ Oh right, Boss, we decided to include Droon in this mission.”
“What?”
Boss furrowed her brows.
“We don’t have a choice, we need his power for this mission. Think of all the powerful people joining the Orden a.s.sa.s.sination Mission.”
Jain used Droon’s information network to find out that humans decided to deploy their second team around the time that the Djinns’ team was setting out.
Yoo Jinwoong, Chae Joochul, Yun Seung-Ah, Vast Expanse, Yoo Sihyuk, Temple of Justice, Wicked, Destruction, Evil Society, Satan’s Servants, Pandemonium… Famous Heroes and Djinns from all around, as well as Kim Hajin’s friends Chae Nayun and Rachel, were all partic.i.p.ating in this mission.
“Also, that child is probably coming out of the Tower of Wish soon~ As soon as he finds out what happened, he’s going to partic.i.p.ate for sure.”
Kim Suho, the man of interest.
This a.s.sa.s.sination mission would be a ferocious battlefield with all sorts of characters. No one knew for certain what would happen there.
“Well, I’m sure none of them will stand a chance against Droon~”
Jain smiled as she thought about Droon. He had entered p.u.b.erty and refused to talk with them recently, but he was showing interest in Yi Yuri who was around his age.
“…But Jain, Droon is too dangerous.”
“No, Boss~ Dangerous versus dangerous, crazy versus crazy. That’s the best~”
Droon. The Gift he possessed rivaled the level of an Authority. The ability to summon and tame ‘aliens’ who wandered in the chaos of the dimensional boundary.
Droon’s rabbit, Mimyo, was immune to Aileen’s Spirit Speech, and was an ultimate weapon that could even devour a devil.
“….”
Boss nodded silently. She suddenly recalled a painful memory from the past. The day Kim Hajin was killed by Kurukuru. Thinking about that day made her dizzy.
“Fine.”
As Jain said, it seemed they needed to borrow Droon’s power to combat the Monster King and his servants.
**
Akatrina Continent.
s.h.i.+n Jonghak and the Vigilante entered the capital. I thought Prihi and her knights would oppose the idea, but to my surprise, they welcomed it. It was because the Vigilante only bothered Schupert over the years.
“Huaaaam….”
In any case, the sun had set, and it was now late into the night. I yawned while laying in my bed.
“Now I just need to collect four more.”
Since I had two on me and knew where one of the others was, I should be able to gather them all in 2~3 months. Even then, only 2~3 weeks should have pa.s.sed in the real world.
“…I wonder what Boss is doing.”
I suddenly thought about Boss, though I didn’t know why.
Tok, tok—
At that moment, someone knocked on my door.
“Who—”
Before I could ask who it was, the door opened. Jin Sahyuk was standing beyond the door. She approached me in her pajamas.
“What’s up?”
“I can’t sleep so I came to find you.”
Jin Sahyuk said something that didn’t quite make sense while staring at me with a serious expression.
“You can’t sleep? What does that have to do with me?”
“…Today, you asked me who I was looking for in this world.”
I nodded. I did ask that earlier in the day.
“Yeah, so what?”
“There’s something I wanted to ask you about that.”
“…At this hour?”
“Kindspring.”
I furrowed my brows. Kind what?
“Kindspring Winter.”
But Jin Sahyuk’s serious and somewhat sad expression made me serious as well.
“…That’s the name of the person I’m looking for. Have you heard of him before?”
Kindspring Winter.
It wasn’t a name I knew.
A kind spring and winter?
I was about to reply, ‘He’s a kind person,’ when a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
Kindspring Winter.
Spring and Winter.
Spring, Chun.
Winter, Dong.
Chundong.
It was surely only a wordplay, but my thoughts stopped when I realized this possibility. It felt like I was. .h.i.t in the back of my head with a hammer.
“…Kindspring Winter?”
I swallowed hard and muttered the name again.
Could it be? No, why would Kim Chundong’s name suddenly pop up here?
“Right, that’s who I’m looking for. It’s been a long time, so long that I don’t even remember the face of my servant.”
Jin Sahyuk looked at me with a bitter face. I slowly got up from the bed. I needed some time to think about this on my own.
“I don’t know who that is….”
“I already found him. The royal library has portraits of every servant.”
“….”
Jin Sahyuk stared at my face as though she was trying to find someone else in it.
I remembered what Kim Chundong told me when we met in the Tower of Wish.
—We will meet again. But let me ask you for a favor before then…
Jin Sahyuk’s gaze stayed on my face. Soon, she spoke.
“Kindspring… looked just like you.”
I didn’t say anything. I was at a loss for words.
“Oi, Kim Hajin.”
Jin Sahyuk spoke, just like how she did usually.
“Don’t you have something you want to say? You… son of a b.i.t.c.h.”
At that moment, something popped up in front of me.
It was a ‘remake notice’ created by a change in the story’s setting.