Chapter 1
“Is this… another world?”
He stood alone in an expansive field, somewhere unknown. The blue sky, the clear air, the vast nature spread before him—everything was as beautiful as he had dreamed. He raised his hand to block the sky, doubting his own eyes. His heart raced. Finally, he realized that he had come to another world. The unfamiliar yet fantastical world he’d seen in novels and comics had become a reality.
He never thought he would reincarnate into another world after dying. He had been an ordinary office worker, tired of a dull and monotonous life. To escape his boring routine, he indulged in web novels and comics, but one day, a sudden traffic accident ended his life.
Well… waking up as a newborn baby was certainly unexpected. His name was just a common one, Ian (이안).
It felt like a dream. The sky, so vast that it was unimaginable before, and the air, so clean and fresh you could almost taste it. The animals here were unusually large, as expected of another world… There were even monsters occasionally captured by the village guards.
Sometimes, bards would tell tales of heroes in distant lands, and the local inn was always bustling with mercenaries. Watching the young noble lady from the count’s estate sneak out, only to be carried back, limp, by a knight after I tipped him off was a bit of fun too.
Although my mother died giving birth to me and my father, a low-ranking mercenary, was rarely home due to his frequent missions, life was still bearable… I thought this world was quite amazing.
At least, I used to think so.
Thud. Thud.
An old man was beating a ragged child with a club as if tenderizing meat.
“I’m sorry! I won’t do it again..! Ugh!”
“You little thief, stealing again?”
It seemed like the man was a fruit vendor, and the child had likely stolen from him. The punishment, however, seemed excessively harsh. But no one intervened. Everyone was indifferent. The woman at the bakery across the street closed her eyes tightly and turned away, the passing mercenaries wouldn’t lift a finger unless money was involved, and the kids nearby laughed like they were watching a game.
The guards seemed like they wanted to step in, but not enough to actually stop it. Most people reacted as though it was only natural.
I turned away. I didn’t have the strength or courage to help. I was still me. No matter if I was in another world or anywhere else, I was still the same person. So, I couldn’t do anything.
It felt as if my fantasy had shattered. Suddenly, scenes I hadn’t noticed before started appearing one by one.
Even this bustling market… The noisy sound coming from the tavern wasn’t from merry conversation but from mercenaries brawling, with others laughing as if it were entertainment.
The naive noble lady wasn’t just carefree; she was causing all sorts of trouble, burdening others with her antics.
The bard? He didn’t sing of heroic tales, but of uncomfortable truths happening in the nation.
In the back alleys, children abandoned by society were fighting to the death for a moldy piece of bread.
As I left the market, I saw thugs prowling in dark corners, and there was even a red-light district.
The other world was not the mysterious place overflowing with magic and heroes as I had imagined. Instead, it was a place where people were mercilessly trampled on. Not that those being trampled were particularly good people either. In fact, in some cases, it was even worse.
I ran. I saw the version of myself who had once thought this place was beautiful. The me who had brightened at the sight of everything… it now seemed like a fleeting illusion.
Was it because my mind had regressed along with my body? I wanted to crawl into a hole and hide.
When I finally reached home, yet another damned scene awaited me.
My father’s comrades…
It was painfully obvious what had happened.
My father’s death notice.
“Shit…”
A curse escaped my lips, something I rarely did.
It felt as if my illusions had completely shattered… As if everything was coming at me, labeled with ‘misfortune.’
I shook off the men who tried to hold me, and I ran again. There was nothing for me to take with me anyway… It felt like staying here would make everything my fault.
I kept running. Since our house was near the city gate, I easily made my way out of the estate.
The landscape around me was still breathtaking. The kind of scenery that could easily overshadow famous landmarks from my previous life… The view I used to admire at the end of every day… no longer looked beautiful.
I found myself deep in the forest, almost at its core. It seemed I was lucky to have made it this far without being part of an adventurer’s party.
Though I had managed to get here safely, this forest was considered a dangerously deadly place. Not just because this wasn’t the central region of the empire, but because it was a vast, labyrinth-like forest that even skilled adventurers or mercenaries couldn’t escape without an experienced guide.
It was also teeming with monsters. For example…
“GROAAAAR!”
A creature like an owlbear.
“?!”
I froze in place.
It was enormous. Not just metaphorically, but literally the size of a house—a typical middle-class family’s house.
And it was now chasing me.
The night grew darker, and the giant monster pursued me as though it were hunting.
There was no way out… or so I thought.
Just then, there was a loud thud behind me, followed by the sound of metal clashing.
I turned around to see a woman, standing tall, holding a massive sword. She had fiery red hair and sharp eyes. She looked me up and down before letting out a sigh.
“What are you doing here, kid? You made it pretty far… luck, huh? That’s the best talent for a mercenary.”
“ROOOOAAAR!!”
At that moment, I still felt that this world had some beauty left in it.
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