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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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23-year-old Jeong Yoo-shin found himself transported into another world.
It was utterly absurd.
He’d been on his way home after buying cigarettes and a drink from the convenience store in the wee hours of the morning.
A time when everyone was asleep.
Jeong Yoo-shin stood in the middle of the street and put a cigarette in his mouth.
Click click.
The lighter wouldn’t spark.
“Damn it, why isn’t this working?”
Annoyed, he flicked the lighter again, and finally, a flame appeared.
He lit his cigarette and took a long drag, filling his lungs with smoke.
“Phew. Hmm?”
As he lifted his head and exhaled the smoke, he realized he was standing in the middle of a forest.
Women with long, beautiful ears were kneeling on the ground, bound with rope.
They resembled the elves depicted in books and movies. Turning his head, he saw rough-looking humans standing nearby. Armed with swords and bows, they appeared even more menacing.
A one-eyed man looked at Jeong Yoo-shin cautiously and asked,
“Who are you?”
“Who are you? Where is this?”
“…”
The men stared at him suspiciously but didn’t move.
“Where am I? I was clearly on my way home. Ow.”
A sharp pain shot through the back of his head. The ground rushed towards him. As his consciousness flickered and dimmed, he heard a frivolous voice from behind.
“Boss! I caught him!”
“It’s a clueless mage. Good job.”
Jeong Yoo-shin then lost consciousness.
Rumble rumble.
The shaking woke him. A gag was in his mouth, and his hands and feet were bound and shackled. His neck was stiff from prolonged bending.
“Mmm.”
He looked around and saw the elves. They also had gags in their mouths. Their eyes were lifeless as they stared at the floor of the carriage.
Thud!
The carriage stopped, and a gruff voice boomed.
“We’re camping here tonight!”
“Man, I’m dying. This is tough, tough.”
Grumbling voices echoed around him.
Creak.
The back door of the carriage opened, and he saw the one-eyed man from before.
“Drag that mage out. I need to question him.”
At the one-eyed man’s command, two young men stepped forward and dragged Jeong Yoo-shin out of the carriage.
They roughly dragged him out and threw him to the ground.
“Oof!”
Shing.
A sharp sword was then pointed at his throat.
“Listen, mage. One wrong word and you’re dead. Don’t even think about using magic.”
The gag was removed from Jeong Yoo-shin’s mouth.
“I’m not a mage.”
“Then what’s this artifact?”
The one-eyed man held up the lighter.
“That’s a tool for making fire.”
“How do you use it?”
“You turn the wheel and press the button.”
After a few attempts, the one-eyed man managed to light a fire with the lighter.
“Ha! This is fascinating. But you said you’re not a mage?”
“What’s a mage? Where am I, anyway?”
The one-eyed man burst out laughing.
“This guy’s hilarious.”
“Huh?”
“Buddy, think logically. A guy suddenly pops out of thin air; what is he if not a mage? Do I look like a fool to you?”
His head throbbed.
The one-eyed man’s tone grew increasingly menacing.
‘Should I just tell the truth?’
Judging by the man’s expression, it seemed unlikely that he would believe him.
“Answer me.”
Jeong Yoo-shin swallowed.
“I think I came from another world. I don’t really know.”
“Hahaha!!”
“Hahaha!”
The one-eyed man and his subordinates roared with laughter.
They laughed uproariously for a while as if it were the funniest thing they’d ever heard.
Abruptly stopping, the one-eyed man grabbed Jeong Yoo-shin’s hair.
“Kneel.”
His subordinates kicked the back of Jeong Yoo-shin’s knees, forcing him to the ground. The one-eyed man pressed his chillingly gleaming sword against Jeong Yoo-shin’s throat.
“You know what I hate the most in my ten years as a slave hunter?”
“…”
He froze at the sudden threat of death.
“Liars. They go on about who they are, what they can do, what abilities they possess, begging to be released, spared, and saved.”
The man continued.
“Liars severely lack the ability to see themselves objectively. They’re full of baseless confidence that they can fool everyone.”
The one-eyed man added,
“Mage, if you’re going to lie, at least put some effort into it.”
“It’s true! I really did fall from somewhere else!!”
The one-eyed man smirked.
“This mage is delusional. I can tell you’re stalling for time, hoping your friends will come to rescue you, but it’s too late. Farewell.”
“Shit.”
The blade pressed deeper against his throat. The one-eyed man’s remaining eye was indifferent.
Was this how he was going to die?
Whoosh. Thwack!
An arrow, shot from somewhere, pierced the one-eyed man’s head. He collapsed without a scream.
“Boss!”
“Ambush!”
The men threw themselves flat on the ground, scrambling for their weapons and shields.
But the arrows were faster. Screams followed every whistling sound as the arrows cut through the air.
Thump!
A large wolf-like beast-person landed in front of the kneeling Jeong Yoo-shin.
“Don’t move a muscle, human.”
“Huh?”
As the evening sky began to darken, a wolf beast-person with red ears and a tail walked out of the forest.
“Karin-nim, we found him.”
The beast-person called out to Karin while wagging his tail.
“Release him.”
Several beast-people following Karin entered the carriage.
Clank! Clank! Clank!
The sounds of shackles breaking echoed. Everyone inside the carriage was freed.
“Ugh.”
The red wolf beast-person stretched, raising her arms high. The top of her ample breasts almost spilled out from her leather armor.
The situation was quickly resolved. Ten sturdy wolf beast-people gathered and cut down the arrow-ridden humans with their swords.
There were many screams, but few clashes of steel, and barely any groans.
Even Jeong Yoo-shin, who came from the modern world, could sense the enormous difference in skill between the slave hunters and the wolf beast-people.
Thud.
Human heads rolled to a stop in front of Jeong Yoo-shin.
“Black hair? What’s a Northern barbarian doing here?”
Jeong Yoo-shin, still kneeling, raised his head.
A red-haired wolf beast-person was looking down at him with her arms crossed.
Was her name Karin?
“Bow your head.”
A rough hand grabbed his hair and shoved his face into the dirt.
“Ugh.”
Jeong Yoo-shin’s face was smashed into the ground that was soaked with the blood of the slave hunters.
Their blood had a metallic tang, both acrid and sticky.
“Speak.”
As the grip on the back of his head tightened, Jeong Yoo-shin’s face was pushed deeper into the ground.
“Randolph, remove your hand from his head.”
“But Karin-nim.”
“Randolph.”
“Understood.”
As the grip loosened, Jeong Yoo-shin raised his head.
“So, aren’t you going to talk? What’s a Northern barbarian doing here?”
Barbarian.
It meant savage.
They had already decided that he belonged to this world.
He had seen the elves and the beast-people. Faced with such evidence, he couldn’t deny reality.
He had fallen into another world.
People treated this idea as a joke.
He refused to follow the same path as before.
He didn’t want his life threatened anymore.
Especially not by someone stronger than the slave hunters.
It was best to give a bland answer.
“I was captured while walking through the forest.”
“Ha!”
Karin scoffed. Then she picked up the lighter that the one-eyed man dropped.
Click. Click.
Karin easily produced a fire from the lighter.
“Interesting. Randolph, release this human’s shackles.”
“Yes.”
A short reply. With a chilling tearing sound, Jeong Yoo-shin’s hands and feet were freed.
“Alright, human. Let’s go our separate ways. I’ll take this artifact.”
Karin pocketed the lighter and led the elves and wolf beast-people away from the forest clearing.
Jeong Yoo-shin straightened himself up and sat down on the ground. He wiped the blood and dirt off his face with his hand. Looking around, he saw only decapitated bodies. He was the only one alive.
“Exciting, too exciting. Damn this other world.”
He had absolutely no idea why he ended up here.
“Status window!”
Nothing appeared.
“Status.”
No response.
“Son of a… Damn it.”
Jeong Yoo-shin stood up. He couldn’t just sit around. He had to gather supplies and survive. He had to stay alive to solve this mystery.
He searched the headless corpses. He stuffed his bag with pouches containing gold and silver coins, water, dried meat, and hard bread.
He stripped off the best-preserved hard leather armor and put it on. The lack of heads made the task considerably easier.
He took a bastard sword from among the undamaged weapons and strapped it to his waist, then grabbed a round shield and carried it in his left hand.
He intended to leave the clearing, but night had already fallen.
He had the fortitude to remain calm while looking at the severed heads, but he lacked the courage to walk through the forest on a moonless night.
He would spend the night in the carriage for now. With that thought, Jeong Yoo-shin climbed inside.
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The night passed, and dawn broke. Jeong Yoo-shin opened the carriage door and stepped outside.
The surroundings were unchanged from the previous night. Headless corpses were scattered everywhere.
Jeong Yoo-shin sat down, leaning against a carriage wheel.
Growl.
His stomach gnawed at him.
He drank some water from a canteen and chewed on a piece of dried meat to appease his hunger.
Where should he go?
The uncertainty was suffocating.
Slap!
Jeong Yoo-shin slapped himself.
“Out of the forest, then to the nearest village.”
He spoke his plan aloud. He would figure out the rest later.
Instead of venturing into the dense forest, Jeong Yoo-shin followed the carriage tracks. He prioritized safety over adventure.
The two horses that had pulled the carriage had been taken away by Karin, the red-haired wolf chieftain, and the massive male wolf beast-person, Randolph. He couldn’t forget the name of the bastard who had ground his face into the blood-soaked mud.
Their hoof prints were visible, indicating they had also followed the carriage tracks.
Jeong Yoo-shin frowned.
He felt uneasy about following Karin and her group, but he was convinced it was the best course of action. He walked for a long time. Perhaps three or four hours.
Instead of the smell of grass, the scent of blood hung heavy in the air.
Jeong Yoo-shin immediately drew his bastard sword.
Its weight, different from a kitchen knife, made him tense.
He entered the bushes beside the road and moved as slowly as possible.
The carnage on the road came fully into view.
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T/N – Hello, JayM here! It’s my first time doing translation work, so I hope for your patience and understanding. If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments. Other than that, thanks for checking out the novel and I hope you enjoy it!
Interesting start.
Good luck translator!
Thanks. I hope you enjoy as well 👍