Chapter 2: With My Instructor’s Qualification On the Line
10 years before I busted Demon King Pedonar’s ass.
There was a ti when I was tender too.
On that day, I was having a heated discussion with my high school friends. Boldly placed on top of the worn table which we were sitting around, were magazines about magical girls instead of textbooks. The girls in our class threw us rude looks that said “those idiots are at it again…”, but hobbies deserved to be respected. It was a healthy topic appropriate for those our age.
“I want to quit studying and go over to a fantasy world… I want to save a princess held captive by a demon king and marry her.”
“Just a princess? I would go on an exciting adventure with beauties of various races in a fantasy world.”
Two of my friends argued hotly as they revealed their preferences. They declared that they would steal the won of other n like savages, and create a harem which was rejected in modern society.
The gazes of the female students directed towards us changed from looking at idiots to looking at sothing below insects, but my two friends who were romantics of fantasy didn’t notice in the least. And my other friend beside them couldn’t be underestimated either.
“Adventure? How trifling. Is the history and science you learned just for show? Even world domination would be possible if you just invent a nuclear weapon?”
“Soone with a 30 score in science would surely do well in making a nuclear weapon. When it cos to fantasy, it’s gotta be a forbidden spell of the 10th circle. Wiping everything out in one shot!”
“Pft! Magic? Spoken like a geek. The martial arts from a Muhyeop world are the real deal! Have you even heard of a Sword Master?”
The things they wanted to do in a fantasy world. The dreams and hopes my friends spouted as if boasting were all outrageous things. They carelessly spoke of them because they were delusions that would never happen, tantamount to the occult.
“Kang Han Soo. What about you?”
The baton was passed over to as I was scanning the popularity ranking for recent gas printed in one of the magazines, absentmindedly listening to my friends talk. I felt a silent pressure from their pointed stares. They seed uncomfortable that I had continued to be quiet.
‘What do I want to do in a fantasy world?’
I hadn’t thought about it deeply before. Exploring Mars would be far more realistic instead. If possible, I would have liked it if they asked about so place I could go by car or plane… or in the worst case by spaceship. After all, if it’s Mars, I might be able to set foot on it before I died of old age.
The pointed stares of my friends gradually increased in intensity. Helplessly, I pondered on it for about 3 seconds before answering.
“My dream is…”
The gag trophy of that day beca mine.
It was a sweet mory before the day I was kidnapped to a fantasy world.
*
*
*
… Sweet my ass.
Its expiry date was so passed that the mold on it grew a flower.
My dream.
What’s wrong about inventing a flush toilet?
Even great emperors, pretty princesses, archmages and sword masters would crouch over a chamber pot or over grass and do their business all the sa. It wouldn’t be too late to consider childish dreams after that.
Now, let’s shove aside this miserable show of reminiscence, and confront the cruel reality that is without dreams or hopes.
I was inside of an extrely familiar room. An arch-shaped do enveloped in pure white marble. Instead of a white fluorescent light, a dim purple light from the lanterns hung on the walls illuminated the interior from all directions. On the floor there was a complicated picture drawn in the shape of a donut, but I involuntarily gnashed my teeth the mont I saw it.
“Hero-kidnapping magic circle…”
In fancy professional terms, it was called a dinsion transfer magic circle. I stood in its very center, and surrounding as if to trap in were n in silver armor.
Palace knights. They were the fantasy world equivalent of elite troops. Facing , there wasn’t a single palace knight who was nervous. And it couldn’t be any other way, as right now I was in a ‘high schooler’s body’, in no way comparable with those muscular builds of theirs like that of a bodybuilder.
“Ha, hahah…”
I couldn’t help but force a laugh.
Palace knights were no doubt the most elite bunch regardless of country, but for a long ti there had been no one who held their heads up so straight like that in front of . But after coming face to face with this unbelievable situation, I truly realized that I had lost the power I had built up over 10 years.
My forearms which had been thick as logs had beco as thin as dog bones. The rest of my body was just as pathetic. And the change wasn’t limited to my body.
My high-class equipnt and items had all disappeared. The ti I had invested in gathered them had beco for nothing in just one return trip in ti.
This wasn’t a dream.
This wasn’t Korea.
This wasn’t even on Earth.
No matter how much I denied it, reality didn’t change. But even so, the thought of so simply acknowledging it made my insides boil.
It had been a whole 10 years, 10!
If it had been soone else’s life then I could have said “Oh! I see. You did your best in a dog sh*tty place for 10 years huh?”, and passed over the matter indifferently. But the story changes when it cos to yourself.
10 years was an extrely long ti.
It was enough ti for a frail kid to exercise hard, beco chosen as a national representative and beco a globally famous athlete.
If one was to marry and start a family, it would be more than enough ti to have your first child, and from a gurgling babe, see him off at his primary school entrance ceremony.
3 years in middle school, 3 years in high school, 4 years in college. They say if you study for these 10 years in total, the rest of your life becos comfortable, but don’t people play in spite of that?
10 years.
3,650 days.
87,600 hours.
Throughout this long period of ti I yearned to return to Earth for every single day. Especially on days when I received the scorn and disdain of my damned comrades. It wasn’t enough that I was sent back in ti, I was still in a fantasy world.
How could I simply acknowledge this terrible reality…!
“Welco, Hero-nim!”
“…”
A sweet voice like that of an oriole woke my senses.
The owner of that voice… was a young woman donned in a pure white robe which emphasized the color the of the environnt.
Hers was a face I knew.
She was one of the comrades that was part of my dark history. But she wasn’t able to accompany us up to the last boss, because in one of our adventures, she fell behind in escaping a collapsing ruin and was buried alive.
On that day, I had held a toast by myself.
I had thought I would never be seeing her again.
“Have you co to your senses?”
“No.”
Returning in ti, re-testing.
It wasn’t a bad joke.
“Is, is that so. Hero-nim, please co to your senses soon! You’re very confused at being summoned abruptly without even a warning, aren’t you? This is Fantasia. A different dinsion from the world where Hero-nim was born and raised in. It must be unreasonable to hope for you to imdiately understand. I’ll start explaining things one by one from now.”
- Demon King Pedonar woke up.
- Danger arrived for Humanity.
- The Hero-nim of prophecy was summoned.
- Please save this world!
She broke up what could have been simply sumd up in four lines and turned it into a lengthy explanation.
I was aware of all of it as I had co back in ti. And that wasn’t all. I had even busted the ass of Demon King Pedonar who put humanity at danger and saw through the Epilogue too. I wasn’t a fool hero who ca back in ti because he died midway.
“Oh my! I forgot to introduce myself. I am Lanuvel. I am the archaeologist who received a prophecy in the middle of a journey of chasing the ancient legends, and summoned Hero-nim. Lanuvel ans the ‘truth’ in ancient language.”
Archaeologist Lanuvel. A genius mage who had both the looks and the talent.
She was the scholarly type so she was more specialized in supportive magic rather than combat magic but, as befitting a tough explorer, her financial capability, ability to survive, stamina and the like were overall on the excellent side.
It was just that…
“Don’t smile so brightly. It bothers .”
“Wha-?!”
This bitch was the one behind everything. The main culprit who kidnapped to this savage world. If, I still had even 1% of my capability when I ripped a new one in the Demon King right now, I would have killed Lanuvel before anything else.
She was a woman who was repulsive in whatever she did. That’s what defined Archaeologist Lanuvel.
“Stop pretending to be cute is what I’m saying.”
But I should acknowledge what should be acknowledge. The god who chose Lanuvel had an excellent eye. The before going back in ti who didn’t know the future… let’s call it the ‘1st episode’. 1st episode made a regretful decision when he was in the sa situation I was in right now. And that was none other… than to be enchanted by Lanuvel’s good looks.
In slight defense of myself, I was in my puberty back then. And Lanuvel was pretty. Her beauty was overwhelming to the point that the ga character cosplaying professional female actor who I liked seed like a squid in my mories in comparison.
But not anymore. Lanuvel was as pretty as ever, but I had changed. I had co too far to fall for a beauty trap.
“That, that…”
“Kidnapping soone who was living just fine and asking him for help? Do you find this situation amusing? Do you feel like bursting out in laughter just looking at my face? What a brainless truth like that na of yours, Lanuvel. Do you have a death wish?”
Lanuvel’s gorgeous smile froze.
Now that’s more like it.
“I am sorry…”
Lanuvel whose neck was shrunk back like a turtle apologized in a crestfallen tone. But she wore a look that said she didn’t know why the hero was being angry.
The hero would save the world.
In this fantasy world, it was common sense that was accepted as naturally as the harmony between Yin and Yang. The summoned hero would carry dreams and hopes and set off on an adventure. Every generation of heroes recorded in history books were all like that.
Clank. I heard the tal sound of armor.
“Hero-nim. His Majesty awaits you.”
Had he been waiting for that noisy Lanuvel’s mouth to beco shut? One of the palace knights who had been waiting by the side relayed those words to .
Though Lanuvel had received the prophecy, she was only an assistant. The material cost, magic catalysts and the like that went into making this dinsion transfer magic circle I was currently standing on would have been an impossible requirent if not for the support of an entire nation. In short, the Kingdom was behind this.
“I’m also waiting.”
“… Eh?”
“Why are you surprised?”
“Well that’s…”
The incompetent palace knight who couldn’t comprehend words asked what I ant. It was my fault for expecting too much of fellows who were muscle heads through and through.
I should explain in a way easy to understand.
“Think carefully. How many heroes are there in this world who can slay the Demon King?”
“Only you.”
The palace knight imdiately replied without much thought.
Just as he said, I was the only hero. This body of mine was far more precious than a re fantasy king that could be endlessly replaced by princes like car tires.
This world would end if I died.
“You understand now right? Let the king know that if he wants to et , stop testing the waters and co out quick. My ti is expensive. If you’ve got a problem with that, then you lot can defeat the Demon King instead.”
“…”
“…”
All those present were struck speechless at my bizarre utterance.
I bet they couldn’t think of any words to retort with?
?Retort: There is an old saying, that no one would lower their heads before a hidden gem. Lower yourself, Hero-nim. Those who raise themselves will fall lower, while those who lower themselves will rise. Modesty is a virtue and at the sa ti, it allows one to distinguish oneself from the ordinary.
A long line of nonsense was trying to lecture . It wasn’t clear as to whether this presumptuous ‘lecture’ was from a voice or was a ssage. It was hard to tell as it was delivered directly inside my head.
So who are you?
?Answer: A special instructor. It appears that you have received an F score for character. That is no easy feat either… But do not worry too much! It is for you that I was dispatched. I shall do my all to help you in being reborn as a respectable hero. With my instructor’s qualification on the line.
“My god…”
Professor Morals reporting for duty in a fantasy world…
Translator : Hunnybuttachips
Editor : Fujimaru
Reviews
All reviews (0)