Chapter 01 - Reincarnation, in a Strange World.

There was a great swordsman on the Kalia Continent.

Just three years after he first held a sword, he reached the level of an Expert, in the year he turned eighteen, he received the title of Sword Master, and in the very next year, he came to be called Kalia's greatest swordsman.

Johan Raven.

People referred to him as the great Johan.

“Great, my ass!”

Johan was bleeding, letting out ragged breaths.

His mana, once as vast as the great sea, was on the verge of depletion.

It was the consequence of pouring too much power into cleaving the dragon's breath with a single strike just moments ago.

“You are magnificent, human!”

The dragon was genuinely impressed.

Johan’s thoughts, however, were a little different.

“You, are you messing with me right now? After putting me in this state, what? Magnificent?”

“I am sincere. So much so that it is a pity to kill you.”

That a mere human could bisect its own breath with a single swing of a sword was something it had never even imagined.

“But what to do? Right now, I want to kill you to death.”

Johan readjusted his grip on the Holy Sword Bastian and steadied his breathing.

“Foolish! Had you begged for your life, I would have granted it.”

“Cut the crap! Once you start something, you have to see it through, don't you?”

“Human! You are truly reckless!”

In the end, the dragon prepared its final move.

It knew well that a mediocre attack would not be enough to bring down the human before it.

This was a first in its long, 4,000-year life.

The same was true for Johan’s 46 years of life.

“What the hell, let’s just do it.”

It had been about 300 years since a dragon's lair had opened on the Kalia Continent; if he didn’t settle the score here, the next confrontation could not be guaranteed.

And the outcome of this battle would be decided by this one final strike. With the sole intention of victory, Johan infused mana into the Holy Sword Bastian.

Fwoooosh!

At that moment, the dragon’s breath shot out.

That mighty inferno seemed poised to engulf the world. The dragon, too, had clearly gotten serious.

Cra-kaaack!

The sky flashed, and Johan sliced through space itself.

The great storm of flames parted like the Red Sea, and Johan and the dragon met each other’s gaze.

Only then could Johan see the direction this battle was heading.

‘This is it for me!’

Johan’s sword had perfectly cleaved the breath, but that was as far as it went.

In the end, it had failed to reach the dragon.

At that moment, the parted flames merged back into one and rushed to engulf Johan’s body.

It was a funny thing, but for a moment, Johan thought that massive light was beautiful.

***

“Young Master, it is time to go to the hospital.”

A strange ceiling.

For an hour already, I had been lying in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

The one calling me from outside the door was Choi Ho-joong, one of this family's retainers.

And my name was no longer Johan Raven.

Seo Ji-han. That was my new name.

Ten days had already passed, but I still couldn’t find an answer to this situation.

I couldn’t understand it at all.

I was certain that the moment the dragon’s breath hit me, I had vanished from the world.

Various possibilities came to mind, but the more I thought, the fewer plausible hypotheses remained.

‘I can’t figure it out.’

It was no use just staring endlessly at this unfamiliar ceiling.

But despite my lack of understanding, accepting the situation wasn't that difficult.

After dying, I had reawakened in Seo Ji-han’s body, and this place was not the Kalia Continent but a completely new world.

Accepting it like that made it very simple.

“Young Master, it is time to go to the hospital.”

“I know. Wait just a moment.”

However, there was one fact that wasn't so simple: I, Seo Ji-han, was living on borrowed time.

The reason was that, due to exposure to dungeon radiation in his childhood, his body's functions were gradually failing.

I looked it up, and apparently, it was a rare case that occurred in about one in ten thousand people.

In fact, I had known this body was the worst of the worst on the very day I reawakened.

Even at the spry age of twenty-four, my stamina was so depleted that I couldn't even do light exercise.

There was barely a handful of mana in my dantian.

‘Still, is it a relief?’

The fact that mana also existed in this place called Earth. The implications of that were huge.

The Raven family's mana heart technique that I had mastered was excellent for purifying the practitioner's body, making it suitable for healing this cursed shell.

There was one minor problem: this guy Seo Ji-han's body, unlike my previous life's, was of very poor quality, so it would take quite some time to modify it to the point where I could live like a human.

“Young Master. Are you all ready?”

“Yeah, but we’re not going to the hospital right now.”

“What do you mean all of a sudden?”

“Let’s go to the Abyss.”

“Pardon?”

“Are you deaf? I said let’s go to the Abyss.”

Choi Ho-joong looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“May I ask…… why?”

“Isn’t there a Spring of Elixir at the entrance of the Abyss?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“I was thinking of taking a dip in that spring.”

Last night, I had rejoiced upon learning that Elixir also existed in this place called Earth.

That mystical liquid had a very high affinity with the Raven family's mana heart technique.

If the Elixir of the Kalia Continent and the Elixir of Earth were the same, I could significantly move up the timeline for healing my body.

Of course, I believed there was a high chance they weren't the same.

The existence of such a precious Elixir like a public bathhouse was unimaginable in Kalia.

“Young Master, you must be joking, right?”

“I’m not joking. Why would I make such a joke?”

“Young Master, aren't you sensitive to the smell of blood? No matter how close the Spring of Elixir is to the entrance of the Abyss, you won't be able to avoid all the teeming monsters. Even if I can escort you, Young Master, I can't do anything about the smell of blood.”

“I’ll just hold my nose.”

“I heard your sense of smell is so sensitive that you’d foam at the mouth and collapse even if you held your nose.”

This Seo Ji-han guy. He's really something else.

“I’m fine now, so just guide me.”

The smell of monster blood. It wouldn’t bother me at all anymore.

If you gathered all the blood of the monsters I'd slain on the battlefields of Kalia, you could probably form an ocean.

“Then I shall ask just one more thing. Why are you suddenly looking for the Spring of Elixir…?”

“You know about my illness, don’t you? I was wondering if it might have an effect.”

“I heard that you’ve already tried treatments using Elixir, but they were ineffective.”

That was then.

Now that I knew the Raven family's mana heart technique, things were completely different.

“You talk too much.”

“I understand. Then, before we go, I will report to the Family Head…”

“Hey, Choi Ho-joong.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

“Let’s just go. Don’t tire a man out.”

Fortunately, I had determined that this guy was more loyal to me than to the Family Head.

Though I still didn't know why.

***

The Earth I had learned about over the past ten days was a truly fascinating place.

The scientific technology and civilization were developed to a jaw-dropping extent, and so was the existence of mystical spaces like dungeons and the Abyss.

“We’ll reach the Abyss soon, right?”

“It’s a 5-minute ride from the main gate.”

This artifact called a 'car' that Choi Ho-joong was driving was also a mystery.

The fact that this huge object moved with an energy source other than mana was difficult for me, a native of Kalia, to comprehend.

“By the way, what’s with your tone?”

“It's just that the Young Master seems to have changed a lot lately.”

“I told you. I have partial amnesia. To be honest, I'm a bit hazy on what kind of person I was.”

“The Young Master was a good person.”

Sounds to me like you're saying I was a pushover.

“So you’re saying I'm not now?”

“That’s not it, but.”

“Anyway, even if I ask obvious things sometimes, just bear with me.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“It’s a secret from my father. About my partial amnesia, I mean.”

I still needed more time to properly play the role of Seo Ji-han.

No matter how brilliant I was, there was too much to learn and know in this unfamiliar place.

Fortunately, Seo Ji-han was the type to stay cooped up in his room, so he rarely interacted with people, which was rather convenient.

“We have arrived.”

“We got here fast.”

“It’s only natural, as the prestigious Sword Families were established around the Abyss.”

The Haewon Sword Family, into which Seo Ji-han was born, was the most prestigious of the prestigious.

I heard it was even counted among the top 10 Sword Families in this country.

In any case, the fact that our house was close to the Abyss was also a convenient setup.

Entry permitted.

We passed through the guard's gate and walked toward the portal of the Abyss.

Fwoosh!

A giant hole.

The closer we got to the Abyss, the more that ethereal flame shone.

“Will you really be alright?”

“I said I'm fine.”

“This is your first time in the Abyss, isn't it.”

“There’s a first time for everything.”

In fact, on this Earth, everything was going to be a first for me.

“If you feel unwell midway because of the smell of blood, please give me a signal. I will carry you, Young Master, and run straight for the exit.”

“How many times do I have to say I'm fine.”

As I stepped into the Abyss’s portal without hesitation, Choi Ho-joong hurriedly moved past me to take the lead.

“Hoh.”

It was indeed a curious place.

With just a portal in between, a completely different landscape unfolded.

Just like a dragon's lair.

“How big is this Abyss?”

“It is known that the area explored so far is the size of the Asian continent.”

“I can't quite picture it when you put it like that.”

“In any case, it’s massive.”

Of course, I had no intention of venturing into this vast, unknown space right away.

For now, the plan was just to go as far as the Spring of Elixir, which was said to be at the entrance of the Abyss.

They said it was about a 10-minute walk, but that must have been calculated at a hunter's walking speed; with this pathetic body, it would likely take more than 30 minutes.

The entrance of the Abyss was a forest path.

We walked along that single path.

Kerrrrk!

That cry belonged to a goblin.

During my boyhood in Kalia, while first learning swordsmanship, I had lopped off so many goblin heads.

If I were to stack their corpses, would it form a small hill?

“From now on, you must absolutely not leave my side.”

“I know.”

With this damn body of Seo Ji-han's, I had to be careful of even such a goblin.

Of course, with Choi Ho-joong here, there was likely no danger.

Thwack!

Thwaaack!

Choi Ho-joong landed a punch on each of the two goblins that suddenly charged at us.

The goblins let out a single scream and then fell, knocked unconscious.

“What's the sword for, then?”

“It was in case any blood splattered.”

“What if your punch misses and the goblin doesn’t die? What if that goblin rushes at me?”

“I will make sure that never happens.”

“How can you guarantee that? From now on, cut them down with your sword immediately.”

“I understand, Young Master.”

I wanted to see for myself.

Just how skilled the guy escorting me was with the sword.

Although my body had become pathetic, my discerning eye remained.

Kerrrrk!

“They're here again!”

They said this forest path was teeming with goblins, and it seemed they were rushing in ceaselessly like moths to a flame.

Choi Ho-joong immediately brought his hand to the hilt of his sword.

Shwing!

The sword draw was swift and clean.

It was the sound made when the flow of mana through the sword is even.

Just seeing this much, I could tell he wasn't some third-rate hack.

Slice!

And then, he cleanly severed the head of a goblin.

Blood splattered.

The fishy smell immediately flowed up to the tip of my nose.

My sense of smell was certainly extremely sensitive; this one sense was not much inferior even when compared to the body of my past life.

“Young Master! Are you alright?”

As the smell of blood filled the air, Choi Ho-joong immediately checked my expression.

“Absolutely great!”

“……I see.”

Seeing the blood made the senses throughout my body surge.

The desire to improve this damn body also soared.

Now, I just wanted to confirm it quickly.

Whether the Spring of Elixir truly held the Elixir that I knew.