Chapter 2. Mercenary Registration Office
The red sky looked like an ancient wound.
Kim Do-yoon walked beneath it.
No.
More accurately, he was being dragged along behind someone.
The red-haired woman leading the way moved through the forest without hesitation, as if she knew every path.
A sword hung across her back, and two short daggers were fastened at her waist.
Whenever she walked, the metal ornaments on her equipment lightly struck one another.
Clink.
Clink.
For some reason, that sound made everything feel even more real to Do-yoon.
If this were a dream, there was no way it could feel this vivid.
The sensation of wet earth sticking to the soles of his shoes.
The moisture from leaves brushing against his school uniform sleeves.
Even the taste of blood still lingering in his mouth.
All of it was real.
Do-yoon looked down at his hand.
A red symbol was engraved on the back of it.
At first, he had thought it was blood.
But the symbol was glowing from beneath his skin.
Very faintly.
Like a heartbeat.
[Pride smiles.]
When that message appeared again, Do-yoon clenched his teeth.
Pride.
The name of the first fruit he had eaten.
Even now, it felt as though something hot was still burning somewhere deep inside his body.
He was overflowing with strength.
To an almost unnatural degree.
It was hard to believe that only a short while ago, he had been standing on the school rooftop railing, ready to give up on everything.
His body felt light.
His vision was clear.
Even in the darkness of the forest, he could see cracks in the tree bark.
He could even sense insects moving through distant bushes.
It was frightening.
But at the same time...
It was thrilling.
"Hey."
The woman walking ahead spoke without stopping.
"Don't fall behind. Once night gets deeper, beginners have a hard time getting out of this forest alive."
Do-yoon hurried his steps.
"Where... are we?"
The woman glanced back slightly.
"That's the third time you've asked."
"Because you never answered."
The woman gave a small laugh.
"You're scared, but you've still got enough nerve to talk back."
Do-yoon closed his mouth.
In the past, he would have immediately lowered his head.
I'm sorry.
I didn't know.
I won't do it again.
Those words would have come out automatically.
But strangely...
He did not want to do that now.
Even in front of someone who clearly looked stronger than him, he did not completely shrink back.
Was it because of the Fruit of Pride?
Or because he had just killed a monster?
The woman spoke.
"This is the Ragnar frontier. More precisely, the southern edge of Blackroot Forest."
"Ragnar..."
It was a name he had never heard before.
"Is that the name of a country?"
"A kingdom. I don't know what kind of remote village you came from, but not knowing Ragnar is pretty serious."
Do-yoon said nothing.
Another world.
The idea slowly settled in his mind.
A world different from reality.
The kind of world that only existed in novels.
But there was one major difference from those novels.
This world had a smell.
Blood.
Earth.
Rotting wood.
Human sweat.
This was not some beautiful fantasy world.
It was a world where he had to survive.
"Who are you?"
This time, the woman completely turned around.
Her red hair swayed over her shoulders.
Her eyes were a deep golden color.
It was a color rarely seen in reality.
"Liana."
"Liana..."
"I'm with the Blackroot Mercenary Corps. Silver-Rank."
She took a small metal plate from her waist and showed it to him.
A sword and a raven were engraved on the silver plate.
Do-yoon stared at it.
Mercenaries.
Guilds.
Ranks.
This world had a system.
The moment he realized that, Do-yoon's mind began moving quickly.
He could earn money in this world.
If he became a mercenary, he could take jobs.
If he killed monsters, there would probably be rewards.
If potions existed, he might be able to bring them back with him.
And if he could return to reality?
Do-yoon's breathing quickened.
This was not merely a chance to escape.
It was a chance to change his life.
"You."
Liana narrowed her eyes.
"Your expression just changed."
Do-yoon flinched.
"What..."
"At first, you looked like a frightened animal. Now you look like a starving merchant."
Do-yoon could not answer.
Because she was exactly right.
He was starving.
Do-yoon really was starving.
Not merely for food.
Money.
Recognition.
Strength.
Attention.
Everything that would stop other people from looking down on him.
He hungered for all of it.
The forest ended around ten minutes later.
Lights appeared between the trees.
At first, they looked like tiny stars.
As they drew closer, Do-yoon realized they were torches.
Dozens of torches lined a long wooden palisade.
Beyond it stood a settlement.
No.
It looked more like a fortress than a village.
Thick wooden walls surrounded the place.
Two armored guards stood at the entrance with spears.
From inside came a mixture of voices, horses neighing, and the sound of metal being hammered.
Do-yoon stared at the scene with his mouth slightly open.
It was real.
This was not some movie set.
People walked along dirt roads.
Mercenaries wore armor.
Hunters carried bows on their backs.
Men pulled supply wagons.
Merchants wore hoods.
Laughter spilled out from taverns.
Everything was alive.
Liana spoke.
"Blackroot Outpost City. It survives off the dungeons and the forest."
"Dungeons... really exist?"
She gave him a strange look.
"Where the hell did you come from?"
"Far away."
"How far?"
Do-yoon hesitated.
From reality.
Would she think he was insane if he said that?
Would they imprison him?
He gave a short answer.
"Very far away."
Liana did not ask further.
But the suspicion did not disappear from her face.
As they passed through the entrance, a guard bowed to Liana.
"Lady Liana. Have you finished your hunt?"
"One Shadow Hound. And one strange guy."
The guard looked toward Do-yoon.
A school uniform covered in blood.
Unfamiliar clothes.
No weapon.
Do-yoon could feel their gazes.
Suspicion.
Caution.
But not contempt.
It was different from the way people looked at him at school.
These people thought he was strange.
But at least they did not look at him like he was an insect.
That difference felt strangely significant.
Liana spoke.
"I'm taking him to the Mercenary Registration Office. Any problem?"
"No, ma'am."
The guards immediately stepped aside.
Do-yoon muttered inwardly.
The words of someone powerful carry weight.
It had been the same in reality.
It was the same here.
But there was one difference.
Here...
He could see a way to obtain that power himself.
The Mercenary Registration Office was near the center of the city.
It was an old stone building.
A large wooden sign hung above the entrance.
The rough letters were written in a script Do-yoon had never seen before.
Yet somehow...
The meaning entered his mind.
[Blackroot Mercenary Registration Office]
Do-yoon stopped.
"I can read it..."
Liana looked at him.
"What?"
"Those letters. I don't know the language, but I understand what they mean."
"It's the common script."
"No, I..."
Do-yoon trailed off.
Was it because of the fruit?
Or had passing through the dimensional gate given him the ability to understand this world's language?
He looked at the symbol on the back of his hand.
The red light remained quiet.
The Registration Office was noisy inside.
Almost as rough as a tavern.
Mercenaries sat around wooden tables.
Request papers covered the walls.
One person was cleaning a sword.
Another was arguing over payment.
In one corner, a man with blood-soaked bandages was drinking a potion.
Do-yoon's eyes locked onto the bottle.
A small glass vial.
Blue liquid filled the inside.
As the man drank it, the wound on his arm slowly began to close.
Do-yoon stopped breathing.
A real potion.
Medicine that healed wounds.
What if I take that back to reality?
Hospitals.
Chaebol families.
Cancer patients.
People with incurable diseases.
Athletes.
Battlefields.
He could charge whatever he wanted.
Do-yoon swallowed unconsciously.
Then a sentence appeared in his mind.
[Greed is watching you.]
Do-yoon's heart dropped.
Greed?
Why was the name of a fruit he had not even eaten appearing?
He quickly looked around.
No one else seemed to have seen the message.
Liana looked at him and spoke quietly.
"Watch your eyes."
"What?"
"If you keep looking around like that in here, you'll die."
"What do you mean?"
"People who want too many things get noticed by people who already have them."
Do-yoon fell silent.
Liana walked toward the reception desk deeper inside the building.
A thin old man was sitting there.
He wore round glasses and had been writing something on a sheet of paper.
He raised his head.
"Liana. What did you pick up this time?"
"An unaffiliated Awakened."
The Registration Office became quiet for a moment.
Not completely.
But more eyes turned toward Do-yoon.
An unaffiliated Awakened.
That term clearly meant something important here.
The old man looked at Do-yoon through his glasses.
"Name."
"Kim Do-yoon."
"Age."
"Eighteen."
"Origin."
Do-yoon stopped.
Liana answered for him.
"Unknown records. Strange clothing. Can read the common script but knows nothing about geography."
The old man raised an eyebrow.
"Amnesia?"
"That's probably the easiest way to register him."
Do-yoon quietly listened to their conversation.
An amnesiac.
Not bad.
It was a convenient cover for hiding his true identity.
The old man took out a small crystal orb.
"Place your hand on it."
Do-yoon carefully put his hand on the orb.
The crystal was cold.
Then red light suddenly spread through it.
Several mercenaries nearby sharply inhaled.
Even the old man's expression hardened.
"Red class..."
Liana asked quietly,
"Combat-type?"
The old man did not answer.
He stared at the crystal for a long time before slowly speaking.
"Rare."
"How rare?"
"The last time I saw this color in this Registration Office was twenty years ago."
