translation by mourningmoor
MARCH, SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA.
A heavy rainstorm, with 10mm of rain per hour, is pouring down.
Even though the sun hasn’t set yet, the sky, covered by dark clouds, looks as dark as night.
It feels like a lie that just five minutes ago, the sky was clear and blue with not a cloud in sight.
The movement of the black clouds covering the sky is unusual.
The swirling, stormy appearance is eerily dynamic.
Additionally, with white lightning sporadically striking here and there, it wouldn’t be surprising if something came bursting out from the black clouds.
Sure enough, the internet communities were also abuzz about the suspicious natural phenomenon.
First of all, Gangnam seems fine. According to the news, it’s only happening in Yongsan-gu?
└Are we getting an apocalypse movie?
Isn’t this how Hellgate opens?
Ah, why does this keep happening lately? I’m so anxious, thinking the world might really end.
However, contrary to concerns, this bizarre phenomenon didn’t last long.
The center of the swirling sky tore open, and a colossal lightning bolt burst forth.
Boom!
There was a brief, loud noise, shaking the ground.
The lightning, striking straight from the clouds to the ground, created a giant sinkhole in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, and at the same time, the dark clouds that had covered the sky vanished.
It happened in an instant.
The torrential rain also stopped as if it had been a lie.
And shortly after, the sound of sirens filled Seoul.
Electricity was cut off across Yongsan-gu, naturally paralyzing the transportation.
Multiple collisions occurred around the sinkhole, and police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances were dispatched from all over Seoul.
As a result, hospital emergency rooms were overwhelmed with work.
From traffic accident patients to those who had breathing difficulties from shock, emergency patients kept coming in.
The emergency room of Yonsei University Hospital was no different.
The fifth ambulance had already pulled up in front of the emergency room.
The medical staff, who had been waiting, approached in a hurry.
A paramedic handed over the patient to the medical staff and explained the situation.
“A patient fell into the sinkhole in front of Yongsan District Office. Male, 19 years old, named Kang Ichan.”
A patient who fell into the sinkhole created by the giant lightning bolt earlier. The news said it was about 5 meters deep, but not a single external injury?
The paramedic continued speaking to the doctor, who was frowning in bewilderment.
“According to the first witness, he was struck by lightning before falling….”
“Pardon?”
“The huge lightning bolt, they said it struck directly above this student… but that can’t be, right?”
That’s what the first witness, or rather the first reporter, said.
An enormous lightning bolt struck the ground, and unfortunately, this student had been struck by it while riding his motorcycle.
“Yet no external injuries?”
“Yes, but his heart….”
It’s extremely rare, but it’s possible. Instead of external injuries, he might have severe internal damage, and all his organs, including his heart, might be burned. That’s if he was struck by lightning of that magnitude.
In the end, the probability of this patient surviving is close to zero.
But we can’t give up. He’s only nineteen, just a kid.
We have to do our best until the end.
“Let’s try to save him.”
All the medical staff united in an effort to save the young life.
But, the faintly beating heart eventually stopped moving altogether.
《Beeeep.》
The long, drawn-out sound from the machine cast a shadow over the faces of the medical staff.
One resident, who had been sweating profusely from the effort, even shed tears out of regret.
The doctor leading the treatment checked the time on his left wrist.
“Kang Ichan, 19 years old. 3:46 PM. Time of death….”
At that moment.
“Professor?”
A nurse called the doctor in a trembling voice.
“Professor!”
This time, a first-year resident called him.
“Professor!”
Then, voices filled with amazement erupted from everywhere.
“He’s alive. He’s alive.”
Alive? What is?
“His heart, it’s beating again.”
Beep, beep, beep, beep.
The heart that had stopped started beating again.
* * *
Beeeeep―.
A strange and unpleasant sound irritated my ears.
I’ve never heard such a bizarre sound before.
I want to lift my eyelids, but even that doesn’t seem to be under my control.
A very unfamiliar place, unfamiliar smell, unfamiliar presence.
I can’t even guess where this is.
But one thing is certain, ridiculously, I have regained a body.
‘Regained a body. This is a completely different development from what I expected….’
I tried to move my fingers cautiously, but as expected, they still wouldn’t move.
I can’t even move my own body as I wish. This is the ‘worst turn of events’ among ‘different turns.’
I carefully tried to operate mana.
As expected… it doesn’t work.
Of course. I released all the stored mana when I opened the gate.
This time, I focused on the mana around me.
Indeed, the texture of the mana here is completely different.
This proves my second hypothesis. This place is not Armania.
But it’s been noisy around me for a while now. It’s extremely loud.
One, two, three, four… twenty-eight.
Twenty-eight presences are making a racket, but I can’t understand a word.
However, I’m not worried.
Even if I can’t move my body, and can’t operate mana, I have three divine powers. Of course, I don’t know if those powers will work here.
With nothing to lose, I quietly chanted the spell.
‘Language Purification.’
Oh, it works?
The babble that I couldn’t understand turned into proper words and reached my ears.
“A, a miracle, isn’t it?”
“To come back to life. I can’t believe it even seeing it.”
“His identity is confirmed, so contact his family first.”
Hmph. Another miracle. Unbelievable, huh.
Yeah, of course. I am a miracle itself.
The Guardian of the Armania Continent, Jesquière. The 9-circle Archmage loved by the Goddess. The owner of the Mage Tower.
An icon of miracles who received three divine powers from the Goddess at the age of eighteen, when others might not receive even one in their lifetime. That’s me.
Language Purification, Media Acquisition, and Heart’s Resonance.
Even if my body doesn’t move and I’m in an unfamiliar world, I am still an existence with the Goddess’s powers. Then, there’s nothing to worry about.
As always, my body will soon recover, and my mana will return.
Because I am that kind of being.
‘For now, let’s sleep a little more. I haven’t been able to sleep for a long time.’
Feeling the gentle comfort of the Goddess in this strange place, I firmly closed my heavy eyelids.
* * *
It was only after two full days that my body, which had been immobile, began to move.
The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was a pitch-black man resembling a wild black bear.
“Ichan, are you awake? Are you okay?”
What nonsense. Ichan, really. And why the informal speech.
I am not someone you can treat so casually.
I blinked a few times and rolled my eyes.
First of all, there seems to be no problem with my sight.
Next, my voice.
“Where is this place?”
It came out normally. But the voice… feels slightly different from usual.
“Where do you think? It’s a hospital. Are you really okay? The doctor said you are, but how can you be okay after being struck by lightning.”
The black bear-like man’s eyes welled up with tears as he approached closely.
Then he started groping my body all over.
“What, what are you doing….”
In an unfamiliar place, with an unfamiliar person, an unfamiliar smell, and an unfamiliar language.
I can’t speak or act rashly in a place that isn’t Armania. I need to be as careful as possible and speak sparingly.
Fine, even if a rude guy gropes me, I will remain polite. This is the magnanimity of the 9-circle Archmage, the owner of the Mage Tower.
After elegantly removing the black bear’s thick hand, I asked politely.
“Do you know me?”
“Heavens. Ichan, why are you being so scary?”
The black bear-like man gasped and cried out.
“You’re not okay, are you?”
Then he quickly disappeared from my sight.
“Doctor, doctor.”
His voice echoed and receded in the unfamiliar space.
Now it’s time to check if I can move my hands and feet properly.
They still feel as heavy as a waterlogged blanket, but it’s not as if they can’t move at all.
I cautiously lifted my arm and opened my hand in front of my eyes.
“What is this?”
A delicate hand and a bony wrist. Where did all the muscles go, leaving only bones?
And why is the hand so soft? Where is the glorious hand marked with scars from long learning and training?
I turned my palm over.
Nothing. The mark is gone.
I sat up on the bed and looked down at my feet and legs.
The foot size seems similar, but there’s something subtly different.
And my legs.
“What the hell. Why are they so thin?”
Just like the arms, they are only skin and bones.
Only then did I feel the urgency to look around.
This space, with its strange mix of the smell of medicine, urine, and food, is very unfamiliar.
They did say it’s a hospital, but what kind of hospital is this?
Without a single healer, everyone just relies on medicine, with drug bottles hanging from every arm. Utterly primitive.
What kind of world have I opened the door to? I can only resent my past self from two days ago.
“Is there no such thing as a mirror here?”
I asked a boy who was curiously watching my movements.
Then, with a peculiar expression, the boy extended his index finger.
Huh? This?
“If you open the wardrobe, there’s a mirror inside.”
A long wooden box. Is this supposed to be a wardrobe? And why do people here all speak so curtly? Huh?
“Thank you.”
I clicked my tongue inwardly but greeted politely.
Boy, take note. This is what manners look like.
I shot the boy a sharp glare and grabbed the wardrobe handle.
Maybe it was because of my scrawny, muscleless arms, but it took several hard pulls before I finally managed to open the stubborn wardrobe door.
“Damn it. So weak.”
A curse slipped out naturally.
I opened the wardrobe and searched for the mirror. Where the hell is the mirror.
"It's attached to the door,"
Ah, on the door.
"Thank you for……."
I couldn’t bring myself to finish thanking the boy who had helped.
"What is this!"
The reflection in the mirror.
“What is this.”
This isn't me.
“AHHHHHHH!!!!!”