In the past, no, in the future that hasn’t happened yet, I [1] didn't know exactly how the war started. It was only natural because during that time, I was far from the center of the continent and it wasn’t like I expected it at all. There was an issue concerning the tutorial and there was also an ideological issue. In this situation, the result was more important than the cause.

The conflict started off as a small battle and as it grew into a large fire, it devoured the entire continent. A few groups loathed each other for no reason and even after some time passed, they still screamed their ideologies. Rather than defending one’s own beliefs, they focused on expressing their hate toward each other. Malice begets malice, anger begets anger and revenge begets revenge.

I thought that the war was going to end someday, but it didn’t. A war between the earthlings and the natives. A war between the natives and a war between the earthlings. As they changed the target they loathed and the hate increased, they focused more on the war and treated each other like slaves, and even conducted massacres.

It wasn’t difficult to find horrendous sights everywhere and everyone tacitly agreed to pretend not to notice. Not only did everyone’s distrust toward each other grew, but they also couldn’t even band together in the fight that was going to happen later.

During that time, the archmage that everyone was envious of hung himself after he left an unknown message. A Japanese shaman was murdered and I wasn’t sure if the Mercenary Queen was still alive. The people that I called family and the clan members all died and the many players that were called heroes either died or were ruined. Even the chosen warrior of the holy sword lost their light.

After some time, the alliance shattered. The first act of this meaningless war ended with many casualties.

The boomerang that was thrown far away basically came back to me.

All of mankind was at fault.

“Battles and wars are different.”

“What…”

“I acknowledge the fact that you’re strong and I can’t win against you. It’s not only me, but the people under me won’t be able to win against you. No matter how many times I think about it, it’s a fact I can’t deny. That’s right, I can’t deny it at all.”

“You’re… human…”

“Yes, I’m human. I thought you wouldn’t notice because of my mask… I guess a genius swordsman that’s praised by everyone carries a different atmosphere. I heard you were being protected by magic, but I guess it wasn’t that effective.”

“It’s just a feeling. You obviously look different from the others.”

“I can’t tell whether you’re complimenting or insulting me.”

“What’s your reason for siding with them?”

“I was just betting on the side that had a higher chance of winning. It’s a very obvious and reasonable decision.”

“Many humans died.”

“I already knew that. But the humans had always been killing each other. No matter how many people die, it won’t be as many as in the past. Actually, the higher-ups want to maintain the human population in a very peaceful and standardized location. It’ll be more helpful.”

“Betraying the human race…”

“You’re talking nonsense. I’m not the only one that betrayed them and you should know that.”

“Don’t you feel any remorse?”

“Well, it’s not that I don’t feel any remorse. My heart broke a little when I killed a civilian and when I had to betray a cute mage that loved me. Love through a fateful encounter. Thinking about that innocent woman always makes me laugh. Pffft. I never thought that she would take her own life. Why did she do that? I wanted to use her a bit more. I guess she couldn’t overcome the guilt.”

“You…”

“It also broke my heart to watch the queen of an empire kill the subjects that she loved, but I had to do it. It was necessary. Seeing a warrior watch their loved ones die also broke my heart. I’m sure the warrior thinks that they’ve been betrayed by all of you. Pffft. That’s why you should’ve done your job properly; we could have avoided these misunderstandings.”

“Who… are you? Who the hell are you?!”

“There’s no need for you to know. Actually, there’s something stranger than that. I never thought you’d react so passionately. I guess it’s different when a loved one dies and when a stranger dies.”

“...”

“Kim Hyun-Sung, you can’t consider yourself as a good person.”

“You…”

“You’re a hypocrite trash.”

“I asked you who…”

“I told you that you don’t need to know and even if I told you, you won’t even remember who I am. What’s more important right now is the action you need to take in order to survive.”

“Killing you...”

“Don’t act all noble, you piece of trash! You don’t have a choice. Of course, I know it’ll be a little hard. But how about we do this, Kim Hyun-Sung? Since I’m not a bad guy, I’ll give you an opportunity so that you won’t feel so guilty. Kill the bastard that’s panting next to you. If you don’t, your lover dies. Oh, I guess she can’t be considered your lover. How should I describe you two? You two did do it, right?”

“You bastard…”

“I’ll tell you again but you don’t have a choice. If you refuse, I’ll hand this bitch over to a group of perverted bastards and she’ll have a great time all day. I suggest you hurry up and make a choice before I run out of patience… Of course, I’ll keep my promise. Unlike someone else, I’m very good at keeping promises…”

“...”

“Hahaha!”

“...”

“I told you that he would do it, noona. Ohhh, of course, I’m going to keep my promise. I’m going to let him live and also let the woman go. It’s a bit of a waste to kill him here. He can’t die here. I’ll make sure to put in a good word when I speak to the higher-ups. Oh, I’ll return soon. Don’t worry, my love.”

“...”

“...”

“Good job, Kim Hyun-Sung. I’m not sure how I should say goodbye… Hm, I know. See you next time.”

Crunch!

“Oh.”

Kim Hyun-Sung opened his eyes and his back was covered in cold sweat. He only felt disgusted at the wetness for a moment because when he looked up, he saw the ceiling he had always stared at.

‘I’ve returned. Did I return?’

It was a question he asked himself several times throughout the day.

He was certain that he returned. This was definitely the Blue Guild’s house, not the place he was staying at before coming here.

There was a sword hanging on one side of the room and there was a sword sitting on top of his bed. This simple room with barely any furniture was definitely his room.

He always smelled like blood, but that smell was no longer there. Instead of hearing screams and people yelling to save them, he heard the sounds of birds chirping in the morning. Instead of feeling a dark and ominous magic, he felt a bright light shining down.

It had been a while since Kim Hyun-Sung dreamed of those times and it had been even a longer time since he had a dream that felt so real. It was to the point that he could still vividly remember the horrible feeling of stabbing his comrade, the conversation he had, and the atmosphere that place gave off. He naturally felt disgusted to the point that he didn’t realize that his body had become tense. His breathing became more rapid and he started to feel dizzy. He was about to throw up while his head was filled with different thoughts. When he started to recall his past memories one by one, he couldn’t endure it anymore and threw up on the ground.

“Huff… huff…”

Kim Hyun-Sung hugged himself with trembling arms.

‘It’s different now.’

Obviously, things were different now. There weren’t any accidents in the tutorial and he managed to save a lot of people.

‘It’s different now.’

He fixed a lot of issues that happened before and corrected all the mistakes he made so far. There wasn’t a single thing that bothered him.

“It’s different. It’s different from before. I’m sure of it…”

He was able to find Jung Ha-Yan from the start and Kim Ye-Ri started going to dungeons with him. Being able to kill Jung Jin-Ho in the tutorial dungeon was a really great achievement and even though he still had a lot of people to find and things to do, he had no choice but to think that at least, the foundation had been laid.

Kim Hyun-Sung could consider this the start, but he was starting off with a really good advantage. This was a good way to describe it. Compared to before, this round was unimaginably different and he couldn’t explain it by simply saying that the situation had improved. Basically, the world changed and it was obvious who was in the center. A talented player he didn’t see during the first round.

‘Lee Ki-Young.’

There were talented players that didn’t exist during the first round. It applied to Park Deok-Gu and it applied to Lee Ki-Young even more because not only did he play the frontman, but he was in charge of the entire party. It was true that Kim Hyun-Sung didn’t really expect much from Lee Ki-Young as a mage or an alchemist, but that wasn’t his only true value.

‘A competent person.’

Lee Ki-Young was too talented to be simply called a competent person. Even while watching him from the side, it felt like the former was using magic. He made sure that we joined the Blue Guild under good conditions, got close to the Mercenary Queen, and even succeeded in recruiting Sun Hee-Young, another talented person who wasn’t there in his past life. It was to the point that it felt like Lee Ki-Young had contributed more to the party than he did.

Not only that, but the Black Swan Guild and the Red Mercenary Guild didn’t get along before, but they were now in an alliance, which was something Kim Hyun-Sung couldn’t imagine during the first round.

‘The future changed.’

It changed in a very positive direction.

When the war continued, it either killed a lot of talented people or changed them. From the beginning, non-combatants got involved in the fight between those in power against their will. Of course, it was natural to think that the foundation had to be laid from the beginning for these people so that they could grow. 

As such, Kim Hyun-Sung thought that there had to be a positive change, but the situation became a little bit better than he thought.

The butterfly effect. A small flap could create a typhoon. Seeing that happen with his own eyes made him feel dumbfounded.

The small connection he made in an unexpected place was currently changing Lindel and it was in a positive direction. Of course, it wasn’t good to make big changes to the future that was coming, but their situation right now wasn’t so bad.

‘We need to have reserves.’

‘Now was the time to develop our powers to the fullest.’

While Kim Hyun-Sung was having different thoughts, he heard a voice outside his room.

“Hey, bro,” Park Deok-Gu said.

“Yes, Mr. Deok-Gu?” he replied.

“It’s time for breakfast. Hyung-nim, noonim, the kid, and the lady priest are all waiting,” he explained.

“Okay, I’ll be right out. I’m sorry. I overslept…” Kim Hyun-Sung explained.

“You usually wake up early every day. Were you not able to get any sleep last night?” Park Deok-Gu asked.

“Something like that,” Kim Hyun-Sung answered.

“Did you have a lewd dream or something?” 

“...”

“Hey, it’s a joke. Everyone is waiting so hurry up,” he said.

“Okay, thank you for letting me know,” 

It could change. One part of his heart was filled with an indescribably anxiety, but he was sure that things could change. The second round started in order to do that and it was a decision he made so that he wouldn’t have any regrets. It was his way of atoning for everyone.

‘Things can change.’

He was going to change the future; that was the reason why he came here.

“I’m sorry for being late,” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

“It’s fine, Mr. Hyun-Sung,” they replied.

“Now, I’ll explain the direction that our party will go,” Kim Hyun-Sung announced.

“Okay.”

“You can listen while eating comfortably,” Kim Hyun-Sung told them.

“Sure.”

“It’s regarding raising your stats, abilities, and changing jobs,” Kim Hyun-Sung started to explain.

“Are you talking about a new job, bro?” Park Deok-Gu asked.

“Yes, that’s right.”

1. The pov switched to Kim Hyun-Sung ☜