episode_0001

Shake, shake.

“Jingok! Jingok!”

Someone is vigorously shaking my body.

‘Oh, dizzy.’

I need to come to my senses, but with my head moving along with my body, it’s even more confusing.

“Ugh. Stop. Stop!”

I shouted out loud.

“Hah! You’re coming to your senses. Crazy fool. How did you end up running at me from such a high place!”

A man in his late teens with a hefty build raised his hand and pointed to a cliff that was well over ten meters high.

“Get up. Stand up.”

“Yes!”

Answering loudly was a big man who came over to the side.

He was dressed like a servant from a historical drama.

As the other person grabbed me and lifted me up, I involuntarily screamed in severe pain from my left leg.

“Ouch!”

“Oh my. There’s blood coming from your leg?”

A chubby yet young boy said.

“Jinggyu, falling from a high place would naturally cause bleeding. If father finds out, there will be chaos.”

The man who called me Jingok, ordered Gae Bak to lift me up again.

“Gae Bak, just carry him. Let’s take him to the doctor.”

“Yes!”

I was immediately lifted by Gae Bak and dragged away somewhere.

#

Phew, am I reincarnated? Or am I inside a novel? Or perhaps a game…

Covering myself with a strange-smelling blanket, I stared at the unfamiliar ceiling and pondered.

Before coming here.

I was preparing to write a historical piece when I read novels set in the early Joseon period.

Feeling hungry, I drove to a hamburger joint and ordered two original burgers with cola.

‘It might take a while for them to prepare, right?’

While waiting, I started downloading a mobile game set in the early Joseon period on my smartphone.

Among the general version playable by all ages and the adult-restricted version, I chose the adult version.

– The 15th Century is Mine to Conquer

(Adult Version: Take all women of every race as wives)

The game title was ‘The 15th Century is Mine to Conquer,’ with the subtitle ‘Take all women of every race as wives.’

As my ordered burgers arrived, I put them in a paper bag, got back into my parked car, placed my smartphone on the passenger seat, and drove home…

While changing lanes to make a left turn signal, a truck behind me accelerated, trying to beat the signal, and then screech!

In that split second, I thought I was going to die, darkness enveloped me, and when I opened my eyes, my body had changed.

‘I am Lee Jingok… and this is Joseon…’

If someone mentions Lee Jingok, he is one of the strongest figures in Korean history.

To put it simply, Chuk Jun-gyeong was the sword master of Goryeo, and Lee Jingok was the sword master of Joseon.

Among the two men who brought me to the doctor, one was Lee Jingsuk, who seemed to be four years older than me, and the other was my younger brother, Lee Jinggyu, who seemed to be four years younger.

I realized my status here. However, I couldn’t fully grasp the reality of being reincarnated.

From the collapsed mountain to the doctor’s office, I could tell I was in a strange world.

But I thought dreaming so vividly was unlikely.

How many days can one dream an unending dream?

After receiving treatment and being taken to a luxurious mansion, I have been lying in a room with a boiling floor ever since.

At one point, a middle-aged man with a beard came with a middle-aged woman and scolded me.

“You should have been careful! Even if you’re at an age where your blood boils, how could you rush down a steep mountain path without looking ahead!”

This middle-aged man was my previous life as Yejo Panseo.

Later becoming a respected scholar, he enjoyed longevity until the age of 99 after retiring from his official duties.

Since I knew him well, I had prepared to write a novel set in this era.

“Sir, something terrible almost happened. Didn’t I urge you to hurry the children’s education as the fortune-teller advised!”

“Didn’t they say that if we lower our age by four years each, the bad luck disappears?”

“I was told that not only age but also marriage is necessary.”

“Phew, I understand. Let’s find a suitable partner.”

Hold on a moment.

Lowered the age by 4 years? And marriage?

“Are you crazy? Marrying this kid?”

Later, it was revealed that parents who believed in a fortune teller had lowered the ages of their three sons by 4 years each.

“It’s something not recorded in history, right?”

But if that’s how it is in this world, who am I to argue?

At the time of my reincarnation, I am 14 years old. My older brother is 18, and my younger brother is 10.

However, it took four years for it to be registered.

With the two of them gone, I was left alone, finding it hard to believe in reality.

“Phew, it can’t be real. Just in case, let’s give it a try.”

“Status window.”

I hoped it would appear.

Even though it’s a new life starting over, it’s not the 21st or 20th century but the 15th century of Joseon.

I should at least have some gaming abilities to make things easier!

Or I should have been born as royalty.

Being the son of a high-ranking official is a good status, but still, how does it compare to being of royal blood?

Whether I become Taejong or Sejong, at least I should have been one of the royal family.

But blinking my eyes and waiting for a while, there was no change at all.

“Darn. Is this not a game?”

Disheartened, I shouted just in case.

“Open inventory? Open quest? Log out!”

It was all in vain.

Sighing, I tried one last thing.

“Open help?”

Poof!

“Ugh!”

I was extremely surprised.

A holographic book appeared in the air.

Fortunately, I was alone in the room, so it was okay to be startled.

“Crazy. Was this really a game?”

Without realizing it, I reached out to the holographic book. As I did, the cover slid open, revealing a table of contents inside.

[I’ll Conquer the 15th Century Manual

– Chapter 1: Background of the Game

– Chapter 2: Characters

– Chapter 3: Items…]

“I’ll Conquer the 15th Century” was the game I was playing before I died.

No, more accurately, the game I was trying to download on my smartphone.

So, the holographic book that appeared was the manual for this game.

When I touched the first item on the list, a brief explanation about the game’s background came up. And at the very end…

[Reference: Treewiki

https://trreewiki.%@^%/Joseon…]

“Huh? Will it connect if I press it?”

Thinking it was absurd, I touched it with my hand!

It appeared!

An internet window!

“Unbelievable. Internet in the 15th century. Is this place inside a game? Or not?”

As absurd as it seemed, the fact in front of me made it somewhat believable.

After hesitating for a long time, I reached out to the internet window.

Spending the night browsing the internet.

I was extremely cautious not to get caught by anyone else.

Since I could only touch and not use a keyboard and mouse, I struggled to learn how to use it.

Summoning a virtual keyboard, dragging text with my hand to copy and paste, I practiced.

It felt like a dream, but having the internet made the fears of being in Joseon somewhat bearable.

#

A few days later.

When the confusion had subsided, lying in bed, I decided on my future life goals.

First, wake up from this dream.

One worry lingered.

What if I wake up in a hospital emergency room? Or in the afterlife?

“Still, I need to escape this hellish Joseon…”

Second, twist Yi Jing-ok’s life.

Originally, I die during the rebellion against King Sejo in 1453.

“But I don’t want to follow Sejo. So if he rebels, I must step in and suppress it properly.”

If successful, I might become the second most powerful figure in Joseon.

“If what Danjong does doesn’t sit well with me, I will either become king myself or dethrone Danjong.”

Honestly, I had no loyalty towards Joseon.

The only problem was that the rebellion against Sejo was still 40 years away.

“Anyway, I have to adapt to Joseon, grow, and take my time. No need to rush.”

Slowly. I decided to take one step at a time.

Third, live well by making money and advancing technology like the protagonists of alternate history novels.

“It would be great to conquer Ming and Japan.”

If this is real life, I will make such efforts for the future generations.

But I couldn’t shake off the feeling that this was still a game.

If it’s a game, is there a reason to expand Joseon’s territory multiple times and make it into the Empire of Korea?

Wouldn’t it be better to just handle the matters in front of me well and enjoy prosperity?

I decided to put this aside for now.

#

There was some confusion, but the subject was not me; it was my 4-year-older brother.

“That’s right. Even if you have an eldest, you don’t send off the second.”

But as I aged, I felt relieved knowing that marriage would be encouraged.

“Ah, do I have to marry someone I don’t even know?”

Especially since the bride could be 10 years older, I was even more anxious.

“Darn fortune teller!”

A few months before I reincarnated as Lee Jing-ok, my mother met a fortune teller who said that marrying off all three sons quickly would dispel misfortune.

But I’m not sure if this is part of the original history.

Honestly, the reason I was interested in Lee Jing-ok was because he was a sword master of Joseon, and details about his personal life or when he got married were not mentioned.

The same goes for my brothers.

“I wonder if Lee Jing-ok didn’t marry early and ended up dying as a traitor?”

In reality, the true traitor was not Lee Jing-ok but Sejo.

Sejo’s rebellion was a sloppy conspiracy, but he was lucky enough to overthrow Danjong, who had 100% legitimacy, and become king!

Lee Jing-ok is recorded in history as having a good character but died due to bad luck.