Ch.13Prologue (13)

As I cast Half-Kill in reality for the last time, I finished dealing with all the goblin wolf riders.

When the infantry following behind finally entered the village, this battle concluded with a clear victory for our side.

We successfully disrupted the goblins attacking the village thanks to the cavalry’s efforts, and the infantry that followed compensated for what the smaller number of cavalry couldn’t accomplish through their sheer numbers.

Of course, since goblins have functioning brains and survival instincts like any beast, they scattered and began to flee as soon as they recognized the situation turning against them.

With their mottled green skin that easily blends into vegetation and their small stature, they would be difficult to catch if they were determined to escape. Fortunately, we had me with my exceptional senses comparable to intermediate level.

‘….There!’

-Swish!

The “hunt” I conducted using simple throwing knives and a one-handed crossbow eliminated a significant number of fleeing goblins. With knights who possessed particularly developed ki-sense joining in, there was virtually no way for them to escape.

Thanks to this, we could say we had successfully dealt with all the goblins targeting this village in the first phase. In this situation, Lord Gafrang, the unit commander, made a resolute decision.

“We’re heading back!”

The current situation was unusual, and above all, while this was officially a regular subjugation mission, the unit’s purpose was to provide me with combat experience.

In other words, the current situation called for returning me safely to the lord’s castle, and furthermore, there was the issue of escorting the refugees from the devastated village.

With more than half the population killed and defensive facilities destroyed, the village had already lost its functionality. The villagers gathered their household goods and valuables before setting out to seek refuge in the safety of the territory’s castle.

And I could tell that the way people looked at me had clearly changed throughout this process.

If before they had regarded me merely as someone to protect and as “young master,” now the soldiers and knights were treating me as an equal warrior.

“Well done, young master. Please rest comfortably.”

“Thank you, Lord Gafrang.”

Thanks to this, I was able to shake off the lingering anxiety in my heart through their gazes, and I sought to rest at the campsite that the refugees and laborers had worked together to set up for us to spend the night.

I needed to report on the unprecedented situation of goblins appearing near a village close to the territory’s capital, and I also felt the need to dispatch specialized enemy extermination units instead of this “conventional” type of unit for goblin subjugation.

Furthermore, we couldn’t just leave the devastated villagers—now refugees—in that dangerous ruin, so we brought them along. Having decided to return to the capital, we noticed the sun setting and set up camp.

We secured a campsite that could be described as excessively luxurious and extravagant by this era’s standards, with tents surrounded by cloth to block at least the wind and sleeping bags filled with thick cotton.

‘….Ugh. This can’t be helped.’

Of course, if there was one thing I absolutely couldn’t tolerate, it was the completely tasteless food.

Tonight’s dinner was something like porridge made from salted dried meat and hardtack that we carried in case the expedition became prolonged.

The salted dried meat, naturally low in fat content and marketability, was preserved long-term by being indiscriminately salted and dried. It still tasted like meat, so it wasn’t a problem to force it down.

On the other hand, the hardtack mentioned here was at least dozens of times harder than the priest’s biscuits or military hardtack we might imagine—baked in an oven at least three or four times, making it so hard you’d need to whittle it with a knife to eat it.

If it weren’t for the salt I brought, the herbs to mask the gamey smell, and a bit of fat, it would have surely been like vomit. I forced it into my mouth somehow to replenish the calories I had burned today.

And after somehow finishing my meal…

‘Yaaawn….’

Unable to overcome the physical fatigue accumulated from moving intensely all day, I entered the tent interior and fell asleep from excessive fatigue at some point…

And it was only after I had fallen asleep that it happened.

※ ※ ※

‘….Where am I now?’

Having fallen asleep in my personal tent at the campsite, when I regained consciousness, I instinctively wondered about the strange scenery before my eyes.

Everything in my field of vision was so dark, as if not a single fragment of light existed, that even outlines and shadows were invisible—a chilling landscape.

Overwhelmed by it, I remained silent for a moment, observing the scenery. Then, suddenly realizing that I couldn’t feel or move my physical body, I frantically looked around in confusion…

‘….Huh?’

With a sudden sense of déjà vu, I stiffened my face and slowly tried to recall the past.

I definitely had experienced seeing a similar sight somewhere before. That much was clear and certain.

But despite that, unable to recall the memory that wouldn’t surface, I frowned and…

‘….Face?’

At that moment, I realized the contradiction in the expression I had unconsciously thought.

If I had no physical body that I could move at will right now, what did I mean by “face”? Then what exactly was I moving right now?

So while I was observing the situation without lowering my guard due to that unsettling thought…

‘Wait… a minute?’

Suddenly, I began to recall where I had directly seen this scene before. I could remember. The cause of the déjà vu I had been feeling since entering this space was…

‘I, come to think of it… before I was even born, in a space like this….’

Only then could I recall that empty something I had completely forgotten, had been completely oblivious to—from before my previous life.

Of course, it’s not that I recalled all the memories from that time; it’s just a vague memory that I had contact with “something” in such a space and made some kind of choice…

‘That’s right, I definitely there…’

The moment I reminded myself that I had obtained something from this space in that process, countless pieces of information began to flow into my mind as if surging up.

─itwillbecompletedinaformnolessthananinherentlyrobustphysiquethisisasixthsenseoutsidethefivesensesyouwillbeabletopossessaninnatecapabilitythatisdifficulttoachievethroughtrainingthephysicalstrengthisuncomparabletoyourkindreditisamadghostseedoftheswordaghostseedthatcutshumanfleshwithbladesyouwillkillpeoplewithswordsyoucanfeelwhatyoucannotseeanddetectwhatyoucannothearthisbonesarehardandtheskeletonisfirmanduntouchable─

‘….Urgh!!’

The flood of information, not refined in the slightest, felt like an assault on my brain. The terrible surge of information caused a dreadful headache, but at the same time, it revealed certain facts to me.

‘….I see, so this is how I obtained these talents.’

Apart from the headache, this information was telling me about my talents, constitution, and even special abilities.

All those exceptional qualities that I thought I had naturally acquired as my body (hardware) changed were actually acquired through some method in this space.

‘This is… too chaotic.’

But separate from that, the chaos of the information entering my mind was too jumbled to even comprehend. After organizing and analyzing the disorderly information flowing into my mind, what I understood was roughly this:

-Sword Demon (Talent)

[This is the seed of a ghost obsessed with swords. It is the seed of a ghost with the talent for cutting human flesh with blades.

You will possess power superior to anyone when it comes to killing people with swords.]

-Robust Physique (Constitution)

[This is an inherently robust physical constitution.

Its bones are hard, and the skeleton is firm and untouchable.

The strength of your body will be incomparable to your kindred, and your body will be completed in a form no less than blessed.]

-Hyper Intuition (Ability)

[This is a sixth sense beyond the five senses.

You can feel what you cannot see and detect what you cannot hear.

You will innately possess senses more sensitive and precise than others—a capability that is difficult to achieve through training.]

After organizing that complex and intricate information into a status window format for easier comprehension, I began to sense something approaching from this space…

‘This is… definitely that time…’

Just then, my eyes discovered about 36 small, shabby fruits—if they could even be called that—with dark, mottled green or gray colors, incomparably smaller and shabbier than what I had seen before my previous life.

Things that were too pitiful to even call fruits, more like scraps. About 36 of them. Plus one fruit similar to a grape with 10 fruits attached.

Not knowing exactly what they were, I pondered, then suddenly realized that their number closely matched the combined count of goblins and wolves I had eliminated before falling asleep today.

In other words, they were some kind of symbol representing what I had killed, and furthermore…

No. Let’s put this hypothesis on hold for now.

…I am not yet ready to face the worst transgression I might have committed.