episode_0001

Four days had passed since I was forcibly returned to this world… Korea.

One day was enough to be bewildered and dumbfounded by the sudden turn of events, and it was ample time to compose myself from the shock.

My body, of course, was still a wreck.

Since I was forcibly thrown across dimensions, the repercussions were immense. Perhaps, for a human, merely surviving such an ordeal with all limbs intact was an achievement worthy of a line in history.

However…

‘I can’t tell anyone about this….’

“I was forcibly summoned to another world and returned with all my limbs intact!”

If I went around proclaiming this, I’d likely be immediately apprehended, confined to a white room, and subjected to long-term consumption of secret drugs disguised as sedatives. If I even posted it on a forum, I’d be bombarded with insults and mockery. If I told friends or acquaintances…

“You’re finally losing your mind.”

They’d offer genuine pity. And perhaps even report me in the name of friendship….

“Since I can’t go around blabbing about it anyway, I’ll just have to keep it to myself.”

As time passed and my physical condition improved even slightly, I was able to think “normally.”

At first, I was truly terrified. It’s more accurate to say I was half-insane. When I saw the goshiwon room, I thought I was under a powerful hallucination spell. I realized it wasn’t when, after regaining consciousness, I examined my surroundings and felt no trace of magic.

That’s why I was flustered, but what flustered me even more was my body, which had been severely nerfed.

And I mean, severely.

First, the mana that had filled my entire body was almost gone. Only a tiny bit remained; the rest had vanished. The status window, which was unfriendly but offered hope for survival, and the powerful, cheat-like skills I possessed, albeit few. They all disappeared.

I nearly fell into a panic due to the despair and intense sense of loss that replaced the sources of my strength, which had allowed me to survive as a powerful being on the continent. However, there was a reason I could grit my teeth and remain calm.

I had been nerfed, but I hadn’t lost everything.

Some physical strength remained. Abilities based on my body, such as strength, stamina, and senses, definitely remained to some extent.

“About 30%? Even with a good recovery, maybe 40%….”

My strength and abilities, both physical and magical, had far surpassed the realm of a superhuman.

“…Inventory.”

Over there, it was a spatial ability, quite rare, if not entirely unique. For me, it had been a skill, but now that mana and other skills were gone…

“Ah, damn, it works.”

A black, cave-like entrance, about 30 cm in diameter, appeared directly in front of my face. I reached out with trembling hands and touched it; it was definitely my inventory. The subspace remained. But it was empty inside. A considerable amount of my possessions and treasures had been stored there, and they had all vanished completely.

“Haa……”

I had lost so much, but there was still something left. More than anything, merely having all my limbs attached and surviving the dimensional jump was acceptable.

…If I didn’t justify it like this, I felt like I would go mad with anger and powerlessness.

‘First, calm down and focus on recovery.’

My entire body was covered in wounds. There were cuts as if from a sharp blade, and injuries that looked like I had been crushed by something enormous and heavy, all over my body. Deep, heavy wounds. It wouldn’t have been strange if I had lost a limb or ruptured something, but I had survived.

If I had items left in my inventory, I would have taken out a healing potion, but what wasn’t there simply wasn’t there. I stopped self-assessment and, leaning on the desk that served as part of the interior, painfully pushed myself up. As I moved, blood oozed from my wounds, and my entire body screamed in pain, but I endured it.

I needed to confirm my surroundings immediately, so I pulled back the curtain and looked out the window. Then, the familiar scene viewed from the 7th-floor goshiwon room filled my vision. Not houses built of wood and earth, but high-rise buildings with precise right angles, as if measured by a ruler. Not roads paved with stone and dirt, but well-maintained asphalt roads with cars and buses driving on them. Countless people coming and going from the nearby subway station.

I was momentarily stunned, but it was clearly the familiar Gaean-dong street from my memories. After observing the outside for a bit longer, I immediately leaned my shaking body against the wall and sank to the floor. I lay down on the old goshiwon-standard bed in the cramped 2-pyeong space and closed my eyes. As I regulated my breathing, I slowly began to recover.

The only sounds in the small space were, broadly, my faint breathing, and more subtly, the footsteps of people passing in the hallway and the distant hum of cars on the road outside the window. A slightly musty smell, perhaps from not being cleaned for a long time, and a faint but distinct, acrid and sticky urban air.

At this point, I had no choice but to admit it. Despite being forced, I had returned home.

***

The routine of my life after the first day of return—spent in astonishment, pain, and absurdity—was simple.

When I woke up after sleeping, I focused on stabilizing my body and mind. When I first woke up, I realized my injuries were more severe than I thought and that my body had sustained significant damage, but my unexpected gain was my body’s resilience. Although not as strong as before, a good amount of it remained.

‘Thanks to that, I must be slowly recovering from wounds that should have killed me.’

With my inventory empty and no potions, it was truly a relief. I could have gone to the hospital, but I had only confirmed that I was back in Korea. I didn’t know how much time had passed or what my identity status was, so I had to recover minimally before moving. Anyway, thanks to my recovery ability, despite major injuries, I started recovering quite quickly and was well enough to move around by the fourth day.

And now.

As soon as I could move even a little, I turned on the old laptop sitting on the desk. I needed to check what year it was and how much time had passed since I went to the other world. It would have been easier with a smartphone, but even though I had kept it well in my inventory, it had evaporated along with my other belongings.

“202X-08-29… roughly 14 months, I guess.”

Other memories might be hazy, but I couldn’t forget that day. The day that marked the beginning of my wretched, nearly fatal, dog-like struggles. Furthermore, it was also the day I was happy to finally get a proper job. Though it was all in the past now.

I had spent over a decade in that other world, but here, only about a year had passed.

‘Should I call this a good thing…?’

I mumbled to myself for a moment, then immediately began checking my current status online. My fingers felt stiff and awkward from not having typed in so long, but I slowly regained my old touch. After logging into my email, bank, and credit card sites and looking through them one by one, I found:

“My guess was pretty much right.”

Even if a person disappeared, financial institutions were precise. I had some savings, and things like phone bills and rent were well-maintained through automatic transfers, and my credit card was still active. It had been a long time since I showed my face, but as long as deposits were made, the room remained maintained, and since there was no special report that I had lost my phone, the bills continued to be paid. It was fortunate that there was still some money left after all that.

Although I had disappeared for over a year, I was an orphan by birth, so there was no one to report me missing. Thus, administratively, nothing had changed. Looking at it this way, I realized how difficult my life had been.

“Over there, I had many people and friends…”

A self-deprecating sigh escaped me, but that was all. I didn’t know what I could do or how I could do anything right now.

“First, I need to wash up and eat something.”

It was a small whisper to myself, but my voice was hoarse, sounding like air escaping. I was beyond hungry; my stomach felt like it was twisting. It was only natural, having starved for four days and being unable to move.

‘But I can’t go out like this in the middle of the city.’

My hair was matted with blood, dust, and sweat, and my body was covered in blood. I needed to wash, at least roughly. There was no need to go far; I went straight into the shower room attached to my room. The goshi-tel room with a window, costing 360,000 won per month, was different from a regular goshiwon, as it had a private shower and toilet. That was truly fortunate.

‘If I went out to use the communal facilities looking like this, what a commotion there would be…’

When I turned the faucet, one of the hallmarks of civilized life, a bubbling sound went, *whoosh whoosh whoosh!* Perhaps it was because it hadn’t been used for a long time. Soon, reddish, rusty water came out, and after waiting for a long time, I finally saw clean water.

My washing was brief. With extreme thirst, I frantically gulped down the tap water.

“Cough! Cough! Gasp!!”

Even as severe coughing fits racked me, perhaps because it had gone into my windpipe, I couldn’t stop drinking. Only after drinking for a long time could I lift my head and look at the mirror on the wall.

“Ha…. I look like a corpse. Can’t even look at myself.”

My reflection in the mirror was truly a sight. Although my body had many wounds, miraculously, or perhaps because my head was protected, there were no significant injuries on my face or neck, only minor scratches.

Sighing, I started wetting my body with the showerhead. The bleeding had stopped, and some wounds had scabbed over, but they were still originally large injuries. I gently peeled off the dried blood and washed my matted hair. I wondered if shampoo from a year ago would be okay, but seeing that it had several more months until expiration, I felt relieved.

“Can’t afford to lose my hair.”

Even Sword Masters and Archmages were helpless against hair loss. One just had to manage it well while they still had it. My whole body ached as the water touched it, but I had to endure it for now and get treatment at a hospital later.

After washing up sufficiently, I waited for the bleeding to stop and rummaged through the closet.

“Sigh~ It probably won’t fit…”

Perhaps as a result of training my body to survive over there, I had grown considerably taller. It would be more accurate to say my physique had upgraded rather than just grown. My body had improved, and my height, which was 171 cm, had extended to the 180s cm.

I roughly pulled out a loose, oversized t-shirt and black track pants and then rummaged for my check card. I found an old wallet in the bag hanging on the wall.

“……”

I paused for a moment as an old memory suddenly surfaced, but then I shook my head and put on the clothes I had pulled out. Now, I just needed to go out. My memories were hazy, but if I went out and saw things with my own eyes, they would probably come back to me. I put my hand on the doorknob and paused for a moment.

‘Is this the beginning again…?’

Four days had passed since I returned from the other world, however it happened. I felt a mix of excitement and complicated emotions about returning, making me momentarily troubled, but…

‘First, I need to eat.’

*Click-*

From this small goshiwon room, which had granted me two restarts, I took my first step out once again.