episode_0003

Episode 3 – “I… Came from Korea”

Andrion quickly headed somewhere.

His steps were swift and determined.

“Yeah, let’s gather some information first.”

Surviving in this place was difficult with only the information from his book.

“Besides, I might be able to find more detailed information about Academy admissions.”

It would be great if he could also find specific details about the continent he could escape to.

Andrion arrived at a large door.

On the door, a large tree symbolizing the Verdo family was depicted.

Four gems were embedded in the trunk of the tree.

Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, and Onyx were embedded there.

These gems represented the four elemental beings that formed the backbone of the Elemental Realm.

Ruby represented the Fire Elemental, Sapphire the Water Elemental, Emerald the Wind Elemental, and Onyx the Earth Elemental.

Andrion gazed at the tree for a moment and slowly opened the door.

Subsequently, a large interior space was revealed.

Shelves reaching up to the ceiling were densely filled with books.

The refreshing scent of paper and the woody aroma mingled faintly in his nose.

“Oh.”

This was none other than the Verdo Duke’s library.

As Andrion hesitated and entered inside, a librarian who was organizing books on one side showed a surprised expression.

“And, Lord Andrion?”

It seemed as if the librarian was extremely astonished by his presence here.

“Why? Is it not allowed for me to come?”

The librarian awkwardly smiled at Andrion’s rough expression.

“No, not at all! I heard you had collapsed…”

Judging by the librarian’s reaction, it seemed that Andrion hadn’t frequented this library much.

“It’s fine now. Just continue what you were doing.”

“Oh, yes. And please refrain from entering the darkened room over there.”

“Got it. Understood.”

Leaving the bewildered librarian behind, Andrion slowly walked further into the library.

“So, where should I start looking?”

The library was spacious inside.

As he looked around while walking…

“…Huh?”

His eyes caught sight of a particular space.

It seemed like an exhibition showcasing something important.

Luxurious silk and various expensive decorations were spread out, with a worn-out book placed on top.

“What’s this? It definitely looks like an important book in the family.” Intrigued, Andrian slowly walked towards the worn-out book. He stopped in front of it and his eyes widened as he looked at the cover. “….No way.” His eyes trembled slightly. “It can’t be…” The actual content didn’t matter. The characters in front of him were extremely familiar. No, it was more than familiarity. It was the language he had learned first since birth, the language he had used until his death. [To my future descendants] It was Hangul. * * * It felt like his brain had gone numb. “Hangul…” It was the Hangul that King Sejong had created. “Does this even make sense?” Andrian, who had been staring intently at the book, decided that he couldn’t figure it out on his own and called for the librarian standing behind him. “What is this book?” The librarian replied from a distance. “It is presumed to be a book written by Duke Berdo, the invited head of the family, and Empress Yerni of the Perion Empire, currently being kept as a valuable possession by the family.” Invited head? And an empress? “So, the invited head knew how to write in Hangul?” Andrian’s mind became confused. “Does the entire Berdo family know these characters?” The librarian blinked as if not understanding Andrian’s words. “Excuse me? Ancient characters?” But soon he regained his composure and answered. “Ah… no one has been able to interpret those characters as ancient script. That’s why it has been a concern for the family for a long time.” Andrian muttered briefly. “But can such a precious book be displayed like this?” “Oh, the one currently on display is just a sample, so it’s fine. Only the front part was copied and made similar for everyone to examine.” “I see. Then, are the genuine ones kept separately?” “Well, um…” The librarian hesitated a bit, and Andrian smirked. “Anyway, I don’t have the ability to know anything. I’m just asking out of curiosity.” “Well… The genuine ones are kept in a separate place that only the head and sub-head of the family can access.” Understanding the librarian’s words, Andrian nodded. “If I ask about the location here, they might become too guarded.”

Well, since I had a vague idea anyway, Andrian thought as he picked up the old book in front of him. “Yerni Berdo.” Then tell me once. He quickly flipped through the book cover. “How do you know Korean?” After swallowing his saliva, he read the topmost letter first. And from the first letter, Andrian’s eyes could only widen. [My name is Bae Yerin.] A familiar Korean name. It had been a long time since he had seen a Korean name. [I am…] His fingers trembled slightly. [I came from Korea.] “…Crazy.” Andrian unintentionally cursed. It was the most surprised moment since his possession. * * * The previous content was like this. A Korean university student named Bae Yerin said that she woke up after sleeping and ended up in this dimension. She met Laour, the new god of dragons, there and traveled together. It was written vividly how happy and enjoyable she was. Laour became her colleague, lover, friend, and the most precious existence. However, new facts gradually entered her eyes. The abandoned race, ‘humans.’ They were struggling to survive in the deepest place. As fortunate as they survived another day. They weren’t as agile and nimble as elves. They didn’t have the craftsmanship to create beautiful things like dwarves. They didn’t show outstanding abilities in a place called the sea like mermaids. They weren’t strong and threatening like werewolves. They were rejected by all races. Yerin felt sorry for them. She wanted to save her own kind. According to her will, Laour, the new god of dragons, gathered humans in one place and created the first empire. The name of that empire was Perion. Thus, she became the founding empress and, at the same time, established a family according to Laour’s will. ‘That family is the Verdo family here.’ Andrian concentrated on reading every single letter. She taught them the language. The easiest and fastest language for everyone to learn. That language was Korean. However, over time, the language underwent significant changes and became the current language.

He slowly continued reading the book.

[However, the world was not as peaceful as it seemed.]

“What happened?”

[The gods began to be wary of humans who were rapidly growing stronger, considering them a threat to the order of the races.]

“It’s only natural for the weakest beings to become stronger.”

Andrion nodded and read the next part.

“When the people of Laour started interacting with humans, the gods declared war on us.”

If it mentioned Laour’s people, it must be referring to the dragon race.

Dragons occupied the highest position among the races.

If they started interacting with dragons, it was inevitable that other races would suffer.

Andrion turned the page.

“They created humans with divine blood, and those with divine blood unleashed explosive powers according to the will of the gods.”

Andrion’s eyes trembled slightly.

“So, it was our own kind killing each other…”

“It was brutal.

They were truly brutal.

The ones we loved, the beloved village, the cherished world gradually became stained with blood.”

Her anger could be felt in every word she spoke.

For some reason, the more he read, the faster Andrion’s heart raced.

“At the moment when anger consumed me, a new power unfolded within me.

That power was beautiful, primal, and ecstatic.”

“A new power?”

If it was Verdo’s power, it was one.

“It was precisely an elemental power.”

“Elemental power.”

Her power had blossomed.

“According to Laour, I opened the door to the elementals by traveling through dimensions, which greatly increased my affinity.”

Andrion furrowed his brow slightly.

“…The door to the elementals?”

First, he turned the paper to the next page.

“Dragon blood certainly posed a threat to the power of divine blood.

Combined with the power of the elementals, the tide of battle gradually turned in our favor.

That’s how Laour and I drove out the gods.

But we also suffered great losses, so in the end, we had no choice but to negotiate with the gods.”

“Negotiation…”

What kind of negotiation was it?

His heart pounded wildly.

The sound of his heartbeat ringing in his ears made him feel dizzy.

“I wonder if there’s any information about dragon blood and divine blood here.”

As Andrión slowly turned the page with his confused mind,

“Oh my goodness!”

Unintentionally, Andrión shouted out.

There was one reason for it.

Everything behind was completely blank.

“They said it was a sample!”

How great would it be if I could use everything I copied?

In an instant, his tense body relaxed.

Andrión gently placed the book back in his hands.

“I have to read the rest.”

Perhaps the following pages would provide more detailed explanations about divine blood and dragon blood.

“If I do well, maybe there’s a way to prevent Isaac’s power explosion.”

As written in the diary, dragon blood poses a threat to divine blood.

In other words, it also meant that there must be a way to prevent the power explosion.

“But why couldn’t Nellark stop it?”

Andrión slightly furrowed his brow.

“To find out, I have no choice but to read the remaining content in the original.”

“Ugh…”

Andrión let out a sigh.

There was no other option.

“I can only secretly read it.”

Since he roughly figured out where it was anyway.

Andrión fixed his gaze on the dark room in the corner, which the librarian had declared off-limits.

“There.”

Only the guardians and the cowherds were allowed access.

The place where the original of this book is kept.

His eyes sparkled.