Login in to Alandal

Beep beep-

My eyes opened as my phone alarm rang.

"Huh?"

Was I dead?

I looked around.

“Wait, what is this place?”

It was a room that was strange yet oddly familiar.

I had lived in this room a long time ago. This was the small apartment room I lived in after I left the army, which my mother purchased for me after much pleading on my part.

I did a quick check of my body.

My legs, which I remembered the Monsters ripping off, were perfectly fine.

My body was back to the state it was when I was still in University, not the toned physique I remembered from my time in the Guild.

"What's going on?"

I asked myself.

Had I lost my sanity?

My phone alarm kept ringing loudly on my desk. That was a phone I had used in the past.

I switched off the alarm and checked the date on the display.

-31st December 20XX-

“15 years ago? Is this a dream?”

It was too real to be a dream.

I remembered my mother's death and the agonizing memories of the monsters devouring my body... there was no way it could be a dream.

“Status window!”

I said.

Nothing appeared.

“What’s happening? Am I… back in the past?”

This didn't make any sense.

There was no way to explain it, unless it was a dream.

As my thoughts became more convoluted, I then recalled something that cleared my head.

Suddenly, I had a flash of insight.

What if this wasn't a dream?

"Cataclysm!"

31st December at 3:00 pm was the day and time the Second Cataclysm occurred.

Many lives were taken away, just like the first one had, but no one had expected the Cataclysm to happen a second time.

I quickly checked the time; it was a few minutes after 11:00 am.

My mind raced as I hastily called my mom.

"Hello?"

“-Oh, hey, son. What's up? I thought you’d be sleeping right now. It's the semester break, so why don't you come over today?”

I struggled to hold back the tears as soon as I heard my mom’s voice.

A lump formed in my throat, making it hard for me to speak.

“Stay where you are, mom. I’m coming home."

“-What's wrong? Did something happen?”

“No, it’s nothing. Just stay where you are! Please!”

“-Oh… You’re coming right now? Alright then. Take care.”

"Oh wait! Mom! Mom!"

“-Yeah?”

“…Oh, uh, nothing. I’ll see you later.”

“-What...? Okay then.”

I ended the call and left my apartment.

If this wasn't a dream, today would mark the Second Cataclysm. And... it was also the day my dad died.

I had never felt the need to see my parents as much as I did at this moment.

'I wish all of this was a dream... I hope what I'm doing right now is pointless!'

I thought to myself.

But nothing was certain. So, evacuation was the first thing I had to do.

I had been lazing around at home, watching TV, on the day of the Second Cataclysm. It wasn't until later that I got the message summoning me into the Tutorial Dungeon.

My dad had closed the factory earlier and then was attacked by monsters on his way home.

It took me a month to complete the Tutorial Dungeon, and my mom thought she had lost both of us.

I will never forget the look on her face the day I returned.

Fortunately, our house was safe from the Second Cataclysm, as was my mom, who had stayed home that day.

The problem would be convincing my dad to stay home.

It was obvious he would think I was crazy if I told him about the Second Cataclysm.

I would get the same reaction if I told him I was from the future.

I wished all of this was a dream as I raced to my mom's house.

‘I’ll be certain after 3:00 pm.’

I told myself.

Arriving home was my first priority. It took me about an hour and 30 minutes to travel on the subway.

***

"So, what?"

My dad looked at me in disbelief.

“Please just believe me, dad.”

“What, time travel? Second Cataclysm? I know the world has become a weird place with monsters and all that, but why would you say such a crazy thing...?”

I weighed up all the options of how to tell him or trick him, and in the end, I decided to take a risk.

Tears of happiness welled up in my eyes when I saw my father again, remembering the fifteen years I had spent yearning for him.

I didn't want to lose him again, so I chose to be truthful about everything.

However, trying to convince my dad as he was about to leave the house was proving to be fruitless. He didn't believe me in the slightest.

In fact, he treated me like I was insane.

I suppose it was only to be expected that he would respond in such a manner; I wasn't entirely certain either.

My mother could no longer bear it and attempted to dissuade me.

Fortunately, my father postponed his plans due to his concern for my mental wellbeing, given all the nonsense I was spouting.

Time ticked onward to 2:30 pm.

"Dad, please?"

"Alright, say it again. What's going to happen?"

I needed to buy more time! He wouldn't have any other option but to believe me once the clock struck three o'clock and I vanished before his eyes.

Whether they believed me or not, I tried my hardest to teach them about different survival techniques and how to stay safe by jotting everything down in a notebook. This would ensure their safety in my absence as I embarked on the Tutorial Dungeon.

Just then, the clock struck three o'clock and the unwelcome message appeared before me.

‘Shit, it wasn’t a dream! It would have been better to be treated like a madman or a liar...’

<SYSTEM: The Tutorial is about to begin.>

A blurry light wrapped my body, and I began to fade away.

It was time to say goodbye.

"Mom, Dad. I'll be back soon. Please don’t forget about what I said.”

“No! Byeong-gi!”

“Byeong-gi!”

My parents watched on in shock as I slowly disappeared in front of their eyes.

“Dad, please. You have to follow what I told you!”

My dad gave me a nod, tearing up, and my mom held my hands as I faded away.

That was the last I saw of my parents before I entered the Tutorial Dungeon.

<SYSTEM: You have entered the Tutorial Dungeon.>

<SYSTEM: You will be granted basic abilities according to your mental and physical state.>

<SYSTEM: Status window activated.>

-The user can check their basic abilities whenever they wish.

[User: Lee Byeong-gi Lv.1]

[Title: None]

[Vitality: 10, MP: 12]

<SYSTEM: Lv. 1 Insight (Passive) Skill acquired.>

-Ability to check others’ status windows.

Insight does not work on users or monsters with a large level gap.

<SYSTEM: Lv. 1 Enhancement Skill acquired.>

-Ability to strengthen the user’s body. Skin will become tough and hard. 5% increase in defense.

<SYSTEM: Lv. 1 Mana Shield Skill acquired.>

-Ability to summon a Mana Shield to block an enemy attack.

[Skills: Lv. 1 Insight (Passive), Lv. 1 Enhancement, Lv. 1 Mana Shield]

<SYSTEM: Inventory is generated.>

<SYSTEM: Basic weapons are supplied.>

-One Trainer's Sword acquired.

<SYSTEM: Vitality potion is supplied for Tutorial Dungeon use.>

-Fifty Vitality Potions acquired.

<SYSTEM: Basic ability and skills are successfully applied. The body will be activated after 5 minutes.>

<SYSTEM: Time left 4 minutes 59 seconds>

A timer concluded the seemingly never-ending messages.

Once my body was activated, I would have access to an awakened Hunter's abilities.

'Dad should be safe, right?'

I had been summoned to the dungeon in front of my parents, unlike the last time. I wished they would safely evacuate since I had warned them about it.

I couldn’t think about anything else besides my dad until I entered the Tutorial Dungeon.

But since I had been thrown into this situation, I knew I had to gather my thoughts a bit more.

“Fucking monsters….”

Even though I had just met my parents after traveling through time, I thought of how they died.

I also thought of the pain of my own death and the vile eyes of those monsters eating away at my flesh.

It enraged me to think of my parents experiencing that pain.

“I’ll get rid of every one of them. I’ll leave nothing but bones.”

After calming myself down, I waited for my body to activate and process my memories.

I wasn’t sure why I suddenly regressed, but this was my new chance. And, like in the past, I couldn’t gain any practical attack skills.

However, since I had already experienced this, I could use my knowledge to become stronger.

If I did become stronger, I wanted to take revenge on Yujin and Gangsuk, but it was still too early to be thinking of that.

It would be better for my mental health to not see them at all, but I wouldn’t let it slide if they ended up getting in my way again.

I finished processing my thoughts and started looking around the now familiar dungeon.

This place had a similar role to that of a beginner's dungeon in a game. Hunting the monsters inside and leveling up helped to familiarize oneself with the changes in their body and granted skills.

The issue was that you couldn't revive like you can in a game if you died.

Several awakeners had perished here in the past, but I had managed to survive.

To stay alive at that time, I had chosen to hunt only in areas where there were easy monsters that respawned often.

But this time, I wanted to take a bolder and more daring approach.

'I’ve got to find and obtain anything and everything I can.'

Just then, the confirmation message of Body Activation appeared before my eyes.

<SYSTEM: Body activation is complete.>

Whirl-

Energy began to course through my body as I felt a surge of vitality.

[Hey, can you hear me?]

Huh? This was something I hadn’t experienced in the past. Someone else’s voice speaking in my head.

“W-What? Who is this?"

[Hmm. Finally, you can hear me at last. My original name is Wei Jicheon, but you can call me Heavenly Demon.]

“Heavenly Demon? Where are you even talking from?”

[Why, through your consciousness, of course.]

"Huh?"

[Well, to be exact, my soul went into your consciousness.]

I thought this was absurd, but the voice made me remember the moment of my death.

My life flashed past me incoherently. When the memories became clear and dawned on me, I would hear a voice.

And it was this voice.

[You’re right. It was my voice. But for some weird reason, you couldn’t hear me after that.]

“What’s happening exactly? How can I hear you?”

[Honestly, I’m not too sure. I got exiled from Jianghu and dropped into this world... and then my environment changed. Looking through your memories, I see your time has backed up.]

“…”

What kind of sorcery was this?

Had something gone wrong during my time-traveling adventure?

[I wondered why you could not hear my voice all this time… Oh, that’s right! Your body just gained something new; I feel like it has something to do with that!]

As I contemplated this strange situation, the voice continued to ramble on.

“I’d appreciate it if you could be quiet for a m—”

[No need to think hard like that. I gotta say, though... the world has changed a lot.]

“Did you say you can read my memories?”

[Not all of them, but I can read most of them. Now I know this world’s situation and why you are back in this place. I’m just curious as to why your time is backed up. It’s most likely a problem with the Immortal World, Jianghu.]

“The Immortal World?”

[I can’t be bothered to explain it. I know it sounds strange, but you just have to accept it.]

After calming myself down and doing as he instructed me, I began to see his memories.

With this ability, I found out about the Heavenly Demon’s past and the incident in the Immortal World, and the fact that the world was on the verge of ending after my death during the Fifth Cataclysm.

It was shocking, but unfortunately, the Heavenly Demon didn’t know any further details about the Fifth Cataclysm.

Time suddenly reversed while my body revived, and the Heavenly Demon was pulled into my consciousness.

“Did you try to steal my body?”

[Ahem, it looks like you’ve seen what you’re not meant to see. Well yeah… but unfortunately, that was something out of my league.]

“I’m pretty uncomfortable.”

He tried to take over my body as soon as he entered my consciousness.

However, the Heavenly Demon's attempt failed. Somehow, I got hold of his soul, and he could only merge into part of my consciousness.

[Unfortunately, I also discovered that I will disappear if you die.]

Because I could read his memory, I knew that he wasn’t lying.

The fortunate thing was that sharing our memories was easy if we allowed it to happen. That way, we could also protect our privacy.

It wasn’t possible without each other’s permission, but it required a lot of mental strength.

Our saved memories weren’t combined but existed in small pieces, so it was difficult to find them. And sharing information that way was time-consuming, so the Heavenly Demon insisted on doing so through conversation since it was much easier.

"Hmm… alright then. Anyway, it's pretty amazing that something like an Immortal World exists… and that you’re a martial artist."

[You already live in a crazy world where time can turn back, what else can be stranger than that?]

“I guess you’re right.”

At that moment, a thought occurred to me about his martial arts skills. I realized that if I could use his memories, I could become quite strong in martial arts.

"You know, about your martial arts..."

All the painful and sorrowful memories from my experience as an inferior Hunter were shared with the Heavenly Demon, but he didn't seem to comprehend them.

[Tsk, tsk, tsk… you lived like an absolute fool. I know what you're thinking. You want to become stronger, right?]

“I would do anything for it.”

The fact that his soul was within me was unbelievable and disconcerting. It was also absurd, but it was too late to turn back now.

If possible, I wanted to become stronger with his help.

I could certainly make use of his martial arts skills. He instantly understood my intention through our unique bond.

[I guess I have no choice since my life depends on you.]

The Heavenly Demon said after a long pause.

"Please, do me this favor."

[… Alright. Since I need you to survive for me to have a chance to go back to where I’m from, I'll help you out a bit.]

“You must help me a lot, not just a little. These monsters are certainly no pushovers.”

[I'm not sure what kind of creatures they are, but my martial arts are on a godly level. I just need to borrow your body for a moment. Let's start with the basics. Clear your mind and stay still.]

The Heavenly Demon began to push out my consciousness.

"You're not trying to retake my body, are you?"

[If I could do that, I would have done it already!]

Well, there was no point in hesitating after I decided to go along with it.

I did as he told me and emptied my mind. I started to feel his presence.

My body went into the lotus position under his guidance.

[This skill of mine is called the Heavenly Demon’s Best Move. By utilizing this skill, I am able to neutralize any negative energy emanating from the body and generate a new energy center.]

As soon as he finished speaking, a wave of energy wriggled within me, bringing a pain that I had never before experienced.