Chapter 4
A single desk and a bed small enough for only one person to lie on. He got up from his bed, looking around and noticing it was a clean, bare space.
‘Where am I?’
It was strange.
It was the same as the beginning, but Min-hyuk could not explain how it happened again.
‘I fainted in class.’
He remembered clearly.
He was checking elementary textbooks, looking for something similar to that from the other world, but then he collapsed; fortunately, Professor Albert had been there to help him, and that was the last thing he remembered. Based on the interior, it must’ve been an inn. He deduced that he was back in Klinssman’s world.
Was this a temporary hallucination?
Without solving the mystery, Min-hyuk rose from his seat and inspected every corner of the room.
‘Is this a diary?’
There was a bundle of diary-like notes on the desk.
There was nothing else.
Min-hyuk decided to check his diary to get information, so he sat at his desk and opened it.
[On December 25, 2030, a mysterious phenomenon occurred in Goritzer where I reside. Monsters from Monster Land appeared through a space called Gate. We were not prepared for a catastrophe. It took everything away. It took my family. Father was trying to protect me and was torn to shreds by the monster’s sharp claws, and my mother and brother both burst like a ripe peaches from being crushed by the monster’s giant feet. I could never forget any of it. My life was destroyed on the 25th while people were sharing joy at the Klinssmantmas Festival. So, I wrote a diary. To remember the painful memories of those days.]
“…… They’ve also suffered from monster attacks.”
A catastrophic disaster.
Min-hyuk was familiar with that pain.
Now knowing that they shared similar experiences, Min-hyuk continued to read, stifling his ill-fated feelings.
[On August 2, 2031, after the disaster, I was utterly destroyed. There was no reason to live. Then I suddenly thought, the monsters who did this to me are still alive, is it right for me to die now? If my soul was going to hell, then I might as well take as many monsters down with me as revenge for my family.]
His reaction wasn’t out of the extraordinary, Min-hyuk knew many people who thought the same.
Many people in his world were like Klinssman.
Those who lost their families to monsters wanted revenge.
[December 25, 2031. Exactly a year from then, but I’ve still done nothing. My head perfectly understands the magic, but my cursed body is too weak to do anything. How can I avenge my family? I need a way…]
He turned to the next page.
He read the diary and got stuck for a while.
[March 10, 2033. To you reading my diary now, I propose an extraordinary deal for my body.]
‘… … ?!’
Min-hyuk’s pounded.
Klinssman’s Diary.
It was not only a message from Klinssman to him, it a record of his thoughts and actions.
His heart was beating very fast.
He tensed up.
Binyu (憑 依) is a strange phenomenon that cannot be explained theoretically. Still, Min-hyuk never thought the other party would communicate with him like that.
Isn’t this a coincidence?’
Into a parallel world.
He never thought this would happen to him.
Klinssman proposed a deal.
Min-hyuk decided to check his proposal.
[To have taken over my body, you must have been the most optimal match that could be found; otherwise, the link wouldn’t have been connected with you. As you know, this is a parallel world of the world you live in. During creation, our worlds shared a starting point. Still, civilization would have formed in a completely different way. Both planets were peaceful. Until the disaster of the dimensional cracks began.]
It’s true, a monster had appeared in my world, just like he had said.
It was a disaster.
Without any warning, they destroyed whatever system we had then.
This is how the Ganghwa civilization was formed.
To survive the threat of monsters, earthly civilizations needed the power to fight the monsters somehow.
But they did not know why the monster appeared.
Included in Klinssman’s diary was an explanation to that very question.
[Dimensional cracks have begun in my world. And the monsters living in this world are moving to your dimension, creating the chaos we’ve experienced. Even now, the disaster is swelling. At this point, humanity will be annihilated by monsters. So we need your power. To destroy the monster in this world, both sides must collapse at the same time.]
Min-hyuk didn’t understand.
He decided to agree to Klinssman’s deal, but he couldn’t understand why he was chosen.
He doesn’t know what kind of life Klinssman had, but Min-hyuk considered himself a loser, he was powerless to help him. Was Klinssman expecting this question?
[I need you.]
He made it clear that he needed Min-hyuk.
And he said.
[We both want to annihilate the monster in our worlds, you just need the strength to do so, that’s something I can provide you. This is a parallel world, and only I know how to summon you here.]
Min-hyuk’s hands were shaking.
With an unexpected development, Kang Min-hyuk turned the last page.
[Maybe you don’t think you’re qualified. But since you have already experienced the knowledge of this world, you know how powerful it is. Once a month, I will pass on your soul to my body, and pass on new knowledge, step by step. That’s the price of the deal I offer you. Open the drawer on the desk if you want.]
“… … .”
Min-hyuk couldn’t say anything.
After reading what Klinssman had to say, he stared at the diary. His head was still filled with doubt.
He still had so many questions.
‘Why me?’
‘With so many other Archmages, why was I chosen?’
‘And who is Klinssman?’
But after a long agony, he eventually made a choice that might have been decided already from the beginning. Min-hyuk opened the drawer.
There was only one book in the empty drawer.
The cover reads like this.
[108 Kinds of 1st Circle Magic]
This was the continuation of the elementary school textbook he couldn’t finish last time.
* * *
Min-hyuk opened his eyes.
‘Was that real?’
Sunlight poured out of the window.
He held a 108 Kinds of 1st Circle Magic textbook all night long. As the sun rose, he fell asleep again in the other world when the sun rose.
He finally acquired what he needed to master magic.
The book had many good ideas, and even included helpful comments.
‘Klinssman is a genius. He knew the importance of mastering magic. ‘
108 kinds of magic
Klinsmann elaborated on the principle of magic.
The way Klinssman expounded on the ideas of 1st circle magic showed its true potential.
‘Is this the same magic I knew?’
1st circle magic was remembered as very basic and almost useless magic. Still, it was possible to use it differently in the world of Klinssman, where magical civilization developed. If Min-hyuk could integrate these ideas into the Ganghwa civilization, defeating monsters would become more manageable.
“Hoo.”
Min-hyuk breathed out loudly.
A deal with Klinssman.
It happened so suddenly, but he didn’t feel any regret.
‘If I can erase a monster from this world, I can do anything.’
There are many stories in this world.
Thousands of people are dying. Like Klinssman, each had their own pain.
So, Min-hyuk agreed.
He could feel Klinssman’s pain in his heart.
Min-hyuk had one big problem…
‘I started magic at a very late age. Even though the other world will help me, I need to learn the foundations of this world to grow rapidly. ‘
Min-hyuk can’t get help from his family.
There was no way the sword fighters would help Min-hyuk because they think that magic is weak.
But for him, magic was his sword.
He determined that to live a new life, he would need an assistant in this world to help his magical progress.
‘I have to take advantage of what I have.’
Double casting and 1st circle magic.
It may seem like vast knowledge, but in reality, he has more to learn yet.
He vowed to continue learning as long as there was new knowledge to receive.
Now is the time to take advantage of what he has gained.
The next day.
Min-hyuk went to Professor Lee Hak-beom and spoke in person.
“I want to participate in the double casting research,” he said.
Lee Hak-beom.
He is called the human sleeping pill and is not popular with the students, but he has a massive authority in the magic world.
His partnership with Lee Hak-beom’s would become the starting point for Kang Min-hyuk, who will later be called the ‘Magical God.’