Chapter 5
Ill-Fated Relationship (2)
“Ah, so this is the ‘insanely awesome’ life you were talking about! I’m so moved I’m brought to tears!”
Ernolf shouted, staring with dim, unenthusiastic eyes at a plump caterpillar whose back had burst open. Kazar, who had proudly set off to hunt for food, returned with eight thumb-sized caterpillars and a single forearm-sized monitor lizard tail. Ernolf looked with utter displeasure at the caterpillars, from whose bumpy outer skin yellow mucus dripped continuously.
‘Scientific name: Carvilius Staminaformis. Inhabits moist swamps or near roots in mossy alpine regions. Highly nutritious ingredient rich in amino acids, with excellent stamina-boosting effects.’
While the caterpillar’s components weren’t harmful to the body, the problem was the gruesome, exploded appearance of the insect after being roasted. Looking at that mess killed his appetite completely.
“How do you expect me to eat such a thing?!” “With that big mouth you’re using to chatter right now.”
Ernolf glared at Kazar with eyes full of dissatisfaction.
“Why are you staring like that? It’s something we used to eat all the time. Just shove it in your mouth—once you taste that familiar flavor, you’ll be surprised.” “You’re just making things up because I lost my memory!” “Eat it quietly before I force it down your throat.”
Kazar said, bringing a piece of the roasted lizard tail to his mouth. When living as mine slaves, the thin soup distributed once a day was a fast track to malnutrition, so they had to catch and eat insects to survive. They say childhood tastes last a lifetime, and perhaps because of that, Kazar’s palate was thoroughly ruined.
“Hmm.”
It was true that caterpillars were a high-nutrition ingredient, but what lay before them was closer to a ‘roasted corpse’ than ‘cuisine.’ Ernolf tossed the burst caterpillar over his shoulder with a flick of his wrist.
“Did you just throw away the food I worked hard to catch?!” “Food has to look like food before one can eat it.” “If it’s cooked, it’s food!” “How can a civilized person utter such barbaric words!”
If it’s cooked, it’s food. It was a statement he simply could not abide. Ernolf trembled in outrage as he pushed himself up.
“Where are you going?” “To the village.” “Why there?” “If I am to live like a human being, I must eat human food.”
Having said that, Ernolf spread his arms wide.
“…What do you want me to do?”
As Kazar stared at him blankly, Ernolf declared with absolute confidence:
“Can’t you see I’m staggering? Carry me on your sturdy back.” “Ha, this little shit…”
Though he disliked the attitude, Kazar obediently picked Ernolf up on his back. It was an undeniable fact that his brother was currently in no condition to walk on his own strength.
“Don’t stop me this time. Whoever pisses me off, I’ll kill them on the spot.” “Tsk tsk, what a terrible temper.” “What?”
Ernolf’s desire to go to the village wasn’t purely about food. By observing the architectural style of the village and the clothing worn by its inhabitants, he could gauge the era to which his current body belonged.
“Far from being turned away, we shall be welcomed warmly. Trust me on this.”
Ernolf was confident that once he showcased a few simple magic spells in front of the village, the villagers would no longer look down on them.
“I’ll handle getting what we need, whether by stealing or taking it by force, so just wait outside.” “Ahem, there is no need for you to step up. I told you I will handle everything.” “Don’t try anything and just stay still.” “No, did I not just say I would take care of it?! Why do you let my words go in one ear and out the other?!”
Ernolf yanked hard on Kazar’s ear, who wasn’t listening to a word he said.
“My ear’s gonna fall off!” “An Aura user making such a fuss over a minor pinch…”
Kazar desperately wanted to slam him onto the ground, but he gritted his teeth and held back. He couldn’t kill with his own hands the brother he had barely managed to bring back to life just three days ago.
“By the way, how did you know I was an Aura user?”
The Tirad that Kazar remembered had never seen an Aura user in his entire life until he died. It was strange that he possessed knowledge he shouldn’t have had. It almost felt as if only the outer shell was Tirad, while the inside belonged to a completely different person.
“I can tell just by looking. How could I not know?” “You could look and still not know.” “That does not apply to me. It seems you haven’t fully grasped it yet, but I am quite an extraordinary individual. Usually, people call someone like me a ‘genius,’ do they not?” “Ha…”
It was absurd, yet impossible to refute. Tirad was a ‘Self-Awakened One’—a figure that belonged in legends. He possessed knowledge he had never been taught and used magic he had never formally learned. Calling him a genius was hardly an overstatement.
“Anyway, if you pull my ear one more time, I’m really gonna throw you off.” “If you slam me down, someone like me would die instantly. If you don’t want to clean up my corpse, refrain from doing so.” “Are you using that as a threat right now?!” “Surely you don’t intend to kill your one and only brother?”
The Kazar he had seen so far was ruthless and cruel. However, toward his brother, he was surprisingly gentle. Ernolf targeted that exact point.
“Walk straight without staggering. My back hurts.” “For someone getting carried, you sure talk a whole lot.” “Since you’re carrying me anyway, it’s better to do it properly, isn’t it?” “Just shut up.”
Even as they bickered, the corners of Kazar’s mouth kept curling upward. He couldn’t help but smile, seeing his brother—who should have rotted away into nothingness long ago—chattering away on his back.
Ernolf slept for a long time on Kazar’s back. Waking up suddenly and looking around, he noticed there was still not a single building in sight, only an endless stretch of forests and plains. They seemed to have walked quite a distance, which was strange.
“Are we really heading toward the village right now?” “Yes.” “Then why is it still nothing but open wilderness?” “How am I supposed to know?”
Even in the era Ernolf lived in, rural countryside areas were desolate and underdeveloped compared to cities. With nothing but grass and trees around, it was impossible to determine the era from the visible landscape alone.
“Could we have taken the wrong path?” “Shh. Keep quiet.”
Suddenly, Kazar veered off the path and set Ernolf down among the thick bushes. Just as Ernolf was about to ask why, he held his tongue and ducked low. Across the ridge softly illuminated by moonlight, a blood-soaked young man was running erratically, staggering as he fled. Sliding down the hill, the young man tumbled noisily onto the dirt road before scrambling frantically toward an unknown direction.
‘What’s with that man…?’
As Ernolf shifted his body to get a better look, Kazar grabbed his arm firmly. Soon after, a heavy thundering of horse hooves shook the ground, and men mounted on warhorses appeared atop the hill. The moment Kazar saw the man leading the group, his eyes flashed fiercely.
‘Shakim.’
Shakim, captain of the Cornu tribe’s raiding squad. He drew his bow and loaded an arrow. The white Aura condensed on the arrowhead gleamed like a pearl in the dark. Kazar noted the ring Shakim wore on his right index finger. It was an artifact that boosted physical stamina and Aura capacity. Having used that ring himself for a time, Kazar still remembered the man’s name even after fifty years.
‘Right, today was that very day!’
Kazar’s gaze grew cold and sharp as he glared at Shakim.
The moment Shakim released the bowstring, the arrow infused with Aura flew through the air, drawing a white trajectory.
“Kahk!”
With a sharp sound that split the air, the flying arrow pierced right through the fleeing young man’s neck. The young man, who had been running with all his might to survive, froze like a block of wood before collapsing face-first onto the road. At the same instant, the corner of Shakim’s mouth curled into a smirk. Kazar shifted his gaze away from Shakim to the fallen young man. Over the face of the youth dying while coughing up blood, his own face from long ago overlapped. The events of this night fifty years ago vividly flooded back into his mind.
It was the third night after escaping the mine, leaving his dead brother behind. Kazar had nearly died after being struck by an arrow fired by Shakim. Although the person who shot the arrow that day was Shakim, the culprit who had driven Kazar into the clutches of death was someone else entirely.
‘Is returning to this time the will of the gods, commanding me to exact my revenge?’
Though he had lost his throne and his original strength, in return he gained the chance to save his brother and kill his mortal enemy. He didn’t know which god was intervening, but as compensation for losing everything, it wasn’t a bad trade.
‘In that case, I won’t politely decline.’
Devising a master plan to take the heads of both Shakim and his other sworn enemy in one fell swoop, Kazar let out a soundless smile.
As the men who killed the youth descended the hill and revealed themselves, Ernolf observed them closely. Mounted on massive steeds, they wore garments made of wolf pelts and fur, reinforced with metal armor plates. Seeing the uniquely shaped horn ornaments attached to their saddles, Ernolf identified their identity.
‘The Cornu tribe!’
From ancient times through the early medieval period, the nomadic tribes of the North had incessantly invaded the South. Among them, the Cornu tribe was the one that raided the southern continent most frequently.
‘Not only have I possessed the body of a total stranger, but I’ve also been thrown back in time?’
Faced with undeniable evidence right before his eyes, Ernolf froze completely. He had prayed it wasn’t true, but he had been sent back approximately 1,600 years in time. Magic capable of transcending the constraints of time and space belonged solely to gods or ‘Transcendent’ beings said to be infinitely close to divinity.
‘How could such a thing happen to me…?’
It was such a dizzying sequence of unbelievable events that the more he focused his mind trying to find a clue, the fainter his consciousness became.
“Alright, now let’s go reap the harvest.”
Shakim spoke. The Cornu warriors spurred their horses forward, trampling the youth shot dead by the arrow as they rode toward the village.
“Alright, now let’s follow them.”
Mimicking Shakim’s tone, Kazar stood up. Just before he could step out of the bushes, Ernolf hurriedly grabbed his arm.
“What are you saying? You intend to follow those men?”
Looking at the startled Ernolf, the corners of Kazar’s eyes curved gently like crescent moons.
‘Ah, before going for revenge, I should stash Tiri somewhere safe first.’
Accustomed to being on his own, Kazar had momentarily forgotten about his brother’s presence.
“They’re planning to raid the village. We should go and save the people.” “You?”
Ernolf let out a brief, incredulous laugh. There was no way a fellow who had committed a slaughter back at the mine would risk such danger for the sake of villagers who had insulted him.
“Isn’t your true intention to use the chaos as a cover for theft?”
The captain of the Cornu raiding group appeared to be an intermediate-level Aura warrior at least. He was not an opponent a wet-behind-the-ears novice who had just awakened could casually mess with.
“Don’t throw your life away doing useless things. It is better to hide in a safe place until they disappear.” “Should I?”
Ernolf had expected Kazar to stubbornly insist on going to the village, but Kazar unexpectedly agreed without argument. Ernolf was left utterly bewildered.
“Your mind certainly changes easily.” “I thought I’d at least go and warn them out of basic human decency, but if you stop me so firmly, there’s no need to push it…” “Yes, a wise decision.”
Kazar mentioned that he knew a safe place to hide and urged Ernolf to hurry and get on his back. The fellow who had hated piggybacking him earlier was now offering his back so willingly that it felt thoroughly suspicious. Feeling somewhat uneasy, Ernolf climbed onto Kazar’s back once more.
