Chapter 1

“Lord, it is time to wake up.”

I woke up from sleep at the calm voice. As I got up and did some light stretching, Flower handed me a basin of water. After washing my face lightly with the towel draped over her shoulder, another maid helped me dress.

“What’s the schedule?”

“The merchants have requested an audience during the council meeting hours. And there is training with the soldiers this afternoon.”

“Ah, Mark’s company is coming today, right?”

After being dressed by Flower, I took a bastard sword, then exited the room.

“Good morning, Lord.”

“A good day to you, Lord.”

The gardener tending to the garden and the servants cleaning the manor removed their hats and bowed respectfully. I nodded briefly at them as I headed towards my study.

It was the day before my discharge. Twenty years ago, without any warning, I found myself transported to this medieval land. And over those two decades, the black-haired stranger who arrived with nothing but the clothes on his back had risen to become a feudal lord of a territory.

It wasn’t easy.

The journey had been fraught with challenges. Initially, I killed all the nobles engaged in hunting commoners and led the forest dwellers deep into the mountains.

There, we joined forces with the forest dwellers hiding from taxes and the oppressed villagers fleeing their territories. By uniting these outcasts shunned by the powerful, we established a stronghold within the woods. We trained our ranks diligently, successfully repelling multiple incursions by regular troops sent to suppress us.

I formed a mercenary group and participated in territorial battles, single-handedly storming battlefields to decapitate enemy commanders. Eventually, I was bestowed with a noble title and my own territory.

It’s been quite a journey.

As a result, I became an idol for all commoners of the kingdom and a legendary symbol of success against overwhelming odds. To nobles, however, I represented a thorn in their side and a source of shame for feudal lords.

The Black Falcon of Killyan Mountains. The Bronze Sword Baron.

Those were the names this world knew me by.

He looks young, doesn’t he? Despite being forty, he appears more like twenty.

H-his presence is incredibly imposing.

Is that truly the Black Falcon of Killyan Mountains?

I never thought a barbarian would acquire his own territory.

By focusing my inner energy, I sharpened my senses and picked up on the murmurs around me, but they quickly hushed as soon as I took my seat at the head of the table. I glanced down at the man seated closest to me.

“Yes, it’s been a while.”

“I knew you were an exceptional warrior, but…to acquire territory as a foreigner! As a merchant, I can’t help but admire your achievement. I thought even if you accomplished something great, nobles would still overlook you.”

“Desperation makes people do strange things.” With a grin, I asked, “By the way, what brings you to this remote border?”

“As you might have guessed, it’s because of the dragon vein.”

Ardenia was a vast continent shaped like a perfect square, which was quite peculiar. Even more intriguing, its borders appeared artificially drawn.

It suggests human intervention.

This world resembled a Go board with straight lines (mostly formed by rivers or mountain ranges) neatly dividing the land.

Moreover, these lines represented spiritual veins where earth’s energy flowed. Spiritual veins inherently possessed immense power, evidenced by how magic beasts dared not approach areas filled with them.

The intersection points of these spiritual veins, or where the lines met, formed dragon veins with concentrated spiritual energy. These dragon veins created unique and extraordinary locations, such as plains capable of yielding eight harvests per year, mineral veins rich with essence stones, or secluded spots nurturing medicinal herbs. Dragon veins were highly valuable places, rarely hidden due to their distinctive shapes resembling rivers and mountain ranges. Consequently, they invariably had owners.

It was natural for all the major powers on the Ardenia continent - the Ming Empire and Holy Empire, Crystal Alliance, as well as eight kingdoms (including my established Chrom Kingdom) to grow stronger based on dragon veins. Naturally, our territory also had one.

“I want to use the Garden of Peace.”

My territory was located at the corner of the continent. If it were a Go board, it would be the upper right corner at 3-3. The power of the dragon vein was weak due to its location on the outskirts, but nonetheless, the Garden of Peace wasn’t an exaggeration to call the most precious thing in our territory.

‘The effect possessed by the Garden of Peace is ‘Maintenance’.’

‘Maintenance’, rated as a fourth-grade attribute, had a simple effect.

“I don’t think there are any injured people.”

The condition of any being entering the Garden of Peace is ‘not worsening.’

In other words, even if someone were on the brink of death from a stab wound, stepping into the Garden of Peace would prevent their condition from deteriorating further. While it wouldn’t significantly heal them, its mysterious energy at least stops things from getting worse.

‘On Earth, this might have been considered just a spiritual spot.’

However, in this medieval-like land, the Garden of Peace serves as a miraculous life-support system. Regardless of how potent a curse, incurable disease, or fatal injury one suffers, they won’t die within its confines! The previous foolish feudal lord had turned such a precious space into a garden for nobles to relax, but I am gathering talented individuals skilled in long-term surgical procedures and establishing a ‘hospital’ to fully utilize this area.

“Of course, there are no patients yet, Lord. We want to use that space for another purpose.”

“For another purpose?”

“Yes. Our merchant obtained the Sun Grass this time but… these herbs die too easily…”

Starting with him, merchants and retainers made suggestions and reports.

“A bear-shaped magic beast was sighted near Mount Bukak…”

“17 vagrants have applied for asylum in our territory. As you previously instructed, they are being examined…”

“The tax calculations are completed. Despite a 20% reduction in taxes, the assets of the territory have increased significantly. Your foresight is truly remarkable.”

After the regulations were completed, merchants and retainers scattered away. I spoke to Flower standing next to me, “Wait here.”

“Yes, Lord.”

With Flower stepping back, I headed towards the terrace. The feudal lord’s residence was quite large, allowing me to see my entire territory at once.

“My territory…”

It wasn’t very big. There were around 3,000 people living in the territory, with most of it being mountains that made agriculture difficult. It was poor land where wild animals and magic beasts frequently appeared. However…my heart swelled with pride just by looking down at the territory.

Many things had happened over the past 20 years. I experienced many things. I killed people and led others. I trained them, protected them, and commanded them.

There were times when I sustained severe injuries and had to prepare for death, as well as moments where I had to negotiate with nobles without any allies by my side. I had to bargain with those barbarians who viewed me as one of them while falsely swearing loyalty to that treacherous king, always ready to stab me in the back at every opportunity.

“When I look back, it’s been quite a journey.”

In truth, it wasn’t filled with peaceful or happy times. How could such things exist in this uncivilized world? Even the average person in South Korea leads a more tranquil life than a king here.

Just within reach, there is an abundance of diverse restaurants offering various cuisines, and turning on a faucet provides hot water instantly. With a smartphone connected to the internet, one can access movies, dramas, novels, and countless forms of entertainment. Everyone has their own comfortable and clean bedrooms.

If someone else had been dragged to this world instead of me, they would’ve trembled at the thought of living in Ardenia. They would dream about hamburgers and cola while being utterly frustrated by the unhygienic squat toilets. In this medieval land, they would suffer continuously for 24 hours, burning with resentment as they wept through the nights.

However, I was different.

Because here…I could truly be myself.

Grrrung!

“What…an earthquake?”

Surprised by the unexpected vibrations, I instinctively crouched down. Flower, who had been waiting outside on the terrace, rushed over.

“Lord! Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine. By the way, what’s happening…”

Grrung!

The ground shook again. Detecting its source, I turned my head and witnessed:

“This is…what?”

The tranquil Garden of Peace adjacent to the lord’s castle began distorting.

Yes, it was literally warping before my eyes.

Kwokwokwo---

The dimension itself distorted as the Garden of Peace disappeared. Then immediately afterwards…

Flash!

The distorted space changed into a pillar of light piercing the sky.

[Checking resources. An update is in progress.]

[Downloading… 88%… 89%… 90%…]

[Vulcan Orc Fortress (Advanced~Hero)]

[A dungeon is being generated.]

“What…is this dungeon?” My mouth dropped open at the unexpected situation. What nonsense was this? This. It felt like something from…

“A game…” Even amidst my astonishment, the pillar of light continued to expand its area.

“Get out of the way! The buildings are collapsing!”

“Argh! The ground is shifting!”

Terrified screams echoed as villagers scattered in all directions. Meanwhile, behind the pillar of light…

“O-ohhhhhhhhh!”

“Ack! Haah! Vulcan!”

Huge creatures with green skin emerged from nowhere.

Crack!

A crudely made iron ax struck a villager on the head, sending their lifeless body tumbling to the ground without even a scream.

“…An orc? Real orcs?”

I blinked in disbelief.

The continent of Ardenia was indeed fantastical, complete with dragon veins, magic, auras, and magic beasts. But orcs?!

Thud!

I leaped off the terrace. I couldn’t bear to watch those insane green monsters killing my subjects. As I ran toward them, confusion swirled in my mind.

“What’s with these orcs if this isn’t a game?! There were no signs whatsoever… Wait, is this some kind of game? Do I need to log out?”

In that moment of bewilderment…

The world stopped.

“Huh?”

Then my consciousness rose up towards the sky.

U-p.

W-a-y.

U-p.

”…!”

Shaking all over, I sat upright. Thankfully, I didn’t scream, but my abrupt movement caught the attention of the nearby vigil.

“Did you have a nightmare, Sergeant Han?”

”…”

I stared at him with a dumbfounded expression. He looked to be in his early twenties—a familiar face, yet I couldn’t recall his name. It was understandable; it had been a whopping twenty years since I last saw him.

“What’s wrong with your face? Today is your discharge day, isn’t it? Oh right, you’re from District 34, aren’t you? Guess getting discharged might not seem so great for you.”

“What…what year is it now?”

“Not fully awake?”

“Several years.” The vigil frowned slightly as he responded to my low voice.

“It’s 2089, right? Did you dream of being a private again? Were you dreaming it was still 2087?”

His calm voice made me feel breathless.

”…Insane.”

I always thought about it. Just as I was suddenly dragged into another world one day, there might be a sudden return to reality someday. However… even though I lived for 20 years on the Ardenia continent, only a single day had passed here. No, not just a single day—it seemed like maybe not even a minute or second had elapsed.

“What did I do? Did I log out?”

“A ranker?”

Ignoring the bewildered vigil, I muttered to myself:

“Then the opposite… Logging in?”

As soon as those words left my mouth…

The world changed dramatically.

“Aaack! Run away!”

“Eek! Help me!”

Orcs emerged, hacking at villagers with their axes. Blood spurted and flesh flew everywhere.

I groaned while running towards the chaos.

“What the hell is going on…”

Gripping my bastard sword adorned with jewels, I shouted:

“What the actual hell!”