Wuxia, the Central Plains.
The Orthodox faction, the Unorthodox faction, the Demon Cult, and the Great War of the Triumvirate.
"Mm."
The Blood Cult, which is one of the Hunter households. The Imperial Palace.
The Emperor and the Emperor's mom.
"Mm."
Cale, who was calmly organizing his thoughts about the second world he was to visit, the Central Plains, turned his head after hearing continued groans by his side.
"What is it, your highness?"
Crown prince Alberu Crossman. He had his arms crossed and was deep in thought with a serious look on his face.
He looked at Cale for a moment after hearing that question before shaking his head from side to side.
'What the hell?'
Cale, who was wary about this, started scowling.
Alberu didn't care and slowly approached Cale. He then looked around and whispered.
"You, will it really be okay like this?"
"What do you mean, your highness?"
Alberu's gaze clouded over after seeing Cale's gaze that still seemed to not understand the problem.
'Mm.'
He looked around.
Inside the Temple of the God of Death located in the Roan Kingdom's capital… Currently, the people on the team to go to this world, the Central Plains, were in a secret location within the temple.
The limit was nine total travelers.
'Raon-nim and Choi Han.
Of course, the two of them have to go.'
Alberu nodded his head.
'Ron and Beacrox… These two have experience going up against those Blood Cult bastards. They are also capable of doing many things.'
So far, this was a decent combination.
'Sui Khan. Cale definitely can't leave him behind.'
Sui Khan, who had disappeared since the first day Cale's group returned from Xiaolen… He showed up right on time today on the day to head off to the new world.
"Cale, will you really be ok?"
"Ah, come on."
Cale became a bit annoyed at Alberu's voice and disrespectfully looked at him. Alberu just took that gaze as normal and whispered.
"Over there, he's basically a corpse."
Alberu was pointing at Number 7.
Cale pupils shook slightly. He looked away from Number 7.
"…He can walk, your highness. He also looks fine on the outside."
"But his mind is gone."
Cale's gaze headed back toward Number 7. Beacrox was standing next to him.
Shhh.
Beacrox put on some white gloves. It was something he always did.
"Eek!"
Number 7 became extremely scared and covered his face with both hands.
For reference, Number 7 looked completely fine on the outside. There were no signs of torture.
"Umm, apparently Beacrox met with my aunt Tasha not too long ago."
Cale's face became a bit scattered after hearing Alberu's whisper.
Dark Elf Tasha. Her Dark Elves had once interrogated members of Arm they had captured in the Elf Village close to where Cale had gained the Fire of Destruction. He recalled how she mentioned they were extremely skilled in mental pressure.
"Mm."
Cale looked away from Number 7.
He made eye contact with Beacrox in the process.
"Multiple preparations have been completed, young master-nim."
'What did you prepare? And what are these multiple things?'
Cale wanted to ask those questions, however, he kept his mouth shut as many things were implied by Beacrox's words. Beacrox had watched Ron get hurt. It was clear what he would do to the Blood Cult.
"Cale,"
Alberu gently hit Cale's side again and whispered.
"Can you handle that?"
The crown prince was pointing at Durst.
"You know about that priest's whereabouts, right? You saw the report I sent?"
"…Yes, your highness."
Durst. He had apparently walked around all of the temples in the Roan Kingdom in civilian attire instead of his priest robe.
Furthermore, he had also checked out some books from the Royal Library after receiving permission to do so.
< Steps to the Creation of a Church >
< The Complete Guide to Receiving Proper Licenses to Create a Temple! >
The titles of the books were quite suspicious.
"…Do not worry."
Alberu continued in a low and extremely friendly voice.
"…I at least have no plans to turn you into a religion."
'Ah, seriously.'
Cale looked at Alberu with a slightly annoyed gaze before closing his mouth after seeing Alberu's gaze.
Alberu's gaze seemed to be asking, 'Why the hell are you looking at me like that as if you haven't done anything wrong.'
"Hey."
Alberu just called him by, 'Hey,' instead of saying his name.
"You should limit how you use your power. Even if it was in another world, what would people think if you used your powers like that? Hmm?"
He was scolding Cale.
"You're smart. Your brain is supposed to work much better than mine. Think about it. Based on your experiences until now, do you really think you will never go back to Xiaolen? A reason to go might come up. Hmm?"
Cale could not say anything back.
"...."
"Anyway, don't worry. I won't let that priest do anything useless in this place."
Cale looked at Alberu. Alberu sighed at Cale's gaze which was full of many emotions before continuing to speak.
"You want to be a slacker, don't you?"
"...."
The silent Cale opened his mouth.
"As expected, the sun that will shine down on the future of the Roan Kingdom truly is skilled in many ways, your highness. And by the power of that light, everybody in Roan-, shall I stop?"
"…Yeah."
Cale smiled and Alberu let out a quiet sigh before saying one last thing.
"Ron said that he will keep an eye on the old priest."
"Yes, your highness."
"Looks like we don't need to worry."
"Of course."
It was at that moment.
"Kahahahahaha!"
Someone laughed out loud.
Alberu opened his mouth.
"…Well, the Commander is easy to handle, right?"
Cale nodded his head at the question.
However, the answer that came out of his mouth was a bit different.
"Handle? The Commander is my close friend, your highness. Friends don't handle each other."
Alberu smiled back after seeing the gentle smile on Cale's face.
It was extremely elegant.
"Yeah. You friends have fun together."
Cale looked quite uncomfortable after hearing that.
"…Uhh… well… yes, your highness… We will."
Alberu nodded his head as if he was satisfied with Cale's response before asking another question with the radiant smile still on his face.
"And the gold?"
"I packed enough, your highness."
"Silver too?"
"Yes, your highness. More money is always better."
"I like your way of thinking."
Alberu then moved away from the Cale. He then said one more thing to Cale.
"Be safe."
"Yes, your highness."
Cale looked at the people gathering around him and then looked at the people standing next to Alberu.
Beside the crown prince were the bishop from the Church of the God of Death, Eruhaben, and others.
"Have a safe trip. Don't worry about things here."
"Yes, Eruhaben-nim."
Cale smiled at Eruhaben and started to speak.
"I'm sure everybody is aware of it, but…"
Before they left… There was something he had to say to his friends again.
The Central Plains.
Unlike Xiaolen, there were multiple restrictions at this place.
First was that only one non-human was allowed.
And…
"Our appearances will be localized. It will turn into appearances that are suited for that world, so you do not need to be shocked."
Their appearances would naturally be localized to the Central Plains in order to not cause any peculiarities in the world.
"Furthermore, some of our abilities may be downgraded based on the situation."
This was because their abilities can only be transferred based on the limits of the world.
"So don't be shocked even if your abilities are decreased and let me know if you will need time to get adjusted."
Ding ding!
Cale pulled the mirror out of his pocket.
< Everything is ready sir! Please come whenever you'd like! - Sincerely, Central Plains who is waiting for Cale-nim >
He peeked at the message from Central Plains and opened the invitation pop-up window.
< Will you accept the invitation? >
< Yes / No >
The moment Cale's finger touched the 'Yes' button…
Ooooooong—
The area started shaking and a black circle appeared with Cale at the center.
< Would you like to be transported now? >
< Currently at 9 members >
Cale nodded his head and felt the black light wrap around him.
The moment he let this now slightly familiar feeling of warmth take his body…
Ding ding!
He peeked at the message Central Plains had sent.
< I have prepared the best location, sir! >
< Thank you for trusting me and leaving it to me, sir! >
'This kid is so respectful.'
As Cale had that thought…
< Commencing transportation. >
A black light spread out in all directions.
Cale closed his eyes and thought to himself.
'…Although I am taking money and weapons…'
He was still a bit worried.
'I don't know how much of my strength will decrease.'
The Martial Arts world was a place you fought and fought again.
Being weak in such a place might mean that they would face a lot of danger and difficulties.
'And our appearances will change.'
Cale did not have many thoughts about this.
'I'm sure we will look Asian. What will Asian Cale Henituse look like?'
That thought led to him recalling his appearance as Kim Rok Soo.
'My body as Kim Rok Soo before I came here would be helpful.'
Kim Rok Soo in his mid-thirties…
Even if he lost a portion of his ancient powers, that physique would be much more helpful because it had some physical abilities.
'…If it is the Martial Arts world…'
Then Kim Rok Soo's ability, 'instant,' that he currently possessed, would be very useful.
'Mm.'
However, that power was better not to be used, especially considering how Raon would feel.
Furthermore, would there be a reason to use that power?
'I'm sure there won't be a need.'
Cale then stopped thinking about it.
Instead, he continued to think about physiques.
'If my body as Kim Rok Soo in my mid-thirties is too hard, then even the body I had in my mid to late twenties would be great.'
Even at that age, the physical abilities of his body as Kim Rok Soo would be much stronger than the current Cale Henituse.
'Ah, but twenty years old Kim Rok Soo would be bad.'
Cale thought about when Kim Rok Soo was feeble and scowled.
He heard a voice at that moment.
< You are now being connected to the Central Plains world. >
As expected, it was that annoying God of Death's voice.
It would now tell them about their arrival location.
< Your arrival location is your helper, the Empress Dowager's residence, the Moonflower Palace. >
This was expected.
He had expected this from the moment he had heard that the helper was the Emperor's mom.
Cale was not anxious.
He was confident that he could accept any situation that might arise.
It was at that moment.
< Changes to appearance now commencing. >
< Some abilities have changed due to the lack of the world's capabilities. >
Diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii—!
The moment he heard an odd alarm noise…
< Other than the existence with the most peculiarity, Cale Henituse, the remaining eight individuals have been determined to use powers they were born with or have personally trained. >
'…After hearing that, it really is true.'
Cale nodded his head as he quietly listened.
Ron, Choi Han, Beacrox, Sui Khan, Raon, and Toonka…
Some of them were like Raon, whose race was born skilled in mana, while others were like Choi Han, who had trained to reach their current level.
For reference, the others could hear the God of Death's voice as well.
< Peculiarity Cale Henituse is determined to have received a majority of his abilities from other people. >
< There will be significant restrictions on peculiarity Cale Henituse's abilities. >
'Hmm?'
< Abilities will be sealed based on their destructive ranking to the world. Depending on the destructive level, abilities may be sealed at a minimum of 1 percent to a maximum of 90 percent. >
'Hmm? O, only I am being sealed?'
< Arriving in 5 seconds. >
< 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. >
< You have arrived. >
Paaaaat.
They arrived with a bright light.
Cale couldn't even think about the arrival as he was currently blanking out.
His eyes were still closed as he was currently inspecting the inside of his body.
'…Wow.'
He gasped.
The ancient powers he could usually feel inside his body… He could not feel most of those powers.
'Water and fire are basically completely sealed.'
Of course, there were ancient powers that didn't feel any different from usual.
'…The aura is the same.'
The Dominating Aura.
This power, which did not even have a tiny speck of destructive power, was basically the same.
Cale spent a very short time inspecting his body before he slowly opened his eyes.
He then immediately looked at the mirror which was a normal mirror when the screen was turned off.
He wanted to see what he looked like.
'Fuck.'
He was in the mirror.
'It is me.'
But it was the twenty-year-old him.
Not Cale Henituse, but Kim Rok Soo.
Ding!
There was a message.
< The individual's thought is reflected in the appearance! Of course, it is randomly changed if there is not a related individual in mind! >
Cale lowered the mirror.
"…Are you-"
A woman was looking at Cale.
The Emperor was said to be young. However, the woman in front of him seemed quite old for being the Emperor's mom.
'I heard that she suffered a lot.'
She was not pretty.
However, her eyes were focused without any shaking.
In the silent area…
Although Cale was sure that people, other than his group who was behind him, existed in this place…
Nobody easily moved or ran their mouths off.
They were not shocked to see Cale, who had suddenly appeared.
They just had their heads bowed and did not dare to lift them up.
'It is that place for sure.'
This was the Imperial Palace of that Central Plains world.
It was the center of it as well.
It must be nighttime since it was dark outside.
It was dark in here as well.
There were only some candles lighting up the room.
Unlike her radiant clothes, the honest and upright eyes of the middle-aged woman were sharply glaring at Cale.
No, she was observing the feeble-looking young man in his early twenties, who was different from Cale Henituse, who, despite being skinny, gave off the elegance of a noble.
She started to speak again.
"Are you the messenger of that sir who has come from another world?"
Cale smiled at that moment.
He realized it as soon as he saw her. This helper in front of him was no joke.
However, that was not important.
This was a world where the weak got eaten. Now that he had stepped into that kind of world, the Central Plains… He just had to do things following the rules of that world.
"A messenger-"
Cale's mouth opened.
Messenger.
A person who receives an order or request from someone and carries it out.
It was also the grim reaper, a ghost who would take the souls of the dead to the underworld. (TL: In Korean, these two are homonyms)
Cale nodded his head at the woman who was asking if he was an errand boy and took a step forward.
"I guess I am a messenger in a way."
He was using his powers from the moment he arrived in the Central Plains.
He was using his Dominating Aura.
He used the only power that had just one percent sealed.
His dark brown eyes looked down at the Empress in front of him.
—
Translator's Comments
And the wuxia begins. I hate wuxia.