Chapter 5

Naturally, the moment Hyuncheol learned that magic existed in this other world, he couldn’t help searching for information about it. It was magic, after all.

But the specialized books related to magic that he excitedly opened were far more ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠difficult than he had imagined.

Even though Hyuncheol wasn’t unintelligent, and his mind felt much clearer than before thanks to having become younger, he still barely managed to understand them, and only at the level of rough concepts.

In any case, among the things he did manage to grasp, the one that resonated with him most was the so-called Third Law.

Magic in this world was described as a power that transcended common sense and the laws of physics, yet still possessed its own principles, requiring both knowledge and a price to wield.

Before the modern era, this magic had apparently been used simply as a form of force, much like in ordinary fantasy novels.

But now that science and technology had advanced considerably, it was generally used to compensate for areas that science alone could not overcome.

Hyuncheol found that idea incredibly cool.

After all, even on Earth, groundbreaking technology or ideas often required enormous amounts of time and money to make practical, and sometimes they ran into unforeseen barriers that could never be overcome. With magic, however, it seemed those problems could be solved easily.

But as always, reality was not so simple.

Magic itself was still an extremely limited power.

First of all, there were very few people capable of wielding it, and the cost was high. So rather than developing into a civilization where science and magic advanced in harmony, the world instead followed a repeating cycle. Problems temporarily solved through magic were eventually replaced by advancing technology, and then magic would again be used to push a little farther ahead.

As a result, in this world, magic was usually applied only briefly at the forefront of cutting-edge technology.

Still, it really is incredible.

People in this world, already accustomed to magic, might find it disappointing, but to Hyuncheol, the mere thought that computers, which he had assumed would be difficult to create here, could still exist because of magic made it seem extraordinary.

In any case, learning that computers existed in this world and were only beginning to spread piqued his interest.

He had always been somewhat interested in computers, mostly because of games, and he even began thinking that if he prepared diligently, he might be able to achieve more than simply surviving. Perhaps he could establish a real position for himself in this world as well.

Unlike the thirty-year-old Hyuncheol from Earth, who had long since lost his youthful optimism, the now much younger Hyuncheol regained even the vaguely positive mindset he had possessed in high school and immediately began dreaming big.

Well, it won’t be easy, but even if I can’t aim for Google, maybe Blizzard level is possible. No, wait, Blizzard collapsed.

After searching through books for a while longer, Hyuncheol eventually decided he had learned enough for now. While his enthusiasm still burned, he borrowed several books related to computers.

Although he already knew quite a bit about computers and could do some simple programming, this world was not Earth, so the chances of things being exactly the same were low. He therefore searched for very basic introductory books first.

Since computers had only recently been introduced, there were very few related books available, but perhaps thanks to diligent library staff, there were still several useful ones.

After returning home and reading through them carefully, Hyuncheol discovered that, hardware-wise, computers here were not all that different from Earth’s, aside from additional magical devices used to overcome technical limitations and improve performance.

The real problem was programming languages.

The basic structures were similar enough, but they were not based on English.

That meant he would have to memorize everything from scratch.

He didn’t have every command memorized even back on Earth, but having to use something completely different from what he was familiar with was still a major obstacle.

Even worse, this world had not yet standardized which language should be used for computer programming.

The first computers had apparently been developed in the dwarf kingdom of Kanish, but afterward, different countries created their own programming languages. As a result, there were currently four different language systems in use.

That meant he could spend all ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his time studying one language only for another to eventually become the standard, forcing him to suffer through relearning everything.

But I can’t just wait around until a standard gets decided, can I?

Fortunately, while the languages differed, the structures themselves were nearly identical, so conversion between them probably would not be too difficult. Trusting in that, Hyuncheol decided to study anyway.

After spending a long while reading through the books he had borrowed with burning curiosity and motivation, Hyuncheol eventually lost focus and leaned back in his chair, closing the book to rest.

As he sat there, he realized something.

I need money.

If he lived frugally, he had enough food expenses to survive for perhaps three or four months, but there would also be utility bills, and he might even need to pay taxes or maintenance fees. He was not in a situation with much financial leeway.

And if even his living expenses were this tight, there was no way he could afford expensive equipment like a computer.

Hyuncheol wondered how much computers cost here.

Even on Earth, early computers had cost several months’ worth of a worker’s wages. And here, they even contained magical devices that were likely both expensive and rare, so they were undoubtedly even more costly.

Thinking about the wages he had seen mentioned in books at the library, Hyuncheol unconsciously let out a sigh.

Reality really is harsh.

Even if he got lucky and found a decent job, it would probably still take several months.

Still, he didn’t feel completely hopeless.

Compared to the life he had lived before arriving here, merely enduring one day after another, having a clear goal already felt far better.

Even so, spending several months merely imagining computers while writing code with pencil on paper sounded miserable.

Maybe not an internet café, but perhaps there was some place, like a library, where citizens could use advanced equipment.

The first place that came to mind was naturally a university.

Come to think of it, he was only seventeen now, so it would not seem strange at all if he entered as a freshman soon.

Of course, he had no ability to pay expensive tuition, and more importantly, he knew nothing about this world’s educational system, so he doubted he could actually enroll.

But how far did I even go in school?

This was not a question that had only just occurred to him.

Since he had to live in this body, he had been curious about everything connected to it, from family relationships and social ties to all the things he would face and potentially use in the future.

But there had simply been too many urgent matters, so he had pushed those questions aside.

Now, however, since educational background would heavily affect things like jobs or university admission, he felt he needed to confirm his personal information as well.

And suddenly another thought struck him.

What if this body belonged to the son of a wealthy family? In that case, maybe he could easily obtain not only a computer, but even startup funds for a business.

With that hopeful thought in mind, Hyuncheol immediately left the apartment.

Earlier, while researching the social system at the library, he had confirmed the existence of a government office similar to a local district office. He did not know where it was, but he figured he could simply ask at the grocery store he had been frequenting lately.

“Ugh!”

On the way there, Hyuncheol suddenly flinched after crossing paths with a small man with fist-sized round ears whom he guessed was a gnome.

Buildings and objects already felt unfamiliar enough, but they did not directly bother him. Every time he saw a fantasy race, however, it forcefully reminded him that this was another world and that he himself was an outsider here.

Of course, gnomes were not physically powerful enough to threaten humans, nor did they seem inclined to do so. The gnome merely glanced at Hyuncheol before passing by.

The grocery store owner apparently already remembered Hyuncheol’s face. Without showing any annoyance, he kindly told him where the office was. Or perhaps he was simply a naturally friendly person.

The district office was not far from the apartment at all.

It was just one block away. Cutting through the alley behind the apartment would have taken less than ten minutes.

But the alley looked far too gloomy, and since he could not trust the local public safety, Hyuncheol instead walked along the main road. Even so, it took less than twenty minutes.

The building itself was a plain two-story cement structure, but the large signboard reading “Siren Citizen Management Bureau” made it easy to identify.

There were already quite a lot of people gathered at the entrance, and once inside, the not particularly large interior felt completely packed.

And there, for the first time, Hyuncheol saw a lizardman.

The lizardman wore clothes similar to everyone else’s, but the lizard-like head, pale blue scales, and long tail reaching nearly to the floor made him unmistakably alien.

Most striking were the eyes Hyuncheol glimpsed briefly. Compared to the other races, they felt far ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠colder somehow.

The books had stated that despite resembling lizards, lizardmen were not actually cold-blooded creatures, and their intelligence and emotions were not significantly different from other intelligent races.

But prejudices born from appearance were difficult to shake.

“What can I help you with?”

It felt like Hyuncheol had waited among the residents of this other world for roughly an hour.

A short but broad dwarf woman greeted him with a blunt attitude.

Already nervous to begin with, Hyuncheol shrank slightly at the civil servant’s demeanor, but he was not the type who became incapable of speaking in such situations. Swallowing once, he asked for the information he needed.

“I need documents confirming my family relations and educational background.”

“Hmm... one moment. Your identification card, please.”

The dwarf clerk pouted slightly, apparently displeased that he had not specified the exact document names right away, but since it was not a difficult request, she simply rummaged through the files rather than scolding him.

Personal computers had only just begun to appear, so naturally government offices did not yet have computers.

Instead of being bothered by the unfriendly clerk, Hyuncheol found himself feeling more sympathy for the fact that all this work still had to be done manually.

“Here you go. Next.”

Hyuncheol quickly checked only the titles of the documents he received before stepping out of the line.

As he walked out of the building and examined them more closely, however, something felt strange.

There was very little information.

It was clearly supposed to be a family relations certificate, yet the spaces for parents and siblings were entirely blank.

And Hyuncheol immediately understood what that meant.

So I suddenly became an orphan.

Back in Korea, his relationship with his parents had not been particularly good, but they had still existed. Somehow, the realization left him feeling lost.

Still, there was nothing he could do about something that simply did not exist.

The real problem was that the educational background section looked the same.

Now that he thought about it, the civil servant had briefly worn a strange expression while handing him the documents earlier. This was likely why.

This was not merely odd. It was suspicious.

This country also had compulsory education, even if only at the elementary level.

Of course, students could fail or drop out for various reasons, but there should still have been records of enrollment at the very least. Even orphans would have them.

Hyuncheol became intensely curious about the true identity of this boy named Epek Ras.

But since there was no obvious way to find out, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he had no choice but to leave it as an unresolved mystery for now.

At least there was one piece of good news.

The room where Hyuncheol currently lived belonged to him.

He had checked because he was worried about rent payments, only to find his name clearly listed as the owner.

It was only a small room, but Hyuncheol could not understand how an orphaned boy with no educational background had managed to acquire real estate.

Still, as someone worried about housing costs, he found it incredibly reassuring.

Worst case, it could even become startup capital.

It felt like he had gained a hidden trump card for surviving life in this other world.

But learning that his dream of relying on wealthy parents was impossible, while also discovering he was effectively uneducated, made the situation far less hopeful.

For now, Hyuncheol decided to give up on university.

Of course, if he truly wanted to attend, he could probably take equivalency exams step by step, but it did not seem worth investing that much time and effort. He was not planning to get hired by a corporation anyway.

In any case, he needed money immediately to survive and buy a computer, so it seemed he would have to look for jobs that did not care about educational background at all.