Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Prologue
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“Damn them all, this is just too much!”
Kim Suhyun spat out his rage-filled cry. He wanted to slam his fist down on the desk, but he couldn’t. He no longer had the hands for it.
No, it wasn’t just his hands. All his limbs were gone. Massive scars and life-support devices protruded from his body in various places, hinting at some catastrophic accident.
Attaching mechanical prosthetic arms and legs wasn’t as difficult as it used to be. But Suhyun’s problem went far beyond lost limbs. His body looked intact on the outside, but inside, the accident had wrecked him completely. To stay alive, he needed extensive surgery and long-term treatment.
Yet the military had only provided the bare minimum to keep him breathing before discarding him. They covered the cost of mechanical prosthetics, but the budget was set for cheap mass-produced models. Suhyun, who had once moved with such vitality, couldn’t help but feel the discomfort from those low-end prosthetics.
All that remained for him now was a meager pension, a shred of faded honor, and the bitterness of betrayal and rage. The organization he’d once been ready to dedicate his life to had turned so ruthlessly cold the moment he lost his value.
He wouldn’t last more than a few years like this anyway. Suhyun could sense the state of his own body. Those years would be a miserable existence filled with pain and inconvenience.
He had originally planned to track down those responsible for his condition and exact revenge. But the world wasn’t so forgiving. Before he could regain the strength for vengeance, he’d crumbled against the walls of reality.
“As if it wasn’t bad enough... betrayed by the very people I thought were on my side...”
Feeling his consciousness blur under the painkillers, Suhyun closed his eyes.
* * *
December 31, 1999. Humanity would never forget that day. Many prophets had foretold what would happen on the last day of 1999, but most people expected nothing at all. They were all wrong.
On the last day of 1999, a Dimensional Gate connecting to another planet appeared.
The fact that it linked to another planet was shocking enough, but at first, humanity focused more on the situation around the gate than the gate itself. Its location was... rather peculiar.
A nation now so obscure that few even knew of it. North Korea. The Dimensional Gate appeared right in the heart of Pyongyang. It swallowed everything around it whole.
Later research led to speculation that what it swallowed had been transported to the other world, but even over a century later, no trace of them has been found. Current scholars believe the North Koreans caught in the initial emergence were lost as cosmic dust in the void of space.
North Korea’s regime, which had clung on tenaciously despite its instability, collapsed entirely from the sudden disaster. With the nation’s core vanished, it had no strength left to endure.
Only then did the neighboring countries spring into action. Armies from various nations entered North Korea, working to contain the situation. South Korea, of course, advanced northward as well. When the international forces arrived at the former site of Pyongyang, they were greeted by a massive, glowing blue oval object and the exotic scenery surrounding it.
The Dimensional Gate in Pyongyang had obliterated everything North Korean around it and replaced the space with an entirely different landscape.
Humanity, still unaware of the gate’s true value, prioritized practical matters over investigation. They began dividing up North Korean territory now that its regime was gone. China, Russia, South Korea, and the United States clashed sharply, eventually reaching a compromise.
Only then did the investigation into the long-ignored Dimensional Gate truly begin.
* * *
“How’s the atmosphere?”
“Analyzing now. Oxygen levels are good! This is... almost identical to Earth’s atmosphere!”
“What?!”
The Dimensional Gate connected to a massive continent on a giant planet. The first humans to arrive named the planet Cameron, in honor of the bravery of the pioneer who leaped through first.
There was a Dimensional Gate on this side too, confirming travel between Earth and the continent was possible. From that point, investigations gained momentum.
It started with basic intel—local geography and climate—before exploding into a flood of information. The more they learned, the more humanity trembled at the planet’s value.
Cameron Planet was a blessed land.
Its climate resembled Earth’s, posing no survival issues for humans, and its resources were boundless. Rare ores and energy sources absent from Earth overflowed here.
Best of all, the continent had no true owners yet. Exploration teams confirmed the local civilizations—composed of otherworldly races—were still at the level of ancient city-states. Compared to human military might, it was like David versus Goliath.
Of course, no barbaric conquests occurred. Humanity still remembered the lessons of the 20th century. The era of preying on the weak to carve out colonies was over.
Instead, they cautiously made contact with the city-states populated by these异種族. After prolonged efforts, communication was established.
Whatever the underlying tensions, humanity had forged surface-level peaceful exchange relations with the known city-states.
Humans and异種族, ancient-style city-states built by them—these alone would captivate many. But the more ambitious and shrewd saw something else: vast uncharted territories.
Unlike Earth, where most areas were mapped, Cameron Planet was largely unexplored. The异種族 living there were far too weak to claim mastery over it.
Conquering or subjugating them offered little gain. The real prizes lay in the wilds. Once they’d gathered intel and assessed the situation, humanity launched full-scale operations.
Venturing into ownerless frontiers to harvest rare resources—it was a dream anyone would salivate over. But humanity, lulled by the seemingly harmless locals, learned a harsh lesson.
The true masters of Cameron Planet were not the异種族, but the monsters.
The continent’s environments were incredibly diverse. Some areas were impenetrable jungles, others lethally frigid wastelands. And in these ever-shifting wilds dwelt the natives. Some resembled Earth’s extinct dinosaurs, others had forms no one had ever seen. But they shared one trait.
The monsters were anything but welcoming to intruders.
They slaughtered each other without mercy—there was no way they’d spare humans who barged in. Humanity, relieved that the initial gate had spawned in a monster-free zone, awoke to the planet’s terrors only after the first expedition was wiped out.
From then on, proper military forces deployed in earnest.
And now, over a century had passed since the first Dimensional Gate.
Humanity’s initial fascination and curiosity with the wilds had faded into routine. Anyone with a permit could head to the ruins of old Pyongyang and cross to Cameron Planet.
What began as expedition outposts had grown into sprawling metropolises. Garrisons maintained order, entrepreneurs chased profits, immigrants dreamed of new lives, and families supported workers here. At a glance, they resembled any Earth megacity.
Yet just tens of kilometers beyond the city limits lay immense untamed frontiers, brimming with unknown dangers.
Suhyun was a native son of this continent.
His father a career soldier here, his mother a career soldier here. This planet was his home. A man born on Cameron Planet.
Naturally, he aspired to the same path. For a physically gifted young man with few other skills, becoming a career soldier on Cameron was the obvious choice. Suhyun stood out among them. Starting as a regular grunt, he transferred to special forces, racked up merits steadily, rose to captain, and took command of a company. Those were his shining days.
* * *
“Ambush! Captain!”
“What?! There are no monsters around here! We already confirmed!”
“Captain! Get out of here! Run forward!”
“You bastards... These aren’t monsters! Graaaah!”
One day, the operation went wrong.
They’d moved to scout resource sites and assess threats when the sudden attack hit. The military denied it vehemently, but Suhyun was certain. It wasn’t monsters. It was other humans—soldiers.
He and his team were hardened veterans against monsters. They’d scoff at talk of monsters ruling the land. If it had been a monster ambush, they would have detected it beforehand.
His subordinates were annihilated. Suhyun barely survived by throwing himself aside. But in the fight, his body was shattered beyond repair—worse than dead.
Suhyun demanded answers from the military. Private companies weren’t the only ones fighting over interests here; nations were too. His attackers were clearly rival soldiers, and their perfect timing screamed leaked intel from inside.
But the military refused to listen. They ruled it a wipeout due to his negligence, then brushed him off like an annoying fly.
Broken in body, Suhyun couldn’t even start his revenge before losing all hope. Hatred boiled within, but he had no means to act. Only his immobile shell and endless pain remained.
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