Deja Vu
The feeling of déjà vu hit hard. Following a burly soldier, Tae-oh arrived at the tent belonging to the company commander, which also housed the Reconnaissance Scout Unit. He stepped inside behind his guide. Instead of the smell of dirt and dust, the air carried faint traces of old paper and strong tobacco. A man seated behind a desk, flipping through documents, lifted his head. Sharp eyes and a prominent scar crossing the bridge of his nose defined his striking appearance. It was Carlo, commander of the Reconnaissance Scout Unit.
“So you’re the new recruit who took down that Imperial decurion?” Carlo’s voice was low and commanding, heavy with authority.
Tae-oh snapped to attention, answering crisply. “Yes, sir.”
Carlo stared at him for a long moment. His expression was grave, impossible to read. He tapped the report on his desk a few times before getting to the point.
“The report was ridiculous. Purple smoke rising, Imperial soldiers rolling on the ground bawling their eyes out? I thought we’d hired a mage, but it turns out the one who pulled it off was some fresh meat straight out of training… or rather, a spearman.”
Carlo leaned forward, lowering his voice. “Let me ask you straight. Are you an alchemist? Or did you learn magic somewhere?”
Tae-oh swallowed. He’d known this was coming. In this world, magic and alchemy were strictly regulated. Manufacturing or using anything without going through official educational institutions was strictly forbidden. Get caught and you could end up in prison—or worse, suspected as an Imperial spy.
“I don’t have the kind of skill to be called an alchemist. It’s just miscellaneous knowledge I picked up from my father back in the forests of my hometown.”
“Miscellaneous knowledge with effects that good? You know the rules. Manufacturing weapons without a proper license is a court-martial offense. Have you thought about what would’ve happened if that smoke of yours had spread to our own troops?”
At Carlo’s sharp questioning, Tae-oh fell silent for a moment. But he could see right through the man. Before being a stickler for rules, Carlo was a pragmatist. If he truly cared only about regulations, Tae-oh would already be in chains. A frontline commander preferred tools that delivered victory over blind adherence to the book.
“If it’s only dangerous to the enemy and not our allies, isn’t that fine?”
At Tae-oh’s brazen reply, Carlo’s eyes narrowed. Tension filled the tent like a drawn bowstring. Then a bitter smile crept across Carlo’s lips.
Carlo leaned back deeply in his chair. “You’re right. The influence one mage or alchemist can have on a battlefield outweighs hundreds of infantry. Especially for a frontline unit like ours, someone like you is worth treating preciously. Whatever your identity is, if you bring us victory, I’m willing to look the other way.”
It sounded like he wouldn’t receive expert treatment, but would instead be expected to contribute labor as a regular infantryman.
“I don’t like standing out either.”
Carlo burst into hearty laughter. “Puhahaha!! You’re quick on the uptake. No wonder I can’t give up on conscripting you. Sometimes I wonder how bastards like you just roll in like this. Heh heh heh.”
But Tae-oh had no intention of simply being used. If he didn’t secure clear authority now, his future activities would be heavily restricted.
“However, I have conditions.”
Carlo’s eyebrows shot up. “Conditions? You’re bold.”
“More than conditions, I need permission.”
“Permission?”
“The items I create require me to personally gather herbs and materials from the surrounding forest. After training and duties are over, please grant me free access to the forest.”
Carlo’s expression hardened again. A conscript demanding unrestricted forest access was practically asking to be allowed to desert. But Tae-oh didn’t back down.
“For the things I make to perform properly on the battlefield, fresh ingredients are essential. Otherwise their effectiveness drops by half. If you’re worried I might run away, you can assign a watcher to accompany me.”
Tae-oh made the demand confidently. Carlo, who had been about to offer to have someone gather the materials for him, seemed troubled by the mention of reduced effectiveness. After thinking for a long while, he drummed his fingers on the desk.
“Tsk, reduced effectiveness is a serious problem. Fine. On the condition that you complete training and basic duties, I’ll permit forest access as long as one watcher accompanies you. But you know what happens if you cause an incident with what you bring back from the forest or if you cross the line, right?”
“I’ll keep it in mind.”
“Dismissed.”
Tae-oh cheered inwardly. He had finally secured a legal route for item farming. The negotiation was a success, and he was now ready to move on to the next stage.
Back in the new barracks, Tae-oh searched through the memories of the original story. This war was the beginning of a dark fantasy setting where the Empire’s reckless expansion plunged the entire continent into grief. It was bleak enough to be made into a souls-like game, but it was also a time when the Empire’s forces were spread thin fighting enemies on all sides. If they could hold out just a little longer, the front lines would stalemate and a ceasefire opportunity would come.
Until then, Tae-oh’s task was clear: collect as many Hearts as possible from the status window. With no skills or perks in this dropped world, Hearts were his only insurance.
Yeah, let’s think positively. I’ll just treat it as having gained regression ability.
But something felt off inside the barracks.
“What the hell is this?”
“Why, what’s wrong?”
The one who answered was Rian, who had talent in archery.
“Why are you here?”
“This is your squad, so of course I’m here?”
“You’re a girl.”
“So what?”
“???”
Tae-oh was confused, wondering if he had misunderstood something. As he looked around the barracks, he couldn’t hide his shock.
“Wait, men and women share the same barracks?”
Tae-oh’s squad had eight members total. Kyle and Rian whom he’d met first, the drug addict Rolls, Kyle’s friends Bruce and Nestler, and Rian’s friends Lcheni and Licia. Five men and three women. That was everyone gathered in this barracks.
Rian, who had been cleaning, put her hands on her hips. “It’s standard for the same squad to share barracks. What kind of nonsense are you spouting?”
“No, but still, men and women… what about changing clothes and stuff?”
Rian grinned mischievously. “Why, you wanna peek? Go ahead and look if you want. I don’t care.”
“……”
Ah, so this is that kind of world. Tae-oh realized anew that he still carried the values of a Confucian upbringing. And he thought, Maybe this isn’t so bad.
She said it’s okay to look…?
The next afternoon, after finishing his duties, Tae-oh headed into the forest with Rolls. The watcher assigned to them was the soldier Raymon who had guided him yesterday. He was a quiet man of few words.
“Oh, Tae-oh! Heading out already?”
Kyle, who had been maintaining equipment on the training ground, grinned and waved. Thanks to Tae-oh’s achievements, the squad members now received regular soldier treatment and trusted him completely.
“Yeah, I’ll see if I can find something tasty.”
Tae-oh waved lightly and stepped outside the camp. The sentry held out his hand.
“Permit.”
“Here it is.”
Showing his official pass and walking out confidently gave him a sense of liberation on a completely different level from his previous desertion attempts. Rolls followed behind him, eyes still hollow, constantly scanning their surroundings.
While searching the forest for ingredients, an unbelievable sight caught Tae-oh’s eye. A rainbow-colored tail flashed briefly between the bushes before vanishing.
That’s… a rainbow rabbit?!
Tae-oh’s heart pounded. In Imperial Conquest, the rainbow rabbit was so rare it was called a lottery ticket that popped in the forest. Its hide, teeth, and meat could all be sold at high prices, and it was top-grade material for both magic and alchemy. Most importantly, a clear Heart floated above its head.
It’s not just for people?
Tae-oh mobilized every bit of knowledge he had. Rainbow rabbits were fast and hard to catch, but they had a fatal weakness: an obsession with rainbow dogshit grass. The grass smelled so foul that no one bothered looking for it. Tae-oh scoured the area, found the grass, and applied the paralysis poison he had prepared to the leaves. He set the trap, then hid behind a tree and held his breath.
Soon after, the rainbow rabbit appeared. Its seven-colored fur sparkled fantastically in the sunset light. It greedily nibbled the grass, then soon staggered and collapsed. Tae-oh dashed forward like lightning and ended its life.
Remaining Hearts: ❤︎❤︎❤︎
“Jackpot…!!”
A gasp of admiration escaped Tae-oh’s lips. Compared to the loops he’d repeated just to kill a decurion, hunting with knowledge was ridiculously easy. His Hearts were back to a full three. Tae-oh felt like he had conquered the world as he dressed the rabbit carcass.
That night, Tae-oh went to bed with a satisfied heart. With three Hearts, he now had the breathing room to handle any crisis. Thinking about tomorrow’s training and new item crafting plans, he fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning. Tae-oh opened his eyes but felt something strangely off. His body felt heavy and the surrounding noise grated on his ears more than usual. Rolls, who had risen from his cot and was stretching, looked at him.
“Hey, you heading out right after training today?”
Tae-oh stared blankly at Rolls. That line, that expression. It was exactly what had happened yesterday morning.
“What? Where?”
“The forest, obviously. Today’s the first day you’re going to the forest after getting permission from the company commander. You packed all your gear yesterday, so why are you acting dumb?”
Tae-oh’s mind went completely white.
“The forest… I went yesterday. I even caught a rainbow rabbit…”
Rolls looked at him like he was crazy and snorted. “Did you dream that? We only arrived here yesterday, and we’re supposed to go to the forest today. What kind of bullshit is this so early in the morning?”
It felt like his heart had dropped to his toes. Tae-oh steadied his trembling chest and shouted inwardly.
S-Status window.
Name: Yoon Tae-oh
Race: Human
Remaining Hearts: ❤︎❤︎
“……Fuck. What the hell is this?”