Main Quest

After confirming my trait once more and drifting off to sleep, I woke up and, just as my noona had instructed, had the Cumul family physician summoned for another examination.

What ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the doctor told us fell well within the range of things I could have predicted.

"It's trait pain."

At those words, my noona's eyes went wide, and she turned back to the doctor in disbelief.

"Is that true? Trait pain is something children between five and ten go through, isn't it? Coming down with it at his age doesn't make any sense..?"

"I've never encountered a case like this myself, so I can't be certain, but judging by the symptoms alone, it's definitely trait pain. In any case, trait pain visits a person only once. If the same agony strikes him again, please call for me at once."

"I understand.."

Her thoughts seemed to have grown tangled, because she sat down in a chair and sank into contemplation, fingers interlaced. Watching her, I realized something important — I was not the only one in this world who possessed a trait.

Having finished her thinking with that same troubled expression, she turned to me and began asking questions.

"Can you tell, by any chance, what kind of trait you have? Does your body feel lighter, perhaps? Or do you get the sense that you could transform one part of your body into something else..?"

Hearing that, I found myself hesitating. Should I really tell her about my trait?

Should I trust her... or shouldn't I?

To be fair, no one knew better than I did that she was a good person.

But I also remembered how, back at the funeral, my aunt's and uncle's families had been remarkably warm and affectionate — right up until the moment they tried to adopt me.

I hadn't even hoped for comfort, and what I got in return was a single, cold remark that forced me to face reality.

So naturally, I had to think this through carefully.

It could very well ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be tied to my own survival.

Yes, she had helped me — but that didn't mean I should lay every card in my hand on the table. In a true emergency, the only person who could protect me was me.

And so I couldn't bring myself to tell her. While I sat there, tongue-tied, my noona simply stroked my hair and smiled.

"That's right. When someone asks about your trait, it's better not to answer. You did well. I was too hasty to ask, I think."

The moment I kept silent about my trait and simply bowed my head, my second trait — the Status Window — came to me confessing everything.

"Hyun-ah. Are you all right?"

"....."

"Hyun-ah? Hyun!"

"Y..Yes! You called?"

"Is your body still not recovered? Shall I call the physician?"

"N..no! I think I just slept too much. I'm fine now."

"Still, if anything hurts, you must tell me right away, all right?"

Her words were so brimming with concern that I had no choice but to answer automatically.

"Yes..."

While she had been worrying over me, sirens were blaring inside my head.

I'm screwed.. Wait, how the hell am I supposed to get my hands on that sword before the head of the entire territory?

Of course, 'The Sword of the Azure Sky' was supposedly something no ordinary person could even lift.

And yet, she was the head of a family that served the Azure Dragon. There was no way she wouldn't be able to wield that sword... right?

The more I thought about it, the deeper I sank into a labyrinth.

So whoever dropped me here went and gave me a nice trait just to shove chores like this onto me.

Whoever it was that called me into this world, I swore I'd pay that debt back — and while mulling over what needed doing first, I turned my gaze back to her.

Having decided that gathering information about this other world had to come first, I faced her and fired off a series of questions.

"Noona. I have two favors to ask. Would you hear me out?"

At my request, Alice seemed to consider for a moment before responding.

"Hmm? Two favors? Well, let's hear them first. What are they?"

The first favor was information about traits in this other world.

My plan was to compare other people's traits with my own and learn what I could.

Though the request caught her off guard, she smoothly rearranged her expression and readily agreed to tell me.

"Before we begin, you should know that traits are a power inherent in all living things. You must never reveal yours carelessly. The spawn of the Perils that took root in this world — the beings called demons — could twist that knowledge to their own evil ends and put you in danger."

"Then shouldn't you be telling me about your own?"

"True. I really shouldn't be telling you, but knights of commander's rank often do reveal their first trait. It's to plant faith in the hearts of their people — I will protect you with this power! That kind of conviction."

Since Alice apparently has multiple traits herself, she must have some special way of applying them..?

"My trait is 'Sword of the Burdened One.' When many allies are fighting against demons, the damage I deal with my sword increases. It's a very useful trait."

"And your second trait is something you can't tell me, I take it?"

"Right. That one I can't share. I did bring you into this estate, but I can't place my complete trust in you yet. That's something we'll build over time."

"I'll do my best to earn that trust."

"There's no need to push yourself. I'd rather you didn't get hurt. So, what's the second favor?"

"My second favor is — please train me."

"Train you?"

"Yes. Watching you, my lady, made me want to become a knight."

Hearing that, Alice's face flushed slightly, as if she were embarrassed.

Well, of course — I'd essentially just told her to her face, 'My lady, your swordsmanship is insanely good!'

But she quickly composed herself and spoke.

"Then, do you have a home? Family nearby, or anyone who could vouch for you?"

"No... They're... all gone.."

"Ah... I'm sorry.. To become a knight, you need skill, but also a guarantor who can testify that you're trustworthy. Training with me should let you build that trust, don't you think?"

"Yes. I'd like that."

"There have been a string of demon-related incidents in the territory lately, so let's limit sparring and training to two days a week. How do Tuesdays and Saturdays sound?"

So this other world used the same days of the week as back home — Monday through Sunday. Nothing in Alice's words sounded the least bit foreign.

"Yes. Tuesdays and Saturdays. Thank you."

"Good. Then rest well. I have work to attend to outside, so if you need anything, ask the butler or the maids. I'll be going. Let's meet at dinner."

"I'll see you then."

Having finished her conversation with me, Alice closed the door and left.

Let me piece together what I'd learned. I blinked, and I had fallen into an unfamiliar place — a place that turned out to be the setting of 'The Four Pillars,' the game I'd only ever read strategy guides for.

On top of that, I had become a fifteen-year-old boy. In this world, I could speak and be understood in Hangul exactly as in South Korea, and even the names and reckoning of the days of the week were identical.

Small mercies, I suppose. If our languages hadn't matched, we wouldn't have been able to understand each other at all...

Just imagining it was horrifying. Utterly horrifying.

And finally — every person in this world possessed something called a 'trait,' and a 'trait' was not something to be revealed to others lightly.

Here's another difference from the game. Ordinary people have traits too?

In the game, only protagonist-tier characters had traits, and since most of them were trait-bearers with multiple traits apiece, they stood out as heroes, if I remembered right.

Anyway — have you seen the difficulty on this main quest?

With that thought, I opened the Status Window once more and checked the main quest again.

The Sword of the Azure Sky.

A weapon whose name meant 'the sword bearing the power of the azure heavens' — it was a blade that held the full might of the Azure Dragon.

The other Four Divine Beasts left behind neither weapons nor relics, yet the Azure Dragon alone, of all four, returned to the heavens leaving something behind on the earth.

One of those things was the Sword of the Azure Sky.

And it was also the principal cause that dragged Alice to her ruin.

The Sword of the Azure Sky was a weapon of staggering power.

It granted its wielder command over lightning and wind — authorities belonging to the Azure Dragon — and its overwhelming cutting force crushed opponents from the first exchange to the last.

And yet, for all its excellence, no one had ever managed to claim it. The reason lay with the 'Crimson Dragon' slumbering within the blade — it interfered with anyone who tried to grasp the sword, and that interference was more than enough to drive the sword's would-be possessors utterly mad.

Even Alice, head of the Cumul family, hovered on the brink of madness when she took it up. Anyone else would simply go insane.

Even so, people praised the blade as a sacred sword and flocked to revere it.

Only the one who could wield this sword, they declared, would become the Azure Dragon's Successor.

Cornered in Asmodeus's trap and driven to her last resort, Alice resolved to seize 'The Sword of the Azure Sky' and turn the tide — but the Crimson Dragon rejected even her, and consumed her with madness instead.

Devoured by that madness, Alice could no longer withstand Asmodeus's guerrilla tactics, and in her frenzy to feed it, she committed the atrocity of cutting down her own subordinates.

Asmodeus had known all of this.

If anyone other than the Successor grasps 'The Sword of the Azure Sky,' that person will be driven completely insane.

What Asmodeus desired most in that moment was Alice's body.

That lust-crazed monster had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠never once changed the target of his covetous gaze.

The problem is... I'm the one who has to pick up that sword...

'The One Watched by the Heavens.'

"One look at it and anyone can tell it's a Successor-of-the-Azure-Dragon kind of trait...."

Or maybe the reason Alice can't draw the sword is that I showed up in the first place?

Since I'd received a trait fitting the Azure Dragon's Successor, it occurred to me that anyone else reaching for the blade might send the Crimson Dragon into a frenzy and trigger madness instead.

Even thinking it through, the game's information and this world's reality diverged in small ways, and I had no idea what variables those differences might spawn.

I let out a long sigh and rolled over in bed.

For now, I decided to sort out what I needed to do first.

To satisfy the quest's completion conditions, the top priority was clear: somehow — even if it killed me — I had to keep Alice away from that sword.

Which meant I needed to learn the sword myself. And along with that, I'd have to raise Alice's affection toward me.

God only knew how well a modern guy like me could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠handle a blade, but...

Like that whole 'modern people are secretly geniuses' trope — I really hope I turn out to be a swordsmanship genius too.

That was the only way I could manage it, whether I found my way back to my old world or survived in this one.

"Well, this body's still young, so I should sleep for now. Ha... Whoever dropped me into this world..."

A sigh escaped me at the reality I faced, and a wave of existential dread and loneliness crashed over me like a rising tide — but there was nothing to be done about it.

The situation had already unfolded. No matter how loudly I shouted at the sky, it clearly wasn't going to so much as pretend to listen.

As long as no one mistakes me for a lunatic, I'll count myself lucky.

Besides, if I died early, my parents — who had already passed on — would surely praise me for making it back to them so soon... No. That's not it.

What kind of parent praises their child for dying young?

I would survive... for as long as I possibly could.

And for that, growth came first.

With those thoughts settling over me, I closed my eyes and sank into slumber.