Gate Rampage (1)
That day, the wind blew as always.
It was a soft, cool breeze that urged my steps forward rather than feeling unpleasant.
I was utterly exhausted.
The child of a slave.
That was the first thing I ever heard.
In a world ruled by demons, I was born as the child of a human slave.
A goddess appeared out of nowhere and commanded me to save the world.
Even though it made no sense, I had no choice but to obey.
The fated quest.
To use the status window and holy sword I possessed, I had to walk the path of defeating the Demon King.
Handling mana was ultimately no different from martial arts.
I grew stronger quickly, wielding the holy sword as I stormed castles occupied by the demon army again and again, driving them out.
I reclaimed half of the human territories and even freed the elves and beastkin I happened to encounter along the way.
Yet they did not look upon me kindly.
"W-we touched the demon army, so we're all dead now... They'll slaughter us all!"
"Do you... even understand what you've done?"
Even after restoring freedom to people who had lived as slaves, all I received in return were gazes filled with resentment.
While I was worn out like that, a massive island suddenly caught my eye.
I set foot for the first time on the so-called Sky Island, where dragons were said to live.
And on a green hill overlooking a vast plain, I met Rhea for the first time.
"Who...?"
Rhea was lying on the hill, chatting with spirits.
The woman with white hair and a pure white dress, looking like a high school student, was strikingly beautiful at first glance.
Compared to Jeok Hwa-ryeon, who had a cat-like impression, Rhea had an added layer of cuteness, like a puppy.
Beside her sat a basket filled with meat and bread.
Her appearance was like that of an ordinary person living a peaceful life untouched by war.
"Ha... hahaha...!!"
Down on the ground, humans were killing each other over a single scrap of bread and fawning over demons, yet the dragons on this island all seemed so at ease.
That fact filled me with maddening resentment and fury at the same time.
"Right... there was a rule. A rule that no dragon may interfere with the human world..."
Because of that damned rule, humans had been ravaged by demons.
Should I just kill them all?
From what I'd heard, that rule was a law and tradition established by the Lord Dragons.
Honestly, it pissed me off.
While they lived so leisurely, I was bleeding and fighting with everything I had to drive back the demon army.
I missed Hwa-ryeon terribly. Her face flickered before my eyes.
If... persuasion fails, I'll kill the Lord Dragon and erase all the rules.
With that thought, just as I was about to point my holy sword at Rhea—
"Here, look at this."
Rhea cupped her hands and held something out.
It was a wriggling earth spirit.
The spirit, palm-sized and yawning tiredly, was shown to me with a smile.
"Isn't it adorable?"
"..."
I couldn't say a word in the face of that innocent smile.
In my previous life, once I gained power, I could at least find freedom. I traveled the murim world freely, sparring with masters and even seeing a carp the size of a house.
But in this world, I had lost my freedom and was burdened with a heavy duty.
"It really is... cute."
Come to think of it, when was the last time I had rested?
I had never even thought about it.
The last thing I saw was Rhea's flustered face before my vision blurred.
When I opened my eyes, a lot of time seemed to have passed.
The sun was setting, painting the sky in red hues.
I lay in the field, staring blankly at the sky.
"You've woken up, I see."
Rhea poured water into a cup using a spirit and offered it to me.
I downed the water in one gulp and wiped my mouth.
"Your name?"
"I'm Rhea."
"I'm..."
For a moment, the name I had received as a slave came to mind.
"Kim Min-su."
But instead of that name, I spoke my real name from reality.
"Kim Min... su? It's a bit hard to pronounce. I'll remember it."
"Rhea... I'll remember your name too. By the way, could you guide me to the Lord Dragon? Even if I don't look like it, I'm a hero, and I have something to discuss."
"A hero...? And you're looking for the Lord Dragon?"
Rhea seemed to ponder for a moment before standing up.
She brushed the grass from her hips, puffed out her chest, and spoke.
"I am the 4th Lord Dragon, Rhea Lu Plasis. Hero Kim Min-su, I officially welcome you to Sky Island."
I had been mistaken.
It wasn't that dragons were leisurely.
They were in a position where they could afford to be leisurely.
Thud—! Thud—!!
Behind Rhea, dozens or even hundreds of dragons appeared, shaking the ground.
"In accordance with the contract with the goddess Nepia, we dragons will now stand with you, Hero."
The goddess's arrangement.
That word suddenly came to mind.
They hadn't just been watching from the island. They had been conserving their strength and increasing their numbers, waiting for the day the hero would appear at the goddess's command.
"You should've told me this earlier... damn goddess..."
The true life of a hero had begun.
***
"Mmm..."
It felt like I had a deep dream after a long time.
"A dream...?"
Just as I tried to get up, I felt something clinging to my arm.
"Ppaya..."
Luna was attached to my arm, though I didn't know when she had come.
Seeing her little hands tightly gripping my clothes, I burst out laughing.
"Haa... Compared to back then, this is heaven."
As I tried to stand while holding Luna, I finally noticed.
Jeok Hwa-ryeon and Rhea were occupying both sides of the bed.
It felt incredibly satisfying as a man, but there was a problem.
The king-sized bed was perfect for multiple people.
"Isn't it too cramped...?"
The issue was that even though there was plenty of empty space, both of them were clinging right up against me.
Close enough that I could hear their breathing.
"For now... should I just enjoy this moment?"
I lay back down on the bed and placed Luna on my stomach.
She was sleeping so soundly that she wouldn't notice if someone carried her away.
This is life, yeah.
There was still so much to do, starting with the restaurant remodeling, finding ways to build my internal energy, and eventually submitting my resignation to the management department.
Especially after realizing that gates were passages connecting Earth to various unknown worlds, my head ached a little.
I couldn't even predict what kind of beings might emerge from them.
"Let's not think about complicated things..."
For now, I decided to enjoy the moment.
***
Time passed as quickly as a hundred days of vacation.
The remodeling was complete, and the restaurant sign went up.
Named Sprout Restaurant.
I thought simple would be best, so I went with that.
At first, I wanted something unique like Otherworld Restaurant or New Life Restaurant, but Jeok Hwa-ryeon and Rhea opposed it, so I settled on Sprout.
Well, since I'm not trying to make money, this should be fine.
The refrigerator and storage were already well-equipped, so I designed an outdoor banner and hung it up.
I made the words "All Menus 10,000 Won" as large as possible.
Rhea said it was the only way she could help and connected the basement of the luxury house—previously empty space—with the restaurant's storage using magic.
Thanks to that, I could now go to work just by going down to the basement from the living room while watching TV.
This is... the kind of power I've only dreamed of.
Rhea looked rather embarrassed.
"This is... basic magic among dragons."
"Amazing! As expected of my Rhea."
When I hugged her and praised her, Rhea blushed and lowered her head.
"People."
"Sarameu!"
"This means animal."
"Do... mul?"
Jeok So-ye occasionally taught Luna letters alongside Rhea.
Luna learned the letters quickly, but her pronunciation was still clumsy.
I watched So-ye teaching and spoke to Hwa-ryeon, who was yawning beside me.
"Hwa-ryeon, want to go to the market together?"
"The market?"
"We can buy ingredients for the restaurant and have a date at the same time."
"Sounds good."
I linked arms with Jeok Hwa-ryeon and stepped out the front gate.
"Going out?"
Romanoff, who had been diligently weeding the garden alone with a sickle, spoke in a sulky tone.
"If you finish all that, I'll grant you one wish. Work hard."
"A... wish!! You have to keep that promise!"
Since hate turns to affection, I decided to keep Romanoff alive and use him as a servant.
He was free labor that worked without eating anything.
When we arrived at the market after a stroll, we saw countless meats.
All monster meat.
With gates appearing all over the country, the livestock industry had changed a lot.
Among animal-type monsters, some had strong vitality and tasted better than regular meat, and most seafood from the ocean—where humans couldn't interfere—had turned into monsters.
"Big Fish! Three for 20,000 won, cheap cheap!"
Unlike regular fish, these had terrifying vitality, and people worried they would harm the ecosystem, but that concern proved unfounded as the sea formed a new ecosystem in less than a year.
The balance was so perfect that only humans benefited from the catch.
Of course, the familiar fish we used to know—mackerel, tuna, salmon, yellowtail, flounder—had disappeared, but fish-type monsters naturally took their place.
"Ten Bubble Fish, please. No need to clean them."
"Yep~"
Bubble Fish.
Named because the large lump on its neck looked like a water bubble.
It was essentially the gill area, and like tuna's gill meat, it was chewy and delicious, with nearly three times the amount of gill meat, making it a popular species.
"How about it, not bad, right?"
"It's fun. There are so many strange species."
Jeok Hwa-ryeon smiled and clung to my arm.
"Still, it's better because I'm with you, honey."
"R-really?"
I was more flustered by Hwa-ryeon's sudden closeness.
"I like it too."
Just as we finished our market date and were heading back to the mansion—
Ring ring ring—
My phone rang.
Wondering what it was, I saw it was a call from Ok Jun-woo.
"Hold on, hello?"
"..."
"Jun-woo? I can't hear you..."
"Shit... Min-su... The team leader and... Ji-tae..."
I could feel a deep tremor in Ok Jun-woo's voice.
My entire body suddenly felt hot.
"Hey, don't tell me..."
"They got sucked into the gate..."