A Fated Encounter
Gurgle!
Jeron returned to Earth with a sensation like passing through a membrane of water.
The breath of spring was slowly rising here as well.
The thermometer pointed above freezing, and the sunlight poured warmly into the room.
"Whew."
He took a deep breath.
He could feel the dense distribution of mana in the air—a sensation impossible to experience on the Karen Continent.
Until now, Jeron had been constantly hauling parts from the shelter on the outskirts of Eumyang-myeon.
Occasionally, he had traveled with Mr. Kang to detach vehicle parts, leaving the heavy lifting to Jeron.
The modifications made to Count Renkai's carriage had also been crafted using parts brought from that shelter.
After salvaging all the necessary components, he had moved to Mr. Kang's safe hideout.
That was just a few days ago.
As soon as Jeron crossed over to Earth, he turned on the electric kettle and the space heater.
Even though the temperature was above freezing, it was still chilly enough to warrant the heater. Besides, the electricity generated from the solar panels was free anyway.
Soon, he would be able to use simple electronic appliances on Earth without much worry.
Since he had stripped all the solar panels from the Eumyang-myeon shelter, he planned to utilize electricity in various ways.
Once the water in the kettle boiled, he mixed himself a cup of instant coffee.
The tea he drank on the Karen Continent was decent, but nothing woke his body up like the sweet kick of instant coffee and caffeine.
It was coffee that fueled Jeron through his grueling activities on Earth.
As the sweet coffee washed over his tongue, dopamine flooded his system, sharpening his mind.
"Yes, this is the feeling."
Without small pleasures like this, crossing over to this desolate Earth would have been a massive burden.
Finishing his coffee, Jeron mentally organized his tasks for the day.
"Splitting the circle. And scouting."
There wasn't much to move today—at most, just the remaining tools in Mr. Kang's hideout.
Jeron spread a blanket on the floor and sat cross-legged.
Amidst the faint whistling of the wind, a deep silence settled around him.
Perhaps because he felt safe in Mr. Kang's shelter, he quickly slipped into a meditative trance.
Jeron observed his own body as if he were a third party.
His mana flowed grandly and powerfully.
With this much mana, he should have reached the 2nd Circle long ago.
However, to split the circle without anyone's assistance, triple casting was absolutely essential.
Even when he had formed a double-cast Shield to protect his heart, his previous attempt to split the circle had failed.
After nearly dying when the shields shattered and his heart almost burst, he had resolved to master triple casting before attempting the split again.
And that day was today.
Jeron was about to take the next step in magic.
The band of mana spinning rapidly around his heart was already incredibly thick.
Keeping his eyes closed, Jeron initiated the triple cast.
Shield! Shield! Shield!
Three layers of shields enveloped his heart.
Focusing on maintaining the spells, Jeron immediately began splitting the circle.
He seized a portion of the flowing mana and forced it into the rapidly spinning circle.
Creak!
The center of the violently spinning circle began to indent, attempting to divide.
The crushing pressure that followed was something Jeron had to endure entirely on his own.
I'm doing this in one go!
Previously, fear of his heart bursting had stopped him from splitting the circle cleanly.
But today was different.
With three layers of shields, he could withstand it.
Crack!
As the circle began to split in two, the unstable mana fluctuated wildly, putting immense pressure on his heart.
Pop! Pop!
In an instant, two of the shields shattered.
Sweat began to bead on Jeron's forehead.
As expected, two shields were not enough to withstand the split.
Only the final shield remained, barely protecting his heart.
Then, in a single moment...
The circle split and divided.
The wildly fluctuating circles constricted his heart violently, half-shattering the remaining shield.
Shatter!
Ultimately, the final shield broke as well.
Thump! Thump!
The two circles spun precariously, threatening to burst his heart at any second.
Jeron immediately began the stabilization process.
Circulating his mana methodically, he fought to guide the erratic circles back into a stable orbit.
Finally...
The circles settled into their proper places, finding their balance.
"Pant! Pant!"
Jeron snapped out of his trance and collapsed onto his back.
The two circles were drawing in an immense amount of mana.
Two thick masses of mana, each equal in size to his original single circle, were now spinning around his heart.
"I almost died."
It had been a dangerous gamble. That was the risk of reaching the 2nd Circle without a master's guidance.
Jeron could instinctively feel that his mana pool had expanded and the destructive power of his magic had increased.
Even 1st Circle magic had displayed incredible power on Earth; he couldn't even begin to fathom what 2nd Circle magic would be like.
To use 2nd Circle spells, he would need to acquire a magic book.
He would likely have to purchase one from the Magic Tower.
Jeron stood up.
Whoosh!
Even though the wind wasn't blowing hard, he could feel the air circulating around his entire body.
His vision, hearing, and sense of touch had become far sharper.
The flow of mana was clearer than before, and he realized that the ambient mana scattered across Earth possessed a distinct alignment.
Reaching the 2nd Circle did not just mean his mana had grown stronger.
With his five senses—and even his sixth sense—sharpened, his body was transforming into the optimal vessel for wielding magic.
"Not bad."
Considering his activities on Earth, this was a highly positive change.
Jeron sat for a moment to completely stabilize his mana.
His mental strength seemed to have improved as well; the mana moved fluidly at his command.
Before, moving mana felt like dragging it by force, but now it flowed as naturally as breathing.
Having successfully split his circle, Jeron lightly slung his backpack over his shoulder.
Filled with mana, his body felt light enough to fly.
With all preparations complete, Jeron stepped out of the hideout.
The tallest building in the agricultural-industrial complex was the commercial building housing the agricultural supply store.
Jeron concealed himself in front of the store, listening closely for any sounds nearby.
Though his body felt lighter and his mana more abundant than ever, he refused to let his guard down.
This caution was born from his experiences in his past life.
On this ruined Earth, one could be killed in an instant no matter what weapon they held.
Now that the mutants had evolved further, a single mistake could lead to a sudden, gruesome death.
"..."
Fortunately, no traces of mutants or survivors were detected within the complex.
The windows were all shattered, leaving the interior completely exposed.
Crunch!
When he stepped on a shard of glass, making a rather loud sound, Jeron immediately lowered his stance.
He could tell his hearing was far more sensitive than before.
Even the faintest sound echoed in his ears like thunder.
The inside of the agricultural store was completely trashed, with fixtures scattered everywhere.
The floor was stained with the residue of agricultural chemicals that had burst open long ago.
Bloodstains were visible here and there.
Jeron had come from a medieval world where brutal scenes were common, but the events that had transpired on Earth were far more horrific.
Just in case, he searched for any remaining seeds in the store, but anything useful had already been looted.
Jeron checked behind the counter.
You never knew. There might be some unusual vegetable seeds left.
"Radish?"
Jeron blurted out as he spotted the clear Korean letters.
He bent down behind the counter and picked up a discarded seed packet.
Though the packaging was crumpled, the inside was intact, filled with radish seeds.
Radishes were not particularly high in nutritional value compared to their volume.
They were considered a side dish rather than a staple, but history showed that people had survived on radishes during times of extreme poverty.
More importantly, Jeron saw a massive opportunity here.
Even though he hadn't found napa cabbage yet, this gave him hope that he could eventually make kimchi on the Karen Continent.
"This is a decent harvest."
It would have been even better if there were chili pepper seeds, but that was asking for too much.
But what if he could find chili pepper seeds in the underground bunker of Yujin Industries?
The very first ponytail radish kimchi or diced radish kimchi would be born on the Karen Continent.
If he had the ingredients, he might even be able to make cold radish water kimchi and mix it with noodles.
Just the thought of it made his mouth water.
"Since I have onions, garlic, and ginger, water kimchi should be possible. Mr. Kang and his daughter will love it."
It would be perfect if he had dried red peppers for the water kimchi, but he could probably mimic the taste with what he had.
Hoping for another stroke of luck, Jeron rummaged around the counter again.
Since he had found radish seeds, there might be cabbage seeds too.
However, finding the radish seeds was already a stroke of luck. Finding cabbage seeds on top of that would be like winning the lottery.
Leaving his lingering regrets behind, Jeron carefully tucked the packet into his backpack.
He headed toward the stairs connected to the back door of the store.
As was the case everywhere, it was rare to find a place without corpses.
Mummified remains were scattered about.
On the stairs between the third and fourth floors, a relatively fresh corpse lay torn apart.
A trail of blood smeared along the wall.
Leaving the now-familiar sight behind, Jeron opened the door to the rooftop.
A wind blew, incomparably warmer than it had been just a month ago.
The Karen Continent was in its harvest season and would only get colder. In contrast, the weather on Earth would grow warmer. It was quite a stark difference.
Old pieces of wood lay scattered across the rooftop.
Mostly rotted furniture had been abandoned, and in one corner, there were signs of someone having lived there.
Empty cans and decaying clothes were strewn about.
He looked around to see if there was a diary or journal, but found nothing.
Jeron peeked over the rooftop railing and raised his binoculars.
Since the agricultural-industrial complex sat on high ground, he had no trouble surveying the surrounding area.
First, he turned his gaze toward the studio apartment district.
Before Jeron had left for the Eumyang-myeon shelter, mutants had been fighting in that district.
Although the studio district was quiet, he saw something moving quickly in front of the Chinese restaurant.
"That skinny bastard. He's still alive."
It was a creature that used to live in the agricultural-industrial complex. The newcomers had driven out the original residents and taken over the studio district.
However, seeing how much thinner it looked compared to before, life in the studio district seemed tough.
Then again, in times like these, even the mutants were facing a recession.
Very few humans had survived, and as the mutants grew stronger, cannibalism among their own kind was becoming increasingly difficult.
Jeron turned his binoculars toward the city center.
The last time he checked, scavengers had been tearing through the city, busy luring mutants out.
How was it today?
"..."
He would have to get closer to be sure, but there was no major movement.
Given that the scavengers who used to roam the city like they owned it were nowhere to be seen, they had either all died or successfully lured the mutants away.
In his current situation, it was much easier to move by avoiding scavengers than mutants, so he hoped the scavengers had succeeded.
Jeron packed his binoculars back into his bag.
It was time to move.