Veteran Newbie (1)

Yoo Wol-ryeong stared at Yeomra in disbelief at his words.

"You're talking about a Saingeom? Is that something that just rolls around anywhere? You, of all people, know best that Saingeoms are made only in numbers equal to the Grim Reapers, don't you, Lord Yeomra?"

"Well, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠yeah. Guess there's no helping it then."

The moment Yoo Wol-ryeong finished speaking, Yeomra plunged his hand into his jacket pocket like he'd been waiting for it.

"I've got a spare, so I'll lend it to you."

"A spare? A spare? There's no way a spare Saingeom could exist in this world..."

Yoo Wol-ryeong gaped at Yeomra in shock, her face screaming how could such a thing be possible?

Ju Kang-rim roughly equated it to the Minister of National Defense handing a gun to a part-timer he'd just hired, saying, "I've got an extra gun lying around, so borrow this."

Yeomra pulled a sword from his jacket, one that emanated a deep blue glow. Its blade was hazy like mist, and the unfathomably dark blade body flickered with constellations.

Yoo Wol-ryeong's eyes narrowed.

"Hold on. Lord Yeomra, that looks familiar..."

"Picked it up on the way. Can't have our Kang-rim fighting without a weapon, right?"

"What kind of nonsense is..."

"Here, Ju Kang-rim. Give it a grip."

Without hesitation, Ju Kang-rim seized the sword. A chilling energy seeped into his fingertips the instant he did. The Saingeom trembled briefly before falling still.

Seeing this, Yeomra smirked faintly.

"A Saingeom is the gear Grim Reapers use in the field."

Yeomra crossed his arms and continued.

"Don't think of it as just a weapon. It's a Grim Reaper's mark, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠their clothing, their weapon, their handcuffs, and even their partner. If it fully acknowledges you, it'll take a form suited to you."

Ju Kang-rim peered into the Saingeom. Even though it was his first time holding a sword, it felt oddly familiar in his hand. As he lifted it, mist seeped from the blade like a dream, flowing downward. Just as he was about to swing it—

Yeomra grabbed his hand firmly.

"Not now."

Yeomra glanced at Yoo Wol-ryeong and whispered. She was still deep in thought, trying to figure out the sword's origin and identity.

"That'll be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠perfect proof that you're one of mine. But it'll take more than that, so I'll throw in something that fits the living world's ways too."

Yeomra drew a red envelope from his pocket. Inside was a blank black sheet of paper. He took a deep drag from his cigarette, then exhaled smoke onto the paper. As the smoke seeped in, tiny letters began to form.

Ju Kang-rim took the paper and read it aloud.

It was a contract to that effect, in summary.

"Alright, no complaints? Sign it."

"Let's revise this part."

"What?"

Ju Kang-rim tapped the last line of the contract.

"The above contract shall be infinitely renewed until all immortals are exterminated."

Yeomra paused for a moment. His expression was subtle.

"You don't seem to grasp the weight of 'infinite.'"

"I do."

"No, you don't. You're using 'infinite' against immortals. Contracts with 'infinite' in them are a no-go. I'm saying this for your sake, kid. It's risky for me too. If the contract gets invalidated, that's the best case—worst case, it could be horrific."

"Then we're done. If you're gonna quit halfway half-assed, I won't do it either."

Ju Kang-rim folded the contract and tossed it onto Yeomra's chest.

Yeomra looked back and forth between Yoo Wol-ryeong and Ju Kang-rim in disbelief. He clearly hadn't expected anyone to turn down such generous terms. But soon, the corner of his mouth twitched, and he broke into a full grin.

Yeomra grabbed Ju Kang-rim by the collar.

"This crazy bastard's really crazy. Yoo Pro, I told you! You've gotta be this nuts to run the field in my place!"

Yeomra roared with laughter that shook the Samdo River, yanking Ju Kang-rim close. Crimson flames blazed in Yeomra's eyes—hellfire from an unfathomable abyss, searing with madness and inexpressible rage hot enough to melt steel.

"Fine! I, Yeomra, hereby vow 'infinite'! You'll be my proxy in the living world, my wrath incarnate! If you're stepping into hell of your own will, how can I hold back?!"

"Lord Yeomra!"

Yoo Wol-ryeong cried out in alarm, trying to intervene. But Yeomra waved her off decisively.

Yeomra pulled out the contract again and held it before Ju Kang-rim. His sharp nails scratched the paper, burning away the last line with a scorching smell as new words etched themselves in—the phrase Ju Kang-rim wanted.

"Sign it."

Unsure how, Ju Kang-rim hesitated. Yeomra pressed his hand to the paper. A burning sensation scorched his palm, leaving his handprint.

"Now you're bound to me in a bond even death can't sever. Pray your hell isn't too hot."

With the contract done, Yeomra straightened his clothes and reverted to his usual laid-back self. Ju Kang-rim couldn't fathom what promising 'infinite' meant to him, but it had clearly rattled Yeomra. He suddenly wondered if Yeomra had once promised 'infinite' to someone before.

Ju Kang-rim pondered how to deal with immortals from now on, then recalled his own end.

"By the way, didn't you say my lifespan was already up?"

His body had been torn apart beyond recognition, his soul dragged to the Samdo River. Calling this 'alive' felt like a stretch.

"Oh, that."

Yeomra shrugged and pulled out his phone from his pocket.

Yeomra dragged his finger across the eye-searing red screen, then displayed an Excel-like list.

Yeomra tapped the '2042' and added a 2.

"...Huh?"

"Good now?"

"Pardon? Wait, is that really okay? Just like that?"

"It's fine. Could pass as an admin error. Not the first time. Want me to add another digit?"

Suddenly gaining 18,000 more years of life as an 'admin error'? Ju Kang-rim hurriedly glanced at Yoo Wol-ryeong. She looked strict and uptight. Would even she overlook this?

But she didn't bat an eye.

"Yoo Pro agrees we need to fix your lifespan issue. She'll let this slide. She's got more leeway than she looks."

"More like keeping an eye on you so you don't cross the line, Lord Yeomra."

Yoo Wol-ryeong muttered with a frown. Ju Kang-rim found her version more convincing. Yeomra didn't seem the type to stick to rules anyway.

"Anyway, it's just temporary. Remember, you're a Grim Reaper from now on."

"Contractor, that is."

Yoo Wol-ryeong added. Yeomra grinned and snapped his fingers in front of Ju Kang-rim's eyes.

"Contract's done, so... straight to work."

Ju Kang-rim's vision went black.

He opened his eyes to a familiar ceiling. No, actually, an unfamiliar one. He'd never seen the place before. But it felt familiar because it was a hospital ceiling. He'd been hospitalized plenty.

Realizing he was alive, Ju Kang-rim exhaled sharply.

In a daze, he scanned the room. It was empty.

...Huh?

An 8-bed ward, silent and devoid of people. Déjà vu hit him.

The time gates had started devouring Seoul in earnest. Back when he was still prepping for the Army Academy.

Ju Kang-rim looked at his hands. Slender arms without a single scar. Only then did he confirm he'd regressed to around age twenty.

Not the arms that had twisted zombie necks, turned anything into a weapon, and bore countless scars. Not the battle-hardened body of Colonel Ju Kang-rim.

So that's what he meant by giving me a chance...

Indeed, there was nothing he could do in a world already doomed. But rewinding time? He hadn't expected that.

Instead of overthinking, Ju Kang-rim focused on what he could do.

First, find a weapon.

He slid out of bed and moved quickly. His memories of age twenty—and this hospital—were vivid. It was the trigger that made him abandon normal life for zombie hunting.

Right now, an unprecedented massive Gate loomed over Bukhansan. Its aftermath had caused countless casualties, and twenty-year-old Ju Kang-rim had been hospitalized from injuries in the incident.

People thought the Gate would close naturally or the government would handle it soon, but it didn't. It swallowed northern Seoul.

Looking at the sky... too late to reverse it now.

Northern Seoul was now a permanent 'dungeon' with a constant Gate. The infamous Gangbuk Incident.

Some refused evacuation out of ignorance, but the hospital seemed fully evacuated—patients and staff alike.

Comatose or immobile patients got left behind in the panic.

Ju Kang-rim didn't blame the staff who'd abandoned him. It had been that dire. Unconscious patients had to be left.

The few zombie hunters and military were tied up at the northern Seoul Gate. Ju Kang-rim hadn't been rescued until days later, during their retreat.

After surviving near-death countless times, he'd realized one thing.

Normal life would never return.

Crack.

Ju Kang-rim snapped the IV stand to improvise a spear. Aluminum, so it'd bend easily, but good for a zombie or two.

Calmly, he headed for the hallway.

The hospital was silent. Papers littered the floor, exam equipment scattered haphazardly. The empty desk's red light blinked incessantly.

The red light was standard hospital gear post-Gates: in case of Gates or zombie outbreaks, trigger red alert and evacuate with patients.

If memory serves... five zombies by the emergency stairs.

Ju Kang-rim hid at the corner and peeked.

"Grr... gaaah. Kkh."

Sure enough, exactly five zombies shambled about. All elderly in patient gowns—victims of the Gate's aftermath, reanimated.

Zombies...

When the zombie plague first hit, public knowledge came from Hollywood flicks. Fortunately—or not—they matched movies: staggering, walking, running, biting. Getting bitten turned you too. No cure. Destroy the brain to kill.

The big difference? Humanity didn't just get steamrolled like in films.

Zombie plague had high fatality, near-zero incubation, saliva-only infection, clear brain weakness. If zombies were all, humanity could've controlled them better.

Problem's the Gates.

As long as Gates stayed open, zombies kept spawning. Even dead ones revived. Unless you smashed the core to force closure or it shut naturally, endless hordes.

Ju Kang-rim backed away. No matter his experience, five zombies barehanded? No. Best avoid unprepared fights.

Come to think, Yeomra gave me that Saingeom thing... where'd it go?

And Grim Reaper powers? Nothing felt different. Regression was blessing enough, but anxiety gnawed—what was he missing?

No way my whole life was a dream, right?

Then—

Ring ring, ring ring.

A smartphone blared from inside the ward.

"Damn it."

Ju Kang-rim fumbled for the button on the unfamiliar model. It unlocked to his fingerprint.

An eye-searing red screen appeared.