Chapter 29
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Reincarnation
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The knowledge flooding in upon awakening [Intermediate Magic Talent] simply reframed the knowledge Jun already possessed from a new perspective.
Thus, it wasn't new knowledge acquired; merely a shift in viewpoint.
But the memory forcibly injected into his mind now was neither Jun's nor even what 'Lee Jung-jun' had known.
It felt profoundly unpleasant, utterly alien, and for a fleeting moment, terrifying.
And within those memories...
"Ah, no. This can't happen, it can't!"
"There must be a way. I have to find it."
"Haha, you cursed world! Cursed fate!"
"Am I ultimately unable to seize that power? Is that my destiny?"
"I refuse. I will find a way, come hell or high water—even if it's a method the world itself forbids!"
"F-found it...! I found it! Oooo!"
"But this damned fate won't let me escape on my turn. However, world... take note."
"I am a mage. I pursue the truths of the world and twist them into manifested reality."
"Even if I cannot escape, my descendants will!"
An elderly mage wrapped in sackcloth cried out in anguish.
The sackcloth draped over him was all too familiar to Jun's eyes.
"My... past life...?"
Reincarnation.
It was the reward from the crowdfunding campaign the game company had promoted just before 'Lee Jung-jun' entered the world of Blackout.
That was why Jun had viewed it merely as a game system, never taking 'reincarnation' seriously.
However, this world wasn't defined by mere pixels in a game. Everyone here lived and breathed, and Jun had become one of its inhabitants.
Therefore, reincarnation wasn't just some programmed mechanic—it carried a genuine plausibility.
"Even if I cannot escape, my descendants will!"
The fervent cry of a mage burning with resolve.
Even in his old age, clad only in a single piece of sackcloth.
Jun instinctively recognized it.
That was the mage character he had created back in his 'Lee Jung-jun' days.
'How is that even possible?'
But that only deepened his confusion.
Because it defied all logic.
'It doesn't make sense chronologically.'
The current timeline, where Jun existed, was several years before the character creation point in the game Blackout.
For the character Jun created to exist in reality, it would have to be far in the future.
Considering the character's age in those memories, decades should have passed.
'What the hell is going on here?'
He had no idea how this was possible.
But one thing was certain.
The mage he created had lived somewhere in this world.
And upon acquiring [Demon God Body], he lost his magic.
Because he lacked [Lazy Pilgrim's Odyssey].
Without the power to restrict his talents, he fully embraced [Demon God Body].
But that was a poisoned chalice.
Even now, merely unsealing 10% of [Demon God Body] had caused backlash in Jun's body.
Activating it at 100% would incinerate his mana circuits and lead to certain death.
'That's why he couldn't use magic.'
Back in his 'Lee Jung-jun' days, he had chalked it up to a bug or a curse on the character.
Game company bug reports always returned the same response: 'This issue is not caused by a bug.'
Thus, his character—blessed with the greatest gift for a mage—ironically lost all magic.
Unable to manage the overflowing mana.
'I abandoned that character back then, but...'
His character, alive somewhere, hadn't abandoned himself.
Of course not.
It was his life, after all.
For an incredibly long time, he struggled alone to solve the problem fate had given him.
But he never found the solution.
However, he did gain some small insights along the way.
'Like destiny. Acquiring the cheat skill [Demon God Body] meant losing the blessing of magic.'
Destiny.
The inescapable fate of any human.
The elderly mage believed in it.
And he devised a way for his reincarnated body to evade it.
The result was the original owner of the body now housing 'Lee Jung-jun'.
The dying master's incantation, [Lazy Pilgrim's Odyssey], stood in proxy, blocking [Demon God Body].
It took some of the influence, but not enough to threaten his life.
'It's a bit complicated, but for now... sorting these memories is priority one.'
Feeling his vision shake from the pounding headache, Jun slowly rose to his feet.
He wanted nothing more than to lie down, but he feared losing his balance entirely.
Moving like a drunkard, Jun paced the room to avoid being swept away by the waves of memory.
"Ugh... alright, let's summarize simply for now."
Upon acquiring [Intermediate Magic Talent], Jun recalled his past life's memories.
This might not be his true past life, but regardless.
For convenience's sake, his 'past self' hadn't solved the core problem, but he had amassed vast knowledge in the process.
And Jun recalled the bits of knowledge permitted to him.
'The ancient language I knew, or how I could decipher that goblin lord's sorcery. It was all because of this?'
Finally, the nagging doubts that had plagued him cleared up.
"The issue is how to make use of this knowledge."
Knowledge.
It might seem trivial at first glance, but to a mage, it could be a treasure greater than any skillbook.
Especially now.
"Just how many are there?"
The past life's knowledge of magic had taken root in a corner of his mind unbidden.
4th-circle spells he had thirsted for.
Spells that 'Lee Jung-jun'—once obsessed with raw power—had learned on his mage character.
Naturally, they were all optimized for destruction, unparalleled in firepower.
'I thought it was stupid back then, but look at it coming back around.'
4th-circle spells worth hundreds of millions of gold, all usable without spending a dime!
But not everything went smoothly.
'Thanks to [Intermediate Magic Talent], at least? Memories of magic surface clearly at my level. Anything beyond gets hazy.'
The spells his mage character had learned went up to 5th circle.
Yet only 4th-circle ones surfaced clearly.
The knowledge existed in his mind, but it was strangely blurred.
Everything else was even worse.
Most of the past life's memories were hazy.
Only bits like ancient language remained somewhat intact.
Sorcery and the myriad knowledges learned for reincarnation were all blurred.
He'd probably need to learn related knowledge or grow further.
'Hazy memories scattered everywhere.'
That was likely the source of his headache.
Fortunately, Jun had experience with this.
He had gone through something similar when entering this body.
'Gotta sort the memories first.'
From what he could use immediately to what he couldn't.
Jun grabbed an old notebook and sat at the desk.
He classified and jotted down the knowledge surfacing in his mind, separating clear memories from hazy ones.
'Not bad.'
The headache persisted, but Jun smiled contentedly.
Growing pains always brought anticipation.
"Not bad my ass."
Two days had passed since realizing the truth of his reincarnation.
Papers scribbled messily in Korean littered the room, and his pencil-holding hand trembled.
"Jun?!"
Aiden, meeting him for a meal, fretted over what was wrong—Jun's face was etched with exhaustion.
"I've sorted the magic knowledge somewhat..."
The mage character hadn't learned that many spells, so that part wrapped up quickly.
The hazy memories were the problem.
Despite their vagueness, they asserted their presence forcefully.
They popped into his head unbidden, then vanished like smoke, driving Jun mad.
'At least they're fading over time.'
After each flare-up, the memories seemed satisfied and sank back down.
Time was the cure, in the end.
"Still, I can't hole up in here forever..."
He had a schedule to keep today.
"First up, potion recipes."
Fortunately, he had plenty of info on that.
After the Blackout remake funding ended, 'Lee Jung-jun' had gotten fired up alone and plotted various growth paths.
One was leveraging the [Potion Brewing] skill.
'Started as a way to save on early potions.'
But after gathering skill-related info, 'Lee Jung-jun' realized it went beyond mere savings.
Later, it could bloom into a business content.
Thus, the details remained vivid in Jun's memory.
'I know exactly which dungeons to hit.'
Jun explained the upcoming schedule to Aiden.
"Like I said before, we'll be training for a while. Destinations are various 1st-layer dungeons."
"Dungeons!"
Aiden, cooped up in the fortress lately, perked up as tension left his body.
"The schedule has multiple goals."
"Beyond training?"
"Some are separate, some tie into training."
"What are the non-training ones?"
"Time to prep a business."
"A business... you say?"
"Yeah."
Aiden already knew about the talk with Cloi days ago.
But how did that connect to business?
"Right now, it's just auctioning potion recipes, but that'll link Cloi with various talents."
Through those connections, Jun planned to launch a potion business.
"So I need my name ringing in their ears too."
"Ah, I think I get it."
He said that, but Aiden didn't seem to grasp the full intent.
Not that Aiden needed to.
"Anyway, not your concern. Just letting the mercenary captain share his vision."
"Got it!"
"For training, two goals."
"One's honing our full strength, like you said. What's the other?"
"Adaptation training."
"Adaptation...? To what?"
"The environment itself. Time to prep for the 2nd layer."
"The 2nd... 2nd layer?!"
Aiden's face lit up, his prior nonchalance gone.
"Yeah. Objectively, our power holds up even on the 3rd layer. But we can't jump straight there."
"Ah... so adaptation training?"
"Exactly. Time to leave the Black Forest—our stage so far—and tackle new terrain."
"It really feels like an adventure!"
Jun chuckled briefly at Aiden's eager excitement.
And inwardly, he recalled another plan unspoken to Aiden.
'Plus... time to recruit new comrades.'
Eat the pheasant, eat the eggs, pluck the nest clean.
A schedule full of ambition.