Chapter 3
Chapter 3
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Barathrum and the Pit
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[Synchronization complete. Connecting to the Soul Treasure, Barathrum.]
As the mechanical voice echoed in his head, Lee Si-woo opened his eyes to an unfamiliar scene.
He found himself standing in the center of a small village, a cozy cluster of quaint, European-style buildings.
‘No matter how I look at it, this doesn't seem like that place... the pit, or whatever it was. And that voice in my head just now... didn't it say it was connecting to Barathrum?’
As Lee Si-woo stood there, bewildered, something poked at his feet.
Lee Si-woo looked down to see a squirrel with fluffy white fur scurrying around him in circles.
Its tail twitched with excitement, its breath came in short pants, and its tongue lolled out.
Sensing his gaze, the creature stopped and gently rubbed its head against his leg, causing Lee Si-woo to let out a dry laugh.
The squirrel's behavior, like a puppy reuniting with its long-lost owner, was what drew the wry smile from him.
-Squeak!
With an adorable cry, the white squirrel scampered up Lee Si-woo’s body.
Startled by its sudden action, Lee Si-woo soon broke into a smile and stroked the squirrel’s forehead with his index finger.
He had been won over by the squirrel’s charm as it rubbed against his cheek without a hint of hostility.
Enjoying the feeling of the white furball tickling his cheek, Lee Si-woo spoke.
“Well, I appreciate the enthusiastic welcome, but I would've preferred a person.”
As if it had been waiting for Lee Si-woo’s wistful comment, a boy of small stature emerged from the shadows stretching alongside the buildings.
The boy, wearing a black suit that seemed too large for his small frame and a faceless mask with no eyes, nose, or mouth, spoke.
“You’ve arrived, Lord. I have been waiting.”
Lee Si-woo asked, his expression wary.
“And you are…?”
“A pleasure to meet you. I am the first inhabitant of this world and your first servant, a kind of helper created to help you understand this world.”
Lee Si-woo narrowed his eyes.
“A helper to understand this world?”
“Yes. This is Barathrum. To put it simply, it is the world inside the smartphone you are holding.”
“You’re saying this is the world inside a smartphone?”
No matter where he looked, it was unmistakably a European village.
The air that tickled his nose, the earthy scent rising from the ground—how could this vivid place be a world inside a smartphone?
Even for Lee Si-woo, who had been thrown into an incomprehensible world overnight, it was hard to believe.
“Lord, please do not try to understand. Just as a primitive man cannot comprehend a computer, you will not be able to grasp the essence of this place no matter how much you ponder.”
Just as the boy said, Lee Si-woo judged that even a week of explanations wouldn’t be enough for him to understand this place, so he asked about something else.
“…I understand, for now. But you’ve been calling me ‘Lord’ since a moment ago. Why? I can’t think of any reason for you to call me that.”
“You are the master of this world, and I am the servant who attends you.”
“Master, and servant…”
The boy glanced at the watch on his wrist and spoke.
“My apologies, but as this is your first connection, our available energy is low. I do not have time to explain in detail. Why not learn the rest as you go? This is merely my opinion, but… I believe your priority right now should be survival, not understanding this world.”
At the word ‘survival,’ Lee Si-woo’s expression hardened.
The boy with the faceless mask took out a pill and offered it to him.
“So, I recommend you start by taking this ‘Common Sense Pill’.”
Lee Si-woo let out a short laugh.
“Sorry, but I’m the type who doesn’t even take candy from strangers.”
“I understand. You must be suspicious of everything. But you must also know, Lord, that you have fallen into an incredibly dangerous world. How do you plan to survive without even basic common sense, when you should be striving for profound knowledge?”
“Are you saying I’ll gain common sense just by eating that pill? Well, that’s convenient, but it’s hard to believe.”
“Lord, as your servant, I cannot force you. However, I hope you understand that the Main Dimension is not a forgiving place for the unprepared to survive.”
‘Main Dimension? Is he saying I’ve come to another dimension? It’s one thing after another… this is driving me crazy.’
The boy spoke in an earnest tone.
“Lord, if I intended to harm you, couldn’t I have just waited and done nothing? For the ignorant, time is not a medicine, but a poison.”
He was right. Lee Si-woo was ignorant of too many things.
Frankly, hadn’t he been swayed by Harman like a sitting duck precisely because he knew nothing?
Furthermore, the boy’s words—that for the ignorant, time is a poison—struck a chord.
A sense of crisis, that he couldn't go on like this, washed over him.
‘The smartphone was the only thing that didn’t disappear when I came here. The old man who coveted it. The boy who claims this is the world inside the smartphone. And me, who knows nothing.’
Hesitating before the mysterious pill, Lee Si-woo took it with a faint sigh.
He knew that when it was time to make a bet, he had to be bold.
If he let fear of failure make him doubt everything, he would surely miss the opportunity right in front of him.
‘Besides, there’s no flaw in his logic. If he wanted to harm me, he wouldn't have needed to make things this complicated.’
Having made up his mind, Lee Si-woo shed his hesitation and swallowed the pill.
Gulp.
Lee Si-woo’s eyes flew open.
A panorama of information flooded his mind, clearing his head as if he’d been doused with cold water.
The Butler asked him tentatively.
“Are you alright?”
Lee Si-woo muttered with a dazed expression.
“The first universe and dimension, or the first world born of God, and the origin… the Main Dimension.”
“That is correct. The Common Sense Pill has taken effect. I am relieved.”
The knowledge storming his mind left Lee Si-woo stunned.
Infinite planets.
Planets where land, sea, and resources endlessly multiplied.
Countless different species and humans settled there.
Magic and mystery, science, and God.
A world where all of it coexisted as reality.
Pressing his thumb against his throbbing brow, Lee Si-woo spoke.
“According to the information in this… my situation is truly dire.”
The boy checked his watch again and spoke with a regretful tone.
“Our time is almost up, Lord. A Common Sense Pill, unlike a Knowledge Pill, cannot convey information about Barathrum, so you are likely still unaware of what you can do using it.”
“That’s right.”
“So for now, please remember these two things. You must secure energy through predation to connect here, and to survive, you must properly interpret your Death-Ground Fortune.”
“Predation? Death-Ground Fortune?”
“You will naturally come to understand both, as you will receive messages on your smartphone when the conditions are met.”
At the same time, a hazy fog began to envelop the village.
Seeing the white squirrel on his shoulder whimpering and crying, Lee Si-woo instinctively knew he was about to be expelled from this world.
He asked the boy urgently.
“Your name. I didn’t get your name.”
The boy replied in a voice so flat it was almost monotonous.
“What need has a humble servant for a name? From now on, you may simply call me Butler.”
“Butler…”
With that final, soft murmur, the white fog swallowed Lee Si-woo whole.
* * *
The Underground Labyrinth.
A place where the useless were abandoned, and the weak could never escape.
The surface dwellers called it the pit, a name spoken with disgust.
‘I tried to hurry, but I’m a little late.’
Rei, a woman with straight brown hair, sighed as she arrived before the glowing blue summoning portal, realizing she was a step behind.
There were four tribes, formed to escape the pit.
As the boss of Pure, the human tribe, she scratched her head and surveyed the other tribes.
‘They’re all here. Every last one.’
From beast-kin like the lycanthrope sharpening its sharp claws and the minotaur boasting intimidating horns, to monster-kin far removed from human form, and even elves, whose appearance was superficially similar to humans but whose beauty and abilities were worlds apart.
Rei clicked her tongue as she assessed their diverse and varied faces.
‘Ha, there’s no way those guys will just stand by and let our tribe get new talent. Does this mean I should be hoping it’s not a human?’
A tribe’s identity was determined by the species belonging to it.
For instance, Rei’s tribe, Pure, was composed entirely of pure humans.
And since humans made up the majority of those summoned by the tickets, their tribe was the second largest of the four.
However, the unfortunate truth was that their quality was pitiful.
The human species, whose innate physical abilities were pathetic compared to other races, belonged to the bottom of the food chain.
“Yo~ Rei. You’re late. Huh, you think you can snag a newbie like this? Hmm?”
Jeoji, the lycanthrope boss of the beast-kin tribe, Wild, swaggered over to Rei, sneering as he flaunted his silver fur.
Seeing the disdain in his eyes and the smirk on his lips, Rei clicked her tongue and said.
“…I’m not slow, you’re just fast.”
“Haha, can’t be helped. No matter how much you people train, you can never match our innate agility and stamina.”
Slither.
A giant centipede crawled up beside the silver-furred werewolf, straightened its body, and wiggled its antennae.
A resonant sound spread from between its antennae, vibrating in the eardrums of those nearby.
-Humans who fail to become mages are inferior.
Rei swallowed dryly at the appearance of Ogong, the boss of the monster-kin tribe, Monster.
The monster-kin were natural omnivores that ate anything in sight, and humans were no exception.
That was why members of Pure, the weakest of the four tribes, were always on edge when they encountered the monster-kin.
In truth, calling them a tribe was generous; they were, in essence, nothing more or less than intelligent monsters.
As if enjoying Rei’s tension, Ogong spoke with a sinister laugh.
-Kekeke, not that becoming a mage makes you superior. Isn’t it truly pitiful? The reality that the most numerous species in all the dimensions is so trivial even after achieving great enlightenment.
No sooner had Ogong finished speaking than a woman emerged from a corner and opened her mouth.
“No matter how much you struggle, the fact remains that you are an inferior species.”
Skin as white as pure snow, eyes like embedded emeralds, blue lips, and long, pointed ears.
Rei scowled at the arrival of Lala, the boss of the elf tribe, Elder, and a beauty whose presence alone brightened her surroundings.
While the other tribe bosses were a threat, this woman in a pretty shell, Lala, was simply an annoyance.
Rei replied with a sigh.
“Could you stop with the ‘inferior’ talk? I’ve heard it so much my ears are about to fall off.”
As if Rei’s complaint wasn't even worth acknowledging, Lala continued with her own remarks.
“By the way, you’re just as disgustingly ugly today as you were yesterday. It’s nauseating. Hmm, a caterpillar might be cuter.”
“…You may not know this, but by human standards, I’m considered quite beautiful.”
She wanted to spit out a curse, but that was something she could only do in her imagination.
“You’re above average? I offer my deepest condolences to the standards of you humans, Rei.”
As Rei was taking her usual verbal beating from Lala, the ceiling of the underground labyrinth suddenly began to tremble with a faint vibration.
Rei’s eyes lit up as she raised her head, her gaze falling upon a newly formed blue portal.
Her eyes gleaming, Rei muttered.
“It’s coming.”
Thump!
Countless gazes shot like arrows toward the black shadow ejected from the blue portal.
And everyone, except for Rei, sighed as one.
They had realized the identity of the black shadow was a human.
The lycanthrope Jeoji spat out a curse.
“Dammit, another human? Just how many seeds have these cockroach-like bastards spread across the dimensions for them to pop out so often?”
Lala scanned the shadow with a look of disgust, as if she were looking at filth, then spoke.
“Another lowly human. This is just pathetic. Besides… if he were useful, I might have considered getting rid of him just to spite Rei, but he’s not even worth the effort.”
The centipede monster Ogong left with a single parting word before disappearing.
-I don’t smell any mana. And he looks unappetizing… trash.
At the words ‘don’t smell any mana,’ a dry laugh escaped Jeoji’s lips.
Not all 1-stars were the same.
Although only mages could wield mana to perform powerful feats that could be called miracles, that didn't mean mana was unimportant to non-mages.
For the beings of this world, mana was no different from blood and muscle.
Therefore, a being without mana was treated as nothing more than a cripple in this world.
Lala cackled and said.
“Congratulations, Rei. The new recruit is all yours.”
Rei’s face fell at Lala’s words, which were dripping with schadenfreude.
She looked at the good-natured man who had just emerged from the portal and was now staring at her blankly.
The man, handsome despite his lack of mana, spoke with a bright smile and a smooth tone.
“Hello, nice to meet you. My name is Lee Si-woo.”
That smile, which drew people in like a magnet, made Rei scratch her slightly flushed nose as she thought.
His lack of mana was beyond disappointing, it was lamentable, but one thing was certain.
Yes, he had an infuriatingly charming face.