Omen
A few days had passed since Han Su-yeon left.
Oh Hyeon-seong spent his time as leisurely as ever, drifting through the days at his own unhurried pace.
That wasn't to say his mind was completely empty — even while lounging about, he'd cleared and tilled the farmland he'd set as his target, finishing it up to the exact area he'd planned.
Working his body just enough and then stepping back to look at the result, he felt a quiet pride, a deep sense of accomplishment. So this was the fun of owning your own land, he thought.
"Alright, everyone, let's head out."
Oh Hyeon-seong set off on a picnic with the spirits.
Hundreds of spirits chattered their little songs as they trailed behind him, and when he spread a mat over the lush green field, they tumbled onto it in a heap.
"I haven't even finished laying it out yet!"
He shooed the squealing spirits this way and that as he spread the mat out. He'd brought the largest one he owned, but with so many spirits crowding on, there was hardly a spot left to stand.
Fortunately, the ones who couldn't bear to sit still and bounded off to play soon freed up plenty of room.
When he stretched out comfortably on the mat, the spirits climbed onto his body or nestled in beside him, piling close. A few rowdy ones scampered around near his head, so he caught them, laid them down next to him, and gazed up at the sky together.
"So? Pretty atmospheric, right?"
Kyiing!
The quiet country sky was cloudless and impossibly clear.
Every task was done, and no one was around to pester him — a peaceful situation through and through.
It hadn't been long since he'd turned his back on the city and come down here, yet he already seemed well and truly settled into this life.
As he savored the languor, Oh Hyeon-seong pulled out the lunchbox of roasted potatoes he'd brought along.
Time to give these a try.
His mouth watering, he picked up a potato. He'd been eating nothing but potatoes for days now, yet not once had he tired of them. Delicious, easy to eat, and never boring — what more perfect food could there be?
Except the spirits had gathered around in a circle, staring unblinkingly at him as he ate. Was watching someone enjoy food really that fascinating?
At the sight of them staring so hard it was almost embarrassing, he playfully broke off a small piece of potato and held it out.
"Want one?"
Chomp!
"...Huh?"
A spirit had snatched the piece of potato right out of his hand and swallowed it. It chewed a few times, then gulped the potato down. Oh Hyeon-seong froze in place at the utterly unexpected turn of events.
"Hey, are you okay?"
This was the first time a spirit of any kind had ever consumed food. If anything, they had violently rejected Earth's food until now. Hand them something like a chocolate bar and they'd wrinkle their noses, wave their arms in disgust, or bolt away without so much as a reply. Whenever he offered to share a meal because eating alone felt awkward, they'd treated it like outright torture. That was how spirits had always seen it.
And yet this time, he'd offered a piece as a joke — and the thing had actually eaten it.
Kyiing!
The water spirit that had eaten the potato hopped up and down. Then it began bouncing around the other spirits clustered nearby, chattering excitedly about something. The spirits who heard it let out a collective cry of wonder.
"...What are you all doing?"
Kyiing! Kyiing!
The spirits swarmed in, raising an uproar. They wanted a piece of that potato too, all of them.
"Well. What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"
Oh Hyeon-seong was baffled by their sudden change, but thinking it over, he could see where the difference lay.
Humans ate food to live. It wasn't a choice — it was a matter of survival. However bad something tasted, you had to shove something into your mouth to keep living, so people had willingly eaten flavorless food and adapted to it.
Spirits, on the other hand, had no need for such material necessities. Which meant there'd never been any reason for them to force themselves to adapt to bad food.
In other words — they didn't eat before because it tasted like garbage, and now they're eating because it's actually good.
Oh Hyeon-seong broke the potato into pieces and handed them out to the spirits one by one. Each spirit that received its ration beamed with visible delight, savoring the taste. They were so genuinely overjoyed by the flavor that it swept away any impression they'd simply been picky eaters all this time.
"When did your numbers get so big...?"
Spirits who'd been off playing, and even ones sprawled asleep in the grass, came trotting over at the commotion. As they started lining up one by one for handouts, the potatoes he'd brought were gone in no time.
And here I thought I knew how greedy they were...
Oh Hyeon-seong dutifully divided up the potatoes and passed them around. Seeing them so happy warmed his heart as well. From now on, they could share delicious food together.
But now that they'd gotten a taste, the spirits weren't satisfied with just this, and they began looking up at him with pleading eyes, asking for more.
"That's everything I brought. I'll give you more when we get home."
Oh Hyeon-seong soothed the spirits and sent them on their way. The truth was, the potatoes he'd planted in his garden and harvested had dwindled from steady eating — and he'd already used up all the seed potatoes on the second planting besides.
If they love it this much, I should feed them more. In return, though, they'd better put in the work.
Oh Hyeon-seong let out a sly little chuckle to himself.
After that, he lingered and enjoyed the leisurely afternoon with the spirits before finally getting up. He gathered the mat and his things and headed for home.
On the way, though, his toe caught on a jagged stone hiding among the weeds.
Thud!
Damn it—!
He caught himself as he pitched forward, hastily planting his other foot. But in that instant, a wave of dizziness washed over him — he'd realized, too late, that the foot he'd instinctively planted was his injured left leg.
Simply walking without a limp already demanded he endure pain; an impact of this size was bound to bring excruciating agony crashing in.
Huh? It doesn't hurt.
But Oh Hyeon-seong stared down at his ankle in bewilderment. Unlike the reflexive flinching his body had done, in reality he felt not even a twinge of pain.
What's going on?
Relieved at first, he quickly found himself puzzled. This was the leg that had once made him feel like he was dying when he so much as bumped it against rehab equipment at the hospital. How could an impact like this not hurt at all?
Come to think of it... for the past few days, my whole body's been feeling lighter somehow. My leg hurts less, too.
Treatment and rehab training had improved his condition considerably. Even so, the wounds he'd taken fighting the Queen had run deep. The best doctors in the country had declared it outright — the aftereffects would never fully heal. In practice, no matter how hard he pushed, his body refused to improve beyond a certain point.
Yet strangely, ever since coming down to the countryside, he'd had the inexplicable sense that his body was getting better. At first he'd chalked it up to his imagination, but the feeling had persisted regardless of day-to-day condition, and he'd been growing suspicious.
Don't tell me my broken body is actually recovering now? If so... could it be?
His eyes flashing, Oh Hyeon-seong stood up straight on both legs. Then he began moving them, one step at a time, gradually picking up speed.
A cool breeze brushed past, and just as a smile began to spread across his face—
Crash!
"Kghk...!"
He lost his balance and went tumbling spectacularly across the ground. Running, it seemed, was still beyond him.
"Damn it, should've known better than to get cocky."
Clutching his throbbing leg, Oh Hyeon-seong shook his head and trudged the rest of the way home.
"So the time has finally come."
Standing in the warehouse, Oh Hyeon-seong spoke with a look of mock gravity. Stacked before him were countless boxes.
With the last delivery just carried in from the truck that had arrived moments ago, every seed and seedling he'd purchased for his full-scale farming operation had now arrived.
At this rate, I could survive a war without starving. Feels reassuring.
Leading the way were the staple grains — rice, barley, and wheat. Then the survival crops: potatoes, sweet potatoes, beans, corn. Beyond those, countless other grains, vegetables, and fruits. Every kind of seed needed for cultivation filled this enormous warehouse from wall to wall.
No idea how much grief it took to track all this down.
Unlike the seed potatoes he'd casually bought off the internet before, this time he'd gone out of his way for every single item, sourcing each one with real care. The goal was quality seeds and seedlings. He was operating on the hypothesis that superior seeds meeting the environment the spirits had cultivated here would produce even better results.
To that end, he'd sought out tips and sourcing channels with advice from the Yoo siblings — actual farmers — and the other villagers. The siblings' advice, with their deep knowledge of the field, had been an enormous help.
Though it cost quite a bit more than I expected. It's not straining my finances yet, but it's not exactly pocket change either.
Oh Hyeon-seong had the money he'd saved during his hunter days. That said, it was nothing compared to the earnings hunters commanded in today's massive market. Hunter fees had skyrocketed now, and government-affiliated hunters drew enormous salaries from a dedicated pay scale to keep talent from leaking out — but no such system existed back then.
Of course, he hadn't been poorly paid even then. However much he was technically a civil servant under the government, he'd received special treatment in one way or another and been paid extra on top. It was simply that even his salary plus severance came nowhere near enough to make him a multi-tens-of-billions magnate.
I'll probably need to build another facility like this warehouse too. And since I'll have to keep eating, if I'm planning to farm for the long haul... I'll need some kind of income stream.
Retired or not, a man couldn't just keep racking up expenses forever. Though now wasn't the time to be thinking about that. The immediate priority was the farm.
Slinging a sack over his shoulder, Oh Hyeon-seong called out to the spirits gathered around him.
"Let's go, everyone!"
Ding!
"Ugh, why does this keep happening?"
Picking up his phone, Yoo Seung-su scowled. The management app had sent yet another alert notifying him of a problem with the smart farm facility.
"It happened last time too — that makes four already."
Facilities were bound to develop issues as you ran them, sure, but compared to normal, the frequency had become absolutely absurd. Worse still, all four problems had erupted from entirely different devices. The temperature controller, the nutrient solution feeder, all the way to the automated pest control unit — independent systems, each breaking down on its own.
"Harvest season for the main crops is right around the corner, and this is driving me insane."
Dropping what he was doing, Yoo Seung-su headed for the facility. Stepping inside the sprawling, factory-like complex at the foot of the hillside, he found an interior where endless layers of crops grew in dense rows.
Grumbling, he pulled out his phone and made for the location of the reported problem.
"Let's see... what on earth is wrong with you this time?"
Yoo Seung-su approached the cultivation unit and tilted his head to check beneath it. But the moment he looked down, he froze in shock. Under the unit, a massive hole gaped open, as though the floor itself had melted away.
"Wh-what is this?!"
Yoo Seung-su stumbled backward with a clatter. Looming vividly before his eyes was the writhing form of Erosion — a sinister, jet-black energy squirming in the dark. His face drained bone-white.
"Em... emergency."