Chapter 161
Chapter 161
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Book 7: Alternate History
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I flipped the Otherworld Transfer Book back to the very beginning.
Next, I checked the case of the first person who had been transferred.
[1. Lee Shin (16), Deceased: Former ordinary person. Reincarnated around 3000 BC in Egypt's predynastic era. Born as the son of a fisherman, he helped his father by the Nile River but drowned when caught in the swollen floodwaters of the Nile during the rainy season, unable to escape in time.]
[2. Kim Shin-ae (18), Deceased: Former history major graduate. Reincarnated around 1620 in Joseon's Hamgyong Province. Studied diligently to pass the civil service exams but was beaten by her parents for being a woman and forced into bridal training. Promised in marriage to a local youth. The next year, however, Later Jin forces raided the village. Captured and en route, she fell from her horse, hit her head on a rock, and died from a resulting cerebral hemorrhage.]
It wasn't much different from medieval fantasy.
The difference was the complete absence of fantasy elements—it matched the history we knew exactly.
After looking through it for a while, I discovered one more notable fact.
'No one has altered history.'
Alternate history is a genre where the goal is to participate in real history and change it.
But none of the transferees who entered history through this book had managed to change it.
[57. Baek Kwak-su (39), Deceased: Former ordinary person. Reincarnated in 1830s Philadelphia, USA. Learned shoemaking from his father, who ran a shoe store, and took over the business. But when news broke of gold in California in 1848, he joined the Gold Rush—only to find fool's gold. Lost his fortune, became homeless, wandered cities, and died destitute.]
[86. Lee Jun (9), Deceased: Former student. Reincarnated in a city of the Aztec Empire in the 1500s. Aware of his past life, he tried to do something but was too young to act, waiting to grow—only to be selected as a sacrifice and beheaded.]
Surviving life in the past was too harsh to change history.
Plus, since it targeted every nation and era in history, people often ended up in unfamiliar parts.
"Alternate history usually sticks to China, Japan, Korea, America, Europe—modern eras at earliest, medieval at farthest. But this book sends you back to BC times."
Unless you had exceptional historical knowledge, changing history would be tough.
"And there's no payoff."
No mana awakenings or soft, happy worlds like in medieval fantasy.
No special physiques like in wuxia.
"It just sends you there."
The one silver lining was reincarnating as a great figure.
But even that wasn't much help.
[137. Kim Hee-su (55), Deceased: Former ordinary person. Reincarnated as Edison in 1847 America. Realized who he was and tried inventing, but lacked scientific knowledge. Invented nothing, lived ordinarily, and died at 55 of myocardial infarction.]
[211. Lee Ju-pil (18), Deceased: Former office worker. Reincarnated as Zhang Fei around 160 AD in China. Aware of his identity, trained in martial arts to build strength early. Used his skills in real fights, killing many thugs and earning deep grudges. Slept one night—only for a thug's avenger to slit his throat, decapitating him.]
Even in a great figure's body, the mind was that of an ordinary person.
A modern ordinary person at that—not from the past—so their actions diverged, and so did their ends.
'It keeps going like this.'
All the way to the 293rd transferee.
I reached 293 again, but the content still didn't make sense.
"Why does an alternate history suddenly start where Liu Bei's Three Sworn Brothers are women?"
This isn't alternate history, is it?
『Lee Seung-hoon, what's wrong?』 "Ah, Sarang? Didn't you go to the Center of the World?" 『Today's business is done. We'll talk later.』 "So you went to meet the Center of the World. What did you discuss?" 『A woman's secret. More importantly, what is it?』 "Well..."
A woman's secret must be protected. I explained my doubts to Sarang. 『I searched it. This transferee seems reincarnated in a worldview like one of those Romance of the Three Kingdoms alternate histories.』 "Alternate histories like this exist?" 『Look at this.』 What Sarang showed me was a web novel in the alternate history genre. All were Three Kingdoms alternate histories, but with female covers.
[I Became the Older Brother of Female Zhuge Liang]
[I Became the Sworn Brother of Liu Bei's Three Sisters]
[I Became Cao Cao's Pillar Husband]
[Rebellious Groom! Taming Lady Sima Yi!]
"What am I looking at? Isn't alternate history a genre where you slip into real history like a bookmark and change it?"
『Lee Seung-hoon, drop the preconceptions. Long ago, it started including changing historical figures to women or other forms and starring as their associates.』 "Yeah?" I searched myself. Found an amusing post. Title: Dynasty Warriors is Alternate History!
Writer: Daeyeok Ibyeolgeonya
What is alternate history?
Replacing history, right?
Look at Dynasty Warriors! All Three Kingdoms heroes are replaced with women!
Therefore, Dynasty Warriors is alternate history too!
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Comments
[Yeongjo JukbBangttaegosipda: If Dynasty Warriors is alt-history, then FGO is too?]
└Writer: FGO is alt-history tho?
└[ChangbapChaego: King Arthur being a woman is a historical fact even in Suibokdo.]
└[Yeongjo JukbBangttaegosipda: You madlads...]
I looked up Dynasty Warriors and FGO.
Dynasty Warriors was a video game turning all Three Kingdoms historical figures into women.
FGO was Fate/Grand Order's shorthand—a mobile game turning most historical and mythical figures worldwide into women.
"Not just swapped—modern outfits? Colorful hair. Eyes like colored contacts?"
『Once historical figures are women, historical accuracy for those details loses meaning.』
Did the Alternate History Transfer Book realize this? Frustrated that no transferees changed history, maybe it twisted the worldview—gender-swapping greats and ditching accuracy? "If the intro description glitched, that explains it?"
『Read more and find out?』
"Yeah, let's." I checked transferees after 293.
[294. Lee Hyuk-kwon (90), Deceased: Former chef. Reincarnated in 1580s Hokkaido, Japan. Father's swordsmanship instructor, so he naturally honed the blade. Wandering as a ronin, clashed with famed 'female' warrior Miyamoto Musashi. 100 bouts, 50 wins each—no deaths—so they acknowledged each other. That night, drunk, they bedded, married, and roamed together.
Later settled, opened a dojo. Then approached by Yagyu clan's renowned 'lady' head Yagyu Jubei. Sparred, lost, submitted. She dreamed of marrying a stronger man, begged—so he relented. Two wives, 12 sons, 13 daughters. Died of old age happily.]
[Miyamoto Musashi: I'm a master of Niten Ichi-ryu, not twins! Why always twins?!]
[Yagyu Jubei: Lived one-eyed without issue. But meeting you, I realized—I lost the eye to meet you. Be my missing eye?]
"Hmm."
Miyamoto Musashi: woman.
Yagyu Jubei: woman.
"Dizzying."
Flipped further.
[415. Hong Yeon-bin (75), Deceased: Former office worker. Reincarnated in 1100s Goryeo's Kaesong. Talented in arms, commissioned as military officer. Mobilized to suppress sudden bandit surge—faced era's fearsome 'lady' bandit Im Kkeok-jeong. Captured her, pitied, reformed her with guidance. Grateful and smitten, she confessed; married.
Plotted with her to topple corrupt Goryeo—failed first. Hid, plotting return, met 'female' shaman Hong Gil-dong, learned sorcery. Toppled Goryeo, founded Yuldo Kingdom as first king.
Later wed master Hong Gil-dong as empress. With Im Kkeok-jeong and Hong Gil-dong, 20 sons, 25 daughters. Grew Yuldo into a great power, died of old age.]
[Im Kkeok-jeong: Thought the world rotten—until you. It's people that matter.]
[Hong Gil-dong: Disillusioned with a world denying me 'father,' I left. But you dragged me back. Take responsibility—with your body!]
"What?"
Goryeo with Im Kkeok-jeong?
Goryeo with Hong Gil-dong?
[603. Kim Hong-su (105), Deceased: Former pharmacist. Reincarnated in 2015 Korea. Cried 'Lebensraum' as German Empire invaded unified Korea amid chaos. Studied hard, commissioned as officer. Assigned to assassinate German Empire's 'female' Fuhrer Hitler, headed to Germany.
With ally Britain's aid, landed Normandy. Natural superpowers wrecked Tiger tanks, advanced. Rerouted via France to Berlin.
Passing Paris, met Resistance 'female' warrior Charles de Gaulle. Smitten by her valor, confessed—but rejected for wartime.
Heartbroken, infiltrated Berlin, reached Hitler secretly—but hesitated at her beauty. Sudden gate opened, building collapsed; pulled through with her.
Awakened hunter in gate, adventured together, sealed it, returned. World wrecked by global gates; proposed truce to restore—she accepted.
Stabilized gates, founded first World Hunter Association. As S-rank, sealed gates worldwide, authored Gate Theory and Closure, huge legacy in hunter training.
Privately wed Hitler and de Gaulle, 17 sons, 35 daughters. Died of old age.]
[Adolf Hitler: Aryan race supreme! But you're not bad. I'll mix your genes into Aryan blood—be honored!]
[Charles de Gaulle: Huh? Didn't I reject you? Oh, monsieur! French don't fuss over such trifles. Meetings and partings are natural. And I won't let that German take you.]
"Not even alternate history level."
This is modern fantasy.
"What went wrong?"
Checked other Otherworld Transfer Books—no answers.
『Speculation, but twisting its own genre might be the issue?』
"Gender-swapping historical greats?"
『Yes. Worldview corruption started then, accelerated to this.』
"Unlikely." Thought of other possibilities. "Frustrated by endless transferee deaths and genre failure as alt-history, this book tried changing it. But failing, stole power from others?"
『Secretly stole from Books 1-4, used to gender-swap greats?』
"Yeah, maybe took only some at first. But once runaway started, worldview warped. When rampage stole all from 1-4, modern fantasy crept in."
『Plausible. Hunters, gates, towers, cyberpunk—modern fantasy staples. But if rampaging, aren't 5 and 6 at risk?』
Luckily, no changes in 5 or 6. "One of four, probably. 7 stole from 1-4; 5-6 too genre-different to touch."
『Or they prepared during theft, avoided it.』
"Third: Rampage stopped, power stabilized."
『Accounting for special weakening potion's seal-unsealing aftereffect on 7. Last one?』
"Final: Too popular—1-4 unused, faded. 5-6 sensed same risk, sealed."
『But 7 has no value as alt-history anymore?』
"True, but..." Changes from 293. Users up to 2,000; my conclusion after all endings: "100% long life, marry multiples, tons of kids, superpowers, overtech experiences." Alt-history irrelevant. "Who'd hate this?"