Ugh, Shit...
"Ah, fuck..."
His head throbbed. Amid the numbness in all his limbs, a bizarre chill seeped in. It felt like midwinter cold had invaded his bones. His body shuddered involuntarily.
What the hell is this?
The lab had collapsed for sure, the floor had given way, and he'd gone down with it...
"...I'm... alive?"
There wasn't a spot on his body that didn't hurt, but he was breathing. His arms and legs moved fine—no major breaks or anything immobilized. He looked around his trembling body, still on his knees, then straightened up and lifted his head.
A clear blue sky with wispy clouds drifting lazily came into view. An inexplicable coolness filled his eyes and chest. It felt like being reborn.
Gazing at the sky for a moment, he drew in a deep breath without realizing it—like a newborn infant gulping down the blueness of the heavens.
"Ah."
His head throbbed again. His vision blurred, then tilted sideways. Thud. He collapsed. Darkness swallowed his sight. And just like that, he passed out on the riverbank.
A long while later, the clear sky began to blush with sunset hues. The forest stretching before him had already grown dim. Night fell early in the woods.
Then, from downstream, someone came hopping along the riverbank. Not just one—three of them. Their appearance was utterly alien.
Standing just shy of a meter tall, fluffy fur covered their bodies. Cloths hid their privates, bracelets adorned their forearms, feathered necklaces dangled around their necks. In their hands, they gripped sticks slightly longer than themselves—blades at the tips suggesting weapons. Clearly intelligent beings.
Bags hung from their backs, live fish flopping inside.
They'd been hopping upstream in a line when they suddenly halted. They'd spotted the hulking figure sprawled ahead.
They froze in fear, huddling close together. But that wouldn't wake the unconscious man. Only after a long pause did the furry little dwarves realize it.
The boldest of the three crept forward cautiously. It poked the man's back with its stick, then turned and called to its companions.
They approached warily, whispering among themselves, then pulled rope from a bag and bound the unconscious man, dragging him off.
Thus, the three fluffballs and the fainted man vanished into the darkening woods. All that remained was a faint muddy trail on the riverbank.
* * *
Fierce gunfire threatened to split his ears. A nearby artillery blast mercifully silenced them—probably ruptured eardrums. His whole body felt shredded.
Under the black sky, tracer rounds and shellfire lit the ground blood-red. Then a face appeared in that black sky.
[Sergeant Kang. What're you gonna do after discharge? If you've got nothing, come start a business with me. I've got this killer item, but I need someone reliable by my side... you know, someone I can trust...]
A familiar face. One he both missed and didn't. Obviously—it was dead.
Someone shoved that face aside and drawled,
[Business my ass. When this war's over, Snake's doing YouTube with me. Right, Snake?]
No, asshole. And he'd been a corporal for ages—why still "Snake"?
This guy was dead too.
[Sergeant Kang. Looks like this war's almost done. On that note, didn't you wanna meet my little sister? You've mooched off me enough as Sergeant Kang, so as a special favor, I'll set it up!]
A sneaky 190cm giant butting in. You psycho, I know your sister's just you with long hair. Blind date my ass.
Then countless faces crowded in, calling his name. All familiar.
[Sergeant Kang! Come on...]
[Snake, Snake! Just hear me out...]
[Sergeant Kang. Snake?]
[...Sergeant Kang! Sergeant Kang! Snake~ Snake! Snaaaake-!]
You crazy fucks. Snake this, bullshit that—if you don't cut it out—
Their faces changed. To their final moments. Mangled under collapsed barracks, blood-soaked meat piles strewn about. In the center, one psycho glared with bruised eyes, caked in gore. His smile gleamed.
Facing that scene, his breath caught.
Then the scene shifted. Captain Kim Sang-cheol's hand gripped his. The captain screamed,
[Sergeant Kang! You idiot! Don't let go! You can live! We've damn near won this war! Time to live for real!]
Buzz off, Kim Sang-cheol. Why 'Mister'? 'Cause I'm dead—discharged, right? Not your subordinate anymore.
The hand he held turned into a pistol. An old familiar geezer trembled before him. He too screamed,
[I'll make you a super soldier! With my help, you can be a god! Ruler of the new world!]
Fuck off. He pulled the trigger on the mad scientist. Gunfire rang out.
*
His eyes snapped open. Black pupils narrowed, taking in the light. Reflected in them: a tiny furball.
"What the fuck."
"!@#!#$!!@!!"
Startled by his awakening—or maybe his sudden curse—the little fluffball scampered back. It yipped in a tiny puppy voice as the man slowly sat up.
He propped himself halfway up and stared at the fluffball.
"...What, a Maltese on two legs?"
Dark, slightly matted fur aside, the little guy's size and look screamed Pomeranian standing upright.
Hearing him, it actually cocked its head like a dog, then bolted out.
Left alone, the man slowly scanned the room. Walls, floor, ceiling—all woven bamboo. Even the furniture seemed bamboo-made. The uniform material gave a strange sense of stability and coolness.
His gaze dropped to his feet. His legs dangled off the bed from the knees. Their beds were too small for him.
An unreal sight.
"...Feels like I've grown taller. Not bad."
Grinning to himself, he stood. The ceiling rushed close—like the bed, it was too low. He had to hunch and tilt his head.
He headed to the door the fluffball had fled through. Opening the bamboo door revealed a bamboo balcony and stairs.
Outside, he finally straightened. But instead of joy, he gaped at the balcony railing.
Enormous trees loomed—like a small forest each. Brown bamboo buildings clung to trunks and branches. His perch was one such structure.
Three giants formed a triangle, soaring thickly. Bamboo huts woven atop them resembled a massive honeycomb. Countless stairs and swaying bridges webbed them chaotically—like a beehive-spiderweb hybrid village.
"!@#!@#@@."
Mixing awe, absurdity, unfamiliarity, and vertigo, he turned at the voice beside him. There stood the room fluffball and five or six similar ones, eyes sparkling with curiosity. One stood out—bent back, long fur, strangely clear eyes. The elder, clearly. He'd spoken first.
"!@#@#?"
"...Sorry, no clue what you're saying. Anyone speak Korean?"
The elder spoke again; he shook his head with an awkward smile. The primitive bamboo village and bipedal fluffballs filled him more with bafflement than fear. Was he dreaming pre-death?
Misreading the smile, the elder nodded to himself and beckoned another fluffball. It offered a small wooden box reverently.
The elder opened it, revealing what looked like a seasickness patch for the ear.
"!@#!##."
The man watched, baffled, as the elder stuck the fingernail-sized thing behind his neck fur like a real patch. Then offered the last one to him.
"...Stick it on like that?"
The fluffball urged him on. Sighing, he took it, examined the circular sticker—faint circuits glinting.
After a moment, he slapped it behind his ear like the elder.
"This good?"
The elder chuckled, nodding, then gestured for him to speak more.
"What? Keep talking? What more? Even if I wanna—"
> User language confirmed.
> Implementing real-time translation.
"What the fuck."
He flinched at the whisper in his ear, neck shrinking. Looking around—no one to whisper.
Instinctively, he touched behind his ear. Had to be it.
"Ahem. Can you understand me now?"
His gaze snapped forward. The elder stroked his chin beard, chuckling.
"...You talk."
"Of course we do. First time with an artifact?"
"Artifact?"
The elder tapped behind his ear.
"This."
"...Yeah, first time."
"Heh heh. Handle it carefully then. We've only two 'Voices of Etemen' left, and nowhere to get more."
"Ah, sure... I'll be careful..."
He automatically spoke respectfully. Pomeranian on legs or not, this was the elder.
The elder nodded, pleased.
"I'm Atukai. And you?"
"...Jin-cheol. Kang Jin-cheol."
"Jin-cheol Kang Jin-cheol? Unusual pronunciation."
"No, Kang Jin-cheol. Family name Kang, given name Jin-cheol."
"Oh! A family name? Then you're Esai, surely?"
Atukai brightened at the surname mention. Jin-cheol just tilted his head.
"What's Esai?"
"You're not?"
"...Just human."
"We're all just people. What race are you? Pity. Esai get big rewards."
"Rewards?" Jin-cheol perked up.
"Ah, uh, thanks anyway. You saved me, looks like..."
Atukai smiled.
"Not Esai but so polite... Fun fellow."
"Look, I got nothing now... But when I get home, I'll send whatever I can. So, uh... where is this?"
Not another world, right? He quashed the absurd thought rising inside, but couldn't hide the bafflement on his face. He realized he was totally spaced out—rattling off nonsense about sending rewards home amid this bamboo jungle and clothed fluffballs.
Atukai eyed his expression with interest.
"Where? Our village."
"Ah, I mean... China? Korea...?"
"Sorry, no cities by those names. This is Kampoeni village."
Fatigue crossed Jin-cheol's face.
"...You're Kampoeni?"
"Yes."
"...Kampoeni—a human type?"
"Indeed."
"...Fuck me. This is nuts."
Atukai burst into laughter at that. As Jin-cheol and the others failed to hide their bewilderment, he added,
"Anyway, delighted to meet you, Jin-cheol of the Kang clan. Stay as long as you like."
"I got nothing right now."
He glanced at his ragged loincloth barely covering his lower half. But Atukai's grin didn't fade.
"So what? We don't treat guests stingily. Forget worries, make yourself at home."
"Ah, thanks..."
Atukai laughed again at the thanks, then beckoned a nearby fluffball. It scampered to Jin-cheol, reaching for his face like a kid touching an adult's.
Jin-cheol naturally ducked; the fluffball snatched the artifact patch from behind his ear.
Atukai said,
"!@#!@$#$. !@#!@##1$."
"Huh? Wait, take it off and what about me...?"
Ignoring protests, Atukai waved farewell and descended the stairs. The others followed, glancing back.
"...No clue what's going on. Did I isekai right before croaking? Huh?"
Something tugged his ragged loincloth. Looking down, a fluffball gazed up, grinning when eyes met—the same one from when he woke.
"What?"
It mimed eating.
"Food? They giving food too?"
Mimicking eating back, the fluffball nodded excitedly and bolted ahead—across a swaying bridge linking bamboo huts, not the stairs.
The bridge screamed "no safety permit." The fluffball bounded across precariously. At this height, a snap meant death plunge.
But Jin-cheol just smirked. A pinwheel tail wagged from the fluffball's butt.
"This shit... Isekai? Hell? Nah, heaven? Am I dead? Fuck if I know..."
Shaking his head, he stepped onto the bridge the fluffball had taken.
A breeze whisked past, rising through the village's bridges, ropes, stairs, bamboo roofs, giant branches and leaves, into the clear blue sky. Lush green welcomed it with white clouds.
Staring blankly skyward as the wind brushed his cheek, Jin-cheol snapped back at the fluffball's distant yips.
Hell, heaven—who cared. He was breathing, alive. Time to eat. Keep living. No idea why, but he had to.
The fluffball urged from ahead, life from behind. Jin-cheol stepped forward again.