The Old-Timers of Jores Island
The Old-Timers of Jores Island.
As winter drew ever closer, days of peace continued unbroken. Normally, by this time, raids from the orcs would sow unrest along the border regions, but the Kara Kingdom was enjoying an extraordinarily quiet winter. This was thanks to the massive exports of food from Kara, which allowed the orcs of the central Orc Plains to spend the season more abundantly than ever before.
Consequently, loyalty among the tribal lords along the northern Orc Plains border skyrocketed. They had passed the perilous autumn in perfect peace, and trade had dramatically boosted their incomes.
But that was far from all. The port cities where this imported food was unloaded flourished even more from the surge in trade goods. Midway cities and tribal villages along the transport routes reaped secondary benefits from the commerce as well.
With jobs multiplying, common folk lived more prosperous lives, while merchants shrieked in delight at the flood of wealth pouring in.
It was a true golden age. The fledgling Kara Kingdom, scarcely established, was developing at a pace unprecedented in human history.
Yet problems weren't entirely absent.
Immigrants were swarming in droves, drawn by Kara's prosperity, and rising living standards had sharply increased per capita food consumption.
Then there were the jealous glares from foreign powers—not mere envy like "my cousin buys land and my stomach aches," but tangible, clear resentment. As money flowed ceaselessly into Kara via maritime trade, other nations couldn't help but chafe at the outflow from their own coffers.
Of course, Kara imported all the resources needed to develop Jores Island, along with vast quantities of food. But the two could never balance—the value added by Kara's exports far outstripped the imports.
Thus, Kara made an extreme choice: keep buying up food and resources despite surpluses, stockpiling them in the massive warehouses under construction on Jores Island. It served to prepare for the future anyway, so they decided to just do it and quell foreign complaints in the process.
This old man's at it again. Can't a duke just stay put at home?
I'd even postponed my morning duties to head to the palace reception hall. The delegation from the Bastain Kingdom's trade negotiation team had specifically requested to meet me. I could've pawned off anyone else on the bureaucrats, but since the delegation head was none other than Fabius Duke, I had to grace them with my presence.
I couldn't brush off his requests lightly—not when we went that far back.
Entering the reception hall, I spotted Fabius Duke waiting and grumbled in annoyance.
"Come on, Gramps. Shouldn't a general stick to his duties instead of chasing trade caravans around?"
"……"
Fabius Duke just stared right through me without a word.
"Gramps? What's with the sudden silent treatment?"
He approached, scrutinizing me head to toe, then dropped his head in profound disappointment.
"Baekmyeon. You haven't changed a bit."
"Duh. How long's it been since we last met? What was I supposed to change in the meantime?"
"But I heard you'd reached Mind Master."
"Yeah. So?"
Fabius Duke slumped onto the sofa with a thud, his voice laced with self-mockery.
"My common sense must be off. Then what about me…?"
One glance at his gleaming bald pate, and I clamped my own mouth shut before I could finish. I'd made a huge blunder. My unchanged appearance despite becoming a Mind Master wasn't my fault, but it could wound someone deeply all the same.
I sat awkwardly beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Sorry."
"Forget it. Not your fault to apologize for."
I sighed deeply alongside Fabius Duke.
"But don't give up hope. I'm just a freak case."
"A freak case?"
"I'm thirty-two, right? But I look early twenties."
"True enough. And?"
"I was already in my prime physically, so hitting Mind Master didn't trigger any special bodily changes."
Fabius Duke's face lit up like the sun.
"Ah, so because you reached Mind Master at an absurdly young age, you skipped the typical bodily transformation that comes with it?"
"Exactly. 'Typical' doesn't always hold true, but it usually does—especially for Mind Master, with cases like Cloud Grandpa and Grollmog backing it up."
"I knew it. That's gotta be it."
Fabius Duke finally perked up.
I breathed a sigh of relief. Today, I'd saved one man's life. A truly blessed and noble deed.
Fabius Duke eyed me with envy.
"So how'd you pull it off?"
"Beats me exactly. But our old chat with you, Gramps, and Zenbe definitely helped."
"So our direction was right?"
"Yeah. It's just about desperation—that seems key. Grollmog hinted at the same when we met. Respecting the collective consciousness of the masses is the first step toward Mind Master."
Fabius Duke, listening intently, tilted his head.
"Meaning the crowd consciousness—formed from individual minds—is its own consciousness?"
"Something like that."
After deep thought, Fabius Duke shared his insight.
"That crowd consciousness is probably brutally honest about its desires."
"Yep. Grollmog said something similar. Zenbe lacked desire—that's why he couldn't connect easily with the desire-driven crowd consciousness."
Fabius Duke nodded calmly.
"So respecting it isn't enough; you have to actually fulfill those desires."
"Spot on. Something moralists could never do. They try to teach and confine the masses, never satisfying their wants—since they see desire itself as a grave sin."
"Fair point."
I stood up.
"Anyway, you should hurry it up, Gramps."
"Why?"
"Zenbe's closer to Mind Master than you. Being last of the three would be embarrassing."
"That cart vendor's ahead of me?"
"Afraid so."
"In what way?"
"You're lacking desperation, from what I see."
Fabius Duke shot to his feet, indignant.
"I'm desperate too!"
I snuck a peek at his scalp and replied.
"Not personal desperation. You know—the human mind's a network tied to the crowd consciousness."
"Ah……"
"So ditch the hair obsession. Your intent's too impure."
Fabius Duke gave me a strange look.
"Maybe for me, but yours isn't pure either."
"I just said it—the human mind's networked to the crowd consciousness. And I'm part of that crowd."
"Meaning?"
"My desires matter too. I tie mine to the crowd's, fulfilling both at once. It's what the crowd consciousness craves most—the truest justice."
Fabius Duke nodded vigorously in agreement.
"I see. Everyone's happiness includes mine."
"Exactly."
"Then I can do the same?"
"Impossible. That's why I said drop your desire."
"Why only me?"
I answered deliberately, word by word.
"Fulfilling yours and the crowd's at once means developing a hair growth serum. But even Chronos, the sky city, gave up on that."
Fabius Duke's face fell like he'd hit an insurmountable wall.
"R-right. I'm out of luck."
"But don't lose hope. Desperation aside, human desire isn't just about hair. Look around—you'll find some earnest wish that syncs with the crowd consciousness."
Fabius Duke eyed me slyly.
"Baekmyeon."
"Yeah?"
"Hm. Wise words that hit home, but they kinda piss me off. Why?"
I scratched my head awkwardly. I'd spoken nothing but truth, yet it felt like I'd done something downright cruel.
"Just your imagination. Good medicine's always bitter."
"That's all?"
"Yeah."
"Got it."
Then came a thud as Rajal Grand General burst into the reception hall, breathing raggedly—clearly something urgent.
"My lord husband. Urgent message from Jores Island."
I scowled and turned.
"Rajal Grand General. We have a guest— what's with the commotion?"
"It's serious. A fortress under construction was attacked by monsters yesterday."
"Send Najir or Bayan."
Rajal fidgeted at my response.
"That's the problem."
"Why?"
"Najir's unit encountered them but abandoned the fight, evacuating with the workers to the underground shelter."
"And Bayan's unit?"
"They can't even approach the site because of the monsters."
I cocked my head, puzzled. Bayan and Najir each commanded around three thousand—why forfeit battle?
"What kind?"
"Details unclear, but they say it's like a massive white spider. Body about a meter wide, and……"
A monster flashed in my mind, and I grimaced.
"Ugh. Lil Spiders."
"Pardon?"
"They exist. Nasty ones."
I'd faced Lil Spiders in my past life. Individually, late-10s level weaklings, but the issue was numbers.
Spawned by a Spider Queen, hordes could number in the hundreds of thousands. Like a demo of the apocalypse era—they swarm endlessly once engaged.
"Casualties?"
"Najir spotted them and evacuated immediately—no major losses. Report says the walls weren't complete, so resistance was impossible."
Lucky break. Fighting would've wiped his unit.
"Good."
"But delays will worsen it."
"How?"
"Around seven thousand warriors and workers in the underground shelter, but almost no food or water left."
Critical. No food or water means humans don't last long.
"Head to the Kaoyan Agency now. Tell Armida Sister and the Great Saintesses to come to the palace. Hurry."
"Yes, sir."
I turned to Fabius Duke.
"Gramps, emergency came up."
He glanced at me.
"Something dangerous?"
"Yeah. Real bad."
"Want me along?"
His help would be ideal. Time-sensitive, so elite few for initial fight. Issue: levitation boat to arrive on time, but revealing it to him felt awkward.
He'd nag instantly.
But no matter. Seven thousand evacuees seeing it meant it was public anyway. Plus, recent orc and Ajenca Continent trade flooded markets with Chaos Pieces—levitation boats were no big secret now.
"Gladly. You'll see a show. Just get permission from home first. Could be deadly."
"Got it. See you soon."
"Yeah."
As Fabius Duke left, I wiped my face. Lil Spiders at this perfect time—what rotten luck.
***
"What? Lil Spiders?!"
Armida Sister, arriving at the council chamber, yelped in shock. Chronos knew them well—top danger class there too.
Shura eyed her master darkly.
"Master. You know of them?"
"Headache-makers. Weak singly, but numbers make them lethal. Chronos drops everything to eradicate on sight— they multiply fast."
I leaned on the table and stood.
"But this is worst-case. They weren't culled early, so they've likely overrun much of Jores Island's undeveloped zones."
Armida's eyes twitched faintly. She was tense too.
"No joke, huh?"
"Nope."
Arieta chimed in.
"Baekmyeon. Seven thousand survivors—confirmed?"
"Yeah. In the underground shelter now."
"Does that fortress even have space for seven thousand?"
Jores Island's forts and cities were all apocalypse-proof by design. Overly functional, lacking flair, but defense was ironclad.
Hiding in homes repelled average monsters; sewers or deep shelters held out long-term.
"Central underground shelter's huge. Buildings have mini-shelters too. Problem: it's pre-completion fortress—no stockpile or water systems."
"Week at best."
"Yeah."
Arieta darkened.
"Can we get there in time? No portal tower on Jores Island."
"We can. Transport's ready."
"How long?"
"By tomorrow."
Armida Sister, Arieta, Shura, and Hubeo stared at me.
Armida spoke for them.
"Little bro. No human transport's that fast."
"Kara has."
"What?"
"See when we go."
I scanned them all.
"Alright, let's move. Prep and we depart immediately."
"Got it."
"Yes."
We geared up and headed to Braam first—levitation boat summoned nearby to cut distance.
The Old-Timers of Jores Island. End