The Day the Butterfly Effect Became Reality (Part 1)

He'd been so busy—protecting the North Korean residents while showing the invaders of Earth the absolute worst hell imaginable. Having gone so far as to cross into enemy territory, he'd set both physical and mental fires everywhere he went.

"Ugh... My eyes are closing... I can't pass out now, so why the hell am I this tired?"

It was only natural that his mind, his stamina, and even the massive stockpile of energy he'd sucked up were all hitting rock bottom in an instant. From Kim Chomok's perspective, with nothing left but the report, everything would be smooth sailing once he made it back, but...

"Ah, damn it. How the hell did I even cover this distance? It's fucking far, seriously."

He'd advanced near Jaeryeong-eup for a high-powered reconnaissance and then pushed further north for 'additional reconnaissance.' In reality, he needed to head much farther south before he'd have to look at the commander or Il-hwan's irritating faces again.

"...Tsk. Instead of wasting energy on pointless crap, maybe I should just check the map and run in a straight line?"

"Tch, no choice then. It's a shame to let them go, but if they're just dead weight, I have to abandon what I've caught."

THUD!!

He naturally ditched the armor-like gear that weighed him down and gave up on dragging the long-eared hostages along. Kim Chomok even hurled away the supply survival kit he'd carried on his belt, all to preserve the stamina he'd need to run his mouth once he returned.

"I used the waterproof matches for starting fires anyway, so I can just write the equipment off as lost in the process."

If they tried to say they couldn't issue additional supplies after he'd worked this hard? If he 'lost' the supply soldier who said that or the logistics officer above him, he'd probably get a reduced sentence.

If the weight caused his energy to run out midway, fainting was guaranteed on the spot. Getting neutralized in the hellish mountain region where monsters casually took strolls? Haha, and still hope to survive after that.

"Haa, fuck. I don't even trade stocks, so why the hell do I have to start believing in something..."

No matter how much he'd sucked up, the distance he still had to cover was literally five hundred ri, and Kim Chomok let out a lament.

"My head isn't bad, so why does my body have to suffer too."

Even if he drew a straight line, to arrive as fast as possible he'd have to keep his legs moving without rest.

The ignorant return plan of drawing a straight line from Nampo all the way north of Kaesong and running it! Considering the monster density in North Korea—which was hell itself—it was literally a brutal return operation. But heaven always provides a way out even if the sky falls. Just like how even if you swallow someone else's company, they still offer you an external advisor seat or a golden parachute.

"...What the hell? I was ready to fight at least once while running straight, so why is it this quiet?"

Whether the world had a shred of conscience or not, a bit of luck followed Kim Chomok. The monsters had fled in the exact opposite direction from the machine-elves—the 'predators stronger than themselves'—right from the start. That was why, even though the gate had opened in Nampo, the ones he'd actually fought during reconnaissance were near Jaeryeong-eup.

Then the question. While Kim Chomok had stayed up all night causing every kind of chaos imaginable, had the monsters stayed quiet?

"Kuaaaak, that crazy honey-sucking bastard Kim Chomok—!! Where the hell did you go after tossing the monsters!! The other side of the river is nothing but monster fields!"

"Damn it, Sergeant Kim Chomok... I miss you...!! We used to treat you like a useless neighborhood bum!"

WHOOOOSH...!!

The answer was, as expected, 'No way in hell.'

Jeong Il-hwan, who had been grinning at the thought of resting his head on his girlfriend's lap and letting time slip by, was once again at the forefront. Drenched in every kind of oil smell, he gave the monsters crossing the river a literal baptism of fire.

"What?! No, even if not the front line, if you fire high explosives into the rear of those approaching bastards, the civilians...!"

"Why the hell are you worrying about civilians? Look at the number of monsters!! They're charging in units of ten thousand right now, you idiot!"

In places where allied casualties weren't a concern, the monsters swarmed thick enough to warrant a rain of high explosives! No matter how many monsters there were, when they concentrated this heavily on one point, a temporary monster vacuum was created.

"...Well, the best thing is not meeting any until I get home!"

Only Kim Chomok, who happened to be descending at that exact moment, got to laugh while stepping through that vacuum. For a poor ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠soul who'd already been dragged into the military twice, this level of luck didn't even count as compensation. The real reward—if there was one—was that he'd created all of this himself, even if he hadn't realized it yet.

Kuaaaak—!! Haaaaak...!!

For any living creature, the instinct for self-preservation had completely vanished.

"Why are you bastards so desperate—!! There's no need to go this far, you vicious sons of bitches!"

Just as Jeong Il-hwan said while diligently converting petroleum into calories and literally burning countless monsters down to the bone. What the hell was behind them that made them charge so desperately, not even caring if someone pointed a pistol at their heads from behind?

The answer was that with all the many predators gone, the only surviving predator was heading this way. Yes—the monsters' instincts were sensing Kim Chomok right now and fleeing. By the time the ability user unit barely figured out the truth, they were already exhausted after one massive battle.

"...Wh-what is that! That black pillar?!"

"Is it an otherworlder? Or a new monster?! It's an unidentified flying object—!!"

Having poured every bit of physical reinforcement into leg strength and durability, he charged like a rocket in a perfectly straight line.

"If you don't want to die, get the hell out of my path, you damn bastards—!!"

It was the moment the human-shaped subsonic bullet, covered in charcoal soot, demonstrated the power to cross the river by jumping over the water.

BOOM!

An impact far too strong to have come from a pair of human legs planting down spread outward. At the same time, he saw the monsters that had been staring blankly at him suddenly scatter in every direction in a panic.

"...Wait a minute. So all the hell we went through was because of this bastard?"

"Looks that way? How is it that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the battle ends exactly when he shows up?"

"...Catch that bastard!!"

With Jeong Il-hwan at the lead, veins bulging on his forehead, they tried to recreate the fun blanket-rolling days from their military service, but...

"Huh? I'm still in reinforced mode right now? One good chestnut flick and I might give you concave eyes, you know?"

"Everyone! Since the crisis seems to be over, let's all perform maintenance and take three-shift rests!"

Originally, if you were strong to an ignorant degree, it didn't matter whether you made enemies or not. Even though his consumption had been enormous from fighting nonstop, agitating the troops, and running all the way here, he could still swing a fist containing the total energy capacity of a decent ability user. No matter how many of them ganged up, without any special abilities it would be no different from throwing eggs at a boulder.

"Oh heaven! Why did you give such tremendous power to a bastard with this broken personality...!!"

Jeong Il-hwan openly shed tears of resentment while pounding the ground, realizing that even with his ability specialized in one-versus-many, it was difficult to land a single solid hit on that damn guy.

"Hey, stop wasting time and tell me where your girlfriend's dad went already. I'm exhausted."

STAB!

"Aack, you damn bastard! Pull some strength first before stabbing—!!"

"What friend?! After everything we've been through, what kind of friend suggests ganging up on someone, you idiot!!"

With not much residual time left, Kim Chomok stabbed the side of the guy who was more like an enemy than a friend.

Whether it was fortunate or not, Lieutenant General Jeong Byeong-su was a soldier who stuck quite closely to the field manual. In other words, he wasn't the type to send others to their deaths and eat comfortably himself.

"...So you're saying in that short time you..."

Of course, after listening to the flood of chaotic, bullshit-filled information coming in now, he wouldn't be able to swallow his food for an entirely different reason...

"Uh... I beat up all the otherworlder machine-elf slave traders, went through their dimension gate, handed weapons to the prisoners..."

—Broke buildings while using a fake police ID, caused mayhem, blew up military bases... Oh, and I also did a revolution. An armed one, though.

Major crimes that would trigger an Interpol warrant if even one of them happened were pouring out without pause.

"...Oh dear God. Why is this happening to me...!!"

Lieutenant General Jeong Byeong-su clutched the back of his neck, feeling his lifespan being shaved away in real time. Since they'd appeared in America too, it was obvious they'd become an international axis of evil, but the argument that it was better to give them the means to resist rather than let them be exploited as labor in camps had some logic...

"...You went on a reconnaissance mission, you crazy bastard!!"

Since when did the word 'reconnaissance' include 'sabotaging an entire city of another nation'?

The mouth of this three-star general who prided himself on studying hard showed no sign of closing. What made it even more infuriating was—

"Ah, I'm taking a month of vacation starting now. Make sure you work hard on all the shit while I'm gone."

That mindset of 'I did everything I was supposed to, so I'm going to rest' without caring about rank or superiors!

"...What?! Hey! Then who the hell is going to clean up that mess?! What about the people in Nampo?! The prisoners beyond the gate!!"

—You don't even know anything, so whether we advance or not, you're just going to dip out at a time like this? Is this real?

Lieutenant General Jeong Byeong-su looked at Kim Chomok with an expression that seemed to say, 'Heh, is your conscience an erogenous zone or something?'

"Ah, if a mere private has shaken things up this much, the rest should figure it out on their own! What more do you want!!"

"......"

From the perspective of someone who knew that even throwing an entire special forces unit at the problem would be considered fortunate if they just made it back alive, achieving this level of results was practically impossible.

"Anyway, I saw all the civil operation plans you had ready, so let's take a good month's rest! You're being so petty even with those stars on your shoulders."

"Aigo, fine! Do whatever the hell you want, do it all!!"

He couldn't deny Kim Chomok's claim that he could go to the rear and play around until everything was over. And so the damn bastard, who had half-forced a rest period with his remaining energy, obtained a thirty-night, thirty-one-day vacation.

"...He's already disappeared beyond the horizon. What a vicious guy."

The field commander could only sigh helplessly as he watched the man vanish into the distance in an instant, afraid the order might be canceled. They had to climb back up to those heights without any rest, yet that damn bastard was going to enjoy his leisure time to the fullest. How could he not be envious?

Of course, that was only the swan above the water. With not even enough time to go home, he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rented a nearby pension through an app and went inside.

"Aaaack...!! Fuck, if I ever do this shit again, I'm a dog—a dog—!!"

From Kim Chomok's perspective, whose hatred of the military had seeped deep into his bones through the pain, that one month became a time of endurance spent in hellish growing pains!

WHOOOOSH!!

"Ah, but at least they aren't swarming like last time. That's a relief..."

With the machine-elves gone, the monsters had scattered. As the military continued ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠their northern advance and expanded their territory all the way to the tributaries of the Daedong River right below Nampo, moving their base once again—

"Uggghhh... Now it's bearable if I just lean against the wall a little..."

Kim Chomok, who had been writhing in agony, had finally escaped the state where he could only crawl to the bathroom.

"...Are those the army guys from the south the man mentioned? Welcome! If you have any food, please share some!"

"Good heavens, we'll give you relief supplies first. You've become a walking skeleton, not a person."

After bringing river-crossing equipment and crossing over, the half-destroyed port city was packed with refugees who were nothing but skin and bones. The system of eating one meal and skipping the next to stretch supplies had finally reached its limit. It wouldn't be long before they'd have to eat tree bark, grass roots, or in the worst case, some strange meat that 'tasted like chicken'...

"If you hand over the otherworlder prisoners and equipment, we'll give you all the relief food we've brought."

"Aigoo, so our returned boy had this kind of use!"

Thanks to the 'real asset' liquidation left behind by Kim Chomok—the man who could now barely walk around the neighborhood once—both children and adults munched on peanut-butter relief rations and smiled brightly. From the national army's perspective, having secured a bridgehead to advance on Pyongyang, and from the North Korean residents' perspective, no longer having to live while constantly starving, all of this seemed to end in a happy ending as a result, but...

Inside the dimension gate, things completely different from such a heartwarming ending were taking place.

Whiiish, SLAP!!

"Aaaack, I was doing exactly as told, so why—!!"

"Can't you dig any faster! How does it feel to go from the one swinging the whip to the one being whipped!!"

Not only had they taken over a medium-sized city that had become a hell of 'reverse slavery' beyond the ruins, but inside one building, countless people wearing red bands on their heads were holding a rally. Because one man's rampage had given them the means to resist when they were at their most desperate. A kind of community formed by those who had shed blood countless times yet had finally seized freedom.

"The prophet told us! No more enduring—rise up!! We have nothing to lose but our lives—!!"

"""What we will gain is everything—!!!"""

The leader chanted, and those below followed. The group that had gathered solely for revenge made the decision to spread their gospel of 'freedom' to even more people.

"Ugh, it's cold... Maybe I shouldn't sleep with the AC on... Achoo!!"

Kim Chomok, suffering from the side effects of excessive energy absorption, had caught a summer cold and air-conditioning sickness at the same time. He was paying the full price of the butterfly effect that had twisted the lives of so many people.

"God, why add a cold on top when things are already this hard? Huh?!"

It was ironic in many ways that the guy who should be thankful it had ended at just that was blaming God.