* * *

March, Seoul, South Korea.

A torrential downpour of 10mm per hour was battering the city.

Although the sun hadn’t set yet, the sky, obscured by black storm clouds, was as dark as night.

It seemed unbelievable that just five minutes ago, there wasn’t a single cloud in the clear blue sky.

The movement of the dark clouds covering the sky was unusual.

The way they swirled violently was eerily dynamic, to say the least.

Moreover, intermittent flashes of white lightning bursting from the clouds made it feel like something could emerge from the darkness at any moment.

As expected, online communities were buzzing with chatter about this strange natural phenomenon.

“Gangnam seems fine. The news says it’s only Yongsan District that’s affected?”

“Are we in an apocalypse movie?”

“Isn’t this how Hellgates open?”

“Why does this keep happening lately? I’m seriously worried the world might actually end.”

Contrary to their worries, the bizarre phenomenon didn’t last long.

The swirling sky suddenly split open, releasing an enormous bolt of lightning.

Bang!

A brief but thunderous roar echoed, shaking the ground.

The lightning, striking straight down from the clouds to the ground, created a massive sinkhole in the heart of Seoul, the capital of South Korea, and simultaneously, the dark clouds disappeared.

It all happened in an instant.

The pouring rain stopped as if it had been a lie.

And shortly after, the city of Seoul was enveloped in the sound of sirens.

The entire Yongsan District lost power, and naturally, traffic was paralyzed.

Multiple collisions occurred around the sinkhole, and police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances were dispatched throughout the city.

As a result, hospital emergency rooms were overwhelmed with patients.

From traffic accident victims to those suffering breathing difficulties due to extreme shock, the emergency rooms were filled with urgent cases.

The emergency room at Yeonhui University Hospital was no different.

The fifth ambulance had just parked in front of the emergency room.

The medical staff, who had been waiting in advance, rushed over.

The paramedic explained the situation as they handed over the patient.

“This patient fell into the sinkhole in front of Yongsan District Office. He’s 19 years old, male, named Kang Yichan.”

A patient who had fallen into the massive sinkhole created by the lightning strike. The news reported the depth as roughly 5 meters, but he had no external injuries?

As the doctor narrowed his eyes in puzzlement, the paramedic continued.

“According to the initial witness, he was struck by lightning before falling….”

“What?”

“The giant lightning bolt. It struck right above this student…. yet no injuries?”

The initial witness, or rather, the first person to report it, had said so.

The enormous lightning bolt reached the ground, and this student, who was riding a motorcycle at the time, was struck directly by it.

“And yet, no external injuries?”

“Yes, but his heart….”

Rare, but it can happen. Instead of external injuries, he might have suffered severe internal damage, with all his organs, including his heart, burned. Considering the extent of the lightning strike.

In the end, the likelihood of this patient surviving might be close to zero.

But we can’t give up. He’s just a young student, only nineteen.

We must do our best until the end.

“Let’s try to save him.”

All the medical staff united to save the young life.

However, the faintly beating heart eventually stopped.

[Beep.]

The prolonged beep of the machine cast a shadow over the medical staff’s faces.

A resident doctor, sweating profusely from his efforts, even shed tears of frustration.

The lead doctor checked his watch, raising his left wrist.

“Kang Yichan, 19 years old. Time of death, 3:46 PM….”

At that moment.

“Professor?”

A nurse called the doctor with a trembling voice.

“Professor!”

This time, a first-year resident called him.

“Professor!”

Soon, voices filled with astonishment rang out from all directions.

“It’s beating. It’s beating.”

Beating? What is?

“The, the heart is beating.”

Beep, beep, beep, beep.

The heart that had stopped began to beat again.

* * *

Beeeeep—

A strange and unpleasant sound pierced his ears.

He had never heard such a bizarre noise before.

He wanted to open his eyelids, but even that didn’t go as he wished.

A very unfamiliar place, unfamiliar smells, unfamiliar presences.

He couldn’t even begin to guess where he was.

But one thing was certain, humorously enough, he had regained a physical body.

‘Regained a body. This is a completely different scenario from what I expected….’

He carefully tried to move his fingers, but they wouldn’t budge.

Being unable to move his body as he wished, this was the ‘worst case scenario’ among ‘different scenarios.’

He cautiously tried to activate mana.

As expected… it didn’t work.

Of course, it wouldn’t. He had expended all his stored mana when he opened the gate.

This time, he focused on the surrounding mana.

Indeed, the texture of the mana in this place was completely different.

Thus, his second hypothesis was proven. This was not Armania.

But the constant murmur. The surroundings were very noisy.

One, two, three, four… twenty-eight.

Twenty-eight presences were chattering noisily, but he couldn’t understand a word.

But he didn’t worry.

Even if his body couldn’t move and he couldn’t use mana, he still had three divine powers. Though he wasn’t sure if they would work here.

Nothing to lose, he quietly recited the spell.

‘Language Purification.’

Oh, it worked?

The previously incomprehensible murmur became clear words in his ears.

“A, a miracle?”

“He came back to life. I can’t believe it even after seeing it.”

“His identity has been confirmed, so contact his family first.”

Huff. Again, a miracle, perhaps. I can hardly believe my eyes.

Yes, of course. After all, I am a miracle itself.

Jeskier, the Guardian of the Continent of Armania. The 9th-circle Grand Mage who was the sole recipient of the Goddess’s love. The Master of the Magic Tower.

People say that I am the very icon of miracles, having received not just one, but three of the Goddess’s powers at the age of eighteen, while others might not receive even one in their entire lives.

Language Purification, Media Acquisition, and the Sense of the Heart.

Though my body cannot move, and I have fallen into an unfamiliar world, I am still a being blessed with the Goddess’s powers. Therefore, there is nothing to worry about.

As always, my body will soon recover, and my mana will return.

Because that’s who I am.

‘Let’s just sleep a bit more for now. I haven’t been able to sleep for so long.’

Feeling the comforting presence of the kind Goddess in this strange place, I firmly closed my heavy eyelids.

* * *

It was two full days later when my immobile body finally moved.

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was a burly man who reminded me of a wild black bear.

“Yichan, are you conscious? Are you okay?”

What nonsense. Yichan? And what’s with the informal speech?

I’m not someone you can just treat so casually.

I blinked a few times and rolled my eyes around.

My vision seems fine.

Next, my voice.

“Where am I?”

It comes out normally. However, the voice… feels slightly different from usual.

“Where do you think? It’s a hospital. Are you really okay? The doctor said you were fine, but how can you be fine after being struck by lightning?”

The man resembling a black bear drew closer, tears welling up in his eyes.

Then he began to feel around my body.

“What… what on earth are you doing….”

In this unfamiliar place, with unfamiliar people, unfamiliar scents, and unfamiliar language.

I can’t speak or act hastily in a place that is not Armania. I must be cautious and speak sparingly.

Even if an impolite person gropes me, I will maintain my composure. This is the magnanimity of a 9th-circle Grand Mage, the Master of the Magic Tower.

With a graceful gesture, I removed the black bear’s thick hand and politely asked,

“Do you know who I am?”

“Oh my god, Yichan. Why are you being so scary?”

The man resembling a black bear wailed and backed away.

“You’re not really okay, are you?”

And then he quickly disappeared from my sight.

“Doctor, doctor!”

His voice echoed loudly as it faded away in the unfamiliar space.

Now, it’s time to check if I can properly move my hands and feet.

Although they feel as heavy as a waterlogged blanket, they can move, unlike before.

Carefully, I lifted my arm and spread my hand before my eyes.

“What is this?”

A delicate hand and a thin wrist. Where did the muscles go? There’s nothing but bones.

And why are my hands so smooth? The once glorious hands marked with scars from long training and study are gone.

I turned my palm over.

Nothing. The mark is gone.

I sat up in bed and looked down at my feet and legs.

The size seems similar, but something feels off.

And the legs…

“What’s this? Why are they so emaciated?”

Just like my arms, they are thin and frail.

It was then that I felt a sense of urgency to survey my surroundings.

The space, filled with strange chemical smells mixed with the stench of urine and food, was utterly foreign.

He did say it was a hospital, but what kind of hospital is this?

Without a single healer, relying solely on medicine, with bottles hanging from arms. How primitive.

What kind of world have I entered? I could only curse my fate from two days ago.

“Is there no mirror here?”

I asked a boy who was watching my movements with curious eyes.

The boy, with a peculiar expression, pointed a finger.

Huh? That?

“There’s a mirror inside the wardrobe.”

A tall wooden box. Is that a wardrobe? And why do people here all speak so informally?

“Thank you.”

I clicked my tongue inwardly and thanked him politely.

Boy, learn. This is what manners are.

Sharply glaring at the boy, I grabbed the wardrobe handle.

Perhaps due to my thin arms, I had to pull the stiff wardrobe door several times before it finally opened.

“Damn it. So weak.”

A curse slipped out.

I opened the wardrobe and searched for the mirror. Where could it be?

“It’s on the door.”

Oh, on the door.

“Thank you….”

I couldn’t finish my thanks to the boy who helped me.

“What is this!”

The reflection in the mirror.

“What is this!”

This is not me.

“This isn’t me!”

I am not me.

“Aaaahhhhh!!!!!”

* * *