30 Years Have Passed Since the Prologue

1 – 1. 30 Years Since the Prologue.

“Ah, it’s a strange ceiling….”

Kim Sunwoo muttered in a calm voice.

No, it wasn’t all that calm. He was trembling so much that his hands were shaking with excitement.

How long had he been waiting for this moment? A foreign ceiling, a foreign world, yes. Another world reincarnation, transmigration, rebirth, whatever you called it!

In reality, he had been preparing for this moment for a very long time. The important point here is the “preparation.”

If you’re a citizen of South Korea, you would already know the basic conditions for another world reincarnation. It’s the [Submission of a 5,700-character Critique of Gratitude] and [Reading until Completion].

Building on that, you can understand Kim Sunwoo’s “preparation process.”

Every novel, webtoon, and game he had read. Any work that he liked. In other words, the act of submitting a [5,700-character critique] for all the works he wanted to be reincarnated into.

Every day, without rest, with a different repertoire each time, meticulously and thoroughly.

Since it was the work he wanted to be reincarnated into, he naturally memorized the story, settings, possible hidden plots, artifacts, and character relationships of the main characters.

Only the 5,700 characters to break the creator’s heart, until he heard the words, “[Then give it a try].”

Of course, in most cases, it ended with the desperate pleas of unyielding authors or being blocked by various community members. But in the end, he succeeded.

He had finally been reincarnated into another world.

Now, all that remained was to find out what kind of work this was. Only that!

“Status Window!”

A colorful augmented reality blue display did not appear.

But that was okay. He wasn’t disappointed. In the list of works where he had left negative comments, there were many works without a status window. In fact, he considered it a clue to narrow down the list.

Moreover, he now had the body of a child who had just turned four. Time and abilities were practically on his side.

The tattered clothes and shabby ceiling were fine by him.

– A genius of this caliber in a place like this?!

– Truly a remarkable hero!!

– I’ll give you my throne and wealth! Just spare my life!!

It had already been proven through various media on Earth that the more difficult the childhood, the greater the success.

Kim Sunwoo smiled slyly and got up from his seat.

First of all, yes, why not start with something simple, like making soap?

*

4 years old. First week of reincarnation.

Kim Sunwoo realized that his body had the name ‘Ivan Petrovich.’

His parents were tenant farmers, and he was shocked to discover that they were ignorant even to the extent of not knowing their own country’s name, let alone the letters.

After failing at making soap, he felt a bitter regret for playing around with lye.

In fact, he discovered that soap already existed in this world.

At the age of 4, in the 6th week of his reincarnation, Kim Sunwoo finally gained the freedom to wander around the village through the errand of delivering eggs.

As he glanced at a newspaper rolling on the ground, he began to sense something peculiar.

“If society is advanced enough to produce newspapers and distribute them to a rural area like this, it’s definitely not the Middle Ages, right?”

Most of his ‘Reincarnation Works List’ was deleted that day.

At the age of 4, in the 15th week of his reincarnation,

Kim Sunwoo finally heard the name of the country he lived in.

After hearing the name of the king, who was vaguely referred to as ‘Naratnim,’ he immediately returned home and threw his precious ‘Reincarnation Works List’ into the fire in a corner of his room.

Because the country he heard, the ruler he heard, and all the surrounding kingdoms were names heard for the first time.

Now, what mattered wasn’t ‘which work he had reincarnated into,’

but ‘what genre is this, exactly?’

Please, let it not be dark fantasy. The survival rate of a modern Korean without any special bonuses or status screens is usually less than 5%.

At the age of 8, in the 4th year of his reincarnation,

surprisingly, the Demon King appeared out of nowhere.

The war was still a distant story from a faraway land, but the daily broadcasts were filled with grim tales.

At the age of 8 in winter,

Kim Sunwoo’s, no, ‘Ivan’s’ father was conscripted by the draft officer and left.

‘Ivan’s’ mother began to foster him to keep him alive.

From here, Kim Sunwoo’s sense of self began to slightly deviate.

At the age of 10, in the 6th year of his reincarnation,

Kim Sunwoo could now adeptly handle foster care tasks alongside his mother.

At the age of 12, in the 8th year of his reincarnation,

Kim Sunwoo finally learned to read. It was the payment for surreptitiously taking eggs from the village chief’s house for six years.

At the age of 14, in the 10th year of his reincarnation,

the news of his father’s death reached his village.

Interestingly, it was a notice issued two years ago.

Accepting a few coins in exchange for the value of a life, he looked at his sobbing mother and thought of two things.

One was the genre of this world being a strategy simulation.

Somehow, it felt too detailed. If it were an RPG, so many countries wouldn’t typically appear. After all, isn’t it normal not to implement backgrounds that players can’t experience?

However, this isn’t a novel or a webtoon.

It wasn’t just an ordinary otherworld story; it was a world where subtle settings thrived. Simple firearms and steam engines, knights and wizards, demons, and diverse races coexisting—the evidence lay in this world.

Writing a world like this in a novel would elicit comments like ‘What’s this, some niche fantasy?’ or ‘Just talking about things only they know.’ So, serializing it for free with a predictable ending seemed futile.

Hence, naturally, I had to take action. Living as a mere farmer in this backward place meant I’d never step into the main storyline forever if I lived and died here.

The endings of strategy simulations usually culminate in world domination. But ending up conquered by the demon army without knowing anything was something to avoid, wasn’t it?

And the second thought that crossed my mind was…

“Don’t worry, Mother.”

I gently brushed the hair of my mother, exhausted from weeping, and submitted my enlistment to the recruitment office. A salary of 15 eastern coins. I had contractually agreed to send it all to my mother.

‘Ivan Petrovich’ hoped these hands would no longer beg for her.

More than an abrupt sense of filial duty, it was a remorse for inhabiting the body of a young boy named ‘Ivan,’ essentially ending her only offspring.

Eighteen years old. Fourteen years since inhabiting. Four years in the military.

Thanks to minor military honors and strokes of luck, Ivan’s status shifted from ‘conscripted’ to ‘regular army.’

I realized Ivan’s body had more aptitude for fighting than expected.

Twenty-two years old. Eighteen years since inhabiting. Eight years in the military.

When the frontlines pushed dangerously ahead and half of the allied nations burned.

A hero emerged.

At this point, Ivan finally realized the genre of this world.

It was a hero’s tale, a true-blue RPG.

But the hero was just a story from a distant land, and the frontline Ivan fought on remained bleak.

Twenty-eight years old. Twenty-four years since inhabiting. Fourteen years in the military.

As the hero party intercepted the commanders of the demon army, the tides turned.

Now, Ivan was assigned to the ‘Recovery Zone Domination and Enemy Faction Detection Unit.’

To put this lengthy title simply:

– Annihilation Unit

It was a specialized force deployed when chaos erupted in the enemy lines upon the death of enemy commanders.

For about a year from then, Ivan traveled with the hero party using military camps.

Thirty years old. Twenty-six years since inhabiting. Sixteen years in the military.

The hero party killed the demon king.

Ivan had now decided to wait for the ending.

It was a feeling of wanting to escape from this tiresome world.

32 years old. Inhabiting for the 28th year.

Two years had passed since the demon king’s death, but there was still no ending.

During that time, the personnel of the Annihilation Unit had decreased to one-fifth of its original size.

Realizing that superiors were attempting to disband them at a point where no new recruits were being replenished, Ivan performed what was essentially his last mission. Recognizing the situation as a prolonged epilogue, he applied for discharge.

His hometown mother had passed away a decade ago, leaving him entirely alone.

He established an orphanage near the capital, taking in war orphans.

It was a small act of hypocrisy.

34 years old. Inhabiting for the 30th year.

Still, even now.

The ending credits were nowhere in sight.

*

The thought that it might not have been an RPG at all

became a certainty for a guest who visited the orphanage.

“Damn.”

“Yes?”

“Damn. Was this supposed to be an academy novel?”

“Senior…?”

The guest awkwardly smiled at the orphanage director (war hero, 18 years of military service, Annihilation Unit veteran, friendly with the Hero Party) who suddenly spat out profanity.

The guest, dispatched from the palace, broke out in a cold sweat recalling the numerous nicknames of the orphanage director.

The king’s consort, lumberjack, dragon slayer, the man who slaughtered the seven dragons, immortal, reserve force. The living legend of conscripted soldiers.

As the ominous man, who had the demeanor to chop off heads with an axe if he made a slip of the tongue, smiled awkwardly, the guest quietly held his breath until the orphanage director’s anger subsided.

*