When people think of another world, they usually imagine a romantic fantasy life. Having a status window, learning magic or swordsmanship, finding a beautiful lover, and enjoying adventures - that kind of romance.
At one point, he also dreamed of such romance.
"Haa."
But there is no romance in another world.
Far from romance, there is no hope either.
Because everything has gone to ruin.
To be exact, it would be more accurate to say that it is on the verge of destruction.
Destruction is coming.
Slowly but surely, it is creeping in, gnawing away at the land.
He climbed to the top of the Magic Tower and looked into the distance. The blackened forest and land flickered ominously, spreading out slowly but surely.
At this point, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that 90% of the world had already been destroyed. The once brilliant and vast lands had been eroded, and only a few surviving kingdoms were barely holding on.
And that was only thanks to the Magic Barrier he had devised.
'Has it been roughly a hundred years?'
Thinking of the past brought back memories of Earth.
He had been a director at a fairly sizable game company.
It wasn't a massive hit, but he had created games with a solid fanbase, and even major corporations had reached out to scout him.
But perhaps because he had worked too much, he developed an illness and took a leave of absence. Just when he was about to take a break, he was suddenly thrown into another world.
The other world, Arsilan.
He had expected the romantic life he once dreamed of here in Arsilan, but he ended up living an even more intense life than in his previous one. As a result, he had become the world's greatest mage, something he had never even wished for.
"What a shitty life."
When would he finally be able to be happy?
Perhaps never.
To at least find hope, he had pursued the ultimate state of transcendence, but after decades, he still hadn't reached it.
"The master of the Magic Tower, the Immortal Archmage, the glorious Lord of Rainsword, Jinwoo…"
"Drop those titles already. The world is in this state, what's the point of all that?"
As Jinwoo spoke with a faint smirk, the woman who had appeared behind him took a deep breath and lowered her head. The only thing that indicated he was from Earth was his name.
He turned around to look at her.
"Master."
"Yes."
Her beauty, visible through the somber robes, was befitting of a High Elf.
Tiris.
He had taken her in as his disciple when she was young, and now she had grown into a mature woman. It meant that enough time had passed for a High Elf to reach adulthood.
"A summons has been issued. Seeing as they even called upon you, who are in seclusion, the problem must be quite serious."
"Probably."
The only reason a kingdom-sized territory could still be maintained was due to the Magic Barrier Jinwoo had developed. The Magic Stones that existed on intact land were being depleted, meaning the day the Magic Barrier disappeared was not far off.
The day the Magic Barrier disappeared, Arsilan would be completely destroyed. The halted erosion would resume, countless monsters would ravage the land, and every remaining lifeform would be slaughtered.
Total annihilation.
The stars would fall, and the dimensions would be torn to shreds.
"Even I don't have a solution."
"But you are the only one unaffected by the Erosion, Master. That is why they are desperate."
The people of Arsilan could not survive long in the land of Erosion.
No matter how powerful they were, their abilities would significantly weaken, and their souls would waver.
Only Jinwoo was unaffected by it.
Upon researching, he discovered that it was because his soul was fundamentally different from those of the people in this world.
Since his soul had come from Earth, it was as if he had complete immunity to the Erosion, as if he had complete immunity to a virus.
"There's nothing I can do alone. Unless I had an army of about a million."
At the very least, to resist the imminent Erosion, an army of a million was necessary.
"And they would have to be elite soldiers unaffected by the Erosion. Besides you, Master... perhaps only the Brave Warrior mentioned in legends."
At Tiris's words, Jinwoo nodded.
Even the total number of all surviving races didn't reach ten million, so an army of a million was an impossible dream.
A brief silence fell.
Jinwoo let out a deep sigh and shook his head in resignation.
"Then, as always, I'll inform them of your absence."
"Alright."
Tiris was about to step back but hesitated.
She gazed at Jinwoo's back for a moment before finally speaking.
"Take a break today."
"…Hmm."
Though he had said there was no solution, he still wandered through the land of Erosion in search of one. Since he could wield the power of the soul beyond the realm of magic, he could resurrect in a prepared new body even if he died, meaning he didn't have to fear for his life.
That was why he was called the Immortal Archmage.
The ability to imprint experience and skills directly onto the soul.
It seemed to be a power exclusive to souls from Earth.
"If you go out again, I'll modify your new body to match my tastes."
"Ah, that's a bit…"
"Hmm, I do like handsome young men, but a beautiful girl wouldn't be bad either."
Jinwoo flinched and broke into a cold sweat.
He was about to use teleportation magic as usual but then lowered his hand.
If Tiris was being this firm, it was easier to just go along with her. Her seemingly cold eyes were filled with concern, he couldn't ignore that.
"…Alright, I'll take a break today."
The world was doomed anyway, so whether he worked or rested, it made no difference. As Tiris withdrew with a slight smile, he let out a sigh.
After gazing into the distance for a while, he stepped inside the Magic Tower.
Removing the various artifacts attached to his body, he collapsed onto a worn-out sofa. The inside of the Magic Tower was maintained at a comfortable temperature, and on the dining table, there was food that Tiris had prepared.
His territory was in relatively good shape when it came to food supplies, but it wasn't abundant. His meals typically consisted of little more than grain flour and a few pieces of meat.
"I did well just making it this far."
Just enduring this long was an achievement in itself!
He had worked his entire body, forcing himself to endure while creating new magic.
Most of the magic he had created came from games.
The magic knowledge he had referenced while developing games was surprisingly systematic. Ten years ago, he had crafted a game-like system and engraved it onto his soul.
It allowed him to intuitively grasp his own condition and stay connected to the core of the Magic Tower to always receive optimal information. On top of that, he could convert the power of Erosion into soul energy, elevating his capabilities.
The core of the Magic Tower was connected to the very foundation of this world, making it no exaggeration to say that he had constructed a massive analytical system.
'It's practically a high-tech data center equipped with advanced AI.'
His memories of Earth were still crystal clear.
It was an era when AI was emerging, and related industries were raking in astronomical amounts of money. Since he had been a developer, he had studied it briefly as well.
That experience had helped him in its own way.
But still, what was the point of it all?
Everything was already ruined!
"Should I just give up now?"
Jinwoo sighed deeply and slumped back into the sofa.
He closed his eyes and reminisced about the past.
Chugging iced Americanos like a blood transfusion while pulling all-nighters,
The art director getting into a power struggle with users on social media and then disappearing,
The team leader wiping out all the data before quitting and moving to another company.
Back then, those moments had been tough, but now, they were just memories.
Life here had been so brutal that he even found himself thinking that those times had been much happier. He hadn't properly rested even once until now.
It was time to quit.
If he could at least maintain the current state of things, he might keep trying, but at the latest, in three years, complete destruction was inevitable.
'Might as well just have fun now.'
He decided to enjoy himself as much as possible in the time he had left and then simply die.
Thinking that way made him feel at ease.
But even if he decided to have fun, there wasn't really anything to do.
Everything he had was optimized for survival. The best he could do was sit idly and reminisce about the past like a plant.
Jinwoo let his mind drift into nostalgia, free of worries or burdens.
The thrill of buying his first console with his part-time job earnings.
The hours spent immersed in the lingering emotions of famous RPG games. The days of studying game development because he wanted to create a world with his own hands.
The times when he lay in his room staring at his smartphone because he couldn't find a job. The early mornings when he dragged his slippers to buy coffee, all of them were now fond memories.
As he let go of everything and sank into nostalgia.
"Hm?"
Swoosh!
A halo of light rose from his body. The light slowly expanded, illuminating the entire Magic Tower, and beyond that, it brightened even the darkening sky as if a second sun had risen.
Jinwoo blinked blankly.
"This is…"
For decades, he had struggled to transcend human limitations.
He had never stopped trying, yet he had never reached it. But now, out of nowhere, he had arrived.
Why?
When he moved past despair into resignation, when he finally gave up and emptied his mind, only then did he obtain what he had longed for.
A strange mixture of emptiness and fulfillment clashed within him, leaving Jinwoo in an odd state. He remained frozen for a while.
"Ah."
A shudder ran through his entire body.
He had become a transcendent being.
His soul had surpassed the limits of humanity, granting him absolute power. To call it an awakening would be an accurate description.
Swoosh!
As Jinwoo reached out his hand, space itself warped.
It was a transcendent power beyond comparison to any portal. Jinwoo analyzed it through the core connected to the Magic Tower.
[Transcendent] Soul Gate
A gate connected to the homeland of the soul.
It can be maintained indefinitely and allows passage in soul form.
Through the Soul Gate, magic power can be exerted, and depending on its size, physical matter can be transported. It appears to be strengthened solely by the power of the soul.
Soul Gate.
Even the foundation of Arsilan could not fully decipher its details.
Jinwoo decided to separate his soul from his body for now.
Even in his soul form, he could exert physical force without issue.
Jinwoo had been called the Immortal Mage, and also the Mage of Souls.
No matter what cheap body he inhabited, he could still wield his original power.
'If it's the homeland of the soul… could it be…?'
Staring at the Soul Gate, Jinwoo stepped inside.
A bright light surrounded him, and then, before his eyes, a landscape so familiar unfolded.
A blue sky with drifting clouds.
And beneath it, towering skyscrapers that seemed to pierce the heavens.
A long, grand river flowing through the city filled him with an odd sense of warmth.
He gazed at the scene, stunned.
The homeland of the soul.
The home he had only recalled in memories was now spread out beneath him.
"Seoul…"
After a hundred years, he had finally returned home.
*
The Soul Gate was fixed in the sky above Seoul.
Jinwoo could move it whenever he wanted, but for now, he left it as it was. No one could notice it unless he allowed it.
For a while, he wandered above Seoul, taking in the sights of the city.
Was it because the dimensions had been completely severed?
Or had he actually traveled back in time?
There was no difference between the time he had left Earth and the present moment.
The moment the Soul Gate opened, it was as if time, which had been frozen, resumed its flow in perfect synchronization.
'My home…'
Jinwoo went to see his old residence.
The villa where he had lived was completely gone, as if erased from existence.
It seemed that when his body was entirely transported to Arsilan, all traces of his existence had vanished along with it.
Remaining in soul form for too long was dangerous.
His soul could disperse and disappear.
Creating a new body was an option, but Earth had an extreme lack of magic. It would take quite some time.
There was also the issue of identity.
'I need to find a body without a soul.'
A body that was still alive but without a soul, unable to awaken again. It seemed like a good idea to look into bodies that had fallen into a vegetative state.
If possible, it would be best to find a body with wealth or a strong background.
Jinwoo looked around.
A massive hospital operated by Ohsung Group, Korea's number-one corporation, caught his eye. When he went to the VIP ward on the top floor, he found several patients in a vegetative state.
All of them had sustained severe physical damage and had fallen into a coma.
'It'll take some time for them to recover.'
Just as Jinwoo was thinking that.
'Hmm?'
One particular room, the largest in the area, stood out.
This entire floor consisted of VIP rooms, but this one seemed to receive special attention. There were doctors and nurses stationed exclusively for that room.
Curious, he stepped inside.
A young man lay in the bed.
He appeared to be in his early twenties, connected to a ventilator, with numerous sensors attached all over his body. His complexion was so pale that he looked like he could die at any moment.
Jinwoo found the man's face somewhat familiar.
'Ah!'
As he stared at the young man's face, he suddenly remembered who he was.
He was quite a well-known figure.
The youngest grandson of the chairman of Ohsung Group, a genius who had earned multiple Ph.D.s from prestigious universities abroad at a young age. There had even been talk that he was destined to win a Nobel Prize in the future.
But there was another reason Jinwoo remembered him so well.
They had different surnames, but their given names were the same. The young man's name was Lee Jin-woo, while his own was Kim Jin-woo.
There had been news reports about his poor health, but Jinwoo hadn't expected him to be lying here like this.
'It's not just that he's in poor health…'
He was already dead.
In just a few hours, his breathing would completely stop.
An empty body with no soul.