AFT l CH 02

Episode 2

In the history of the Anux continent, there once was a man who united all kingdoms by sheer force — the first and only Emperor, a living legend.

Some called his overwhelming power a calamity.
Others described it as nothing short of divinity.

The first to ever reach the realm of the 9th Circle,
the Ultimate Necromancer,
the Calamity Descended from Another World,
the King of the Dead, who led an army of tens of thousands of undead.

Up until not long ago, his name was always spoken with dread — preceded and followed by sinister epithets.

But now…

“Alright, say ‘ahhh’ and open wide.”
“Aaaah—.”
“Good girl.”

The man once known as the Emperor of Death was now carefully spoon-feeding warm baby food to his three-year-old daughter.

“Is it tasty?”
“Taystee.”

Kang Jun smiled faintly as he scraped the last bit of baby food from a plastic container with a tiny spoon.

Then—

“My lord.”

Before the father and daughter stood an old man, posture stiff as a spear — Shartia von de Krepsley, who spoke with utmost formality.

“Forgive my impertinence, but… are you troubled, my lord?”
“Do I look that way?”
“If I may say so, your expression seems rather grim today…”

Kang Jun nodded.

“You’re right. I was planning to bring it up after Seol finished eating.”

He gently placed the final spoonful into his daughter’s mouth and said quietly,

“I think we’ve run into… a bit of a problem.”

Shartia froze, sucking in a sharp breath.

‘A… problem?’

How long had he served his master? At least two hundred years.
And never — not once — had his lord used that word.

Not when they stood at the brink of death in countless battles.
Not when they faced impossible odds and hopeless wars.

His master had always been above such words as danger, crisis, or difficulty.

So for him to say “problem” now could only mean one thing —
something unimaginably dire.

Kang Jun pointed with his chin toward the mountain of papers piled at the edge of the table.

“Read those out loud for me.”

Shartia gulped, picked up the documents with trembling hands, and used his artifact — the legendary Sage’s Monocle — to read.

“Notice of debt collection for unpaid telecommunications bill…”
“Next.”
“Notice of water supply suspension due to unpaid fees…”
“Next.”
“Notice of power disconnection for unpaid electricity bill…”
“Next.”
“Notice of gas supply suspension due to overdue payment…”
“Enough.”

Kang Jun sighed and calmly wiped his daughter’s mouth with a napkin.

“So, what do you think all these are about?”
“Forgive my presumption, but… they appear to be… requests for overdue payment?”

Kang Jun gave another heavy sigh.

“Exactly. My sister never mentioned it, but it looks like our finances are a total disaster.”

He looked down at little Seol, who was sitting quietly on his lap.

If his sister had been living alone, things would never have gotten this bad, no matter how little she earned.

But now, raising a child on her own in poverty…
It made sense how things had reached this point.

Just as Kang Jun was lost in thought—

“However…”

Shartia spoke again, his voice tense with righteous fury.

“Who dares send payment notices to a member of the imperial family? This is a blatant act of rebellion — an affront to the Crown itself!”
“Oh, really?”
“If you simply command it, my lord, I shall ensure that by dawn they have paid for their insolence… with their lives—”

“Tsk, tsk.”

Kang Jun merely clicked his tongue, and the old vampire fell silent immediately.

After a moment, Shartia cleared his throat and spoke again, cautiously.

“Forgive me, my lord, but I have devised a plan to resolve our financial hardship.”
“Go on.”
“We shall temporarily increase the imperial tax rate until the treasury stabilizes, focusing especially on nobles and regional lords through a progressive taxation system—”

Kang Jun couldn’t help himself.

“Pfft…”

He burst out laughing.

“Hah! Raise taxes? Impose progressive tax rates? That’s hilarious.”
“M-My lord?”
“Ahh, damn… I’m crying. That’s how funny it is.”

Even Seol started giggling along, not understanding why her father was laughing.

Wiping tears from his eyes, Kang Jun finally said,

“I think you’ve got things a little mixed up, Shartia. Let me explain it this way…”

He paused, thinking for a moment.

“In this world — on Earth — our status is somewhere between slave and commoner.”
“S-Slave or commoner, my lord?”
“Yeah. Maybe closer to the middle, but still.”

Kang Jun’s voice was calm, almost emotionless.

“We work our fingers to the bone and receive scraps in return. We barely earn enough to survive.”
“Then… we are truly no different from slaves or peasants…”

Shartia’s legs nearly gave out.

A slave…?

The words struck him like a hammer.
He, who once ruled as a Vampire Lord, pure-blooded and noble, who later became the Grand Duke and prime minister of the Empire —
Now, in this world, he was… a slave?

How far we’ve fallen…

As shame welled up inside him, he clenched his fists.

“My lord! I shall devote myself wholly to your cause — to rebuild your Empire here on Earth and restore you to your throne!”
“Uh-huh. Yeah, sure, knock yourself out.”

To Kang Jun, it was a sarcastic remark.
But to Shartia, it sounded like a royal decree — full permission to found a new Empire.

My lord entrusts me with the rebirth of his Empire!
I must begin by assessing the political power of each nation in this realm…

Meanwhile, Kang Jun stood up, holding Seol in his arms.

“Anyway…”

His tone suddenly turned serious.

“We need to make money.”

He let out a quiet, bitter laugh.

Money…

He hadn’t thought about wealth in centuries.
He’d once possessed so much treasure that the only issue had been where to store it.

But this?
This was the first time he’d ever worried about being poor.

Well, I suppose that’s a good problem to have.

Kang Jun sighed and gently patted his daughter’s back. His movements were already those of an experienced father.

***

That night, peace returned as always.
Little Seol slept soundly in his arms.

Tock, tock.
Kang Jun absentmindedly patted her back while watching the evening news.

[According to a recent report by the Korea Professional Research Institute, the occupation with the highest average income last year was “Hunter.”]
[Even the lowest-ranked E-class Hunters earned an average of nearly 90 million won annually…]
[Meanwhile, A-class and higher Hunters earned unmeasurable — effectively astronomical — sums…]

Kang Jun leaned forward, eyes glued to the screen.

“Jun, you like watching the news now?”

His older sister, Lee Subin, asked teasingly as she sat beside him, peeling an apple.

“The world’s really changed these past three years,” he said quietly.

“You’re telling me. When the Gates first appeared, it was chaos. Monsters everywhere, people dying left and right…”

She handed him a slice of apple.

“But we managed to adapt. Some people even say the world’s better now than before the Gates.”
“You think so?”
“Not really. For people like us, nothing’s changed — still struggling to get by. If anything, now we also have to worry about random Gates opening near our home.”

“Can’t we just move somewhere safer?”
“If only. I would’ve done that ages ago — especially for Seol’s sake. But…”

“We don’t have enough money?”
“Not even close. Actually, we’re broke. The only reason we’re not kicked out is because our landlady’s kind enough to let the rent slide.”

She laughed softly, then sighed.

“I just hope I win the lottery this week. Ten billion won, and we’d be set for life.”
“Lottery?”
“Yeah. I’ve been buying tickets every week for years. The jackpot’s usually around ten billion these days.”

She arranged the apple slices neatly and said,

“Go call Grandpa — tell him the apple’s ready.”

But Kang Jun didn’t answer.

Instead, he asked,

“So, if you had ten billion won… you could finally live the life you’ve dreamed of?”
“Of course. First thing I’d do is move somewhere safe. Then maybe quit the factory and just focus on raising Seol until I find a better job.”

She smiled gently at her sleeping niece.

“She needs love and attention right now.”

Kang Jun nodded.

“I’ll take care of it.”
“What?”
“The ten billion.”

He had long forgotten the exact value of Earth’s currency, but…

At least it’s simple.

If money could buy his sister peace and happiness, that was enough.

And in a world where power equals money… earning that much should be easy.

After all, he’d spent three hundred years mastering absolute power.

He didn’t want to use it again — he had sworn, upon returning to Earth, to live a normal life.
Because his strength, his curse, had always robbed him of that.

But for his family, he would break that vow a thousand times over.

Kang Jun clenched and unclenched his right hand.
The nine rings embedded in his heart — the symbol of the 9th Circle — pulsed faintly.

Just until I earn ten billion. Quietly, discreetly, without drawing attention…

“Pfft.”

His sister suddenly giggled.

It reminded her of the past — of how her little brother used to say things like this all the time.

“Sis, I’ll grow up, make money, and take care of you!”

After their parents died young, she had become both sister and guardian.
And he’d promised, again and again, to “repay” her one day.

Just like now.

“This reminds me of the old days.”
“Old days?”
“Never mind. Eat your apple.”
“Okay.”