CHAPTER 5 

Bad Connection (Part 2)

“Wow, so this is the ‘amazing’ life you talked about? I’m so touched, I might cry!”

Ernolp shouted as he stared at the fat worms Khazar had brought. Khazar had said he’d go hunt for food, and came back with eight thumb-sized worms and a lizard tail the size of an arm.

The worms were dripping with yellow slime, and Ernolp looked at them in disgust.

‘Scientific name: Carbilius Staminaformis. Found in wet swamps and mossy mountains. High in amino acids, great for energy.’

The worms weren’t poisonous, but they looked disgusting—especially after exploding while being roasted. Just looking at them made Ernolp lose his appetite.

“How do you expect me to eat this garbage?”
“With that mouth you’re using to complain,” Khazar replied.

Ernolp glared at him.

“Why are you staring like that? You’ve eaten these before. Once you try them, your taste buds will remember.”
“I lost my memory, not my common sense.”
“Just eat it before I force-feed you.”

Khazar took a bite of the lizard tail. When he was a mining slave, they only got thin soup once a day. To survive, he had to eat bugs and anything else he could find.

“Hmm.”

Technically, the worms were nutritious, but right now they looked more like “roasted corpses” than food. Ernolp tossed one over his shoulder in disgust.

“Did you just throw away the food I worked hard to catch?”
“I’ll eat food that actually looks like food.”
“If it’s cooked, it’s food.”
“Only a savage would say that!”

Fuming, Ernolp stood up.

“Where are you going?”
“To the village.”
“Why?”
“Because if I want to live like a human, I need to eat like one.”

Then he raised his arms dramatically.

“…What now?” Khazar asked.

“Can’t you see I’m wobbling? You’ve got a strong body—carry me.”
“Ugh, this guy…”

Though annoyed, Khazar picked Ernolp up. He couldn’t deny that his “brother” was too weak to walk alone.

“Don’t stop me this time. If someone picks a fight, I’ll kill them.”
“Tsk, such a temper.”
“What did you say?”

Ernolp wasn’t just going to the village for food. He wanted to observe the buildings and the people’s clothes. That way, he might figure out what time period he was in.

“They won’t throw us out this time. They’ll welcome us. Just trust me.”

He planned to impress them with a few simple magic tricks. Surely that would stop them from looking down on him.

“You stay outside. I’ll handle things—steal or take what we need.”
“There’s no need. I’ll take care of everything.”
“Just stay still and don’t mess anything up!”
“Hey, I said I’d take care of it! Are you even listening?”

Ernolp pulled hard on Khazar’s ear.

“Ow! My ear!”
“Tch. You’re a tough aura user and you’re whining like that?”

Khazar wanted to toss him, but didn’t. He’d worked hard to keep his brother alive—he wasn’t going to kill him in just three days.

“How did you know I’m an aura user, anyway?”

Tihrad—the body Ernolp was in—shouldn’t have known that. Khazar found it strange that his brother seemed like a completely different person inside.

“I can tell just by looking.”
“But not everyone can do that.”
“Not everyone’s like me. I’m quite extraordinary, you know. Most people call someone like me… a genius.”
“Ugh…”

Khazar didn’t know what to say. Tihrad (now Ernolp) had awakened magic on his own, knew things he had never learned, and used spells he had never studied. “Genius” wasn’t too far off.

“Pull my ear again and I’ll really throw you off.”
“If you do, I’ll die instantly. Don’t want to clean up a corpse, do you?”
“Is that a threat?”
“You wouldn’t kill your only brother, would you?”

Ernolp knew that Khazar, for all his coldness, was surprisingly gentle toward his brother.

“Stop wobbling. Walk straight. You’re hurting my back.”
“You sure complain a lot for someone being carried.”
“If you’re going to do it, do it right.”
“Just shut up.”

Even as they argued, Khazar smiled. He couldn’t help it. His brother, who should’ve been dead long ago, was alive and chatting away on his back.

Ernolp dozed off and woke some time later. Still no sign of a village—just more forest and open fields.

“Are we actually going to the village?”
“Yeah.”
“Then why is there nothing but wilderness?”
“How should I know?”

Even in Ernolp’s original time, the countryside was undeveloped. Based on the plants and trees alone, he couldn’t tell what time period it was.

“Did we take the wrong path?”
“Shh. Be quiet.”

Suddenly, Khazar stepped off the road and hid Ernolp in the bushes. Before Ernolp could ask why, he saw something in the distance.

A bloodied young man was stumbling down a moonlit hill, clearly trying to escape something. He slipped down a slope, rolled onto the path, and kept running.

‘Who is that…?’

Ernolp moved slightly to see better, but Khazar grabbed his arm to keep him still.

Then came the sound of horses. Men on large warhorses appeared on the hill. The leader aimed a glowing white arrow at the fleeing man.

Khazar’s eyes narrowed.

‘Shakim.’

He recognized the man—leader of the Cornu raiders. Shakim wore a ring that boosted aura and stamina—Khazar remembered it even after 50 years.

‘Yes, today is that day.’

Shakim released the arrow. It flew like light through the air—

“Gahh!”

—and pierced the young man’s neck. He dropped lifelessly to the ground as Shakim smirked.

Khazar stared at the dead man’s face. For a moment, he saw his own past self there.

It had been 50 years ago—three days after he escaped the mine. Shakim’s arrow nearly killed him that night. Though Shakim had shot the arrow, the one who pushed him into danger was someone else…

‘Did a god bring me back here so I could get revenge?’

He’d lost the throne and his power—but he’d gained a chance to save his brother and kill his enemies.

‘If that’s true… I won’t waste it.’

Khazar smiled quietly, already thinking of a plan to take out Shakim and the other traitor.

Meanwhile, Ernolp studied the raiders. Their fur-lined armor, large horses, and horn-shaped saddle decorations gave them away.

‘The Cornu tribe!’

These northern nomads had often invaded the south during ancient and early medieval times.

‘So not only did I enter someone else’s body… I went back in time?!’

The evidence was clear. Ernolp had gone back about 1,600 years—a terrifying realization. Only gods or beings called “Transcendents” could do that kind of magic.

‘Why would a god do this to me…?’

The more Ernolp thought about it, the more confused and overwhelmed he became.

“Time to collect the spoils,” Shakim said.

The Cornu riders crushed the dead man beneath their horses and rode toward the village.

“Let’s follow them,” Khazar mimicked Shakim’s voice and stood up.

“Wait—are you serious?!” Ernolp grabbed his arm in shock.

Khazar’s eyes narrowed.

‘Ah. I need to hide Tihrad somewhere safe before I go.’

He’d been so focused on revenge, he almost forgot about his brother.

“They’re going to attack the village. I have to help them.”
“You?”

Ernolp chuckled. Khazar had slaughtered people in the mine and hated the villagers—there was no way he’d risk his life for them.

“You’re not just trying to steal something while they’re distracted?”

Shakim looked like a mid-level aura warrior. A newbie like Khazar shouldn’t even try to fight him.

“Don’t die doing something stupid. Just stay hidden until they’re gone.”
“Hmm, maybe you’re right.”

To Ernolp’s surprise, Khazar actually agreed. He blinked, confused.

“You changed your mind so fast.”
“I thought I’d warn them, but if you’re stopping me, then whatever.”
“Good. Glad you’re being smart.”

Khazar said he knew a safe place to hide and told Ernolp to hop on.

Even though he usually hated carrying people, he lowered his back without complaint. Ernolp, still suspicious, climbed on.