CHAPTER 3
The day I returned from the 2nd World after dying once.
I was invited to Bulldog-ssi's for dinner.
"What? You're retiring?"
And then I heard news that struck me like a bolt from the blue.
The news of Bulldog-ssi's retirement.
I'm baffled.
A man with so much life left in him is already retiring.
I wonder if he's in his right mind.
"I've worked pretty hard as a pioneer all this time. Unlike other pioneers, I worked alone, so I made a lot of money."
That, I already knew.
In fact, that was one of the reasons I wanted to learn the ways of a pioneer and a mage from Bulldog-ssi.
I'd rather work as a pioneer alone than form a team with savage This-worlders.
"After catching the Jaungseung Snake this time, I've pretty much saved up what I aimed for.
This is enough to retire and live comfortably. I can even live by working as a street magician on the side."
It seemed Bulldog-ssi had been thinking about retirement for a long time.
"More than anything, there was this incident."
He touched his neck.
The neck that had been completely severed during the day.
"I always knew pioneer work was dangerous, but after almost dying, I had a thought. I should at least get to see my grandchild's face before I go."
He didn't almost die; he did die.
In the end, it was death that made him decide.
This damned, death.
Consistently unhelpful.
"..."
I could do nothing but remain silent.
My status is a porter.
I'm not the mister's teammate, just a servant who carries his luggage.
I had no right to ask him to continue his work as a pioneer.
"Harua, I'm sorry. For you, this means you've suddenly lost your job."
So you do know.
"Ahem, so, with this opportunity, I'll teach you the magic you've been asking for."
"You crazy bastard, you should have said that first! Retire immediately!"
I'm so glad Bulldog-ssi died once and retired today!
Resurrection is the best! The serial killer is the best!
Bulldog-ssi looked at me, who was on the verge of doing a dance of joy, with a dumbfounded expression.
"My goodness, you brat, you want to learn magic that badly?"
"I believe a life of nobly shooting magic from the back is far more beautiful than the life of a vanguard who stupidly charges forward and dies."
I've always been a long-range type.
As if I'd ever fight with something like a sword.
It's definitely not because I was kicked out of the training center for lacking basic physical strength.
Even back when I played games, I always chose the mage class.
"Hey, you idiot. You only think that because you've only been with me. You think mages are safe?
Even monsters have brains. They instinctively know the mage is the weakest and target them!"
"That's why I'm trying to become a combat mage like you, mister."
"Damn, this kid, he's really good with his words."
Bulldog-ssi took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth.
The sight of him smoking without hesitation at the dinner table shows a tragic lack of education.
But today, even that looks cool.
The gravitas of a profound mage.
A strong mage can do that.
If someone complains about the smoking, he can just burn them with magic.
"You have some money saved up, right?"
"Don't tell me you're going to take my hard-earned money?"
"Bullshit, I'm not interested in your money. I'm just saying you won't be able to work as a porter for a while because you'll be studying."
Fortunately, I happened to pick up an expensive potion today.
If I sell it, I'll have no trouble getting by for a while.
"Yes, sir! I will learn diligently!"
"Honey, so you've finally decided to take Harua-ssi as your disciple?"
Just then, Bulldog-ssi's wife appeared.
She was a gentle woman who didn't match the gruff mister at all.
She was in her late thirties but could still pass for her mid-twenties.
"Yes, I will learn diligently so that when people ask who my master is, I can go around telling them about the greatest mage named Bulldog."
As I shot up from my seat and made a pledge, his wife smiled.
"You must be happy to have such a good disciple."
"Good my ass. Just don't run away in the middle, saying you can't do it."
"I won't run away even if I die."
"You'll be crying and begging me to kill you instead."
And so, I became Bulldog-ssi's disciple.
The mister's words were harsh, but it seemed he had taken quite a liking to me.
As expected of someone who ranked in my personal TOP 5 of decent savage This-worlders.
From that day, Bulldog-ssi's magic lessons began.
To get straight to the point, I had quite an aptitude for magic.
The only downside was that it wasn't for ordinary magic.
"Light attribute, Holy Magic!"
The mister let out an exclamation of admiration.

Today was the magic aptitude test.
The result of the test was Holy Magic.
Holy Magic.
Simply put, it's light magic for buffing or healing allies.
What this means is...
I'm a useless idiot who can't do anything without allies.
My eyes narrowed into a sharp frown.
Fire was fine, water was okay, earth was of course acceptable, and even darkness was fine.
But why, of all things, did it have to be Light attribute Holy Magic?
I have some experience working as a pioneer.
The Holy Mages I've seen were all arrogant bastards who acted high and mighty and looked down on people.
In reality, they are the noble class among pioneers.
Naturally, they wouldn't even glance at someone like me, so I've never even exchanged a word with one.
"Kid, Holy Magic is a jackpot! Do you know how many pioneers are desperate to have a Holy Mage on their team?"
Even Bulldog-ssi said so; Holy Mages were a precious resource.
Pioneers get injured every day fighting Fantasy Species.
A Holy Mage who can heal such wounds with a single spell is a precious asset in anyone's eyes.
However, Holy Mages cannot operate alone.
"......You're not a Holy Mage, Bulldog-ssi."
What I want is to be a solo-type combat mage like Bulldog-ssi, not some healbot who just throws heals from the back.
My dream was shattered today.
"Ahem, you brat, you wanted to be like me that much?"
For some reason, Bulldog-ssi got a proud look on his face.
"Still, isn't there some way to learn other attribute magic?"
Bulldog-ssi actually wields both Fire and Lightning attribute magic.
So I thought it might be possible and held on to one last sliver of hope.
"No, it will be difficult. Your attribute is too heavily skewed towards Light.
Thanks to that, you'll have extreme efficiency with Holy Magic, but honestly, it will be hard to achieve results with the others."
But the answer that came back was despair.
"Geez, you brat, this level of pure Light attribute aptitude is unbelievably rare. You have the potential to become a great Holy Mage!"
Seeing my gloomy state, Bulldog-ssi showed a look of incomprehension.
"Besides, such a pure Light attribute is really rare.
Could it be that you have an Ability you don't know about? Attributes are also influenced by Abilities."
At that moment, something pierced through my mind.
This damn, rotten, godforsaken Emperor Resurrection Magic!
The reason my attribute was unified under Light was all because of my resurrection magic.
I was just about to start liking it, thinking it was a magic that could save people.
And it immediately shoves me into a pit.
A sigh was about to escape my lips, but I held it back.
After returning from the 2nd World on that first day, I had also pondered ways to use my resurrection magic.
But the conclusion was reached quickly.
If I overuse this, I'm fucked.
Everyone's life is precious to them.
And resurrection magic brings back that precious life.
No matter how secretly I accept money to resurrect people, will that secret be kept forever?
A dead person came back to life; as if that secret would be kept.
Ten to one, the rumor will spread everywhere, and the number of people targeting me will increase.
Because everyone holds their own life dear.
People from all over will stop at nothing to kidnap me.
Of course, I could ask a powerful person to protect me in exchange for resurrection magic.
But how can I be sure that powerful person will be beneficial to me?
Trust a savage This-worlder?
I'd rather bite my tongue and die.
I'll keep my resurrection magic a secret for my entire life before I trust those bastards.
"I don't have one. I don't. If I did, I would've done something with it."
So, even if I have resurrection magic, nothing changes.
It's best to just pretend it doesn't exist and live quietly.
Or I have to become a monster that no one can touch even if I use resurrection magic freely.
My goal was closer to the latter.
But even that goal has become futile.
What's the point of becoming a healbot?
"Back when I used to work in a team, I knew a Holy Mage.
I'll introduce you to him. With your aptitude, he'll gladly accept you."
"Are you passing off your disciple?"
"That's right, you brat. A kid with as much talent as you should learn from a proper master from the start."
Bulldog-ssi roughly ruffled my hair.
"You should be glad. You'll learn properly and won't end up a half-assed guy like me."
He grinned like a man.
Staring at him blankly, I offered one last bit of lip service.
"Mister, you are the greatest mage I know."
"Heh heh, you brat. Pay me back by becoming great."

And so, on that day, I lost my master.
It was only a short period of five months with him, but I learned so much.
And I learned another side of Bulldog.

“...This is the place?”

I was standing in front of a mansion of incredible size.
In my hand was a letter of recommendation scrawled by Bulldog.
I glanced around.
Beyond the fence in front of me, the street was lined with luxurious mansions, one after another.
It was a neighborhood that screamed, "We're rich."
This was, in fact, the noble residential district.
Of course, even in a noble district, there were more commoners than nobles.
The nobles were a tiny minority, but they needed many servants to assist with their mansions and duties.
So, it wasn't strange for me to be walking the streets here.
People would just assume I was a servant for one of the houses.
If only I weren't a Transferee.
I could feel strange stares piercing my back.
I have black hair and pitch-black eyes.
I just look like a typical Korean man.
The people of the Gladion Empire, a nation of the Human race, have an appearance somewhere between Eastern and Western.
Just as Koreans can distinguish between Japanese and Chinese people, the residents of Gladion can pick out Transferees.
Therefore, I was a very foreign presence here.
I should just gouge out the eyes of all these savage This-worlder bastards.
I shook my head left and right.
Even I get nervous in the noble district.
So, I calmly shouted past the iron gate.

“Is any savage— I mean, is anyone there?”

I called for the gatekeeper in a gentle voice.

“Who is it?”

Just then, someone who looked like a gardener walked out from inside.
I looked at him and put on my kindest possible smile.

“A pleasure to meet you. I’m here to see someone named Rapiel.”

“You’re here to see Lady Rapiel?”

The gardener stared at me with narrowed eyes.
Then he scanned me from top to bottom.

“You there, aren't you a Transferee?”

I had a feeling.
This gardener was a Transferee-hater.
The disgust seeping from his eyes was impossible to hide.

“Yes, I have a letter of recommendation.”

I held the letter out to him.
The gardener craned his neck, looking the letter over.
Then, his face scrunched into a deep frown.

“Why should I believe this scrap of paper and let you in?”

His tone had changed completely.
To be honest, I don't really like servants.
They may work under nobles, but in reality, they're no different from commoners.
And yet, they create their own hierarchy and act as if working in a noble's house makes them high and mighty.
In my eyes, nobles and servants alike are all just savages.

"Can you even read?"

I asked kindly.

“...What?”

"I asked if you can read."
He can barely even speak.
The gardener’s face turned red.
He must have a fever.

“O-Of course! Do you think I’d be working in Lady Rapiel’s house if I couldn’t even read!”

"Well, if you could, I doubt you'd be saying such things after seeing what's written here."

One of the characteristics of savage This-worlders.
Illiteracy.
If Transferees have one single advantage, it's that we can read, write, and speak the language.
It seems to be a supplementary ability based on the knowledge we had before transferring.
On the other hand, not many This-worlders can read and write.
This tendency is especially severe in manual labor jobs.
In this world, just being able to read and write can earn you good treatment.
Of course, that doesn't apply to Transferees.
They won't hire us in the first place, fearing what trouble we might cause.
What a truly hateful world.

“Here, read it out loud. Go on.”

I forcefully shoved the letter of recommendation toward him.
At my insistence that he read, the gardener’s eyes wavered violently.

“You can’t read it, can you? You can’t. So why are you pretending you can?”

“I-I can read it, my eyes are just a little blurry right now.”

“Aha, so you’re illiterate!”

“Fine, illiterate, whatever you say!”
Is he an idiot?

“In any case, just go get someone who can read.”

“Hey, I told you I can read!”

“Over there.”

Just then, a young voice came from beyond the iron gate.
When I turned my head, I saw a short girl in a neat dress.
She looked to be in her mid-teens.
Her whole face exuded the feeling of a delicate young lady.

“What is all this commotion?”

I knew it the moment I saw her. A child from a wealthy house.
I brought my knees and feet together.
I bowed my waist at a steady angle, placing one hand behind my back and the other politely in front.

"A pleasure to meet you, my lady. My name is Harua, an aspiring Holy Mage. I have come with a letter of recommendation from Bulldog, the renowned battle mage and adventurer.”

A flawless, polite greeting.
I could feel the gardener staring at me, his eyes wide as if looking at a madman.
Ah, this is called a greeting.

Author's Note
All illustrations are uploaded on 'Muhwa Kkotran's' SNS.