Where am I?
It’s so dark I can’t see anything in front of me. I can’t even tell whether I’m standing or sitting. Gordius calmly tried to recollect his past. Why am I in this darkness?
“...”
His memory wasn’t damaged. He could remember everything clearly.
He had accepted the offer from the crazy professor.
Yes, the professor had dangled the alluring bait of ‘another world’ . At first, Gordius had been skeptical, but... the sketches of mechanical devices—things he had never seen before—drawn by the professor shocked him deeply.
They weren’t of this world. He could tell that much instinctively. The harmony between bolts, nuts, and intricate parts to create such engineering marvels!
And so... he willingly said he would travel to ‘another world’ .
His eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness. His pupils, now adapted to the dim light, absorbed whatever faint glimmers they could and sent those images to his brain. With his heightened senses back online, he began to notice more around him.
The sound of trickling water.
It was nearby, just beside him. Something was flowing along a narrow passageway lower than where he stood.
And it stank. The smell of damp grime and the filth left behind by humans.
The faint outline of objects slowly began to appear before his eyes. The passage was long and narrow, extending far in both directions. Gordius finally realized he was standing in a sewer.
There was a way up.
A ladder, shaped like an inverted U, was embedded in the wall. When he gripped it with his gloved hand and pulled, it didn’t creak or wobble. It seemed sturdy enough to bear his weight.
Clank. Clang.
He climbed the ladder. Each time his shoes hit the rungs, the sound echoed through the entire passage. When he reached the top, he found a metal disc sealing the ceiling.
Pressing his palm against it, he pushed it upwards, and the disc budged slightly. It wasn’t sealed shut. Carefully, he pushed it aside and peeked outside—
Whoooosh—!!
Clang!
“...”
If Gordius hadn’t ducked just in time, his head would’ve been flattened.
Something incredibly fast had just sped past and trampled on the disc he had been pushing. Whatever it was, it was heavy, considering how easily it slammed the disc shut.
He shook off the pain from his wrist, which had been jolted back by the sudden force.
It had all happened so quickly, he couldn’t be sure what it was. He mentally retraced his steps.
The object had emitted an intensely bright light and seemed to have two... no, four wheels. There had been numbers and letters etched on what looked like metal near its front. It didn’t seem to be alive.
Pressing his ear against the ceiling, he listened closely. There was a rumbling sound approaching, causing the disc to rattle, then it would move away again. The intervals varied from one minute to five.
“ Echo of the Earth .”
Carefully, he cast a spell. It sent invisible waves through the ground, allowing him to detect any nearby threats—a scouting spell from the Golden Tower.
Once he confirmed it was safe, Gordius cautiously lifted the metal disc and poked his head out again.
And in that instant, he was overwhelmed.
“H-haha...”
Before him stretched a city illuminated by endless lights.
Though the night sky was blanketed in darkness, the city was wide awake.
Towering skyscrapers, so tall he couldn’t tell where their tops ended, glowed with vibrant colors, signaling their presence. Windows blinked on and off like a maestro conducting an orchestral performance.
Even the shorter buildings weren’t outshone. Their neon signs and unusual architectural designs radiated their charm. It felt as though all the stars in the sky had descended to the ground.
And most incredible of all, the steel carriages .
Vroom!
As he peered out from beneath the manhole cover, a car sped past him, nearly grazing the edge of the disc. That was what had slammed it shut earlier.
The loud rumbling of the steel carriage as it sped down the road left Gordius stunned. He could sense no magic from it. How was such a thing even possible?
This was a mighty city. The crazy professor had been right. If there was a way to build such tall structures without magic, creating giant golems was no longer a mere dream.
If he could just obtain this otherworldly knowledge!
Gordius emerged from the sewer and began walking on the ground. It wasn’t earth or stone. It was some black, polished material, smooth beneath his feet. Just walking on it was a new experience.
Only a master Golden Tower mage could produce something this refined.
Above, a strange flying object with red lights crossed the sky. To be visible from such a distance... just how massive was it?
“Haha! Hahahaha...”
His heart raced wildly.
Is this what it felt like to enter a dragon’s hoard from a fairy tale? His curiosity burned fiercely. He wanted to learn everything this civilization had to offer. His dream had never felt closer.
A memory flickered before him.
The distant image of a crude knight in shabby armor.
Young Gordius had looked up at that figure, thinking it was a towering golem. The memory was etched into his soul, clearer than anything, whether his eyes were open or closed.
That scene was inscribed in his very being.
His dream, born from that childhood memory, had persisted all this time.
He clenched his fist. This opportunity wasn’t a dream.
“Yes, this is no longer a dream. I’ll extract every piece of knowledge from this world! And in the end—”
He vowed to create a giant golem that anyone could look up to with awe.
A giant golem remained a distant dream.
“Hey, Mr. Ko! What’s a young man like you slacking off for? You should be carrying that cement faster!”
“Yes, foreman. I’m going...”
Gordius sighed deeply as he shouldered a sack of cement. It had been two weeks since he ended up working in construction as a foreign laborer. His back was breaking.
Without identification or status, there was no way for him to find proper work.
The meager pay he earned wasn’t enough to even secure proper lodging. On his first night, he had slept rough on the streets (though it wasn’t too bad, considering the lack of muggers and the mild temperature), and by the third night, he had discovered a PC café to sleep in.
As always, money was everything, no matter which world you were in.
With his current pitiful state, the giant golem project was out of reach. He had briefly considered using his status as a mage to extort some funds, but there were two major problems.
One, there was no magic in this world.
The mana density in the atmosphere was almost 0%, meaning he couldn’t draw in any energy from outside. He had to rely solely on the small amount of mana produced by his soul.
If he used magic carelessly, he might end up a powerless laborer, unable to cast anything. With his limited supply of mana, it was best to save it for emergencies.
Second, there were no mages in this world.
With no mana around, it was obvious. After researching the local customs through the internet, he discovered that magic was entirely treated as fantasy or fiction.
Using it in public would undoubtedly lead to unwanted attention. If he were to use magic, it would have to be done after gaining a deeper understanding of this world.
There’s a beauty to knowing when to lie low.
If only he had known that a little earlier.
Next on the news: Strange phenomena have been occurring in downtown Seoul.
Yes, we’ve received reports of building exteriors falling off and cars turning transparent. The police are investigating, considering the possibility of chemical attacks causing hallucinations.
Had he known that, such news wouldn’t have reached his ears.
That was why Gordius’ daily routine was as follows: construction work during the day and spending his nights holed up in a PC café, all while refraining from using magic.
“...Maybe I’ll try a different flavor of ramen tonight.”
The last one had been too spicy. Though he had forced himself to finish it to avoid wasting money, his tongue had burned, almost leading him to buy a drink, which would have been an additional expense.
After ordering a bowl of mild ramen, Gordius resumed his clicking frenzy, scouring the internet for more information—about guns, bombs, robots...
He had grasped the basics of modern science and was now reading academic papers and journals. The knowledge of this world was vast, but if he kept at it, he would eventually master it.
Slurp.
Recently, he had taken an interest in a paper titled Development and Application of High-Efficiency Robot Joint Mechanisms , authored by someone named Woo Chae-rin.
Just as a painter’s soul was reflected in their art, a researcher’s soul was embodied in their paper. Through her work, Gordius could sense Woo Chae-rin’s brilliance. It resonated with him, as if they were kindred spirits. He even started searching for all her published papers.
Every day was filled with joy and study. Even though the labor was exhausting, learning new things helped him forget the fatigue. He was content with this peaceful life.
If possible, he wanted to rent a small container to set up a workshop.
Once he synthesized the knowledge he had learned and started crafting inventions, he felt he could reach something unprecedented, something that no one else had ever imagined.
In fact, he was already seeing results. His understanding of basic science had reduced the cost of using magic—a part of the Golden Tower’s magical system he had struggled to comprehend.
By integrating this understanding and optimizing his magic, he believed that not only he but the entire Golden Tower could achieve a breakthrough.
If only he had a teacher to guide him, but considering he hadn’t even secured proper lodging yet, finding a mentor wasn’t feasible. For now, he had to make do with self-study.
He clenched his fist again, resolved to keep pushing forward.
As he raised his arm in a gesture of determination, his sleeve slid down, revealing a mysterious, watch-like mark on his wrist.
The crazy professor had engraved it on him. He had called it his ‘last resort.’
“That world is destined for disaster. This mark is for when you’re cornered and facing death. When your life is at stake... channel your mana into the mark.”
A disaster.
How could a world this peaceful face a disaster?
Gordius didn’t dismiss the professor’s warning. He had been conserving his mana partly to prepare for whatever ‘disaster’ the professor had hinted at.
But two weeks had already passed, and there had been no sign of this ‘disaster.’ The modern world continued in its peaceful flow. Sure, wars were happening in various parts of the globe, but those didn’t quite qualify as disasters.
As Gordius stared at the monitor, deep in thought, the PC café worker cautiously approached him. She grimaced at the sight of the empty ramen bowls piling up around him but gathered her courage to speak.
“Excuse me, sir. I’m sorry, but... could you please leave?”
“I’ve paid for my time. Isn’t this a legitimate use?”
“The other customers are... complaining about the smell...”
Gordius sniffed his sleeve and concluded it was clean and fresh. For a mage, a two-week focus period wasn’t too bad. He’d gone much longer during intense study sessions.
“I don’t think it’s an issue. Perhaps you’re being oversensitive. If you’re infringing on my legitimate rights like this—”
“I-I’ll call the police...!”
“I’ll leave. But you’ll need to refund the remaining six hours I’ve already paid for.”
Now this is a disaster.
Without ID or a passport, the local authorities were a real threat. Wasn’t that how Michael from the construction site had been arrested?
Gordius accepted his refund and trudged out of the PC café. Stepping outside, the faint stars twinkled in the moonlit sky, looking rather forlorn.
“...Looks like I’m stuck sleeping outside tonight.”
That’s fine. As long as I can continue studying.
There was a place called a public bathhouse, wasn’t there? The people of this world seemed to have a strange obsession with cleanliness, so perhaps it was time for an early bath. If he could find a place to sleep, even better.
Hands in his pockets, Gordius walked along the street, deep in thought.
The city still fascinated him. How much effort had it taken to build all of this? The more he learned, the more he was amazed. And the more he desired to learn.
Perhaps another two or three weeks...
That would be enough time to lay the groundwork. He had a plan. By then, his knowledge would be fully on track, and he would have his own workshop.
Once he had a prototype, he would approach a large corporation for investment. With the wealth he gained from that, he could solidify his finances and finally launch his giant golem project.
As he daydreamed about a hopeful future, Gordius heard a deep rumble.
Thud.
Something resonated in his soul, warning him. Instinctively, he drew on his mana, readying himself for danger. The mask of the curious scientist fell away, replaced by the wariness of a Golden Tower mage.
Crack, crackle!
It was a sound unlike anything he had ever heard. Just hearing it filled him with unease. Rats, cats, pigeons, and sparrows, all the city’s creatures, fled in terror from the source of the noise.
People walking the streets at night turned their heads, as if bewitched, to a single point in the sky.
“... Rock Flight .”
Boom!
Gordius lifted a block of earth about one cubic meter in size, using it as an elevator to ascend to a nearby rooftop. The sight of a mage performing modern magic caused a stir below, with camera shutters and recording sounds buzzing around him, but he ignored them.
Upon reaching the rooftop...
From his elevated position, Gordius could clearly see it—a crack in the air, growing wider with each reverberation.
Each time the crack expanded, it exuded a dense, dark mana, as though trying to consume the entire world.
Rumble... rumble...
Looking back now...
That was the sound of modern civilization crumbling.
Something...
Something enormous was forcing its way through the crack.
Was that... an arm?
A sharp, clawed appendage, reminiscent of a beast’s talons, reached out and grabbed the middle of a building beside the crack. As if annoyed by the structure’s presence, the arm began to exert pressure.
Crrrunch—!
The building was crushed in an instant. Its concrete walls crumbled like soft dirt, and its internal steel beams bent as if they were made of paper. And just like that, the skyscraper’s middle was severed, sending it toppling down.
Rumble...
The screams of people were drowned out by the sound of the collapsing structure.
The creature’s other arm joined in, making more space for itself. Then, its long, snail-like head emerged from the crack. It was pale, so pale that even under the moonlight, its form was clearly visible.
It moved as if clearing everything in its path. Its tail lashed out. The sound of destruction echoed repeatedly.
In mere minutes, the cityscape of Seoul, which had taken decades to build, was reduced to rubble.
The debris of buildings rained down. People were crushed. One building toppled onto another, and in no time, the city was a wasteland. People died.
Amidst the symphony of destruction, the Great Beast fully revealed its massive form.
Its body, amorphous and undulating, seemed to waver between solid and liquid. Dark patterns etched across its surface gnawed at the minds of those who beheld it.
It had no eyes, ears, or mouth. There were no organs for communication on the surface of the great beast. And yet, those who saw it felt an overwhelming, unmistakable sense of malice.
This was a monster born to destroy human civilization.
Gordius glanced down at the ruined PC café, crushed beneath the beast’s tail, and spat a curse.
“...Damn it.”
At last, Gordius understood the meaning of the disaster .