〈Chapter 1095〉 1095. Dark Moon
“What are you doing? Focus! A mana reflux is serious business. If you don’t clean it up properly, you’ll leave aftereffects on your mana circuitry.”
An assumed doctor snapped irritably.
I pushed aside my confused thoughts. There was no flaw in his words. This was lore even from the game world.
‘Mana reflux needs prompt treatment or you’ll suffer later. My lost memories can wait; my body can’t.’
The mana breathing technique I learned years ago came to mind.
‘That method won’t work. It would cause me to lose more than seven-tenths of my internal mana.’
This was a rare stroke of luck. It’d be foolish to give up such fortune when it might never come again.
Then, a sudden flash of insight hit me. Like scattered pieces falling into place, knowledge about the mana breathing technique surfaced.
‘If I modify the technique slightly, I could reduce the loss rate to three-tenths…’
The Raytal Breathing Method is already perfected. Even though it’s only a second-tier technique, tampering with it recklessly could lead to irreversible consequences. Ridiculously, one mistake and I could die the moment I entered this game world.
‘…But it’s hard to ignore the insights surfacing in my mind. How can I overlook answers being handed to me?’
As I deliberated, my confidence in the knowledge grew stronger. I decided to accept it.
I opened my Astral spirit, known as the Mage’s Spirit. My internal mana circuits became vividly clear. Mana flowed through them like a train racing along its tracks. Connected to the Astral, there were three mana circuits in total — average for a first-tier mage.
‘Not enough. Three circuits can’t handle this much mana.’
After pondering, I attempted to expand my Astral. Though prepared to stop if anything went wrong, I instinctively sensed the limits of my Astral.
‘It’s impossible to upgrade to second-tier right now.’
My Astral was currently empty. In game terms, it meant zero experience points. Whether it’s magical formulas or combat experience, something is needed to fill the Astral. Of course, my physical body isn’t ready either.
Two additional mana circuits extended from the Astral. All five circuits followed my will perfectly. The overflowing mana within began to organize and circulate. As I monitored the circulation route, which I had slightly altered from the original, I planned to take immediate action if any issues arose. However, none occurred. The five mana circuits remained stable.
I opened my eyes.
The doctor stared at me with an indifferent gaze.
“Your mana has stabilized. You seem fine, so go ahead and leave.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
I gave a perfunctory bow, knowing instinctively that antagonizing him would serve no purpose.
The doctor waved his hand dismissively. I got off the bed, put on my shoes, and exited the infirmary.
Outside the door was a corridor.
Gray concrete walls and floors stretched endlessly. Memories returned. I turned right and started walking while organizing my thoughts.
‘I am Sung Yoojin. An F-class Hunter from South Korea. Age: 21. My girlfriend…’
None of my hunter abilities remain. I’m just a special case who woke up with enhanced physical prowess but no actual powers.”
I frowned as I sifted through my scattered memories. The names of my university and high school came back to me, but not a single memory of what happened there. I couldn’t even recall my parents’ faces. My memory felt like a fishing net riddled with holes.
On the flip side, the memories of Subject 211 and the Dark Moon Game were crystal clear.
“I was born to slave parents and naturally became one myself. After my parents died, I was sold to the Freesell Kingdom. Until I was ten, I had everything provided – food, clothes, shelter. The catch? It was all part of their Battle Mage Project.”
The Battle Mage Project.
Freesell Kingdom’s covert plan to gather children with Grade 1 mana affinity and train them into battle mages.
Training is a loose term – it’s more like an experiment. You need at least Grade 3 mana affinity talent to become a battle mage, after all.
The project’s true nature is an experiment to forcibly upgrade Grade 1 mana affinity to Grade 3.
“And this experiment has already succeeded. The problem is the 5% success rate.”
Freesell Kingdom continues the project regardless, finding the results satisfactory. Turning 5 out of 100 Grade 1 talented kids into battle mages is profitable enough.
“Subject 211. That name they gave me… please. My real name is Yoojin.”
My memory organization was nearly complete. There weren’t any remarkable memories from Subject 211’s life.
“My true self is Sung Yoojin. Subject 211’s memories feel more like reading someone else’s story.”
I spotted a glass window in the corridor. Beyond the iron bars, my reflection showed a black-haired, black-eyed face that looked slightly young but undeniably mine.
Turning away from the window, I headed toward the dormitory in my memories.
Dormitory 11.
Opening the heavy door revealed a place resembling old Korean military barracks. Not surprising, since the Battle Mage Project was run by the Freesell Kingdom Army.
Inside, 17 kids around my age were present – 18 including me. 8 girls, 10 boys. This world’s human rights are a mess, yet surprisingly gender-equal.
“Everyone’s here.”
Two subjects died two months ago in a 1-on-1 fight against goblins.
The kids were busy with their own activities – chatting with friends, sleeping, reading.
“Hey 211. Heard you passed out during mana breathing practice due to mana reflux. Are you okay?”
A skinny boy smiled as he approached me. 205, our dorm leader and squad captain. Responsible as a captain should be. In my memories, he was well-meaning despite being overly nosy.
“Eh, I’m fine.”
“You wouldn’t have been fine. You’d have been disposed of by now.”
A mocking voice cut in.
Leaning against the supply cabinet was a muscular boy. 202, with a lazy left eye. Unlike 205, his personality was far from pleasant.
“Well, you probably would’ve been disposed of from mana reflux. You can’t handle mana properly, can you?”
“…You wanna test that?”
“Go ahead.”
I sneered at 202. He couldn’t do anything anyway. Starting trouble here would only lead to annoying torture.
Knowing this, 205 didn’t bother stopping us.
“Tch. We’ll see about that later.”
202 clicked his tongue, lay down on the floor, and closed his eyes.
With a casual shrug, I returned to my bed, which I liked because it was next to the wall.
“What happened?”
The girl sitting beside me spoke. A brown-haired woman with a bob cut. 212. An ordinary girl. Instinctively, I scanned her body before meeting her gaze.
“What do you mean?”
“The mana reflux thing. Didn’t 177 die from internal bleeding caused by mana reflux?”
That’s right. About three weeks ago, she couldn’t handle the injected mana serum…
Na was a guy who died from mana reflux.
“177 and I are different cases. I merely experienced mana reflux while cultivating the mana breathing technique.”
“The fact that mana reversed is still the same, though.”
“Our situations differ. As you know, I’m lackluster. I’ve barely been a 1st Class Mage for any length of time. The amount of mana that reversed wasn’t much. You could say I was lucky.”
I really had been lucky.
The mana that surged through my body during the reflux was within a level I could handle, and the doctor didn’t do anything. That quack of a doctor might’ve made things worse if he’d tampered with me.
“Was it all just luck? Was there no… special secret technique or something?”
212’s eyes sparkled. This must’ve been their true purpose. I let out a hollow laugh.
“As a slave, there’s no way I’d have something like that.”
“But didn’t 31 obtain the Vision Magic?”
“…That’s just him being special. There are rumors he’s of noble birth.”
31.
There are whispers that he’s the illegitimate child of a noble. Even the Battle Project managers treat 31 with difficulty. He receives preferential treatment in various ways.
“Really, it was just good fortune? Thank goodness you’re alright. Congratulations.”
212 said with a smile. Though her lips were smiling, her twitching eyelids betrayed her. Her voice was quite insincere.
‘I wouldn’t have acted like that.’
Deciding to ignore her, I focused on the jumble in my head. It was necessary to organize information about the game Dark Moon.
When ten minutes had passed, a deep male voice came from the speaker mounted on the ceiling.
“We’ll begin the evening roll call in five minutes.”
Awakening from my thoughts, I gave a wry smile. I was a slave, a soldier, and an experimental subject. Those three similar words adorned me, making me feel unnecessarily sad.
After the familiar evening roll call ended, I lay down on the bed. With my eyes closed, sleep wouldn’t come. As the surroundings grew quiet, I realized the reality of my current situation.
‘…What should I do from here? Will opening my eyes return me to reality?’
That was unlikely.
I had confirmed countless times that this place wasn’t a dream.
Though I don’t know why I entered the game world, I must live in this world. Despite how messed up this world is, it’s not impossible to survive.
‘Nothing else matters right now, but the information about Dark Moon is vividly clear in my memory. I understand there are no players in this world.’
In Dark Moon, players can choose their starting point. Since there’s no player here, either they don’t exist at all, or they’re somewhere else. I believe the former because there’s a chance I’m the player.
‘Players in Dark Moon can freely develop by leveling stats and skill trees. So… what if…’
I muttered to myself in my heart.
‘Status Window.’
Nothing happened.
“…Status Window.”
Perhaps I needed to say it out loud. I mumbled very softly.
Still, nothing happened.
Swallowing the sigh that threatened to escape, I discarded useless thoughts and began contemplating what to do next.
‘I have zero intention of committing to the army. If the opportunity arises later, I’ll escape. I yearn for freedom. I don’t want to be a slave forever.’
I touched my right forearm.
A strange mark composed of seven triangles was imprinted there.
It was the upper-level slave seal of the Freesel Kingdom.
Through this seal, slaves can be easily killed, and runaway slaves can be tracked.
‘The thought that my life is in someone else’s hands… It’s terrifying.’
To escape this place, I need to remove this seal first.
Several methods popped into my mind. In less than three minutes, five ideas came to me.
‘Was my memory always this sharp?’
Even now, a sixth method surfaced. Determining the success rate can wait. For now, I’ll brainstorm methods and eliminate the ones with low chances of success while planning.
I fell asleep past midnight.
