3 – Episode 3 Death
＜Episode 3 Death＞
The first life.
Over twenty years of existence on Earth.
Half of life is memories of studying.
I attended academies since elementary school.
But, it turns out I started late.
Elementary, middle, high school.
I studied as my mother instructed.
After school and academies, when I came home, it was night.
I entered a top-tier university in Seoul.
My mother was disappointed.
Still, I was content.
Because my life as a test-taker on a hamster wheel had come to an end.
Was college life any better?
Not really.
I started studying English in my freshman year of college.
They said that if I mastered English, it would be easier to prepare for other things.
After finishing my freshman year, I went to the military.
It was tough. Just tough memories.
I was discharged and graduated from college.
Did you know there is a basement beneath the ground?
I thought so.
After somehow finishing college, I became a job seeker.
I had to compete with top-tier students.
I failed multiple times.
Every time I tried to lower my gaze, my mother opposed it.
For several years, I wasted my time and eventually got a job at a small company.
That was the first time.
Fighting with my mother.
“How did I raise you!! To work at a small company!!”
“Mother, I did my best too!”
“It was a lack of effort! Effort!! If I had worked harder, it wouldn’t have turned out like this!!”
I left home.
I got a job at a small and medium-sized enterprise.
They divided the salary by 1/13.
The last part is called severance pay.
The monthly salary, which I thought was small, became even smaller.
After paying rent, eating, and buying a few clothes, there was no money left.
Literally, only the minimum amount of money to cover daily necessities was given.
Only now do I understand why my mother insisted on me going to a large company.
Safety management at the company I worked for was lax.
I was constantly passing off work to subordinates.
My body was exhausted, and the work was dangerous.
That’s how my first life ended.
The second life.
I reincarnated as the eldest son of a frontier novelist, Elwin.
When Elwin was 10 years old, he had a major accident.
That’s when I entered his body.
Looking back now, it seems like that incident was orchestrated by Brilda as well.
Just like how she used the Black Oak to kill me.
Anyway, I lived this life diligently.
Mother had emphasized it, toiled fiercely.
For two years, in self-training,
engaging with Alensia, even in the Vampire Marquisate,
I did my best.
But how did my life turn out?
Was ‘working hard’ not the answer?
In areas where I was at a disadvantage,
in fields where I was not proficient, I just worked hard.
I heard comments that I didn’t fit in with the nobility,
and that I lacked the charisma of a noble.
They even said I couldn’t deceive or handle people.
…
And they went as far as calling me passive.
What would an non-passive life be like?
If I had lived proactively, would my life have been different?
Elementary, middle, and high school.
The hell of schoolwork and academies.
When everyone was striving for prestigious universities,
should I have said NO?
Or would my life have been different if I had gone to a university in a field other than economics?
If I had enrolled in the department I liked, would things have been different?
When my mother told me to keep up with my grades, should I have said NO?
The conscription system in Korea.
When forcibly dragged to the military, should I have said NO?
Should I have undergone a health examination and made efforts to exempt myself from the military?
Or should I have gone to a language school to learn English or worked at an industrial site to earn some money?
Wouldn’t I have saved a year and a half if I had done that?
It’s the same in this world too.
When everyone wanted me to conform to the noble image,
Should I have said NO and pursued what I was good at?
When Alensia suggested breaking up,
Shouldn’t I have said NO?
When Brelida told me to fight the Black Orc,
If I had said NO, wouldn’t I have survived?
Alensia was right.
I am a passive person.
In elementary, middle, and high school, I lived as my mother told me.
I went to school and attended academies.
In college, I followed what the seniors were doing.
Even in the military, I just went along like everyone else.
Even in this otherworld, it was the same.
Instead of determining a crucial direction,
I focused only on running forward.
Not even knowing where it led.
If a third chance is given.
I will not only determine the effort but also the direction.
Not someone else’s path, but my own.
Live that way.
***
“May I place Lady Soyoung’s body here?”
“Madam had her cremated with other bodies.”
“But she’s Lady Soyoung…”
“Some people like it. Treating Lady Soyoung and Yeongjimin equally.”
They gathered the bodies in one place and cleaned the surroundings.
Soon, a memorial service for the deceased would begin.
After finishing the cleaning, I stood among the people.
A moment later, Brilda Frontier climbed onto the platform.
“Black Oak is heading this way. I sent my beloved son Elwin, a knight, and soldiers to stop them.”
Brilda’s eyes reddened.
Tears flowed for her son’s death.
“In that process, Lady Soyoung and twenty-seven soldiers lost their lives. Let us all pray for them.”
I closed my eyes.
The rumor of the intense battle with Black Oak had spread.
Lady Soyoung had fallen in that battle.
May the gods bless them.
I prayed earnestly.
“Huh…?”
“What… what’s happening!?”
Making noise during prayer time.
And for Lady Soyoung and the soldiers, no less.
“Huh…”
“How…”
The murmurs grew louder.
Nevertheless, I kept my eyes tightly shut and prayed.
May Lady Soyoung and the soldiers find rest in the arms of the divine.
May they spend peaceful times there.
“It’s Lady Soyoung!!”
“It’s Lady Soyoung!!!”
“Wow!!!!”
I could no longer keep my eyes closed.
Lady Soyoung has returned.
What nonsense is this?
I opened my eyes.
“Huh…”
The same sound as everyone else came out of my mouth.
“How…”
The place where the bodies were gathered.
From there, one person walked out.
Lady Soyoung appeared,
and everyone fell silent at the gruesome sight.
Black hair.
Torn armor.
And the entire body covered in deep red blood.
I glanced at Lady Blylda’s expression.
Lady Blylda wears a grim expression.
Why isn’t she rejoicing?
This pondering was interrupted by a scream.
Someone’s shout broke the silence.
“Lady Soyoung has been resurrected!”
“Wow!!! Oh, divine being!!! Thank you!!!”
“Oh, God!!! Thank you for your blessing!!”
“Wow!!!”
A miracle happened today.
The prayer meeting turned into a celebration in an instant.
***
After the noisy celebration ended,
I sat alone in my room.
“Was death the completion condition for the tutorial?”
There was a reason why I couldn’t break it.
It was an unimaginable condition.
No, even if I had anticipated it, there was no way I could have tried.
[Mission]
Tutorial (Completed)
After confirming completion,
The letters that tormented me for 6 years disappeared.
[System]
Tutorial has been completed.
1 skill point is granted.
I waited for 3 seconds.
Then, I waited for another 10 seconds.
“Hmm… is this the end?”
No further explanations followed.
I pondered with only the given information.
Of course, that information was only skill points.
“For now, I should learn a skill.”
The moment I pressed the skill points,
Countless words filled my vision.
Fireball.
Protection.
Recovery.
Assault.
Impact.
…
Digging.
Trading.
Sword crafting.
Clothing crafting.
…
There were too many to read them all.
“Should I learn one of these?”
The first thing that caught my eye was a magic called Earthquake.
I had seen my father use it before.
With that magic, he had annihilated a monster brigade.
The image of that moment was etched in my mind and couldn’t be forgotten.
“If I learn that…”
I pressed Earthquake.
However, I couldn’t learn it.
To learn Earthquake, I had to acquire several lower-level earth magic skills.
“Too bad. Then…”
At that moment,
A new notification popped up.
[System]
From Noble mtl dot com
Analyzing the situation and presenting a suitable mission.
[Mission]
Farming on Monster Island (in progress)
HINT) Earth Restoration Skill
This time, even friendly advice was written.
If that’s the case, they should have explained the tutorial in more detail.
“No, more importantly, if I had learned the skill first, it could have been a disaster!”
I opened the skill list once again.
I chose the Earth Healing skill.
[System]
Upon acquiring the Earth Healing skill, the Farmer profession is automatically selected.
Upon reaching a certain level, you can acquire additional professions.
However, if you choose a life-related profession, you cannot learn a combat-related one.
“Wow… why are they being so generous this time?”
Looking at it differently, it meant that it was that important.
Among them, the third line caught my attention.
According to the system explanation,
It is broadly divided into life-related and combat-related categories.
Various professions fall under them.
For example, a farmer belongs to the life category.
While a swordsman or a magician belongs to the combat category.
“But why go for a life-related one?”
What is the essence of fantasy?
A sword in one hand and magic in the other.
Isn’t that what they call a spell-sword?
But here I am, a farmer?
And once I choose that, I can’t even get a combat-related profession?
My attention was drawn to the magic category.
That’s earth magic, too.
A frontier noblewoman with no magical talent.
How many people must have been disappointed?
“But still… I should learn Earth Restoration, right?”
The only way to acquire skill points is through missions.
I have to learn skills that will help me complete the mission.
I pressed the Earth Restoration skill.
[System]
Do you want to acquire the Earth Restoration skill?
The moment I pressed “Yes,”
[System]
You have chosen the Life category.
You have chosen the occupation of a farmer.
You have acquired the Earth Restoration skill.
Earth Restoration (Lv 1)
Purify polluted land.
Now I understand why the system wanted me to learn this skill.
The mission is to farm on Monster Island.
But there is one thing that needs to be solved.
That is the magic of Monster Island.
Perhaps with this skill, it seems possible to eliminate magic.
“Farm…”
