The Modern Life of an Absolute Being

 

The Modern Life of an Absolute Being

Translator: Isabelle Emerson

 

 

 

Prologue

 

 

Chug Chug.

The sound of the train moving outside made the man look out the window.

The downtown scenery caught his eye.

The man let out a long sigh and scratched his head.

December.

It was a relaxing Monday afternoon in winter, the time for Jack Frost to flourish.

Shim Daeyoung, a level 5 official at the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Office of Disaster Management.

For Daeyoung, the usual view wasn’t particularly good or bad.

The sky was gloomy and full of dark clouds.

‘Cheolwon…’

Today’s business trip wasn’t a pleasant one.

It was near Cheolwon, which was classified as a combat area.

It wasn’t too long ago that he had become an official in the Office of Disaster Management.

The level 5 open recruitment test was known to be difficult, so he had gone in fully prepared.

A writing test was still a test, but it was difficult if you were unable to prove your abilities as an Awakened.

In one of Seoul’s large guilds, he has been able to sweep dungeons and wipe out monsters, and his nationally recognized grade was B. That meant that he was sent on elite courses.

Everyone who belonged to a guild enjoyed a higher standard of living. The dangerous life of an Awakened allowed them to earn an income equal to the value of their life.

However, Daeyoung hated those things.

Safety.

A fixed income.

For that, there was nothing better than being an official.

Chug chug.

The train began to pick up speed.

The landscape passed by quickly.

When monsters invaded, the Awakened appeared. Half a century had already passed since such an obvious occurrence.

The event from 49 years ago that was always mentioned in history books was known as ‘Daybreak’.

A gap between two dimensions had opened and monsters invaded the Earth.

Humans awakened their own abilities in order to fight back.

The damage was so severe that it was also known as World War III, and civilization had collapsed and rebuilt itself.

And now.

Humanity had survived and created a new civilization.

“……”

The city center was rebuilt, and technology was redeveloped. No, a new world with advanced magical technology had been opened.

Daeyoung felt the train’s speed growing faster and faster.

Magic stones were also called the hearts of monsters.

The speed created by the mysterious magic in this stone was terrifying.

Chwak.

At some point, the train began to slow down as it slid along the rails.

The scenery outside also slowed down enough where he could capture it in his view again.

Now he could see an idle rural landscape, the opposite of the previous extravagant city center.

As they entered Cheolwon, snow began to fall from the dark clouds. The snowflakes were so large that he could see each and every one vividly.

One thing that was different in the winter rural areas, which were full of empty fields covered in ice and snow, were the combat stations everywhere.

[This stop is Cheolwon. Cheolwon.]

He stood up after listening to the announcement.

Here, he would meet a man.

 

***

 

Dungeons opened on all sides, pouring monsters out everywhere.

It was said to have been a great war.

It mostly remained only in history books now, but there were still some elderly people around who remembered that time.

A war that washed blood away with blood. It was hell where one couldn’t sleep comfortably even one night. It was a time when many, many people died.

Where there was war, there were war heroes.

The person Daeyoung was going to meet now was a war hero from the past.

He was one of the five remaining war heroes from textbooks. However, Daeyoung tended to think that their achievements were quite exaggerated.

“Ah, you’re here. I heard you’re a new officer.”

The border of Cheolwon.

Right at the border guarded by military units, there was an entrance door. The Awakened man guarding the entrance greeted Daeyoung.

“Hello.”

Daeyoung smiled and handed over his civil service card.

The man bowed his head after checking his ID.

“It’s nice to meet you, Officer Shim Daeyoung. Behind this door is a conflict zone. There are still monsters left that haven’t been wiped out. Do you need a bodyguard?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“Okay. Head on in.”

Daeyoung stood in front of the steel doors.

Beyond these doors, it was a monster zone.

Screech.

The doors opened, and he entered, passing through the boundary.

The outside was a place beyond the reach of civilization. Thick bushes and trees covered the ground.

He took a step.

Pieces of broken asphalt littered the ground, which must have been a road before.

Snow was falling in the combat area as well. It came down heavily and quickly, causing white snow to pile up on the ground.

It was silent.

It was a quiet wilderness where not a single bug or bird could be heard.

He pulled out his cell phone.

Opening the maps app, he checked the marked location.

‘He said it was around here.’

He was on foot, but it was a location he could reach in decent time.

In the past, one would have needed to use a car, but Daeyoung didn’t need such things.

Pat.

He started running.

Magic permeated his body and began emanating from it.

Pat pat pat pat!

The scenery flashed by like the wind.

How many times had he ran or walked through the forest?

The forest seemed to stretch on forever.

“……!”

Suddenly, a large house appeared in front of him. The log cabin looked a bit rough but also quite sturdy.

He looked at the map on his phone and it was indeed the right area.

Daeyoung looked from side to side.

“Oh?”

He flinched.

A monster appeared next to him, tilting its head.

‘Moss Duck?’

The monster was twice his height. He could tell at a glance that its large, swollen body was at least 12 feet long.

It looks similar to an ostrich, but with a duck’s beak. It had long, muscular legs that it used to run with determination at speeds of up to 50 miles per hour.

Was that it?

It’s two bright and clear eyes looked friendly to anyone who didn’t know any better.

‘Is it an A Class species?’

It was one of the monsters that appeared to wreak havoc on the city and had been classified as an A Class species.

Usually, citizens were urged to evacuate at the appearance of a B Class monster, so an A Class monster was nothing less than an emergency.

“……”

This kind of emergency was happening to Daeyoung.

He stepped back in a hurry.

Caw!

The monster took a step forward.

That meant…

Caw!

Caw!

Soon, the duck’s cries could be heard ringing through the forest. Then, more Moss Ducks began to stick their heads out from the bushes.

One, two, three, four… before he knew it, dozens of Moss Ducks had gathered. Was this what Gulliver had felt like in giant land?

‘Do I have to fight them?’

A cold sweat ran down Daeyoung’s spine.

One wrong move could set off a Moss Duck. Those who went into a fury crushed anything in their path whether it be buildings or people.

Daeyoung slowly stepped further and further away.

Caaaaw!

A roar came from the sky.

“W-What’s that?”

He quickly lifted his head, finding a huge bird flapping its wings in the sky.

“Th-thunderbird?”

Thunderbird was an A-Class species. It was an eagle-like monster with a wingspan of over 25 feet.

‘Why are there so many A-Class monsters?’

Then.

Whoosh.

Another Thunderbird appeared. The vast sky was filled by the two grotesque birds.

Suddenly, one of the birds in the sky lowered its head and looked at Daeyoung.

“Huh?”

Then, it began to descend at an alarming rate. Daeyoung knew all too well that this was the movement of a bird catching its prey.

--It’s probably going to scare you first.

The playful voice of a former officer flashed through his mind.

“C-crazy… it’s not trying to scare me.”

Now it was clear.

He had to run away. He ran to the log cabin in front of him and hid himself.

Then. Daeyoung hurriedly ran away.

A weak fence was built around the log cabin, and he easily crossed it as he ran. 

Meanwhile, the Thunderbirds in the sky had already reached a close distance.

Caaaaaw!

There was a loud roar followed by a fierce wind.

‘This lead wasn’t a road to a breakthrough, but a road to the afterlife?’

Just when he thought the situation was too ridiculous, something jumped off the Thunderbird’s back and landed in front of him.

“What are you?”

To his surprise, the figure spoke.

“Huh……”

Daeyoung turned towards the voice in surprise.

A human.

An ordinary person was riding that monster.

“Wh-who are you?”

“I asked you first.”

He looked up and down Daeyoung slowly, eyeing the identification card around his neck.

“An officer. A new officer?”

His voice wasn’t too high or low. It was a nice medium, and he looked to be around his mid-twenties.

His unruffled, thick hair was the first thing to catch his eye. His clothes were also casual.

Shorts and a short-sleeved shirt.

The clothes were entirely unsuitable for mid-winter.

As Daeyoung gave a small nod with a frozen face, the man waved the Thunderbird away.

“You guys go, too.”

All the Moss Ducks came before him in a line and bowed their heads.

Then, they scattered into the forest.

Daeyoung relaxed as all the tension left his body. He had broken into a cold sweat all over his body, and his teeth were chattering.

Relief at surviving flowed through his whole body. Finally, Daeyoung was able to open his mouth to speak.

“A…Are you Choi Kangho?”

“Yes,” the man nodded.

He glanced at Daeyoung and held out his hand.

“You didn’t have to come. You did well, have a cup of tea before you go.”

“O-okay.”

Choi Kangho.

One of the ‘Five Heroes’ from history books.

He had only heard about them in stories, it was his first time seeing one up close. So, he was really surprised.

This guy was born on October 5, 1989.

That was 80 years ago.

He should have been an old man.

“Y-you’re really Choi Kangho?”

“Yes.”

No matter how Daeyoung looked at him, he looked like a young guy in his 20’s.  

--Don’t question it. It’s something neither of us can understand.

He recalled the words of the old officer again.

Daeyoung followed the man, Choi Kangho, slowly. Near the log cabin, he could see what looked like a chicken coop and a garden.

Suddenly.

He squinted as he looked inside the chicken coop.

“……”

When he saw Thunderbird chicks resting inside, he decided he wouldn’t be surprised by anything else.

“S… sir. That?”

“Can’t you see it? Thunderbird chicks.”

“……”

“Aren’t they tiny?”

“Y…yeah.”

They were tiny.

They would grow up to be monsters but were so tiny when they were babies. They were about the size of a watermelon. Yet they would grow up to be the monster he saw before.

“They’re so cute when they’re young.”

He was raising the chicks of an A-Class species in a chicken coop.

Suddenly, Daeyoung remembered Choi Kangho’s codename that he had read about in textbooks.

‘Demon King!’

He possessed the skill ‘Beast Master’!

No matter how powerful a monster was, they bowed befor the Demon King.

‘It’s said he stopped the army of monsters headed north to Incheon all by himself……’

It seemed that hadn’t been a lie. He had thought it was a common exaggeration. However, at this point, he had to admit it.