ASIN 01

Chapter 1

At first, she thought it was nothing more than someone’s cruel prank.

The girl looked nothing like her older brother, who had disappeared on the day everything changed ten years ago. Her appearance was different, and so was the way she behaved.

But after going through a long series of troublesome verification procedures, Baek Seo-ha had no choice but to accept the truth.

This pitiful silver-haired girl…

Really was her older brother, Baek Eun-ha.

At the same time, the doctor in charge of the examinations delivered a shocking diagnosis.

“It appears… she subconsciously sealed away her own memories in order to protect her mind from circumstances she couldn’t endure.”

“…”

“She displays severe social anxiety, and most of her testimony is contradictory. Mentally, she’s in an extremely unstable condition.”

“…So that’s what happened.”

It wasn’t difficult to imagine what her brother had gone through over the past ten years.

After all, similar cases had been reported all around the world.

Returnees.

Ten years ago, on the Day of Upheaval, countless people had been transported to other worlds by an unknown force before inexplicably returning to Earth.

According to every testimony gathered, the worlds they had been sent to were all completely different.

Each person had lived through different experiences.

Yet there was one memory they all shared.

None of them knew why they had been sent to those worlds…

Or how they had returned to Earth.

Those who came back generally fell into one of two categories.

Some adapted to their otherworldly lives and returned possessing overwhelming power.

Others somehow survived, but endured such horrific suffering that their minds had been irreparably scarred.

Her brother belonged to the latter.

“I’ll… regain… my power… ngh…”

Even now he muttered nonsense about recovering his strength.

But seeing him cower behind her in terror of nothing more than an elderly doctor made it painfully easy to imagine the horrors he had experienced.

Brother…

And so, Baek Seo-ha made up her mind.

She couldn’t change what had already happened.

But from now on…

She would protect this poor, fragile creature.

* * *

The Terror of Amsterdam.

Commander of the Undying Legion.

The Living Death.

Among dozens of other titles, those were the names by which the Lord of the Underworld had once been known.

Yet after returning to Earth, the very first thing he felt…

Was overwhelming weakness.

My power… it’s gone.

To be honest, he’d already suspected there was a possibility this could happen.

Still, actually experiencing it was another matter entirely.

Damn it… It disappeared so completely? Without leaving even a trace?

His strength had never been something as simple as accumulating mana or mastering internal energy.

It was power born from a far higher realm.

For it to vanish so thoroughly…

The most likely explanation was that the fundamental laws governing this dimension itself had rejected it.

Well… Earth doesn’t have monsters or gods.

From the perspective of maintaining the world’s balance…

Perhaps it wasn’t all that strange.

Organizing those thoughts took exactly one second.

Once Baek Eun-ha finished processing the situation, he was greeted by something he hadn’t seen in a very long time—

People with black hair and black eyes.

Every one of them stared at him with fascinated expressions.

Every one of them held a smartphone.

So that’s the situation.

Understanding that wasn’t difficult.

What happened next, however…

Even the Lord of Death couldn’t have anticipated.

Click!

Flinch!

W-What…?

Something was wrong.

The instant the camera flash hit him…

It felt as though something heavy dropped deep inside his chest.

Then he realized…

It wasn’t just the cameras.

The moment he properly recognized the countless strangers surrounding him…

An overwhelming wave of fear and panic crashed over him without warning.

Accompanied by a pathetic little squeak utterly unbefitting a legendary conqueror.

“Eek!”

Click!

Click!

“He just appeared out of nowhere!”

“What is this? Filming? Is she a Hunter?”

“She’s so cute!”

Cute?

Cute?

That was a word that had never suited him.

As his chaotic emotions battered his mind, Baek Eun-ha finally became fully aware of his current appearance.

“…”

Unable to withstand the flood of information…

He lost consciousness.

After that, everything became hazy.

Paramedics and police arrived after receiving reports.

When he woke, he still couldn’t gather his thoughts, barely managing to answer their questions.

Somehow, after overcoming one obstacle after another…

He was finally reunited with his younger sister.

What kind of sick joke is this?

There were three undeniable facts.

First—

His powers were completely gone.

Second—

His body had transformed into that of an utterly useless young girl.

Third—

Something was seriously wrong with his mind.

He had at least mentally prepared himself for the first issue.

The other two…

Made absolutely no sense.

This is way beyond a “minor side effect.”

Seresia had certainly warned him about possible side effects.

But she’d also assured him that nothing major would happen.

So what was this?

Just facing an ordinary powerless person filled him with terror.

He couldn’t even make eye contact.

Holding a simple conversation had become nearly impossible.

In an instant, he’d been forcibly turned into someone incapable of functioning in society.

“…It’s okay now, Brother. Let’s go home.”

No.

It was not okay.

Fortunately, these artificial emotional reactions didn’t occur around his younger sister, Baek Seo-ha.

But the fact that they happened regardless of his own will disgusted him.

Well… whatever.

He hadn’t ruled an era for nothing.

He’d already thought of ways to recover his lost power.

Once he did…

He was certain he could eliminate these ridiculous side effects as well.

Thinking that, Baek Eun-ha endured his humiliation, buried his face against his sister’s chest as she hugged him tightly…

And returned home.

Then—

Exactly one year after his return…

“Brother? Don’t tell me you stayed up all night again. Are you still asleep?”

“Yaaawn. …Mm-hmm…”

“I’m heading to the guild meeting. Wake up, eat the food I left in the fridge, and at least get some exercise around the house.”

“Mmm…”

“And make sure you take a shower before I get home today.”

“…”

“Unless you want me to bathe you by force again.”

“…Okay.”

I had become…

A complete shut-in.

One utterly defeated by the world.

* * *

Thump.

“Still delicious.”

These days, my daily routine was remarkably simple.

First, I woke up around lunchtime and ate the meal Seo-ha had prepared for me.

Rustle. Rustle.

Then I grabbed some snacks and soda before heading into my room and turning on my computer.

Since it was summer, I switched on the air conditioner.

Then, just in case I caught a cold, I wrapped myself in a blanket.

A perfect luxury.

“…If it’s too hot, I lose focus. If it’s too cold, my control gets sloppy.”

This was an extremely important issue for someone like me, whose entire future depended on whether I’d finally reach Grandmaster rank.

After gaming for a while, I’d eat instant noodles or order delivery whenever I got hungry.

And when I grew tired, I’d watch manga adaptations or internet streams.

Crunch!

On the stream I was watching, a man who appeared to be a low-ranking awakened individual was testing a new sword technique at a training ground.

“You all saw that, right? That’s the famous Double Slash that only true experts can perform! Ah, is this everyone’s first time seeing it?”

• What nonsense lol.

• You mean the “Double Slash” that anyone C-Rank or above would be too embarrassed to use in public?

• Seriously. Even my cousin who awakened this year refused to demonstrate it because it’d be too embarrassing.

“Hah, you’re all too harsh. This isn’t something just anyone can do!”

• Well, ordinary people can’t do it since they aren’t awakened.

• True lol.

• Must be nice being awakened. Life sucks for us normals.

• Me.

• Too.

“Ahem. Anyway, it won’t be long before I lose my trainee status and start entering dungeons.”

Watching the almost comical display, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“That’s… not how you do it.”

They called it Double Slash, but all he was really doing was cutting the same spot twice.

I’d seen a far more perfected version of that technique in the past.

“I remember spending an entire day swinging a sword because I wanted to learn it too.”

Of course…

That level of mastery was probably asking too much of Earth’s awakened.

Without relying on the “skills” provided by the System, they had difficulty using true techniques.

As I reminisced, the familiar feeling of helplessness returned once more.

“Sigh…”

What’s the point of criticizing him?

The current me couldn’t even defeat that trainee Hunter streamer.

No…

Considering he at least earned a living, comparing him to someone like me—a useless freeloader—might actually be insulting to him.

“Whatever.”

Feeling depressed, I instinctively launched another game.

Games were wonderful.

They were the perfect escape.

The moment I immersed myself in them…

I no longer had to think about anything happening outside.