The Ruined World (3)
A heavily cracked and ominous gray sky.
The only ‘sky’ that Ramu had seen since her birth was just that.
Since it was naturally such a world, it was to be expected.
And it wasn’t just her story.
After the world crumbled, considerable time had passed, and only the elderly remained who could remember the originally clear blue sky.
Yet, despite its pathetic appearance, Ramu loved looking at the sky.
Compared to her own self, who could only cling to her only family, her brother, that towering sky seemed infinitely vast, wide, and even free.
‘Even though I couldn’t gaze at that sky freely… I often got scolded by my brother for it.’
Staring too long into the broken gaps beyond could lure one into the abyss, turning them into a madman, so it was only natural.
Following his words, she obediently stopped looking at the sky.
Instinctively, she felt that the abyss couldn’t influence her like it did others, but she didn’t want to worry her brother any longer.
‘If it weren’t for me, my brother could have lived anywhere, being treated well.’
Her brother, Riang, was an extraordinary person.
Unlike her frail body, he had exceptional innate physical abilities, and his quick situational judgment and wit were unmatched by anyone.
The evidence of that was right in front of her.
In the harsh world where no one could rely on anyone after their parents passed away.
Surviving for more than ten years while protecting a newborn with barely enough to sustain herself was by no means an easy feat.
The difficulties he faced made him more than just a brother to Ramu.
To her, who had never seen her parents’ faces, he was more than a parent.
That was her only blood relative, Riang.
So.
For that reason.
She could not accept the fact that she was alive, gazing at that blue sky.
—“Ramu—!!”
Memories of her final moments flashed through her mind.
The sky crashing down with an ominous noise.
The image of her brother rushing towards her with all his strength, embracing her tightly, after she had stared dumbfounded at that horrifying sight.
—“Ramu, remember this one thing.”
She listened quietly, nestled in his warm embrace.
She had no strength left to speak due to the incomprehensible sense of loss.
—“No matter what anyone says, you are my sister.”
Therefore, she couldn’t ask.
What did that mean?
Right after that, Riang took the necklace hanging around his neck and placed it on Ramu.
One of the heirlooms their parents left behind that they had each worn.
The other half of the heart-shaped ornament split in two.
—“I love you, my sister.”
In that reassuring embrace.
In the end, the sky she loved so much crumbled—
grumble—
A loud sound resonated throughout the room.
“Ah.”
Ramu, dazedly staring up at the blue sky beyond the window, finally regained her senses and rubbed her eyes with her sleeve.
Then, clutching her stomach, she let out a small sigh.
It hadn’t been just a few hours since she’d eaten, yet an intense hunger was beginning to wash over her.
‘It wasn’t supposed to be like this.’
This was all because the food in this world was too delicious.
After subsisting on rough roots and tree bark, once soft and nutritious food entered her body, now her whole being was fervently craving new sustenance at every turn.
‘It was the first time I had such a feast. The rat meat I had only on special occasions doesn’t even compare…’
Swallowing the drool that dripped from her mouth, she shook her head.
No matter how tasty the food was, she couldn’t simply trust people.
That was the first rule of survival.
‘Though he might not be a bad person…’
She knew she was being overly cautious after having eaten so much, but her lifelong values couldn’t be easily changed.
As a result, she was constantly sneaking meals like a thief while hiding herself in her room.
Even after spending several days since coming here.
click—
Gently opening the door, Ramu peeked outside.
She cautiously looked around, then quietly padded down to the kitchen on the first floor.
‘Delicious smell.’
The man who introduced himself as Hoon had always set the table for meals around the time to eat and deliberately left the space, as if telling her to feel free to dine without being cautious.
While feeling both gratitude and guilt towards him, she ultimately lacked the courage to approach him.
In some ways, it was to be expected.
She had just lost her only family member, her brother.
Whether due to her upbringing or innate disposition, she wasn’t completely incapacitated by sorrow, but a hollow emptiness had settled in her heart.
‘…Hoo, I can’t stay like this forever. Today, I’ll definitely try to have a proper conversation.’
In order to move forward, she had to take a step, no matter what.
Her brother, who worried about her until the last moment, would want that even more.
With a firm resolve, she carefully entered the kitchen.
“Eh?”
And there, she came face-to-face with a being she had never even imagined.
[kyu?]
On the table set with various foods.
An unknown creature coiled around, its shiny body glimmering, cocking its small head curiously.
The eyes of Ramu, round with astonishment, clashed with the bright eyes of Hwiryeong.
*
Hoon, who had taken on the role of overseeing external audits for Howard Industries and its subsidiary companies, felt victorious.
‘Success.’
Having briefly stepped away for work, he opened the front door and stepped inside, nodding in satisfaction.
“It’s warm… It’s smooth…”
[kyururu—!]
“Hehe, that tickles!”
The sound of a child’s bright laughter echoed from inside the house.
Hoon had called for Hwiryeong, just in case, and it seemed things had gone as he had hoped.
‘As expected, Hwiryeong’s cuteness is the best in the world. Even that cautious, cat-like child has fallen in love at a glance.’
It had been several days since he brought her back from the Koshiyas dimension, but due to having survived in such a harsh environment, gaining Ramu’s trust was proving to be a challenge.
They had managed to introduce themselves, but that was it.
For someone like Hoon who wanted deeper conversation and cooperation, this was disappointingly inadequate.
‘That mindset is easy to understand.’
From the other party’s perspective, their entire world had suddenly flipped upside down, so it was only natural to be wary.
However, just understanding that didn’t mean he could waste time like this.
So, in order to become friends with Ramu, he had researched parenting communities and video sites, but it didn’t help much.
‘Ramu is different from ordinary kids.’
The sole survivor of the ruined dimension.
That was not just special; it was a unique variable.
It was natural that solutions designed for normal children wouldn’t work on a child like her.
At that moment, he thought of Hwiryeong, the Yellow Dragon.
The emotional connection between animals and children was a well-known fact.
Whether one should consider Hwiryeong a mere animal was debatable, but that wasn’t important right now.
Having experienced Hwiryeong’s charm firsthand, he immediately set his plan in motion…
“It’s pretty… Ah! Where are you going?”
[kyang!]
Now he was witnessing results beyond his expectations.
Rushing across the living room, Hwiryeong flew in and wrapped around Hoon’s neck, poking its head toward his shoulder.
Ramu, who had come running after realizing he was home, peeked in shyly.
‘In the past, I would have run away immediately. This is certainly effective.’
He smiled faintly while petting the blunt horn sprouting from Hwiryeong’s head with one hand.
[kyang!]
As if knowing he was complimenting her, the little body wiggled with pride.
And it didn’t take long for Hwiryeong’s help to yield results.
*
Hoon’s skill, Mental Empathy, was an extraordinarily useful ability.
It started with what people call telepathy, transmitting thoughts to others, and had the potential to extend to psychometry, mind-reading, and even brainwashing.
Moreover, it could also be used to instill common sense in those lacking knowledge about this world.
‘Though I still lack the proficiency to convey large amounts of information without side effects… still, it’s something.’
Teaching someone how to use a shower or shampoo was already a task.
Until now, he’d maintained cleanliness using cleaning magical equipment, but he couldn’t rely on just that forever.
‘For languages with a lot of information, I can use the interpreting magical equipment I gave to Andrew.’
And one more thing.
Using Mental Empathy, he could share what the other person was envisioning in real time, which was a great advantage.
Since information tends to be distorted in the process of being communicated to others.
He couldn’t simply use Hans’s black magic, which was intensely harmful due to forcibly reading someone’s mind, anywhere.
beep— beep—
“257,000 won, please.”
“Here you go.”
As Hoon left a large mart near his place, he twisted his neck and pondered.
Though he had packed some things in advance, living with a child meant there were many necessities.
‘It might be fine for now… but I might not be able to handle all of this by myself in the future.’
On top of that, since she was a girl, there would be other elements he needed to pay attention to.
But how could a person who had never even been in a proper romantic relationship hope to manage that?
‘Well, I’ll think about that over time.’
As he walked out, Hoon recalled what Ramu had told him.
The reason he had gone shopping was to give her and Hwiryeong some time to calm down, as she had been feeling down after recalling her past.
‘The last moments of the Koshiyas dimension.’
Using Mental Empathy with her consent allowed him to gain more vivid information.
He learned about the environment she had lived in, the events she experienced, and the form in which her world met its end.
Among all that, there was one topic that particularly piqued his interest…
‘Her parents’ heirloom.’
It was a beautiful necklace that had split in two and could form a perfect heart when combined.
Though both Ramu and Riang couldn’t read the engraving on the back of the joined halves.
“They said it’s a language from their hometown, but it’s completely different from what I learned from my brother… It’s definitely a foreign language, but I’m not sure exactly which country it’s from…”
Surprisingly, Ramu was a knowledgeable individual who had learned to read even in that hellish world.
Since her body was too weak to do anything, that alone was quite remarkable in a world heading toward ruin.
After obtaining her permission, Hoon took a look at the phrase engraved on the heirloom.
With his Xenoglossy, languages that he couldn’t read simply didn’t exist.
And, as expected, he was able to read what was inscribed on the necklace.
‘The problem was…’
That it was a language he already knew, even without Xenoglossy.
—May our love last forever.
‘English.’
Its meaning was “May our love last forever”.
A phrase that suited the heart-shaped necklace perfectly.
‘So they were from Earth?’
It turned out they were both awakened beings from Earth who had settled completely in this world.
Was it just a coincidence?
‘…I’ll have to hear more details when I get back.’
While lost in thought, he continued walking.
At that moment, he sensed a small commotion with his heightened senses.
Away from where he was, in a sparsely populated alleyway, a sexual crime against a woman was occurring.
‘How bold. How dare you commit such acts in Seoul.’
Furrowing his brow slightly, Hoon glanced in that direction.
It wasn’t just a matter of being caught red-handed and escaping.
The vigilante group protecting the darkness of Korea would pursue every tiny clue and mete out justice.
‘Looks like a low-level. From the looks of it, he just returned and hasn’t properly assessed the situation yet…’
But his power was not to be underestimated.
Having played in large waters, his expectations had become sky-high, but even low-tier individuals could stand proudly anywhere.
Given his position, he was essentially at the level of a Sword Master, Great Mage, or an elite in martial arts.
‘It’s fortunate; I wanted to test something.’
Of course, strength was always relative.
As Hoon’s eyes gleamed, he extended his Mental Empathy towards that direction.
The opponent’s level was such that a solid mental barrier blocked his way, but thanks to skills like Great Spirit, he managed to make contact with the opponent’s thoughts.
[“Who dares?!”]
The connection brought his opponent’s thoughts flooding in.
Noticing someone attempting to intrude into his mind, a wave of discomfort and killing intent surged forth.
He managed to contact their mind, but it was shallow, letting him only catch a brief glimpse of surface-level consciousness.
Even that connection began to waver as the wary opponent started to gather their energy.
If this continued, the connection would sever completely, or the villain might trace his position and come crashing in.
‘That should be enough time.’
Yet Hoon could only smirk.
Once contact was made, that was it.
He promptly opened his mind wide and drew everything within outwards.
[“Gah! What the hell…?!”]
Since their minds had interconnected, even a high-level mental barrier was rendered meaningless.
The opponent’s mental world was instantly obliterated as if a giant roller had stomped across a toy castle.
“…Not bad.”
With a small whistle, Hoon’s eyes sparkled.
He saw the opponent charging in, now aware of his position, collapse with dazed eyes, drooling.
‘Dang, I didn’t expect this avatar to have such combat prowess.’
It had barely been created, and already he could take down a high-level opponent.
Moreover, unlike other avatars, which increased the burden of maintenance with rising levels, Hoon could take advantage of that overwhelming load.
Like dumping nuclear waste directly into the enemy’s midst during a nuclear power process.
‘This weapon will be stronger than I thought. If I further enhance my Mental Empathy to connect stably with even more formidable opponents…’
Nodding with a meaningful smile, Hoon continued to walk.
To develop one’s abilities, using them often was the best approach.
Thus, the moment an unknown nightmare dubbed Mind Breaker was born in the already harsh environment of Seoul, where villains were rampant.
