Assassin's POV in Another World

Episode 7

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Park Chan-woo had seen countless important people throughout his life. In this different world he came from, there were quite a few things he was letting slip through the back door.

The world, being composed of continents, empires, kingdoms, and cities, had a social hierarchy where those of higher status were called nobles, and the most prestigious were referred to as the imperial family.

In kingdoms, they were referred to as royalty, but when part of the emperor's lineage, they were called imperial families. In short, the world revolved around titles.

However, Park Chan-woo also realized that the title of Grand Mage was awarded to the strongest mage among those of the ninth circle mages with enough power to instill fear or command respect from an entire empire, depending on their actions.

"This is more unexpected than I imagined."

'Your choice was to save these people, wasn't it? Even I'm surprised by this.'

Park Chan-woo never thought he would encounter someone from the imperial family.

Encrid had previously said:

'If someone a noble, royalty, or anyone of high status discovers your talent, it's possible they might seek to kill you, or in rare cases, make you part of their family.'

Becoming part of a noble family was exceedingly rare, and in most cases, they opted to eliminate such individuals.

Park Chan-woo wasn't sure.

"This woman… Are you saying she's royalty?"

'I don't know, but her hair color is definitely unique. Only royalty has silver hair.'

Ten thousand years ago, even back then, every member of the imperial family had silver hair and red eyes a family with an elegant appearance, but also an air of arrogance.

It is said they despise commoners. The poor are even hated among nobles, regardless of how much time has passed.

"....."

The Kyndel Empire, according to Encrid, was the empire where Park Chan-woo currently found himself after his reincarnation. The Akashic Abyss formed the border with the neighboring empire.

"In short, Gloriana Kyndel is her full name."

'Exactly, but it's all just speculation. Why not ask her yourself?'

"She doesn't seem like she'd actually answer me."

Park Chan-woo sighed, his eyes glancing several times at Gloriana. Several minutes had passed since they had been confined in this place, yet the guards still hadn't left.

If they don't leave, then the plans will change. Park Chan-woo would take on the role of an assassin if his plan began to fail killing them would be the best option.

"I really don't want to be an assassin again, but... looking at the reality of this world, I suppose it's impossible not to kill someone."

Survival was more difficult than Park Chan-woo had thought. In fact, seeing more of this world made him realize that people's chances of survival were quite low.

Leaving everyone behind wouldn't matter much, but it wasn't something Park Chan-woo wanted to do not like in his previous life. Even if he became an assassin once more, he would try to avoid causing the same suffering he had inflicted before.

Park Chan-woo approached Gloriana.

A rather quiet woman during the short time he had known her.

"Do you mind if I ask you something?"

Park Chan-woo asked as he looked at Gloriana, who was hugging her legs in the corner of the cell. She raised her head and looked at him for a moment, her tired eyes making it clear she hadn't slept a single minute.

Park Chan-woo shrugged.

"I'm... pretty bad at talking to people... or maybe it's my face."

Gloriana's mouth slowly opened, and she said:

"Go ahead."

Park Chan-woo cleared his throat for his next question.

"You're from the imperial family, aren't you?"

"....."

There was silence. Gloriana barely blinked for a few moments. However, in the next second, she hid her face between her knees and murmured:

"Yes… that's right."

"....."

Park Chan-woo blinked. It was the first time he'd seen such a reaction when speaking to someone. Usually, the people he spoke with would lower their heads or tremble for some reason.

Back then, he had been closest to the position of monarch and the world's greatest assassin. However, when it came to having a conversation with someone... the other person always acted strangely.

'Do I scare people or something? This is really annoying.'

Park Chan-woo turned and looked toward the stairs.

The structure of the underground area was fairly simple: the stairs leading to the surface and the number of steps they had made it possible to descend in about ten seconds if running. At the same time, it took around five seconds to reach the cells.

From what Park Chan-woo had observed, the place was large enough and had a layout similar to a not-so-elaborate labyrinth. The structure was simple, but the guards seemed to have significant advantages, as they could reach the cells quickly.

'They've thought this place through well, but...'

The minds behind the construction of this place had made a mistake.

Park Chan-woo looked down the hallway, where there was a window with rusted, frozen bars, likely at temperatures below zero due to the cold air coming from outside. It was clearly cold enough to easily break the bars with a bit of force.

'Not bad. However, if they hadn't left that window, it would have been much harder to escape with all these people.'

In short, escaping with about 30 people through that window would take around five minutes, reaching six minutes before someone noticed the process.

The biggest problem was the guards.

Every five minutes, they patrolled Park Chan-woo's cell, followed by the rest of the cells simultaneously, with a total of five guards.

It hadn't been easy to gather so much information when entering this place and observing everyone's activities during his time there.

"Hmm."

Park Chan-woo scratched his chin.

'There are at least 100 people here. The problem would be rescuing so many people, but… once outside, there might be monsters.'

The most complicated variable.

The monsters were the greatest threat.

'A level 9 monster could easily kill a Semi-Circle mage. A level 8 monster could kill a First Circle mage, and even a level 8 monster could take down a mage nearing the Third Circle.'

Encrid had explained the strength of monsters succinctly, based on their respective ranks.

The strength of monsters was quite different from that of humans, so there was also a chance that one out of every hundred monsters could be even stronger than its predetermined rank.

That means if a level 8 monster can easily kill a First Circle mage, it could even take on a Second Circle mage.

"Ugh… This is really a headache."

'The guards seem like they'll be here for a while. Why don't you increase your mana in secret?'

"They wouldn't notice. Mana fluctuations from someone using or drawing it can be sensed."

'Not if you take mana little by little. No one would notice, even if they were close to you.'

Park Chan-woo sat on the floor, closed both eyes, and let darkness envelop him.

At the same time, purple particles floated in front of him. Not only were they purple, but there were also some yellow ones entering his body.

'Why are there two different colors of mana?'

Park Chan-woo didn't give it much thought. Losing focus at this moment wasn't a good idea.

***

Gloriana Kyndel.

She had never been kidnapped before it was impossible. And yet, she was experiencing it right now.

She never thought something like this could happen. It was unthinkable. For someone to infiltrate the castle and abduct her meant that the security of a place deemed the most secure in the entire empire had failed.

However, there was a reason the kidnapping had been successful.

It was because there was a traitor among the mages. Rosell, a Second Circle mage, was someone quite close to Gloriana, as his role involved watching over her during certain shifts.

Gloriana never thought someone who had always protected her since she was a child would turn out to be a traitor not someone supposedly loyal to the empire.

But it was true: Rosell had worked in secret until the very end, and now Gloriana was trapped in this slave trafficking base.

'The royal guard should be here soon.'

They were the best a group of knights led by a single woman. However, she wasn't just any woman.

'Why haven't they come... Please... I want to get out of here.'

It was unbearable to hear the harrowing screams every half hour. She couldn't endure it so many people were suffering terribly in this place.

Just imagining the amount of pain they must feel left Gloriana in a state of horror. She couldn't even fathom enduring a pain so intense it would make someone scream like that.

'Are there really so many who suffer like this?'

She couldn't even comprehend why no one did anything to stop the people causing such suffering.

Why.

Why didn't they do something.

Why the hell weren't they saving these people from their torment?

The Kyndel Empire had so many slaves everywhere, yet even knowing this, the emperor and empress didn't send knights to rescue all these people.

There had to be a reason.

'They're commoners... That's the only reason.'

Gloriana could even grow to hate her family for this.

But perhaps they didn't act because of some valid reason.

Maybe there was something preventing them from saving these people.

"Damn it... I can't focus... The screams are too loud."

Park Chan-woo ran his hands over both ears. When he first entered this place, he had seen firsthand how much the others were suffering. But after spending so much time here, the screams became unbearable.

He had heard loud screams in his past life, but these were the result of years of confinement in this hellish place.

Even Gloriana, who had never seen a place like this before, could easily recognize the horror.

She glanced at Park Chan-woo.

The place was so dark that she hadn't even been able to see his face clearly. Yet, for some reason...

'Being in this place... It doesn't seem to affect him at all.'

It was as if the person standing in front of Gloriana had already lived through something like this before.

Because Park Chan-woo had a past that no one else could endure. Compared to this place, everything he had experienced would seem like child's play.

At the same time, it was different for the people here as well. Park Chan-woo knew that, and it was precisely why he would save everyone in this place.