The sole heir to a ruined world

The Sole Heir of a Ruined World – Chapter 3

—

As Hunkyul stepped into the “World,” a pleasant smile spread across his face as he breathed in the fresh, clean air.

It was an invigorating crispness that couldn’t even be compared to the air in the real world.

Even in the countryside, it would be hard to find air this clean and refreshing.

「A sprout has grown.」
「A hidden condition has been fulfilled.」
「The hidden name of the ‘World’ is now being revealed.」

As soon as he saw the sprout, system messages flooded his vision.

Hunkyul blinked and read through them carefully.

‘The name will be revealed?’

He focused on the part mentioning that the world had a name.

「‘Asgard’ has remembered its name.」
「The sprout of ‘OOOOO’ in ‘Asgard’ greets its owner warmly.」

Asgard.

Hunkyul recognized the name immediately.

It was from Norse mythology.

The world of gods where figures like Thor and Loki existed. Asgard was one of the nine realms and the home of the gods.

‘This place… is Asgard?’

The completely unexpected name left Hunkyul stunned.

Did this mean that he had now somehow become the owner of the mythical Asgard?

“This can’t be real…”

He couldn’t wrap his head around it.

The fact that he, someone who had been paralyzed from the waist down, had awakened and gained a world already defied all logic.

The world he knew had undergone a cataclysm, and people with powers began to appear. None of that made sense either.

“Well, I guess it doesn’t really matter.”

Asgard, Norse mythology—what did it matter in the grand scheme of things?

The world was already in chaos.

No matter what strange things happened, they wouldn’t be that surprising.

‘If this is real, maybe I can survive better.’

If he truly was the owner of Asgard, wouldn’t that mean he might even have control over gods?

Perhaps he could fulfill his parents’ last wishes even more effectively.

Hunkyul turned his gaze back to the sprout, staring at it intently.

「The sprout of ‘OOOOO.’」

Its true name hadn’t been revealed yet.

Hunkyul let out a small sigh and began looking at the other system notifications.

「250 mana is required to grow the sprout.」
「When the sprout grows, one hidden ability will be revealed.」
「By consuming 10 mana, you can summon a resident of ‘Asgard.’」

Hunkyul’s eyes widened as he read the new explanations.

Asgard was the realm of gods.

Naturally, its residents wouldn’t be ordinary. They would possess strength far beyond humans.

In Norse mythology, Asgard ruled over the other nine realms.

If he could summon residents from this place, wouldn’t they be incredibly powerful?

Hunkyul fiddled with a red mana stone in his hand for a moment before tossing it at the stump.

His mana increased by 100, and without hesitation, he used it to summon a resident.

「10 mana has been consumed to summon a resident.」

From the sprout’s leaves, a round orb of light emerged.

The orb floated in the air, spinning a couple of times, before gently landing on the grassland.

*Woooong, wooong!*

The bright orb of light emitted a radiant glow and slowly began to take on a humanoid form.

*Plop!*

Hunkyul jumped slightly as the resident appeared.

His first impression of the resident was: “Small.”

The being was only about 90 centimeters tall, barely reaching his waist.

Its entire body was made of light, without any distinct facial features. Its overall form was rounded and stubby.

“This… is supposed to be one of the gods?”

Hunkyul chuckled in disbelief as he looked over the resident.

—

「Resident of Asgard.

Loyal to its owner.

Tends to nature.

[can be evolved by consuming 1,000 mana. Upon evolution, a new ability will be unlocked.)」

Hmm.

For now, it didn’t seem to have any special abilities.

Since consuming 1,000 mana wasn’t something he could do yet, he set that aside and focused on the resident’s current ability.

‘What does it mean to tend to nature?’

Hunkyul slowly looked around.

The grassland stretched out from the stump, a plain of grass and nothing else.

No trees, no streams, nothing else that could be considered “nature.”

How was it supposed to tend to nature in a place like this?

Would it grow trees and create streams in the middle of nowhere?

「The resident is waiting for its owner’s command.」

Hunkyul looked down at the resident, who was staring back up at him.

‘It’s probably useless in a fight.’

It was as small as—or smaller than—a goblin.

With its round, stubby body and no fingers, it was hard to imagine it fighting at all.

As Hunkyul silently observed the resident, it made a cheerful *plop-plop* sound, as if matching his gaze.

Even though it had no eyes, he could feel its “gaze” meeting his.

“…Tend to nature,” he said.

「The resident says it lacks the necessary resources to tend to nature.」
「The resident requests minimum resources.」

Hmm.

Hunkyul let out a small hum of thought.

After pondering for a moment, he converted all his mana stones—except for the red one—into nutrients for the resident.

「2 hours and 30 minutes are required for the sprout to grow.」

Having set the sprout to grow, Hunkyul sat down on the grassland.

Sitting there, he didn’t feel like going back to his one-room apartment.

This place already felt like home.

The cool breeze and warm sunlight made lying down here incredibly relaxing.

As he lay there, a thought suddenly came to mind.

‘Could I bring things like a bed and blanket to this place?’

He knew he could bring mana stones out of the world.

But he hadn’t considered whether he could bring objects from reality into Asgard.

‘Let’s test it.’

Hunkyul returned to his one-room apartment.

He grabbed the blanket off his bed and returned to the world.

“Oh… it works?”

It was possible to bring real-world items into Asgard.

If that was the case, did he even need his apartment anymore?

Living entirely in this world seemed feasible.

‘…Then again, I still need a place in reality.’

Things like mail and deliveries would still require an address.

Thinking of this, Hunkyul decided not to bring everything over.

He paused before moving his bed and blanket.

“Maybe I should wash these first.”

Without the help of a social worker, washing his bedding had been impossible.

His blanket hadn’t been washed in over a year.

“Guess it’s better to just buy a new bed.”

He still had some money from his part-time job, so he figured he could get a cheap mattress.

After heading to the store, he bought a mattress and blanket for about 200,000 won.

He brought them to the grassland, laid them out, and smiled in satisfaction as he lay down.

—

**Time passed.**

Hunkyul stood still, holding a cracked longsword in his hands.

「The invasion has begun.」
「30 minutes until the sprout grows.」

A crack appeared in the air.

Beside him, the resident stood at attention.

Hunkyul looked down at the small being and motioned for it to step back.

The resident didn’t look like it could fight, so it was better for Hunkyul to handle things alone.

It was better for him to die than to lose the resident needlessly.

「‘Corrupted Scout Captain Goblin’ has appeared.」
「‘Corrupted Scout Goblin’ has appeared.」
「‘Corrupted Scout Goblin’ has appeared.」
「‘Corrupted Scout Goblin’ has appeared.」

Four in total.

Among them was the Scout Captain, one he’d killed more than ten times before.

Seeing the increased number of enemies, Hunkyul tightened his grip on his sword and charged.

*Thunk!*

His sword pierced the head of a Scout Goblin.

「You have defeated a ‘Corrupted Scout Goblin.’」

After experiencing more than five invasions, defeating the Scout Goblins had become easier.

The real problem was the Captain.

*Crash!*

The Scout Captain moved.

Hunkyul barely managed to block the sword swing, but the force sent him stumbling backward.

The Scout Captain was a full head taller than a regular goblin.

Its physical abilities were on another level.

*Crack.*

Hunkyul gritted his teeth as the goblin’s sword fractured his collarbone.

“This… won’t kill me!”

Despite the pain, he ignored it and grabbed the Captain’s sword tightly.

*Whoosh!*

*Crunch!*

Hunkyul swung his sword, smashing it into the Scout Captain’s head.

*Thud, crack!*

He continued swinging his sword, striking over and over again.

*Thwack!*

*Slash!*

The other Scout Goblins rushed in, stabbing at him with their daggers.

Ignoring them, Hunkyul focused on killing the Captain.

*Crunch!*

「You have defeated a ‘Corrupted Scout Captain Goblin.’」

The Captain fell.

Hunkyul pulled the sword from his chest and killed the remaining Scout Goblins.

「You have defeated a ‘Corrupted Scout Goblin.’」
「3 hours and 30 minutes until the next invasion.」

—

The goblins dissolved into black smoke, leaving behind mana stones.

Hunkyul collapsed onto the ground, breathing heavily.

“Hah…”

Even though he couldn’t die, the pain was still real.

It was impossible to ignore.

The pain that made him feel as though he was dying—
Enduring it was exhausting, both physically and mentally.

For almost 30 minutes, Hunkyul couldn’t move.

*Plop!*

The resident approached him, tapping his shoulder with its fingerless hand.

It felt like encouragement.

A light laugh escaped Hunkyul’s lips.

“Let’s see what I got.”

Finally recovering, he checked the loot dropped by the goblins.

「You have obtained an ‘Apple Seed.’」

“…What?”

It was an unexpected item.

As he stared at the tiny apple seed in his hand, the resident reacted excitedly.

*Plop! Plop!*

The resident tugged on his pants, gesturing frantically.

“You want this?”

When Hunkyul pointed at the apple seed, the resident nodded vigorously.

“Here.”

*Plop-plop!*

The resident happily took the seed and moved a short distance away from the stump.

It dug a small hole in the ground and planted the seed.

‘There’s no water here. It won’t grow.’

Hunkyul watched curiously as the resident began circling the planted seed.

*Plop! Plop-plop!*

As it circled, something amazing happened.

The apple seed began to sprout.

The sprout grew rapidly, soon becoming a fully grown apple tree.

“…What the hell.”

While Hunkyul stared in shock, system messages appeared in his vision.

「The resident has successfully grown an apple tree.」
「Crops have begun to grow in ‘Asgard.’」
「A hidden condition has been fulfilled.」
「A small stream has begun flowing through ‘Asgard.’」

*Trickle, trickle.*

The sound of a stream echoed in the distance.

From the stump, a small stream of water began to flow.

*Plop!*

The resident jumped for joy, delighted by the flowing water.

Hunkyul watched the scene in disbelief, letting out a faint laugh.