NOVEL WEB Chapter 2: Death And Resurrection (2)
Eil, who was referred to as “Eil,” gazed at himself rather adorably.
“You adorable little thing.”
“Hohoho. You look exactly like me.”
“That’s why you’re so masculine.”
“…So, are you implying that I appear masculine?”
“No, not exactly…”
Eil averted his gaze, feeling a flush of embarrassment from being scrutinized.
However, Yuseong didn’t notice their exchange.
He couldn’t comprehend his current predicament, but something else piqued his curiosity even more.
‘How am I able to understand what they’re saying?’
Their language seemed more foreign than Korean, and it was definitely something he had never encountered before.
Yet, he was able to understand and interpret it.
‘What in the world is going on?’
Just before his death, he had inexplicably become an infant, and he could understand a foreign language he had never heard before.
Furthermore, their attire was also unusual.
His vision was blurry, but at first glance, they seemed to be wearing leather outfits that one might associate with cosplayers.
Being regarded as a genius in his own right, he pondered his current situation.
‘Is this a hallucination? Amnesia? Or… reincarnation?’
As he delved deeper into his thoughts, he suddenly felt an overwhelming wave of exhaustion and his eyes started to droop.
It was a feeling identical to the symptoms of overexertion.
‘I must have overtaxed my brain in this tiny body…’
With that thought, he drifted off to sleep.
Three months had elapsed since this peculiar situation began.
Yuseong had managed to gather some information about this place.
Firstly, this world was unlike the one he had previously inhabited.
It bore a resemblance to the typical fantasy worlds often described.
Listening to Eil and Saein’s conversations, he deduced that monsters existed, and there were several species akin to humans.
Moreover, while his original world had developed ‘science’ to simplify tasks, this world appeared to have enhanced their physical and mental abilities.
Magic existed, and the methods of manipulating one’s body or energy were far more tangible than in his original world.
Understanding this fact was not difficult.
His mother, Saein, had rushed to him in alarm when he scratched on his arm and then she healed it with a spell.
Initially, he was shocked and wondered if he could learn it too, but upon reflection, those abilities were indeed frightening.
His father, Eil, lifted rocks with his bare hands and was a master swordsman, chopping firewood with a large sword in an instant.
Whether this world was naturally like this or if his parents possessed unique powers was uncertain, but one thing was certain – such abilities existed.
‘Modern athletes can’t compete.’
The second aspect was their standard of living.
Their approach to earning a living differed from that of modern people.
Plucking a single apple could provoke a monster attack and potential death.
This indicated that food was a vital issue directly linked to survival.
This was a far cry from the modern world where survival could be achieved by merely begging on the streets.
It appeared that they began training their strength from childhood to avoid such hazards.
He noticed that they were contemplating what to teach him even though he was only recently born.
The living environment was so perilous that naturally, the standard of living was low.
However, this did not imply that their civilization was underdeveloped.
Their civilization was adequately advanced.
Believing it to be less developed simply because it differed from the modern era one lived in was quite a foolish notion.
Upon reflection, they chose to become stronger and combat threats.
This could be viewed as a process of evolution.
The final third was about oneself.
Yuseong recognized and accepted his situation after experiencing several events within a month.
“I truly have been reincarnated.”
He clenched and unclenched his chubby hands, examining them.
When his suspicion became reality, it felt surreal.
He had been reincarnated, retaining all his memories from the modern era in which he previously lived.
He discovered another fact; if a baby’s body thought too much, the brain became overloaded, and consciousness was forcibly shut down.
This issue would gradually resolve as he grew, but it was quite challenging at the moment.
As Yuseong pondered the problems he faced, he heard a voice calling him from within.
“Ray, where are you?”
Ray. That was Yuseong’s name now.
Saein covered her mouth with her hand and took a step back when she saw Ray looking up at her from the blanket.
Then, with trembling hands, she picked up Ray.
“How can you be so cute! You’re my son, but you’re really cute!”
He gave an awkward smile at his mother’s predictable reaction.
This had been the reaction for the past week.
No matter what he did, he received a similar response.
Even when he couldn’t control his bladder due to his young body and wet himself.
“I wanted to die of embarrassment. Hahaha.”
His expression while recalling the embarrassing incident was not entirely negative.
Sure, it was embarrassing, but he couldn’t deny the indescribable thrill of rebellion.
Saein rolled up her sleeves and said to Ray,
“Our son, let’s eat.”
Ray looked up at her with a bright expression and was startled.
“Aaah!”
“Aaah!”
“Huh? You don’t want to eat?”
As she tilted her head at his strong reaction, Ray tried hard to nod his head, which didn’t move very well.
In reality, he was extremely hungry.
His body constantly demanded the energy necessary for growth, and he started to feel hungry even after lying down for just a little while.
But this was something he couldn’t get used to.
Of course, Saein was just breastfeeding a hungry baby.
It was a very natural action and nothing strange at all.
The problem was with him.
Because he retained memories from the modern era, he couldn’t suckle like an innocent child.
The situation was simply too embarrassing.
“It’s strange. He’s always quiet, but he does this only when eating… Is something causing him pain… Should I call a healer?”
She voiced her concerns.
Ray became intrigued by the term ‘healer’ in her words.
‘Healer? Is that akin to a doctor?’
In the fantasy novels he had read, healers or priests typically handled healing.
Just as he had been a doctor in the modern world, they might fulfill a similar role in this world.
He was curious because it was the same profession.
‘I wonder how healers treat illnesses? Since it’s a fantasy world, perhaps they just lay their hands on you and you recover?’
While he was entertaining these somewhat absurd thoughts, Saein’s voice rang out again.
“I suppose I should call him to check.”
Even as she spoke, she didn’t put him down.
Instead, she brought his mouth to her chest.
‘Uuuh!’
“Uuuh!”
He attempted to resist, but soon had to capitulate.
The overwhelming sensation of hunger overpowered him.
Once he began feeding, he couldn’t restrain himself anymore.
Saein smiled softly.
“You eat well when given, see.”
Ray wanted to vehemently dispute her words, but he couldn’t formulate any rebuttals, so he remained silent.
‘I must endure… until the baby food…’
He slept the entire afternoon.
Although sleeping all day would typically be worrisome, Ail and Saein didn’t seem concerned.
Thanks to sleeping all day, he felt rejuvenated in the morning.
‘It’s been a long time since I slept this much.’
In the modern era, he wasn’t one to sleep a lot.
Not because he was an insomniac, but because he was always preoccupied with work.
Reflecting on it, even if he hadn’t perished in a car accident, he probably would have succumbed to overwork eventually.
Ray lay in the cradle, lost in thought.
‘It’s incredibly boring though.’
Since he was too young to move his body, all he could do was lie still, sleep, or get lost in his thoughts.
‘Maybe I should just indulge in laziness now?’
Laziness.
It was a small desire he had secretly nurtured.
Once he decided, his body immediately relaxed.
His constant fatigue made this possible.
The softness of the cradle embraced his tiny body.
Thus, his laziness commenced.
‘Huh? What is this?’
About three hours into his idleness, he experienced a refreshing coolness he had never felt before.
It was too enigmatic to merely label it as coolness.
It was as if he could sense tiny threads moving around his body.
The more he ignored them, the more invigorated he felt.
A sensation so distinctive that once experienced, it could never be forgotten.
‘Could this be mana?’
He had occasionally overheard Ail and Saein discussing it, so he had a vague understanding.
But he didn’t expect it to be as thin as threads.
‘I wonder if I can manipulate it?’
Contrary to his thoughts, the threads didn’t readily obey his will.
Instead, when he attempted to forcefully control them, they tended to disperse.
And when the scattered threads flowed in different directions than initially, it felt uncomfortable and somewhat hindered.
‘This is exasperating.’
The mana, which seemed to have a predetermined flow, did not concentrate in one spot.
Even though there was no clear solution and despite his will, he felt provoked by the mana that freely circulated around his body.