Chapter 3

“Ah, what. So you can speak Korean. Old sir, this is a surprise filming location right? Wow, these things look so authentic.”

He had a lot of things to ask, but he first exclaimed at the authenticity of the filming location.

It was a wide room decorated with various antique furniture. The theme seemed to be some antique shop, as the shelves on the walls were filled with books that looked to be at least 500 years old. Not only that, there were some mystery circles on the center of the room like those from television. You know, the one they say sometimes appear on farms in the US.

“Old sir, where are we actually?”

“This is my office on the highest floor, the 89th floor of the Northanc Magic tower in the empire of Hela. If you ask me where the tower is located, then it’s at the south of my territory, Sellion City.”

What the h.e.l.l does that mean?

“Are you reciting some lines? Oh! Is this some hidden camera for the public? Did I get that right? I knew it! You took me here because I was lying drunk on the floor yesterday night, right? To prank me when I get up? Wow, this is awesome! When will it go on TV? I must watch the original.”

Now he understood. It was a dream, of course. Otherwise, how can such a ma.s.sive earthquake happen in the middle of Seoul? And a gigantic sinkhole too!

“But old sir. I think I dropped my phone and my wallet somewhere. Can I borrow your phone? I think the first thing I have to do is to report that I lost my credit card.”

“Hmm… I do not understand any of what you are saying, o, being of another world. You may not understand what is going on, but I’ll try to explain it in simple terms.”

“Eh? This is getting boring though…….”

Somehow, the mood was cold. However, old man Gandalf’s eyes were too serious to be a prank.

“I chanced upon the heart of the ancient fire dragon ‘Bariug’, and was waiting for the ‘Millennium Day’ to complete my long research of dimensional travel magic.”

“M, magic? Millennium Day?”

‘Is this some magician’s show then?’

Honestly, he wanted to go home as soon as possible, but Gandalf’s eyes were so serious that he couldn’t bear to interrupt him. JiWoon listened to old man Gandalf’s words like listening to stories about the Korean War from his grandfather.

“What we call the Millennium Day is the day when magic power is the strongest every once in a millennium. It is also the day when the two moons ‘Io’ and ‘Gaia’ are the closest to Kornos. That day was yesterday.

As such! I have gathered mana into the ‘Piteran Goblet’ for the past 30 years, and drew the magic circle with unicorn bone powder to increase the magic power even more. You can consider it a little trick of mine to imitate a 9 circle magic as an 8 circle mage.”

What the h.e.l.l is that about? Even when he tried to accept with good will like teaching his non-math-savvy friends some numbers, he couldn’t understand a single thing. It was more like some fantasy stuff aimed at teens like that from Harry Potter. As a person from Earth, this old man definitely escaped a mental hospital.

“So you mean to say! There are! Two! Moons! And it’s when they’re the closest, right? So it looks super big, and all, right?”

He said in a super sarcastic way, and might be called for a beating later, but old man Gandalf was naivety itself.

“That’s it! Now we’re talking!”

“……..”

“However 9 circle magic is very profound; its depth I dare not measure. I could not pinpoint an exact coordinate. I thought that I would get an item of another realm at best, but it was you who came out.”

“Ha…….”

He sighed subconsciously.

“So, wrapping things up again, you, old man, are a mage. You prepared for 30 years to try dimensional travel magic. And yesterday was the D-day. But a twist of luck and I came here. Is that right?”

“That’s exactly it! Seeing as how you understand it so quickly. You must be a very intelligent fellow. If you learn magic, you’ll achieve great things very soon. And from what I see from you, it doesn’t look too late to learn either.”

“Looool. I’m like… AhahAHAHAHAHA.”

He couldn’t hide his laughter. This was even more absurd than a guy he met in Myeongdong, that asked him ‘Do you believe in the Dao?’ Last year. JiWoon laughed for around 30 seconds, and immediately frowned.

Now, this is over. He went along with this ploy far enough.

“That’s enough, sir. I commend you for the story though. That bird deco at the window! I already know that it’s a camera.”

He was sure and pointed at the decoration on the window sill. He was acting like Sherlock Holmes just from his mood. The pitch black eye definitely did look like a hidden camera.

Trod trod.

JiWoon walked towards the decoration. Then, he extended his hand out towards the deco.

“See? The eye of this bird…. WHAT the! What the h.e.l.l is happening!”

6 o’clock in the evening on an autumn day is the hour when the sun slowly goes over the mountain. Thanks to the dimmed sunlight, two shy faces, ‘Io’, and ‘Gaia’ shone through the window. Seeing that, JiWoon’s head turned blank.

“Th, there are, tw, two, moons…….”

As the highest floor of the tower, he would be able to see the entire City of Sellion from where he was. Though, he didn’t manage to see it because the shock of seeing two moons was too big. Sellion had a middle-age baroque-style architecture. It looked beautiful under the scarlet dusk.

“Now you believe in this old man?”

Nod nod.

The word magic was engraved into JiWoon’s life.

Huh… is this something to be liked or what?

“Why did I get younger though?”

Before the shock of seeing two moons even had the time to go, a boy looked at him from the mirror. His beard that was 80% of his charisma, was gone clean. It was his ‘dark’ self from his middle school days.

“Hmm……. I cannot know for sure, but theoretically, it seems that your time was reversed when leaping through a path of a higher dimension. It’s a phenomenon unseen in teleportation, which moves to the same dimension. If I’m correct, it means that it’s possible to control time at a higher level…….”

“Hey, take your research for later! Now send me back!”

“O, being of another world. I am sorry but that is impossible. The next millennium day is in another thousand years. Moreover, I cannot set the coordinates, so even if you do go back, how can you be sure that it is your world?”

This grandpa’s speech was firm. Welp, JiWoon was screwed now.

‘Ha, s.h.i.t. My pitiful life. I just got employed too…….’

No, there should be another way.

“Isn’t there another method? You talked about circles and whatnot. Is it possible if you become that 9 circle or something? When will you become one? Next year? Or the one after that?”

“Hahaha, this fella. You must have come from a world without magic. 9 circles is the realm of demiG.o.ds that only dragons can hope of reaching. It has been 32 years since I became an 8 circle, but I can’t even grasp the slightest possibility of becoming one. The hourgla.s.s of my life will finish sooner…….”

JiWoon couldn’t help but get angry at this old dude’s words. Screw respecting the elderly.

“Hey, do you think I wanted to come here? It became like this because of your weird experiments! How are you going to take responsibility, huh?”

“I really am sorry, being of another world. Just be aware that I did not intend to do so. I shall help you settle here with all of my heart and resources, so don’t be so disheartened. Even though I look like this, everyone in the continent knows about the Tardema family!

“I don’t care about that. All of my family, friends, workplace, everything is on the other side. What good is settling? Ah s.h.i.t, this is getting on my nerves!”

All he had was the Casio scientific calculator in his trouser pocket. His coat that had his phone and the wallet couldn’t be seen anywhere. They seemed to have drifted away into the river. But he was supposed to settle here? This was a world he knew nothing about. There were two moons, dragons, unicorns in this same place. Heck there were people who could cast magic in this place! Who knows what else is there?

As though he sympathized, old man Tardema started consoling JiWoon. It was just like giving him a disease then giving him the cure.

“I have not created a family, so I cannot possibly understand how you feel, but I acknowledge of my mistakes. Why don’t we look for a method together? Oh! How about you try to learn magic? If you can become a 9 circle mage, then not to mention going home, you can earn wealth and fame. Isn’t that killing two birds with one stone?”

“But you had no progress for 32 whole years! Even if it does work, I’ll be an old dude like you, what good is going back then?”

“Don’t you see from how you became younger? If you can reach 9 circles, then you will be able to manipulate time as you wish. Meaning, you can return to your world in your younger self.”

Unfortunately, old man Tardema’s words were just to console JiWoon. To his knowledge, it was impossible for a human to reach the realm of 9 circles. Not only that, it was still unknown if 9 circles would actually allow for temporal manipulation.

However, JiWoon was completely fooled by this old man in his 80s.

“Okay then. You teach me then! I’ll learn this magic thing and go back home!”

Well then. Is it so easy? JiWoon’s future looked as bleak as a foggy day.