Chapter 1: Ambush
“Where are you from, uncle?”
The man addressed as uncle, Russell, opened his eyes. His gaze fell on an innocent-looking little girl who was staring at him intently.
“I’m not an uncle.”
“But you have so much beard.”
“What do you mean so much? It’s just a little rough.”
“No, it’s a lot, uncle.”
“Why are you arguing with me?”
“Boo.”
The little girl stuck her bright red tongue out. Russell considered sticking his own tongue out in response, but he stopped himself. Instead, he merely looked at the little girl with his heavy-lidded eyes.
Russell’s attire was simple yet practical: a quilted leather jerkin, a leather belt that crossed his chest diagonally and was also wrapped around his waist, a longsword and a dagger attached to it, polished leather pants, and studded boots. He looked like a well-equipped mercenary, but the little girl didn’t seem particularly intimidated by it.
It had been two days since he had joined the caravan that traveled from town to town and city to city. The little girl, who had seemed shy during the day, approached him without hesitation after realizing that he was surprisingly easy to talk to.
He has extremely black hair. He has big hands. He has long legs. And so on.
Perhaps it was because of his experience looking after his half-siblings in his previous life. Or maybe it was because he didn’t dismiss her as just a child. Little children are sensitive to the emotions of adults. And there’s no little kid who likes to be treated like a little kid.
Anyway, he was popular with children.
Russell raised his hand and rubbed his chin. It definitely felt rough.
Since he didn’t have the luxury of shaving in front of a bathroom mirror every time he woke up, his beard naturally grew out. He didn’t carry a mirror with him, so he didn’t feel the need to shave.
“Does having a beard make someone an uncle?”
“My sister said that when a man grows a beard, he becomes an uncle.”
“Is that so?”
Russell chuckled. He wasn’t old enough to be called an uncle, but in the girl’s eyes, he probably was.
“Uncle, where are you from?”
“Why are you curious about where I’m from?”
“Hmm. . .”
The little girl trailed off, but Russell could guess why. It was probably because of his exotic appearance. His long black hair tied at the back would also be uncommon in this region. Blacker than a dark night, and with a deep purple hue when under bright lights.
Hair like that was common among the nomads who lived in the steppes beyond the frost-swept Awnhilnar Mountains. Of course, there were people with black hair on the continent as well. However, stereotypes often prevailed.
In addition, Russell’s physique was so large that he could be mistaken for a barbarian. Even though he was sitting with his back against the wall of the carriage, his head seemed to touch the ceiling, his shoulders were broad, and his long legs took up a lot of space in the already cramped carriage.
For children who had grown up hearing that if they didn’t stop crying, a black-haired, furry monster from the mountains would come and get them, Russell’s appearance must have seemed exactly like that monster.
“Do I look like I’m from Erkasha?”
Russell hunched over slightly and mentioned the name of one of the tribes that lived beyond the mountains. It was the name of a steppe tribe that was relatively well-known on the continent.
The girl blushed as she saw Russell’s round, bulging eyes and face that had come closer. Then she muttered softly.
“. . .No.”
“Why?”
“Because your eyes are pretty.”
Is that enough of a reason for a child? Well, Russell’s eyes were unusual. They had purple irises, which were even rarer than his black hair.
“Really? Yours are pretty too.”
The girl’s eyes were a deep blue. Probably one of the most common colors on this continent. Strangely enough, the people of this continent had a wide variety of eye colors. He had only seen blue eyes in photographs or videos in his previous life. Instead, he saw them a lot in this life, so he was fortunate.
“Hehe. Really?”
“Yeah.”
As if she had forgotten her question, the little girl giggled. Her innocent appearance reminded Russell of his younger sister in his current life. She had been so small when he left, as if she was only up to his waist. ‘I wonder how much she’s grown.’
He could still vividly remember her begging him to carry her on his back yesterday. Her sleepy eyes were so cute.
“It’s really amazing. It’s an eye color that almost never appears naturally.”
Just then, someone else joined the conversation. It was a woman with fiery red hair and emerald green eyes. Her skin was fair and flawless, her eyebrows were arched, her eyes were large, her nose had a beautiful curve, and her lips were a healthy shade of red. She was a beauty who seemed to embody Western beauty.
A thin robe was wrapped around her back, and underneath it she wore armor made of multiple layers of chain and leather. She looked like a skilled traveler. She said:
“I read in a book that when one is blessed by mana, one’s eyes take on such a color. . . Can you wield magic?”
Mana. Even at this moment, the power of another world comes in and out according to Russell’s breathing.
Mana. Even at this moment, this fabricated power was steadily accumulating within Russell’s body.
“Is it really necessary to answer that?”
“I don’t necessarily want to hear it. It’s a story from an old, ancient text, so you don’t have to worry about it. I just like your eyes as much as this child does.”
She reached out her hand.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Evelyn.”
The hand that the woman named Evelyn revealed was white and slender. Russell was reminded of a famous old saying from his previous world. Would there be a similar phrase in this land?
“Russell.”
A large, strong hand grasped Evelyn’s and shook it. Evelyn’s hand, which he had held directly, was colder and rougher than he had expected. The little girl who had been watching joined in and extended her small hand.
“My name is Daphne!”
“Nice to meet you, Daphne. I’m Evelyn.”
“Nice to meet you, Evelyn!”
Daphne, who had shaken hands with Evelyn, looked at Russell with sparkling eyes. Russell smiled at the sight of her bright blue eyes and shook her hand. Three of his fingers were enough to hold Daphne’s hand.
“Russell.”
“Nice to meet you, Russell!”
After the introductions, Evelyn looked at Russell and said:
“I heard about you before I got on this carriage.”
“Yeah. They said you’re a wizard.”
“Oh, you don’t sound like you believe it.”
“Because you look too young. When I think of wizards and witches, I imagine old grandpas and grandmas with white beards and white hair. Are you perhaps older than you look?”
“No, you’re the real barbarian. From beyond the Awnhilnar Mountains.”
Mentioning age seemed to make both women and men grumpy. Evelyn played with Daphne nicely. To prove that she was not a fake wizard, she created a small ball of light and made it bounce on the palm of her hand. Daphne watched the rabbit made of light with her mouth open, and Russell’s face, who was watching her, suddenly hardened.
Evelyn saw Russell’s hardened expression and turned off the light.
“Oh, why?”
“Shh.”
Russell blocked Evelyn’s excuse with his index finger. His keen senses had picked up on something beyond the carriage. Evelyn, who had become serious all of a sudden, whispered:
“What’s going on?”
“It’s an ambush.”
“What?”
Neighhhhhhh!
Along with the sound of a horse neighing, something pierced the wall of the carriage and stuck its head out. It was an arrow.
“It’s an ambush!”
“Monsters!”
The carriage came to an abrupt stop, and screams and shouts began to fill the air.
Evelyn handed Daphne to her parents and ran outside. Russell was about to follow her when the little girl shouted:
“Uncle, don’t die!”
When Russell looked back, the little girl had a frightened expression, but her eyes were looking at him without wavering. Russell stuck out his bright red tongue like the little girl had and swallowed it. Daphne was the only one who saw it, since everyone else in the carriage was bowing their heads and trembling. The little girl’s eyes widened.
“I told you I’m not an uncle.”
He stepped out of the carriage. The sun was high in the sky and there were no clouds in sight. There was a forest on both sides. It was a good place to ambush someone waiting at the crossroads.
Russell took a deep breath and let it out. It was such a good feeling to not have anything stuck in his nose or throat.
As soon as he exhaled forcefully, he caught a spear that was flying towards his head from his blind spot without even looking.
“Hmm.”
Russell turned his head and faced the one who had thrown the spear.
Uruk. It was a grey-skinned monster that was a distant relative of the orcs. It was wearing armor, suggesting that this was not its first time ambushing humans.
Trophies were hanging all over his waist. They were human heads with only the skin remaining, dried up and worn out.
Its skin was blackened from being exposed to the sun for a long time, its nose was rotted and gone, and its lips were gone, revealing its scattered teeth. Russell frowned.
“What a disgusting taste.”
“Kuaaa! Hu, man! Gi, ve!”
The uruk charged straight at Russell with an axe in its hand. It was unclear whether it was angry that Russell had caught its spear or that he had not respected its taste.
Uruks couldn’t even speak properly in the first place. They were clearly an inferior species to orcs.
The uruk, which had run up close, swung its axe down from top to bottom. It was fast, as befitting a powerful monster.
However, it was an honest blow with no skill or technique, so Russell dodged the attack by simply taking a step to the side.
He did not draw his sword. He had decided to test his senses and fists today.
As the axe slammed into the dirt floor, Russell’s right fist cut through the air.
Bam!
The uruk lost its strength in its hand and dropped the axe handle that was stuck in the ground. The uruk, which had been swaying back and forth for a moment, fell to its knees and then forward. The fallen uruk had no head. Blood flowed from the roughly torn neck stump and soaked the ground.
He had committed an act of extreme violence, but Russell was not shaken at all.
If he had been the Russell from South Korea, he would have collapsed. No, he wouldn’t have been able to throw a punch like this in the first place. He had to take six or seven pills a day and was so weak that he couldn’t even do ten push-ups.
However, Russell of this world is different. He is strong. Both physically and mentally.
The sensation of flesh and blood being crushed by his fist was still vivid.
He doesn’t tremble.
He doesn’t waver.
The strong mental strength and composure that had been embedded in this body since the moment he was reborn and able to think allowed him to maintain his rationality even more clearly. It probably wouldn’t change even if he killed someone directly.
Russell retracted his outstretched fist and cracked his knuckles. There wasn’t a single scratch. He had known it, but the body he had acquired after being reborn had a strange quality that was different from ordinary people from a young age. With the addition of the power called mana, his fists were harder than a boulder.
It also had something to do with the reason why he had left home.
Russell, who had been fidgeting with his intact hand, turned around. He could see the travelers trembling and shivering inside the carriage. Russell scanned them and stopped at Daphne, who was held tightly in her mother’s arms.
Daphne seemed to be unafraid of the screams and howls outside, and her sparkling eyes were fixed on Russell. It seemed that she was impressed by what she had just seen him do.
“Stay still inside. Don’t be hit by random arrows or spears.”
At his words, the travelers nodded anxiously. Russell ignored the gazes piercing the back of his head and turned his attention back to the battle scene.
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