The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years (Web Novel KR)

“Boss, is this really okay?”

A man with buck teeth. His entire body was covered in dirt and his hair and beard were ungroomed and scattered.

The man was almost a perfect representation of a bandit.

‘Lukas’ answered the man’s question.

“The plan is perfect.”

“That… Of course I know that. Boss’ operations have never failed before.”

“If you know that then you shouldn’t be feeling so anxious.”

“It’s because the targets this time are nobles.”

The man frowned as he spoke.

“If even a rat escapes, they will definitely try to get revenge. Don’t you know that too, boss? Just how terrible those guys are.”

“You’re talking about revenge. But we won’t leave any traces, just like we always do.”

“But…”

“We have already found their forces and route. We have plenty of time to carry out the operation, and our chances of failure are less than 1%. Don’t you know that?”

“Mm…”

The operation would take about an hour.

In that time, it was possible to kill all of their targets, rob money and valuables, and escape after cleaning up completely.

That was what the feelings developed from the man’s experience told him.

He knew that.

He knew that, but…

“Trust me, Tuvel.”

‘Lukas’ spoke in a deep tone.

“Have I ever betrayed your expectations?”

“…”

“Besides, this is necessary. Our family is much bigger now. If we don’t increase the scope of our area and target, it’ll be much harder for our family to live.”

“…that’s… true.”

When he brought up the logical explanation, Tuvel couldn’t help but nod.

His expression soon became serious as he said.

“I’ll follow your orders, boss.”

“Good idea.”

‘Lukas’ nodded and drew his sword.

“Then let’s get started.”

* * *

Lukas woke up from his dream.

Hoot hoot, the cries of owls rang out ominously. This told him that it was still late at night.

‘…water.’

He was unusually thirsty. Lukas got up from his bedding and walked towards the drinking fountain in the hallway. There, he took one of the provided cups and filled it halfway with water before drinking it.

It had been three days since he’d come to this place, but that was his first dream.

No. Was that even a dream?

[It wasn’t a dream.]

He heard a voice.

He looked around, but he could not see anyone. But the voice that seemed to whisper directly into his brain had, without a doubt, come from ‘Lukas’.

“It was your memory.”

[As expected, you’re pretty quick-witted. Like me.]

“…you, were a bandit?”

Someone who killed people and robbed them of their money and valuables. Trash that lived by stealing the results of others’ sweat and blood.

That was what Lukas knew about bandits. And that was why he couldn’t believe it, which caused his voice to be filled with disbelief.

[Right.]

‘Lukas’ affirmed nonchalantly.

This made him speechless. Even though Lukas knew there were other possibilities, he never thought there would be one where he became a bandit.

[Do you think this is the time to be swept up in my memories? You don’t have the time to relax.]

“What do you mean?”

[Your body in the dumpsite is going to die.]

“…!”

Lukas trembled in shock.

Then he recalled Pale’s words.

The five colour meal.

Before the colour of the sky changed five times, everyone had to eat at least once.

Otherwise, they’d disappear.

[You seem to have misunderstood. You’re not going to disappear. You’re going to die.]

As if reading his mind, ‘Lukas’ spoke up.

[There is no concept of disappearance in the dumpsite. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be a pile of corpses.]

“…”

[Instead, there are things called ‘three day bugs’. They are smaller than a fingernail, and they usually live in groups that can number in the millions. They are very docile until they find their prey that is… Kuku.]

‘Lukas’ chuckled and asked.

[Do you know why they’re called ‘three day bugs’?]

There was no way he’d know that.

[It’s because they devour anything that hasn’t moved in three days. Sooner or later, they will consider your body to be prey as well.]

“Does that mean that three days have actually passed?”

[Right. The flow of time in this world is the same as the place you came from.]

This meant that the ‘real Lukas’ hadn’t eaten anything in three days.

‘Lukas’ spoke in a cynical tone.

[This isn’t the time to worry about your starving body. What you should really be worrying about are the three day bugs. I know that your pain tolerance is pretty high, but the pain they inflict far exceeds your imagination…]

“You should have told me sooner.”

Lukas spoke in an annoyed tone, but he only received a laugh in response.

[Why would I do that? Don’t get this wrong. Just because we’re basically the same person doesn’t mean I am on your side. I don’t care even if you fail and die.]

“What?”

[Even if you die here, another ‘Lukas’ will eventually come for my body… Then I’ll just test ‘me’ again. All I hope is for a Lukas who will be strong enough to inherit my everything…]

“Are you saying that you can choose?”

The fact that a long dead corpse could choose who would be eaten or not was completely incomprehensible for Lukas.

[The difference is efficiency. If you show a suitable answer in this illusion, the power you will obtain will increase exponentially.]

“Don’t be ridiculous. I doubt that the power of a bandit would make me strong enough to matter.”

[Consuming ‘yourself’ in the World of Void is not so simple. It doesn’t matter how strong I was during my lifetime.]

“…”

[As I told you before, it’s a matter of efficiency… Lukas. My corpse doesn’t just consist of flesh, blood, bones and maggots. It also has ‘something that you need right now’.]

…Efficiency.

Pale had mentioned something similar before.

At that moment, Lukas felt like he’d finally understood what the corpses dumped in the dumpsite were.

They were not truly dead, instead, they had been frozen before death. And they were all waiting in that state.

In the hope that someday, another self would come along, inherit their everything, and fulfil all of the lingering regrets that they could not throw away.

In other words, the dumpsite stored the corpses of the losers.

[…by the way, I’ve been analysing your inner thoughts for the past few days.]

‘Lukas’’ voice continued calmly.

[I thought you’d be ‘like this’.]

“Like this?”

[I believe I got a glimpse of it. You have a lot of work to do. And none of it is easy.]

“…”

[The fate around you is incredibly twisted. Honestly, it took me by surprise. I’ve never seen anyone carry such a heavy fate. —That’s why I’d like to make a suggestion.]

He couldn’t see his face, but ‘Lukas’ was probably smiling.

[Why don’t you become a corpse too? Lukas.]

* * *

He could no longer hear the voice of ‘Lukas’.

But his words weren’t easily forgotten.

“…become a corpse?”

It was an invitation to become one of the losers. From none other than himself. His fists clenched tightly. The shock was so great that his chest felt tight and his stomach felt nauseous.

“Is he telling me to let someone else take care of my problems?”

Anger began to seep into his voice.

-No.

That wasn’t it. The meaning of his words was a bit different.

Not leaving it to someone else, leaving it to himself.

It was only then that he realised.

The reason that ‘Lukas’ was simply a loser, a corpse rolling around in the dumpsite. The reason he was so carefree despite giving up everything and not achieving anything.

It was because he was entrusting everything not to another person, but to ‘another self’.

If that was the case, could it still be seen as abandoning his responsibilities?

“Kuk.”

That didn’t matter. Or at least, it didn’t matter to Lukas.

Nevertheless, he still stumbled.

His hatred of his ‘other self’ grew. However, more than that, he felt disgusted. —Because he wasn’t completely wrong.

-I thought you’d be ‘like this’

He wasn’t wrong.

For a moment after he’d learned the truth about ‘Lukas’, who rolled around as a corpse, he felt envious. For a moment, the thought of wanting to do so as well crossed his mind.

“No.”

He was certain about one thing.

The fact that he carried the heaviest fate out of all the Lukases in the World of Void. And with that certainty came the grim conviction that no one else would be able to withstand that weight.

That was why he couldn’t pass it on.

Lukas didn’t trust anyone anymore.

Not even himself.

* * *

…Autumn.

He remembered that the first disappearance would occur at this time. But he couldn’t remember the exact date. This was because he’d probably completely forgotten about it. No matter how brilliant Lukas’ brain was, he couldn’t recall memories that he’d completely forgotten.

There was also another problem.

He remembered the disappearance event itself. He clearly remembered the first victim, Ellie, the number of victims that came after, and even the culprit.

But no matter how he thought, he could not remember how he himself had responded to the incident. This was different from forgetting about it.

There was no obscure feeling like trying to search in fog, instead, it felt like the memory related to that had been completely erased.

This was why Lukas had not done anything for three days despite knowing the identity of the culprit.

He’d wanted to make a move after recalling how he’d responded in the past.

…Because Lukas was sure that the judgement he’d make with his current thinking was far different from back then.

However, it seemed that was no longer possible.

He didn’t return to the room. Well past midnight, he headed towards a room at the end of the hallway.

He could not feel any presence behind the door.

Nevertheless, he chose to knock first.

Knock knock.

…

…

When there was no response, Lukas opened the door.

As he expected, there was no one in the room. On the table, he could see a half burnt candle and a cup of cold tea. Lukas didn’t look around the room. Instead, after closing the door, he left the orphanage.

Crunch-

The sound of his footsteps on the grass echoed slightly. When the wind blew, goosebumps rose up on his skin. The forest on an autumn night was quite chilly. This was especially so for a 12 year old boy without a coat, but Lukas didn’t care.

‘Lukas’ had said that the entire forest had not been materialised. He knew why this world had a range of 5 kilometres in every direction from the orphanage.

The forest in the middle of the night was usually a place of complete darkness, but the moonlight was especially bright tonight. It was fortunate that the forest was not thick enough to block out the sky.

Lukas waited just long enough for his eyes to get accustomed to the darkness before moving forward, each step placed carefully. There was no need to rush. The night was long.

Steadily, he proceeded through the darkness. His destination wasn’t that far away. As long as he didn’t get lost, it would not take him long to get there.

In addition, there were tracks in the grass in front of him. Tracks that showed that someone had passed through this place recently.

These tracks became the path that guided Lukas to his destination.

“…”

He stopped walking. Then, he bent his back and slowed his breaths.

In front of him was a clearing, in the middle of which was a shabby cabin. The children probably didn’t know that a place like this existed in the forest

—’Children’ being the operative word.

Creak-

The cabin door opened and someone walked out. If there was another child there together with Lukas, they probably would have screamed.

The person who appeared from the cabin was none other than Sophia. Of course, while they would be suspicious, that would not be enough to make them scream.

“Hah-”

Sophia let out a breath. She seemed to be brimming with excitement. She also seemed blissful. Whatever it was, her face was completely different from her normally calm expression.

Sophia was holding a large sack in her hands. It seemed to be quite heavy as she was dragging it across the ground instead of carrying it.

It was dark, but it was still possible to see marks left by her dragging which looked like bloodstains.

That’s right. The thing in the sack was probably a body. (TL: Or a bunch of crushed beets…)

“…”

Lukas’ gaze sank.

-The Director of Trowman Orphanage, Sophia Trowman.

She was the culprit in the disappearances of 61 children, in addition to kidnapping, confinement, murder and even cannibalism.