Chapter 8: Prologue: A small advice is all I can give (2)
"I never thought you'd win that match," Aliyah remarked as the three of them sat in the quiet room.
"Was I really that bad at swordsmanship before?"
"Not bad, per se. But you never won — not even against kids."
'Well, ouch.' Elijah rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair.
To be fair, swordsmanship was considered barbaric and outdated in this world. Most people relied on Mahika (magic), making physical combat a relic of the past.
'Still,' Elijah thought, sneaking a glance at Dae-hyun, who had been staring at him far longer than was comfortable.
'This guy is definitely suspecting me... God, I should've realized that it's weird to bring kendo into a world where it doesn't exist!'
Dae-hyun's gaze didn't waver, even if Elijah tried to act normal. But the longer the silence stretched, the more beads of sweat gathered on his forehead.
'I bet he's going to ask—'
Well just as expected, the yellow-haired lad spoke.
"I wanted to ask something..."
'AHHH, HERE IT COMES!' Elijah's mind screamed as his body tensed.
In a panic, Elijah blurted out, "I-don't-have-memories-or-anything-but-I-think-I-learned-swordsmanship-by-watching-you-before." The words tumbled out like a poorly rehearsed rap, and his face froze in an awkward, robotic expression.
Dae-hyun blinked, clearly taken aback. "I wasn't going to ask about that."
"Oh," Elijah said, relief washed over him. "Cool."
Dae-hyun glanced briefly at Aliyah, who raised an eyebrow. Sensing his discomfort, she spoke up. "I'll fetch some tea."
"N-no, there's no need—"
"It's fine, it's fine," she said with a cheerful wave. "Enjoy your boys' talk. I won't take long." With that, she stepped out, leaving the two in an awkward silence.
Tik...toc...Tik...tok...
"..."
"..."
'Well, this is awkward.' Elijah tapped the armrest of his chair with his gaze darting the room.
"Hey—"
"Um, Elijah—"
The two spoke at the same time.
"You go first."
"I'm fine, you can go first."
"It's not important; I just wanted to break the silence."
"Actually, I wanted to talk about the spar..."
Elijah's face reverted to robotic mode.
"I-know-nothing."
"I knew you worked hard," Dae-hyun replied with a faint smile. "Honestly, I'm glad. Even if you've forgotten, your body still remembers how to hold a sword."
"...Huh?"
"At first, when you asked me about that sword style, I thought you were just trying to get along with me," he admitted. "But now, I can see you've really put effort into it."
'What effort?! I literally winged the whole thing!' Elijah thought but nodded as if he understood what he just said. 'It wasn't because of you! It's because of my instinct!'
"To be honest, I've been worried about you. Especially after you started bashing your head against walls out of nowhere yesterday."
"?????!"
"...And I wanted to tell you something," Dae-hyun replied hesitantly.
"Go ahead."
Dae-hyun hesitated for a moment before blurting,
"I was reincarnated."
"Hm mhm I see- wait...-" Elijah choked, spitting water everywhere. "Ha?! What?!"
"I know it sounds crazy," Dae-hyun continued quickly. "But this is all just a video game I played. I was reincarnated as a background character."
"..." Elijah's mind raced. 'Obviously, I know that. I wrote the damn novel. But why are you saying this so bluntly? And why are you telling me?!'
Dae-hyun's voice grew grave. "At first, I thought it didn't matter since we were just background characters. But something big is coming—an S-rank Nightmare will appear near this town soon. Everyone... including you... might die."
Elijah remained quiet, listening intently.
'Nightmares, huh... In the novel I wrote, Nightmares were just a simpler term for monsters. Though Dae-hyun misunderstood—it wasn't just a normal S-rank. It was stronger than that. A monster capable of wiping out the whole country.'
'Now... what should a mob character like me say to all this?'
He forced himself to look shocked. "An S-rank Nightmare? Are you crazy?! What could we possibly do about it?!"
"Don't worry... If we destroy its egg before it hatches, we can stop it. I'm planning to handle it tonight."
Elijah's thoughts spiraled. 'You're wrong. That thing hatched yesterday. It's only a matter of time before it regains full strength...'
'Oh well, if the main plot happens the way I wrote it, Aliyah is enough of a sacrifice to keep the monster sealed again...'
"...Why are you telling me this, though?"
Dae-hyun smiled softly. "Because all this time, you waited for me to tell you my secret. There's no other friend like you."
For a moment, Elijah felt a strange pang of guilt. The sincerity in Dae-hyun's seems to be genuine, but another part of him rejected it.
'This Elijah isn't the Elijah he knew before,' Elijah thought grimly.
'I've been treating everyone here as just characters I wrote. I never truly saw them as human beings...'
'What if... they're alive, just like me?'
Taking a deep breath, he finally spoke. "There's only one piece of advice I can give you."
Dae-hyun leaned in, listening intently.
"Escape. And do nothing."
****
The night drifted on as Elijah stood by his window, his gaze fixed on the darkened path below.
He glanced briefly at the wall clock. The hands ticked closer to midnight, and as soon as they aligned at 12:00, a faintly glowing holographic system interface appeared before him.
[ Prologue had begun ]
Moments later, a figure emerged in the distance—a young man with yellow hair draped in a black cloak.
Even from afar, Elijah could see the hologram floating above his head.
It was Dae-hyun.
Not far ahead of him, a young girl was running.
It was Aliyah.
Although he half expected it to happen, Elijah couldn't help but feel conflicted.
"I see... so in the end, it will still follow the main plot huh..."
He murmured softly before covering the window with curtains.
Making his way to the bed, Elijah laid down, staring at the ceiling before finally shutting his eyes.
"I guess... after I wake up, Prologue is done."