"So, our goal is clear, but how can we go back?" Liam said in a calm tone, as if asking the most logical question after their agreement.
I answered them seriously, focusing on the first step: "The only thing we need to think about right now is meeting each other, and that's done by breaking the barrier. But how will we do that?"
Millis said in a subtle, hinting tone, as if trying to convey an important idea: "Louyan, and everyone, I wanted to tell you this. Louyan, you said we're probably before the novel's midpoint events, right?"
I told her calmly, trying to understand what she was hinting at: "Oh, that's what I was able to deduce from the fact that this place hasn't collapsed yet."
Millis said with clear certainty, as if she had realized something huge: "For your information, I think Liam and I are on the Purple Poison Island, because our entire surroundings point to that. But the strange thing is that it hasn't been destroyed yet."
Suddenly, understanding dawned on me, but Luca beat me to it and asked her with surprised seriousness: "Do you mean we haven't even reached the events of the novel's quarter-mark?"
Millis confirmed in a confident voice: "Yes, I'm sure of this. The book mentioned that this place was destroyed because of a fight between one of the heroes and a villain, but the place is still as it was before the battle. So, I think the events of the novel's quarter-mark haven't arrived yet."
Evan added with a worried but analytically insistent tone: "And to add to your knowledge, I think we are at the very beginning of the novel's events. Why? Because last night I analyzed this island's soil and it wasn't poisoned. Do you remember the initial events, when someone in chapter five or six—I don't remember exactly—said he would spread poison here to make the insects go crazy and attack people?"
Liam sighed in surrender: "Are you saying we're really at the very beginning of the novel? Ah... that's a lot then."
I asked, trying to return to tangible reality after the shock of the information: "Guys, umm... do you know what time it is now?" But all I received was quiet silence.
Yuna asked in a questioning tone: "What about your watch?"
I told them seriously: "The hands of the watch stopped, and for your information, they stopped at the moment we were pulled through the gate, at twelve-ten."
Evan said with clear tension: "You're joking, right?"
Allen responded with biting sarcasm: "I feel like we've become characters in a horror movie... suddenly a certain person appears, holding a knife and running after us, haha!"
Evan's voice trembled as he said in a tone of fear: "You have to stop that... that's scary!"
Allen said in a strangely serious and warning tone: "Oh no, in your condition, the trees might just fall on you because they're dry."
Evan and Yuna both yelled at the same time: "Allen! That's enough!"
Allen laughed at them with clear mockery: "Hahahaha."
I said, trying to get back to the topic: "Let's forget about that now, Allen... Oh guys, why on earth does the bag look like a spatial pocket or something?"
A sudden silence fell, then Evan said in an angry tone: "Didn't you know? You really don't know? For your information , it was this spacious even two years ago! Why do you think that is?"
Luca said in an analytical tone, understanding Evan's logic: "Are you saying it didn't become this way because we transported? Wait a minute, his point is logical! I mean, all these strange items are from our trip two years ago, so how did it become so spacious back then, and we didn't notice?"
Millis said, trying to calm Evan: "Maybe because we didn't take out all the items at the time... Evan, so what's going on with it? I know you're probably angry because you told us, and we don't remember."
Evan said, focusing his words on me: "Ah, you really don't remember! For your information, This was the first joint invention between me and your brother Louis. , Louyan."
I said in a completely surprised tone, unable to believe what I was hearing: "Are you saying that you and my brother managed to create a spatial pocket?"
Allen asked at the end of his speech with a tone of sudden excitement and greed: "Wait, wait, wait! Why didn't you tell us? We could have made a fortune! We could have become rich!... This explains why this specific bag fell on us. And are you saying it also has a summoning feature?"
Evan said in an explanatory tone: "No, we weren't the ones who created that feature, so I don't know how it works. I mean, suddenly when I said 'Bag' it just fell on me."
I said, looking at the bag, which would be annoying to carry on the road: "Can it disappear or shrink?"
Evan said: "I haven't figured that out yet..."
And before he could finish, I said in a tone of simple experimentation: "Disappear." I said it, wishing the bag would vanish, and I watched it fade before my eyes.
I said in an unbelievably calm tone: "It's gone."
Millis said with excitement and joy: "Haaa... Disappear! Oh! Mine is gone too!"
Luca began to gather the threads in a serious tone: "Now, the bag problem is solved, and we know we're at the beginning of the events of each part. So, the first thing we'll do is..."
His serious talk was interrupted by Liam's weary, bored tone: "We'll hide until the fighting intensifies, and when they break the barrier, we can meet up, and I don't want to participate in wars!"
Yuna said, trying to convince Liam with harsh logic: "And be easily killed? Ah... The heroes and villains aren't safe, so what about normal humans? We'll be easy prey for them, brother."
Millis sighed, saying to Liam bitterly: "Yuna's words have logic. And for your information, our specific side—yours and mine—involves a lot of wars, so I don't think we can hide."
Liam said, accepting the matter bitterly: "What a tragic reality!"
Luca said in an angry tone due to the repeated interruptions: "Can you all stop interrupting me when I'm speaking?!"
Yuna, Millis, and Liam all said at the same time: "Sorry."
Luca resumed the discussion, ignoring the matter: "Forget it... now we need powers to survive. Any suggestions?"
Yuna said, trying to gather information: "Remind me of the powers in this novel."
I told her, recalling the available powers: "Swordsman, Magic Swordsman, Mage, Sorcerer, Nature Powers... What else? Shouldn't a system appear to us, like in all transmigration novels?"
I finished my speech by asking them: "I mean, why haven't I tried it? System! Power System! Hey, is anyone here?" I said, looking around, but there was no response.
Luca said, sighing at my imprecise answer: "Louyan, we tried before you, but there's nothing like that. And we mean powers, not weapons, despite the Nature Powers."
And in our silence, Liam said: "I wish for a power for a lazy person."
Allen said in a serious tone for the first time, surprised by Liam's enthusiasm: "Oh... seriously, I can't believe Liam said he wants to fight! Is this a historic moment? Wait! I didn't bring the camera to record this moment!"
"I already have a voice recorder..." I said, intending to take it out.
Liam yelled, cutting me off: "Fine! Fine! I have to survive and go back to sleep, so I'm trying, okay? It's all for the sake of sleep!"
I laughed at him then said: "Millis, what do you think about becoming a Magic Swordsman?"
Millis said in a serious tone and then continued: "No, I just want to be stronger with my sword alone. So, I think the Magic Swordsman would suit you, Louyan."
Yuna laughed, saying: "Oh yeah, that's right! I remember when Louyan broke the baseball bat! He used Your sword scabbard Millis to score a goal, haha!"
I told them, justifying my position: "Hey! I didn't have time to get a new bat! Besides, I prefer Taekwondo." while hearing them laugh.
Evan said amidst his laughter: "Maybe the bat would suit you better as a weapon."
Luca said with a fake shudder: "No, I bet it would suit Allen more, especially when he gets angry and his demonic face shows, it would be terrifying."
Then I imagined the scene... Yes, it would be terrifying. I felt a shiver run down my spine as I imagined it.
Allen said in a purposeful tone, trying to steer the discussion back: "Hey! Stop talking about me! Oh, what about the powers? You know they're the foundation for everyone except the Mage and the Priest."
Luca returned, with a serious and focused tone, as if grasping the planning threads again: "Let's set the sarcasm aside. Allen is right. Powers here determine your fate. We can't survive as normal humans in a world where the barrier between dimensions is about to break!"
Yuna interrupted him in a hasty, practical tone: "So what's the fastest way to acquire combat power? We won't be able to train for years like the novel's characters."
I said, trying to figure out what suits them based on their background: "Alright, let's use the powers mentioned in our parts... Hmm, what are the current advantages of our bodies?"
Millis said seriously: "Physical strength, poison resistance, and sword fighting."
Allen followed: "I can control staves and also have poison resistance. I can also stay up for days."
I confirmed: "Well, we all have poison resistance since childhood because of our parents' genes."
Yuna added: "And we've also trained in martial arts. I can shoot; did you forget I took a shooting course?"
Liam said, grumbling: "I'm more suited for Karate, but now I want a long-range power because I'm tired."
Evan said in a puzzled tone, oscillating between science and magic: "I'd prefer to be more like a Mage, a Seer, or a Mad Scientist."
Luca continued, ignoring their personal preferences and focusing on the facts: "So, the list is: Close-range fighter (Millis, Louyan), Firearms/Ranged trained (Yuna), Physical endurance and resistance (Allen), Technical mind (Evan), and Sleeping Liam. But none of us has an 'essential power' like the ones the inhabitants of this world are born with."
Allen said, sighing bitterly: "I told you the novel cursed us."
I said, trying to steer the discussion back to a practical course, while ignoring Allen's grumbling: "Well, maybe Allen's words are right, but that doesn't solve the problem. We must find an essential power, and as Yuna mentioned, we can't train for years. So, we must buy it, steal it, or find it. But first, we need to make our bodies fit the energy of this place, so our first option is Soul Stones."
Yuna asked directly: "Where will we find them?"
I said, sighing and flipping through the novel's pages: "I guess you all have to reread the novel, and we'll find them."
Millis said as a final confirmation: "So, our current goal is to find the Soul Stones."
Luca, regaining his planning tone, said: "Alright, then we'll do it. Let's communicate when one of us finds a stone."
Yuna said with both sarcasm and excitement: "Yes, the first trip to death! Oooh, I'm excited!"
"If we count yesterday, it's the second trip," Evan said, sighing.
I laughed as I quietly ended the communication: "Alright, then, goodbye."
And my gaze turned to the novel.
I placed my hand on the white cover decorated with blue; it really suited the novel's events. I remember we bought it after returning from the exploration trip. Yes, we bought it, not I bought it, because we literally pooled our money to buy all five parts.
I continued flipping through the book's pages, looking for any mention of the "Ice Volcano Islands," the name of the island I was currently on. "Hmm... it said there's a place for Soul Stones here, but where?" I kept flipping and flipping for fifteen minutes, ignoring the things that weren't related to this island.
"Ah... seriously! I remember Millis, when she read it to us, said there were Soul Stones, but where?"
I set the novel aside and waved my hand in the air as a sign of temporary despair. I looked at my spot. There were empty food cans and water bottles. I wondered how to clean them up. "I mean, if I leave them, I'll pollute the environment, but also in the future, they'll know someone was here. Hmm, should I burn them with fire?" I wondered, while directing my gaze to the volcanoes, which were a little distant.
"Bag!" I said, and it fell onto me. I grabbed it, opened it, and put all the empty cans inside.
"Alright, I can throw them away later."
"Disappear!" The bag vanished from in front of me. Suddenly, a crazy idea occurred to me.
"Bag!" I said it again, and when it fell, I grabbed it with a smile and put it on my back. I wondered with immense tension and curiosity, and with excitement mixed with fear: Will it take me with it when it disappears? I said loudly, galvanized:
"Disappear... Disappear! Why isn't it happening? Oooohhhh!"
Just when I thought it hadn't disappeared, I felt a tremendous pressure clamping down on my body. The sky-blue color surrounding me began to fade, replaced by a deep purple, then graded into dark red, then velvety black. I felt as if I was being pulled inside a time tunnel, all colors being crushed and the pressure mounting, as if a thousand invisible hands were dragging me into the depths. The air began to thicken, and I felt my lungs were about to burst!
I opened my eyes with difficulty, to find myself standing in a place that was supposed to be a part of the novel, but it was the worst nightmare I had ever imagined. The ground was covered with charred corpses, black bodies piled on top of each other, interspersed with shattered bones that shimmered in a pale color under a gray, blood-congested sky. There was no green, no blue sky, only the colors of destruction and death. And everywhere, gleaming red eyes glowed—bodiless eyes—following my every move, as if they were tormented souls finding no peace.
An unbearable pressure filled the place, a spiritual and physical pressure that made me feel disconnected from my reality. The air was heavy, saturated with the smell of death and iron. Every time I turned, those red eyes followed me, intensifying the panic that swept over me. My heart pounded in my ears like a drum, and my breath caught. I couldn't bear this terrifying sight and the tremendous pressure. I screamed at the top of my lungs, a scream mixed with fear and despair, while all I could utter was one word, the only word of salvation I trusted:
"Bag!"
With great difficulty, while panting, my head spinning, and my eyes almost fainting from the intense pressure and panic, I mumbled the word again, as if it were my only hope for survival:
"B-b-bag!"
And suddenly, I felt the pressure vanish, the black and red colors withdrawing, and the eyes disappearing. The cold returned to my limbs, and I collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily, inhaling the cold air wildly, as if I had returned from the abyss of death.
"Wha... what the hell did I just see? Ugh..." My gaze turned to the bag again as I wondered why it had taken me to that place. I tried to gather my wits and regulate my breathing, and I sat down, remembering what I had seen. It was a war, but where? I'm sure the wars haven't started in the novel yet. I mean, there are wars already, but currently, at the beginning of the events, there wasn't a war this crazy! I have to tell them later not to try what I did. I sighed as I picked up the book again with my trembling hands.
As I flipped through, the scene was still in my head. When did it appear? Why are there wars? Weren't we at the beginning of the novel? Yes, we are sure we are at the beginning of the novel, but what was that scene? And does the bag always go there? Suddenly, I looked at the bag again... No, I can't have gone there! Shouldn't it have been torn apart? I mean, it was a war, so.... I pressed my head with both hands. "Why... why did it want to show me that scene? I know someone sent this bag to us, but who? Do they know about our transmigration? Do they know that we are just humans whose bodies don't suit this world? And if they could reach the bag and send it to us, can they send us back to our world?" The questions clashed and spun in my head.
I sighed deeply. "Maybe... maybe they intend for us to do something, but what? And why us specifically?"
As I flipped and flipped, I calmed down a little and noticed something. "Maybe... maybe it wasn't clearly mentioned, maybe it was mentioned in someone's dialogue... dialogue... dialogue!" I racked my brain, hoping to remember. "Oh yes! How could I forget this!" I flipped the pages and reached what I wanted. "Yes, this is it! This is their place!" And when I finished reading the scene completely, I put the novel and the character cards in the bag and told it to disappear. Well, I still have questions about it, but now I'm too weak to figure anything out, so...
I stood up, looking at my body. My clothes, which I noticed had dried from the water (when? I don't know), looked strange to the inhabitants of this world. Does it matter now? No. So, let's ignore it.
I only had Millis's blade and my golden watch, but I think that's enough. I directed my gaze toward the volcanoes. Yes, that is my current destination.
I tightened my grip on the blade; it was cold and heavy, giving me a false sense of security. "The Soul Stones... beneath the Glacial Volcanoes, the place I had just read. It wasn't mentioned in the main text, but in a margin added in a later edition, pointing to the hidden location of the seeds of power.
I started moving. The ground was hard and covered with a thin layer of ice despite the proximity of the volcanoes. I lifted my head and looked at the calm blue sky, which seemed painfully innocent after the blood-congested sky I had just witnessed.
I ignored it and continued walking. The journey was supposed to take at least an hour. I couldn't walk straight to the volcanoes or I'd be burned alive, so it was said there was a tunnel near the ice's edge. I continued walking on the natural ground parallel to the icy surface. The cold air hit my skin. I hadn't worn a warm jacket because we would be going under the volcanoes, so I figured I would die of heat then.
My journey continued along the natural dividing line between the volcanoes and the ice. After half an hour, I found strange soil. Not because of its color, but because it didn't look level. I stepped on it to confirm if it was the spot, and I was sure it was. I knelt down, removing soil and pebbles, and saw a small opening, only big enough to fit a hand.
When I looked, I saw a button shaped like a ruby. The novel mentioned that someone reached in, thinking it was a real ruby, but he tried to pull it out many times and failed, so he brought his friends and many powerful people, but no one could extract it. When one of the strange characters heard about this, he wanted to try his luck. Well, you could say he knew later a smartest character in the novel. So, instead of using force, he first deduced it wasn't a ruby.
I reached in, trying to recall what he did. This island was only called the "Frozen Volcano Island" by the readers because that's how it was first described. But when its name was mentioned, it turned out to be "Eclipse." Yes, this place was more than four thousand years old, meaning the name was extremely ancient.
Eclipse means the Sun and the Moon, two opposites, a balance between two forces that don't usually meet—a rare moment when the world pauses between burning and freezing.
First, he needed to move it slightly to the right. Then I stood up, brought a handful of snow with my hand, and used Millis's blade to take a piece of lava, placing both of them at the same moment. Moments later, a high gleam appeared from this fake ruby, and it absorbed both the ice and the fire.
I stepped back a little and heard the sound of the earth splitting beside me, revealing a large tunnel resembling a cave entrance.
The cave is the only place where the effect of the Sun and the Moon gathered together, becoming a center for the energy that combines fire and ice.
That is why it is located beneath the "Glacial Volcanoes," because the volcanoes represent the fire of the Sun, and the ice represents the coldness of the Moon.
In the future, he was the one who discovered it, perhaps because he deduced that both fire and ice don't reach here and that no one had tried to move it. Now I must enter. I looked at the tunnel, hoping not to encounter anything strange.