White.
Everything was white.
Above me.
Below me.
Even the ground beneath my feet was impossible to distinguish in this endless white space.
In the middle of a temple where dreamlike mist curled around my ankles, I sat there with a blank expression.
Um. I’m really sorry.
A woman stood in front of me, looking strangely nervous despite how perfectly she fit this surreal place.
She fidgeted with her fingers as she spoke.
Brilliant golden hair, an elegant dress, and even a faint halo glowing behind her.
Anyone would take one look at her and immediately think, Goddess.
Yet she looked more like an elementary school student who had been called in front of the teacher for not doing her homework.
So, let me summarize this.
I rubbed my face with both hands before asking.
Are you saying it was a mistake?
Yeah.
I wasn’t supposed to die, but you got me mixed up with someone else?
Well, one of the cells in the Excel sheet shifted by one row.
The goddess, Irea, offered her excuse in a voice that grew quieter and quieter.
So even gods used Excel to handle their work these days.
Anyway, the situation was simple.
A bolt of lightning meant for an infamous serial killer had struck the head of an innocent, hardworking young man named Kang Jinho instead.
Me.
So how are you going to take responsibility for this?
R-Responsibility?
Irea’s eyes widened.
I deliberately put on a stern expression.
Truthfully, I wasn’t particularly angry.
If anything, I felt strangely calm.
I had grown up as an orphan and spent fourteen hours a day working in cramped restaurant kitchens.
My right leg had never fully recovered from polio when I was young, and because of my perfectionist personality, I had lived under constant stress.
Rather than feeling cheated by death, part of me had even felt relieved.
At least I could finally rest.
Still, that’s one thing, and this is another. I should get whatever compensation I can.
Of course, it would be different if this really was the end of my life.
With that thought, I stared at Irea.
From the moment she admitted that my death had been her mistake, I already had a plan.
You said my original body has already been cremated, so I can’t return to it. In that case, shouldn’t the compensation at least be proper?
Y-Yes! Of course! I’ll grant you anything you want!
The goddess immediately brightened.
Then let me live the life I want.
T-That’s all? Fine. Think about the life you truly desire. What kind of place you want to live in and what kind of body you want. With my divine authority, I’ll create the most suitable body and environment possible for you.
She waved her hand through the air.
A cluster of sparkling lights surrounded me.
I watched them for a moment, then slowly closed my eyes.
The life I wanted.
I wanted to stand on two healthy legs.
I wanted to breathe clean air instead of city pollution.
Somewhere without endless competition.
Somewhere people weren’t constantly being ranked against each other.
I want to be born with a healthy, strong body and quietly spend my life farming somewhere beautiful.
That was enough.
Perhaps my simple wish had reached her.
A dreamlike voice echoed beside my ears.
Very well. I shall grant your wish. I hope you can find happiness there.
As my consciousness faded, I smiled.
This time, I was going to live properly.
But.
Wait a second.
Goddess.
I never said I wanted to become a barbarian!
Hup!
I opened my eyes with a gasp that sounded almost like a dying scream.
Cold, dry air rushed deep into my lungs.
What was going on?
Oh, right.
I had been promised a new life.
So this was the world where I would begin again.
.!
I froze halfway through my breath.
Something was standing in front of me.
It was enormous.
Its trapezius muscles bulged like jagged rocks, scars covered its thick arms like medals of war, and a necklace made of animal bones rattled around its neck.
What is with those eyes?
It was staring straight at me.
Like a butcher looking at a cow right before slaughter.
Or a starving predator staring at prey.
White ash smeared over its pale skin only made its face look even more horrifying.
That thing. Is human?
I couldn’t even scream.
They said overwhelming fear could paralyze your vocal cords.
Apparently, that was true.
I could confidently say that this was the most terrifying person I had ever seen.
Izak.
The man spoke in a deep, heavy voice.
What did that mean?
Was he saying he was going to kill me?
When I failed to answer and simply stared, his brows furrowed.
It felt as though that enormous hand could crush my skull like a watermelon at any moment.
Then.
Tap. Tap.
Something struck my side.
I stiffly turned my head.
And took another sharp breath.
Hurk.
If the man in front of me was the scariest person in the world.
Then the man beside me was definitely the ugliest.
His facial features were parked in all the wrong places.
The distance between his eyes was as wide as the Pacific Ocean, his nose was flat and blunt, and his jaw stuck out like a piece of ancient comb-pattern pottery.
.?
The ugly man blinked at me.
His eyes looked incredibly stupid.
Then he poked my ribs again with one thick finger.
It hurt.
Izak. Go. Food.
Food?
The moment that word registered, the man forced me to my feet.
My body practically floated upward without any effort on my part.
Only after standing did I realize something.
My point of view was absurdly high.
And my forearms were as thick as my thighs had been in my previous life.
This is my body?
My body, wrapped in rough leather clothing, looked hardly different from the monsters around me.
Pale skin.
A muscular physique.
And some kind of wild aura hanging over my entire body.
Well.
At least I was healthy and strong.
I was shoved forward before I could fully process the situation.
The ugly man beside me nudged me and handed me something resembling a dented washbasin.
Come to think of it, the terrifying man in front of me had a huge pot beside him and was holding something like a ladle.
I awkwardly held out my bowl.
Splat.
The ladle dumped its contents inside.
I stared down.
It was a thin gray liquid.
There was almost nothing solid inside, only a few unidentifiable roots floating on top.
I sniffed it.
The smell of muddy water mixed with sour rot filled my nose.
This is supposed to be food?
This wasn’t food.
It was food waste.
As a former cook, I glared at the insulting substance in front of me.
Meanwhile, everyone else was busy devouring this dirty dishwater as fast as they could.
Wet chewing sounds came from every direction.
Izak. Not eat?
The ugly man asked with gray soup still smeared around his mouth.
Izak.
That seemed to be my name.
I felt everyone’s gaze turn toward me at once.
Especially the terrifying man standing beside the pot.
His stare was frightening.
What would happen if they realized something was strange about me?
A sudden horrifying image flashed through my mind.
I could end up inside that pot as tonight’s dinner.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
Survive first.
Gulp.
Gulp.
The lukewarm, fishy liquid slid down my throat.
The awful sensation on my tongue nearly made me gag, but I desperately forced it down.
My sense of taste had always been sharp because of my work as a cook, which made it even worse.
When I finally emptied the bowl, everyone turned away.
I escaped as quickly as possible and dropped down beside a rock at the edge of the village.
Haa.
I spat out the unpleasant taste lingering in my mouth and carefully looked around.
The scenery was breathtaking.
A massive canyon split the land apart.
