Chapter 3: Clone
Physical pain was nothing compared to what came next.
Death tore my soul to pieces.
My very sense of self crumbled apart.
It would have been better if I had simply ceased to exist.
Yet, for some inexplicable reason,
even amidst that unbearable agony,
I never reached oblivion.
Eventually, just as I resigned myself to an eternity of suffering…
my consciousness returned as if by a miracle.
And so…
I was resurrected from death.
Three days later.
Having recently been promoted to Hundred-Man Commander because of his achievements in battle, Jang Pae was settling into his tent at sunset when one of his subordinates rushed in with unexpected news.
“What? That kid came back?”
“Yes, sir. The entire front-line unit he belonged to was wiped out, wasn’t it? Apparently they had trouble confirming his identity. During the verification process, he mentioned our unit, so they requested someone from us to identify him.”
“Really?… No, forget that.”
“How in the world did he survive?”
“I’ve got no idea. Anyway, I already sent some men to bring him here. They should arrive soon.”
“…Well, however it happened, I’m glad he’s alive.”
“I’ve been feeling guilty about that.”
Although abandoning Jang Il had been unavoidable,
it went against Jang Pae’s straightforward nature.
After all,
their unit had only survived because that young recruit had somehow killed the unlucky enemy commander.
Intentional or not,
the boy had undoubtedly saved them.
And now…
He had returned alive.
The burden weighing on Jang Pae’s heart finally eased.
After hastily finishing the barely edible military supper,
the soldiers he had sent returned.
They weren’t alone.
Standing beside them…
was Jang Il.
“…Huh?”
“You look perfectly fine.”
The subordinates stared at Jang Pae in disbelief.
“He’s drunk.”
“He has to be drunk.”
“Otherwise there’s no way he’d greet someone who just barely survived like that.”
“What a heartless bastard.”
“I bet he’s disappointed the kid made it back alive.”
“You know how valuable the achievement of killing a noble from the Cheon Clan is.”
One careless remark,
and suddenly everyone was treating Jang Pae like garbage.
His face twisted in annoyance.
“You little punks!”
“I’ve gone easy on you lately, and now you’re getting carried away!”
“Maybe I ought to give every one of you a proper beating!”
He bared his teeth in anger.
His men remained completely unfazed.
Instead,
they merely stared back with eyes full of contempt.
Jang Il found the scene strangely fascinating.
He hadn’t realized it was possible to express,
“This violent idiot has nothing but his fists and no heart,”
using only one’s eyes.
“Tch.”
“Get out.”
“All of you.”
“…Except you.”
Jang Pae waved the others away.
Once they were alone,
he awkwardly scratched his head.
“Don’t misunderstand.”
“I’ve been worried about you ever since that battle.”
“Seeing you alive honestly makes me happier than anything.”
“…That aside.”
“How exactly did you survive?”
“No…”
“How are you completely unharmed?”
Even Jang Pae himself would have considered survival nearly impossible under those circumstances.
Even if he somehow lived,
he would probably have lost an arm.
Yet this young soldier stood before him with all four limbs intact.
Not even a noticeable scratch remained.
Naturally,
Jang Pae found it impossible to understand.
What should I tell him?
Jang Il hesitated.
After all…
He had truly died.
This wasn’t simply his stopped heart beating again.
Nor was it merely a severed breath returning.
He had literally been recreated from nothing.
He knew that with certainty.
Not far from where he had regained consciousness,
he had found a corpse.
Though mangled by blades and already rotting,
he recognized it instantly.
It was his own body.
Is… this the Authority Maka spoke of?
Not yet understanding the System,
Jang Il assumed this miraculous resurrection was simply the power he had obtained.
Oddly enough,
he wasn’t especially shocked.
Even he found that strange.
The reason…
was that his mind had matured immensely after death.
He himself had no memory of it,
but the tremendous price demanded by death had forcibly matured his soul.
Had someone attempted to achieve such spiritual growth through ordinary cultivation,
it would have required at least twenty years of unwavering dedication.
Even that realization was soon overshadowed.
Because he noticed something else.
Everything he had possessed before dying…
had also been recreated.
His sword.
His armor.
His clothing.
Everything.
The only difference was…
everything looked brand new.
The sword his master had given him had originally been chipped in more than a dozen places.
Now,
not a single flaw remained.
The same phenomenon had occurred to his own body.
Every wound he’d suffered on the battlefield had vanished.
Even the scars from his childhood had disappeared.
Returning like this might cause problems…
Anyone looking at him would never believe he was a survivor of a disastrous defeat.
So,
aside from keeping the newly restored sword,
he exchanged his equipment with the battered gear from his corpse.
Even so,
that wasn’t enough to fool someone as experienced as Jang Pae.
No wonder the commander had found him suspicious.
Jang Il struggled to think of an explanation.
Fortunately…
He didn’t have to.
“Hmm.”
“If it’s difficult to explain…”
“I’m guessing it’s the secret art of your martial sect.”
“If that’s the case, don’t say another word.”
“The important thing is that my benefactor came back alive.”
“By the way…”
“What’s your name?”
“Jang Il.”
“My name is Jang Il.”
“Oh!”
“We’re both Jangs!”
“I knew there had to be a reason.”
“The Jang family has always produced extraordinary people.”
“I’m Jang Pae.”
“…”
The surname Jang was one of the most common surnames on the continent.
His logic made absolutely no sense.
Still,
he seemed genuinely delighted to have found something they shared.
“Come on.”
“We can’t let a day like this pass without a drink.”
Jang Pae pulled out the liquor his subordinates had always tried to steal.
It was nothing more than cheap, harsh rice liquor.
But in the army,
even cheap liquor tasted like fine wine.
Unfortunately,
Jang Il had never drunk alcohol before.
“Ghk…”
Despite already being built like a grown man,
he was still young.
Each cup left him groaning.
Jang Pae burst into laughter.
“Hahaha!”
“Too strong for you, little brother?”
After five cups,
Jang Il surrendered and pushed the bottle away.
Finding the sight amusing,
Jang Pae smiled again.
“All right.”
“Enough drinking.”
“Let’s talk about what I told you before.”
“…”
Jang Il’s eyes flickered.
The real reason he’d sought out Jang Pae instead of using his late master’s connections to verify his identity…
was because of that promise.
Promotion.
Of course,
people often changed their tune afterward.
But Jang Pae didn’t seem like that sort of man.
“That weasel from earlier wasn’t exaggerating.”
“The man you killed was an even bigger fish than we realized.”
“The Cheon Clan is one of the greatest martial families in this kingdom.”
“You killed one of them.”
“You might receive more than just a promotion.”
“You could earn quite a reward.”
Jang Il cautiously asked,
“…Instead of a promotion…”
“Could I receive something else?”
“What do you mean?”
Because the continent had been trapped in endless warfare,
soldiers enjoyed far better treatment than commoners.
Even during terrible famines,
soldiers still ate.
Military service was also the quickest path to wealth and status regardless of birth.
Naturally,
Jang Pae found the question baffling.
But Jang Il had never enlisted willingly.
He had been dragged into the army.
“I want…”
“…to be discharged.”
“You want to leave the army?”
“Hmm.”
“It’s possible.”
“But I wouldn’t recommend it.”
At first,
Jang Il brightened.
Then confusion filled his face.
Jang Pae understood immediately.
“I figured you didn’t know.”
“If you had…”
“You wouldn’t be asking.”
“You probably haven’t heard…”
“But after that battle…”
“Our side has completely gained the upper hand.”
“…What?”
Jang Il stared in shock.
A bitter smile crossed Jang Pae’s lips.
“The battlefield we fought on…”
“…was bait.”
“And we played our role perfectly.”
In other words,
the army’s high command had deliberately sacrificed one force to secure overall victory.
A strategy of sacrificing flesh to save the bones.
Cruel.
Yet perfectly fitting for an age of endless war.
Jang Il had never imagined such a truth.
His eyes trembled.
Had this happened before his resurrection,
he probably would have exploded with rage.
After all,
both his own death
and the death of the master he regarded as his father
had been orchestrated as part of a disposable strategy.
Seeing Jang Il remain unexpectedly calm,
Jang Pae nodded with approval.
“That’s why I don’t recommend leaving now.”
“At this rate…”
“The war will be over within two months.”
“So why resign now?”
“Wait until it’s over.”
“Collect your reward money.”
“Then leave.”
Once a war ended,
the army naturally reduced its numbers,
granting discharged soldiers a modest reward.
Waiting simply made more sense.
“…Then I’ll do that.”
“Good.”
“You’ve made the right decision.”
Jang Il decided to postpone his discharge.
In truth,
he wanted nothing more than to leave the military immediately—
the same army that had led both him and his master to their deaths.
But reality was harsh.
Having grown up without a father,
his family had always struggled.
The reason he had fought so desperately to survive
was because his absence placed such a heavy burden on his household.
If enduring a little longer meant returning home with money,
he had no real choice.
One final thing Jang Pae said sealed his decision.
“I doubt we’ll ever see battle again.”
“The war’s already won.”
“The officers are too busy dividing up the remaining merits.”
“Why would they send us back out?”
Jang Il had to admit…
That made sense.
For the time being,
he chose to remain under Jang Pae’s command.
“Just be patient for a few days.”
“You’ll get your promotion.”
“And I’ll make sure you receive a generous reward.”
“Thank you.”
“Bah.”
“Don’t thank me.”
“I’m only doing what’s right.”
Watching Jang Pae grumble awkwardly,
Jang Il couldn’t help but smile.
…If I’d had an older brother…
Perhaps he would have been like this.
