I’m Sorry, but It’s Because I’m an Ordinary Person

Chains surrounded the land where the stars fell. The eight chains were the seals that sealed the sinner and were the way to awaken the sleeping king.

“Shub.” Going deep, Loveless called Favor. They had reached the inner world of the King of Pride. One mistake could lead to a major disaster. “We’ll be there soon.”

The king of the Western world, who sleeps forever. Although he’d obtained one of the seven powers, he was sealed away and was forever trapped in the inner world.

The human outside would think this space was a normal dungeon, but this place wasn’t a normal dungeon.

‘We’d have already left if it was just a dungeon…’

If there had been only a strong man with brute strength, blindly rushing in would have been enough. But this was the king’s bed. The only place where the king couldn’t open his eyes to meet others.

“The pieces?”

“I got a message that seven of them have already been secured. The remaining one will be brought by Her Highness herself.”

The three people of Paradise walked on the endless spiral staircase.

The eight guards were the examiners who judged whether those who had reached the inner world were qualified to have an audience with the king. Of course, some people knocked down the gatekeepers without even taking a test. They were the ignorants, but that was also how the king arranged it. Those strong enough to overwhelm the gatekeepers deserve an audience with the king.

“What’s the situation outside?”

“The doppelganger appeared. With the center open, it’s just right for buying time.”

“Oh? I feel sorry for the remaining humans.”

This dungeon was complex. It was not an invasion from the outside but rather interference. It was a trap dug by the King of Lust to connect this dimension with the inner world of the King of Pride.

The key to the plan was whether they could wake up the king and tell him the truth and make him retreat or whether they would merge with the other dimension as it is.

“They flocked like a herd of dogs only to suffer losses. Well, they should’ve agreed to let us handle it alone.”

“From their perspective, even interference would look like an invasion. They probably think they have to put the Hunters in before the country collapses.” Loveless, awakened at the time of the war, answered with furrowed brows. Favor shook his head excitedly and continued, “Yeah, it’s better to trust when someone speaks. We even told headquarters that this dungeon is not an invasion, why don’t they believe us?”

“If you’re like me, can you believe the aliens who invaded your dimension will say something like that? Say something that makes sense.” Loveless, whose expression was completely crumpled, turned her head away with a stinging shot.

The light falling from above reached the end of the long spiral staircase. A huge door wrapped in chains revealed its existence in front of them.

“Morning Star.”

Receiving the call of Polar Night, Loveless took out an object from the subspace. At the same time, I Really Like soared from the ground where there was nothing.

“I’m ready as you commanded.”

“Shub.”

“I’m ready as well.”

It was a disaster that would destroy mankind if done wrong, so they had to deal with it quickly. It was still a little too early for the weak humans of this dimension to interfere with other dimensions.

The word “exchange” is a word that can only be used in equal situations. If the two dimensions were fused like this, all the unprepared people in this dimension would fall into slavery. So, the ultimate goal of Paradise was to wait until this dimension and the human race were ready. And in the process, supporting and monitoring the being who would be reborn as a new king.

The existence of another world.

Shuaib, an alien who had blended into this dimension, whistled and ran out.

‘The king’s qualifications will be confirmed in this dungeon.’

Only Polar Night could see the soul. Shuaib didn’t believe what he hadn’t witnessed himself. He couldn’t be sure that the king Polar Night was talking about was his king. The qualifications of a king could only be seen when standing in front of a king. The green-eyed demon had put much effort into setting up this round.

The being who might be his king would face a bigger world through this opportunity. Of course, the party’s intentions were not included in that series of actions. If the party knew, it would have been something to curse about for half a day.

[T/N: So Favor of Paradise is Shub or Shuaib, an alien blended into Earth]

***

It happened a while ago, back when I had just awakened.

“Wow, did you do all this?”

The crimson seawater was washing away the black sand. I met someone floating in the sky above humans under the scorching black sun.

“What are you?”

“You’re harsh with your words. It’s impolite to do that on a first meeting.”

The face that smiled easily was quite charming. They laughed like a child in a dreamland, as if they couldn’t see the corpses scattered on the ground.

“Are you completely insane? Why did you come here?”

The black asphalt floor was mixed with black sand. The dungeon had already become wave-like and left alone, so the outer and inner dimensions began to merge.

While others were being torn apart by monsters and dying, he was the only one who seemed comfortable. My perception of him at the time was just that.

He has a great personality. My mom wouldn’t be with a guy like that.

“Are you listening to me? Are your ears hurt? Can’t you hear me because you’re hurt?” Should I introduce you to a healer noble that I know? Oh, of course, it’s not for free. In this chaotic world, powerful people should work together. Blah, blah, blah.

It’s worth nothing. How many people are there boasting about their awakening these days? Anyway, I had to find Mom first. At that time, I was driven by that one purpose alone.

Kieeghh-!! Monsters popped up everywhere. I killed and killed again.

“Thank you for helping me!”

“Aaaah!! It’s a monster!!”

“Hurry up and kill that! If you have strength, you should protect the weak!!”

I saw various people and heard various things. Among them were words of thanks and curses.

Words of gratitude and words of curse are of different levels. However, they had one thing in common. That is, everyone left the place as if fleeing, regardless of who was saying which.

People now had a positive perception of Awakened, but it had been slightly different in the past. Well, people even discriminated against people because of their skin color. It was inevitable.

“Hello.” I removed the mask stained with green slime as the idiot with a smiling face greeted me from the sky, “We meet again.”

It was disgusting to see him greeting me calmly. Why had he greeted me like he was seeing me for the first time? He’d been following me for a long time.

I ignored the greeting again and walked down the street. The masks I’d bought in bulk at Daiso last time were all gone.

Is there a Daiso around here? I’ll figure it out when I get there.

“Can’t you hear me? Is your hearing impaired?”

My ears are perfectly fine. What can’t I hear? But if I change my expression, he’ll know I’m listening. I listened to the sounds around me with my hands in my pockets. It was an exploration of its own.

“Plea…sav…me…”

“There’s…so…one…ere…”

I usually failed a lot, but today seemed to be my lucky day. Although the road was bumpy and rough, I could clearly hear someone’s voice.

I lifted my head and tightened the laces of my sneakers. I kicked off the ground, jumped up, and then ran through the buildings destroyed by the monster attack.

“Help! There’s someone here!”

“Please help! Is there anyone there?!”

Every time I jumped, there was a banging sound. I could hear someone else yelling for help from the other side. Thanks to that, I was able to find the people easily.

“Who’s there!? Is help coming!?” 

A voice full of joy could be heard nearby. People seemed to be isolated inside the wreckage of a building that had collapsed at an angle. Looking at the flesh and bloodstains, the person who’d been crushed seemed dead.

Since some people can be saved, let’s start by rescuing those people.

I started to pick up the rubble of the collapsed building and set it aside. As I removed some of the biggest ones, I could see trapped people.

“Here! We’re here!”

“Sir, wake up! Someone came to rescue us!”

There were about ten people. There were quite a few people, but only two were awake. The others either collapsed or were dead. I looked at them intently while dusting off my hands covered in rubble.

An employee in a mart uniform and a student in a school uniform were checking on the collapsed people. The lips of the fallen people were all bluish-green. Some of them had green fingernails.

“Sir, please wake up. Sir!”

“Student, if you keep sleeping here, it’s going to be a big problem. Get up quickly!”

The two continued to wake up other people. Feeling somewhat awkward, I stood alone for a while before quietly approaching them to inspect and check on people.

I saw some people who seemed to be friends of the awake student. I saw a man wearing a delivery company vest and a woman who looked like she was out shopping.

I checked a few people and turned to see if anyone else was around. That’s when I saw the back of a woman lying alone in a remote place. The woman’s back looked so much like my mother that I could mistake her for her.

“Mom…?” My voice trembled as I ran toward the person and flipped her body over.

It was someone whose entire face was tinged with green. Unfortunately, it wasn’t my mother. No, wait. I should be relieved. This person wasn’t of this world anymore.

Slip. My grip loosened. Damn this Seoul Republic. There are so many people, but the person I’m looking for is nowhere to be found.

“Thank you for your help!!” someone behind me stuttered their thanks as they walked away. I didn’t look back and continued on my way.

It was best not to get involved with people. That was how to survive in the apocalyptic world, which collapsed in just a few weeks.

Where should I look for her now? I walked down the empty streets. The streets, half assimilated with the outer dimension, gave off an atmosphere of a different world, making it all the more dreary.

I was used to walking around alone at this point.

“Are you looking for your mother?”

I might have gone into any building to find food if I hadn’t heard that.

“No wonder you’ve been walking around looking for people.”

I raised my head with my hands in my pockets, facing a smiling face with a name I didn’t even know.

“Can I help you?”

The words spoken in a kind tone were very relaxed. Only then did I give the first answer to that strange man’s words. “Why?”

“Because I’m interested.”

“Why?”

“I’ve seen a few people with superpowers, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone as strong as you.”

Clank!

The building door I was about to enter just opened on its own. Something white flew out of the pharmacy and lightly floated in the air.

“People with such abilities usually make a lot of money. You’ll probably become very successful.”

“Are you saying that I’ll become rich or that I’ll become more powerful?”

“Isn’t it good to have both?”

A package of masks wrapped in plastic fell onto my hand. That guy really had some extraordinary powers. I played with the mask bag while thinking.

“What do you want? You probably won’t help for free.”

“Let’s discuss that slowly. There is nothing you can give me right now.” The eerie psychic smiled while hovering in the air. “In other words, I’m investing in your future.”

I thought that smile was just like that of a loan shark who preys on people. But, well, I had nothing to lose right now. Besides, he could be incredibly useful if he was really a psychic.

It was still a proposal that couldn’t be ignored without thinking. I held the mask bag tightly and thought about it for a while.

“Don’t worry too much. I won’t demand unreasonable compensation.”

How could I not? My mom warned me not to have anything to do with people like you.

I rolled my eyes with a sour face. The night was coming soon. The apocalyptic world at night was twice as dangerous as it was during the day.

“Hey, what’s your name?”

My worry didn’t last long. There was actually no need to think about it for a long time. 

My stomach churned every time I flipped over a piece of the mashed-up monster. 

Today was a day of silence. But there were times when I was attacked by the same person who seemed young and weak.

“My name?” He had been following me and probably had confidence when he made that proposal. “Just call me PK.”

There was no reason for me to refuse the proposal.

“Nice to meet you. Good luck in the future,” PK, with an excited face, clapped his hands and said.

That was the story of how I became acquainted with that person who was a nationwide cockroach.