Saving My Beloved from a World on the Brink of Destruction

Hello, everyone.

This is Elric.

I am a great archmage who hasn’t aged since turning 200, and I can manipulate karma. I’ve possessed a character in the novel “Your Hero is Here.”

The body I possessed belonged to someone named Yoo Hwa-shin, who I didn’t even know the name of before. He’s a new public servant who’s been at work for a month, and he’s even a lowly E-rank hero, just handling paperwork at the association.

That’s right. I’m currently playing hooky, typing these words in a Word document.

You may be amazed by my adaptability, but it’s natural for someone who has lived for over 200 years and experienced various things. (If you want to argue, try living 200 years first ^^). Additionally, Yoo Hwa-shin’s memories have flowed into me, making it easy to adapt to this world’s culture and environment. Of course, there are confusing parts, but I’ll gradually adapt.

How did I end up possessing a character in a novel?

When the dimensional dragon died, it returned to another dimension. It seems that the dragon sent me to this world.

I’m not complaining about the possession the dragon granted me. I had no lingering attachment to my former world since living for so long was boring. To express it in this world’s words, I am quite happy to have entered the place where my ‘ultimate bias’s lives. I get to see Cha Jaeha in the flesh, as well as his colleagues.

…Well, it would be nice if only good things happened, but the problem is that this world is ultimately doomed for destruction. To add, in order to prevent that destruction, my favorite character, Cha Jaeha, dies.

“He dies.”

“Dying?”

“Yes, truly dying.”

<Your Hero is Here> is a novel where the protagonist Cha Jaeha dies, his comrades die, and the world faces destruction.

So, I’ve even possessed someone’s body, and I’m trying to prevent my child from dying just once by staying close to my favorite character. If my favorite character dies, there might still be some meaning for the world’s existence. Well, there probably is, but wouldn’t it be better to live alongside my favorite character?

In any case, to do that, I need to join the SH1 squad where the protagonist is going. There’s something I need to do there, too. At least it seems more interesting than being here in the civil affairs department.

◈◈◈

Elric was able to quickly adapt to South Korea, the world he was transmigrated into, thanks to Hwa-shin’s memories. But, after about a week of working non-stop, he realized: ‘Office workers are more boring than being mages.’

“Hwa Shin, should we go for lunch now?” a man yawned over Hwa-shin’s shoulder as the latter scrolled through the Word document while reminiscing about his past.

“Ah, yes, Manager.”

Hwa-shin followed his senior to the cafeteria. Established about 5 years ago, the department called ‘Gate Security Management Division,’ commonly known as the Hero Association, used a separate newly-built glass building. Although it was affiliated with the government, it was more convenient in many ways to be located in the middle of downtown due to the nature of the gates.

Hwa-shin was assigned to the bottom rung of the hierarchy, the Civil Service Department. He originally wanted to join the Hero Management Department instead, but it was unlikely for an E-rank like him to enter that department.

Initially, Hwa-shin was an extra who was supposed to die in a horrific incident that he experienced a week ago. And that accident he went through was the ‘Hongdae Gate Incident,’ which became the stepping stone for creating the SH (Special Hero) unit that the protagonist would join.

“Phew, it’s a relief that Hwa-shin appears to be doing better than expected,” the senior joked as he tapped Hwa-shin on the arm. “Didn’t they say monsters burst out of the gate?” Because the gate tracking system is new, the coordinates are still being set. A gate hasn’t appeared in the city center in a long time. Civilians were caught up in the chaos, and wasn’t it all over the news all day?”

“Haha, you’re right,” Hwa-shin responded. “I, too, was taken aback. “I nearly died.”

‘I didn’t almost die, but I was dead.’

Hwa-shin pretended to choke himself while discussing his near-death experience.

The junior’s playful response seemed to amuse him, and the man laughed jovially, “That’s great! It’s good for young people to have such a strong mentality. It seems that a new hero squad capable of responding to incidents like this would be created soon. What about you, Hwa-shin? Are you interested in that, even though you’re E-rank?”

“Oh, of course.”

The Hero SH Squad was initially planned to consist of only S-rank or A-rank heroes. It was so exceptional that it was even called the “S of S-rank.” They did accept applications from lower-ranked heroes, but that was probably just for appearances’ sake.

“Your Hero is Here,” or “Dang-hi-got[1]” for short, tells the story of events that occurred after the SH Squad was formed. tells the story of what happened after the SH Squad was formed. So, currently, at this point in time, it was before the squad was formed when Cha Jae-ha was an active hero working under the government alone.

‘I can’t believe I can join the SH unit along with the protagonist from the beginning. That means I get to see Cha Jae-ha at a much younger age. My heart skips a beat. To calm down my inflated heart due to excitement, I shift my gaze toward my superior’s face.’

‘Alright,’ he said, instantly calming himself down.

Anyway, the question of whether a new E-rank recruit would apply to the SH unit was somewhat mocking. That superior of his probably aware that Yoo Hwa-shin originally applied to the Management Department, not the Civil Service Department.

“Well, even if I die and come back to life, I won’t be able to go,” Hwa-shin shrugged. “But I’m still young, so I’ll give it a shot.”

The senior looked at him answering with a smile made a strange expression and quickly returned to his normal state. “Sure, I’ll cheer you on! But don’t have too high expectations, our new E-rank recruit.”

“Hahaha, yes. Thanks for your support, sunbae. I’ll definitely get away from the Civil Service Department,” Hwa-shin replied, striking a fighting pose by raising his arm.

“…Oh, right. Our department’s newbie is overflowing with enthusiasm,” the senior looked back at Hwa-shin, thinking that a crazy person had finally joined in as a newcomer.

◈◈◈

Yoo Hwa-shin left work in the afternoon and went straight to the Hero Management Department, which was in charge of SH Division recruitment. The management department, located on the third floor, was a modern and clean space with a white-toned interior that matched well.

“Hello. My name is Yoo Hwa-shin from the Gate Civil Service Department.”

“Yes, how may I assist you?” the counter employee’s gaze was drawn quickly to Hwa-employee shin’s ID. All employees working in hero-related departments were required to indicate their hero grades under their employee IDs. The employee’s expression changed instantly after learning that Hwa-shin was an E-rank. Seeing this, the employee immediately remarked, “By the way, anything related to civil affairs will be handled by our management department’s—”

“That’s not why I’m here. I want to apply for the SH unit,” Hwa-shin said, handing over the application form.

The employee’s glasses glinted as he checked Hwa-shin’s employee ID again with a puzzled expression. ‘…It’s E-rank. But, SH unit?’

Then, the employee asked back, “Where?”

“It’s the SH unit.”

“Who?”

“I am.”

“That one?”

“Yes, this one, not one over there.”

The employee furrowed his eyebrows at Hwa-shin’s light tone. ‘What the hell is this guy doing? An E-rank applying for SH unit.’ It was hard for him to accept the request rationally. “Of course, the division accepts applications from E-rank heroes as well,” the employee said after coughing to clear his throat. “…Has your rank recently changed? If your status has changed, please notify us immediately after checking your status screen.”

Hwa-shin shook his head. “Ah, no changes. It’s still E-rank.”

In fact, Hwa-shin had no way of knowing whether he was still E-rank or had advanced to S-rank. To begin with, he couldn’t even see or access the status window.

Status Window and Hero Rankings.

The world established official criteria to manage the heroes who protect their countries by defeating monsters coming from the gates. They used an artificial intelligence program to calculate the overall score based on these criteria and assigned rankings accordingly. The status window accurately displayed these rankings and abilities.

Yoo Hwa-shin, unfortunately, couldn’t see the status window. It was most likely because the ability Elric’s soul, no, his original soul used was not originally from this world. When he entered Hwa-shin’s body, he had already confirmed that using the undead skill was possible by manipulating karma while repairing the damaged body. He planned to find out the finer details such as the scope and conditions later.

The employee questioned Hwa-shin again, who said there had been no changes. “Are you still applying to SH unit?”

“Yes.”

The employee sighed deeply in response to Hwa-shin’s innocent smile and response. ‘A troublesome guy has come. Seems like someone had been watching comics and immersed in playing hero, is soaked in the fantasy of “I’ll save the world!”’

“Excuse me for a moment,” the employee said as he dialed a phone number. After hearing some explanations, he spoke to Hwa-shin again, saying, “Although the SH unit’s recruitment regulations accept all applicants, you’re our first E-ranked applicant. If you register incorrectly, there may be rumors later, so would it be okay to measure your ability again before we proceed with the registration process?”

“Of course, that’s fine with me.”

‘In any case, it’s a win since they couldn’t confirm it.’

As soon as Hwa-shin accepted, the man grimaced and grabbed a few documents from under the desk. Then Hwa-shin wondered, if he had been promoted, would he have had to go through the arduous process of handling a public servant’s paperwork and approvals himself?

‘Where did such a cute and annoying guy appear from?’

“Then let’s go to the measurement room,” the employee’s enraged expression as he suggested going to the measurement room resembled that of a monster charging at Hwa-shin to kill him.

‘It would be nice if you did what you had to do with a smile.’

“Excuse me,” Hwa-Shin gently tapped the man’s shoulder and bowed slightly.

As the man turned around, their eyes met at a distance of about one fathom apart. The employee frowned, seemingly uncomfortable with their close proximity.

“…What is it?”

Hwa-Shin’s gaze curved downward. “Are all your employees naturally this brusque?”

“Pardon?”

“I’m just curious.”

“…..There’s no need to waste time smiling while working.”

Karma’s flow flickered before Hwa-shin’s eyes. After confirming the required amount of karma, the flow changed in response to Hwa-shin’s voice:

「“You’d look much better with a smile, though. Come on, just keep smiling until we get to the measurement room, okay?”」Hwa-shin made a gesture with his index fingers, lifting the corners of his mouth.

As soon as he finished speaking, the corners of the man’s mouth began to rise. “Huh, what’s this? “Why am I like this?” The man couldn’t show any signs of being flustered, even though he was. Questions raced through his mind.

Hwa-shin lightly draped his arm over the man’s shoulder. ‘Hmm, his face has finally changed to a more pleasant expression.’ Hwa-shin laughed loudly, “Alright! Should we go to the measurement room?”

Their footsteps were light in the amicable atmosphere.

At least that’s what Hwa-shin believed.

Footnote

[1] Basically an acronym of the first letter of the novel’s title, (당신의 히어로는 이곳에 있다).