The armored transport slowly rolled through a pair of towering iron gates.
Beyond them lay a bustling settlement unlike anything Gino had ever imagined.
Stone buildings stretched across wide streets, their rooftops decorated with banners bearing the silver crest of the Explorer's Guild.
Blacksmiths hammered glowing steel inside open workshops.
Merchants displayed monster materials collected from countless expeditions.
Children carrying wooden swords hurried between training fields while instructors barked commands.
Some practiced swordsmanship.
Others sparred with spears and shields.
A few sat beneath large oak trees, quietly studying thick books illustrated with mythical creatures.
To everyone here...
Myths weren't bedtime stories.
They were common knowledge.
The transport finally stopped before an enormous stone building.
Carved above its entrance were elegant golden letters.
Explorer's Guild – North Branch
"We're home."
Captain Rowan jumped from the transport before offering Gino a hand.
"Can you walk?"
Gino carefully climbed down.
The Caladrius had healed every wound, but his body still felt strangely unfamiliar.
"I think so."
Rowan smiled.
"Good."
The moment Gino stepped into the courtyard, several children noticed him.
"Jack!"
A group immediately ran toward him.
"You idiot!"
"We heard Baba Yaga got you!"
One boy tackled him into an awkward hug.
"You scared everyone!"
Another crossed his arms.
"I told you volunteering as bait was a terrible idea."
Gino froze.
Their faces...
They felt familiar.
Not because he recognized them...
But because Jack did.
Small fragments of memory surfaced.
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Oliver.
Mia.
Thomas.
Children who had grown up alongside Jack inside the guild.
Friends.
Not merely acquaintances.
Family.
"I..."
Gino hesitated before smiling awkwardly.
"Sorry for worrying you."
Oliver sighed dramatically.
"You owe us dinner."
The group burst into laughter.
Watching them joke so naturally made something inside Gino soften.
Jack hadn't grown up alone.
He had people waiting for him.
Eva clapped her hands.
"Alright."
"Jack needs to see Doctor Helena."
"You can all bother him later."
The children reluctantly stepped aside.
The guild infirmary smelled faintly of herbs.
Behind a cluttered desk sat an elderly woman wearing round spectacles.
She looked up as the group entered.
"There he is."
"Our little miracle."
Doctor Helena approached and carefully examined Gino's forehead.
"The Caladrius did excellent work."
She checked his heartbeat.
His eyes.
His reflexes.
After several minutes, she smiled.
"Physically..."
"You're perfectly healthy."
Then her expression became more serious.
"You suffered a severe blow to the head."
"Memory problems aren't unusual."
"If anything feels strange..."
"Tell me immediately."
Gino forced a smile.
"...I will."
He wasn't lying.
Things already felt strange.
Jack's memories hadn't returned all at once.
Instead...
They surfaced whenever something reminded him.
A familiar face.
A familiar place.
A familiar voice.
Little by little...
The boundary separating Gino and Jack continued fading.
After the examination, Eva led him through the quieter residential wing of the guild.
She stopped before a simple wooden door.
"Your room."
She smiled.
"Get some rest."
"You've earned it."
The door closed behind him.
Silence.
For the first time since his reincarnation...
He was alone.
The room was modest.
A neatly made bed.
A wooden wardrobe.
A study desk.
And one wall completely covered by bookshelves.
Gino immediately walked toward them.
His eyes widened.
Every shelf overflowed with mythology.
Books about dragons.
Spirits.
Folklore.
Ancient civilizations.
Monster encyclopedias.
Children's collections of fairy tales.
Some were so well-read that their covers had begun falling apart.
He slowly removed one.
Legends of the Northern Kingdoms
Inside...
Small handwritten notes filled the margins.
"Most versions say the witch flies using a mortar."
"Need to ask Instructor Marcus if this story is true."
Gino smiled.
"So..."
"Jack really was just like me."
Another memory surfaced.
A younger Jack hiding beneath his blanket late at night, reading stories by candlelight after curfew.
Another.
Borrowing books faster than the librarians could catalogue them.
Another.
Arguing with classmates that myths always contained truth.
Gino laughed quietly.
"...We would've gotten along."
He gently returned the book to its place.
Drawn by the fading sunlight outside, he walked toward the window.
The moment he looked beyond the guild...
His breath caught.
The Tower.
Even after seeing it earlier...
Its scale still defied belief.
Clouds wrapped around its middle like drifting rivers.
Its summit disappeared into the heavens.
The setting sun painted its ancient walls in brilliant shades of gold.
Jack's memories stirred again.
Lessons from school.
The Tower.
Its countless floors.
The rule every child memorized.
"Only those who conquer the Tower can protect humanity."
Another memory followed.
A younger Jack standing in this very room.
Hands pressed against the windowsill.
Looking toward the same impossible structure.
"I'll climb it someday."
The childish voice echoed inside Gino's mind.
He slowly closed his eyes.
"...You really wanted this."
Not because of fame.
Not because of wealth.
Because Jack admired the explorers who protected people from the monsters escaping the Tower.
Gino understood.
His own dream had been different.
He wanted to meet myths.
Jack wanted to protect others from them.
Different reasons.
The same destination.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"I guess..."
"There isn't much difference between us anymore."
He no longer felt like someone borrowing another person's life.
Jack's hopes.
His friendships.
His memories.
They had become part of him.
Gino rested both hands upon the windowsill.
The evening breeze drifted quietly into the room.
Far beyond the guild...
The Tower stood unmoving.
Silent.
Ancient.
Waiting.
"I spent my first life searching for legends."
His reflection stared back at him from the glass.
"This time..."
"I'll climb into the place where every legend lives."
The bell announcing sunset echoed throughout the guild.
Outside, children hurried toward the dining hall while veteran explorers returned from another day's work.
Tomorrow...
His new life would truly begin.