On Earth, I was an ordinary office worker.
Crushed by work, crushed by people, my life was slowly rotting away in an endless cycle of repetition.
I needed a breakthrough.
Was that why?
My only hobby was enjoying isekai stories.
In isekai stories, guys exactly like me become the main characters.
A protagonist worn out by reality goes to a fantasy world and gets to live a life full of adventure and romance….
Yeah.
Maybe it's a cliché story.
Even so, I craved it, wishing something like that would happen to me too.
Of course, I knew that being reincarnated in another world was utter nonsense.
But what could I do? That futile hope was my only driving force.
And so, every single day, I pictured what I'd be like in another world.
Just imagining it was fun.
As I imagined and imagined again, I came to realize that you need to know a lot for your imagination to become rich.
So I started studying all sorts of things.
I sought out and read books on military strategy so I could imagine battle scenes realistically, and I researched what modern knowledge would be useful to know in another world.
I even did physical training on weekends. That way, I could imagine fights realistically, too.
Horseback riding, kendo, judo, boxing, jiu-jitsu, and even wrestling. There wasn't a sport I hadn't tried.
Fortunately, I was quite athletic by nature, so I had no trouble learning.
I may not look it, but back in my school days, I was an athlete.
My event was archery.
I was lifted up as the youngest-ever national team member and a divine archer, but because of a finger injury, I never left behind any achievements worth mentioning.
Anyway, I was a former athlete, back in the day.
Whatever the sport, I learned faster than ordinary people, and in the end, I acquired respectable skill in every single one.
“Haha….”
A hollow laugh slipped out.
Even thinking about it now, it was truly absurd effort.
Grinding my weekends, as precious as gold, into it all just because I wanted to imagine an isekai life more realistically.
There was a moment when I was smiling self-mockingly at my own foolishness.
And that was when a miracle happened.
***
Had my pointless efforts reached the heavens?
Out of nowhere, my vision was dyed with light, and I was reborn in another world.
A new world. A new culture. A new language. A new family. A new life.
It was all very confusing at first, but that was actually quite a while ago now.
My new body was already eight years old.
If this were Korea, it would be the age to start elementary school.
Ah. Thinking about it like this, time really flies.
“Hey! Lark!”
A familiar voice broke through my musings.
I peeled my back off the tree I'd been leaning against and looked toward where the voice had come from.
I saw a hulking man with shaggy red hair.
He wore a shabby tunic on top, and his trousers were patched here and there with cheap cloth.
He had a good build and a friendly, easygoing face, but no matter how you looked at him, he seemed to be a young man of low status.
He waved amiably as he climbed up to the field where I was.
I greeted him warmly in return and said,
“Yes, Father. What brings you here?”
That's right.
This man was my father.
His status was serf, which meant my status was serf, too.
Damn it.
The more I think about it, the more it pisses me off.
Normally, when you reincarnate in another world, you start out in a noble house, right?
At the very least, they should've given me freeman status so I could go on adventures.
I finally made it to another world, and what's with this serf business? A serf, of all things.
At this rate, it's a drop in status from my office-worker days on Earth.
Well, there is that saying about office workers being modern-day serfs or whatever.
But now that I'd actually become a real serf, office workers were, quite literally, aristocrats.
Compared to the Middle Ages, the living conditions were more pleasant, and I'd had freedom after clocking out, too.
And that wasn't all.
Serfs couldn't do anything without the lord's permission, whether it was moving, traveling, or even marrying.
Phew….
Still, there was one blessing amid the misfortune.
“Hm! I was passing by and saw my boy, so I came over. Haha!”
I was born to a good father who'd talk to me this warmly, unbefitting as it was for the era.
I'd heard that in the medieval era, regardless of rank, a father was a rather uncomfortable presence.
But my new father wasn't authoritarian or violent.
On top of that, this man was quite capable.
I put strength into my eyes and looked at Father.
Letters rose up like a status window. And not just any letters, but information composed of Hangul and the alphabet.
[Strength A]
[Archery B]
[Command B]
These were Father's talents.
And seeing those talents was precisely my ability.
It was probably granted to me by whatever being sent me here.
That only made sense. They were Hangul and the alphabet, letters only I could understand in another world where both the language and the script were different.
Which meant this was someone looking out for my convenience.
I'm not sure who that honored being might be, but I can tell it's someone truly tremendous, able to cross between Earth and this other world.
“What? Lark! You…!”
Suddenly, Father's red eyes flashed, and he pointed behind me.
There lay twelve unconscious field rats.
They were the ones I'd caught today.
“Wow, I knew it! I knew it! That's my son! Eh? My son! Hahaha!”
Father laughed heartily.
It was the kind of laughter that put anyone who heard it in a good mood for no reason.
That said, well, it's not like I caught the field rats because I particularly wanted to see Father laugh.
In the medieval era, even an eight-year-old kid had to earn his meals in his own way, and my current task just happened to be hunting field rats.
In principle, hunting was a forbidden act for serfs.
However, dealing with vermin that ruined the fields was recognized as part of farming.
“It's all thanks to this bow you gave me, Father.”
I held up a small, crude wooden bow.
It bent without trouble even when a six-year-old drew the string.
Naturally, its draw weight was pitiful, and arrows didn't fly very far when shot.
On top of that, the arrows were quite a sight, too.
What Father had put in my hand were blunt-tipped stone arrows.
They caught a lot of air resistance and had poor flight stability.
That was why, for the whole day today, I'd only caught twelve field rats, and even then, all I'd done was knock them out.
Privately, I wasn't satisfied with the result, but it seemed Father felt differently.
“Hahahaha! You caught that many field rats with a practice bow like that? I knew it! I knew it! You really are my son! Getting results like this from the very first day! Hahaha!”
Ah, so today was just a practice day.
Nobody told me, so I didn't know.
“Oh, come on. It's nothing much.”
After all, I'm a guy who once made quite a name for himself in the Korean archery world, you know.
As if he didn't know what was on my mind, Father kept laughing in satisfaction for a long while.
At the same time, spewing laughter and spit alike, he didn't stop praising me.
“Lark! Looks like you'll take up our house's trade without any trouble, too. The gamekeeper's post! Hahaha!”
I wanted to point out that serfs had no business talking about a house…, but I didn't want to throw cold water on those blazing red eyes.
Father was a man who lived on pride.
One of the things he was proud of was being a gamekeeper.
In this era, not just anyone could be a gamekeeper.
The job went to the quick and sharp-witted among the territory's serfs; the main duty was managing the hunting grounds within the territory, and occasionally, when the lord came out to hunt, they also served as his attendants.
As in any era and any society, when you spend enough time face-to-face with the higher-ups, some of the bean powder from their rice cakes is bound to fall your way.
Thanks to that, our family lived a more comfortable life than other serfs.
At the very least, we never went hungry.
“Yes… I've got to become one! A gamekeeper! Hehe. He….”
Forcing myself to keep time with Father's beat, I ended up with an awkward tone.
Even so, Father laughed heartily.
“Hahaha! That's right! If you hone your archery hard too, you can have a fine bow like this! How about that?”
With an expression full of pride, Father pointed at his own back.
Slung there was an elegant, old-fashioned bow bestowed on him by the lord.
That was the symbol of a gamekeeper. Perhaps something I would inherit someday.
But. But, Father, I didn't come to another world to become a gamekeeper, you know?
Gamekeepers may be relatively better off among serfs, but they're still unfree people bound to the manor all the same.
I finally made it to another world, and I'm supposed to spend my whole life managing hunting grounds until it's over?
That makes no sense.
A new life welcomed in a new world. Getting drunk on romance and adventure, getting my hands on strength and power, and just, you know, starring in a romance with the most beautiful woman on the continent. Eh?
Isn't that what you come to another world for?!
However, I had to hide these ambitions for now.
Because a serf who reveals free will becomes a target of oppression.
“Yes, Father! I'll work hard and become a gamekeeper who follows in your footsteps!”
When I shouted vigorously, Father smiled contentedly, ruffled my hair, and left for the hunting grounds.
Father was only in his mid-twenties now. Much younger than I'd been before my reincarnation.
Having my head patted by such a young father felt strange every time, no matter how many times it happened.
“Phew!”
I let out a short breath.
Was it because I'd been lost in thought too long? I felt oddly unsettled.
I figured I'd wash my face, partly to sort out my tangled thoughts.
I headed to the stream.
“Hoo-ugh! Pwah!”
After a rough, bracing, manly-man face wash, I felt totally refreshed.
As I savored the refreshing feeling for a moment, the stream gradually grew still.
My reflection on the water became clear.
A boy with red hair and red eyes.
This was my new appearance.
I quietly stared into my own eyes.
[Insight EX]
[Growth SSS]
[Nurturing SSS]
[Archery SS]
[Spirit Arts S]
[Strength S]
[Stamina A]
[Agility A]
[Concentration A]
[Magic Resistance A]
[Command A]
[Horsemanship A]
[Unarmed Combat A]
[Swordsmanship A]
[Blunt Weapons B]
[Hidden Weapons B]
[Shieldcraft B]
[Spearmanship B]
[Magic B]
[Light Attribute Affinity C]
[Salt Attribute Affinity C]
[Meditation F]
As many as twenty-two talents appeared.
Since coming here, I'd glimpsed the talents of countless people.
Even the most incompetent-looking person had at least one talent, and most had two.
Of course, people who excelled in some way, like my father, sometimes had three.
Very rarely, those who were obviously extraordinary at a glance had four.
I'd only ever seen one person with five talents.
The lord's youngest son, whom I'd happened to run into.
They said he was a talent recognized even across the kingdom.
He was currently training as a squire to the commander of the royal knights, or something like that?
Anyway.
If someone that exceptional had five talents, I had a whopping twenty-two.
“Well, they had to give me at least this much.”
Because I'm a reincarnator. A perk like this is standard issue.
The unknown being who summoned me to this other world. The twenty-two talents granted through that being's arrangements.
Of them, the one that stood out the most was, inevitably, this.
[Insight EX]
As for this one….
I'm thinking it might be a grade assigned because of my eyes that see through talents.
Since coming to this world, I hadn't particularly felt my insight increase.
Next, the talents with the highest grades after [Insight].
[Growth SSS]
[Nurturing SSS]
Seeing this much, I could get a rough idea.
A person who sees other people's talents also has an aptitude for growth and nurturing? And on top of that, he has aptitude for all sorts of combat skills?
This wasn't telling me to run around as a player. It was telling me to discover talented people and raise an army.
And that was probably the reason I came to this world.
“No, but seriously! How does a serf start make any sense?! Who's a serf supposed to raise? Ugh!”
In case anyone might hear, I vented my complaints in Korean.
The resentment in my chest settled a little.
After a few deep breaths, my head cooled, and my goal became clear.
“Right, first things first….”
I had to overhaul this serf status of mine before anything else.
The method was singular and simple.
I just had to be granted knighthood.
In this world, even serfs could become knights.
There were three main ways to do it.
First, go to the battlefield and earn military merit.
Second, learn magic and become a mage of the 2nd tier or higher.
Third, form a contract with a spirit and become a spirit summoner.
First of all, the first method was out of the question.
Serfs generally weren't conscripted into the army.
Their role was to work at their trades and fatten the lord's belly.
They say that in emergencies, serfs are drafted and made to serve as arrow catchers, but this was an era of peace.
Serfs had no chance to fight in so much as a small skirmish, let alone a war.
The second method was a bust, too.
Because I had no idea at all how magic was used or how one became a mage.
There was no way to find out that kind of high-level information as a serf.
Just in case I could grasp the power of magic on my own, I was meditating every day.
Keeping at it consistently, I did end up with an F-grade talent in meditation, but whether this has anything to do with magic….
Well, I couldn't tell yet.
Then there was only one method left.
Becoming a spirit summoner!
Conveniently, my talent for it was S-grade, too.
All I had to do was form a contract with a spirit, so it seemed worth a shot. Provided I could meet a spirit, of course.
But there was one problem here, too.
“Jeez. Light and salt attributes, of all things.”
How great would it have been if it were one of the common-as-dirt four great elements?
Then I'd have contracted a spirit and received knighthood long ago.
I'm a guy who devoured countless subculture works back on Earth.
Otherworld reincarnators having rare attributes? That's the cliché of clichés.
Well, the light attribute pops up often enough in various works.
But a salt attribute? This is honestly the first time I've met this one.
“The spirit I can contract with is probably either a light spirit or a salt spirit….”
First, the light spirit.
Light is everywhere.
So I couldn't predict where a spirit might be.
Just in case, I'd been sunbathing often in places with lots of sunshine, but…. So far, no sightings.
Wondering if the light attribute might be connected to divine power, I'd also poked around the village temple, but the result was the same.
“No matter how I think about it, the salt spirit is the answer right now.”
Fortunately, when it came to the salt spirit, there were still places worth investigating.
For example, the lord's salt warehouse. Or the salt mine where rock salt was mined.
Of course, I couldn't be sure yet, but if it truly lived up to being a spirit of salt, wouldn't it be in places like these?
Of course, both places were hard to access.
Even setting aside the fact that I'd have to leave the manor, salt was an extremely precious resource in this era.
Why else would it be called white gold?
So places related to salt could only be accessed by authorized personnel.
So I made up my mind to become a renowned rat hunter.
“Why, you ask?”
In this era, rats existed everywhere, even in heavily guarded places.
Rats were stealthy and fast to begin with, and they bred prolifically, so exterminating them with the servants' efforts alone was close to impossible.
Because of that, officials often called renowned rat hunters into their jurisdictions, and naturally, those jurisdictions included the salt mine and the salt warehouse.
So what I needed was a reputation as a rat hunter!
“You rat bastards. I'll slaughter every last one of you!”
I shouted, gripping the wooden bow tightly in my small fist.
My whole body blazed with the ambition to rise in status.
“I'm going to become a noble, no matter what!”
And so I would claim the things I never got to enjoy back in my office-worker days.
Freedom. Romance. Adventure. Power.
And a love that makes my heart tremble.
I'll enjoy all of it, here in this other world.