NoveLight ™
This year, Baek Seo-jin was turning eleven, and he was already the center of everyone’s expectations.
As the sole heir of the White Tiger Guild—one of Korea’s top ten guilds—he was a rising star, praised for his extraordinary talent.
“Please try an attack, Young Master.”
“Yes! Here I go! Hiyahhh!”
With a spirited cry, Baek Seo-jin swung his sword with all the vigor of a child’s voice.
The mana coursing through the blade lashed out like a whip, striking against the spear held by a guild member of the White Tiger Guild standing opposite him.
The guild member, who blocked the attack, smiled as he spoke.
“Wow! That stings! For someone already at the level of a B-rank mana awakener, you’re incredible, Young Master!”
At the praise from the guild member, Baek Seo-jin scratched his head with a bashful laugh.
“Oh, it’s nothing. I still have a long way to go.”
To be at the level of a B-rank mana awakener at the age of eleven marked him as a prodigy with extraordinary potential. His innate talent was estimated to reach at least SS-rank, if not the exceedingly rare SSS-rank.
A true genius by birth.
“How could my son be so amazing?”
A beautiful woman with radiant features approached him. Kim Yoo-jung’s face lit up as she hugged Baek Seo-jin tightly, her pride and adoration unmistakable.
“Hehe~”
Nestled in his mother’s embrace, Baek Seo-jin grinned, his spirits buoyed by her affection.
His thoughts were filled with a singular determination: to work even harder and make his beloved parents even prouder of him.
“Now, Seo-jin, shall we go have breakfast?”
“Yes! Where’s Dad?”
“Your dad will be here soon. Breakfast is best enjoyed with the whole family.”
“Okay!”
At Baek Seo-jin’s enthusiastic response, Kim Yoo-jung lovingly caressed his cheek, her eyes filled with warmth.
“Oh, my Seo-jin, how can even the way you talk be so adorable? Hehe~ While other kids talk rudely to their parents, you’re so polite and respectful. Such a good boy.”
Baek Hyung-won and Kim Yoo-jung’s love for their son was well-known.
Their overwhelming affection for Baek Seo-jin was often showcased in internet videos, making it a popular topic among those interested in the White Tiger Guild.
But for the guild members who had been with the White Tiger Guild for more than six years, this display left them feeling uneasy.
Especially when they saw Kim Yoo-jung, holding Baek Seo-jin’s hand with a bright smile, leading him to the guild master’s private dining hall for breakfast.
There, Baek Hyung-won would greet them with a warm smile, completing the picture of an idyllic and harmonious family.
“The Guild Master sure dotes on the Young Master.”
“Indeed.”
Relatively new guild members, seeing the family’s interactions in passing, often looked on with admiration.
Out of concern for their feelings, no one mentioned Baek Seo-jun, who had once been kidnapped by villains. Instead, they focused on praising the devoted couple and their clear love for their son, Baek Seo-jin.
However, for the veteran guild members who knew how the eldest son, Baek Seo-jun, had been treated in the past, this display was anything but heartwarming.
Bound by Baek Hyung-won’s warnings and their allegiance to the White Tiger Guild, they kept their knowledge buried, remaining silent about the events of the past.
***
[Yang Bo-ra. It’s about yielding your life, you know?]
[You ungrateful brat! After all we’ve done for you—giving you life, raising you, feeding you, and providing for you—you dare to act like this?]
[How dare you talk back to your mother! As the elder brother, can’t you at least do this much for your younger sibling?]
The footage from five years ago, showing Baek Hyung-won and Kim Yoo-jung telling me to die for the sake of my younger brother, played vividly before me.
Hearing the dialogue, which I had never once forgotten, now captured on video, made me click my tongue in disgust.
“Click… Even though it’s my own past, it’s revolting to watch.”
Baek Hyung-won and Kim Yoo-jung disgusted me, but no less revolting was Baek Seo-jin. The boy sat nestled in their arms, gazing blankly as if he couldn’t understand what was happening.
At just six years old at the time, he seemed too young to grasp the gravity of the situation, staring wide-eyed in confusion.
My hatred wasn’t about whether Baek Seo-jin bore any fault.
Having been sold to villains, subjected to countless horrors, and left with scars I could never forget, my loathing for Baek Seo-jin had become deeply ingrained.
No matter what it took, I couldn’t bear to see him happy.
“Baek Seo-jin.”
There were still nine years until the original story would begin.
For now, he was nothing more than a child, and doing anything to him at this point wouldn’t serve much purpose.
He’s not ready to be brought down just yet.
The evidence to expose Baek Hyung-won and Kim Yoo-jung’s lies was already in my hands.
But if I revealed it now, before they reached the peak of their happiness, my revenge would lose all its impact.
“Hmph, they’re playing their parts well.”
I observed how Baek Hyung-won and Kim Yoo-jung interacted with Baek Seo-jin within the White Tiger Guild.
It was as if I were watching them in person. Every detail reached me vividly.
Baek Hyung-won and Kim Yoo-jung doted on Baek Seo-jin, smiling as he ate. They looked just like the loving parents depicted in the original story.
Inside the guild master’s private dining hall, they served him dishes made with the finest ingredients, a stark contrast to my past.
A mere five years ago, I had been content to eat meals costing less than ten thousand won, never once complaining.
At the time, I had dismissed it as something that didn’t bother me much, perhaps because I was a reincarnator.
But I realized now how foolish that line of thinking had been.
At Ramisa’s question, I closed my eyes briefly.
“I’m not sure. Maybe the moment he enters Kangin Academy?”
The original story was already shattered, with the original final boss, Ramisa, having passed her power to me and now residing on my shoulders.
Even so, some things wouldn’t change—like the relationships between the original protagonist and the heroines in a world untouched by outside interference.
The world’s fate as it would have unfolded without any external involvement…
Baek Seo-jin would inevitably become entangled with all the heroines, except Seomun Ye-jin, just as in the original storyline.
“Until then, I’ll plant a Trojan horse.”
I began devising plans to ensure that, when Baek Seo-jin and his family believed they had reached their pinnacle of happiness, they would be plunged into the depths of despair.
I couldn’t wait to see that seemingly perfect family of three fall into hell.
“Aaaagh!”
“P-please, stop! Aaaargh!”
The sounds of screams interrupted my thoughts.
They were the cries of So Kang-seok’s former subordinates—the villains.
To those who had subjected me to endless human experimentation, I had now granted the “honor” of becoming fresh experimental subjects themselves.
***
"Really, when will he be back?"
Seomun Ye-jin bit her lip lightly as she waited for Baek Seo-jun, who had yet to return.
He had left without saying when he’d be back, leaving her to eat alone as she waited in vain.
“It’s already been two days.”
Two days had passed, and still, there was no sign of him.
The fact that he had gone to Somalia made it impossible for her to even consider going after him.
Not to mention, she didn’t think she had the ability to survive there on her own, given her current skill level.
Although she didn’t believe someone like him would get hurt, the idea of him venturing into such a dangerous place left her feeling uneasy.
“Miss.”
“Eek?!”
A sudden voice from behind startled Seomun Ye-jin so much that she let out a scream without realizing it.
As a mana awakener, it was unthinkable for her to not sense someone’s presence, yet she had heard the voice without any warning.
Clutching her chest, she turned around to see the source of the voice.
Standing there was a boy with blue hair and piercing red eyes that resembled blood, smiling faintly.
“I’m back, Miss.”
“Oh, really! You scared me!”
“My apologies for that. I’ll be more careful next time.”
At Baek Seo-jun’s reply, Seomun Ye-jin let out a soft laugh. She scanned him up and down before speaking.
“It doesn’t look like you’re hurt. Did everything go as planned?”
“It went well.”
When Baek Seo-jun nodded, Seomun Ye-jin assumed he had successfully avenged himself against the villains.
And perhaps…
“Did you also find the evidence video?”
“Yes, I found it. It even had footage of the torture I endured.”
“Oh…”
Although Baek Seo-jun spoke as though it didn’t bother him, Seomun Ye-jin, who had seen his anger firsthand, knew how deeply it affected him.
She struggled to think of what words of comfort to offer.
She had no experience consoling a boy her age, especially one like Baek Seo-jun.
“C-can I watch it too? Ah!”
Lost in her thoughts, she accidentally blurted out the question, immediately regretting it.
She worried that her words might have hurt him, that he might think she was treating his suffering as something to gawk at.
But Baek Seo-jun simply smiled at her.
“You don’t need to tread so carefully, Miss. It’s not like you committed any crime. There’s nothing to hide, so it’s no trouble to show you.”
“O-okay…”
“Do you have any device I can play it on?”
“Oh, this should work.”
Seomun Ye-jin pointed to the TV in her house.
It was equipped with 3D holographic video and basic augmented reality functionality. Connecting the video storage device to it would be easy.
The video storage device resembled an old USB stick, but thanks to advancements in technology using mana stones harvested from monsters, it didn’t need to be physically plugged in.
The device could send a signal to the TV, which would recognize it and play the stored videos.
And then…
“Ah… Ah…”
Seomun Ye-jin clasped her hands over her mouth as her face turned pale. She trembled uncontrollably at the horrifying contents of the video.