Chapter 292: Gate (7)

Since his reincarnation, Louis had never expected to see this object again.

It was a common piece of modern technology from his life on Earth, something he had encountered all over the world—and even held in his hand at the moment of his death.

Louis picked up the smartphone, his expression incredulous. ”…Why is this thing popping up here?”

This was the greatest crisis of his life.

He was grateful to have been suddenly dragged to this strange place and spared, but the appearance of a smartphone in this situation was utterly bewildering.

Moreover…

”…If you’re going to give me one, why a used one? Why not a new one?”

The smartphone in Louis’s hand was covered in scratches and scuffs. The back panel and screen were riddled with signs of age.

“And it’s not even the latest model. When I was still using this phone…”

Louis, who had been chattering away while fiddling with the smartphone after so long, suddenly fell silent.

His eyes began to tremble.

No way… Could it be…?

Louis examined the phone more closely.

The scratches on the screen and casing.

The old stand attached to the back.

After scrutinizing every detail, Louis’s eyes widened, and a soft, groan-like sound escaped his lips.

”…Is this… mine?”

The traces left on the phone hadn’t registered at first.

But as time passed, familiar marks began to catch his eye.

The dent in the upper right corner, from when he dropped the phone in shock upon learning of his illness.

The scratches on the screen, caused by countless hours of scrolling.

His weakening grip had forced him to attach a finger-ring grip to the phone.

Though it had been a long time, how could he ever forget?

The days spent growing weaker, consumed by illness.

In that hellish routine, this small, spherical smartphone had been his sole lifeline to the world.

“Ah…”

For Louis, this phone was the essence of both attachment and obsession, something he had clung to until his very last breath.

Realizing this, Louis’s hand trembled slightly.

“Why is this…?”

Taking a shallow breath, Louis pressed and held the power button.

Thump-thump.

His heart pounded fiercely.

Roughly hundreds of years had passed in the Evan Dimension.

He had no idea how much time had elapsed on Earth.

Seeing Chulsoo88 still around, Louis figured not too much time could have passed since his death.

Still, the smartphone he’d used was quite outdated—a real clunker notorious for its battery draining within hours. The odds of it turning on were slim.

“It turned on?!”

Louis’s worries proved unfounded as the screen lit up.

But something strange caught his eye.

”…What’s this?”

Typically, when a smartphone powers on, the manufacturer’s or carrier’s logo appears first. But instead, a single line of text floated across the screen:

White letters glowed against a black background. The message quickly faded, replaced by another.

With that final message, the black background vanished, and the screen lit up completely.

But what bewildered Louis even more was what came next.

“That’s… it?”

All the numerous apps he had used were gone. Even basic applications like the phone and messaging apps were uninstalled. The only thing left on the screen was a bizarre application shaped like a door, with no name attached.

“Hmm…”

Louis stared silently at the screen, lost in thought.

An intense curiosity and impulse surged within him, but he barely managed to restrain himself.

What if it suddenly teleports me to some unknown place? Or brings back the old phone I used to have? The whole situation felt highly suspicious.

The previous situation had been overwhelmingly in Kaiders’ favor.

Nine to one.

No, a situation where his defeat was virtually certain, with odds of ninety-nine to one.

Given such overwhelming odds, why would Kaiders bother staging this elaborate charade? Why not simply take his life when he could?

Louis concluded that the current situation wasn’t Kaiders’ doing.

One suspect immediately came to mind.

Kaiders’ words echoed in his mind:

Kaiders had definitely said that.

Louis began to speculate.

Kaiders was planning something that would negatively impact the Evan Dimension, and Lotberia had caught wind of it.

Louis turned his gaze back to his smartphone.

Having made up his mind, Louis slowly extended his finger toward the screen.

And then…

The moment his fingertip lightly touched the sole app on the screen, the display went black.

Soon after, a stark white message appeared:

Louis’s confusion didn’t last long.

A blinding light suddenly erupted from the white text.

“Ugh!”

Caught off guard by the sudden glare, Louis hastily closed his eyes.

”…”

How much time had passed since then?

Beep-beep.

The vaguely familiar sound, one he hadn’t heard in ages, prompted Louis to cautiously open his eyes.

His jaw dropped at the sight before him.

”…?!”

Stunned beyond words, Louis froze in place.

The acrid smell of exhaust fumes wafted into his nostrils, jolting him back to reality.

“Ah…”

Beep-beep.

Cars lined the street, their horns blaring at vehicles cutting in.

People hurried across the crosswalks.

Towering skyscrapers loomed all around.

And finally…

The moment Louis saw the familiar subway entrance sign, he let out an involuntary groan.

“Crazy… what the hell is this?”

Earth, the place he thought he’d never return to.

And here he was, right in the heart of Seoul, South Korea.

“Heh…”

All it took was a brief blink from the glare, and Louis found himself back in his former homeland.

Night in Seoul.

Even late into the evening, the Jongno area, teeming with office workers, buzzed with activity.

Louis wandered aimlessly around Jongno, drawing countless gazes.

“Wow! Did you see that foreigner? Is he even human?”

“Holy crap! An elf?”

“Look how small his face is…”

“He’s a real-life manhwa character!”

Wherever Louis went, his striking appearance captivated onlookers.

His overwhelmingly unreal beauty seemed to belong to another world.

Moreover, his distinctive white hair and violet eyes—somewhat unusual features—made him instantly recognizable even in a crowd of hundreds.

Yet these distinctive traits harmonized so perfectly with his aura that onlookers felt a sense of mystery rather than alienation.

“Should I go ask for his number?”

“Do you speak English well?”

”…No.”

Unintentionally captivating people as he wandered aimlessly, Louis slumped heavily onto a bench near a shop.

“Haa…”

He let out a long, heavy sigh and tugged at his hair.

“Why does my life—no, my dragon life—keep throwing these curveballs at me?”

Just minutes ago, he had been locked in a fierce, life-or-death battle with Kaiders. Now, he found himself inexplicably stranded in the heart of Seoul.

He couldn’t believe what was happening.

Is this a dream…?

Lifting his head slightly, Louis’s gaze fell upon his reflection in the shop window.

It wasn’t the face he’d had before his reincarnation, but the one he had worn as Louis for centuries, staring back at him from the glass.

Stretch… stretch…

Louis stared at his reflection in the shop window, pulling the skin of his cheeks sideways. A faint ache radiated from his face.

So, pain exists.

And there’s more…

There’s even a trace of mana, however faint.

Just a tiny speck, but undeniably present. Sensing it confirmed to Louis that his current situation wasn’t a dream.

Moreover, he held tangible proof in his hand—his smartphone, a concrete reminder of reality.

Fumbling with the device, Louis muttered, “Hmm…”

He impatiently flipped through the phone, hoping to find a clue, but irritation crept across his face. An unexpected problem had arisen.

“Why… why won’t this thing turn on?”

The smartphone that had sent Louis back to Earth wouldn’t turn on.

Louis’s expression turned grave.

Could it be a one-time use?

But the message “Come back before it’s too late” had clearly appeared on the screen. That implied he could return.

Louis sorted through his tangled thoughts.

Let’s think this through step by step.

If Lotberia had left the smartphone behind, he would undoubtedly have left clues.

He told me to find him, and the Honcheon Sword… For now, I’ll put aside figuring out what the Honcheon Sword even is. That can wait until I find this “him.”

The most pressing question was identifying who this “him” was.

Is “he” a man or a woman?

No, I don’t even know if he’s human.

The clues were too scarce.

Louis began sifting through what little information he had, trying to find anything that could be considered a lead.

First, Lotberia sent me to Earth to find him.

This meant that “he” was on Earth, or at the very least, highly likely to be connected to Louis’s situation.

As Louis pieced together the situation, a particular figure surfaced in his mind.

“No way… Could it be…?”

A being on Earth with ties to the Evan Dimension. As far as Louis knew, there was only one such person.

”…Chulsoo88?”

No matter how hard he thought, it was the only possibility.

But the problem was: where could he even begin to look for this guy? He didn’t know his address, name, gender, or age.

Based on the nickname alone, he’s probably named Chulsoo and was born in 1988.

Even that wasn’t certain.

For now, the only clues Louis had were the blog he’d run and the nickname “Chulsoo88.”

“Ha… all this hell just because I slipped up once.”

Louis sighed heavily, his lips pursing into a pout.

First, I’ll assume “he” is Chulsoo88 and start searching.

If “he” turned out not to be Chulsoo88, he could reevaluate then.

After a moment of contemplation, Louis abruptly shook his head.

No… even if this hadn’t happened, I’d still have to find that bastard, Chulsoo88.

Louis’s eyes gleamed with determination.

“How much damn trouble did that bastard put me through?”

At the very least, he deserved some small measure of retribution for all the suffering he’d caused.

So, where do I even begin to find this son of a bitch?

The only clues Louis had to find Chulsoo88 were his blog and nickname. Honestly, trying to track him down with just that was like searching for a random Mr. Kim in Seoul—a hopeless task.

Moreover, Louis currently possessed neither a resident registration card nor a passport. In a way, he was practically an illegal alien, making him a prime target for getting caught up in trouble.

Yet Louis remained unfazed, even radiating an air of composure.

Mana is scarce, but I still have enough to use. And the pocket dimension opens smoothly without any issues…

Though he lacked official identification, he possessed an infallible trump card recognized universally.

Louis reached into his pants pocket, rummaged through the pocket dimension, and pulled out a heavy, dull yellow gold ingot.

The solid weight of the gold caused a sly grin to stretch across his lips.

“I guess I should leave this to the experts after all,” Louis muttered.

Recalling his past life, he knew that in this country, money could solve any problem.

A wicked grin spread across his face. “Alright, while I’m here, might as well indulge in some good old-fashioned, extravagant spending I never got to try before!”

If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, he thought. Since he couldn’t return home anytime soon, he might as well experience everything this place had to offer.

“Heh heh heh.”

Louis let out a sinister chuckle as he dusted himself off and stood up.

Just then, two foreign women approached him.

“Excuse me!”

Startled by the woman’s words, Louis blurted out frantically, “I’m Korean! I don’t speak English! I’m Korean! No speaking English!”

With that, he scurried away, his face flushed.

”…”

Fluent Korean and awkward English flowed from the young man, whose unmistakably foreign appearance was undeniable.

The foreign women could only stare blankly at Louis’s retreating figure, their faces frozen in stunned silence.