Kai left the library with his mind still buzzing from all the things he had just read.
The pressure of this world's history and various knowledge about cultivation pressing down on his head.
So he thought that he should just finish reading for now. At least he had ripped off a map to learn.
He forced himself to push those thoughts aside for now and headed back toward the inn.
By the time he came out, the night streets were already dimly lit and the scent of warm food drifted through the air.
When he arrived at the inn and stepped inside, he found the same woman from the morning, the one who had brought him his tray of food and clothes.
She had just emerged from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron, a tired but gentle smile tugging at her lips.
"Oh, you're back. I was just about to bring dinner up to your room," she said, her voice carrying a trace of weariness. "I've been so busy I couldn't send it earlier."
Kai shook his head lightly. "It's alright, miss. I'll take my own food. You've done enough for me already."
But the woman raised her hand with a soft laugh. "No, it's fine. This is my job."
For a moment, Kai hesitated, then gave her a small smile. "Then… how about we go together?"
The woman blinked, slightly surprised, but then her smile deepened.
Without another word, she turned and disappeared into the kitchen.
Kai waited patiently near the stairway and leaned against the railing.
Not long after, the woman returned carrying a tray filled with steaming dishes.
Before she could move past him, Kai stepped forward.
"Let me carry it," he said gently, reaching for the tray.
She tilted her head at him, amused. "You're quite a nice person, aren't you?"
Kai chuckled awkwardly and replied, "Heheh, Thanks."
With that, he took the tray from her hands, steadying it carefully as the two of them made their way up the stairs.
Their footsteps echoed softly in the quiet corridor until they reached his room on the second floor.
Kai opened the door, stepped inside, and placed the tray neatly on the table.
As he straightened, he noticed the woman standing at the doorway.
Her expression had changed. Her smile was gone and instead, a shadow of hesitation clouded her face.
She seemed to struggle with herself. Her lips parting slightly as though caught between speaking and remaining silent.
Kai, sensing the unease, turned to her. "Is something the matter?"
Her eyes flickered, uncertain, before she lowered her voice to a whisper.
"Do you… know what kind of delivery Lord Renhai wants you to do?"
Kai blinked at the question and slowly shook his head. "No. I wasn't told about the details yet."
The woman's hands clenched against her apron. She bit her lower lip, then finally leaned closer, her voice almost a whisper.
"It's dangerous. Very dangerous. It was that kind of task that can get you killed."
Kai's eyes widened, shock flashing across his face as her words sank in.
Kai's lips trembled as he forced out the words. "W-what do you mean?"
The woman's eyes clouded, her voice weighed down by something far heavier than fatigue.
"Lord Renhai… he's done this many times. He finds people like you. Men with talent, men who have nowhere to go. Fugitives, vagabonds, and those who lost their homes.
"He tempts them with the promise of reward and tells them that if they complete the delivery and return alive, they'll be given very handsome rewards. But…" Her voice faltered. "Most never return. Almost all of them die."
Kai swallowed his saliva. He stood in silence and listened, while the words sank deep into his chest.
His thoughts wandered back to his own life, the way he had lived before coming to this world.
On modern earth, he had nothing. Now, in this strange world, it felt no different.
He had no friends here, no place to belong, and no path forward. He didn't know which one was worse.
And even with the map in his possession now, he knew nothing of the real terrain.
He knew only the dangers of the fractured lands, the territories crawling with magical beasts, and anomalies born from the Great Fracture.
For him, there was no choice, no safe road. He had to accept this task so that he could progress one by one. Just like what he always had.
A bitter smile curved his lips as he finally spoke.
"You don't need to worry. I'll be fine."
The woman bit her lip hard, her eyes flickering with quiet sorrow.
She had seen many like him, men dragged into this cycle, but Kai felt different.
He wasn't a fugitive or some criminal being used by Lord Renhai. He was just… someone nice who was caught by fate.
"…If you say so," she whispered at last, her voice heavy with resignation.
A sad fleeting and fragile smile touched her face, before she turned away.
Without another word, she walked down the hall, leaving Kai alone in the dimly lit room.
Kai let out a long sigh, then shook his head hard and slapped his own cheeks.
PLAK!
The sting grounded him, pulling him away from the darkness of depression clawing at his mind.
It was something he had always done whenever depression threatened to swallow him whole. He needed to fight it back before the gloom could smother him completely.
"No. Don't go there now."
He forced himself to breathe deeply and dragged his gaze toward the steaming dishes on the table.
"Better eat," he muttered under his breath.
The scent of spiced meat and warm broth wafted upward, breaking through the heaviness in his heart.
His wild and restless thoughts kept circling the same pit.
"At least I've got good food now. Free food. If I die doing that task… then so be it."
But the words twisted in his mind, sour and bitter. His fists clenched on the edge of the table.
"No. What the fuck am I thinking? I cannot die!"
Grinding his teeth, Kai grabbed the bowl and spoon with sudden fierceness.
Each bite became a battle not just against hunger but against despair itself.
He devoured the food quickly as if eating was the only way to drown out the storm inside his head.
"I will live and find a way back home. I have to!"
His hand tightened around the spoon.
—