Kim Jiho was not an ordinary person, yet neither was he special.
Because of an accident that claimed both of his parents when he was still very young, Kim Jiho was forced to grow up long before he should have. For several years, he lived with an uncle who drowned himself in alcohol, until one day that uncle was arrested by the police for involvement in a violent incident in a public place.
Once again, Kim Jiho was uprooted. This time, he was sent to an orphanage.
For a while, life began to gets better. He was surrounded by people who carried scars similar to his own, children shaped by loss and circumstance. Unfortunately, his time there was brief. When he turned eighteen, he was required to leave and begin an independent life of his own.
Kim Jiho took on multiple part-time jobs at once, carefully arranging his schedule so it would not clash with school. Little by little, he saved money for college tuition. Thanks to his intelligence and persistence, Kim Jiho managed to secure a scholarship.
Just as his life was slowly beginning to fall into place, Kim Jiho died at the age of twenty-one. He got into an accident while saving a small child who was about to be struck by a transport truck.
The child survived.
Of course, he didn't.
At least, that was how it was supposed to end.
But when Kim Jiho opened his eyes, he was met with a scene utterly unfamiliar to him. A bright blue ceiling stretched overhead. Beneath him lay polished marble floors that radiated quiet luxury—nothing that could be found casually anywhere in Korea. Tall, antique furniture stood in solemn rows around the room. When Kim Jiho tried to move his body, a groan tore from his throat as pain surged through every inch of him.
"W-What the … ugh—khk!"
His eyes flew open when he saw blood smeared across his palm. His breathing grew erratic, his heart pounded violently, and his head felt dangerously light. Beside him, shards of a shattered teacup lay scattered across the floor, tea pooling like a dark stain. Kim Jiho continued coughing harshly, until the sound of knocking echoed from beyond the door.
"Young Master, is everything okay?"
Let alone responding, Kim Jiho barely had the strength to breathe. His entire body burned as if set ablaze. At this rate, wasn't death nothing more than a cruel joke?
"Apellos, open the door!"
The door appeared to be locked. He could hear the commotion outside—voices raised in alarm, the sound of people attempting to force the door open. The moment the door finally gave way, Kim Jiho once again collapsed limply onto the floor. He saw an elderly servant rush into the room, followed by several unfamiliar figures calling out an unfamiliar name.
"Ape, my goodness!"
"Young Master Apellos!"
Apellos?
For some reason, the name felt strangely familiar.
That was the last thing Kim Jiho heard before darkness claimed him once more.
When he opened his eyes for the second time, the same bright blue ceiling greeted him. The same furniture. The same scenery. The difference was that now he lay atop a grand, soft bed instead of the cold marble floor.
His head felt like garbage—throbbing, nauseating, unbearable—though not as severe as before. Kim Jiho frowned when he saw his hands. Pale white skin, smooth and unblemished. Far too clean for someone who had worked part-time as a dishwasher at a fast-food restaurant.
"Young Master Ape, you are awake."
Kim Jiho flinched slightly as an elderly servant smiled gently at his bedside. He would have sworn that there had been no one there just moments ago. The servant handed him a glass of water, and the moment it touched his lips, it felt like salvation itself as it slid down his dry throat.
"I will call the doctor. Please rest, Young Master."
After offering a small bow, the servant left the room.
Perhaps that single glass of water cleared his mind. Kim Jiho hurried toward the massive mirror mounted beside the wardrobe. He touched its surface, his hand trembling violently.
"T-This can't be …!"
His suspicion was correct.
"Apellos Demetry?!"
Kim Jiho's soul now resided within the body of Apellos Demetry—a villain from a novel he had read before his death.
It was absurd. Completely ridiculous. And yet, what else could possibly explain his current situation if not the undeniable truth that he had transmigrated?
Kim Jiho stared at his unfamiliar reflection. Hair as red as the rising sun, eyes a vivid violet-purple. Strikingly handsome. Judging by the lingering baby fat on his cheeks, he appeared to be around thirteen or fourteen years old.
Bang!
Kim Jiho—no, Ape—jumped in shock as the door was suddenly flung open. A man rushed inside, tears streaming freely down his face.
"Ape, my son! You're awake! Oh dear Gaia, thank you!!"
"Eek—!"
Ape struggled as the man pulled him into a crushing embrace. But upon closer inspection, the man shared the same violet-purple eyes and faded purple hair. Something clicked in Ape's mind, connections forming without conscious thought, until the name slipped from his lips.
"Duke … Zenon?"
"Yes? Yes, it's Father. Father is here."
Wow. Ape felt like he might actually go insane.
"You should be resting. Why did you get out of bed?"
"Ah … yes, sorry."
Zenon was slightly taken aback by his son's obedience—and the apology. He gently helped Ape lie back down, tucking him in with silk blankets.
Soon after, a man in a white coat—likely a doctor—arrived. After examining Ape, he spoke, "It appears the poison in Young Master's body has been successfully neutralized. However, I recommend that Young Master rest fully for two weeks before departing for the Academy."
Ape froze.
Huh? Academy?
Oh, shit. Seems like fate won't give him any time to slack.
"I understand, Doctor. Thank you. I will contact the academy so that Ape may arrive later than scheduled."
Wait a second—
"Academy …?"
"Oh, Ape, you don't need to worry. Just rest. You were meant to leave for the capital next week, but Father will handle everything."
Wait. If he was supposed to attend the academy next week, didn't that mean he was fifteen years old now?
Huh. Wasn't he a bit short for a fifteen-year-old?
No—damn it. That wasn't the real problem.
At present, Ape—or Kim Jiho—was inside the world of a novel titled [The Legend of Swordmage]. The setting was medieval fantasy, and the story began on the first day at the academy.
The protagonist of the novel was Rave Poche. A commoner blessed with extraordinary talent. He possessed two abilities at once; sword aura and magic, making him a swordmage upon graduating from the academy.
And of course, like most shounen novels, this world was filled with monstrous species and evil organizations that threatened humanity. Rave was destined to become the hero who would save mankind from destruction—a symbol of hope and righteousness.
On the other hand, Apellos Demetry was nothing more than a minor villain in [The Legend of Swordmage]. He was not a threat to lives nor to the overarching plot, but he was irritating enough to constantly interfere with the protagonist's daily life.
Simply put, Apellos Demetry had a trashy mouth.
He was infamous for insulting those of lower status than himself—no, not just lower status. He even dared to be rude toward nobles of higher rank. Although Apellos never did anything in the novel that got him killed, there was one scene where he was beaten to a pulp by Rave after foolishly challenging him to a duel.
Honestly, Ape could not tell whether the original Apellos was brave or just plain stupid. I mean—look at these scrawny arms, softer than overcooked noodles! How could someone like that dare to challenge the protagonist to a duel?!
And truthfully, there was another problem gnawing at him.
Ape had never finished reading [The Legend of Swordmage].
The reason was simple, the novel serialization had never been completed in the first place.
The last time Ape read it was up to volume eight, and even then, the serialization had spanned from his middle school years through college—right up until the accident that took his life. All in all, he had followed the novel for about seven years.
Seven years was a long time.
Ape was not confident he could remember every detail of the story. But whether he liked it or not, he had no choice but to try—if he wanted to survive in this world.
"Young Master, is there anything you require?"
After Duke Zenon and the doctor left the room, the elderly servant whom Ape had seen first returned, wearing that same faint, inscrutable smile. This old servant … Ape swallowed hard. He was Fins Hirach—a former mercenary from the Northern Continent who had fled to the Southern Continent with his son, and eventually ended up serving the Demetry household. Fins's son, Zen Hirach, had joined the Demetry family's knight brigade thanks to his exceptional swordsmanship—especially his ability to manifest aura.
"Fins …," Ape called carefully, choosing his words with caution. "Could you bring me a blank notebook and a pen? Oh, and if possible, also a geography book about Olympia Kingdom."
For a split second, something flickered across Fins's face before it returned to its default setting—that faint smile—making Ape wonder if he had imagined it.
"I understand, Young Master."
What Ape liked about Fins was that the man rarely asked questions. No—rather than asking, Fins was the type to investigate things on his own and quietly keep the information to himself.
Ape scratched his head, even though it did not itch. He had roughly two weeks before leaving for the capital to attend the academy. But honestly, he was not sure whether this situation even existed in the novel. As far as he remembered, Apellos had already begun harassing Rave from the very first day. But since Ape would only be attending the academy a bit late, would the flow of the story change?
Well, this might actually be a good thing, Ape thought. At the very least, he could delay meeting the protagonist … and the other important characters.
Fins returned with everything Ape had requested, along with a bottle of medicine.
"The doctor gave me this earlier. You need to drink it regularly before dinner," the old man said, smiling in a way that, for some reason, felt unsettling to Ape.
Without much protest, Ape took a sip—and immediately frowned as bitterness flooded his tongue. He drank only a little before trying to hand the bottle back to Fins.
"Young Master, please finish it."
Ape jolted, then quickly drained the tea in a single gulp.
Ugh, fuck. It taste disgusting.
With a satisfied smile, Fins took back the empty bottle. "In that case, I will prepare dinner for you."
I wouldn't mind if you didn't come back though, Ape muttered silently in his heart.
Letting out a long sigh, Ape opened the blank notebook and stared at the pen … a fountain pen? Damn it. Incredibly inefficient. He suddenly missed every trace of modern technology from his previous world, even though he had not been in this new world for a full twenty-four hours yet.
Ape is not entirely sure how, but somehow he could understand the language and writing of this world, even though they should have been completely foreign to him. He had studied about things like this back in university.
But to experienced it himself ... is sure weird.