'Two years. Has it already been two years?'
I recalled the time when I had first arrived in this world.
The moment when I, just an ordinary young man living a so-so life in Korea on Earth, was suddenly hurled into this barbaric world.
A world where the laws and morals of Earth offered no protection, where monsters that didn't exist back home roamed freely, and where superhumans capable of shattering mountains single-handedly walked the land.
Remembering those fresh early days when I'd abruptly been transported to a fantasy world straight out of some novel or game, my mood soured completely. I tossed aside the armor I'd been half-heartedly wiping down.
'I want to go home...'
For two years straight, without missing a single day, I muttered my heartfelt wish again today. On top of that, I went ahead and ran through my usual daily routine.
"Status window. Inventory. Skill window, quest window, stats, minimap, gallery, gacha, my info, appraisal, equipment window..."
Like some lunatic, I muttered every random word that came to mind, all by myself.
But after confirming that not a single one produced any change, I let out a deep sigh and rubbed my face.
"Does the bastard who sent me here not know the current trends? He could've at least given me a gallery..."
From the very first day of my arrival, I'd been mumbling like a maniac starting with 'status window,' then every keyword I could think of like 'inventory' or 'quest window'—hell, even 'gallery'—but nothing responded.
I had no idea who the hell had transported me to this world, but one thing was clear: the guy hadn't read many webnovels.
After indifferently wrapping up my daily routine, I rummaged through my belongings to move on to the next task.
"Yeah. You're up today."
I pulled out a frayed leather belt used for hanging a hand axe. Closing my eyes, I ran my fingers over its surface.
The leather itself was poor quality—rough to the touch, with torn and ragged patches here and there.
I lifted the belt slightly to feel its weight and fiddled with the loop in the middle meant for securing the hand axe.
Having firmly imprinted its weight, texture, and material in my mind, I quietly breathed a single word.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡Replication
Just like when I'd faced the goblin earlier and muttered 'Replication,' that sensation hit again—an intangible energy draining out from my body.
Then a faint glow gathered in my hand, and sure enough, what had been a single belt was now two.
"Whew... good."
I grabbed the hourglass standard in every inn room, flipped it over to time things, and stared intently at the belt.
The feeling of intangible energy steadily draining from my body continued, until finally a sense of total depletion washed over me. The belt I'd created fizzled away like soap bubbles.
"Huuuk... hu...!!"
As the intangible energy ran dry, a wave of intense fatigue crashed over me. I had to flop onto the bed for a moment to catch my breath. Still, glancing at the hourglass, I nodded in satisfaction.
"Good. Now I can maintain the belt plenty long enough..."
I roughly gauged how long it had lasted before the replicated belt vanished, then flipped the hourglass again and waited for my inner intangible energy to recover.
Once it was fully restored, I ground my teeth as I glared at the bed I'd been lounging on moments ago.
"Good.... Let's give it a shot today, too."
A crudely woven straw mattress topped with a filthy sheet.
I knew that musty stench all too well from crashing on it every night—not to mention how it dug into my back. I licked my lips.
"Heh heh heh... You stubborn bitch. Your tantrums end here. Now I can recall your texture and smell perfectly even with my eyes closed...?"
The bed offered no reply. I shot it a glare, took a deep breath, placed my hand on it, and muttered once more.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡Replication
-Shooooaaa!!
This time, unlike with the belt, the energy inside me ebbed away like a receding tide in an instant. Fatigue slammed into me immediately.
"Kuhuk...!!"
I clenched my teeth and endured the exhaustion, staring anxiously at the bed.
'As expected, no good?'
I'd figured a bed I slept on every night would have enough 'understanding' built up. But too big an object after all...?
I gritted my teeth against the fatigue, on the verge of collapsing and abandoning the replication—when a faint glow began to gather. Right beside the bed I'd targeted, a shape identical to the familiar one started forming.
"Ha... haha! Success!"
Gazing at the bed now perfectly formed, a sense of liberation washed over me. I leaped straight onto my replicated creation.
"Mm...! This shitty smell and prickly back scrape...!!"
Confirming it matched the sensation I knew to a tee, I contentedly felt the intangible energy rising inside me once more.
'Good. Definitely improved from before.'
It hadn't fully recovered yet, but the capacity had clearly grown. As I smiled faintly, the familiar texture suddenly vanished from under my back.
-Thud!!
"Gah!!"
A strange floating sensation hit, followed by a crash—my head smacking the inn floor. Writhing in pain, I still managed to check the hourglass.
"Kuaaa.... Y-yeah, replication worked, but the duration's still short..."
This ability that let me replicate throwing hand axes for goblin hunts—and now even the bed I'd been lying on.
I had no status window, no inventory, not even a gallery... But I did have one ability of my own—a perk, you could say.
The power I'd named 'Replication.'
True to its name, it bizarrely produced a perfect copy of anything I touched.
"Whew... If only it didn't have a time limit, I could've just replicated money and lived the easy life..."
Of course, replicated items vanished after a set time, and I couldn't copy just anything, so it wasn't as handy as it sounded...
Still, better than nothing at all.
Thanks to it, I'd gone from scraping by on a meal every three or four days to at least not starving every day.
Ah, wait—no? I still skipped meals now and then.
'If I keep honing this power like this, I bet I can find all sorts of ways to use it.'
Feeling pretty satisfied with how the ability had grown a bit more, I finally succumbed to the crashing fatigue from overdoing it and closed my eyes.
Dreaming of the bright future that would come someday.
.
.
.
'Let's see. Head out to hunt goblins again today...?'
The next day, after waking in the inn.
I'd made decent coin yesterday, so I toyed with the idea of taking it easy. But remembering those starving days of the past, I headed to the Adventurer's Guild to scout for something manageable.
I'd probably end up goblin-hunting again anyway... Still, sweet gigs for E-rankers popped up at the guild now and then, so I figured I'd at least show my face.
'Nothing like that temple request from last time? Those fed you, which was nice...'
Recalling the one time I'd taken a job from the temple, I smacked my lips and stepped inside the guild.
Right from the entrance, it was noisier than usual.
"Some kind of fight?"
In a world short on entertainment, spectating a brawl was top-tier fun. I hurried toward the racket.
Disappointingly, no brawling adventurers—just a stranger standing there.
And swarming these newcomers were the guild's adventurers, noisily pitching themselves.
"T-take me along! I'm killer at guiding paths!"
"I know the forest like the back of my hand! Could find my way blindfolded...!"
'What the hell?'
All of them red-eyed, spittle flying as they hyped themselves up.
Through the crowd, I finally got a good look at the unfamiliar figure in the center.
Smooth, well-kept purple hair. An intellectual face radiating a mystical aura.
Porcelain-pale skin and clear, transparent eyes.
Even shrouded in a robe, her chest projected an imposing presence that no cloth could hide.
And clutched tightly in her hand: a brown staff.
'Hm? A staff?'
I rolled my eyes to inspect the staff gripped by the purple-haired woman. That's when it hit me why everyone was losing their minds.
'Holy shit. Magic Tower?'
The Magic Tower crest—something I'd only heard rumors about, never seen myself.
The mages' enclave even the imperial family treaded carefully around. Elites of the continent, you could say. And there it was, plain as day on her staff.
From the snippets of their pitches, it sounded like she'd come to post a request...
'A Magic Tower member handing out work. No wonder they're going nuts.'
Just the name alone reeked of cash—and play your cards right, you might build connections. Totally got why they were flipping out.
But...
"...."
The mage amid the adventurers started grimacing more and more.
Either oblivious to her expression or just not caring, the adventurers kept bragging away.
Finally, the mage—who'd been silently listening—spoke up.
"Shut your traps. All of you, scram."
"....Pardon? B-but you still need to decide who to—"
"I'll handle that. Get. Out. Of. My. Sight."
"...."
A harsh tone that clashed with her pretty face.
A few blinked, chewing on her words, but still tried clinging to her.
"Aw, c'mon, don't be like that—think it over...?"
As one ignored her and closed in, the mage's face twisted viciously. She slammed her staff into the floor.
-Crack!!
"Wha... huh? Ah, aaack!"
The guild's interior temperature plunged in an instant. A razor-sharp icicle materialized right in front of the intruder's eyes, menacing him.
Only then did the adventurers scramble back. The purple-haired mage exhaled sharply, looking relieved.
'I get it. Those guys. They all stink like shit.'
Unlike the others shooting her dirty looks, I nodded sympathetically.
A horde of unwashed filth charging in, spewing spit and halitosis? I'd snap too.
Finally able to breathe, the mage scanned the adventurers with clear disdain.
Her gaze suddenly locked onto me, tucked among the retreated crowd. She sized me up for a moment.
"Yeah. You."
"....Me?"
She jabbed a finger my way. Dumbfounded, I pointed at myself and parroted back.
"You're it. Follow me."
"...Pardon?"
Guess hanging with the self-promo crowd made her lump me in. Without further explanation, she pointed and strode out.
'What the...?'
Stunned, I opened my mouth to speak—but caught the adventurers glaring daggers like I'd snatched a golden lifeline right in front of them. I bolted out of the guild after her.