## Chapter 1410 – The Approaching Darkness

Looks like a fun title.

When I first came to this world and lived as a foreign laborer, I was also a black-haired foreigner from another world. Similarly, now that this world has become my true world, if I were to return to Earth, I could also be called a black-haired foreigner from another world.

“…”

Thinking about it made me feel strangely cheerful.

It’s a play on words, really. A black-haired foreigner who is also a Heavenly Demon. An unbelievably surreal concept.

But wait.

Wouldn’t it be incredibly shocking if I went back?

It would be like Superman suddenly dropping out of the sky. A demigod-like superhuman with absolute power descending upon the world.

An existence that Earthlings simply couldn’t handle.

Here, I wonder:
Would modern weapons even work on me?

The answer is absolutely not.

Unless some kind of SF revolution has occurred on Earth since I came to this world, Earth’s technology cannot harm me. I can now fly faster than the fastest fighter jet. And while fighter jets consume fuel, I don’t. My overflowing, infinite power makes fuel efficiency comparisons meaningless.

What about weapons?

I don’t know for sure, but even a nuclear bomb probably couldn’t change the terrain by evaporating dozens or hundreds of massive mountain ranges like I can.

Of course, launching a barrage of nuclear missiles might do it. But I can do more, faster, and wreak havoc without any preparation.

“The absolute power of the Heavenly Demon.”

The Earth’s power can no longer handle me.
For me, Earth is not much different from this world.

Then, I wonder.

Is modern Earth a world that I can tolerate?

I recalled my trip abroad last time. The legal system there was so primitive that I couldn’t bear to look at it. It was nothing more than an idolatrous something that only madmen or fanatics would believe in.

Modern Earth is the same.

There are many places with similar legal systems. From my perspective, it’s an extremely alien and bizarre world.

“Hmph.”

Of course, I don’t care.

I just act according to my own thoughts.
Nothing has changed.

This Kim Gattae is a Heavenly Demon and a seeker of Fusion Confucianism.

“Anyway, it sounds really fun to go. It’s definitely fascinating. A world where only humans live.”
“Right?”
“And if there’s no mana… it’s hard to imagine. What’s it like?”
“It’s completely different from here. Because there’s no magic, technology is extremely advanced… In big cities, there are basically thousands upon thousands of giant buildings that are about 30 stories tall. You can think of it as a place overflowing with artificial things.”
“Huh? What did you say?”

Liztina’s eyes widened.

Karin also opened one eye wide.

“Not only that, but there’s something like an airship that flies in the sky, and hundreds of people can ride in it. You can take it to travel to other countries. It’s not even that expensive, so anyone can ride it if they want.”
“Excuse me?”
“What?”
“And there’s also technology that allows you to talk to people in other countries in real-time. So, the concept of distance has largely faded.”

Sounds like magic when I say it.

But they were actually technologies used on Earth.

They build a lot of skyscrapers, and there are airplanes and telephones. What the hell? All that exists? It’s unbelievable, but it’s true. That’s actually possible.

“If you want to go anywhere within a country, even if it’s expensive, it only costs a little less than a worker’s daily wage, and you can get there in a few hours.”

The KTX (Korean high-speed rail) is expensive, but it’s not more expensive than a worker’s daily wage. Thinking back on it like this, it’s incredibly refreshing.

And they still couldn’t believe it.

“What, what kind of world is that? Wait a minute. Hey. Wait. Hold on. I don’t understand. You can take an airship to another country? Cheaply?”
“Yeah.”
“And you can talk to people in other countries in real-time? That’s possible?”
“There’s technology.”

Just as Karin was about to say something more, Liztina interjected.

“Is that? Isn’t that magic? What is it?”
“I think it’s a different kind of magic. It’s not that there’s no mana or magic… maybe there’s just something similar?”

Science and technology aren’t magic.

“No. It’s pure technology. It should be possible here too.”

This world has everything.
If the technology is there, anything is possible.

“Of course… if there’s magic, it would be possible.”
“Hmm… If we ask Risha, she might know.”
“Ah. That’s right. We have Risha.”

Liztina nodded at Claudia’s words.

“Well, our witch is an expert in this kind of thing. If we ask her, she’ll probably know.”

Why are you trying to bring in Risha when I’m explaining a telephone made with science and technology?

“Risha’s field is different. It’s not magic, it’s technology, and I can’t explain it because it’s not my major. I just know how to use the products of that technology.”

Who knows all the principles behind it?
I’m not a doctor.

All I know about electricity is Fleming’s left-hand rule and right-hand rule. Oh, and Ohm’s law too.

“The more I hear, the less I understand. What is it?”

Karin, sitting cross-legged with her arms folded, gently swayed back and forth while rolling her eyes and looking at the upper right corner.

“Hehe, it can’t be helped. You grew up in this land. It’s hard to imagine a world created by people who grew up in a world where there was no mana or different races from the beginning.”
“That’s true… Ah, whatever! I’ll know when I go see it myself!”

Anyway, Karin was convinced.

“Hearing about it makes me want to go as soon as possible. It’s like going to see an interesting tourist attraction.”
“A tourist attraction.”

If I were going on a tour to another world, I’d be excited too. Come to think of it, this isn’t just going abroad for fun. Going to another world is that much more of a groundbreaking event.

“Then let’s go next time.”

First, I need to stabilize this land.

I’ve decided to take a day off today, and the Lich has also temporarily stopped his offensive, but the situation isn’t over yet. I need to take care of those bastards as soon as possible before I go to Earth or anything else.

Good.

“Gattae? And one more thing.”
“Hmm?”
“Didn’t you say you were a student, Gattae?”
“Yeah. I did. I am a student.”

He even went to college, not to mention receiving an extraordinary education of 6 years of elementary school, 3 years of middle school, and 3 years of high school, for a total of 12 years.

What an amazing resume just hearing about it.

“Ah. That’s right. There was that.”
“You said you were a student who was also a soldier. It’s kind of funny when I think about it.”
“Student Gattae. Huhu, Gattae. It’s hard to imagine Gattae not being a warrior. What was your student life like?”

Claudia asked with a smile.

“My student life…”
“Ah! That’s it, that’s it! You used the Bossing Fist and bullied other students! Like Mariel or Serka!”

Why would I bully other students?

“Hey, hey. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

As I tried to deny it, Karin hugged my head and said.

“Bully? Don’t you know my husband yet? He only does what’s just.”
“Of course, but there must be a lot of fights between students, right? Then it could happen. Ah! And he’s a soldier!”

ㅡCheok!

Liztina shouted loudly and pointed at me.

“If you fight, you’ll always win! Isn’t that right!”

What?

“Oh. Damn. That’s right. If you’re a soldier, you’ll probably win everything. In the first place, an ordinary person can never beat a trained soldier. How can students beat a former soldier who has learned killing techniques?”
“Huhu, Gattae. Is that really what happened?”
“…”

How far do these sisters’ thoughts go? They thought that I was beating up kids with the Bossing Fist, and even that I would always win if I fought because I was a soldier.

This is the prejudice that comes from cultural differences…!

“When I think about it, when you first came to learn swordsmanship from me, your basics were excellent even though you hadn’t learned it before. Well, they don’t use swords or spears there, so maybe that’s why, but anyway, you were a trained soldier, so you must have had the basics. Yeah. That’s right.”

Karin smiled proudly and nodded… I need to clear up this misunderstanding. Wow. No. But. Why is there so much to tell? It’s endless. There’s a truckload of things to talk about. I’ll just tell them this much today and stop for a while.

“First, I think I need to correct your misunderstandings. I’ll tell you from the beginning. Claudia. Karin. Liztina. All three of you, listen.”
“Ah.”

At those words, everyone nodded.
And they took a demure posture again.

“Let’s start from the beginning. In our world, you’re one year old from the moment you’re born.”
“That’s…”
“Isn’t it the same here?”

It’s roughly the same here. Of course, the way you count age varies depending on the region, but that’s not important.

“Anyway, that’s not important. When you turn six, you’re sent to a preschool called kindergarten.”
“Six years old? You send such young children to educational facilities?”
“Can they afford it?”

They expressed their doubts.

“Everyone does. And when you turn eight, you enter an elementary education institution. You learn there for six years. You learn until you’re 13 and then you graduate.”
“No, what did you say?”
“What the hell? What?”

They widened their eyes again at the words that they learn for six years.

“How can you receive education for six years from the age of eight? Isn’t that something only nobles do?”
“I guess so? If you’re going to educate them for six years from the age of eight, the cost must be considerable?”

It’s definitely a bit strange to learn for six years.

“Not nobles. Everyone does it. Once you’re born, you have to do it unconditionally. The law stipulates that you have to be educated.”
“That’s stipulated by law too?”

Astonishment erupted again.

“Ah!”

Liztina shouted as if she had realized something.

“It’s just a legal system that sucks the blood out of the common people! There’s no way ordinary people can afford that much tuition! The only option is to become a slave to tuition…!”

Dystopia keeps coming up.

“No, wait! This is possible!”
“Huh? Karin? What are you talking about?”
“It’s definitely possible in that kind of country…!”

Karin stroked her chin with a serious face.

“They brainwash eight-year-old kids for six years. So that they can’t rebel against the government. They thoroughly brainwash them from a young age. If it’s a world that can brainwash kids, they have to do it no matter what. No matter how much the tuition is. Above all, it’s a government armed with killing weapons.”
“Ah! Oh my god! That’s what it was! If they’ve been brainwashed since they were eight years old!”
“As we discussed earlier, they have no choice but to bow down to the government.”

Shouldn’t you sisters become SF writers from now on?
I think you’d sell a lot of novels if you wrote them.

“You’re all wrong, so let’s listen to the explanation first…”
“Ah, hahaha… I got too enthusiastic. I got too excited.”

Liztina, who smiled awkwardly, waved her hand as if she had calmed down.

“Then I’ve calmed down. Explain more.”
“Anyway, after learning for six years and graduating, you immediately enter another educational institution called middle school. You learn there for another three years.”
“No, that’s nine years!!! You learn for nine years?! Those young kids?!”

Yes.

“Yeah. And after that, you learn for another three years. When you graduate, you immediately enter high school and learn for another three years.”
“What the hell is this!!!”

Liztina, who stood up abruptly, roared.

“Hey, damn it. Then wait a minute. That means you only receive education from the age of eight to twenty?”
“Don’t they work?! And why do they educate children for so long?! They’re already adults!”

In this world, you’re an adult at around 15 years old.

“How is it possible to live? You educate a kid for 12 years? Is it profitable?”

It’s a series of truly fresh reactions. Right now, they couldn’t accept the fact that they were purely educating a kid for 12 years.

“Hehe, the tuition isn’t that expensive. Most people can afford it. People who can’t afford it get support.”
“That’s not economically possible…”

Liztina clenched and unclenched her hands as if she was trying to calculate something.

“It’s not just tuition, is it? There’s rent, food, and they have to wear clothes. If they’re students, they have to buy a lot of books, right? How do you do that for 12 years?”
“It all works out. Normally.”
“Hmm… I don’t understand… Then how many students are there?”
“Well, there are about 30 people in a class. There are about 10 classes, so there are about 300 people per grade.”
“It’s so crowded!!! That makes sense!!!”

Liztina’s reaction is intense.

“They’re not adventurers, but there are 300 students gathered?”
“Karin! That’s not it! That’s per grade!”
“Then there are over 1,000 people?”
“That’s right! That doesn’t make sense! Are they gathered in the capital and receiving education like that?! Only elites?!”

If these sisters are any more surprised, they’ll fly all the way to Earth.

“I told you. The world population is 6 billion. The population of the country where I was born and raised is 50 million. There are a lot of students. 1,000 people is just the number that comes out of a few neighborhoods combined. As far as I know, there are about 10,000 schools in my country with a population of 50 million. If you combine all the kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high school students, there are easily 5 million people.”
“5 million…!”

At those words, Claudia covered her mouth with her hand.

“I really can’t figure it out!!! I can’t imagine it anymore!!! What the hell kind of country is that?! I have to see it with my own eyes!!!”

Liztina went crazy.

This sister seems to be a bit of an expert in economics, population numbers, and administration, so she couldn’t accept those facts. It’s possible because the population and economic scale are different from this world.

She really can’t come to her senses with K-education.

“Hehe, calm down, sister. It’s because the world is different.”
“Hmph…! It’s really bizarre! To the point where I’m angry!”
“You’re getting angry?”
“Anyway, it’s strangely cultured. If you receive education for a dozen years, it can’t be helped.”

Liztina, who took a breath for a moment, came to me and started stroking my head with her hand.

ㅡPat pat.

“Sister?”
“Ah. I’ve calmed down.”