LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 1.2
“Damn.”
I had to accept the reality that I’d been transported into the game’s world—faster and with less shock than I expected.
“Status window! Status window? Status!”
I called out repeatedly, hoping for the game’s iconic status window to appear.
“…?”
But despite being inside a game world, the status window didn’t show up.
Giving up on the idea, I started surveying my surroundings.
If my memory from Earth was accurate—if the information this body held was reliable—this place was Haven, in the Northern Region.
‘Am I inside the Era of Silver 2?’
In the Era of Silver 1, Haven was one of the few major cities in the Northern Region.
But the Haven I was seeing now had the feel of a small, developing town that had just outgrown being a village.
‘They did say the setting of Era of Silver 2 was 100 years before the first game.’
That detail made this version of Haven understandable.
[Save the Northern Region… Save the Northern Region!]
Once I had processed my situation, the plea of the entity that brought me to this world resurfaced in my mind.
‘Save the Northern Region?’
An abstract main mission: Save the Northern Region.
‘Do I have to complete this mission to return to Earth?’
Instinctively, I felt like finishing this mission was my only ticket back to Earth.
‘But what’s so bad about the Northern Region that it needs saving?’
Scratching my head, I recalled what I knew about the Era of Silver world.
I also sifted through the knowledge in the mind of this body—Arad.
‘In Era of Silver 1, the Northern Region was a territory directly governed by the Empire.
But originally, it belonged to someone else. It was the Northern Duchy, ruled by Grand Duke Renslet.’
This meant that in the current timeline, 100 years before Era of Silver 1, the Renslet family should still exist.
‘The Northern Region’s treatment in Era of Silver 1 was terrible. It was akin to the relationship between the British Empire and Ireland.’
I had a general idea of what needed to be done. To put it simply, I was supposed to protect the Northern Region and the Grand Duchy from the Empire and the Imperial family.
‘But this body… It’s completely non-combat-oriented. Am I supposed to fight the Empire’s golden generation with this?’
The problem was that my current situation didn’t make me well-suited to carry out this mission.
As a veteran player of Era of Silver 1, I had decent knowledge of the game’s world and history.
If my assumptions were correct, the Empire in this era was teeming with extraordinary individuals—a generation so remarkable that calling them the “golden generation” was an understatement.
For instance, Emperor Canbraman, later hailed as the “Light of the Empire,” was likely still the crown prince.
The 8th-circle archmage and Imperial Magic Tower Master, Duke Yulcanes, was probably laying the foundation for magical engineering in the Empire.
Archbishop Teresia of the Imperial Church was likely spearheading religious reform, leaving trails of blood in her wake.
Swordmaster and Imperial Knight Commander Doom, known as the “Sword of the Empire,” was probably crushing rebel forces within the Empire.
Meanwhile, another Swordmaster, Marchioness Havana—dubbed the “Burning Rose of the Empire”—was likely fending off external threats to the Empire.
And these were just the names that came to mind immediately.
On the other hand, in the Northern Duchy of Renslet, there were far fewer prominent figures:
Grand Duchess Arina Rune Renslet, the Frostblade Balzac, the Ice Wall Soon, the Great Witch of Spring Isabelle, and the future Great Witch of the Snowfields, Mary.
Even then, the Grand Duchess and Balzac were destined to go missing later.
It was an overwhelming mission, to say the least.
‘To return to Earth, I probably have to fulfill that plea.’
If I had lived a miserable life at rock bottom on Earth, it might have been a different story.
But before being transported here, I had been a promising young entrepreneur running a startup.
Even though I hadn’t been here long, I could already picture my employees and investors anxiously waiting for me back home.
‘Right now, though, forget saving the Northern Region—I’m barely hanging onto my own life.’
Whoooosh.
The snowstorm grew fiercer by the moment.
‘So cold…’
The clothes I was wearing were another problem.
Currently, I was dressed in the starter outfit from Era of Silver: leather shoes, a leather jacket, and a linen shirt and pants underneath.
Linen, in the freezing Northern Region! It felt warmer to not wear anything at all.
Aside from a belt with a small leather pouch and a dagger, I had nothing.
If I stayed out here, I’d freeze to death in no time.
‘I need to find shelter and warm up!’
I immediately looked for a place to stay.
‘This is Haven. It’s close to the Northern Magic Zone and the Manus River. Merchants, adventurers, and mercenaries come and go constantly. That means there should be plenty of inns.’
Sure enough, I spotted one after only a few steps.
A sign with a picture indicating it was an inn came into view.
The two-story building made of wood and stone looked modestly shabby and worn—likely a place frequented by low-tier adventurers and mercenaries.
Without a second thought, I entered the inn as if drawn to it.
The inside was bustling with people.
As I stepped in, everyone’s eyes turned to me for half a second before quickly losing interest.
Murmur, murmur.
They resumed their conversations, clearly unimpressed by my appearance.
Step, step, step.
I slowly, cautiously made my way to one of the few empty seats left.
“Welcome! What can I get you?”
A young boy, likely in his early teens, approached me. He looked earnest and quick on his feet.
“Could I see the menu…?”
“The menu’s over there. But… Do you have money?”
The boy pointed to the menu board near the entrance, giving me a skeptical look.
“I do.”
“We require payment upfront.”
It was highly impolite to say such a thing to a customer, even in a medieval setting like this.
In fact, in worlds like this, polite behavior was often more critical, since a single misstep could cost one’s life in a lawless society.
The fact that the boy was so blunt meant I must have looked utterly shabby.
“I’ll pay when I order.”
“Very well. But please order quickly.”
The bold boy gave me a pointed look before rushing off to attend to other customers.
“…”
I stared at the menu board in silence.
Since literacy wasn’t widespread, the board had pictures of food alongside the number of bronze coins required.
Given the setting was 100 years before Era of Silver 1, the prices were remarkably low—about five to ten times cheaper.
‘But it’s meaningless if I don’t have any money.’
I had absolutely nothing in my leather pouch—not even a speck of dust.
‘Think, think. My highest stats are Dexterity and Luck. That means even walking into this inn might have been influenced by my Luck stat.’
As I thought this, I could feel the innkeeper and staff casting sharper glances my way.
“Ahem! Sir, are you going to order or—”
The innkeeper finally stepped in, clearly unable to tolerate my hesitation any longer.
Crash! Thud!
“You bastard! What did you just say?!”
A fight broke out at the table next to me.
Cheers!
The crowd in the inn erupted into raucous cheers as if they had been waiting for this moment.