I AM JIN

Jin looked closely at the person walking beside her.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself," said the girl, smiling slightly. "I'm Ahri Valen. I've never seen you before."

Ahri looked closely at Jin with her blue eyes.

"I'm Jin," said Jin after a short pause.

A suppressed but audible chuckle escaped Ahri's lips.

"I'm sorry, we'll talk about introductions later. We need to get back to the others. I've been assigned to stand guard over you while you're unconscious. Follow me, hurry up."

Jin said nothing. He quickened his pace and began to follow Ahri.

"Who's inside? Can I find out?" he asked in a low voice.

Ahri continued walking without turning around. The tunnel was dark; even squinting, Jin could barely make out Ahri's silhouette.

"Arthur, Adam, Luna, and Emma. Arthur is in charge. He's doing everything he can to get us all out of these tunnels. If you disrespect him… I'll kill you myself."

Ahri's voice was soft but carried a sharp threat. Jin didn't respond. His face was expressionless. He continued walking silently.

The tunnel was long, dark, and filled with the smell of mold. The echoing footsteps on the stone floor were unsettling with every step. Jin was on alert, but they hadn't encountered any monsters yet.

After a while, Ahri spoke again.

"We're almost there. Be careful. This part has been cleared, but further ahead is dangerous. It's full of monsters. If you put us or yourself in danger, I won't be able to save you."

Jin just nodded. He followed Ahri silently.

A faint light and muffled human voices began to come from ahead.

"We're here," Ahri said, turning right toward the light.

Jin instinctively reached for his sword—but it was gone. His weapon had been broken. He was completely defenseless now. He clenched his teeth and turned the corner of the tunnel.

In front of him, a space the size of a small room opened up. The only entrance was the tunnel behind it—this was both an advantage and a major disadvantage. In the center, a fire similar to a campfire was burning, with two people sitting around it.

One of them had long black hair tied back. His face was almost superhumanly handsome. His attire was rugged yet neat. There was a prominent black mole under his right eye. His nose was slightly thick, but this only added to the harshness and charisma of his face.

As Jin scanned the room, another figure sitting to the left of the campfire caught his attention.

The girl's pink hair hung down from her shoulders with a faint glow, even in the darkness. Her silky strands were covered in dirt and dust, but she didn't seem to care. It was as if she had other worries, other sorrows in the world. Her eyes held a mixture of emptiness and indifference, while her lips concealed a faded innocence from the past.

Her pale pink lips and delicate, slender nose created a pleasing balance on her face. Every detail seemed to have been carefully crafted, yet the girl appeared unaware of her own beauty.

She wore an elegant dress that seemed to have been torn from a bygone era. The corset, tightly fitted at the waist, accentuated her slender figure; the skirt, flowing down from her chest, gently rippled with each step. The fabric was a color between pale beige and broken white; its slightly striped texture shimmered almost imperceptibly in the light. The loose, puffy sleeves that wrapped around her shoulders had a softness that made them seem to move even when there was no wind.

The lace hanging from the hem of the skirt had yellowed over time, but it had lost none of its elegance. The dress was dirty and worn, but the girl still wore it with an air of nobility. It was as if the garment were not a piece of clothing but a memory from the past—even the dust on it seemed to carry meaning.

Further ahead, someone was sitting on an old wooden chest left at the edge of the area away from the fire. They were examining the long spear in their hand, preferring to remain silent as they looked at its tip. Their blue hair was disheveled, cut at ear level and matted with sweat. It was clear they hadn't washed in a long time, but they didn't seem to care.

His left arm was wrapped in a thick cloth from shoulder to wrist. The bandage did not fully conceal the serious wounds on his arm. Even when he was still, he still had a dangerous aura about him.

He wore a long, burgundy-colored coat with a pointed front. There were black-patterned embroideries at chest level; old but striking. A black vest was visible beneath the jacket; silver buttons reflected the light faintly. The black embroidery on the cuffs and the velvet fabric detail indicated that the jacket was not only for battle but also represented a style.

He glanced briefly at Jin. Their eyes met. Jin looked at him without breaking eye contact. The familiar voice of the girl reached his ears.

"Everyone here was popular at school, and you must have seen them, but let me introduce everyone anyway. The guy with the gray hair is Adam, and the person sitting next to him is Emma."

Ahri pointed to the man with blue hair in the farthest corner.

"That's Arthur. You must have seen him. He's the best in the fourth grade and very powerful. Thanks to him, we've survived so far."

Ahri proudly introduced everyone, but then looked at everyone again and asked Arthur.

"Arthur, where is Luna?"

Adam and Emma bowed their heads. They avoided eye contact, unable to face Ahri's gaze.

Arthur quietly stood up. He took a few steps toward Ahri; there was only half a step between them.

"We went deep into the tunnel one last time to check it," he said in a low voice. "We encountered a large herd. There were too many of them… far too many. We had to flee. We lost each other in the tunnel. Everyone took different paths to get here… but Luna didn't come."

Ahri listened silently to Arthur's words. Her eyes filled with tears. Tears began to silently trickle down her cheeks.

"We have to find her!" she shouted, her voice trembling. "She might still be alive! She's waiting for our help. She's waiting for us! We have to go now. We can save her!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she walked toward the entrance of the room. But after a few steps, she stopped. She looked back over her shoulder in surprise.

"Why aren't you moving?" he said angrily. "Luna is out there… maybe she's scared, maybe she's… alone. And we're just sitting here?!"

His voice had risen, but it was fragile. He was trembling.

Arthur sighed. It was a deep, weary breath. Then he approached Ahri.

"It's not just you; we're worried about her too," he said. "But everyone is injured. We're exhausted. Going now… would be suicide. We have to rest today. Tomorrow, after we've recovered, we'll go back to the tunnels together and search for her. But right now… we just have to be patient."

When he finished speaking, the room fell silent. Ahri couldn't speak. She just listened. The words were true, she knew that. But the guilt and helplessness inside her grew even stronger. She slowly moved to the corner. Without saying a word, she sat down on the floor. She pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapped her arms around them, and rested her head on her knees. It was as if she had completely cut herself off from the world.

Jin watched silently. He didn't intervene or try to comfort her. He understood how she felt… but Arthur was right.

"Hey, come here. Don't just stand there," said a voice.

Jin turned his head. The voice belonged to Adam. He silently gestured to the empty spot. Jin took a few steps and sat down. When the warmth of the campfire touched his skin, he felt warm and safe.

"Would you like to share your name and who you are with us?" Adam asked in a soft but direct tone of voice.

"I'm... Jin from first grade," Jin said briefly.

Adam nodded.

"Okay, Jin, what are your abilities? Don't get me wrong, we're all in the same boat here. We need to trust and support each other. Let me start first, to set an example."

After a brief pause, he continued:

"I'm a summoner. I can use the creatures I summon, and with enough mana and focus, I can control other summoned beings. I'm at the master level… and I have three rubies. Does that make you feel any better?"

Jin listened silently to Adam's words. Then he spoke in a low voice.

"I don't have any special abilities. I can use a sword… but my sword was broken in the last battle. I'm unarmed right now. My level… is new master."

Adam turned to him in surprise.

"You've advanced from first class to second class, huh? That's quite impressive," he said, then added with a serious expression:

"But we'll need to find you a sword. To be honest, we weren't expecting this situation. I could only fit some food and a few rubies in my dimensional bag. Nothing else. I'm sorry… it looks like you'll be unarmed for a while."

Jin bowed his head slightly. "Thank you," he said simply.

At that moment, another voice interrupted.

"I'm Emma Ston. Nice to meet you, Jin."

Jin turned toward the voice and looked at Emma. He knew her name well. He knew them all. Adam, Emma… and Luna, who wasn't here yet. For Jin, they weren't memories of the past, but deaths of the future.

They were all still children. Defenseless, inexperienced… and each of them would die one by one in the future.

But now things had changed. There was someone else here now. Another mind from the future. He didn't know who they were or how they had come here, but he was certain of one thing:

His opponent could be one of the 13th Sovereigns—or perhaps all of them.

His advantage was clear. No one had even the slightest information about him yet.

"I am Jin."