Chapter 1 - Fresh Start

Devils.

  Higher-dimensional beings possessing unfathomable power and intellect.

  Devil Sorcerers.

  Those who pay a certain price in exchange for borrowing a fragment of a Devil’s power.

  Today, I will summon a Devil.

  And become a Devil Sorcerer.

§

  Three years…

  Three years have passed since I was dropped into this unfamiliar world.

  It was a time when I felt the words of the brilliant intellectual of mankind, the great Einstein, deep within my bones.

  Einstein once said that all time was relative. I could definitely back up such a claim with the three years I had spent here, having felt longer than my entire life until now.

  At first, I was thrilled.

  As a clueless high school student, I was filled with meaningless hopes and dreams, recalling the isekai stories I had seen before.

   It barely took a week for my grand delusions to go “pop” like a fragile soap bubble.

  In a world where both language and writing were incomprehensible, and stranded without aid… The instant I thought I was something special, my fate was sealed.

  I was cast into slavery.

  Still, was I really unlucky?

  The harsh reality that plunged me into the abyss ironically opened up the path of survival.

  Only a week after my struggle for survival in this new world, I fell into slavery. However, among all slaves, I was considered rather high-value.

  No matter how unrecognizable the world became, mathematics remained a universal truth, transcending even dimensions themselves. My middle school-level math was, surprisingly, useful in this primitive world.

  The master who purchased me was the leader of a merchant guild. I worked for two years as a calculation slave in his guild before eventually buying my freedom. I had become a free man.

  I believed myself to be fortunate for the first time since coming to this world due to meeting such a fair-minded master.

  Unfortunately, that was only the beginning. My position, appearance, finances, power… I had nothing to my name. I was still at the bottom of the social ladder. If I had stayed at the merchant guild, perhaps things would have been better, but as a freed slave entering the world, my future was nothing short of bleak.

  My foreign appearance and skin color were clear indicators of my status as an outsider. The stigma of slavery followed me, even as a free man.

  My very last hope was to somehow learn magic, but that, too, was in vain. Some said I had no talent, others clicked their tongues while telling me I was too old to start.

  Three years—not even a fifth of my life, yet these recent three years have changed me more than any other part of my life.

  Then I realized something.

  My life had already hit rock bottom.

  “I have no other choice…”

  If I want to change this miserable life around, I have to do whatever it takes.

  No, I must do whatever it takes.

  It took me far too long to solidify that resolve.

  I took in the drawing I had made on the floor with trembling eyes.

  A circular border with geometric patterns and symbols within.

  The Summoning Circle of a Devil.

  A pact that even those who had hit rock bottom hesitated to make.

  This was the path I had chosen.

  “I summon thee.”

  As I let the blood drip from my pre-cut finger, the ritual began.

  Despite not having an iota of mana, the incantation resonated with the summoning circle, producing a noise akin to nails on a chalkboard.

  The summoning circle I drew was designed to summon a random Devil.

  A very common, easily accessible circle.

  If I were lucky, a powerful and kind Devil would appear. If I were unlucky, a weak or violent one might show up.

  Or perhaps the circle was flawed, and the Devil would devour me because the circle couldn’t protect me.

  If that happens, I guess that’s where my life ends.

  I couldn’t fall lower than rock bottom.

  I had no more hope to cling to.

  This was my last chance. The dead-end of my life.

  Either I had a breakthrough, or I got blocked and halted in my tracks. Only these two outcomes existed.

  Squinting from the light emanating from the circle, I recited the final incantation.

  Immediately after, cold sweat trickled down my spine.

  Did I…

  I realized something terrifying.

  I think I recited the incantation in Korean instead of the language of this world…

  “I need to cancel—!”

  The light of the summoning circle began to dim.

  And in the fading glow stood an unknown entity.

  An overwhelming mystique surrounded the figure.

  Through the gaps in the light receding above, I saw the Devil’s face.

  It was beautiful.

  More captivating than I could have ever prepared for—nay, its appearance was far more enchanting than even that.

  Its golden hair gleamed with a brilliance that melted gold could never replicate. The perfectly balanced features were far beyond the ability of any sculptor to recreate, defying my vocabulary’s limits.

  My jaw dropped without me realizing, entranced by that face. The Devil’s eyelids slowly lifted.

  As if guided by something, I met the Devil’s gaze and…

  Froze in place.

  Sharply contrasting with the Devil’s warm golden hair, its eyes were an icy blue.

  That chilling gaze revealed my insignificance just by looking at me—a mechanical, emotionless stare stripped me bare.

  My mind, which had been captivated by the Devil’s beauty, came back as if doused with ice water.

  Right. What stood before me was a Devil. A higher-dimensional being beyond human comprehension. Just as humans crushed ants out of boredom, humans were at the mercy of a Devil’s whim.

  The Devil smiled.

  Her smile formed a bewitching arc.

  With blood-red lips and a voice as cold and as beautiful as snowflakes, the Devil spoke, “Let me ask…”

  An indifferent voice. This was yet another reminder—the entity before me was a Devil.

  “You’re my summoner, aren’t you?”

  Her mask-like smile remained unchanged, and her eyes held the same soulless, mechanical look.

  But that didn’t matter.

  I hadn’t summoned a Devil to befriend others.

  I politely answered the Devil’s questions, “Yes, I’m the one who summoned you.”

  “Good. But next time, be more careful.”

  There was definitely some kind of problem.

  “As expected, the incantation must be in the language of this world—”

  “What kind of outdated offering is this…?”

  Silence descended.

  “Offering?”

  “...?”

  So the issue isn’t the language of the incantation but the offering?

  Why?

  On the wooden altar I had made was the head of a goat.

  It was supposed to be the offering Devils favored most.

  “I paid quite a lot for this, you know…”

  “What do you mean by ‘this world’?”

  I strongly felt this conversation branching into different directions.

  It seemed she felt the same.

  “Uh, excuse me… Is this not Earth?”

  For the first time, a flicker of emotion flashed across the Devil’s transcendent and relaxed beautiful face.

  It was the bewilderment of someone who had realized that something was seriously off.

  The confusion was brief.

  Before long, the Devil regained her composure, and we were able to have a serious conversation.

  Perhaps it was my thanks to my experiences in dealing with the harsh realities of life in this world that made me pretend not to notice her moment of fluster.

  In any case, I shared my story, and the Devil patiently listened to my long tale.

  And that led us to the present where she had asked me something shocking.

  “You were summoned from Earth?”

  Such a story was difficult to believe, but if it had something to do with Devils, it seemed plausible.

  I eventually concluded that it might be possible.

  After all, how could I, of all people, deny it when I’ve been isekai’d?

  Moreover, the existence of Devils, higher beings beyond humanity, was undeniable. One could feel it just by looking at her transcendent appearance.

  It even seemed that with her around, returning to Earth might not be a pipe dream.

  Perhaps these otherworlds, which we couldn’t even perceive, were just slightly distant spaces to them.

  I trembled at the boundless power of Devils.

  Hope was right in front of me.

  However, when I finally finished expressing my desire to return to Earth, the Devil denied my wish with a single word.

  “Impossible.”

  “Why…”

  “The summoner is not ready yet.”

  What do you mean I’m not ready!?

  I was ready to give everything.

  Even if it meant offering up my soul to being taken by the Devil after death. I would seriously consider it and eventually nod in agreement.

  The price the summoner paid to use the power of a Devil generally involved three things.

  The worship the summoner offered, the offering the summoner prepared, and the price incurred by borrowing the Devil’s power.

  I was ready to pay any of these, whether it be worship, offering, or the price.

  But the Devil shook her head.

  “A Devil’s power is too vast for an ordinary human to contain. Grow stronger, build your vessel, and raise your level. You came here to do just that, did you not?”

  At that moment, I saw life flash in her eyes—eyes, without a hint of exaggeration, that were like lifeless jewels.

  Her gaze, once again, dispelled any doubts I had about her not being a Devil.

  The Devil’s hand extended toward me.

  Her offer? A lifeline of salvation.

  “There is no need to be disappointed. I will give you the power you need to move forward.”

  I took up her hand as if I were entranced.

  “...A Pact.”

  The Devil smiled at my words.

  Then she gently raised her hand, and a drop of red blood formed on her fingertips.

  “He who hears my name shall become my Pact-bearer.”

  Along with her voice, a drop of blood fell from her fingertips onto the circular summoning circle I had drawn.

  Her blood mingled with the blood I had already offered.

  “My name is Seir. I am ‘She Who Fulfills Wishes’.”

  The Devil accepted my wish, took my offering, and demanded no price in return.

§

  It felt like a dream.

  A moment that passed like a midsummer night.

  Is this what people mean when they say they’ve been enchanted by the devil?

  She said she’d keep watch over me.

  If I wanted to summon her again, all I needed to do was recall her true name.

  Alone in the empty room Seir left behind, I mulled over the words she had left me.

  Suddenly, I realized how I had changed.

  This is… mana!

  A strange, indescribable sensation crept up my back.

  Seir’s mana flowed through the Pact Seal, symbolizing my Pact with the Devil.

  I carefully attempted to move the mana with focused concentration.

  Like thick black tar, dense mana responded to my will, slowly swirling into motion.

  It was in my grasp. The power I had longed for.

  However, there wasn’t much of it yet.

  The mana flowing through the Pact Seal was but a cup compared to the vast ocean of Seir’s power that lay dormant beyond the Pact Seal.

  Perhaps the level Seir spoke of referred to the ability to draw the entire ocean at once.

  That was still a long way off.

  But.

  “Finally.”

  I had reached the starting point.

  Clinging onto a miraculous lifeline on the edge of a cliff.

  What I need to do now is learn how to handle this power and raise my level.

  And I knew the way.

  Just as Seir had said, I came here to follow that path.

  The source of mystery.

  Wealth, fame, the unknown—all the answers lie in the Abyss.

  I stood at the starting line, now possessing the power to run, with my destination in sight.

  For the first time since coming to this world, it was time for me to sprint.