I Became a Foreign Worker Loved by Transcendents

Undead.

In the world I lived in, they were a common sight in zombie movies, and the undead of this world looked and behaved no differently than those cinematic zombies.contemporary romance

They usually moved slowly, but when living people were around, they swarmed like mad, tearing and consuming flesh.

Such dead bodies became infused with sinister magic, eventually rising as zombies themselves.

“Aaaaaaargh!”

Indeed, the reason the Death Knight had taken me and the other survivors to his stronghold was to bolster his ranks by transforming those with potential talent into undead.

Specifically, into undead like himself, who retained their sense of self.

The screams that echoed at that time were from those who either failed to meet the requirements or resisted his will.

“Excuse me, can you hear me?”

As the sounds drew nearer.

I sensed my turn was close and addressed those waiting outside the bars.

To the zombies clad in rusty armor, gripping spear shafts, their flesh decaying.

“Uh-uh.”

They merely turned their heads at the sound of my voice, incapable of articulating anything clearly.

Though their tongues were rigid and their vocal cords impaired, they should still be able to communicate through magic.

But their silence stemmed from a lack of ego, which hindered their ability to manipulate mana, the force that ego generates.

“Well… My name is Woo Hyo-sung. What’s your name?”

“Uh, uhh…”

“Ughhhh…”

They responded to my words only with moans.

From their mindless, ghastly demeanor, I ironically sensed a grim foreboding of my own destiny.

Would I end up like them when it was my turn?

Or would I vanish without leaving a mark, like the leader of the Paladin Order?

-Clang.

Amid these fears, the bars eventually swung open, and a knight clad in black armor pushed through the throng to reach me.

“You seem to have remained composed.”

The Death Knight.

One of the four knights serving the ‘Lord of Corpses’, a disaster that, along with the armies from other worlds, had plunged this world into ruin.

Proving his status, merely facing him brought an overwhelming sense of oppression.

“Well, since I’m captured, it would be meaningless to resist…”

“There were many who couldn’t even do that and acted out. I considered them unworthy to join us, so I turned them to mush.”

Saying so, the Death Knight raised his greatsword in his hand.

The surface was smeared with someone’s flesh and blood.

As if not resisting was, in itself, a passable act.

“You, let’s have a talk now.”

Despite his cruel nature, the Death Knight didn’t swing his greatsword at me; instead, he sought to open a conversation.

“Talk?”

“Yes, even by just having a conversation, I can ascertain the possibility of whether you can awaken as a being like me.”

Despite his name, Death, he approached with the courteous and composed demeanor of a true knight.

“You, who came from another world, yet find yourself in a pitiful state, unable to awaken the power you desire.”

A foreigner.

The Death Knight, who had recognized my identity from the beginning, soon posed a question to me.

“Do you have something you must achieve in life?”

A question I found quite unexpected.

The same applied to the words that followed.

“…Something I must achieve?”

“Anything. Whether it’s becoming who you want to be, amassing wealth, living for someone like a family, or even devoting this life to revenge, it doesn’t matter.”

His head, covered in a helmet, gradually lowered, and the gleam in his eyes intensified, as if piercing into me.

“Does there exist any lingering desire in you to achieve something in life? Is there anything that can evoke such yearning?”

Yes, it was a serious question.

It wasn’t mockery; I could feel from his gaze that he genuinely wanted me to answer the question.

The very fact that my survival depended on how I answered it.

“Well, I don’t really have anything like that.”

But what was the point in pondering it there?

At the time, such thoughts naturally came to me, and I couldn’t think desperately about surviving in that situation.

“Is that true?”

“Well, to be honest, there are many things I’d like to achieve. But I often wonder if they’re really important.”

It would be a lie to say that I wasn’t afraid of dying.

But I couldn’t erase the thought of enduring hardship even if I lived.

“…Even though you have desires, you don’t consider them important. Why do you harbor such thoughts?”

“Well, whatever I wish for, I’m not given the opportunity to achieve it.”

If he recognized right away that I was a foreign worker, he would also know that those summoned to this world were either a handful of heroes who were treated well or the majority of workers with modest abilities.

“Setting up a purpose seems like nothing but false hope… If I’m going to live aimlessly, it might not be so bad to just end it all here.”

Yes, I lacked the ability to live in this decaying world, and even the ability to withstand the malice of those who chose to live in such a world.

I might struggle until the end, but I had resolved to accept death calmly when the time came.

Hoping, if nothing else, for a painless end, that was the only modest wish I hoped would be fulfilled.

-Clang.

As I resigned myself and bravely awaited the end, soon, the Death Knight knelt on one knee, lowering himself to my eye level, and said,

“It’s regrettable.”

“…What?”

“I really find it regrettable. Despite having a purpose, your innate frailty and the harsh world’s rejection of you deprive you of even a chance to ignite that spark of life.”

Although it seemed plausible, I would die immediately, instead, he showed sympathy towards me and smoothly took off the helmet covering his head, revealing his bare face.

“……You, look at this body.”

Though his voice carried emotion, his revealed face bore no expression.

A skull marred with time, and cracks appeared.

His voice was audible, but since there were no muscles to move his jaw, his teeth stayed parted, and his eye sockets, devoid of eyes, were replaced only by a light radiating from within.

“Unlike you, I possess an ego, but cannot be considered alive. These bones are simply a structure to sustain my existence…”

The gleam in his eyes and his voice itself were purely products of magical power.

The magical power attracted to the ego he maintained simulated his likeness in life… these were the facets he imposed on himself as a risen undead.

“If even this ‘attachment’ that compels me to continue this existence fades, I will undoubtedly crumble pointlessly and fail to endure.”

“…Attachment?”

“Yes, to create an undead with an ego like mine, one needs a profound attachment to life. A desire stronger than the innate instinct for survival that all creatures have!”

Whether one had a goal to achieve in life.

That previous question was the essential condition to ascertain whether one harbored such a longing.

“As the day nears when my attachment gradually diminishes, do you know what I find most regrettable?”

“……What is that?”

“Why didn’t I foster a stronger attachment during my life?”

He defied death to rekindle that attachment, yet he lamented its decline.

This was the Death Knight I met.

“As my attachment dwindles, my interest in my original purpose diminishes, and I find myself increasingly drawn to this world. There is ground to walk upon, a sky to look at… The more I perceive the will of those living in this world, the more I regret not cherishing life more when I was alive.”

An unfulfilled longing that couldn’t even transform into an attachment.

For that reason alone, an undead couldn’t sustain life, resulting in an existence overwhelmed by regret.

“If I had sought more in life, I could have stayed in this world longer, even in this state.”

“……”

“…You.”

-Thud!

The greatsword pressed into the ground.

It wasn’t to kill me. It was merely an expression of his will, an act to draw my attention.

“You may think your life is insignificant, but ironically, I envy you. Unable to prolong that life in my lifetime, and now, as a corpse, feeling regret as my attachment fades away, I envy you for having the opportunity to struggle.”

Then, from beyond the greatsword, his eyes gazing at me gleamed even more vividly.

“But why do you feel disillusionment in front of me, a corpse, despite having the opportunity to struggle?”

His determination surpassed that of those who simply lived because they could not die.

It was so strong that even my living, beating heart felt its pulse.

“……Don’t you think a life of just struggling is pathetic?”

Seeing that, a bit of hope began to emerge.

I, who lived simply because I could not die.

It felt like he affirmed that even my life, such as it was, had meaning.

“Nonsense. Life is meaningful only when one struggles fiercely; a life without struggle is, in fact, more pointless and empty, isn’t it?”

-Creak!

Then, the tip of the greatsword, drawn from the ground, pointed towards me.

“After all your struggles, having grown weary without finding hope, I ask you.”

Yes, it had come.

The moment of judgment at the end of this questioning.

“If, by any chance, you could safely escape from here and return to your original place, how would you live?”

What was the right answer to that question?

My contemplation wasn’t long.

After all, this was not a problem, but a question.

What I must do for a question without a predetermined answer was clear.

“I guess I’ll have to live as best as I can, like before.”

I honestly answered what came to mind immediately upon hearing the question, without overthinking.

“Even if that life is the same as it has been so far?”

“Though it’s a life lived because I can’t die, I still have no intention of giving up.”

“Even in a world too harsh for people like you?”

“Even so, I must live until I die. After all, adapting and surviving wherever I’m thrown is one of my greatest assets.”

I never left that line off my resume during my job-hunting days.

If I give up now, I won’t be able to use even that advantage anymore, will I?

“…That’s a good spirit.”

-Crash!

The moment the greatsword swung, it demolished the iron bars.

The Death Knight, who made his way through the opening, gestured to me, urging me to head in that direction.

“You, what I desire is not just a corpse that’s alive. A being that, even without flesh and blood, can exhibit passion due to its attachment… You may not have an attachment yet, but there exists a possibility that you could develop a stronger one than anyone else.”

So, he gave me a chance and bet on that possibility.

If I survive and keep surviving, when the moment comes to find that true answer, then he’ll make that offer again.

“If our paths cross again at the end of such a life, I’ll offer you a choice again. Whether you’ll join me or not.”

“…Even if that path is not to your liking?”

“If that, too, is your choice, I’ll respect it. If you can truly bear that path.”

Swoosh.

The moment the sharp blade of the greatsword flashed.

Realizing that what he offered was not mercy but a reprieve, I calmed my throbbing heart and walked past him, exiting through the bars.

I may not know how it will turn out, but for now, I’ve survived, so let’s prolong this life a bit more.

“One more question before you go.”

Just as I was about to leave, he called out to me.

“You, what is your name?”

“My name is Woo Hyo-sung.”

“Alright, Woo Hyo-sung. I’ll remember that. I hope the time comes when I hear that name again.”

The moment I paused, and turned around.

He then raised the greatsword in his hand high and called out to me.

“Live. You are beautiful!!”

Without flesh, without muscles.

The Death Knight, standing in this world on nothing but a frame of bones and an insatiable envy for the nobility of life, called out to me.

“Lead that beautiful life and find a place to burn your soul! Live in such a way that your attachment retains meaning even after you leave this world…!”

“…Hehe, indeed.”

I let out a hollow laugh, feeling the irony of the situation.

After coming to this world and witnessing all sorts of things, who would have imagined I’d be encouraged by a sentient undead to save my own life?

Yet, prolonging this life must be my fate as well.

Yes, if I must live because I can’t die, then I’ll struggle hard and earnestly build an attachment to this life, futile as it might seem.

“What, what?! Let go of me now!”

As my fading will to live reignited, a voice erupted from the opposite side.

Entering the corridor toward the exit, undead minions under the command of the Death Knight bound and dragged someone along.

She was a woman with rare pink hair and the unmistakable look of an adventurer.

“These filthy corpses! Treating me like this without knowing who I am… Huh? Wait a minute!”

Soon, the woman, catching sight of me approaching from the other direction, widened her eyes in disbelief.

“Uh, uh? Wait. Why isn’t that guy restrained? Why is he heading toward the exit, unlike me?!”

Sure, it must have been baffling for her to see a living human walking freely after being captured by the undead during an adventure.

But whatever happened next was her fate. With this thought, I continued straight for the exit, the sounds from behind fading with each step.

“You, I have a few questions for you now…”

“Shut up, you damn skeleton! Do you have any idea who I am to show me such a disgusting face and ruin my mood?!”

“…You.”

“Get out and bring the person in charge! I demand to see the face of whoever dares to treat a captured hero like this!”

“…”

“What’s with you? Why have you stopped talking? Can’t you hear me because your head is a skull? Such a stupid and foolish thing…”

-Boom!

The sound of the greatsword being raised filled the air.

Knowing roughly what would happen next, I diverted my gaze and stepped towards the exit.

“Die, you ugly creature!”

“What, what… Aaah!”

“A person with a filthy heart has no value in living. So die. A dirty woman like you should disappear from this world forever!”

-Crack, crack!!

The moment the sound of the greatsword crushing flesh echoed through the air, I turned my back on the noise without hesitation, and, escorted by the undead following my orders, I made my way home.

Even though I was powerless, I carried the realization in my heart that my struggles also had meaning.

And again, I reminded myself that even in a decaying world, maintaining the bare minimum of courtesy was essential to preventing accidental killings.

done.co