Chapter 4: Let’s make a free name

Where did it all go wrong?

In a typical standard game possession scenario, by now I should have been at an academy, devouring hidden pieces and growing stronger.

But look at the situation I’m in.

I nearly got swept away by an Aether storm in a late-game area that hasn’t even unlocked yet in the game. And now, I’ve encountered a monstrous woman who crushed the skull of a giant magical beast with her bare fists.

“…Thud.”

Her expression remains doll-like and unchanged, and her voice is flat and devoid of intonation.

Maybe it’s because she spits out words bluntly, in a curt, almost monosyllabic manner, but she somehow seems like she might have a dense personality.

And that makes her even scarier.

If she could reason logically, I might be able to assert my usefulness or find a gap to escape. But since she just comes across as thoughtless, I have no idea how to react.

I want to subdue her with alchemy, but I can’t do that because of the identity of the beast she just killed.

‘Now that I’m looking closely, that’s a Torbidus.’

A beast named after the Latin word for “violent” or “terrifying.”

True to its name, it’s a giant lizard-like monster that screams “beast” at first glance.

Its temper is insanely aggressive. It kills any living creature it sees and frequently attacks terrain features like rocks.

It’s not enough that its body, infused with Aether, has steel-like durability—its sweat glands and salivary glands also scatter deadly toxins.

I know this monster well because there was a city-collapse-level event in the game’s story when just one of them appeared.

‘She shredded that thing one-sidedly and then smashed its head with her fist?’

It’s not impossible.

The problem is that if you were to name someone capable of such a feat, you’d only think of individuals in the top tier of the world’s power scale.

Which means, at the very least, this woman possesses strength at the level of the world’s strongest.

The fortunate thing is that she seems to have some degree of interest in me right now.

“You may eat. Shall I also make some meat and water if you need them?”

“You can make food from dirt and stones?”

Instead of answering, I used alchemy again.

Thanks to the transmutation ability, which fills my mind with knowledge of material structures and chemical formulas, I could do this.

I transmuted a large stone into a well-cooked steak and a pinch of dirt into salt, which I sprinkled over it.

Then I placed it on a plate I transmuted from another stone and handed it over.

For the first time, the woman’s emotionless eyes sparkled.

“Is this your ability?”

“It’s a technique called alchemy.”

The woman muttered “alchemy, alchemy” a few times to herself before taking a big bite of the bread I gave her.

Thankfully, it seemed to suit her taste.

In no time, she devoured the bread and even polished off the steak sprinkled with salt.

I then transmuted the ground’s soil into a ceramic cup, filled it with dirt, and transmuted that into water before handing it to her.

She smacked her lips like someone who had just enjoyed a satisfying meal and looked at me.

I worried she might want to eat me next, but fortunately, she seemed to appreciate my gesture of offering a meal.

“Are you heading to the Cradle?”

“The Cradle?”

It was a place I’d never heard of.

When I responded with a look that said I didn’t know what the Cradle was, the woman briefly added an explanation of it.

“Survivor group. The safest place in this country.”

It seemed that the cradle, mentioned once in the game’s story, was actually a group of survivors in the Ruined Nation.

But I wasn’t heading toward the cradle.

I had no intention of spending my entire life in the Ruined Nation.

“I was heading outside the Ruined Nation.”

“Outside the Ruined Nation?”

“I was on my way to Arka.”

Curiosity flickered in the woman’s expression as she looked at me.

Apparently, my attempt to escape the Ruined Nation intrigued her.

Then, unexpectedly, the woman, who had been staring at me after hearing my answer, said something surprising.

“I’ll take you.”

“Sorry?”

“In exchange for a meal. I can take you to the border of the Ruined Nation.”

She retrieved the sword embedded in the ground and turned away.

“And I have a lot of questions.”

That was all she said.

She began walking silently, following the traces of the Aether Storm where I was heading, and I quickly fell in step beside her.

It was a bit bewildering, but when I thought about it, her offer wasn’t bad at all.
I could be attacked and killed at any moment, but traveling with someone who could beat a Torbidus into submission and kill it with overwhelming power was reassuring.

“By the way, what’s your name?”

Although she was taciturn and spoke little, I thought it necessary to know the name of the person I was traveling with.
It wouldn’t do to keep calling her “hey” or “you.”

But I didn’t get the answer I expected.

“I don’t have one.”

“You don’t have a name?”

“I do, but it’s not mine.”

She had a name, but it wasn’t hers?

I couldn’t make sense of what she meant, but I didn’t press further.

She didn’t seem skilled at explaining things, and I figured she must have a reason for saying so.

It wasn’t because I was afraid she’d stab me with her sword if I pried too much. Definitely not.

“Then, should I give you one?”

“You?”

“It must be inconvenient not having a name.”

I cautiously glanced at her, worried I might have offended her.

The woman, who had slightly lowered her head in thought, eventually turned her head toward me and nodded.

“Sure.”

Thank goodness.

I sighed inwardly in relief, relaxing my tensed body, and began brainstorming.

What would be a good name?

If I was going to name her, I wanted to give her something nice and fitting.

Names carry power, and if she liked the name I gave her, maybe she’d feel a little more favorable toward me.

It wasn’t as though I was aiming for a romantic relationship or anything, but right now, her opinion of me was directly tied to my chances of survival.

If she suddenly changed her mind and left, I’d have to continue the perilous journey across the Ruined Nation on my own.

“Albedo, how is it?”

Albedo.

A word meaning “white” in Latin, and also the name of a stage in the famous Philosopher’s Stone creation process.

Considering her mysterious aura, stunning appearance, and immense power, I couldn’t think of a more perfect name.

“Albedo, Albedo.”

She softly murmured the name I had given her a few times, then smiled faintly as she looked at me.

For the first time, her usually expressionless face showed what could be called an actual expression.

“Albedo. My name. I like it.”

“…I’m glad you like it.”

The crescent-shaped curve of her eyes captivated my gaze.

Even when she was doll-like and stoic, I found her beautiful—but now, she’s strikingly beautiful.

“Alright then, shall we pick up the pace a bit?”

“Sure.”

“No! Not that fast!”

I had only suggested we walk a little faster, but she suddenly bolted forward faster than a car, leaving me scrambling to call her back.

Her sense of speed was on an entirely different level.

Well, considering she could crush a Torbidus with her bare hands, her physical abilities were far beyond that of an average superhuman.

I had to repeatedly stress the limits of my physical endurance before we could resume walking at a manageable pace.

If she dashed off on her own, it could leave me dangerously vulnerable.

Thanks to that, I had to hitch a ride with Albedo.

What would normally take a day or two to travel alone now stretched into a two-week journey, but there was no other way.

As a fragile alchemist without access to ether flight techniques, I had to keep my complaints to myself.

That night, I had to conjure up a fairly lavish meal.

Time passed more quickly than I expected.

No, to be precise, it would be more accurate to say that we were moving faster than planned.

“I’m hungry.”

“Then shall we take a short break here?”

Albedo, who had been sprinting through the desolate lands of the ruined kingdom, came to a stop.

Her voice and expression were as impassive as ever when she announced her hunger, but given the timing, I figured it was about time. I let out a small chuckle as I reached for the ground.

Beside her, two chairs and a table appeared.

Albedo, who had been carrying me in her arms, gently set me down and naturally took a seat in one of the conjured chairs.

This was the secret to our fast travel.

With her superior physical abilities, Albedo carried me in her arms and sprinted through the desolation at incredible speeds.

Aside from the fact that this meant I, a grown man, was cradled in the arms of a beautiful woman—essentially a princess carry flipped into a prince carry—it was a flawless method.

Sure, it was a bit embarrassing, but who cared?

There was no one around to see it anyway, and surprisingly, the ride was quite comfortable.

I had worried about how she would handle monsters while carrying me, but after watching her leap up and kick their heads clean off, I decided to stop worrying altogether.

Albedo’s leg strength could probably rival that of siege weaponry.

“Suh-joon. Meat. Meat sandwich.”

“Alright. I’ll make it for you.”

Still, the past few days had been more fruitful than I expected.

Tomorrow, we would arrive at the destination—the border of Myeol Nation. Most importantly, I had grown quite close to Albedo thanks to us introducing ourselves.

Now, I was certain that if I screamed in a dangerous situation, she would come running to save me.

“Here, eat this.”
“…!”

Albedo eagerly bit into the sandwich I had synthesized.

No one was going to take it from her, but for the past few days, she had been devouring food as if she were starving.

I could guess the reason.

Myeol Nation might be called a country, but in reality, it was a land overrun by monsters and the Abyss.

Settling in one place and investing time in farming was impossible. Items like spices and other supplies had long since become luxuries.

‘There’s hardly any chance to encounter normal food.’

Not to mention the scraps left behind by monsters, even someone as strong as Albedo was forced to eat tasteless food.

The monsters’ meat in Myeol Nation was tough and sinewy, making it generally unpalatable. And in a place like this, there was no way to obtain seasonings like salt or sugar.

Still, there was one delightful development.

—Seojun, teach me alchemy.

—Are you serious?

A fresh-faced alchemy newbie.

Someone strong enough to live without learning alchemy had voluntarily expressed the desire to switch professions.

The sad part was that, despite my earnest efforts to teach her, the results were not as good as expected.

“Tomorrow, we’ll part ways.”
“Yeah.”

“Are you feeling lonely? Like you’d want me to stay with you?”

Since we’d grown closer, I decided to throw in a light joke. She had been quiet and grumpy all day, so I thought I’d try to find out why by starting a conversation.

“Yeah.”

“…What?”

But her unexpected response caught me off guard.

Albedo, who usually showed little emotion, nodded with a rare and vivid sense of melancholy.

“Arka, do you really have to go?”

She had guided me to the border but genuinely wished for me to stay in Myeol Nation.
However, I couldn’t grant her wish.

This was a matter of my survival. Myeol Nation was too dangerous for me at this point.

Maybe after I had completed enough growth at Origin Academy, the key region in the early storyline, but for now, I was nothing more than prey in Myeol Nation.

So, I had to make my resolve to go to Arka clear to her.

“I have to go.”

“…!”

The moment I spoke, Albedo’s expression hardened.

Her usually stoic face became even more rigid.

I felt a twinge of guilt, but I had to finish what I was saying.

“But I’m not leaving forever.”

“……?”
“Albedo, you can come find me yourself, or when I grow strong enough, I’ll return to the Annihilated

Nation someday.”

It wasn’t a lie.

If it’s Albedo, with his strength, he could come all the way to Arka to meet me. Someday, following the main story, I, too, would return to the Annihilated Nation.

If the depths of the Annihilated Nation aren’t purged, this world will eventually rot away and collapse.

“So, I’ll give you a gift.”

Using alchemy, I transmute earth and stone.

Though it’s something I’ve repeated dozens of times and grown accustomed to, the result this time was unlike anything I’d ever made before.

What I created was a black backpack.

A common hiking bag, as people would call it. I transmuted it and filled it with preserved foods like jerky and hardtack, along with plenty of drinking water.

“Once you’ve finished everything, if you need more, come find me.”

“…….”

Albedo nodded and stood up.

With the meal done, it was time to tidy up and prepare a place to sleep.

The last night in the Annihilated Nation had arrived.