The Eclipsed Order

Chapter 138: Chapter 138: The World Has Changed

Ares remained standing in the middle of the unfamiliar street, watching the three girls disappear into the crowd after their brief conversation with him.

He had spoken Korean without even thinking about it.

That wasn’t particularly strange to him, of course. Before becoming Ares D’Averon, he had been Yoon Tae-ho, a Korean who had grown up on Earth. After his parents died, however, his life had taken a completely different direction. He was eventually taken in by an organization involved in assassination, brought to the United States, and raised there under circumstances that had little resemblance to an ordinary childhood.

The man who had adopted him had given him the name Ares and trained him to become an assassin.

Eventually, that training turned him into Phantom, a professional assassin whose missions had taken him across different countries to eliminate corrupt officials, dangerous criminals, political targets, and anyone else his employers considered a threat.

So speaking Korean again after all this time wasn’t something he had forgotten.

If anything, hearing it from ordinary people made the situation feel even stranger.

Ares finally turned away from the crowd and started walking.

For now, he needed information.

He still wasn’t completely certain that this was the same Earth he had once lived on, and until he understood what had happened to this world, there was little point in making assumptions.

No wonder I sensed a strange flow of mana the moment I arrived.

His eyes moved across the surrounding buildings as he walked.

Was it because of the dimensional crossing, or was this world’s Earth already like this before I arrived?

There was only one way to find out.

He needed to observe.

And preferably, he needed food as well.

Ares headed toward a nearby grocery store.

Although he was only thirteen years old by the standards of his current world, his appearance made that fact rather difficult to believe. The people there matured much faster physically than humans on Earth, and by the age of twelve, someone could already look roughly sixteen or seventeen.

Ares was no exception.

After another year of growth, his appearance had reached the point where most people would probably assume he was around eighteen. His dark and silver white hair, refined features, tall and well-proportioned figure, and the unusual academy-style clothing he was wearing only made that impression stronger.

He looked less like a thirteen-year-old wandering around and more like someone who had stepped out of a fashion advertisement while wearing an unusually elaborate uniform.

This outfit is going to attract attention.

He had barely finished the thought when someone suddenly came running around the corner.

"Watch out!"

The man didn’t have enough time to stop.

THUD!

He collided directly with Ares.

Ares barely moved.

The other man, however, lost his balance completely and fell backward onto the pavement, landing in a sitting position with both hands braced against the ground.

"Ow..."

Ares looked down at him.

The young man looked to be around the same age as Ares physically, although his appearance had the mature features common among people from this world. He had a youthful face with sharp but slightly tired features, short black hair that was messy from running, and dark eyes that looked considerably more exhausted than the rest of him.

His clothes were cheap and heavily worn, with several patches sewn into the fabric, while the leather armor covering his chest and shoulders looked like something purchased secondhand from an adventurer’s shop. A small dagger hung from his waist, and a battered leather pouch was attached to his belt.

There was a bandage wrapped around one forearm and another across his cheek, with several fresh scratches visible around his jaw. Despite looking like an eighteen- or nineteen-year-old young man, there was still something distinctly youthful about his face, making it obvious that he wasn’t actually much older than Ares.

He looked like a young Adventurer who had just barely made it back from hunting rather than someone who had been enjoying an ordinary afternoon in the city.

The moment he looked up at Ares, however, his expression changed.

Fear appeared in his eyes.

He quickly scrambled backward.

"Please!"

Ares blinked.

The man immediately lowered his head.

"I’m sorry!"

He dropped to his knees.

"Please forgive me. I didn’t mean to bump into you."

Ares stared at him.

What’s wrong with this guy?

For several seconds, neither of them said anything.

People walking along the street had already begun glancing in their direction.

Ares looked around before returning his attention to the kneeling man.

"Um... what are you doing?"

"I’m truly sorry."

The man kept his head lowered.

"I didn’t see you. Please don’t punish me."

Ares’s expression became even more confused.

"What exactly do you think I’m going to do?"

The man slowly raised his head.

"You’re not going to...?"

"Take your life because you bumped into me?"

Ares sighed.

"What’s gotten into you? It’s not like I’m taking your life or something."

The man’s eyes widened.

"What... really?"

"Yeah."

Ares glanced toward the people watching them.

"Now stand up. Everyone’s staring at us, and at this rate I look like some kind of villain."

The man hurriedly stood.

"Right. I’m truly sorry."

He bowed deeply.

Ares waved his hand.

"It’s fine. Don’t worry about it."

The man’s shoulders relaxed slightly.

"Thank you."

He hesitated before giving another small bow.

"By the way, my name is Han Ji-won."

"Han Ji-won?"

Ares repeated the name, becoming slightly more attentive.

The man nodded.

"Yes."

Ares gave him a brief smile.

"I’m Yoon Tae-ho."

Ji-won’s expression softened.

"Nice to meet you, Tae-ho. You can call me Ji-won."

He hesitated for a moment.

"Would it be alright if I called you Tae-ho?"

"Sure."

Ares glanced at his bandages.

There was something else he wanted to ask, and Ji-won seemed like someone who might know enough to give him a useful starting point.

"By the way, if you don’t mind, could I have some of your time?"

Ji-won looked slightly surprised.

"My time?"

"There’s something I’d like to ask you."

Ares looked around the busy street.

"Could we talk somewhere a little quieter?"

Ji-won hesitated briefly before nodding.

"Sure. I don’t have anywhere I need to be right now."

"Good."

Ares gestured for him to lead the way.

Ji-won nodded and started walking.

After leaving the busiest part of the street behind, the two eventually reached a quieter pedestrian area near a small public park, where the sound of traffic had faded enough that they could speak without being surrounded by curious onlookers.

Ares stopped there and looked at Ji-won.

Now he could finally start asking questions.

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