On the way back, my mind raced with plans to spread culture in this world through my studio.

I hadn’t forgotten my main objective, but I couldn't ignore the importance of Harmony — the quest condition. The only way to eliminate Demonic Qi was to kill all users. And to do that, I needed to grow stronger.

From what I had seen, the quickest way to level up was by contributing to Harmony. Killing wasn’t enough. Even devouring a Bearowl 43 levels above me only got me one level. The sole benefit of leveling up through killing was the Qi I absorbed.

One step at a time. Don’t rush.

When I got home, I prepared dinner while skimming through the fairy tale about the Guardians.

The book narrated the beginning of this world, Eldoria.

When Eldoria came into being, five Guardians were born to protect it. After them came the races. Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and Beastkin, each with their own distinct roles.

Humans seeked knowledge and were tasked with progress and innovation.

Elves were the regulators of balance, ensuring balance between the lands.

Dwarves received blessings from the land, and were builders of fortresses and tools.

Beastkin were stewards of coexistence and mediators among the myriad races.

For a time, the four races lived in harmony. Then, everything changed when a dimensional gate opened above the Northen Sea. From it emerged the Abyss Crawlers — monstrous beings that brought destruction and death wherever their dark, twisted limbs reached.

The Guardians united the four races and waged war against the Abyss Crawlers. But their enemies were not done. They summoned their allies, the Fiend Forgers, from another dimension. These beings invaded the Beastkin’s land in the Southwest, forcing the Beastkin to stay and defend their home.

Thus began the great two-front war — a war that froze the North Sea, sank a nation, and claimed countless lives. The heaviest loss of all was the death of a Guardian.

In the end, the Abyss Crawlers were pushed back beyond The Great Barrier, while the Fiend Forgers' threat diminished into a lingering ember. The people of Eldoria had won, but the threat remained.

The fairy tale ended with a warning that stated the four races must remain united, for the enemies would one day return, bringing another great war.

I set the book down, and a single thought crossed my mind.

There was barely any useful information and far too many plot holes. Being labeled a fairy tale likely meant some truths were twisted or lost in translation over time.

Pulling out a notebook from my drawer, I began jotting down a few hypotheses.

First, this book was probably written by a human with modern knowledge. Words like "dimensional gate" and "two-front war" suggested that its author might have been a reincarnator. If that were true, what kind of knowledge had they passed down to their descendants?

Second, after the great war, the Guardians seemingly vanished as peace returned to the world. Four of them disappeared, and it was claimed that one had died. But how reliable was that claim? The Abyss Crawlers were still trapped behind The Great Barrier, while the Fiend Forgers were beginning to resurface. What gave these invaders the confidence to act up again? Could the fractures between the races have become so severe that they now saw an opportunity?

If that was true, it spelled bad news for my elder sister, the clan’s leader. She was actively fighting the Fiend Forgers in the Beastkin’s territory alongside the elites of our clan. At least the supplies she sent from their mercenary work still arrived monthly, so I could assume she was safe for now.

Third, one of the invaders might be connected to the Demonic Arts users from my previous world — Shen Long, the Murim world ruled by martial artists. This wasn’t speculation but a fact. The presence of Demonic Qi in this world confirmed it. The question was how. There was nothing in Shen Long that could help travel to another world. Could the Abyss Crawlers have been the ones to help them invade this world?

What had happened after I died in Shen Long? Was my daughter safe?

The System had deemed that quest a success, but something didn’t add up. The Demonic Arts users were supposed to have been eradicated completely.

Or were they?

That faint error message I thought I heard back then... perhaps it hadn’t been my imagination after all.

*Ding

[World Walker’s Comprehension Level up: Level 3 –> 4]

I paused, staring at the pages as my fingers drummed against the desk.

One step at a time. One thing at a time. If I make a mistake, then I will fix it. That’s all there is to it.

The plan for now was simple. Before setting up my studio in NorthStar to spread culture and gain levels, it was best to check out The Great Barrier mentioned in the book. It was the first solid clue since arriving in this world, making it worth investigating.

Beyond the barrier lay the Abyss Crawlers’ domain — a dangerous place, yes, but not inaccessible. Expedition teams regularly ventured there to investigate, which meant it wasn’t a death sentence. If I could find another clue, or better yet, a lead, then my chances of figuring out what the hell was happening would improve significantly.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

A world being invaded by two different extraterrestrial enemies simultaneously like this? That was a first, even for me.

Most of the time, the threat leading to a world’s collapse stemmed from the world itself. A deadly virus, a madman bent on annihilation, or even malfunctioning defense mechanisms that turned against all life. The list went on. Encounters with true world invaders were rare.

And then there was this world’s Harmony. What kind of cultural thing could evoke it? Songs worked, that much was certain. But what about the other things I planned like movies?

Well, there was only one way to find out. Testing it.

Having made up my mind, I walked over to the shelf and pulled out two incomplete inventions left behind by the previous Karl, the Image Keeping Tool and the Image Conjuring Tool.

In simpler terms, a camera and a projector.

The Image Keeping Tool looked like a portable telescope with a square glass lens and a small frame. A spheroid purple crystal was lodged on top, acting as its primary component.

The Image Conjuring Tool was a wooden box with a large square glass at the front and two circular holes on top. One hole was empty, while the other contained a diamond-shaped crystal that seemed to function as a power source, judging by the decent amount of Mana stored inside.

To test whether movies could trigger Harmony like songs did through the Recording Crystal, I decided to complete the tools.

First, I’d finish the Image Ke... Image Keeping Tool was a terrible name. It was long, clunky, and just plain bad.

I changed their names to Image Keeper & Image Caster for the camera and projector respectively. Simple, clean, and far less annoying to say.

The Frost Elf’s village festival would be the perfect moment to debut a short video and test my hypothesis.

I got to work inspecting the Image Keeper. Its Runes were far more intricate than those in the Recording Crystal. They weren’t just designed to capture sound but also images. The same applied to the Image Caster, whose Runes were equally complex.

After a thorough review, I realized both tools were already fully functional. There was no need for modifications. The just needed testing.

Excited, I poured my Qi into the Image Keeper and recorded a simple five-second video. Once done, I removed the small spheroid purple crystal from the Image Keeper and placed it into the Image Caster.

The moment the video projected onto my wall, my excitement turned to disappointment. The image was riddled with distortions and dark spots. Shapes and colors were faintly recognizable — enough to vaguely identify objects in my room — but it was a far cry from anything usable.

I sighed, turned the Image Caster off, removed the circular crystal, and searched for the problem. It didn’t take long.

It was so glaringly obvious I slapped my forehead. It wasn’t a magic-related issue at all.

Using square-shaped lenses wasn’t the best way to focus light and create an image. The solution was simple — replace the square lenses with circular ones. I disassembled both the Image Keeper and the Image Caster to fix the issue.

As I held the clay-like glass in my hand, the playful child inside me couldn’t resist having some fun.

“Bam! A dinosaur attacking tiny humans! Bam! A giant ape suplexing an atomic sea monster! Bam! A team of adventurers taking down the demon king!”

After all the horrors I’d witnessed in other worlds, moments of peace like this were truly a blessing.

“What are you doing?” Sera’s voice cut through my daydreams from the doorway.

I turned to look at her. Her gaze was questioning whether I had completely lost my mind.

“Just messing around while finishing these tools,” I replied, shaping the lenses into circles and reassembling the devices.

I held up the Image Keeper toward her. “Stay sharp, sis. This thing is capturing you.”

Sera tilted her head, clearly confused by my words. She looked down at her feet, then her hands, and even behind her, trying to figure out what I meant.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at her antics. Once I finished recording, I placed the purple crystal into the Image Caster and turned it on.

Sera’s expression shifted to pure bewilderment as the image projected onto the wall. At first, she stared at a chaotic mess of light and color, trying to make sense of it. But as the chaos passed, her own image appeared on the wall.

The projection wasn’t perfect, but it was a significant improvement from the first attempt.

Her eyes widened as she pointed at the image. “Is that me?”

“It is,” I said with a grin. “Not bad, huh?”

I still needed to figure out how to edit the footage, improve the resolution, and add sound, but this was a solid starting point.

“This is amazing!” Sera’s eyes sparkled with excitement, a look of pure joy radiating from her face.

“Wait till you see what I have planned for this.” A smile tugged at my lips as I matched her enthusiasm.

The next step was to create a video to showcase at the Frost Elf’s mini-festival. But as the thought crossed my mind, a somber weight crept into my chest. I glanced at Sera and asked, “Have you heard about what happened to Elfina yet?”

Sera’s expression faltered, her excitement dimming like a candle in the wind. A shadow clouded her face as she nodded. “Yes.”

“I’m planning to use this to do something for Elfina,” I said, tapping on the Image Keeper. “It’ll also help with my own goals. Once it’s ready, I’ll show it at the festival. Can you help me?”

Sera met my gaze, her lips curving into a gentle smile. “You’ve always been kind.”

I didn’t respond. The previous Karl was kind, not me. "I" was the kind of monster who had sacrificed an entire nation and all its people just to delay the enemy’s advance for one single day. The things I had done weren’t acts of kindness, they were acts of necessity.

She didn’t know that. To her, I was her brother, the same Karl who had been with her all along. Not an imposter who had taken over completely, so completely that even she didn’t notice the changes.

A brief tightness gripped my chest before I pushed it aside, simply like shooing away a stray thought. I used to dwell on these feelings, questioning the morality of my existence. But now? They were just passing breezes.

“I’ll help, starting tomorrow,” Sera said with a stretch, her smile returning. “Let’s have dinner and call it a day.”

“Tonight’s dinner is your favorite, Honeyed Hare,” I replied, standing up.

“My brother knows me best,” she beamed.

*****

On the morning of the next day, Sera and I used the excuse of escorting Elfina back to the Frost Elf village to join the expedition team. The elder watched us with warm eyes as we departed, seemingly pleased with our decision. Lucy didn’t accompany us; she still had responsibilities left to her by my elder sister.

Elfina pulled the sled carrying Abby’s body while Sera and I walked beside her, trying to offer some comfort.

“How are you holding up?” I asked softly, trying to gauge her state of mind.

“I’m fine,” she replied with a weak smile.

She was definitely not fine.

Grief hung over her like a storm cloud, and I couldn’t blame her. Moments like these always felt tricky. Even with my experiences, I still didn't know how to comfort someone who had just lost a loved one. All I could do was offer a silent shoulder to lean on.

Sera, thankfully, came to the rescue. “Can you tell me more about Abby?” she asked gently.

Elfina’s dull eyes regained a flicker of light, as if the simple question had reached into her heart and pulled out a memory she cherished.

“On my fifth birthday, my parents brought Abby into our lives,” she began, her voice soft but steady. “Back then, he was so small I could fit him in my palms.” A gentle smile spread across her face as she recounted the story, her tone carrying warmth.

As we continued chatting, Sera and I tried our best to keep the conversation going, giving Elfina a chance to remember happier times.

Suddenly, I felt something I hadn't since I arrived in this world.

Murderous intent.