I Became a Veteran Who Has to Stir Up Trouble to Survive - Chapter 8

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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[008] The True Identity of the Reincarnate
As I guided the ship into the harbor, the docking procedures proceeded without a hitch.
In truth, there wasn’t much to process at all.
The black pirate flag had been replaced with ordinary sails long ago, and Orgillian had stripped the merchant vessel of every last scrap of plunder without leaving a single seed behind.
“Damn it… why did he even take spices we can’t eat anyway?”
“We’ll need to scrape together funds for the next voyage somehow…”
“…”
I let the Pirates’ grumbling complaints wash over me as I waited for the inspection to conclude.
Still, unlike other pirates, I had discovered an emergency pouch of silver coins hidden beneath the Captain’s Quarters desk, so we wouldn’t starve immediately.
Fortunately, our adversaries were undead who despised silver.
Once the procedures were complete and we disembarked, the Pirates rushed off in a frenzy, suddenly animated as if they’d forgotten their ordeal entirely.
“Hehehehe…! Land! I’m back, you bastards!!”
“I can actually feel solid ground! When we were surrounded by undead, I thought it was all over…!!”
“Let’s hurry to the tavern and tell those fools about everything we experienced! Nobody will believe us anyway?!”
Before their words even finished, the Pirates bolted toward the tavern.
As I quietly watched their retreating figures and turned to leave, the First Mate approached me cautiously.
“…Captain, won’t you join us?”
“I have other matters to attend to, so I’ll have to pass.”
“If there’s anything I can help you with…”
“No, it’s fine. The journey was exhausting, so rest for five days and then meet me in front of Barbaho. Make sure the crew knows as well.”
I cut off the First Mate who was following behind me and headed deeper into the harbor.
According to plan, this would be our parting ways, and I harbored no regrets.
Though we crossed the line of death together, they were an entirely different breed—criminals who made their living through plunder and pillage, so there was nothing to gain from remaining entangled with them.
Besides, there was a more pressing reason.
「Essential Quest!」
「You have received the grace of the gods and been granted a second life!」
「But there is no gift without a price! Discover the reason you were reincarnated into this world!」
「Quest Completion Condition: Raise your level to 30 within two months!」
「Failure: Your soul will be torn to shreds and you will perish.」
Barely had I savored the relief of surviving that wretched tutorial when a chilling warning materialized before my eyes.
The Goddess had laid the groundwork before my reincarnation with “there will be some restrictions, but…” I never imagined it would be something like this.
‘Level 30 within two months… there’s no time to spare.’
No, actually this works out well.
To survive in this insane dark fantasy world where Liches prowl the waters before towns, I need to gain strength regardless.
And I have one profession perfectly suited for someone with no connections and no capital to open a shop.
Adventurer.
‘But this port town is too small to operate in…’
The security is poor, and criminals like pirates openly flaunt themselves here.
Since there’s no suitable hunting ground nearby, I plan to move to the nearby city of Verastin and register as an adventurer.
I can level up quickly by hunting mobs in the fields near there before challenging dungeons.
Now that I think about it, I still need to deliver that letter Orgillian asked me to pass along….
‘Well, I can handle that later. Surely he won’t come looking for me, right?’
I swept the matter of the letter cleanly from my mind.
I was just about to step into an alley to take a shortcut when—
“So it was true… You’re not Captain Barbo.”
“…!!”
A chilling voice reached me from behind.
I turned to find the pirate First Mate standing there, his eyes sharp with suspicion.
‘…When did he start following me?’
My heart lurched, but I quickly steadied my voice and brazened my way through with utmost confidence.
“I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about! Who else would I be but the legendary Captain Barbo of Barbaho, the terror of the Carabdis Coast and the greatest pirate to ever sail?”
“You’re lying. You’re not the Captain Barbo I knew.”
“…What makes you think that, First Mate Robert? Have I ever given you reason to feel slighted?”
“Your gait.”
“My gait?”
“Captain Barbo has a habit of walking with his toes turned outward. Besides, when we’re alone together, he uses a much more casual manner of speech. And despite calling himself a captain, he refuses to touch rum, calling it a lowborn drink fit only for the dregs of society.”
“…I see.”
I looked into the First Mate’s confident eyes and conceded defeat cleanly.
Truth be told, I’d never expected to deceive him perfectly from the start.
Even with the aid of Antagon’s Rune, it was impossible to fool a companion I’d shared meals with through improvised deception.
I’d known for some time that the First Mate was growing suspicious.
I’d only hoped he’d pretend not to notice until I could escape the port and leave the town….
‘…Can I win this?’
As I quietly placed my hand on the cutlass at my waist, the First Mate stepped back and added quickly,
“Don’t misunderstand. I didn’t come here to fight. I’ve sailed with Barbo for a long time, but he’s such a worthless bastard that I’ve built up no real affection for him.”
“Then… why did you come after me? Why stop me here?”
“That’s because… I have something I want to ask you.”
“Something you want to ask?”
“Yes.”
First Mate Robert paused for a moment before speaking.
“Are you perhaps a transmigrator?”
“What…?”
A transmigrator.
It felt as though I’d been struck in the head with a hammer.
‘…What did I just hear?’
How does this man know of the transmigrator’s existence?
What could have tipped him off?
I fought to suppress the shock and questions churning inside me, struggling to maintain my composure.
Being exposed as not Barbo and being revealed as a transmigrator were entirely different matters.
I swallowed hard and asked in return,
“Do you know of the existence of transmigrators?”
It was practically an admission, but I needed confirmation.
I had to understand what information existed about transmigrators in this world, and if there were any aspects of my actions that could expose me, I needed to correct them.
But for some reason, the First Mate let out a derisive snort before answering.
“Of course I know. Is there anyone in this world who doesn’t know of those disgusting creatures’ existence?”
“….”
“Since you still seem ignorant of everything, let me add this—beings like you in this place are called transmigrators, evil spirits, parasitic souls, or the usurpers. The derogatory terms vary by region, but the meaning is the same. Everyone despises them terribly, that much included.”
“…I see.”
I recalled what had happened just before arriving in this world.
The Goddess had also advised me not to let the people here discover that I was a transmigrator.
If exposed, I would meet a terrible end—limbs torn apart or thrown as goblin food.
‘Was it not forced upon me…?’
When I heard it from the Goddess, I thought that the moment my identity was exposed, causality would twist and I would suffer some disadvantage. But that didn’t seem to be the case.
Otherwise, information about transmigrators wouldn’t be so widely spread as this pirate before me was describing.
It seemed quite a few people had transmigrated before me.
‘How many people has this Goddess kidnapped….’
Many had already come to this world before me, and it was evident that the inhabitants here also knew of the transmigrators’ existence.
But why?
Why did the inhabitants of this place despise transmigrators so terribly?
As I voiced my question aloud, the First Mate answered in a cold tone.
“It’s because you evil spirits are born by usurping our flesh and blood.”
“…Usurping flesh and blood?”
“Yes. The moment your foreign souls take root in our bodies, those bodies lose their past memories and become mere vessels for the new soul’s personality. They become entirely different beings—unable to recognize even parents, spouses, or children. …Like insects whose brains have been devoured by parasites.”
“I see… I understand now.”
Only after hearing the First Mate’s words did I truly comprehend it.
What I had experienced was not transmigration.
It was
possession.
That.
Not the creation of a body in this world the moment a character is generated like in a game, but the seizure of a resident’s body that already existed in this world.
The body of the newly born ‘Doran’ was merely a resident of this world who had lived here originally, with only my past and appearance identical.
Only after hearing the First Mate’s words did I understand whose impulse and exhilaration it was when I killed Tyrosh and the Captain with my own hands.
I also understood the principle of naturally comprehending and speaking this world’s language from the beginning.
I understood why the man before me was glaring at me with such hatred, and why the inhabitants of this world were hostile toward transmigrators.
To them, we were nothing but strange outsiders who had stolen the bodies of their loved ones.
I also understood what Robert was mistaken about.
‘He thinks I possessed the Captain’s body.’
Strictly speaking, I had possessed Doran’s body and then disguised myself as Barbo through Antagon’s Rune, but I didn’t correct him.
It was true that I was a transmigrator, and there was nothing good about honestly revealing my true identity.
“…Yes, I have experienced transmigration. But why? If you disliked me so much, you could have simply approached me in secret and killed me, or reported me.”
“…repayment.”
“Repayment?”
“Yes. I despise evil spirits like you enough to want you dead… but regardless, you saved my men’s lives. Barbo would never have done such a thing.”
You wouldn’t understand our bond, not knowing what we share….
Robert added, lighting a cigarette from somewhere unknown as he spoke.
“But yes, that’s fair too. If the undead hadn’t disarmed us, I might have stabbed you in the back by now. What choice I would have made… I honestly don’t know myself.”
“….”
“But since I’ve decided to help you this time, don’t waste my advice. If you’re going to hide what you are, then hide it to the very end, no matter what. …Even if it means deceiving your friends, allies, or lovers. And above all….”
Robert pointed at my head with a gaze as if he were looking at a sack brimming with gold coins.
“Evil spirit hunting pays well.”
* * *
After waking from a deep sleep at the inn, I lay in bed and synthesized the information I’d gathered.
My mind felt cluttered with what Robert had told me and the existing knowledge I possessed.
It was as if someone had stuffed a tangled ball of yarn into my head.
‘Sigh….’
The Goddess had warned me not to reveal that I was a transmigrator.
I hadn’t thought deeply about it then, but it proved to be far more serious than I’d initially dismissed.
If information about transmigrators was this widespread, there was no telling how many others like Robert might see through my identity in the future.
‘…It was quite a shock.’
I hadn’t expected such hostile scrutiny directed at me so suddenly.
While mere resentment might be bearable, Robert’s gaze clearly held suppressed hatred and greed.
Likely there was some substantial bounty for capturing an evil spirit.
And….
‘Why are the gods allowing this situation to unfold?’
No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t comprehend it.
Wasn’t the conflict between Belheim’s residents and transmigrators contrary to the will of the gods who brought me here?
If I gained their cooperation, that would be beneficial, but I couldn’t fathom what advantage came from allowing this discord to persist.
Perhaps there was some hidden background I wasn’t aware of.
And besides transmigrators—evil spirits—how many others existed besides me?
If they were quietly integrating into this world and living here now, could some of them be people I knew from my past life?
The questions that arose upon arriving at the port town weren’t limited to just these.
‘…Why is the infrastructure intact?’
In my memories, this place didn’t look like this.
A harbor destroyed by tsunamis as tall as houses, with broken ships and building debris scattered everywhere.
A place where pirates and fishmen roamed the streets, plundering freely, where the stench of rot and brine permeated the entire town.
But what about now?
‘It was strange from the moment the pirates changed their flags during docking.’
The fact that port procedures were being conducted meant legitimate authority was still functioning.
Normally, there shouldn’t even be an inn as respectable as this one.
Was this the difference between the game and reality? Or perhaps….
“…This won’t do. I don’t have enough information.”
I grasped my throbbing head and slowly rose from the bed.
Details about transmigrators, the intact fishing village—none of it existed in the game.
Wracking my brain now wouldn’t yield any answers.
For now, I had no choice but to uncover the truth gradually without revealing my identity.
After washing my face with cold water, I stepped out of the inn into the hazy dawn light.
Today was the day I would leave this small port town and head for the city.
I had visited the Adventurer’s Guild yesterday to request an escort for this very purpose.
With my current abilities, crossing the forest alone—infested with monsters and bandits—would be suicide.
I deactivated my disguise skill and proceeded in my true form.
Passing the drowsy town guards nodding off in front of the palisade, I emerged onto the Blue Plains and spotted a small caravan surrounding a cargo wagon.
A wagon bearing the flag inscribed with “Ophelia Merchant Company” and mercenaries accompanying it.
These were the people I would travel with to the city for the next few days.
But as I approached the caravan, an adventurer-like man in a flowing green robe came toward me.
Blonde hair, green eyes, a handsome face—the quintessential elf from fantasy tales.
Yet…
‘Wait, what…?’
His face was oddly familiar.
No, it was more than just familiar.
I had definitely seen this man in the game!
And not just seen him—it was more than that!
As I sifted through my memories, my growing doubt transformed into déjà vu, and that déjà vu crystallized into certainty the moment he stepped before me and extended his hand for a handshake.
“Oh, are you the last client? I’m Malton, and I’ll be your dedicated escort for this mission. Looking forward to working with you.”
What the hell—why is this bastard here?

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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