Swordsman Returns from Another World

Old Ivan carried a pickaxe and joined the team. He followed the team forward, took out his ID card, and looked at the staff in front of him with a amiable smile.

"Good evening, Mr. Ivan." The staff member bowed his head and greeted him. The smile on his face usually looked so friendly, but now it seemed to be hypocritical.

"Good evening, sir." Old Ivan took off his hat, revealing his furry bear ears - he was an Ursus, at least he used to be.

The staff member took out a small box from a box nearby, put it in Old Ivan's hat, and said with a smile, "This is your quota of inhibitors for this month. Take it."

Old Ivan paused, then continued, "Where's my wife's?"

"You mean your wife Alina? I'm sorry, but her workload this month hasn't met the standard, so we can't give out inhibitors for free this month." The smile on the staff's face began to annoy Old Ivan. "How about you spend some money and buy some at the caravan store next door?"

Old Ivan stared at him, gritting his teeth, his beard puffing up slightly from the force of his masseter muscles: "She is very ill, how can she work? Can't I share my quota with her? I'm clearly doing the work of two people!"

The staff member was silent for a moment and shook his head regretfully: "I'm sorry, Mr. Ivan, this is the rule."

Old Ivan held his hat in his hand for a long time, then he looked up and looked around.

The security guards holding shields and spears, and the crossbowmen and magicians standing on the roof looking around...that was not something Ivan could handle.

He turned and left, taking the only portion of "inhibitor" with him.

He walked through the streets of the village, watching a drunk scratching his Originium crystal in the street, watching an orphan who had no one to adopt him chewing a piece of dirty bread with a crunching sound, watching a tired woman leaning against a wooden pillar, stuffing a few Colombian bills given by a customer into her bra.

Old Ivan felt that this world was really fucked up.

He walked to the westernmost end of the village, entered a hotel, and wearily climbed the stairs to the second floor. He and his wife Alina rented a room here as... "home."

He pushed the door open and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his wife lying well in bed.

"Alina, are you awake?" he asked in a low voice.

Alina on the bed suddenly opened her eyes. After seeing Old Ivan's face, she breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Ivan, you're back... There's some hot porridge on the stove, remember to eat it. I... I feel a little tired and want to rest for a while."

Old Ivan came to the bedside, sat on a chair, held his wife's thin hand with one hand, and took out the medicine he received with the other hand, saying, "Today is the day to distribute the inhibitor, Alina, have you forgotten? Come on, take the medicine and then go to sleep, okay?"

Old Ivan opened the inhibitor in his hand, which contained a few pills and a tube of sticky-looking liquid. He stared at the medicine in front of him.

Painkillers and nutrient solution... Could what the bartender and the others said be true...

Alina waved her hand and said, "What about your portion? Honey, where is your medicine? I saw you only brought back one."

"You are still as sharp-eyed as ever, Alina." Old Ivan smiled and picked up the pills. He said, "Don't worry about me. I drank. I went to get the inhibitors right after work, and then went to the pub with Russell. We took the inhibitors together and drank some wine, you know..."

"I am from Ursus, and this is the only hobby I have."

With tears in her eyes, Alina obediently took the pills, then drank the liquid medicine bit by bit, and then let out a long sigh: "I feel much better, Ivan."

"I'm quite energetic today. Maybe I can go to the fields tomorrow. Then, we can go mining together again, okay?"

Ivan didn't dare to answer. He looked at his wife. Her brown hair, which was once as smooth as a waterfall, now looked rougher than the fur of a cracked beast.

Her strong and sturdy arms had become as thin as bamboo poles without her noticing, and her body seemed to have only a few pounds of flesh. Through her skin, one could even feel the hard source stone attached to her bones under her skin.

For this woman, Ivan retired from the Ursus army and fled Ursus with her, who was suffering from mineralogy. They traveled through mountains and rivers. They watched the knight competition in Casimir, the prosperity of Victoria, and looked at the towering snow-capped mountains of Kjerag from afar.

But now, she was about to die, and the only reason why she had survived for decades was about to disappear.

Ivan did not cry. He suppressed the tremor in his voice and whispered, "Yes, for sure, you will get better soon. I will stay with you, Alina."

"Don't keep thinking about mining. When you get better, I want to leave Colombia with you. Our journey isn't over yet, right? We haven't been to Bolivar or Sargon yet."

"I, I feel a little hot... Ivan..."

Suddenly, Alina's body began to tremble and big beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.

Old Ivan knew that this was a sign of an onset of oripathy, which meant... those medicines were useless, or rather, Alina's oripathy was too severe and those medicines alone were no longer effective.

He suddenly became flustered and hastily picked up the cup: "Alina, come, drink some water, you will feel better if you drink some water, the medicine will take effect soon, Alina..."

"Yes, yes, Mr. Cannot, I, I will go find him, he must have a way!"

Old Ivan stood up suddenly and tried to leave the room.

Alina suddenly grabbed Old Ivan's hand and cried softly: "Ivan, don't, don't leave me... please..."

Old Ivan's feet seemed to stop at root. He turned around, and his resolute face collapsed into sorrow and pain. He looked at his lover in front of him, not knowing what to do.

"Ivan, I'm dying... Let, let me die." Alina's voice was accompanied by heavy gasping and wheezing, as if breathing was also a painful thing for her.

Old Ivan finally lowered his head and kissed Alina's forehead.

"...I'll take you with me, Alina. You won't die. No."

He picked up Alina. Her body, which was so light when they first met decades ago, now became heavy due to the erosion of the Originium.

Just like the burden he has carried on his shoulders for decades.

Chapter 3: Old Ivan’s Story ()

Ten minutes later, old Ivan carried Alina back to the room. They found Cannot, but the environment there was not good, so they returned here instead.

Cannot Goodinnaf, a merchant in the wasteland, is said to be able to provide you with any service as long as you have money.

But he is a businessman, not a doctor.

"...Ms. Alina is already terminally ill. I don't have the ability to treat her, Mr. Ivan." Cannot's voice became strange and full of echoes through the somewhat funny iron bucket helmet: "I suggest you go find the infected people in the wilderness."

Alina was still running a fever at this time, and her immune system had been devastated by the mineralogy.

She closed her eyes somewhat unconsciously and just lay there without saying a word.

Old Ivan stared at his lover in a daze and whispered, "I've heard some rumors, Mr. Cannot."

"They said the infected were bad people, violent people who were out to overthrow John's mother."

Cannot sat on a chair, crossed his legs, and said, "Interesting rumors, what else have you heard, Mr. Ivan?"

Old Ivan was like an old giant bear, sitting on a chair, his eyes moving away from his wife and looking at Cannot: "I also heard that what John's mother sent us was not the so-called inhibitor."

"It's just nutrient solution and painkillers, is that true?"

Cannot was silent for a moment, then said, "You know, Mr. Ivan, I'm just a businessman. I can't tell other people's business secrets."

"So, it's true." Old Ivan gritted his teeth, making a creaking sound.

“Those infected people, where are they?”

Old Ivan walked towards the door.

………………

Following Cannot's guidance, Old Ivan quickly found the group of people camping in the wilderness. Logically speaking, the great pioneering was John's mother's private business that no one else could interfere with, but it seemed that even John's mother did not want to mess with these people, so she allowed them to act in the wilderness.

After explaining that he was from Cannot, Old Ivan met the leader of these infected people. To his surprise, it was a young woman with red hair.

Black Originium crystals can be seen everywhere on her body.

"So, you want us to save your wife, right?"

"…You are an employee of John's mother. You signed a contract with John's mother. You should go find them."

Old Ivan lowered his head and said in a depressed voice: "They don't care whether we live or die."

"I don't know who you are, but you are the only ones I can find. I... I still have these Originium crystals, and I still have some strength. No matter what I have that you like, as long as you ask, as long as I have it, I will give it to you."

"Save my wife, please."

Jiu raised his head and looked at the Ursus man in front of him. He was old but still powerful, with long-suppressed anger burning in his eyes, just like everyone they met after they came to this wilderness.

"I want you to prepare for change, Mr. Ivan, that's all."

Jiu picked up the map on the table, rolled it up, and stuffed it into his subordinate's hand, then said, "Let's go, let's go save your lover."

Holding a torch, she walked towards the town in the wilderness.

After entering the town, Ivan was surprised to find that these foreign infected people did not seem to be as aloof as he thought, or rather, he was the one who was aloof. Almost everyone he saw was greeting the red-haired girl Fidelia.

It was as if they had been waiting for her arrival, or rather, waiting for what she represented.

Old Ivan brought Jiu to his home and pushed the door open.

Seeing this, Cannot stood up and quietly retreated to the corner of the room. From now on, this was no longer his home ground.

Looking at Alina lying on the bed, Jiu first reached out to feel Alina's pulse, and then asked: "What medicine did she take?"

Old Ivan answered honestly, "The inhibitors John's mother sent me, nothing else."

At this time, Cannot in the corner suddenly said, "Five minutes ago I injected her with a new type of inhibitor, the type you brought, type three."

Old Ivan raised his head suddenly. He had heard that Cannot had a new batch of medicines that could effectively relieve the symptoms of oripathy, but the price was also sky-high.

He couldn't afford it, but he knew that without the injection, his wife would be in a worse condition.

Facing Old Ivan's grateful eyes, Cannot waved his hand slightly: "Ms. Alina's hot soup is delicious. Russell has told me many times."

"If you have a chance, please treat me to a bowl as well."

Nine was thoughtful: "Alina... Арина? It means peace and tranquility... Are you from Ursus?"

"I was once a member of the Ursus army. Later, Alina was infected with mineral sickness, and I... took her away from Ursus."

"Ma'am, how is Alina?"

Jiu raised his head and said, "If it weren't for Mr. Cannot's injection of medicine, she wouldn't have survived tonight, but now... her condition has stabilized and she can live for a while longer."

"But just one injection of medicine is not enough to cure her illness. She is seriously ill."

Old Ivan clenched his fists: "...What else can I give?"

"As long as you say it, as long as I have it!"

Jiu was silent for a moment, then whispered, "She is your only hope of survival, isn't she?"

Old Ivan nodded without hesitation.

"The money needed to extend her life is almost astronomical." Nine continued, "You should have heard of Rhodes Island. They have developed the latest medicine for oripathy that can cure oripathy. Oripathy is no longer a terminal illness."

Old Ivan hesitated for a moment and said, "Such rumors always pop up every few years, but everyone is always disappointed."

"That's not fake, Mr. Ivan." Jiu took out a needle of potion from his pocket. The potion flashed a faint blue light under the dim light.

"I can save her. We are different from John's mother. We will not deceive our compatriots. What we bring is real hope."

"The price you need to pay is your loyalty and strength, because we want to open up a path for our compatriots."

Old Ivan suddenly realized something. He suddenly woke up and realized that the woman in front of him was definitely not just a caravan leader, and those infected people were not competitors to John's mother.

But it is the enemy who wants to change the current situation in Colombia and all the tragedies in this wilderness.

Their identities are by no means simple!

Chapter 4: Old Ivan’s Story ()

Old Ivan asked in a trembling voice, "You, who are you?"

"Not you, but us."

Jiu's voice was serious, his eyes were cold, staring at Old Ivan: "We are your compatriots, Mr. Ivan, we are the infected."

"How many infected have you seen die since Ms. Alina became one?"

Jiu pointed out the window: "There is a cemetery at the southernmost part of the village. Even now, there are still Originium crystal clusters from the infected people breaking out of the ground."

"How many people have died in this village? The tombstones in the cemetery are less than two meters apart, but the area they cover is larger than the entire village. Mr. Ivan, have you ever thought about..."

"Are the people lying in there also Ms. Alina?"

"I can save Ms. Alina, but there are many Alinas in the world."

“That’s why I said that we need to open up a path for our compatriots.”

Without waiting for Old Ivan to answer, she had already inserted the needle into Alina's wrist and injected the medicine.

After doing all this, she stood up and said softly, "Don't rush to answer me, Mr. Ivan. By dawn, this village will be completely new, and you will see what we are going to do... and we will also give you the opportunity to make a choice."

"Ms. Alina's condition will be under control. This injection of medicine can ensure that her condition will not worsen within six months."

After saying that, she turned and left.

After Nine left, Old Ivan looked at Cannot and whispered, "Who are they, Mr. Cannot?"

Cannot shrugged: "Old rules, I can't tell you about business secrets."

"But you see, they are infected, and... ahem, better than John's mother."