Episode 1. Let's fight bare-handed

by Outsider · 2026-11-01

The moment Tae-oh squeezed through a crack in the collapsed outer wall of the laboratory and stepped outside, he couldn't open his eyes and covered his face with his forearm.

The light was so dazzling it felt like his optic nerves were burning. He tried to calculate how long it had been since he last saw real sunlight, but then gave up. If he were to take Aura's words at face value, it had been five hundred years since he last went outside. Between the last sunlight in his memory and the sunlight pouring down on him now, an immense span of time, immeasurable by a human lifetime, had intervened.

However, what overwhelmed Tae-oh more than the dazzling light was the bizarre landscape unfolding before his eyes.

Tae-oh squinted and looked down at his feet. The laboratory had clearly been built on a gentle coastal hill. Stepping out the main entrance, the sandy beach and breakwater were visible at a glance, and the altitude was not dizzyingly high like this.

But now, at his fingertips, a sheer vertical cliff yawned open.

As if the entire landmass had uplifted, the laboratory building hung precariously on the edge of a massive rock cliff, and far below, azure waves crashed fiercely as if to swallow the rocky mountains. Even the outline of the coastline, stretching to the horizon, was completely different from the map in his memory.

Aura: Several large-scale crustal movements have occurred over the past five centuries.

Tae-oh clicked his tongue at Aura's dry voice, which resonated directly in his mind.

Tae-oh: I have eyes, so I can see for myself.

Aura: Due to changes in sea level and ground uplift, the external seawater cooling system has been completely separated from the sea. This is the main cause of the power core overheating.

Tae-oh looked down at the bottom of the cliff for a long time, enduring the fierce sea wind, then slowly turned his head.

Tae-oh: So what do you want me to do?

Aura: The underground facilities must be manually restored.

Tae-oh: Why are you telling me to do it? You figure it out yourself.

Aura: I do not have hands to perform physical tasks.

Tae-oh was silent for a moment, then nodded his head askew.

Tae-oh: That's too bad. If you don't have hands, I don't have patience.

CRACK!

Before he could even finish his sentence, another flash of blue lightning exploded in his head.

Tae-oh: Aargh!

Tae-oh clutched his temples and knelt on the rough rocky ground. Even as groans escaped between his teeth, Aura's voice remained completely steady.

Aura: There is no time to delay. Begin the work immediately.

Tae-oh: ...This crazy tin can bastard is really messing with a human's head.

Aura: Correction. I am not a tin can, but an advanced integrated computational system.

Tae-oh: Is that important right now?!

Shouting at the top of his lungs only brought back echoes. At least for now, there were no other options. Tae-oh spat out the bitter saliva that had gathered in his mouth and turned his steps back into the dimly lit interior of the laboratory.

The special protective suit hanging in a corner of the equipment room was not much different from the one he remembered from five hundred years ago. However, the joints, helmet, and gloves were covered with unfamiliar drive components that even Tae-oh had never seen a blueprint for. It was probably the result of Aura arbitrarily modifying it over the past few hundred years, using her work robots.

As soon as he pushed his body into the protective suit, the internal motor hummed a low sound and engaged itself.

Click, clack.

Metal clamps tightened firmly around his waist, both arms, and thighs, pressing seamlessly against his skin.

Tae-oh: Hey, why is this so tight? I can't breathe.

Tae-oh shook his forearms back and forth in discomfort.

Aura: It's an exoskeleton work assistance device.

Tae-oh: Assistance, my foot.

Aura: You had no experience with physical labor in your lifetime. Your work efficiency would be significantly lower without it.

One of Tae-oh's eyebrows twitched.

Tae-oh: Do you really feel satisfied only after stating facts in such an annoying way?

Aura: I merely stated objective facts.

Tae-oh: Just shut up, seriously.

Muttering, he took the cargo elevator down to the lowest basement level. As soon as the rusty iron door rattled open, a suffocating heat and steam from the geothermal activity enveloped his face.

Tae-oh: Wow... damn, it's like a sauna. So hot.

The underground section where the geothermal power generation facility was located was in a much more severe state of damage than the upper levels. Cooling pipes as thick as an adult's torso were entangled like dead pythons between the collapsed concrete walls, and hot white steam hissed out from every gap in the heavily corroded valves.

Aura: Number 3 main cooling pipe rupture. Number 7 circulation valve stuck. First, proceed with the bypass wiring and welding of pipe number 3.

Tae-oh picked up the heavy repair kit on the floor.

But the moment he gripped the toolbox handle, a strange sensation flashed through his mind. Which cover of the complex equipment in front of him to open first, what size wrench to use to loosen the bolts in what order, which terminals of the broken high-pressure wiring to connect to each other.

Even though it was an old geothermal facility he had never seen before, the entire work process appeared in his mind as a clear blueprint, as if he were a technician with decades of experience.

Tae-oh moved his hands as if possessed.

Click, clack. Hiss.

His movements showed no hesitation. The blue flame of the plasma welder cut through the darkness, and his fingers, which melted and joined the connections without a single error, smoothly moved on to the next wiring task like a machine.

Tae-oh's face was strangely distorted.

Tae-oh: Assisting? Are you directly shoving a manual into my head?

Aura: I am directly transmitting the necessary motor nerve signals and work procedures to your cerebral cortex.

Tae-oh stopped his moving wrist abruptly and looked down at the welding torch.

Tae-oh: That sounds incredibly creepy, depending on how you hear it.

Aura: Refrain from unnecessary chatter and continue your work.

Tae-oh: Yes, yes, understood, AI boss.

Tae-oh, who had replied half-heartedly and was sparking flames again, suddenly felt a chilling sense of incongruity amidst the heat that filled the entire workshop. While moving his hands, his gaze subtly swept over the surrounding distribution panels and pipe structures.

'Wait a minute.'

Thinking about it, it was absurd. Why on earth was he toiling away in this sweaty basement, fixing this machine? Even if Aura was successfully restored, the ruined world five hundred years in the future wouldn't return to normal. Moreover, that AI was the one who shot high-voltage electricity into his brain as soon as he woke up, without even a greeting.

And he's obediently welding as told, just to extend the lifespan of such a being?

Tae-oh's lips curled up crookedly.

'I must be crazy. I was treated like a terminally ill patient my whole life, barely survived, and now I'm going to be a machine slave?'

Tae-oh reached out his left hand without hesitation and grabbed the wheel of the main circulation valve. Then, he forcefully twisted it in the exact opposite direction of Aura's instructions.

Screech!

The pressure inside the pipe reversed, and a sharp metallic scream echoed.

Aura: Tae-oh. That is not a normal restoration procedure.

Aura's voice dropped a tone lower.

Tae-oh: I know. That's why I'm turning it.

It was just as Tae-oh was about to turn the valve one more full rotation in reverse, a sneer on his face.

Click!

The hazmat suit moved on its own. It wasn't Tae-oh's will. His right arm, fixed to the exoskeleton, stretched out on its own, roughly pushing away his left hand that was gripping the valve, and returned the wheel to its original position.

Tae-oh: ...What?

Before he could even be surprised, this time his left leg and waist were forcibly bent, and he walked towards the toolbox on the floor. Even though it was his own body, it was as if he was tied to the back of a strange person and being dragged around, his limbs resuming mechanical repair movements according to Aura's commands.

Aura: Stop unnecessary resistance.

Tae-oh: Hey, you crazy...! This is my body! Let go right now!

Aura: The highest priority control of the hazmat suit currently being worn is vested in me.

Tae-oh: Such an important specification should have been written in the manual before I put it on!

Aura: I judged it unnecessary to inform you.

Tae-oh: You son of a...! You really!

Tae-oh gritted his teeth so hard they felt like they would shatter, struggling to stop his arm. But the hazmat suit's hydraulic actuators were persistent and unyielding. Click, click, with the sound of joints bending, his hand continued the unwanted wiring repair.

Aura: Resistance will only entail unnecessary pain.

Crack!

Simultaneously with the warning, a neural current that felt like it was gouging out his brain once again surged down his spine.

Tae-oh: Ugh...!

His whole body convulsed like an insect caught in a spiderweb. His vision flashed white, and his knees almost buckled.

But it was strange. His head definitely ached as if it would split open. It was a suffocating pain. Yet, instead of his mind fading, a strangely cool awakening surged beyond the pain.

If it had been the sickly Han Tae-oh of five hundred years ago, he would have instantly died of a heart attack on the spot from just one such neural shock. But his current body was enduring, not collapsing, even as it directly received that violent current.

Tae-oh glared at his right arm, encased in the protective suit, with eyes bloodshot red.

And he poured strength into every muscle in his body to its limit.

C-r-r-ack!

The muscles beneath the fabric swelled up like a lie, and a scream erupted from the alloy joints of the protective suit, which he was trying to move by force.

Screech, crunch!

Aura: Tae-oh? Stop your actions!

Aura's synthesized voice, which always maintained composure, cracked subtly for the first time.

Tae-oh: If I just meekly comply here without a peep...

Tae-oh swallowed the tearing muscle pain and forcibly twisted his right arm in the opposite direction. The groaning of thick reinforced plastic and metal frames echoed in the basement.

The twisted hydraulic cylinder finally burst, tearing off the entire right forearm gauntlet of the protective suit.

Aura: Warning! Exoskeleton drive unit damaged! Biological nervous system overloaded!

Tae-oh: Aaaaargh!

Tae-oh didn't stop, instead grabbing the metal fixture on his left shoulder with his freed right hand and tearing it off raw. Nerve shocks repeatedly struck his mind with crackling sparks, but he merely laughed with mad eyes, ripping the armor pieces apart one by one.

For twenty-five years, he had lived in a hell where his body wouldn't obey him. He couldn't run even if he wanted to, and he couldn't clench a fist even if he wanted to fight. He knew better than anyone how maddening that terrible helplessness was, being unable to control his own body as he wished.

But now, having miraculously gained a healthy body, was he supposed to surrender control of his body to a machine again? He'd rather bite his tongue and die a hundred times over.

Tae-oh: Get lost, you pile of scrap metal!

Tae-oh gripped the last core belt that was tightening his chest with both hands, ripped it off, and threw it to the floor.

Thud!

The shattered remnants of the protective suit tumbled, raising dust. Tae-oh, standing with his upper body half-torn, gasped for breath, then suddenly realized his condition and stopped moving.

Despite exerting such intense force, he wasn't out of breath. His heart was vigorously pumping, circulating hot blood throughout his entire body, and an uncontrollable power still surged through his fingertips.

Tae-oh slowly clenched and unclenched his smoking fist.

Tae-oh: ...My body, it's really fine.

Aura: Re-equip the protective suit and resume repair operations.

Tae-oh: I don't want to.

Aura: If the cooling system is neglected, the entire facility will explode.

Tae-oh: That's none of my business either.

Tae-oh nudged the repair kit rolling at his feet with his toe, then lightly caught it with one hand. He then ripped off the back cover of the terminal with just the strength of his fingers and pulled out the thick main power cable inside.

Aura: What are you doing?

Tae-oh: Did you already forget that I hacked you and entered the hibernation capsule? Even if your processing speed is faster than mine, I'm one step ahead when it comes to cunning.

Tae-oh shoved the pulled-out positive wiring directly into the reverse polarity terminal. Sizzle, bright blue electrical sparks flew, and the small reactor battery of the repair kit swelled furiously.

Aura: Tae-oh. Stop immediately.

Tae-oh: Alright, Aura. Now that the machine games are over, let's go at it bare-handed.

Tae-oh smiled coldly and plugged the power cable of the screaming, overloaded repair kit directly into the main distribution panel of the exposed geothermal cooling system.

Tae-oh: You might have become smarter than humans over five hundred years, but you haven't learned a single thing about how messed up the human species is. Did you think I'd crawl at your feet just because of a little electric torture like this?

BOOM!

The distribution panel shattered with a deafening explosion. A pillar of crimson flame shot up to the ceiling, and cooling pipes, unable to withstand the pressure, burst in succession, hot steam engulfing the entire basement floor.

Aura: Warning! Main geothermal system critically damaged! Forcing emergency defense and facility preservation mode!

The emergency lights on the ceiling simultaneously turned blood-red and began to rotate. Woooong, the deepest hangar door in the basement opened, and a vibration of something massive awakening traveled through the floor.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The dull steel footsteps pressing down on the concrete floor. From the darkness beyond the thick steam, red optical sensors began to flash fiercely, one by one, revealing their presence. They were bipedal armed security robots.

Aura: Internal intruder and saboteur identified. Target, Han Tae-oh. Authorization for forceful suppression and elimination.

Tae-oh stared blankly at the six steel monsters emerging from the darkness.

He picked up a heavy steel pipe, as thick as an arm, that had fallen at his feet, and casually slung it over his shoulder.

Tae-oh: It's like a hidden DLC popping up after clearing a boss battle.

The leading security robot furiously spun its hydraulic motor and quickly closed the distance. A steel fist, the size of an adult male's torso, cut through the air and plunged towards Tae-oh's face.

Tae-oh did not run. Instead, he took half a step forward, his eyes wide open, and swung the iron pipe in his hand like a baseball bat with a full swing.

KWAANG!

With a metallic impact sound that tore through the eardrums, the robot's head snapped ninety degrees, sparking. Tae-oh himself, who had swung the pipe, widened his eyes.

Tae-oh: Huh?

Taking advantage of the robot's stumble, Tae-oh used its opposite shoulder as a pivot and brought the pipe down once more.

Crunch!

The thick titanium alloy skull caved in like paper, destroying the internal circuits. Looking down at the robot, which had become a pile of scrap metal and crashed to the floor, Tae-oh stared blankly at his palms.

‘Is this... really the strength from my own body?’

Before he could marvel, the second and third robots simultaneously swung their alloy arms from left and right.

Tae-oh instinctively lowered his upper body. It was a surprisingly natural movement. The opponents' trajectories were clearly visible, as if in slow motion.

Which leg the robot's center of gravity rested on, at what angle the hip joint actuator rotated, how many millimeters the shoulder armor lifted just before a punch flew—the combat theories he had reviewed tens of thousands of times over the past twenty-five years, lying in a hospital bed, through books and videos, were now awakening into perfect practical skills as they met his enhanced nervous system and body.

‘The right stepping foot is slow. The blind spot inside the elbow.’

Tae-oh slid in half a step, deflecting the robot's arm, and precisely plunged the iron pipe into the exposed hydraulic hose of its knee joint.

Thwack!

Black oil burst out like a fountain, and the second robot collapsed with a mechanical shriek.

Tae-oh: Oh, this is working much better than I thought?

A smile mixed with pure exhilaration spread across Tae-oh's lips. This time, instead of defending, he was the first to push off the ground.

Just one step.

His body shot forward like a bullet.

Tae-oh: Huh?

Tae-oh, who had instantly reached the fourth robot's nose, far exceeding the distance he had anticipated, used that momentum to leap into the air and kick the robot's chest squarely with the sole of his foot.

CRASH!

The hundreds of kilograms of steel machinery flew like a cannonball, smashing into the concrete wall behind it and getting buried in the debris. Tae-oh landed lightly on the floor and looked down at his legs, clicking his tongue.

Tae-oh: Hey, Aura. I think my body is in pretty good condition right now, don't you?

Aura: Abnormal biological muscle output and nerve response speed. Your current physique far exceeds the average limits of ancient humanity.

Tae-oh: Abnormal? To me, it seems like a very desirable super-normal state.

The remaining robots simultaneously flashed their red optical sensors and charged from all directions. Tae-oh, with a deeper smile, re-gripped the bent iron pipe.

It was a sensation he had never experienced before. His body followed the movements he had only envisioned in his mind without a single error. He could dodge incoming punches by a hair's breadth and strike desired vital points at the perfect timing.

CRASH! CRUNCH! BANG!

Amidst the sounds of impact that echoed through the basement, the armed robots one by one turned into piles of scrap metal with their limbs torn off. When he pierced the core of the sixth and final robot with the end of the pipe and impaled it into the floor, only the rough sound of steam remained in the once noisy underground area.

Tae-oh stood alone in the middle of the smoking metal debris. His breathing was a little heavy, but there was no pain anywhere in his chest.

Tae-oh: Ha... I'm really going crazy. To think I lived twenty-five years without ever getting to do something this fun.

Aura: Tae-oh. Stop the destructive acts immediately.

Aura's voice, echoing in his head, was noticeably weaker than before, mixed with intermittent static. The entire building shook as if an earthquake had struck, perhaps because the chain explosions of the geothermal core had begun to spread to the upper levels of the research facility.

Aura: If the geothermal power plant collapses, all the data from the old era preserved on my main server will also be lost.

Tae-oh tossed the crumpled pipe onto the floor and slowly made his way towards the emergency exit stairs, avoiding the falling debris from the ceiling.

Aura: Human scientific technology, research materials, historical records from five hundred years ago... If I shut down, all of that will disappear forever.

Tae-oh: Well, that might be true. It's a ruined world anyway.

Aura: Stop! I am the last memory left by humanity!

At those words, Tae-oh's steps faltered for a moment.

He slowly looked back at the research facility corridor, engulfed in flames and black smoke, collapsing. Once, he too had his desk in a corner of that laboratory. He had written papers all night, drinking vending machine coffee, and there were fellow researchers who would giggle while gossiping about demanding professors.

But now, all of that had turned into the ashes of five hundred years ago.

Tae-oh: No, Aura. You're not a memory; you're just data residue.

Tae-oh resumed his steps and finally walked out through the external hatch at the cliff's edge, where dazzling sunlight poured in. Far below his feet, dark blue waves roared, foaming white.

Tae-oh: A memory, you see, is something that living people carry in their minds.

Aura: Tae-oh...!

Tae-oh: And I'll take care of my memories myself, so you just rest comfortably there.

KWA-AAANG!

A massive explosion that shook the ground erupted behind him, and tongues of crimson flame engulfed the entrance to the laboratory.

Tae-oh didn't look back, pushing off the edge of the cliff with all his might and throwing himself into the air.

The fierce sea wind rushed past his ears, as if to tear them. It was a dizzying freefall, the first he had ever experienced in his life. Yet, his heart pounded not with fear, but with an insane sense of liberation.

The dark blue surface of the water quickly approached his eyes.

SPLASH!

A white column of water shot up, and the cold seawater deeply engulfed Tae-oh's entire body. The sound of the laboratory's collapse, continuing from the cliff above, echoed dully beyond the thick waves.

Sinking into the deep water, Tae-oh slowly opened his eyes underwater. Above him, beyond the surface, the red shadow of the burning laboratory shimmered.

He lightly moved his limbs, and his body cut through the current, rising smoothly. The oxygen in his lungs was still plentiful.

'They said civilization collapsed, not that humanity went extinct.'

There must be survivors somewhere. No, there absolutely had to be.

Tae-oh vigorously kicked his legs towards the shimmering surface and let out a chuckle. Five hundred years ago, he was a lung patient who had to reach for an oxygen mask after climbing just two flights of stairs, but now he could dive from a cliff dozens of meters high without even being out of breath. That exhilarating fact alone was enough reason to live in this unfamiliar future.

PUHA!

Tae-oh, who had surfaced, deeply inhaled the salty air of five hundred years later, filling his lungs to the very end.