《I Am Just an Ordinary Office Worker》 Chapter 0 I, Lee Sung-han, am very busy every day. I sleep as much as I want, and if I look at the clock, I woke up 11am at the earliest I¡¯m currently lying down to digest my breakfast that I ate less than 30 minutes ago. In a while it will be time to eat again for lunch. After lunch, I browsed through the Internet a little bit. Before I knew it, it was already time to eat dinner after munching up some snacks. There are three or four TV programs I usually watch every day after dinner time. I usually don¡¯t want to miss out any parts of my favorite programs, in order to do so I would always do my things during the advertisement. ¡°Now that I¡¯ve finished dinner today, let¡¯s start my busy schedule!¡± I lay down on the sofa to watch TV in order to start my very busy night. ¡°Oh, my God, Sung-Han. you are just lying down and eating.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m also going to the bathroom.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t lie down, now!¡± ¡°Yes, Mom!¡± After shouting bravely, I got up and started watching TV while standing. Before I knew it, I was kicked out. I was standing because Mom told me not to lie down, but I still got kicked out. This was really absurd! I walk towards the playground near my house, sat on the swing, and sighing. I¡¯ll just have to wait a little longer until Mom cooled off her head. ¡°Woof!¡± As I was sitting on the swing blankly, a black dog approached me from afar. The dog, which was a little smaller than a big dog, has slim and long legs. He sniffed at my feet and soon fell flat in front of me. I patted his head gently as he was enjoying it. ¡°Sit down, lie down, lie down!¡± I have been training him for about a few months now. I threw stones with excitement and asked him to ¡°catch.¡± The stone rolled in a distance, while the dog ran toward the stone, wagging its tail. ¡°What are you doing?!¡± I heard a scream that was close to a sobbing. If I was near him, I would have thought I made him cry. I turned to my side to where the loud scream came from, and a man was shouting at me that I should come to his way quickly. ¡°Oh, this dog. Is that your dog?¡± ¡°That¡¯s absurd! That¡¯s a monster!¡± I almost felt sorry because I thought I asked someone else¡¯s dog to pick up rocks. ¡°Hurry up and come over here. This is very dangerous.¡± The man kept shouting out as if it was so urgent. Isn¡¯t it more dangerous to make a loud noise around monsters? I scratched my head and walked toward the man. ¡°I thought you were training your dog because it was so well-behaved, but it turned out to be a monters!¡± I was training him well, but I was interrupted by that man and my excitement was ruined. I could feel a dog coming back with th stone from afar, but I ignored the dog together with the man and walked toward my house. There seemed to be a man¡¯s screaming and a screeching sound coming from my back, but I just went home while rubbing my ear with my little finger. Chapter 1 About three years and six months ago, the world changed. Monsters and dungeons, commonly found in books and games, began to appear in the whole world. The Earth I new became an abyss, but as if to balance the world, some people began to gain power to go against these monsters. People called them, ¡®Players.¡¯ Players were able to move to a different world, called La Elta, through the randomly generated portals. Everyone who has been there talks with a common language. It was like a game world. Players said that you can level up after you receive the quest through the quest board and complete it. If you level up, you can improve your skills, and if you¡¯re lucky, you can learn skills. With that ability, the players could now go against monsters on Earth and began to attack dungeons. Player. Hunter. Awakened person. Words that people would usually read in fantasy novels. Many Koreans knows this fact very well. There were many debate that the ¡®Player¡¯ should be called in a much formal way, such as ¡®the awakened¡¯ or ¡®hunter¡¯, but the government decided to just use ¡®Player¡¯ because of the world La Elta, which was no different from playing games. In fact, the main goal was to encourage many people to complete the quest like a game. The more stronger players there are, the safer the world would be. However, in the case of Korea, many people took the situation too lightly and jumped into the game as if it was a really a game and died. Those who are familiar with fantasy novel jumped into the quest because they were the most excited. With ¡®La Elta Quest¡¯, players were able to choose the level of difficulty, but everyone chose the most difficult level, saying they would find hidden pieces like the main characters of fantasy novels and become the main characters of the world. Most of them died without breaking a single quest. Well, since there are a lot of players who survived, Korea now possess some of the strongest players around the world. I¡¯ve been scrolling around the Internet for the past few years, so I memorized this basic information. My current job is to surf the Internet and watch TV. What¡¯s the job that let me watch TV and browse the Internet? It¡¯s called being an Unemployed. * * * I am the second son of a very ordinary family in Korea. It was not a family full of unfortunate stories or suffering from poverty. I am very ordinary person in a very ordinary family and not a child of a wealthy one. As soon as I became twenty years old, I found it hard to continue studying, so instead of going to college, I immediately face society to earn money. I chose to do a part-time job because I didn¡¯t attend college and there were no companies that welcomed people who didn¡¯t have a single line of education in their resumes, also I wanted to save money before joining the army anyway. If I have a part-time job, I can add something to my resume after I¡¯m discharged. That¡¯s what I thought. Rather than Cafe, PC room, restaurant, etc. The reason why I chose to work at a convenience store at night, among various part-time jobs, was simple. The first reason is that the hourly wage was good. However, the real reason was that they rejected me even thought they were searching for part-timers. Sigh, it¡¯s not really a big salary, but got no choice. This is the only place that accepted me. Where am I supposed to start my career if I¡¯m rejected everywhere? Shortly after the evening shift, many office workers came even though it was late night. An office worker with dark circles, went down with his chin while paying. An office worker, who was in a call, bought a pack of cigarettes saying he¡¯s going to leave work soon because he took an overtime again today. Another office worker bought a hangover drink after a company dinner. Since this was a convenience store on the street where all kinds of small and medium-sized companies are nearby, I could see office workers suffering from overtime work and get-togethers every day. Still, I envy them. It¡¯s good to work overtime, so working as an office worker would be better than working at a convenience store at night. I sighed thinking about how I came to my current situation. I just finished eating my dinner. I thought I was going throw the cup noodles right inside the trash, but I spilled it all the soup in front of the trash can. I can¡¯t even afford to give myself a proper meal that cost 5,000 won($5). I would only eat something that cost around 1,000 won ($1). This was the real difference between an ordinary office worker and a part-timer. Office workers, who were being overpowered in their company, overpowers the ordinary people. When I came back after eating, the customers were angry, saying, they wasted time waiting for me to comeback. What a crappy life. At first, when I just started my part-time job, I was happy that I finally had some income. If I save up my money now, I would be able to invest in the future. I should go to bed right after this part-time job or should I spend some of my time studying right after work? Shall I learn English or Chinese? If I work 10 hours a day and sleep for 6 hours, I can spend 5 or 6 hours for future employment, except for washing and eating. But¡­ Even if I started planning right now, I know that I wouldn¡¯t be able to do it as I really hate studying. Right after returning home I lay down on my bed and slept. I fell asleep, saying that it was okay to rest. When I wake up, I would just play computer games, saying, ¡°I worked hard, so I will reward myself.¡± Then it was time to go to work again. Even though I know that every time I spend the day like this, it was just a continuos cycle with no visible progress. I was stressed out because of this fact, but I just lie down and played phone games to relieve my stress. Oh, what a crappy life. While lamenting and cursing, it was clear that I would eventually grab a cell phone laptop mouse instead of washing up myself and study. Am I the cause of this lethargic life, or was it this world? Thinking about this and that, the part-time job ended, and the day ended again like that. That¡¯s how my day used to end at the beginning of others¡¯ day. Looking at the phone screen, I walk across the road after checking that the traffic light for people turned green. And, just like that. I was hit by a car. The moment I realized that something hit me, my body was already floating in the air. The sense of being hit by a car came first rather than suffering through pain. At that moment, an idea in my head popped and questioned if it was a car that hit him or was it a bus or a truck. Usually in a novel when someone was hit by a bus or truck, something surprising happens. But I just found out later, the car that hit me was a very ordinary car. * * * Regardless of the type of car that hit me, the result was successful when it comes to transmigrating or fantasy elements. When I woke up, I was in an unknown world. Even the clothes I was wearing were jeans and leather, not white the t-shirts I was wearing before I was hit by a car. Sloppy leather clothes that I usually see in fantasy movies or games. At that moment, I thought, ¡°Did I come inside the game?¡± Also¡­ ¡°It¡¯s a relief that my clothes are not made of straws or glue.¡± At first I was extremely confused and wanted to go back. But gradually I got used to it. For the first 20 years, I trained my swordsmanship. I quickly strengthened myself to see if I possess a talent. When I reached a certain level, my body stopped aging and I continued to look like I was in my late 30s. For the next 10 years, I fought in the war and got the title of war hero. The next 10 years, I bought a large mansion in the village where I first opened his eyes, and remained inside. Most of the time, I either just train or find a way back to Earth. For the last 10 years, I traveled all over the country in order to beat monsters. Just like that, I became stronger than anyone else there, same as the usual transmigrator in a common fantasy novel. I still didn¡¯t know how to get back to Earth. Then one day, I lay down on the accomodations in an inn alone. I was feeling lonely. Somehow, all of a sudden, everything that I have done were in vain. I once dreamed of this kind of life while reading fantasy novels. But after few decades, this dream of mine disappeared from my mind. I don¡¯t know why I didn¡¯t know the importance of a normal life. I missed my family so much. I fell asleep while thinking about that. When I open my eyes. Ater 50 years of being in this world. I woke up back on Earth as if everything that happened in this past 50 years was just a dream. Chapter 2 ¡°Sung-Han!¡± ¡°Mom!¡± ¡°Sung-Han!¡± ¡°Mom!¡± I¡¯ve been in a coma for about three years. My mother held me for the first time in three years and cried, while the son, who have met her for the first time in 50 years, did not cry. Anyway, I shouldn¡¯t let out any cry. I¡¯m no longer the strong Swordmaster who lived like that for 50+ years, but I am now an ordinary man that got in coma at the age of 20 and woke up to be a normal young man who just turned 23. I may be at the sensitive age, and old enough to be led by my emotions. But I didn¡¯t cry anyway. ¡°Was it a dream?¡± I calculated my physical condition by clenching my fists. I don¡¯t think it was a dream. It doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s a dream or not. I¡¯ve regained my family and hometown after 50 years, and that¡¯s the most important. I will start going to be hardworking this time and take advantage of this opportunity. Really¡­ Unfortunately, my commitment did not last for week. When I returned to my normal life, I remembered how good it was to waste time living a normal life. My mother¡¯s expression, who was always patting me on my back when I woke up, changed her attitude a few months later as I was reading comic books while scratching my stomach and lying on the sofa. At first, I was told not to go out and avoid working, so I was just watching TV, meet my friends and go out for a walk. But after living my life like this, I got accustomed to it. The hand that used to comfort my back has now become more violent day by day and now my back long been transformed into a sand back since the second year of my unemployed life. (TL: sand bag but changed bag to back.) To be honest, I proudly say that my brother Lee Sung-hyun is responsible for this. Usually in fantasy novels, when the main character was in an accident and goes back to their own world, isn¡¯t their family usually in debt? They should have sold their house, sold their car, and owed money to save the main character in coma. Honestly, when I opened my eyes and got to know what was going on, I was a bit worried about what would my family¡¯s situation. The hospital bill for a coma patient who was in the hospital every day would be very expensive especially when three years had passed. This was main concern and out house wasn¡¯t very bad, but it wasn¡¯t very good. Like the main characters of other fantasy novels, I decided to quickly dispose of out debts and move my family to a good house. I decided to do my best and help my whole family live a comfortable life. I thought that maybe I should go into the private loan sharks¡¯ hideouts and destroy them all. But in my case¡­ I may have read too many novels. The ¡°home¡± that I went to after being discharged made me speechless in a different sense. ¡°Hey, aren¡¯t you going to our house? Where are we?¡± ¡°This is our house.¡± ¡°What? What are you talking about? We moved in at a rich man house? Is this our car, too?¡± ¡°This is my car, actually.¡± ¡°Hey, what about our debt? I thought we would be living on the street.¡± ¡°You¡­ did you have any weird dreams?¡± As far as I remember, our house was a small apartment. Suddenly, our house is now a detached house in the middle of Seoul, and has a wealthy family vibe. How can I believe that out of the blue? To the room they took me in and said it was my room was the size of the living room of our original house. I wish this was really my room. Oh, maybe I¡¯m still in a coma and this is just another dream. Lying on the bed with a smile, I closed my eyes. If it were a dream, I¡¯d like to spend more time with my family, but I realized the longer the time I spent alone, the more emptiness I¡¯d feel. I was happy to see my family even in my dream. Let¡¯s wake up quickly. I¡¯m gonna wake up and take my frustrations out towards the monsters! *** It wasn¡¯t a dream!!! My brother sat down in front of me and started explaining the changes the world faced while I was asleep. About half a year before I woke up, the world started to change. ¡°So players can travel on portals to places called La Elta.¡± ¡°La Elta? Do you know La Elta?¡± How did they know La Elta? La Elta was the name of the world I lived in for 50 years. ¡°Of course I know, I am a player, too. When all players first move, they move to La Elta¡¯s town of Veraford.¡± ¡°Veraford? That¡¯s where I was? My house is there, too.¡± My older brother patted my head with a very pitiful expression. His expression seemed to say, ¡®Yes, you¡¯ve really hurt your head,¡¯ so I closed my mouth. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but let¡¯s hear him out first. ¡°I may look like this, but I am actually a pretty good player.¡± Really? My brother look so weak. ¡°There is still no law in place that maintained players and monsters, but over the time, the authority of the player will rise and then we¡¯ll be able to live better.¡± What? Am I finally be able to become rich and unemployed? ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it from now on, just live comfortably.¡± A rich unemployed man! The life of a rich unemployed man is now in front of me! Of course, when I was in La Elta, I could have enjoy my unemployed life if I wanted to, but there was a huge difference between my unemployed life in the fantasy world near my Middle Ages and my unemployed life in Korea, where the Internet is full of fun and entertainment. I shouted ¡°Hurray!¡± My brother just smiled and stroked my head without knowing what I was thinking inside. So I¡¯ve been in a coma for three years. I enjoyed another a three-year unemployed life. In other words, six years have passed since I became an adult, but I still don¡¯t have a single line in my resume. Translator¡¯s Note: So the story is about a younger brother being spoiled by his older brother. I also want to have a relationship like that. *** At first, I thought about becoming a player, but it didn¡¯t work out as I planned. Shortly after waking up at coma, I checked the player¡¯s awakening and headed to the town office to get my ID. I was looking forward to see the building of ¡°Player Awakening Center¡±. It is said that within this building, people can check whether they are a Player or not. They are also the only place that issues identification cards for the Players to use when they go in La Elta. I am a man who has lived there for 50 years. Who else could be called a player other than me? Of course, I ran excitedly thinking that I would be able to enjoy a blessed life pretending to be a Generous player after receiving the result of being a top-rated player. (Translator: The word used was not generous but something related to being Unemployed but still receiving salary.) ¡°Lee Sung-Han is an ordinary person.¡± The staff at the district office in charge of the prosecution said with a forced smile. ¡°What? That can¡¯t be true.¡± ¡°Oh, I guess, I have too much Mana to be measured with Earth¡¯s instruments! Well, I guess I¡¯m SSS-class.¡± A look of disbelief appeard on the staff. Although she was smiling. The staff quickly began to explain about the instrument. ¡°The device does not measure the amount of Mana, but rather activates a person¡¯s status window. Of course, you can¡¯t see the details such as skills, but you can check the level or basic skills. The fact that Lee Sung-Han¡¯s information didn¡¯t come up means that the status window is not activated. Are you able to activate a status window?¡± ¡°A status window? How do you activate a status window?¡± ¡°You can say ¡®status window¡¯ thinking that you want to open a status window.¡± ¡°Status window. Status window! Status window!¡± ¡°¡¤¡¤¡¤¡± ¡°¡¤¡¤¡¤¡± And nothing happened. Having the staff lose interest in him, he was chased away from the office. ¡°Goodbye.¡± I left the office with an ID card for ordinary people. I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m a normal person. I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m a normal person! Does that mean that I would enjoy a real unemployed life where I spend all my money and enjoy my life without fulfilling duties or responsibilities?! Once again, I shouted ¡°Hurray.¡± Chapter 3 ¡°I thought you were given an S-level potential because you seemed confident about it.¡± As soon as his brother woke up, he was confident about having some powers awakened inside him. But he guessed there must be really something wrong to his little brother. ¡°Didn¡¯t you want to be a player in order to get rid of your unemployment?¡± Sung-Han did indeed wanted that to happen. Their mother believe that if they work, they would not get sick and live long, however, if they didn¡¯t work, they would become lethargic, depressed and have a short life. When Sung-Han finished the rehabilitation training in less than a month, which others would usually take months or years to finish, they heard the doctor¡¯s declaration that he had recovered. He even became healthier and stronger than an average man in his 20s, his mother asked the doctor immediately when he could start working. But Sung-Han responded with: ¡°I can live a long, live a long life just by eating, sleeping, and cheap activities.¡± As soon as he finished the sentence he was beaten on his back by his mom. Now, his back was a certified sand bag of his mom. ¡°Oh. If I am not fated to become a Player, I will become a writer.¡± ¡°¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤Writer?¡± His brother looked very unhappy, but Sung-Han just ignored it. Ever since he discovered the world of Novels he liked reading fantasy novels the most, and he happened to have a good plot for this story. His Fifty years in La Elta. Although the world has changed and fantasy has become no longer a fiction, fantasy novels are still popular and there were many novels based on La Elta¡¯s settings. Maybe he¡¯ll make a mark in the world of fantasy novels once he published it. ¡°Now, let¡¯s get started.¡± On the same day he declared to become a writer, he sat in front of his brother¡¯s computer and started typing. He names the main character Ian. Ian was the same name he used when he was in La Elta. He wanted to use his real name, Lee Sung-Han, but it was difficult to be pronounced by the people of La Elta, so he changed it to Lee Han (Ian) without the Sung in the middle. <> ¡®Why am I writing so fast? Is my talent actually writing novels?¡¯ He was excited by what was he doing that wrote many words for the first chapter posted it on a serial site. It was only after a month of serialization that he was convinced that he was talented. Gifted in writing chapter that confuses the readers. (Many plot holes.) The number of views of the first and second consecutive chapter was surprisingly high. There were as many comments as the views. ¨C Swing. ¨C Swing. ¨C 100 billionth -> 100 trillionth It has become the top chapter for the first time in the serialization platform. -Bad story. Don¡¯t bother. -It must have been written by an elementary school student. -No, no, my brother¡¯s an elementary student, and he writes better than that. -No good -It¡¯s not fun. -Don¡¯t waste your time and go see something else. From episode three, the number of views has decreased dramatically. There was only one comment on the chapter. [He¡¯s a terrible writer] ¡®I suppose. I¡¯m not good at writing. I¡¯m glad I know now.¡¯ He quietly buried his writings somewhere deep in his heart, apologizing to all the writers in the world. ¡®Let¡¯s give up on being a writer.¡¯ Chapter 4 (TL: back to 1st point of view.) Why aren¡¯t they calling me yet? What the hell is happening? I sent my resume to dozens of places, but I still didn¡¯t get a call. Maybe there¡¯s a problem with my cell phone. It is my first time holding one after nearly 50 years without any modern gadget. Maybe I¡¯m using it wrong! I borrowed my brother¡¯s phone and tried calling myself, turning it off and on. I thought of going to the repair center, but it was concluded that the cell phone was fine. Actually, I had a rough idea. It¡¯s not my phone that¡¯s not fine. It was my resume. I had already felt that it was wrong the moment I saw my brother¡¯s eyes, who just read my resume, change to the eyes with a look that can be described as: ¡°My brother, who hurt his head in an accident, had lost his ability to write.¡± No, but can¡¯t a place call me at least? ¡°They could have at least send me a text message to notify me about my failure!¡± ¡°They must have thought it was a resume put in by a kindergarten kid as a joke. I looked back at the sudden voice. My brother, who had just returned home, approached me with a ridiculous expression on his face. And he threw something to me as if it was insignificant. Business card? ¡°Would you like to have an interview here?¡± ¡°Player Laboratory¡± I stared at the business card for a few seconds and looked back at my brother. Did my brother bring a job for me? ¡°Brother, am I going to be unemployed now?¡± ¡°I am giving it to you to escape unemployment.¡± Lee Sung-Hyun ¡®Tsk¡¯ his tongue, speechless at his brother¡¯s reasoning. ¡°You won¡¯t get a part-time job with that resume you wrote. I¡¯m not backing you up. I¡¯m just giving you a chance to have an interview, so you have to do the rest well.¡± ¡°Yes, yes. I see. But in a lab? I¡¯m not good at research or science.¡± ¡°The name just possessed a ¡®lab¡¯ on it. But it¡¯s like a normal company.¡± ¡°When¡¯s the interview?¡± ¡°Today.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Get changed and come out. I¡¯ll take you right there.¡± I changed my clothes in a daze and got in the car. I blinked a few times and found myself in front of the research center. When I came to my senses, I was sitting in front of the interviewers. I can¡¯t believe my first interview was done like this in a lightning. I¡¯m touched. The interview went much simpler than I thought. Simple self-introduction and small questions about me. Next would be Full-fledged questions about La Elta. ¡°As you already know, the lab collects and studies information from La Elta and players. By doing this will give the players a better environment and have important information to make them feel safe.¡± I didn¡¯t know about this. I thought they would be dissecting monsters or doing research using science or cutting-edge technology based on the institute¡¯s name, but I guess it was not. ¡°Player cooperation is essential to study La Elta and players. They are well aware of their situations. There are virtually players looking to get a job in the lab.¡± ¡°Do you have any players employees?¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± Of course not. ¡°Instead, we cooperate with them. We have interviews with players from time to time, get information, and organize them. La Elta¡¯s quests vary every time, so you may think that information does not help them, but all quests share the same worldview, so by having information, completing each quest would become easier.¡± One interviewer added that I would be in charge of organizing interviews with the players. ¡°Well, then¡­ How much do you know about La Elta?¡± My eyes started glistening at that question. ¡°La Elta is a different world than Earth. Players can move through the portal.¡± The interviewers nodded in agreement. ¡°The first-time player to enter the portal wakes up in a town called Veraford. Anyway, Veraford is like a town the beginner if you play a game.¡± It was a simple knowledge of common sense, but it was information that those non-players might not know without having an interest in it. Still, the interviewers smiled because the candidate seemed to have prepared something. ¡°Veraford was a tiny town a few decades ago. A small village where residents spend their time farming and bartering. However, it has grown and flourished to the level of the city. The specialty products are corn and potatoes, but mana is rich and plenty, unlike the potatoes and corn of the earth. Oh. However, I don¡¯t know how much it changed now.¡± The interviewers¡¯ expressions hardened, but he didn¡¯t notice. The applicant, who had been giving the right answer initially, just started talking nonsense. Veraford was a small town? It might before, but how did he know that? He even talks like a man who had eaten potatoes, corn from there. Not even a player but like a normal person who lived ther. ¡°The current emperor of La Elta is Edward L. Alvaro, who ascended to the throne through the war decades ago, and if the emperor had not been replaced in the meantime, he would still be there.¡± I don¡¯t know how long La Elta has been since I returned to Earth, so it¡¯s a shame that I can¡¯t explain exactly how he was crowned as Emperor. In the meantime, the interviewers wrote in the applicant¡¯s comments, ¡°Buffon, or Dork.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough about La Elta, Lee Sung-Han. How much do you understand about quests?¡± One of the interviewers hurriedly stopped and asked the next question. ¡°Quest? Usually, like when you play games, you kill monsters, get experience, and level up. I heard that players have it a little different: one quest and one level. They start with level 0, and if they break one quest, you become level 1. If you break one more quest, you become level 2. Level 20 means you¡¯ve completed 20 quests.¡± I heard this part from my brother the other day, so I knew it well. Chapter 5 It would be quite uncomfortable if a person chooses a long-term quests and it was impossible to level up during the quest. ¡°I heard that the level of difficulty is more important to players than their level. From 1 to 10, the higher the number, the harder it is, and the less likely one is able to survive. Players can choose the difficulty level of each quest, but they were less likely to survive by choosing a higher level than their levels, so it¡¯s also important to choose the right difficulty level for the first quest.¡± ¡°That is accurate, so the lab analyzes level quests¡¯ by difficulty level, and when players first awaken, they look at their potential and start stats and so we recommend the most appropriate level of difficulty.¡± ¡°That would be very helpful. Among the players who were awakened in the early days when there was no information, those who didn¡¯t know and chose difficulty level 1 must have been regretting it.¡± When the applicant, who had been talking nonsense until just now, listed quite accurate information, he added, ¡°He still has some common sense¡± next to the comment he wrote, ¡°Buffon or Dork.¡± ¡°I heard that the more difficult the quest is, the greater the ability increase and the better the rewards.¡± ¡°Do you know what rewards are there?¡± ¡°It could be a weapon or a gold coin, but it could also be a skill.¡± It was all information that my brother gave me. I didn¡¯t know it would be worth it to ask questions until my brother was annoyed. ¡°Okay, Lee Sung-Han. Thank you for attending this interview. I¡¯ll text you later.¡± ¡°Thank you, goodbye.¡± After the interview, I went back to the parking lot where my brother was waiting for me. *** ¡°It seems like he was bluffing a lot, but it¡¯s good that he understand things that ordinary people don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it a problem that he is bluffing? It could be a big problem if ¡°his bravado¡± gets mixed up in the work of dealing with information.¡± The three interviewers, who just had an interview with Lee Sung-han, were discussing the interview. It is strange that an unexpected interview suddenly occurred, but the applicant did not seem particularly good. What the hell was with corn and potatoes? ¡°I¡¯m all for it. It¡¯s not bad to have one employee like this. He look passionate.¡± ¡°I disagree. What do you think?¡± The manager was only looking at the applicant¡¯s resume whether the other two shared their own opinions. A straightforward resume with no self-introduction pages and no history. He stared at it and answered. ¡°We have to hire him.¡± ¡°What? Really?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s Lee Sung-Hyun¡¯s brother.¡± ¡°What?¡± The two interviewers opened their eyes wide and looked at their resumes again as if they were surprised by the manager¡¯s remarks. ¡°The ¡®Lee Sung-Hyun¡¯ we know?¡± ¡°Yes, that same Lee Sung-hyun.¡± He¡¯s Lee Sung-Hyun¡¯s brother? Lee Sung Hyun. Lee Sung Sung. These are so similar that it is hard to deny they are brothers. ¡°The corn or sweet potato story sounds like nonsense to us. Maybe it¡¯s from his brother.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not sweet potatoes. It¡¯s potatoes, sir.¡± ¡°Call a player who can ask for cooperation and see if corn and sweet potatoes are Veraford specialties. Find out if it¡¯s really that delicious and rich in mana. Tell them to gather information about the current emperor if they can.¡± ¡°Okay, and it¡¯s not sweet potatoes. It¡¯s potatoes.¡± ¡°And text this guy to come to work next Monday.¡± The manager took his resume and got up first. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t make him have a face to face meeting with a player. Let hin organize the data or order him to do something simple first.¡± ¡°Are we giving him a special favor?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that? Whether he is a buffon or not, he is still Lee Sung-Hyun¡¯s bother. Maybe in the future we could interview his brother or a guild member later on.¡± * * * I hummed and went down to the underground parking lot where my brother was waiting for me because I thought I did a great job in the interview. ¡°How was your interview?¡± ¡°Oh, they only ask for simple questions that I know. I think it¡¯s going to work.¡± ¡°Really? That¡¯s a relief.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s have a pork belly party tonight to celebrate.¡± ¡°If you get good results.¡± I want to eat pork belly. Eat it with kimchi and mushrooms. With rice, too. It¡¯s best if I add less water for dessert and cook ramen. Ring. I just arrived home, and when I was getting out of the car, I heard an alarm sound on my cell phone. Text? Did I ever get a text message? I didn¡¯t have many friends in the first place, but it was hard to contact my friends who worked with me during the night. Maybe they are dead? Even after the accident, only one or two people came to visit me. I was a bit bitter because I thought that my relationship was only this much, but it would have been awkward to see each other again ¡¯cause I wouldn¡¯t know their faces after spending 5 decades in La Elta. Then it must be a spam. I checked the text with little thought. [From Player Lab, Hello, I¡¯m Kim Hye-young, in charge of recruiting at the Player Research Institute. You have finally been accepted as an intern at the Player Lab. I will send you the detailed schedule and explanation by email on my resume today. Thank you.] What? Really? I was bragging that I would be able to make it, but now that I really got a text message, I feel puzzled. Isn¡¯t too fast? Is it because of my brother? I guess so. I shoved my phone screen to my brother, who was turning off the car. ¡°Ta-da.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± It seems ridiculous that I was contacted less than an hour after my interview. I didn¡¯t care what my brother said after that. I was busy thinking of the pork belly party tonight! Chapter 6 The power of ¡¯employment¡¯ was great. My mother was so happy to hear that I would start working from next week to the point she grilled pork belly and octopus. I know my prospects of being employed are extremely good because of my brother¡¯s name value; everyone in the world knows my brother, yet no one knows me. So, who cares? I am no longer unemployed as of today! Oh, that¡¯s a bummer. When I¡¯m not working, I want to work; when I start working, I want to quit. ¡°I now want to leave the business even before my first day.¡± Unfortunately, the weekend vanished in an instant, and the first day of work arrived. I rode my bike to the office. I was planning to take the bus, but I changed my mind after discovering an old bicycle in the warehouse¡¯s corner. Bicycling takes 20 minutes. In any case, it¡¯s not that far. ¡°How come it¡¯s blocked there?¡± It¡¯s the road¡¯s entrance with a no-go sign. I can save my commute time by ten minutes if I use that street. Closing this road, of all things, had an impact on my calculated commuting time. I¡¯m not even sure why it¡¯s blocked. What will they do if children enter alone and without their parent¡¯s knowledge? Oh, don¡¯t kids nowadays go around alone? After I finished working, I should inquire with my brother as to why this road was closed. ¡°Oh. ¡°I¡¯m ready to go home.¡± I intend to return as soon as I arrive. I entered the lab after hanging my bike on the bike rack. I think I¡¯m a little nervous because it¡¯s my first day. I wasn¡¯t this nervous when I first went monster hunting. Why am I freaking out about my first day at work? ¡°Hello, my name is Lee Sung-Han, and I¡¯m working here for the first time.¡± ¡°Oh, Mr. Lee Sung-han. Hello. I¡¯ve been waiting for you. My name is Lee Ji-Hye.¡± When Lee Ji-Hye reached out her hand, I shook her hands lightly. ¡°There¡¯s usually an orientation for new employees, but Lee Sung-Han didn¡¯t come in the open, so I decided to give you a simple guide.¡± The interview was scheduled out of the blue. My brother must have pulled some strings behind. ¡°Here¡¯s the card key. You can take a picture in the lobby on the first floor after you are done. If you leave it at home, you can¡¯t come inside the building, so make sure to carry it with you.¡± ¡°What do I do if I accidentally leave it behind?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll talk to the staff over there, and they¡¯ll open it. But the self-identification process is a bit tricky, so it¡¯ll be inconvenient if you don¡¯t take it with you. We are quite strict with security.¡± I thought about it when I came to the interview, but the company was bigger than I thought. That means the whole nation is focusing on La Elta. ¡°You¡¯ll be working on the third floor from now on. I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be going anywhere else, but I¡¯ll let you know later if you¡¯re curious.¡± I went up to the third floor with Lee Ji-Hye. ¡°Toilet is this way. The pantry is over there. There are tea, coffee, and snacks, so look around the pantry room later. Do you smoke by any chance?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Fortunately, the smoking room is on the top floor. Some people want to quit smoking because it¡¯s cumbersome and takes a long time to get there.¡± It¡¯s just a lab. It¡¯s the same as a regular company. Dunnie, that¡¯s literally it. Lee Ji-Hye smiled and talked to people who were wearing formal costumes and tapping on the computer. ¡°Are you disappointed that you¡¯re not much different from the company when you said it was a research lab? Some people actually do research. Monster by-products, dungeon shards. The actual lab is on the seventh floor.¡± ¡°Is the seventh floor all lab?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s hard to meet people in the lab. The rush hour is a little different.¡± After that, I finished a simple company tour and was guided to my seat. The seats were clean, but there were piles of paper on one side. ¡°Do you see this? Based on interviews with players, I organized some of the things about La Elta and quests. You can organize these by category and make them into Excel files. You¡¯re good at Excel, right?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a basic framework, so you can just enter the information at the bottom.¡± Since I couldn¡¯t understand, they even opened the file and demonstrated it. ¡°It¡¯s simple. If you get used to your work later, you might have a chance to meet the player in person.¡± ¡°Do players come here or something?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like that, but I¡¯ll follow you when you interview me. Most of the time, you¡¯re out of town near a portal or dungeon, and you run into them.¡± ¡°Dungeon? Are we going to a dungeon?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll ever go. Even if I go, it¡¯s dangerous so that I won¡¯t go inside.¡± I¡¯m not worried. It¡¯s because I want to go. ¡°Some people come to the lab because they want to meet the players. I don¡¯t think you¡¯re that bad, but don¡¯t you want to meet him at least once?¡± We meet every day. At home I don¡¯t think other people know that my brother is a player. Only a few people with human resources know or something? I don¡¯t have a chance to see my superiors, and I don¡¯t have to worry about it. ¡°Have you ever met a player?¡± ¡°A few times, I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because I¡¯ve only met people with low levels or rankings, but I didn¡¯t feel that different from us. Will high-level and high-ranking people be different?¡± I don¡¯t know because you¡¯re the only player I¡¯ve met. ¡°If you have any questions, please call me. You can organize all the materials here this week, and it¡¯s the first week, so feel free.¡± Lee Ji-Hye returned to her seat after saying goodbye. I said hello to my co-workers sitting next to me and started to work. The work was simple, so there was nothing difficult, and when I started working, the time went by quickly. *** Chapter 7 I¡¯m not sure how else to phrase it. The Office life was more enjoyable than I had anticipated. I¡¯ve only ever seen the life of an office worker in novels. I don¡¯t believe that¡¯ll happen right now, but even if I work extra, I think I¡¯ll be able to applaud because it¡¯ll be the most insane overtime I¡¯ve ever heard of. Instead, make the most of your day at work. It took me less than a week to become bored of it. I¡¯d want to leave my current position. I¡¯m calling it quits. I¡¯m going to leave! I¡¯m quitting my job! ¡°Well, in two weeks, I¡¯m leaving.¡± Wow, I thought my heart was about to burst out of my chest. Another colleague on the same floor suggested resigning. ¡°What? All of a sudden?¡± ¡°Why are you quitting? Are you movin somewhere else?¡± Other employees rushed to ask questions. ¡°I¡¯ve come to my senses. I had good potential, so a guild immediately scouted me.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Wow, that¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve ever seen a player awaken.¡± Everyone was taken aback and offered their congrats. I really want to become a player. ¡°Status window.¡± I grumbled, but I couldn¡¯t see anything comparable, much less a status window. My desire to leave the company is still far away. No, I think I could be assessed as a player now. There could have been some errors back then. In the meanwhile, technology has advanced, so the status window no longer appears, but there may be a way to determine whether or not I am a player. In the past, people had to go to the post office or the town office to get a player inspection, but now there is also a player union. There would be technical development with that sort of progress! I snuck around searching or a nearby player union branch. Work is a 10-minute bike ride away. Why hadn¡¯t I realized it until now, when I was so close? I didn¡¯t even know it was just in the opposite direction from home. The Players Union-Awareness Test was open until quite late so that I could go after work. As soon as it was time to get off work, I left faster than anyone else and ran to the nearest players¡¯ union branch. I¡¯m happy the lab is a large corporation with a large facility. Wouldn¡¯t it be like a normal new employee who couldn¡¯t go home until the managers left work if it were a regular small and medium-sized company? I¡¯m not sure because I read it in a book. ¡°You are just a regular guy.¡± ¡°No way!¡± ¡°Now it¡¯s your turn.¡± The test, which I received after 30 minutes, the results were unchanged. I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m a regular human being! I can¡¯t believe I have to work in an office! This is unfair. Isn¡¯t it even 10 minutes longer than usual to get home and visit the lab? Even though it¡¯s the same routine every day, rolling around and playing isn¡¯t boring and fun for me, but I don¡¯t want to do anything because I¡¯m working. I¡¯m ready to give up! ¡°Sniff!¡± I heard a dog barking, while I was excitedly pedaling my bike, thinking about getting home quickly, eating something, and doing the dishes. Near my house, at the playground. The dog I saw a while ago approached me, wagging its tail. It¡¯s not a dog. It¡¯s a monster. He looks just like a dog. He acts cute and wags his tail. That¡¯s a dog. ¡°Hi?¡± ¡°Sniff.¡± ¡°What about hello then?¡± ¡°Sniff!¡± I¡¯ve never heard of a player dying around here, so he must be kind. By the way, this dog was still roaming free without being caught. Players can instinctively tell it¡¯s a monster when they see it. Ordinary people determine if a creature is a monster only based on its look. If you don¡¯t look closely, it look just like a dog, so it hasn¡¯t been reported. I expected a player to report it. ¡°Sniff!¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah. Good boy.¡± I strokes its head and lies flat on the floor again. Isn¡¯t he cute? I wish I could catch a monster without paying attention to the status window or player license. Then I could tell my mom that my job is to play at home and sometimes play dungeons. Regrettably, ordinary people who do not have player licenses are prohibited by law to catch monsters so that they do not die while trying to catch monsters. There is no consideration for Iregulars like myself. ¡°Sniff!¡± Blackie behaves as though he understood what I¡¯m saying. Who is Blackie? It¡¯s this dog¡¯s name, after all. It¡¯s something I made up. I can¡¯t keep calling him a dog. ¡°Blackie.¡± ¡°Sniff.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get going.¡± I¡¯m not sure if he understands what I¡¯m saying, but Blackie followed me to my house. Ordinary people are not allowed to capture monsters, according to the law. There are no limitations on raising monsters. So far, of course. ¡°I¡¯ve returned.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve arrived. Go wash up and eat¡­¡± When she spotted the black dog following me, my mother, who had turned around to greet me, shouted. Don¡¯t tell me she knows it is a monster. ¡°The floor is dirty!¡± Sigh. False alarm ¡°You said you would be late but why bring a dog with you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to start aising him today. His name is Blackie.¡± ¡°No, the home will be dirty.¡± ¡°I can raise them in the yard. Now the yard is spacious.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s going to take care of the dog? Wash it, potty train it and take care of its food. Will you do it? No! I¡¯ll do it.¡± How comes she know I will not do it? But I can¡¯t say it in this situation. ¡°If Blackie goes out, I¡¯ll go out, too!¡± And we were kicked out together. *** Chapter 8 I was kicked out of the house, but I couldn¡¯t give up on Blackie. ¡°Normal people shouldn¡¯t attack monsters, but there¡¯s no law against raising them.¡± ¡°Sniff!¡± ¡°There¡¯s no law that says monsters shouldn¡¯t attack monsters. Do you understand, Blackie?¡± ¡°Sniff!¡± It doesn¡¯t seem to understand. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it work if I raised you well and used you for hunting monsters? The best way is really to raise you.¡± In fact, I know that raising monsters to hunt monsters is hard to come by. Players with taming skills are rare. If the public raised it, there would still be some regulations. Still, if I send him out, he will be caught by a player and killed one day. I have a player in my house, but I¡¯m confident that I won¡¯t get caught by my brother. I haven¡¯t seen my brother go to the backyard in years. If I set a minimal boundary, he won¡¯t be able to feel the blackie¡¯s monster aura even if he is just right around the corner. I hid Blackie in the back of the yard and went back home. If Blackie leaves the house because he doesn¡¯t behave, it can¡¯t be helped. Just in case, I made sure to prevent my family from being attacked. There won¡¯t be a Blackie attacking people. It was not until my mother opened the door of our house that I spotted a black shadow going out from the backyard. Sad. * * * Today is the day I will go to work. I don¡¯t really want to go to work. I want to quit my job. The pedals feel heavier than usual. ¡°Let¡¯s just go that way.¡± Restricted area. When I asked my brother, he said it was a closed area because it was the area where monsters appeared before. Since there are so many alleys like that, the country cannot manage them all, and I heard that most of them are actually managed by guilds. All they have to do is put ¡®Restricted¡¯ signs in such places. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s going to be dangerous, it¡¯s going to be okay.¡± If I arrive 10 minutes early, I¡¯ll need to buy a cup of coffee. In horror movies, the person who tells you not to do it dies first. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be fine because I¡¯m confident that I¡¯ll survive even if earth suddenly collapsed. ¡°ARGHHH!¡± People? And monsters. A player was confronting a monster the size of a two-story building. Is there a confrontation? He¡¯s going to die like that. Should I help him? I don¡¯t want to get involved in those things. I might be late for work. If they see my face, I¡¯ll get caught up in something annoying. After thinking for a while, I saw a black plastic bag hanging on the bicycle handle. A plastic bag of convenience store sandwiches and banana-flavored milk that I bought for lunch. * * * South Korea is famous for having many of the world¡¯s highest-class players. Of course, the guilds competing for first and second place in the world belong to South Korea. The Hero Guild and the Transcendental Guild. In fact, all players know that the Hero guild is at the top of the list, while the words ¡°competing for first and second place¡± are just words of comfort toward the Transcendental Guild. But that doesn¡¯t mean that the 2nd placers, Transcendental Guild, are losers. Kim Han-bi is a C-Rated player, but she was not just an ordinary C-level player. She¡¯s a member of the Transcendental Guild. Even her friend, a B-Rated player, even envies her just because she is part of the Transcendental Guild. But of course, she can¡¯t even show her business card in front of the Hero guild member. ¡°There¡¯s a rumor that the Hero Guild¡¯s Top Heroes lives around here. Is it true?¡± Patrolling the restricted area reminded her of something she heard before. Someone saw the Hero Guild Leader and Vice-Leader passing by here the other day. ¡°Uh, Hero guild or whatever. Let¡¯s just take a quick look around.¡± ¡®I know it¡¯s safe to patrol alone, but I¡¯m worried for no reason.¡¯ Before, her stupid partner was attacked by a Hound-type monster around here. Fortunately, he wasn¡¯t seriously injured. He was fine. Since it was embarrassing to be bitten by a monster that looks just like a dog, they kept it a secret from the guild and went to the hospital today secretly. That means there might be a monster around here that looks like a dog, but it was left alone. A monster that looks like a dog. ¡°Grrr¡­¡± Suddenly, the strange sound from the background gave her goosebumps. ¡®Don¡¯t tell me, the real dog monster will show up?¡¯ The moment she looked back because she was anxious. She thought she¡¯d rather see a dog monster. ¡°Oh, my god! What a Big Moster!¡± She turned her body around in a hurry. ¡°I have to run!¡± ¡®Should I ask the guild for support first? No, what¡¯s the point of asking for support? I would have been dead by then. All of a sudden, a big monster? In an alleyway like this?¡¯ Large monsters are said to appear along the radars made by the institute. And most large monsters usually appear around the portals. It was only recently that abnormal monsters appeared outside the portals. ¡®But why all of a sudden? Today! Where I am! Am I really unlucky?¡¯ I am dead. I am dead. I am dead! I will soon die as a food for monster. ¡°Ugh, argh, argh, argh, argh!¡± As soon as she looked back, she closed her eyes as she saw a large monster was preparing to attack her. Die. ¡®Pooh-!¡¯ Am I dead? Chapter 9 I didn¡¯t feel any pain. I guess I didn¡¯t feel anything because I was beaten to death? Did I become a ghost? She opened her eyes that she had closed. And I was astonished by the immediate situation. A shattered monster. A man in a suit is standing in front of her, shaking his hands. ¡°This¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.¡° Did that man attack the monster? He¡¯s not even holding any weapons. Puck! She heard something hit her when opened her eyes in less than this second, a man had knocked down a monster with his bare hands. No way. In Korea. No, anywhere in the world. She had never seen a player who can break a big monster into pieces with just his fist. If one or two such players existed, the monster¡¯s population would be half of the current one. Kim Han-bi turned her head toward the man who created this mess. Somehow, the man, wearing a black plastic bag over his head, was riding on a bicycle, and just brushed off his suit. ¡°Oh, why it is so bloody. The blood doesn¡¯t come off easily.¡± ¡°Hey¡­¡± Whether he heard her or not, the man just rubbed the blood on the bicycle with his index finger and turned his head towards the voice who called him. Of course, what Kim Han-bi faced was not a face with eyes, nose, and mouth, but a black plastic bag. ¡®How did you get rid of the monsters? Did you know the monster would show up? Is the one you just used a skill? Why are you wearing a plastic bag?¡¯ All kinds of questions lingered in her head, but there was only one question that came out from her mouth. ¡°Who are you?¡± The man in the plastic bag answered Kim Han-bi¡¯s question refreshingly. ¡°I¡¯m an office worker.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I¡¯m an ordinary office worker.¡± At the end of that remark, she had no choice but to stare blankly at the man wearing a plastic bag while pedaling his bike away. What the hell? It¡¯s been three and a half years since the monster first appeared, but the rules regarding monsters and players are very strange. Ordinary people should not attack monsters. Even when the monster attacked you or someone else. In the early days of the monster¡¯s appearance, people attack monsters, saying that this would make him a player but in result they were beaten to death. This law was created by the frequent occurrence of one to two or more deaths while rushing to help others instead of running away from them. If they attack, they¡¯ll die, so don¡¯t deal with it and running away is the number one priority. ¡°Why is the system is not appearing for me, who has built up powers for decades during the times I was in coma?¡± Sung-Han don¡®t know if there¡¯s anyone else besides him. ¡°I hoped the law could be considerate to someone like me, so I could catch some monsters. Sigh. I shouldn¡¯t have put a hole in my plastic bag.¡± While wearing the plastic bag inside out, he noticed two holes in the plastic bag. Sandwiches and milk won¡¯t come out through the hole, but it bothers him. ¡®Oh, I want to change my bike.¡¯ There¡¯s blood splattered all over it. Isn¡¯t that enough excuse to ask for a new bike? ¡®But what if my brother asks why there is blood-splattered? Why is the salary at the lab so low? If I sell Monster by-products from a while ago, I could buy a bike. To do that, I had to wait until the processing team came, and I had to show my player ID card, but I can only go away because I didn¡¯t have it. That player is so lucky.¡¯ He grumbled and headed to work. In this world, no one would find anyone who covers their face that clearly shouts, ¡°I don¡¯t want to reveal who I am.¡± ¡®I saved her life, I gave her the monster, She should be grateful for it.¡¯ * * * ¡°We must find him!¡± Kim Han-bi shouted, hitting the desk. What are you going to do after you have found him? I¡¯m sure he already belongs to somewhere else.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anyone like that!¡± ¡°I heard he was covering his face. How will you find him?¡± ¡°No, well¡­ Isn¡¯t it suspicious that he was covering his face? Isn¡¯t it like he don¡®t want to show himself? Like a reclusive master.¡± Such a reclusive master may not belong to any guild. ¡°Come on, and let¡¯s get him.¡± Kim Han-bi insisted hard. ¡°Covering his face is, uh, yeah. Isn¡¯t it because she is not wearing makeup?¡± ¡°It was a man.¡± ¡°Then he must have had a pimple the size of an eyeball. Just don¡¯t mind him.¡± When Han Kyo-Reh, the leader of his group, did not listen to her seriously, she grumbled in frustration. She explained the situation, but the only thing she got was the disciplinary action she and her partner took for acting alone without permission. ¡°To be honest with you, that¡¯s my opinion. You were so surprised and scared that you didn¡¯t really understand the situation, and it would have been a few minutes of fighting, not just one shot.¡± ¡°Not really!¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s enough. The guy you saw. Don¡¯t you think he is the Hero.¡° ¡°Lee Sung-Hyun player?¡± ¡°Oh, didn¡¯t you hear the rumor? Rumor has it that he lived near there. That¡¯s not really a rumor. I¡¯m serious. He really lives less than five minutes away from there. ¡° ¡°What? Really?¡± It makes sense by listening to it. She had never heard of a player who could fight a big monster one on one. But if it¡¯s Lee Sung-Hyun¡­ ¡°But¡­ even if he is Lee Sung-Hyun, it¡¯s hard to knock down a big monster alone¡­¡± ¡°How well do we know our world No. 1 performance? In the meantime, I guess you¡¯ve learned how to eat alone.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Yeah, this makes sense. But why did she feel uncomfortable? Something¡­ seems to be missing. ¡°Whether he is Lee Sung-Hyun or not, I¡¯m sure he knocked down the monster without any skills.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah. Let¡¯s say so. Get some rest. You must be surprised.¡± He didn¡¯t seem to believe her. Of course, he didn¡¯t believe it. If a player won without skills, it means he won by fighting with pure stat figures. It¡¯s not even a normal monster. It was a big monster. As she kept thinking about it, she wondered if what she saw earlier was really true. Maybe she was under a delusion created by her. ¡°Let¡¯s take this opportunity to take a few days off.¡± It won¡¯t be a big deal. *** Chapter 10 I just graduated from College, praise me guys! *** A month has passed since I joined the Player Lab. When players catch monsters or target dungeons, they write a report. Some players spent some time catching monsters or attacking dungeons. After they defeated the monsters, they need to write what they looked like and what patterns of behavior it showed as they attack them. And so on. When such a report is given to the company, it will be organized and handed it over to other employees or me. Then I¡¯ll organize the data into Excel files and check it out. The next thing to do is post the information on LaElta.com. LaElta.com is a website accessible to all players around the world. It is a place where you can see various monsters, dungeons, and information about La Elta quest. Only people with Player credentials can have IDs and access the website, same as those working in the lab that deals with the information of La Elta so there are IDs specifically for lab staff. Although some part of the website are restricted access to the employees. Still, the amount of information that players can access varies depending on their level or rank. This is a huge benefit to the employees considering that they could access most of the information except for the restricted ones. That¡¯s why ordinary people who want to be players are desperate wanting to get a job in a research institute even though the salary is quite low. But unlike them, I¡¯m desperate to quit my job. Originally, all I had to do was organize the data. Access to LaElta.com is usually given after two years of employment. But once I woke up to become a player, I will need someone to fill in my position. They would be honored to be chosen by me. Everyone congratulated me on the opportunity, but I started disliking it because of the increased work. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± I went into the website to upload the data organized with Excel, but the status of the registered information was zero. The data must have been sloppily done. When multiple cases of the same monster are received, it will be converted into statistics regarding on how the players handled it and then suggest weak points or ways to target it. I don¡¯t know if the players submitted the wrong report because they were incompetent or if the lab was incompetent and the data was not organized. Are their really trying to help the players with this low intelligence research center? ¡°Mr. Lee Sung-han.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± ¡°Are you okay? Why are you surprised?¡± I was revising the information on the site without permission, but I was surprised to hear someone calling me all of a sudden. ¡°You know there¡¯s an outside learning this afternoon, right?¡± ¡°Yes, we are going to see the portal.¡± ¡°Learning, not sightseeing. We can get together right after lunch in the lobby on the first floor and come out there.¡± Likewise, outdoor learnings, which is only looking at portals or dungeons, is not beneficial for an employee who have only joined the company a month ago. However, I was in charge of recording information on LaElta.com and the outdoor learning was quickly decided, saying, ¡°All the employees need to know how portals and dungeons are managed.¡± It¡¯s not something I get to learn alone, but I¡¯m going with other employees who joined more than half a year earlier than me. I don¡¯t think I know anyone because they work on other floors. It¡¯s annoying to go there, but it¡¯s better than just staring at the monitor. I feel like I am going out to play. This is how I see portals that everyone else can¡¯t go into. Don¡¯t blind monsters pop out on their way somewhere? I had a simple lunch and started playing a game on my mobile phone, so an hour went by quickly. I went down to the lobby on time, and there were already few people waiting. After five more minutes, everyone gathered and got on the minibus together. There are more people than I thought. ¡°First of all, let me explain our schedule briefly. We will go to the portal in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province.¡± I can¡¯t believe we¡¯re going to Suwon. ¡°You might be asking ¡®there are many portals in Seoul, but why are we going to Suwon?¡¯ This is because Suwon Portal is the least frequently used portal in the metropolitan area.¡± ¡°Then shouldn¡¯t we go to the Seoul Portal?¡± I want to see other players, this was also what the other employees wanted. Shaking hands with a player doesn¡¯t interest me much, but I am curious what makes them amazing? But it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t meet players often. Going around in the middle of Seoul, I would meet players on the road. What I want to want to see are the famous high-ranking players. I can take a picture and show it off on SNS with all kinds of hashtags. ¡°We¡¯re going to Suwon Portal.¡± The leader spoke emphatically. ¡°As you know, portals and dungeons are managed by the players¡¯ union. The players¡¯ union is a public institution like the lab, so they¡¯re one organization. Today, we¡¯re going to have time to find out how portals are managed and what they actually look like. Most of you here already know how portals are managed. But there¡¯s a big difference between what you know only with your head and what you actually see.¡± We won¡¯t be able to meet the players, but everyone seemed quite excited. Is the portal so fascinating? The minibus stopped until it reached the middle of a mountain in Suwon. The surroundings were empty, and a small booth lay there. The maintenance booth is so small that the maintenance worker who gives the ticket was sitting alone. After that, wired fence was seen. It looks like a player could sneak in if he wants to, but it seems like they don¡¯t really care. Having to be stuck in a small space for a long time every day on the Suwon Portal, where players do not frequently go to, he must be delighted to see several visitors. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Park Sung-Joong, in charge of managing the Suwon portal.¡± ¡°Hello.¡± Chapter 11 After a brief greeting, Park Sung-Joong began explaining how the portal and its management progressed. Before players can enter the portal, they must present their ID and fill out some form that they have used the portal to go in La Elta. The same process is done after they came out the portal. Players can select any portal to enter, however, if they want to return to their world, the players must return with the portal they came in. With the forms that the players have filled out, the management will be able to find out who are stuck on their quest inside La Elta. By managing the portal in this way they will be able to catch unregistered players. Those who try to sneak in without presenting their ID, which is legally mandatory, are more likely to commit crimes both large and small. ¡°Not all portals and dungeons are under control, of course. They appear all of a sudden, and sometimes the portal also disappears.¡± Park Sung-Joong tried to explain in detail with layman terms, however, whether he explained it or not, everyone had a look that said, ¡°Never mind the explanation, just show me the portal.¡± I¡¯m sure my expression isn¡¯t that different. ¡°Come on, then come this way.¡± When Park Sung-Joong opened the wire door, everyone lined up to enter. Contrary to expectations, the inside is¡­ ¡®A crap.¡¯ Just a black portal within an empty space. It¡¯s not like there¡¯s light coming out or anything fancy. The portal was black and round. In was levitating like a blackhole ready to swallow everything. In front, there¡¯s only a cemented circle that looks like only three people can stand in properly. Other people also became very calm about the portal¡¯s appearance that didn¡¯t meet expectations. ¡°Only players can go inside through the portal, ordinary people can¡¯t go inside. Like this.¡± Park Sung-Joong tried to go in but he couldn¡¯t. It was like there was a shield that prevented him from entering. ¡°When I try to get in, I get stuck like this. Whenever ordinary people try to go in, it may seem like a transparent membrane has surrounded the portal.¡± Everyone approached the portal at Park Sung-Joong¡¯s explanation, each of them tried and touch and press the membrane surrounding the portal. There are people who are amazed by that, and there are people who became sad that they can¡¯t go inside the portal. I didn¡¯t follow the others and remain standing from a distance, but I was still noticed by Park Sung-Joong. ¡°Why are you there alone? Come here and try it.¡± What? Me? Looking closely, the portal looked bigger and less attractive than I thought. It looks like black paint splashed, but this is what connected Earth to La Elta. It¡¯s ridiculous. When I was in La Elta, I saw several warp gates and sometimes used them. I remember that they were magnificent and cool. That¡¯s the extent of warp gates that can travel between regions, shouldn¡¯t portals be more spectacular if they connect two different world? Of course, lamenting won¡¯t improve anything. I reached out to the portal without thinking, however, my hands wasn¡¯t even blocked like the others. Then, should I be blocked if I went inside a little bit more? The moment I thought so. It got very dark in front of me. I couldn¡¯t even think about anything and suddenly everything in front of me was black. After a while, my view cleared up and the scenery has changed. It was not in the mountains somewhere in Suwon where I came from earlier. I was in a different world. A world where I spent more than 50 years, longer than the time I spent in Earth. La Elta. Specifically, It was the town of Veraford. * * * ¡°An ordinary person went inside the portal!¡± ¡°Does it make sense? How do ordinary people get inside the portal?¡± ¡°Did he awaken?¡± ¡°Really? Why didn¡¯t he said that he awakened? Wow, a newbie!¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not the time to celebrate about this. We will lose our new recruits!¡± Immediately after Lee Sung-han went to La Elta, the people who witnessed what happened to Suwon Portal was in chaos. At first, they were stunned at the fact that a person they came with could enter the portal, but after witnessing how he went inside the portal with their own eyes, they started clamoring in chaos. Of course, the most affected was Park Sung-Joong, their guide and the portal manager. When Lee Sung-Han disappeared in the portal, he was the same as the people that remained but as soon as he went inside he called someone. ¡°No, I¡¯m taking an outdoor leanng today, and one of the student went unside the portal¡­ No, it¡¯s not that. Awakened? No, no. It¡¯s¡­ ¡°Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Wait, I need to record before I forget it. Records ¡¤¡¤¡¤ 15:42. Uh, uh, what¡¯s the name of the person who just went inside the portal?¡± There has never been such a mess. As the chaos remained in the portal of the montainuos Suwon, a young man came out of the portal confused. In front of the portal, Lee Sung-han blinked his eyes at the confusion. ¡°Oh, you are back already? You must have chosen a level 0 quest to finish it quickly.¡± Park Sung-Joong approached Lee Sung-han. But before he could finish his sentence, Lee Sung-han stepped back out of the portal and entered the portal again. ¡°No, if you go back in, you¡¯ll have to do another quest!¡± With the disappearance of Lee Sung-Han again, the place that had became quiet for a while, became noisy again. There was more commotion than just before. Once a person go back to La Elta, they must complete La Elta quest more than once before you can return. But as soon as he return to Earth, he actually wanted go back to La Elta? ¡°You have to complete a quest in order to get out!¡± Park Sung-Joong¡¯s voice echoed, but Lee Sung-han, who had already left, did not answer. Chapter 12 I closed my eyes and slowly opened them again. This was really Veraford. Many things have changed over the years, but I am certain that this was the same Veraford. What the hell is happening? They said that I¡¯m not a player. They said that I can¡¯t use portal unless I am a player! ¡°Status window.¡± Still, the status window didn¡¯t pop up. Didn¡¯t I said it before? I was really a player. I¡¯m really sure that I¡¯m a player even if the status window don¡¯t show up If I can go to La Elta through the portal, that¡¯s I¡¯m a player, right? Am I wrong? ¡°Could I get a player license and formally be a player?¡± My dream of leaving the company will finally come true! But if I want to leave the company, I should first return to Earth. The portal from Earth to La Elta does not change its place once it is created, but the portal from La Elta does. I heard that a portal will be created right in front of the player when they think of ¡°I hope to return home¡± after meeting the conditions for their return. The condition to return home is to clear a quest at least once. So after completing a quest I could go back. ¡°I¡¯m want to go home. To Earth!¡± Is that how it works? I just organized my thoughts and looked in front. There was a black portal right in front that looked just like the portal he just came from. ¡°What? Why do did this appear? I didn¡¯t even complete a quest.¡± Did I do something wrong? Don¡¯t tell me there¡¯s a problem. However, It¡¯s not worth it for my brains to ponder about it. I quickly went to the portal. Just like when I first came to La Elta, the view changed after darkening within a very short moment. The familiar faces were buzzing and I could see that they had become quiet in an instant. ¡°Oh, you are back already? You must have chosen a level 0 quest to finish it quickly.¡± I heard the manager of Suwon Portal saying, but I didn¡¯t care. What if this is just a one-time coincidence? Let me check it again. ¡°No, if you go back in, you¡¯ll have to do another quest!¡± Ignoring the voice behind, I am standing on Veraford again. ¡°I can go back and forth between La Elta and Earth without clearing a quest?¡± That¡¯s awesome! It¡¯s annoying to complete the quest just to return, there are those people who are stuck in La Elta because they haven¡¯t completed their quest yet. My situation is good. The fifty years I spent in La Elta was equivalent to three years on Earth. It¡¯s strange that the time ratio wasn¡¯t right, but I don¡¯t really care. I was hit by a car and went to this world, and when I woke up from the coma, everyone could go here back and forth, the time ratio are balanced too. Initially I thought the time ratio was about 15:1, but when I asked my brother, the time ratio between La Elta and Earth is 1:1. I spent 50 years in La Elta and suddenly returned back to Earth on the 51st year. I haven¡¯t calculated the exact date, but I think it was about 50 and half more years. So what if 50 years have passed in La Elta for the first two years and six months on Earth? Then the time ratio would be exactly 20:1. After that, for some reason, the Earth and La Elta were connected. Monsters appear on Earth and players can enter La Elta. To balance it out time ratio must have become 1:1. That¡¯s why it¡¯s been half a year since the Earth and La Elta were connected. If I stayed in Veraford for another half a year, I might have met other players or even my brother. At that time, I was so excited to catch monsters far away from Verapod that I couldn¡¯t see all this change. Of course, all of this are just hypothesis. [TL: Surprised that he didn¡¯t get lazy using his brain.] ¡°I¡¯m not a god, so I don¡¯t know everything.¡± One thing is certain about returning to La Elta today. The ratio of time between the two dimensions is not the only thing that influenced the connection between Earth and La Elta. It also affected me. I¡¯m not sure how much changes have happened, but I don¡¯t have a status window yet I could freely use the portal. Why haven¡¯t the status window appeared in front of me yet? I want to be a player. ¡°Should I go back because people are still waiting outside?¡± No, maybe I should complete a quest for the time being. Let those people wait for more hours. Theoretically, portal could whenever I desired it, but they are limited when the Earth¡¯s portal has access. I can move between La Elta and Earth through the portal, but I still don¡¯t any status window appearing in front of me. I am in between a player and not. In the future, It may be difficult to come back here. Then, before I return, I should stop by somewhere. My Mansion in Veraford. The mansion I own is the second largest building in Veraford after the Town¡¯s Castle. If I put my mind to it, I had the power and wealth to build bigger than Town¡¯s Castle, but I still need to give face to the lord even If don¡¯t know him, also, I am satisfied with building a big mansion. Back then, the only big building was Town¡¯s Castle and my mansion, but now Veraford has changed a lot. Large buildings have been built, and it has become closer to being city than to the village. Come to think of it, when was the last time I stopped by Veraford? As soon as the mansion was built after the war, I remained in Veraford for 10 years. Then, I left the mansion to the butlers and servant. I spent 10 and half years to beat monsters, then I went back to Earth and spend there another 3 years. Am I coming back after 14 years? The tip of my nose tickled somehow when I imagined the butler and the servants, who I hadn¡¯t seen in a long time, surprised and happy to see me. They better be surprised! I ran straight to the mansion and knocked on the door. While waiting for someone to come out, I fixed my clothes for no reason. I was wearing a T-shirt and pants, I can¡¯t even afford to buy new clothes because I didn¡¯t have any silver, let alone gold. ¡°Who are you?¡± After knocking on the door and waiting for a few seconds, the big door opened. It was the butler who opened door. Although he had a lot of gray hair and he had aged, it was definitely my butler. ¡°Surprise!¡± Oh, he may not recognize me. ¡°I¡¯m Ian!¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯re here?¡± I was really looking forward to his response like ¡°Gasp, Ian!¡±. What a dry reaction! This makes me feel even more awkward. ¡°Oh, oh, it¡¯s been a while.¡± I went inside scratching my head in awkwardness. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re here, Ian.¡± ¡°Are you here?¡± ¡°You¡¯re here. Long time no see. Chapter 13 ¡°Oh, you¡¯re here, Ian.¡± ¡°You¡¯re back?¡± ¡°You¡¯re here. Long time no see.¡± As I walked behind the butler, the servants, who were passing by, greeted me as if they were seeing someone they just met yesterday and met again today. I left for 14 years but they don¡¯t even seemed to be glad about my return. I¡¯m about to get a little upset. ¡°Aren¡¯t you glad to see me after a long time?¡± As soon as I entered the room and sat down, I suddenly asked the butler. The butler was confused at what he meant. ¡°Didn¡¯t you always show your face every few years?¡± ¡°Did I?¡± ¡°Yes, you eat in an underground training center, and sleep. Also coming out once every three years. Even after leaving the mansion to fight monsters, you would return after many years. When Mary went to check you on the underground she didn¡¯t see you there, and that¡¯s when we knew you went to siege monsters.¡± ¡°Mary?¡± ¡°Yes. One day, she suddenly came to me and cried a lot because you didn¡¯t came to eat for half a year, and she thought you died in the training center.¡± Come to think of it, I left without saying hello to siege the monster. No, I thought I¡¯d be back in a week or so. ¡°I¡¯ve been hearing about your activities of beating monsters in the newspapers from time to time.¡± They knew news about me from the newspaper. I had no idea. Newspaper are the same in Earth and La Elta they write any article because there¡¯s no article to write. ¡°About four or five years ago, I didn¡¯t hear anything about you, so I was worried if you encountered some problem. I was thinking about whether to request help from information guild, but you came just in time.¡± ¡°But haven¡¯t I gotten a little younger? Don¡¯t I look a lot younger?¡± I returned because I wasn¡¯t surprised or happy to see him after a long time, I just wanted to show them that I became younger. He must have been envious of me right now. ¡°Oh, yeah, you look younger now that I think about it. You must have eaten something good while you were out.¡± I was 50 when I first bought this mansion. I was 60 when I ran out of the house to catch the monster. Of course, I still looked like I was in my 30s. As I returned to Earth, I returned to my early 20s. We met again after being 10 years younger in appearance and several decades younger in spirit. What a warm response. What a discouraging reaction. Maybe I should have said that ¡°I¡¯m the son of Sir Ian.¡± If I did that, I should have seen a really interesting response. Somebody give me a few dozen minutes to turn back time! ¡°Isn¡¯t this clothes weird? Veraford¡­ No, it¡¯s something you¡¯ve never seen in La Elta. Why aren¡¯t you surprised when I am dressed like this?¡± ¡°You¡¯re way behind the trend, Ian. Isn¡¯t it the kind of clothes that people who show up in Veraford have been wearing a few years ago? These clothes were in fashion until two years ago, but now they¡¯re out of date.¡± I¡¯m shocked that I¡¯m behind the trend! The butler was like, ¡®Yeah, you were reclusive in the mountains, and when you came out, you found people wearing clothes like this interesting, so I got the same attire. But we¡¯ve already done it a few years ago.¡¯ I¡¯m not. I¡¯m from the world of making these clothes. I¡¯m not out of fashion or anything. ¡°Never mind. I¡¯m going out, so don¡¯t stop me.¡± ¡°See you in a few years.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a few days!¡± He let me leave the mansion ignoring my sulking look. Somehow, I was a little sad, but as long as my mansion and property are safe I am done here. I left the mansion and looked around. There are a lot of people. These are people who are obviously from Earth. It¡¯s like the beginning of a real MMORPG game. ¡°Quest Board. Where can I see the quest board?¡± ¡°Are you Newbie? You can go over there. Can you see that there are a lot of people?¡± I was just talking to myself, but a person from earth who heard me decided to guide me. Newbie¡­ I feel like I¡¯m playing a real game. As the passerby taught me, I saw the quest board when I went to the most crowded place. Others need to complete the quest to get back, but for me, I didn¡¯t need it. Then why did I come all the way here? Because I was wondering if I could get quest nd solve them like the other player. I have no status window. But will the quest board react? ¡°When you touch the quest board, ¡®activate¡¯ begins¡­ That¡¯s what I lean in the lab.¡± I didn¡¯t know going to the lab would be this helpful. I touched the quest board with the hope that I would have my status window if the quest was activated. Now, start activating! And give me a status window and a quest window too! [Start updating the Quest Board.] Oh! It¡¯s my first time receiving this notice. Now that I¡¯ve see this next would be my status win¡­ Huh? Update? Update, not enable? Dozens, hundreds, and thousands of players who have been to La Elta must have said that¡­¡±First time you touch a quest board, it¡¯s activated.¡± Based on that information, I should receive that kind of notification. I recall something that I read in LaElta.com. One in a hundred people said they got an update, not an activation. [There are examples of ¡°updates¡± instead of ¡°activation¡±] But I couldn¡¯t read them beyond that. [Update has ended.] The update ended while I was thinking. So? So what¡¯s going on? It¡¯s been updated. I tapped the quest board a few more times, but there was no more response. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I heard that if I touch the quest board again after activating it, the quest list will appear in front of me. I didn¡¯t see a single letter, let alone a list. What is it? They shouldn¡¯t have updated me so I wouldn¡¯t expect anything. What was the update anyway? ¡°Huh? I¡¯ve never seen this quest.¡± ¡°Hey, I got a sub-quest.¡± Suddenly, people standing next to me started talking out of the blue. ¡°You too? Is the quest called ¡®Finding Sir Ian¡¯?¡± ¡°Oh, I heard that just introducing yourself to a person named Ian makes your muscles stronger.¡± ¡°It¡¯s crazy. This quest is a must-do!¡± What? This crazy quest board..! You didn¡¯t update my quest because I touched it, but you did it to everyone else except me? Are you kidding me?