episode_0068

[You lose.]

It goes without saying that Shihyuk never won a fighting game.

He started the arcade mode with great difficulty, but was defeated in the following second round as if it were a lie.

“… … .”

I tried again a few times, but the result was the same.

It’s not that Shihyuk lacked experience in this field; he had no experience at all.

Not only was he unable to tell which buttons on the stick I was holding were for hands and which were for feet, let alone setting the keys, there was no way he could win no matter how hard he tried.

“… That’s difficult.”

Shihyuk looked at his character, who was rolling on the ground in a tattered state, torn and folded twice, in vain, before quickly quitting the game.

I tried to push myself to get there late at night, but it was too much to overcome the adversity with just one night of persistence and effort.

Sihyuk separated the game console from the TV, organized the cables and the main unit, and stored them neatly in one space under the TV.

I’ll have to ask Galaxy later how he did it. That’s how he planned for the future.

… a gentleman’s revenge is never too late, even if it takes ten years.

After that, Sihyuk roughly cleaned up the house and went down to the basement.

An evil crystal created by being consumed by emotions. It was intended to undo the mistakes made.

As I went down the stairs, a foul odor began to waft over me.

The smell of rotting fish mixed with the smell of burning tires.

Within seconds of entering, my sense of smell was numb and blood was flowing from my nose. I found myself frowning.

Si-hyuk arrived at the blacksmith shop and turned on the fire, clicking his tongue at the tragedy that had unfolded.

The blacksmith’s shelf, large enough for an adult to lie on, was made of [magic iron] that was absolutely resistant to heat and was polished for use by the awakened members of the production line, and then finished with a special chemical.

Even though he had coated it with mana.

The shelf was blackened and had a deep gouge in the middle, as if a rat had eaten through it.

The shelf, which was sunken in the center, still had some black crystals inside that had hardened and become squishy.

Shihyuk let out a small sigh. It’s okay, there’s no major problems.

… It was fortunate that it ended here.

Shihyuk lit a five-colored firework and began to burn it cleanly.

A loud noise and a puff of gray smoke rose. The crystals resisted the flame just as strongly as the materials the old man had brought before, but he pushed them down with his strength.

A push-pull sound, like air being let out of a balloon, began to be emitted from the fallen crystal that had been holding on for some time.

As Shihyuk applied a little more force to the flame, it began to gradually turn to ash and disappear.

“… … .”

It took quite some time for the fairly large crystals to completely disappear.

Maybe it was because of my mood. At the very end, it felt like it was intentionally mocking Shihyuk, which made me feel a little uncomfortable.

Si-hyuk frowned and rubbed the cigarette butt into an ashtray, burning away all traces and ash with the five-colored flames.

Only after the source of the foul odor was removed did the large air purifiers and ventilators installed in the blacksmith shop begin to function properly.

The smell began to fade and fresh air began to fill the basement again.

“I’m feeling a little better now.”

A nasal discharge came out from the monologue that was carelessly uttered. When I blew my blocked nose, a mixture of light green snot, red blood, and black dust came out on my palm.

Even if he spent two nights in the factory, it would be less than this. Shihyuk wiped it off on the hem of his trousers.

The broken shelf was roughly put aside in a corner of the blacksmith shop.

This was now unusable.

…I guess I’ll have to make it separately later.

It was heartbreaking that a momentary mistake ruined the Master’s gift, but – fortunately – my mistake could be corrected.

When the stench had somewhat subsided, Shihyuk left the basement after turning on the air purifier and exhaust fan in energy-saving mode.

I swear that this will never happen again.

However, Shihyuk didn’t notice until the moment he closed the basement door.

While he was out, someone broke into his forge.

That the warm smell he had experienced today was obscured by the terrible stench.

That a ‘handful’ of huge mistakes I made had leaked out somewhere.

Mistakes are sometimes irreversible.

-.-.-

The next morning.

After eating a quick meal of energy drink and cereal, Shihyuk left the house.

The old man’s voice was lingering in his ears.

-Don’t be swayed by [status window] and things like that and force yourself to narrow your bowl.

Following the old man’s teaching to be courageous and not be afraid, he set out today to find a clue to a new encounter.

I just left the house, and my heart started pounding.

When I was just going down to buy consumer goods or take a walk to change my mood, the road I used to walk without thinking much about felt new and special today.

A new challenge for fate.

It made Shihyuk tense up with a sense of great anxiety while also making his heart flutter with anticipation.

The determination of a reclusive loner who has a hard time communicating with others. Is the heavens impressed by his efforts?

The summer sky was clear and blue and looked high like autumn.

Sihyuk set out bravely.

And after a while.

“… … .”

He had to reflect on himself for blindly putting his head first.

Sihyuk, who set out with only a purpose and no real idea, was unable to figure out where to start among the people.

Applause needs to meet to make a sound.

It’s good to be curious and have the will to try, but sometimes that alone isn’t enough.

A meeting can be as simple as a simple greeting between neighbors… .

If a group, ideology, or consensus cannot be formed without some kind of opportunity, it would be truly difficult and embarrassing to get involved.

Moreover, no one would approach a man who looked gloomy and depressed, let alone cheerful.

In the case of Eunha, the girl was rather unusual.

It was good that he came out to the street, but people busy walking down the street, people handing out flyers, and people promoting a specific religion all secretly avoided eye contact with him.

Well, Shihyuk also only had feelings for her, but he didn’t have the courage to approach her rashly.

As was the case at the fair, the main reason was his tall stature and the dangerous air he exuded.

This came as a significant disadvantage to him, both in terms of others approaching him easily and in terms of his contact with others.

For a while I wandered around like a country bumpkin coming to the city for the first time.

Si-hyuk, who had been going round and round in the same neighborhood and the same spot like a sleeping bag, had to return to the mountain, wasting precious time and having no gains.

All he had left in his hand as he walked away was a bottle of weed killer.

… Since I was already out, I thought I should do something about it, so I bought it for the purpose of cleaning up the yard.

As he slowly climbed the trail, he tried to shake off the rising depression.

… I was too excited today. I need to make a more concrete plan and move forward tomorrow.

“Over there… .”

Since things had come to this, Shihyuk decided to clean up the yard and build a new shelf for the blacksmith shop.

It was still daylight.

If you finish everything quickly, you’ll have plenty of time to craft the equipment afterwards.

If you think about it, you’ve always been a craftsman, but lately you’ve been so busy that you haven’t had much time to hammer out a hammer.

I thought this would be a good opportunity to try making some new equipment other than the ones I had made before.

Failure always feels daunting.

If you put everything aside for a while and build some equipment, it might help to relieve this feeling.

“Excuse me… .”

Shihyuk sighed. Even so, he was a little depressed.

It feels like you’re being bullied without even knowing it.

Even when a dog that was out for a walk with its owner saw him and barked like crazy, it was still hurtful.

“… Uh.”

It may be a bit opportunistic, but I’ll ask [Heenari] through the galaxy.

If it was her, she would know good people, strong people. But… Sihyuk immediately discarded the agenda that came to his mind.

The thought that passed through my mind at first seemed plausible, but I felt uneasy because it felt like using the galaxy as a string.

I was worried that I would be seen as too materialistic.

It was unlikely that Eunha would do that, but he felt like he couldn’t stand it if the girl were to be disappointed in him even once.

“Excuse me… ?”

I thought I should participate in some kind of event. But that was too vague.

Even during the Superhuman Expo, didn’t they just go around exhibiting?

Of course, through that, he was able to form good relationships with the universe and the galaxy sisters, but it was only a case of luck.

… But just in case, let’s do some research.

With a slightly anxious thought, Sihyuk fiddled with his cell phone. Before he knew it, he had reached the middle of the mountain.

It was as he left the trail and turned onto the side road leading to his house.

“Just a moment… !”

Someone was hanging on to Shihyuk.

Two thin, slender arms suddenly emerged from his armpits and wrapped themselves around his chest.

A soft and fluffy texture touched my back, and a fragrant scent spread and tickled my nose.

“?!”

I didn’t feel any movement at all.

Shihyuk turned his head, bewildered by the sudden attack.

Long, flowing, black hair brushed my chin. Could that be the source of the scent?

“You must not go…!”

A voice as frail and delicate as the arms holding me reached my ears.

It was a dark, listless voice that made you lose all your strength, but it was pleasant to listen to and had a charm that made you want to keep listening.

“… Ugh, -get off!”

Shihyuk caught his spirit that was about to fall. He quickly pulled away from the arm that was holding me back and took two or three steps back.

The woman was pushed back by the force and fell backwards, landing hard on her buttocks.

Oops, maybe I used too much force because I was surprised.

Shihyuk hurriedly approached the woman.

“I’m sorry. I was so surprised that I stopped… Are you okay?”

“… 1392, or was it 1393? The phone, the suicide prevention hotline… .”

“… Yes?”

When Shi-hyuk, dumbfounded, asked again, the woman raised her head.

Her long, black hair was completely unmanaged, resembling seaweed. It was so thick that it obscured her eyes.

All you can see is a sharp nose and a sharp jawline.

And the baggy gray tracksuit and three-stripe slippers she’s wearing.

She opened her mouth, trembling, her pale skin turning even whiter, almost transparent.

“Please, don’t die… . Don’t make a wrong choice with a moment of sad thought… .”

“… … Yes?”

Shihyuk asked back. The woman lifted her long, thin finger and pointed to what he was holding.

Herbicide.

“Ah.”

A man carrying a weed killer is hiking. He deviates from the designated hiking course and enters a side road where there are no people.

It even looks gloomy, gloomy and depressing.

“… … .”

It wouldn’t be surprising if someone made a mistake.