episode_0003

When your mood is low pressure, go forward to meat [a proverb about eating meat when feeling down].

It’s one of many famous sayings that resonate throughout the restaurant industry.

Honoring that saying, I wandered around, eating indiscriminately.

A single cup of coffee at a cafe couldn’t easily soothe my burning heart.

It would be great if human hearts could be neatly organized as one wished, but if that were the case, it’d be a robot.

For that reason, the gourmet tour that began yesterday continued until now.

Thanks to it, I indulged in all the food I’d missed, and my mood improved.

Even thinking about it calmly, there was nothing much to it.

“I should adapt and try to live well.”

What’s infuriating is infuriating, and what’s gone is gone.

Simply put the mood-ruining past behind me and move forward into tomorrow’s reality.

Before that, I decided to first assess my current capabilities.

‘…First, since I’m full and sleepy, I’ll get some sleep….’

It’s a rule that one shouldn’t exercise immediately after a meal.

***

I deliberately chose to go out late at night.

I didn’t want to draw unnecessary attention, and there were no wilderness areas nearby.

When I asked the taxi driver to take me to a nearby mountain or a wide-open lot, he looked at me like I was strange but drove me there without a word.

‘A late-night drive isn’t bad… Should I buy a car too?’

The late-night drive was quite atmospheric and rather pleasant.

However, the taxi driver’s incessant chatter, should I say, broke the mood…?

After about 20 minutes of mostly ignoring him and looking out the window, we arrived at the place the driver pointed out.

It was the very next neighborhood, a considerably large construction zone.

What I heard on the way was that a large-scale apartment complex was continuously scheduled to be built there.

Something had gone wrong, causing construction delays, which created an empty lot.

Perhaps thanks to that, there was nothing but abandoned apartments where construction had halted, or overgrown, desolate land.

With no lighting apart from a few sporadically standing streetlights, the eerie feeling was an added bonus.

“Oh, good. This should be fine. There doesn’t seem to be anyone around.”

As it was the tail end of summer, I stretched my body, enjoying the cool night breeze.

‘One by one… carefully….’

I ran down the dark, empty road, devoid of people or cars.

Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-

I ran at full speed, jumped, and moved my body around.

Was it perhaps intended to be used as a temporary storage yard nearby?

Catch basins and clay pipes were carelessly discarded.

After a quick look around, I approached a clay pipe and struck it with my fist.

Wham!

A dull thud sounded as a hole appeared in the clay pipe.

After checking the hole and my fist, I immediately began to pummel it relentlessly.

In a short time, the clay pipe was shattered into tiny pieces, almost turning into powder.

I brushed off the powder from my hands and moved my body some more.

I started with jabs as if boxing, then engaged in intense shadow boxing.

I kicked into the air and began to move boisterously.

As my body loosened, I moved while recalling the monsters I had personally hunted.

The sound of wind cutting through followed the increasingly fast and dizzying movements.

Dust rose with each step I took, kicking off the ground.

As my movements became more complex, my hands and feet danced intricately in the air.

Hmph.

After moving for a long time, I regulated my breathing.

Perhaps because I’d moved intensely after a long time, the refreshed feeling wasn’t bad.

To finish, I picked up a paving block lying on the ground and threw it into the air.

Crunch!

The block shattered from my unleashed fist.

“This roughly matches my predictions. 30% if I don’t strain myself, 40% if I do.”

It would be nice if I had mana left, but even excluding that, it wasn’t bad.

Even now, with just a sword, I could easily handle an ogre.

At this level, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I was close to a superhuman in that world.

Bluntly speaking, I could put on a mask and imitate a green giant or a one-punch man as a cheap knockoff.

Anyway.

The result isn’t bad.

To cool off the sweat, I sat on a manhole and enjoyed the breeze for a moment.

‘If it’s something physical, anything should be fine, right? Should I try being a martial artist? It seems like it would be okay if I could control my strength well? Ah, did I go too far with that thought?’

Before I was summoned, I worked haphazardly, primarily doing manual labor.

There was no particular reason.

Society is very cold and ruthless towards the socially vulnerable.

And it’s damn strong.

They looked down on me and treated me with contempt as if I had committed some crime.

Unjust treatment and personal insults were passive.

I didn’t want to be born and raised as an orphan, and I had never committed a crime.

But the fact of being a complete orphan made life so tiring.

With little education and only my body, I had few options.

To live like a human and not starve to death, I needed money and had to do anything.

Even if the work was dirty and hard, I barely endured by working like a dog.

But now it’s different.

If it’s physical work, I can easily handle it.

I could even do work carrying heavy loads, which I couldn’t do in the past due to my weak physique.

If I capitalize on this and truly challenge myself in martial arts, becoming a world champion is possible.

Heh.

I chuckled at the absurd idea, stood up, and started walking back the way I came.

『A healthy mind dwells in a healthy body—!』

That’s true.

In the past, I lived like a loser, with my head bowed and shoulders slumped…

But now that I had some strength, the surging confidence in my chest made me feel different from the start.

‘…So I really was a loser.’

But now it’s different!

An unfounded confidence surged forth, making me feel like I could accomplish anything.

My steps became lighter with my self-assurance that everything would turn out well from now on.

***

My unfounded confidence was immediately broken without any reason.

“…Turns out well, my ass….”

I had thought about it playfully, but the idea of martial arts seemed quite good.

So I found and visited a gym related to martial arts.

That far was good.

“How may I help you?”

“I’d like to register with the goal of debuting as a pro, is that possible?”

“Oh… Many people try to become professional athletes, but it’s never easy.”

“I’m a little different. I’m confident.”

“Many people say that, but let’s take a look first, shall we?”

It proceeded in a way that they would first see how much I could hit and then talk.

So when I came out after changing…

“Uhm, over there. You have a lot of scars on your arms, how did that happen?”

“Ah… this is….”

“Do you have them on your body too, by any chance?”

So what if I take off my top and show them?

“…You’re not a good fit for us. I’m sorry.”

“??”

It ended with this kind of feeling.

I visited a few more places over two days, but the reaction was all the same.

Finally, I even went to a gym run by a former world-class athlete, but the result was the same.

I don’t know if it’s an aesthetic issue or if there are regulations.

When they saw my body, they gasped and gave me negative looks.

“Damn it… I saw on YouTube that there are many people with tattoos, so what’s wrong with scars?!”

All I could do was sigh.

“Ah… Is manual labor the answer for this life after all…?”

Since I still had some of my savings left, I wasn’t particularly desperate for money.

But I wanted to earn money quickly, buy a car, and live in a decent house.

Reviving a forgotten habit, I took out my smartphone and opened a portal app.

‘Ah, this is…’

After a clumsy search, I couldn’t find any rules about tattoos or scars.

But it seemed that this industry wasn’t just about fighting and winning blindly.

More than anything, you have to establish yourself as an athlete and become famous to make money. Before that, there’s virtually no income.

It is truly a profession that demands a ‘hungry spirit’.

Things are similar in this world as in that one.

Gladiators also need to become famous for their dividends to increase.

Mercenary groups also earn money by becoming famous.

Even adventurers seeking romance only get lucrative quests by becoming famous.

‘Should I try being a bodyguard instead? No, this also pays poorly⋯’

It seems hard to make a living with athletic talent (?).

It’s true what they say, that people tend to stick to what they’ve done before.

After some job exploration, seeing that my interest gravitates towards familiar manual labor, it seems I’ve returned to being a modern person.

I shook my head gently and smiled bitterly.

‘For now⋯ I should at least get a studio apartment⋯’

When I was hospitalized, I discreetly checked and my height was 183cm.

The gosiwon room was cramped, and the bed didn’t fit, so I had to sleep curled up like a shrimp [a term for sleeping in a fetal position].

‘Over there, I was comfortable rolling around in a big bed in a mansion….’

For men, there are three things that can be upgraded but never downgraded.

They are: computers, cars, and homes.

“Ah, damn it⋯ come to think of it, my home got nerfed too, didn’t it? Khukhu.”

I blurted out nonsense for a moment, but then headed straight to the employment agency I used to frequent.

Short and intensely.

Earn a lump sum quickly and escape the gosiwon first.

Step by step, one by one.

Just do as I’ve always done.

Setting a short-term goal cleared my head.

[ Bau Manpower ]

I had been indebted to this place, located a 5-minute walk from the gosiwon, for a long time.

It was thanks to the director who recognized my diligent work despite my weak physique.

The director, who was in his early 40s, young and ambitious, was also easy to talk to.

But I had suddenly lost contact for over a year, so I wondered how it would be…

“Long time no see—!”

“Huh? Huh? Foreman Shin! Oh~ how long has it been?!”

The portly, good-natured director greeted me cheerfully, unlike what I had worried.

“Have you been well? Foreman, your contact suddenly cut off, so I thought you went somewhere good.”

“Haha. Not really, I just had some things come up.”

“Things? What things? Is there something I don’t know about?”

“Just… I had an accident, so I took some time to recover.”

I vaguely evaded the director’s attempt to ask for more details, surprised.

No matter what, I couldn’t tell him about my adventurous past days.

The director also noticed that I didn’t want to talk about it and didn’t ask further.

Naturally, the conversation shifted to recent updates.

“My health has improved, and I’m going to try working hard again.”

“I know you’re diligent, Foreman Shin. There’s plenty of work!”

“Oh, really?”

“There’s plenty of work. The problem is that people don’t want to do it because it’s hard and far away. You know that, right?”

Seeing the director speak with a teasing remark, it seemed this industry hadn’t changed much either.

“I’m going to focus on work carrying heavy loads.”

“Huh? Foreman Shin, you were weak, so you couldn’t do tough work, right?”

“Hmph~ Director. I’m not the same as before.”

Anyone who knew the director knew that even if he said that, it wasn’t sarcasm but concern.

To alleviate his worries, I rolled up my sleeve and showed him my bulging arm muscles.

“Huh? What happened to your arm?!”

“I told you. I had a small accident. I’m fine now.”

He sent me a worried look, seeing the scars covering my hands…

He still didn’t ask further.

“Are you really okay? It looks like there are many recent wounds….”

“Of course I’m fine! I came after hearing from the hospital that I could work.”

It was, of course, a lie.

As a kind director to trusted workers, he seemed concerned.

However, whether this industry does well or not is all one’s own responsibility, and there’s no real interference as long as the work is done well, so he smoothly moved past the topic of my injuries.

“I’ll try it once, and if I can’t do it, I won’t take the day’s wage.”

“No, that’s obvious.”

“Hey, why are you like this? If you stick around until noon, you get half the wage, right?”

“Well, I’ll be. You’ve changed since I last saw you, haven’t you? Then… wait a moment.”

He made a call somewhere and had a conversation, then secured a job in just a moment.

He’s indeed a capable person.

“We need to go to Yeonsinnae by 7 AM tomorrow, and for now, three of us are going.”

“Yeonsinnae. Three people, including me?”

“Yes. I’ll drive you there from here, and you’ll figure out your own way back. The daily wage is 280,000 won each. Okay?”

“Okay! But the daily wage is high, isn’t it? Isn’t it usually below 250,000 won?”

“These days, there aren’t many people who want to do work carrying heavy loads. Or should I say, they can’t?”

Indeed. It’s not just difficult; it’s not something anyone can do.

“Please watch me work once and then keep giving me jobs.”

“…You weren’t like this before. Your confidence is excessive, isn’t it? It’s become excessive.”

“I told you I’d show you, haha.”

I sat down with the director, had a cup of instant coffee, chatted for a bit, then left.

‘It would be good to look for other work, but it’s annoying, and I don’t know anything else. Let’s just consider this rehabilitation. I’ll work hard, save some money, get a nice studio apartment, buy a car, and look for a job…’

There’s no rush.

It’s different from before, when I was desperately struggling to survive.

Work when it’s time to work, rest when it’s time to rest.

If I do things one by one, won’t everything work out somehow?

I began to prepare for tomorrow, imagining good blueprints for my vague future, one by one.