Chapter 2

I am an ordinary office worker - Chapter 2 (2/180)

< Chapter 2 >

"Seonghan!"

"Mom!"

"Seonghan!!"

"Mom!!!"

They say I was in a coma for about three years.

My mother, who hadn't seen her son for three years, cried as she held him, while her son, who hadn't seen his mother for 50 years, did not cry.

In any case, if he didn't cry, he didn't cry.

I was no longer a super-strong swordmaster who had lived for 20 years and then 50 more; I was now an ordinary young man who had fallen into a coma at 20 and woke up at 23.

It's an age when one can be emotionally rich and let one's body be guided by one's feelings.

But I didn't cry.

"Was it all a dream?"

I clenched and unclenched my fists to gauge my physical condition.

It doesn't seem like a dream.

Whether it's a dream or not, what's important?

I've been reunited with my family and hometown after 50 years, and that's what matters.

I really intended to live this second chance enthusiastically and happily.

Really.

Unfortunately, that resolve didn't last a week.

Returning to an ordinary life, I remembered how sweet it was to waste time while living an ordinary life.

Lying on the sofa, scratching my belly, and reading a comic book, my mother, who initially patted my back and said everything was fine, changed her expression after a few months.

A year later, she started nagging, saying that even if I didn't go out to work, I shouldn't just stay in my room and watch TV, and that I should meet friends and go for walks.

The comforting pat on the back became more aggressive day by day, and by the second year of my unemployed life, it had long turned into a back-smashing.

Frankly, I boldly say that my older brother, Seonghyun, is largely to blame for this.

In most fantasy novels, when the protagonist returns from another world after an accident, the family is usually in debt.

To save the comatose protagonist, they sell their house and car and go into debt.

Honestly, when I opened my eyes and understood the situation, I wondered if that was the case.

The hospital fees for a comatose patient who needs daily care must be astronomical, and our family wasn't extremely poor, but we weren't extremely wealthy either.

Like other fantasy novel protagonists, I was determined to quickly pay off the debt, move into a good house, and live a luxurious life with my family.

I even thought I might have to storm the loan sharks' hideout and destroy them all.

I must have read too many novels.

The "house" I returned to after being discharged left me speechless.

"Brother, are we going to our house? Where are we?"

"This is our house."

"What? What are you talking about? Are we moving into a rich person's house? Is this car also ours?"

"This car is mine."

"Brother, our debt? We didn't end up on the streets?"

"…Did you have some strange dream?"

The house I remember was a small apartment.

Suddenly, our house is a large, luxurious house in the heart of Seoul with a beautiful garden.

And he claims that the shiny, new-looking car is his. How can I believe that out of the blue?

The room he introduced as mine is as big as the living room of the house we used to live in.

I wish this was my room.

Ah, I'm still in a coma, and this is a dream.

Smiling, I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes.

If it's a dream, I want to spend more time with my family, but the longer it lasts, the more disappointed I'll be when I wake up.

I was happy to see my family even in a dream.

I need to wake up quickly. When I wake up, I need to go vent my anger on monsters!

To cut to the chase, it wasn't a dream.

My brother sat me down and began explaining the changed world while I was in a coma.

He said the world started changing about half a year before I woke up.

"So, players can use portals to move to a place called La Elta."

"La Elta? Does Brother know La Elta?"

No, how does Brother know La Elta?

La Elta is the name of the other world where I lived for 50 years.

"Of course, I'm a player too. All players are initially moved to a village called 'Verford' in La Elta."

"Verford? That's where I was. My house is there too."

Brother stroked my head with a very sympathetic look.

That expression seemed to say, "Yes, you hit your head."

I didn't know what was going on but decided to listen and judge.

"Brother, despite how I look, I'm quite a skilled player."

Really? He looks so weak.

"Although the laws regarding players and monster hunting haven't been finalized yet, players' authority will increase over time. Then we can live better lives."

What? Can I finally be a rich unemployed person?

"Just live comfortably without worrying about anything."

A rich unemployed person! The life of a rich unemployed person is right in front of me!

Of course, I could have lived an unemployed life in La Elta if I wanted to, but the difference between being unemployed in a fantasy world similar to the medieval era and being unemployed in modern Korea with the internet and plenty of entertainment is enormous.

I shouted in joy.

Brother, not knowing what I was thinking, just smiled and stroked my head.

***

So, I was in a coma for three years.

And I enjoyed an unemployed life for another three years.

In other words, I've been an adult for six years, but my resume is still blank.

At first, I thought about becoming a player, but that didn't go as planned.

A few days after waking up from the coma, I went to the town hall to check if I had awakened as a player and to get an ID card.

I was excited, thinking there might be a building called a "Player Awakening Center" or something.

But I learned that player awakening can be checked at nearby post offices as well, though only town halls issue temporary ID cards.

La Elta, where all players can go.

I lived there for 50 years.

Who else could be called a player if not me?

I was sure I would get the highest player rank and live a half-unemployed life pretending to be a player.

"Mr. Seonghan, you are an ordinary person."

The town hall staff member said with a businesslike smile.

"Huh? That can't be."

"It can be."

"Ah, I see. Maybe it's because my magic power is too high to be measured by Earth's equipment! I'm probably SSS rank."

"It can't be."

A look of exasperation flashed across the staff member's face.

But it quickly turned back into a smile.

The staff member, used to such situations, quickly explained.

"This device doesn't measure magic power but activates the status window of the person being checked. While it doesn't show detailed information like skills, it can display level and basic stats. The fact that Mr. Seonghan's information didn't appear means the status window wasn't activated. …Do you have a status window?"

"Status window? How do I call it up?"

"Just think about opening the status window and say 'status window.'"

"Status window. Status window! Status window!!"

"…"

"…"

And nothing happened.

The staff member smiled, as if saying, "I knew it."

"Have a good day."

Holding the temporary ID card for ordinary people, I left the examination room.

I'm an ordinary person.

I'm an ordinary person!

So, does this mean I can enjoy a true unemployed life, spending my brother's money without fulfilling the obligations and responsibilities of a player?

I shouted in joy again.

***

"I thought you got an S-rank potential rating or something because you were so happy."

Seonghyun had never seen someone happy about being an ordinary person.

And it was his own brother.

"Weren't you trying to become a player to get out of your unemployed life?"

That's right.

Mother believed that working keeps you healthy and extends your life, while not working makes you lethargic and depressed, shortening your lifespan.

I finished my rehabilitation training in less than a month, which usually takes months or years for others.

After the doctor said I had recovered healthier and stronger than the average 20-year-old man, Mother started asking when I would start working.

Can't I live a long, active life just by eating, sleeping, and using the bathroom?

Whenever I said that, I got a slap on the back.

My back is like a punching bag.

"Yeah. I decided to become a writer instead of a player."

"…A writer?"

Brother's expression looked very skeptical, but I ignored it.

I had always liked fantasy novels, and I had a great source of material.

My 50 years in La Elta.

Even though the world has changed and fantasy is no longer fiction, fantasy novels are still popular, and many are based on the world of La Elta.

Maybe I can make a mark in the world of fantasy novels.

"Let's see, where should I start?"

They say you can pull out a bull's horn in one go.

I sat in front of Brother's computer and started typing.

Let's name the protagonist Ian.

Ian is the name I used in La Elta.

From Seonghan, I removed the middle character to get Seonghan. I then modified it to make it easier for people in La Elta to pronounce: Ian.

"Ian swung his sword, swung it, and swung it again.

On the trillionth swing, he became a Swordmaster.

He was proud of it, even though he swung the sword because it looked cooler than magic.

One day, Ian thought.

There were too many monsters.

The monsters needed to be killed so that the people of Verford wouldn't suffer.

………To be continued………"

Why is the writing flowing so smoothly? Is my talent actually in writing novels?

Excited, I wrote in the notepad and immediately posted it on a serial website.

After a month of diligent posting, I was confident in my talent.

The talent to confuse people's mental strength with my writing.

The views for the first two chapters of the novel were surprisingly high.

There were many comments as well.

- Swung -> Swung

- Trillionth -> 100 trillionth

- I'm going to write. Write, write, and write again. On the trillionth write, I became the ultimate reader.

- Instead of -> Rather

- This looks like something a primary school student wrote.

- No, my younger brother is in primary school, and he writes better than this.

-No Jam

└No fun

-Is the plot going to be Ian roaring and destroying La Elta? I read to the end, but from the third chapter onwards, it's just about killing monsters and giving a messed-up history lesson. It's a waste of time. Go read something else.

The views from the third chapter onwards dropped to a countable number.

There was only one comment.

I see.

I can't write.

It's a good thing I realized it now.

I buried the writing I was working on deep in my heart and apologized to all the writers in the world.

I'll give up on being a writer.

And so, I gave up on everything and enjoyed an unemployed life, waking up late in the afternoon and watching TV all day.

But it was time to end that.

Mother cut off my allowance.

At first, she pampered me because I was her sick child, but after three years of lying around, she couldn't take it anymore.

Thinking I could still have fun without money, I loafed around, and she cut off the internet and TV.

Worse, she even kicked me out of the house yesterday.

Thanks to that, I played with a cute dog at the playground.

Ah, it wasn't a dog but a monster.

Now I have nowhere to go.

I need to find a job.

"Alright, I'll become an ordinary office worker."

Come to think of it, I remember wanting to be an office worker when I worked part-time at a convenience store a long time ago.

Hmm, yeah. People shouldn't lose their初心 (initial passion).

"Brother, I'm going to start looking for a job soon. Can you look over my resume?"

I thrust my resume at Brother, who had just come home.

Seonghyun, still in his shoes, stood in the doorway and skimmed through the resume.

My brother, who had been in a coma after working a few months at a convenience store after high school, had no significant work experience.

He flipped to the second page, where the self-introduction was, and his face crumpled.

"Are you really going to apply to companies with this?"

"Actually, I already did. About 50 places? I applied to all the companies near our house. Did I do well?"

These days, you can apply to companies just by uploading your resume and clicking a button.

It was very convenient.

I clicked 50 times and applied to 50 places.

Seeing my brother, who seemed proud of himself, Seonghyun felt he had no chance of getting a job.

He started to fear his brother, who, though not a player, had the talent to cause status abnormalities with his writing.

< Chapter 2 > End