Chapter 4

Thanks to the slightly improved fine dust in recent days, the walking trails of Bukhansan were bustling from early in the morning. People heading for a hike, those coming out for exercise, and those heading to the spring water fountain—all of them seemed relaxed, unlike the typical residents of Seoul.

The open space next to the spring water fountain, equipped with parallel bars and other exercise equipment, had always been crowded with people exercising. Today, it was also crowded, but the people gathered there were not there to exercise.

All the exercise equipment was empty except for one set of parallel bars, and the people were watching it intently.

A man was performing on the parallel bars.

Swish. Swish. Thud.

Following a large swing, he did a handstand and then a mid-air spin. It was a scene that one would usually see at a gymnastics competition, now unfolding at the spring water fountain.

Wow.

Every time he performed a difficult move, people couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, and the crowd grew larger.

"He's really good. He must be a gymnast."

An auntie's comment was met with a shake of the head from the uncle who was the regular at the spring water fountain.

"Even gymnasts would find it hard. The material of the bars is different."

Unlike the gymnastics parallel bars made of wood with good elasticity, the ones here were solid steel pipes. While swings and handstands might be possible, mid-air spins were not.

"But he's doing it so well."

"Yes, he is."

However, the uncle couldn't find a response to the auntie's remark.

"Wow, he's been at it for a while. Don't his arms hurt?"

"I heard he did over a hundred pull-ups on the horizontal bar before this."

"Really?"

The man who had been watching from early on was busy telling the others what he had seen, and the crowd's surprise only grew.

'Why is it so noisy?'

Kyung-hoon, who had been performing on the parallel bars for a while, was puzzled by the commotion around him.

Surprised, he got down from the bars and this time received a proper round of applause.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

"Wow! That's amazing!"

He was taken aback by the crowd and the applause. He knew a few people were watching, but he hadn't expected so many to gather.

People looked at him in amazement, and some even approached to talk to him.

Kyung-hoon quickly left the area. While the attention and applause weren't entirely unpleasant, now was not the time to draw attention to himself.

He started to run down the mountain at a fast pace.

"Wow, he's not an ordinary person, is he?"

"He's running the mountain trail like it's flat ground. Is he some kind of athlete?"

The people behind him were surprised again, but Kyung-hoon, lost in thought as he ran, didn't hear them.

Yesterday, Kyung-hoon had fallen asleep immediately due to fatigue and stress. He only woke up when it was nearly dawn.

Perhaps because his body had changed, or because he had slept for a long time, he woke up feeling neither tired nor stressed.

Thanks to his changed body, or perhaps the refreshed feeling, he couldn't stay still. In the end, he decided to go out for morning exercise.

He put on his sports uniform, left the house, and started running. 1km, 5km...

Even after running for a long time, he wasn't out of breath.

In the end, he ran all the way to Bukhansan, which was quite far, and that's how he ended up exercising there.

Unlike his initial plan, he pushed himself to the limit to see how much he had changed.

'Not a full sprint, but I can run over 20km without getting tired, and I can perform parallel bar skills at the level of a gymnast and achieve a Guinness record on the horizontal bar...'

Back in his studio, he took off his shirt and looked at his body in the mirror.

As expected, his body had changed. His muscles were larger and more densely packed than when he was in his prime in the military, and he had grown a bit taller.

With his physical abilities skyrocketing, it was impossible for his body to remain the same.

While examining his body, Kyung-hoon briefly checked inside his underwear.

"At least this is really good."

For the first time, Kyung-hoon could smile with satisfaction.

While examining his body, he paused and looked under the bed. The items he had brought yesterday were hidden deep under the bed.

Thinking about what happened yesterday, he didn't really want to take them out, but his curiosity was also strong.

The gun and the phone were clearly filled with incomprehensible over-technology. It was unsettling to leave them under the bed.

Using this as an excuse, he took out the items hidden under the bed.

Bulletproof vest, dagger, and long sword. One pistol and a magazine, and the phone.

He picked up the pistol first. It looked similar to the K-5 pistol, but it had a completely different power.

He had always wanted to disassemble it since the first time he fired it.

Once he made the decision, Kyung-hoon started disassembling it immediately.

Click.

Disassembling it was not difficult. In fact, it was easy enough to do with his eyes closed.

The internal structure of the pistol was not much different from the K-5 pistol. Having done it countless times in the military, he could quickly lay out the pistol parts on the desk.

Many parts were similar, but not exactly the same.

Inside the barrel, there was a pattern engraved, and inside the modified internal space, there was a small gem.

'So, this pattern and gem must be what enhance the gun's performance?'

Since that was the only difference, it was a reasonable inference.

Kyung-hoon looked at the long sword and dagger placed next to him. They also had the same pattern. They might have similar effects.

He casually swung the sword, but unfortunately, he didn't feel much difference.

'That's it, then.'

Unfortunately, there was no way to learn more. It was beyond his capabilities.

However, he had no intention of taking these items to someone else or the police. He had some close friends, but it wasn't easy to confide in them about such unbelievable events.

Shaking his head, he reassembled the gun. After confirming that it was properly assembled, he turned on the phone screen.

[Awakened One]

[Mana Level: F]

[Special Ability: Dimensional Traveler]

* Please register your personal information.

[79 hours until the next special ability activation.]

He hadn't registered his personal information yet. While he couldn't see the full screen, he couldn't just enter his personal information into an unknown device.

'The problem is the last line.'

There was a similar message to what he saw before he returned yesterday.

After the message [Special ability activation time has arrived] appeared on the phone screen, he was able to create a hole to return home. Now, he couldn't feel the sensation, but he remembered how to do it. However, he couldn't feel the underlying power.

'Is it like a cooldown in a game?'

He didn't know why the time was different, but if the message was correct, he would be able to create a hole to the destroyed city in 79 hours.

'But it's too dangerous.'

Kyung-hoon turned off the phone screen and placed it on the desk.

He was very curious about what had happened, but like the saying "curiosity killed the cat," it was too dangerous to satisfy his curiosity. Fortunately, it didn't seem to force him to move, so he decided to bury it deep for now.

Woof! Woof! Woof!

Kyung-hoon, who was sighing, heard the unexpected barking of dogs.

***

After putting away the items, Kyung-hoon returned to his ordinary life as a jobless person.

He applied for unemployment benefits online and browsed job sites to look for job openings.

He still had some money left in his bank account, and he wasn't in a hurry to find a job, but he had to apply for unemployment benefits.

Looking through the job listings, he sighed. Reality was as tough as facing life-threatening situations in a strange world.

On the third day of morning exercise and avoiding the issue by surfing the internet, he decided to go out for lunch.

As time passed, he couldn't feel at ease at home.

He went to a small restaurant on an old street not far from his studio, a place known as a local delicacy for its bone soup.

"Auntie, I'm here."

The small restaurant with four tables. Kyung-hoon, entering the restaurant, waved to the kitchen.

"It's been a while. What brings you here at this hour? What about your job?"

Although he didn't come often, they knew each other's situations as regular customers.

"I got laid off. That's it."

"Ah."

The auntie, who had been happy to see him, clicked her tongue. While it was a common occurrence in these times, she couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

"Wait, I'll cook something delicious for you."

"Okay."

This restaurant, run by a gruff uncle and a hearty auntie, was one of the few places where Kyung-hoon felt a sense of belonging in this harsh Seoul.

A short while later, a generous meal was set in front of Kyung-hoon.

"I didn't order this much."

"It's on me since it's been a while. Just eat."

The uncle, known for his gruffness, replied.

"Haha, okay."

From experience, Kyung-hoon knew it was best not to refuse such kindness. He happily accepted the kindness of the two.

"Ruff! Ruff! Ruff!"

"Meow!"

While he was eating, he heard the barking of dogs from a distance.

It wasn't just one or two.

Perplexed, he looked up and heard the angry voice of the auntie from inside.

"What's going on today? I heard a cat's scream earlier, and now it's the dogs?"

Kyung-hoon also found the dog barks, which sounded like screams, strange, but he soon dismissed it. Fortunately, the barking didn't last long.

"I enjoyed the meal."

"Stay strong! You'll find a job soon!"

"Okay."

The auntie, knowing it wouldn't be easy, still cheered him on, and Kyung-hoon smiled and said goodbye.

'If I had more people like this, I could live well in Seoul.'

However, Kyung-hoon knew it wouldn't be that easy.

Just as he was about to leave with a happy heart, a strange feeling tickled him. It felt like a gentle breeze or being tickled by a feather. It was a sensation he had never felt before.

He turned around. The feeling was coming from far behind him, a sweet sensation that seemed to be luring him.

After staring at the road with a serious expression for a while, he finally made a decision.

'Let's go.'

Under normal circumstances, he would have ignored the feeling, but after what happened a few days ago, he couldn't ignore it.

Moreover, this wasn't a dangerous strange world, and his enhanced physical abilities gave him confidence.

He headed in the direction where the dogs had been barking earlier.

***

Following the feeling for a while, he came across an abandoned industrial complex.

In front of the complex, dozens of tattered banners were hanging.

A quick look revealed that the complex was entangled in land issues. Even in Seoul, there were still many such places in the northern part of the city.

He stopped in front of the complex. From inside, he heard a faint sound.

Crunch, munch, munch.

It was the sound of something being crushed and chewed in the mouth.

The sound was so faint that an ordinary person wouldn't have heard it, but it was clear to his ears.

However, he was disappointed.

'Is this where stray dogs and cats live?'

The scent of animals from inside the complex confirmed his suspicion.

He had hoped to discover something new, but in this normal world, such things were unlikely.

With a disappointed look, he turned to leave, but suddenly stopped.

He frowned and sniffed the air.

Among the scents of the animals, he detected another smell.

'Blood?'

The scent of blood was coming from inside the complex.

He put his hand on his waist. The hard feel of the object reassured him. He couldn't turn back without seeing what was there.

He decided to go inside.

Crunch, crunch.

Kyung-hoon moved toward the factory where the scent of blood was coming from.