Chapter 2

"Renok, get up!"

Even with the rough shout that shook his eardrums, he rubbed his eyes, which wouldn't open, and tossed and turned. Though his actions were unconscious, the voice didn't repeat itself.

Slap!

With a shock so intense it felt like his jaw would fall off, he rolled off the bed and his eyes snapped open. A thick, hairy giant with a face full of murderous intent glared down at him with bloodshot eyes. The giant stomped on his face with his boot and growled lowly.

"It's time to work. Get to the parts room right now. Got it?"

"....Yes."

His voice was hoarse, even to his own surprise. The moment the giant heard the answer, he strode out of the room.

Only then did he have the chance to clench his numb cheek and look around. The small room was filled with a simple bed covered in a dirty sheet. About ten people were looking at him with disdainful eyes.

"Stupid kid. You were sleeping even when the supervisor came in...."

"Just leave him. He doesn't have much time left, you know. That's why the supervisor just slapped him and left."

"Yeah, if we beat him up, he might really die."

They muttered to each other, then got up and disappeared somewhere, leaving him behind.

Dazed, he listened to their words and then, for the first time, raised his hands to feel his own body. A gaunt, emaciated body where he could feel his ribs, arms thin like twigs, and calves where the veins were clearly visible. It was a sickly body, so different from the one he remembered, one that could collapse at any moment.

"......."

Wobbling, he stood up and only then, standing in front of a small mirror in a corner of the room filled with a musty smell, did he realize everything. The young man in the broken mirror, holding his swollen cheek, looked so much like the third character he had created on the monitor.

"Renok... that's right."

A character he had created just for the game, with no meaning or value, a body he hadn't even bothered to name properly. This insignificant flesh was now all he had.

Renok was thrown into this new world without a single complaint.

Awakening

Boom!

"Hurry up!"

The supervisor bellowed as he hurriedly moved around the vast parts room. Metal parts, clumsily assembled, rolled on the conveyor belt.

"Anytime now, the assembler will come to collect the products. How long do you plan to dawdle?"

The hairy giant, with bloodshot eyes, shouted at the workers, and the hands of those standing in front of the belt moved a bit faster. Unsatisfied, the giant whipped a small whip at a few nearby workers, and only then did he turn away, seemingly appeased.

"If you don't keep up with the schedule, you'd better be prepared! I have no intention of putting up with trash that can't even meet the quota!!"

Standing at a distance, Renok turned his gaze back to the metal scraps in his hands. It had been three days since he woke up in this unnamed parts factory. He still knew nothing, but he had adapted surprisingly quickly to the monotonous routine of the factory.

He woke up before the sun rose, worked until he was about to collapse, and received a bowl of gruel worse than food waste before going to sleep. His daily task was to assemble scattered metal parts and place them on the conveyor belt. There was nothing to understand about this monotonous and arduous work; Renok had no choice but to accept it.

If he tried to ask questions, the workers around him stubbornly refused to speak to him. He had noticed just the day before that the way they looked at him was no different from how they would look at a dead body.

"Ha, ha...."

In the parts room, where ventilation was poor, the workers' sweat and stench mixed and spread like steam, lingering under the ceiling. Without fresh air, Renok's body quickly became short of breath and hot.

The alienation from his body, so different from his former self, was torturing him. The hellish, exhausting labor continued for over ten hours without a break, making him feel like he was about to suffocate.

The only fortunate thing was that even if Renok paused in his work, no one scolded him. The supervisor only clicked his tongue at Renok's pale face, seemingly unwilling to waste energy on a dying body.

From the moment Renok noticed this, he managed to endure the labor time by finding ways to take breaks. The endless labor time finally ended, and as expected, he received a bowl of gruel. He quickly finished it and lay down to sleep.

Looking at the dark ceiling with his eyes closed, his consciousness remained clear.

Insomnia.

"Damn..."

It had been three days since he had a proper sleep. Renok had a rough idea of where this severe insomnia came from. One of the penalties he had attached to his character. The insomnia, which had become a characteristic, was tormenting him.

An even more depressing fact was that the penalties attached to this body were not just insomnia. Various diseases and symptoms that made his body weak were consuming and dragging him down.

How long could he hold on?

What was certain was that the time given to him was not long. His extremely weakened body would not last long in the harsh working environment.

After three days of contemplation, the conclusion was already set.

'I have to escape.'

Whether he died of starvation in the factory or was caught and killed while escaping, the outcome would be the same for Renok. He had no intention of making the stench-filled parts room his grave.

Fortunately, not everything was against him. Because he was already treated like a dead man, the control over him was less strict than over other workers, and they didn't pay much attention to his actions.

If he could use this to his advantage and understand the structure of the factory, he could plan an escape route. Moreover, the most important thing was that this body, though weak, was not entirely useless.

If Renok's body in this world carried various penalties, including insomnia, it also carried his talents. The magical talents he had infused, pushing them to their limits, were dormant within his body.

If he could somehow utilize these talents, escaping from this factory was not an impossible dream.

"......."

Renok knew.

In this situation, where he was pushed to the brink mentally and physically by the arduous labor and insomnia, the calmness and planning he was displaying now were completely different from his former self. The person he knew would not have been able to maintain his composure in such a situation.

This was likely the result of the mental talents he had infused when creating his character, such as composure, focus, and boldness. At the time, he had only invested in the mental abilities needed for a mage, but they were now the driving force that kept Renok sane after three sleepless days and nights.

Renok didn't believe in the romantic notion that human mental abilities were based on the soul. Rational thinking, a calm mind, and logical reasoning were all talents of the brain. The mental strength that allowed him to maintain his composure was also a talent of this weakened body.

Recognizing that this was Renok's talent, not the self from before he pressed the character creation button, would be the first step to overcoming the current situation.

He would not let his guard down for a single moment until he left this hellish factory.

Renok whipped himself into action and forced himself to sleep.