Chapter 3 - Obtaining a Profession
Han-wol burst into laughter at this seemingly false situation.
He closed the status window and turned away from the rooftop railing.
His back appeared heavy yet simultaneously burning with determination, as if he had made some kind of resolution.
Han-wol suddenly stopped walking and looked up at the sky.
Then he said:
“This crappy world, I’ll save it one more time.”
It was Han-wol’s declaration of war against the “entity beyond comprehension.”
x x x
Han-wol was watching MewTube videos in his room.
A massive monster resembling a goblin summons a huge green fire the size of a human torso.
However, the warrior in front fearlessly charges in, swinging a massive greatsword.
A Taoist heals the injured warrior, and a priest bestows blessings on the entire party.
Finally, a rogue’s sharp dagger pierces the nearly dead goblin’s neck, and the video ends.
-The rogue does nothing then takes the last hit lolㅋㅋ
-Guys I’m a newbie, is Taoist better or Priest better?
-Each has pros and cons, Priest is a Western profession so it’ll cost more.
For Taoist, you can just go to any village and change profession.
-Who doesn’t know that.
They’re asking which is better.
Brain deficiency? Hoxy reading disability?
-People like you are always the first to exit life^^
Han-wol skimmed through the comments and immediately clicked on the next video.
This one was about attempting a boss raid with only ten archers.
This was how Han-wol was learning about how the current world worked.
‘The monsters mostly match my memories from before the regression.’
But if there were differences, they were certainly there.
Before the regression, people were busy running away, but now they were hunting monsters as if enjoying a game.
History seemed to be progressing in a much better direction.
Everything seemed fine, but there was one thing that bothered him.
“Fighting monsters with bows and spears. Have they all gone mad?”
Let’s start by getting weapons.
x x x
Setting aside lofty talk about saving the world.
The most urgent matters now were, first, medicine for his sister, and second, her hospital bills.
Whether for the former or the latter, what Han-wol needed to do was the same.
Maximize use of the player system while recovering his lost technology.
This required research, and for research, he needed Cheonggyecheon.
Yes.
Han-wol was currently at Cheonggyecheon.
“Swords, shields, bows, staffs… feels like I’ve come to some theme park.”
The old Cheonggyecheon was essentially a mechanical workshop.
It had been filled with various weapons made with Han-wol’s technology, and the sharp smell of magic stones permeated everywhere.
But the scene Han-wol was now looking at was completely different.
The street was clearly modern, but the items being sold were something you’d only see in a fantasy game.
Han-wol walked around, searching for something specific.
Then he found his target.
A shop with ‘Gun Shop’ written in English on its sign.
“Welcome. Is there something specific you’re looking for?”
Han-wol said he wanted to look around first and would call the clerk later.
There were rifles and sniper rifles, but Han-wol stopped at a section where only handguns were displayed.
‘They look legitimate enough.’
Among various products, what particularly caught Han-wol’s eye was a product made by ‘Shinsan Engineering.’
It had good finishing and sophisticated design.
But for weapons, what mattered more than appearance was the content.
Han-wol picked up one of the displayed handguns.
He examined it carefully from every angle.
After a moment, he immediately began disassembling it.
“C-customer!?”
The clerk was flustered and tried to stop Han-wol.
But Han-wol’s technique was so precise and sure that the clerk hesitated to intervene.
Han-wol’s gun disassembly skill seemed to have reached an almost artistic level.
‘As I thought, it’s just an ordinary handgun.
Not even basic magic panels, nothing at all.
I guess without me, they can’t even develop this level of technology.’
Han-wol decided it was too early for hasty judgments and continued his inspection.
“Bring me some bullets for this gun.”
“W-what?”
“Bullets, I mean bullets.”
“Sir, if you handle the merchandise like this…”
“I’ll buy what I’ve touched, so please hurry up and bring them.”
When Han-wol expressed his impatience, the clerk finally scrambled to get the items.
Han-wol handled the bullets the clerk gave him, feeling their texture.
He occasionally sniffed them to check if they contained any magic power.
Of course, the clerk just stared at Han-wol strangely.
‘As expected, these are just ordinary bullets.
I had some hope when I saw they were selling guns, but my expectations were too high.’
In 2018, Han-wol would have been a year into running his startup company while attending university.
Han-wol sold weapons and technology for research, and the government and corporations provided him with funds.
Despite various tensions and pressures, Han-wol Company was able to continue its research with the backing of the government and major corporations.
That’s when it began.
When humanity started to counterattack against monsters.
But in this world’s 2018, neither Han-wol Company nor Han-wol’s magic handgun technology existed.
‘Instead, there’s the player system.’
What people commonly called the player system had saved Earth in place of Han-wol’s magic engineering technology.
“I’ll take what I’m holding now, and please pack up everything else I point to.”
“Everything?”
“Yes.”
The clerk was a bit dazed, but Han-wol didn’t care and started pointing at various items.
The clerk wondered why Han-wol was buying so many handguns.
He worried if Han-wol might be planning some sort of terrorism, but in this day and age, guns were nothing more than protection for ordinary people.
In terms of lethality, a passing player was far more dangerous than ten guns.
Anyway, the more Han-wol bought, the better it was for the clerk, so he just silently followed Han-wol’s instructions.
Han-wol loaded up not only handguns but also various tools and plenty of magic stones, then stood at the checkout counter.
“94,598,900 won. Would you like to pay in gold?”
Despite just selling prettily packaged outdated technology, the price was insanely high.
But it was a necessary investment for initial research.
Han-wol said he would pay in won and took out a card from his wallet.
‘That damn inheritance of 100 million left by my parents…’
Once he spent this, there would be no more reserve funds.
Of course, until now, his cousin had covered all expenses including his sister’s hospital bills and living expenses.
But he couldn’t keep relying on her forever.
‘First, I need to earn money.’
Money was essential both for living and for the future.
x x x
Han-wol shut himself in his room for days without sleeping.
His cousin came by and demanded to know what he was doing, but Han-wol only briefly answered “research.”
After about a week of this lifestyle.
Papers densely filled with equations were piled high around him, and the sharp smell of magic stones filled the room.
Then, strange things began to appear before his eyes.
[Researching… 2%]
The number in front of him gradually approached 100% as Han-wol continued his research.
This wasn’t the only strange thing.
When Han-wol wrote equations on white paper, disassembled handguns, and processed magic stones, the following window would appear:
[Failure][Failure][Success][Failure][Failure][Failure][Success][Failure][Success][Success][Failure]…
Although the failure notifications were annoying, he soon decided to ignore them and just focus on research.
Another week passed.
By the time dozens of handguns purchased from the store were completely disassembled beyond recognition.
Han-wol completed one weapon.
[Successfully created a 2-Star S-Rank Unique Weapon!]
[Title ‘First to Create a 2-Star Unique Weapon’ acquired.]
[Hidden profession ‘Theory Master’ acquired!]
[Branch ‘Theoretical Magic Studies’ has been unlocked.]
[Branch ‘Magic Engineering’ has been unlocked.]
[You have gained the Magic Engineering branch skill ‘Material Conversion’ through self-realization.]
[You have gained the Magic Engineering branch skill ‘Magic Handgun Modification and Creation’ through self-realization.]
[Experience points increased.]
[Experience points increased.]
……………
[Level up.]
[Currently 1-Star D-Rank.]
[You can now act as a player.]
[Inventory has been unlocked.]
[Quests have been unlocked.]
[Skills have been unlocked…………]
Before Han-wol could even celebrate his first weapon creation since the regression, numerous system logs flooded his view.
“Well, that’s quite the grand celebration.”
Han-wol, now completely accustomed to the status window, brushed aside the various notifications and focused on the weapon he had created.