After delivering the money to the loan office, Han Joon-seong stepped back out onto the street. Instead of waiting for a bus, he decided to run home — a light jog to get some training in while he was at it.
The run was uneventful. He weaved through the streets, his pace steady, while controlling his breathing. This part of the city was fairly secure, it seemed. Although this city was flooding with gangsters from all around, there were no broad daylight — or broad nightlight — robberies wherever he walked. A curious thing.
As he wondered, he made his way to his home. When he finally reached his apartment, he was barely winded.
There wasn't anything else to do today, so he entered, locked the door behind him, and went straight to the bed. He lay down, closed his eyes, and let unconsciousness take him.
---
The system interface flickered to life.
[Day Finished, awarded points [126 Points]]
[[System]
Player: Ervin Mandor
Character 1; Han Joon‑seong
[Characteristics:
Adaptation(Perfect)
Talent(Perfect)
Auto Pilot(Perfect)
Money(Perfect|Middle‑class)
Intuition (Lvl. 1)
Looks(Lvl. 5)
Speed(Lvl. 4)(15/80)
Strength (Lvl. 6)(1/320)
Endurance (Lvl. 5)(64/160)
Vigor (Lvl. 5)(27/160)
Intelligence (Lvl. 3)(28/40)
[Fighting|Muay Thai (Lvl. 1)]
[Tasks:
None]]
The store materialized beside it.
[[Showing Store]
[Strengthening pills:
Looks — [SOLD OUT]
Speed
Strength
Endurance
Vigor
Intelligence
Cost: 30 points each
Description: Strengthening Pills Level up a Characteristic by 1 when consumed]
[Weakening Pills:
Speed
Strength
Endurance
Vigor
Intelligence
Cost: 20 Points each
Description: Weakening Pills Decrease a Characteristic by 1 for 24h when consumed]
[Fight Styles:
Street Dog Fighting Style - 150 Points
Kickboxing Fight Style - 150 Points
Boxing Fight Style - 150 Points
Karate Fight Style - 150 points
Muay Thai Fight Style - 150 Points
Taekwondo Fight Style - 150 Points
[...]]
[Misc:
Character File - 250 points.
Recovery Pill - 100
Characteristic Card - 200]
[[Tasks Available:
[Investigation — Find the businesses owned by the Juhwang-pa. Reward: 50 Points]]]
---
Ervin stared at the new task. His eyes widened.
"Another mission! Finally!"
A grin spread across his imaginary face. It had been a while since he had received a new task. He had started to worry that the System had stopped giving them. But now he had one. [Investigation — Find the businesses owned by the Juhwang-pa. Reward: 50 Points]
He crossed his imaginary arms and thought about it.
'Why did this mission appear now? Was it something I did today that triggered it?'
He thought back over the day's events. From early on, there wasn't anything that would have triggered this kind of mission — training and the Muay Thai testing. The counterfeit operation, though, maybe that was related. Nothing stood out as a clear trigger, but if he had to point something out, it was that.
"Maybe it's connected to the plan. The System seems to be guiding me toward the gangs somehow. The rescue mission, then the Street Policing mission, then the executive attack, and now this. It's all connected to Busan's underworld, that's for sure."
'I'll figure it out later. For now, I have a mission to plan.'
His gaze drifted to the store, and his eyes landed on the Character File.
"Character File... If I understand this right, it gives me another body. Another character. Han Joon-seong is my first character, so this would give me a second one. For this mission, Choi Yuna said having allies in the other gangs would be good. There are three gangs — Choi Yuna is in Galsaek-pa, Han Joon-seong is in Juhwang-pa, then the only remaining gang would be the Kkachi-pa. If I obtain another character, I could send it to become the Kkachi-pa's executive. Then the plan would advance by leaps and bounds."
He paused, a thought forming in his mind.
"Han Joon-seong... supposedly, he was a real person before I took over — someone who had his own life, his own memories. He was himself before me, I think. What does that mean for the Character File? Could I use it to turn someone else into a character too? Controlling other people... Like Han Do-yun, for example?"
As he arrived at that conclusion, Ervin's eyes seemed to shine. A thrill ran through him. The thought of being able to control Han Do-yun was extremely exciting. He thought about his power — an executive level of strength, aided by the assistance of the System: Auto Pilot, Recovery Pills, Characteristic Pills. What a monstrous result it would be. Not only that, with Han Do-yun on his side, he was already an executive and was already trusted in the organization. If a Character File was what he thought it was, the mission would be completed immediately!
Of course, his delusions didn't reflect reality. Although the thought was fun, the System hadn't explained what the Character File actually did. So it could simply do something completely different and unexpected.
He tried to focus on his Intuition, to get a sense of whether his guesses were right. But the characteristic remained silent. It wasn't activating. He couldn't tell if that was because there was no information to gather, or because his assumption was simply wrong.
"Damn. I can't know for sure without buying it first. And 250 points is a lot to spend on a gamble."
He let out an imaginary sigh. "Whatever. I can figure that out later. For now, I need to focus on what's in front of me."
He looked at the mission again. 50 points. He thought it wasn't such a big reward — for someone who received two 200-point missions back to back, a measly 50 seemed too little. But points were points. And he needed them.
Like usual after a fight, he glanced at the Recovery Pill, then at Han Joon-seong's sleeping body. He couldn't help but give an incredibly satisfied imaginary smile.
In today's fight, he had received a few bruises here and there. Some soreness in his ribs. Nothing serious. And by his estimates and Intuition, they would most likely heal by the next morning naturally.
His imaginary face glowed. *This is the first time I've come out of a fight basically unscathed. No broken bones. No internal bleeding. Just some bruises and soreness that will heal by tomorrow!*
He was genuinely pleased. He had spent over 300 points on Recovery Pills so far, and it was good to finally not need one.
He let out a mental sigh and settled in for the night.
'Alright. Tomorrow, I investigate the Juhwang-pa's businesses. I don't know why the System wants me to find them, but this has to be connected to the gangs somehow. Probably useful information for the plan to take them down.'
He crossed his imaginary arms and let the night pass.
---
The next morning, sunlight streamed through the window, falling across Han Joon-seong's face. He opened his eyes, sat up, and stretched.
He lifted his shirt and checked his torso. The bruises from yesterday's fight were already fading. His ribs felt fine. Even his knee — the one he felt cracking during the fight with the scarred man — felt normal again.
He let out a satisfied breath. "Good. No Recovery Pill needed this time."
He stood up and headed for the shower. Yesterday he had gone straight to bed without washing off the grime from the counterfeit operation. The hot water felt good, washing away the last traces of the warehouse.
After drying off, he dressed in his usual training clothes — dark joggers, the fitted shirt, and his comfortable shoes. He was ready for the day.
He left the apartment and started jogging toward the gym.
As he ran, his eyes scanned the streets. The mission from last night was still fresh in his mind: "Find the businesses owned by the Juhwang-pa." But as he looked around, he realized he had no idea what to look for.
Of course, the Juhwang-pa wouldn't make their money laundering business so obvious. No giant banners saying "Juhwang-pa Property." And no gang logos plastered on storefronts either. Everything looked normal.
He frowned slightly. "How am I supposed to identify them? There's nothing obvious. I don't even know what types of businesses they own."
He kept running, his eyes still scanning, but nothing stood out.
When he arrived at Ascent Athletic Club, he paused at the entrance. He looked up at the building, then down at his hands.
'Should I cut my training short today? I need to investigate, but I also need to keep training. I can't afford to fall behind.'
He considered the options. The mission was important, but so was his physical progress. He needed both.
Then Han Joon-seong tilted his head up, looking at the empty sky where Ervin was hovering, invisible.
Ervin looked back down at him, then out at the city.
*Alright. Let's do this smartly.*
Han Joon-seong was on 120% Auto Pilot as he entered the gym, walking toward the training floor. But Ervin didn't follow him in. Instead, he stayed outside, floating above the buildings.
Ervin slowly floated away from Han Joon-seong, looking down at the city, scanning the streets.
'Let's see what I can find.'