Han Joon-seong returned home after the incident at the jewelry store. His body was tired, his mind was heavy with the events of the day. He lay down on the bed, closed his eyes, and let sleep take him.
Han joon-seong did at least, above him though, ervin simply looked at the systme interface that came next.
The system interface flickered to life.
[[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)(21/80)
Strength (Lvl. 6)(7/320)
Endurance (Lvl. 5)(69/160)
Vigor (Lvl. 5)(31/160)
Intelligence (Lvl. 3)(31/40)
[Fighting|Muay Thai (Lvl. 1)]
[Tasks: None]]
[Day Finished, awarded points [271 Points]]
[[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:
[Scouting - Check out the Arriving talents in Busan - Reward: 50 Points]]]
---
Ervin stared at the points he had gained. 271. Finally, enough.
His expression grew serious. Thoughtful.
'Finally. I have enough points. Enough to buy it.'
He felt a slight nervousness. and let out an imaginary sigh.
His gaze drifted to the store, to the Character File option. 250 points. He had been staring at that option for days, wondering what it did, wondering if it was worth the cost. Now he had the points to find out. WOuld it be worth it? or would it be a fluke?
'This is it. Finally, I have the opportunity to buy it. It's time to see what this thing actually does. Let's go.'
He focused his attention on the Character File option. He concentrated, willing the purchase to happen.
The points were deducted. But then notification appeared in front of him — different from the usual ones. It opened like a window, displaying a message:
[[System]
[New Character Acquired — "Character 2" Issued.]
[...]
[Assimilation rate Incomplete. Assessing.]
[Character issued successfully.]]
The notification faded. The screen disappeared.
Ervin sat in silence, waiting for something to happen.
Nothing did.
He waited. And waited. And waited some more.
Still nothing.
Finally, he let out an imaginary sigh. His mind began to wander, processing what he had just seen.
'Right. I guess... I guess that's it. I think I know what's going to happen. It's probably not something that activates immediately.'
He thought about the notification. "Assimilation rate Incomplete." That phrase caught his attention. He remembered the first time the system had activated — the notification had said that Assimilation had reached "usable standards." Not complete. Just usable.
'That's it. The assimilation isn't complete yet. It said usable standards, not fully assimilated. So it's still incomplete. It'll complete eventually. One day.'
He waited a little longer. And a little longer. And then he realized — nothing was going to happen right now. Han Joon-seong was asleep. Whatever the Character File was going to do, it would probably happen when he woke up.
Once again it was brought to his attention the mystery of this system. How did it exist? why did it exist? how did Ervin become a wandering soul and his body become a controllable game character like a video game.
What happened t....
'Huh? What was i thinking about again?' Ervin once again lost grasp of what he was thinking off 'That's been happening a lot to me lately.'
He let out once another imaginary sigh.
'Anyway, what's for later is for later, for now let's try to think about something more interesting, this new task...'
He turned his attention to the new task. The mission that had appeared alongside the store.
[Scouting - Check out the Arriving talents in Busan - Reward: 50 Points]
He stared at it, his imaginary brow furrowing.
'Another 50-point mission. It shouldn't be too difficult. Probably something I can handle easily.'
He scratched his imaginary chin, thinking.
'Why does the system want me to scout talents? What kind of talents are we talking about? If they're arriving in Busan...'
He pondered for a moment. The word "talents" was vague. It could mean anything.
'Are they talking about fighting talents? Like fighters? If that's the case, then maybe I'll need to do a little more than just watch them. If they're fighters coming to Busan and they have some connection to the gangs, then maybe I'll need to... deal with them. Make sure they don't get in my way.'
He paused, catching himself.
His thoughts had drifted into something darker. He woul need to start managing these intrusive thoughts!
'No, no, no, no. Calm down. That's the thought process of a psychopath. I'm not that abnormal!! ...Yet.'
He shook the thought away.
'Let's just see what they're all about. Check out what's up with them, and then decide what to do after I've actually seen them. Imagine they're just a bunch of kids?'
He turned his attention back to the Character File, still wondering what it would do. it would give him no replies though, as it was simply some floating text.
Receiving no answers to his questions, Ervin decided to simply wait for the night to pass. He crossed his imaginary arms and let time flow, while Han Joon-seong slept peacefully.
The night passed without incident.
The next morning, sunlight streamed through the window. Han Joon-seong opened his eyes.
He blinked, looking around the room. He looked at his hands, turning them over, examining the palms, the backs. Nothing seemed different.
He sat up and stretched his body.
'Okay. It doesn't look like I'm duplicating myself.'
He stood up and walked to the mirror. He stared at his reflection, studying his face, his features.
'Yeah. My identity still looks normal. Still just Ervin in here.'
He commanded Han Joon-seong to move his own hand. Han Joon-seong raised his hand, flexed his fingers, lowered it. Everything responded normally.
'So that's it. It really is just me moving this body. So it was what I thought? It's an infection power? Or do I have to infect someone?'
He pondered this for a moment.
'But how exactly do I do that? Should i test it out? Do it to someone on the street?'
He immediately shook the thought away.
'No, no, no, no. I'm not going to do that to some random person on the street. I don't even know how it works anyway.'
He paused, considering another option.
'What if I call Han Do-yun?' honestly if he was right and this was a power to turn someone else into a character, the first and honetly only personhe could use it on without a shred of guilt was Han Do-yun. It would not only be extremey satisfying, but also very useful to his plan to end Juhwang-pa.
Then he remembered.
'Ah, wait. I broke my phone.' Las night in the jewelry store, he had used it to break Jung-ho's hand, and it was smashed to a million pieces.
His eyes widened slightly. He let out an imaginary sigh.
'Well, That's annoying.'
He thought for a moment. 'So how is this going to work? Does my infinite money still exist? My bank account? The credit card?'
He paused to consider. 'Do I have a credit card? I had one didn't i? Does it still work?'
He started searching through his scattered clothes. The apartment had become a kind of a mess over the past few days — clothes piled on chairs, items left out of place. He picked up a pair of shorts that had been thrown over the back of a chair, reached into the pocket, and pulled out a credit card.
'Yep, still here, now let's spend a little money!'
He headed to the bathroom, he showered, letting the hot water wash away the last traces of sleep. When he was done, he dried off and dressed in simple, comfortable clothes.
Now he was ready to go out — to use his card, spend some money, and for the first time in his new life, buy something nice.
He pocketed the credit card and headed for the door, leaving for another day in Busan.