“Hey, Lee Yeon Ho, the sun’s already up so don’t think about lying down on the blanket. Do you think this is your bedroom? Clean that blanket this instant.”
While working, Si Hyun found a prisoner that was lying on his blanket, so he decided to say something to him.
It happened pretty often.
On one floor, there’s about 20 rooms and there are close to 80 prisoners. Seeing as how there are only two wards on patrol, it was impossible to keep everything in order.
Because of that, many of the wards tend to turn a blind eye unless they were seriously breaking the rule.
If they were to say something about every little thing, they wouldn’t be able to find complete the tasks they had that day.
That’s why, Si Hyun tends to give detailed commands. Once they’re pointed out, many of the prisoners tend to not do it again, but if he didn’t say anything at all, they’ll most likely do it again without hesitation.
“Jeez, it’s because my back hurts, okay? My back. People live in these s.p.a.ces, so why not be lenient?”
Of course they won’t listen, seeing how they were lying on the blanket without a care in the world.
“Fold your blanket! Now!”
Si Hyun raised his voice.
When working as a ward, it’s natural for one to increase their voice.
If one’s voice was soft, the prisoners would just look down on them.
“d.a.m.n it. Annoying me early in the morning. Hey, manager! Gasp…!!”
Feeling frustrated, Yeon Ho decided to turn around glare at Si Hyun, but as soon as his eyes met Si Hyun’s, he changed.
As if he had seen something he shouldn’t have, his face turned pale.
His angry expression was now filled with fear.
“Yes…yes, oh my, I’m sorry. I’ll clean it right away manager. Right away.”
He started folding his blanket, despite of the fact that he said his back was hurting.
“Okay, as long as you know.”
Turning around, Si Hyun had a surprised expression.
If it were any other day, the guy would’ve taken forever to clean up the place, but to think he would clean it right away with a pale face.
This could never happen. If it were any other day.
‘No way, is this…?’
Si Hyun remembered the talent his alias had.
1) Iron Ward
- Po Ah Him was feared by all the criminals at the Reiter continent. Even the most brutal criminal couldn"t breathe properly in front of him.
- When dealing with criminals, all stats are increased by 1000%.
- When they criminals see you, they will freeze up in fear. They will go into a panic state.
The last part.
He had ignored all the other parts and focused on the stats, but to think this part would be really beneficial to him was surprising.
“Amazing. This is seriously amazing.”
Without knowing, a gush of admiration escaped his lips.
So this is why people are saying awakening is a good thing.
Awakening really is a good thing.
Si Hyun looked at the clock.
10 more minutes until he was done.
Since they finished serving dinner, there wasn’t much to do.
He sat down and gathered his thoughts.
There were a few things he found out today.
First, when he ate breakfast and lunch, his stats kept on increasing. It’s probably he was so frail, which is why his stats kept on increasing every meal.
Also, the stats related to the physical body increased, such as, Power, agility, and stamina.
On the other hand, when working at the prison, it seemed like the psychological increased, such as knowledge, mentality and mana.
Because his body and mind were exhausted, if treated correctly, stats related to those parts will recover.
Also, another thing that was a relief was that he wasn’t given a difficult quest so far.
‘Great, if it was always this easy.’
The time was now 5:25.
When it was busy, it was hard to leave early, but on other days, leaving five minutes early wasn’t a big issue.
Si Hyun grabbed his belongings and stood up.
“Hey, don’t block the bathroom entrance. Didn’t I tell you not to block the entrance? Remove the clothes and towel that you’ve hanged. Right now.”
While running down, Si Hyun saw room five and noticed that the clothes and towel were hiding the bathroom.
If the bathroom was covered, they would never know if the prisoner committed suicide or was hurting themselves.
It was probably because they needed some sort of privacy that they would cover it with a towel or something similar to it.
When the prisoner’s eyes met Si Hyun’s he quickly moved to the bathroom and removed the clothes and towel.
Just then, a message popped up in mid-air.
“Quest: Command the prisoners that have broken the rules. 10/10 Completed.”
“Seeing you work pa.s.sionately, Po Ah Him is satisfied.”
“Knowledge +1, Mentality +1 Recovered.”
“Po Ah Him would like to see you work hard at night as well. Show him how hard you’re working at night.”
“Quest: Let’s work overtime.”
Anyways, I finished another quest.
I guess I’ll fill in for Joon Chul this weekend in exchange for a meal. I’m sure he’ll be excited seeing as how he’s been exhausted lately.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
I changed my clothes and said goodbye to my co-workers. While walking out through the outer gate, my phone started vibrating.
Seeing the number, it was my friend, Im Sang Kyu, who I’ve known for about 20 years.
“What’s up?”
“Are you out of work?”
“That’s why I answered your call.”
“Ha ha ha, that’s right. Anyways, I heard you were meeting up with Soo Jin. What happened?”
“You’re pretty quick.”
“Hey, I’m busy too. Didn’t you know that my company has been working us hard?”
“I know, I know. I’m just saying.”
“So, what happened with Soo Jin?”
“I got dumped, happy?”
“Really? I a.s.sumed. Man, you must’ve been really depressed. Let’s hang out, I’ll buy the alcohol.”
“Forget about the alcohol, let’s just eat.”
“Really? Okay then. What are you in the mood for?”
“You know the bossam restaurant at the station intersection? Let’s meet there at 7 o’clock.”
“Okay, see you then.”
He hanged up.
A small smile appeared on Si Hyun’s face.
He knew he could count on his friend.
Si Hyun headed towards the restaurant without stopping by his place.
He arrived 10 minutes earlier, but Sang Kyu was already there waiting for him.
“You don’t look so bad.”
“That’s because I’m disgusted. Disgusted.”
Even though Si Hyun answered honestly, it seemed Sang Kyu understood it as somewhat of a joke.
“You acted like you couldn’t live without her, so how can you already be disgusted? Just cry if you want to.”
“I know man, I know.”
Half of the restaurant was already filled with customers.
Sitting in the corner, Si Hyun and Sang Kyu ordered bossam and soda. It was because Si Hyun once again said he didn’t want any alcohol.
As soon as the food came out, Sang Kyu took the first bite and spoke.
“I’ve been holding this in, but honestly, it’s good you guys broke up. Soo Jin’s selfishness was on a different level. I couldn’t say it in front of you, but I honestly felt that way.”
Before, Si Hyun definitely would’ve gotten mad at his friend, but now, all Si Hyun did was put on a sad smile.
“Yeah, you’re right. Seems like there was something wrong with my eyes.”
“Wow, that’s my Si Hyun. It seems like you really are disgusted, hearing you talk like that.”
“I told you I was, idiot.”
“Wow, you were serious.”
Sang Kyu’s eyes widened.
“She was showing off her money. Her riches. Her bag, watch and whatnot…saying how expensive they were.”
“Really? Well, the world that she lives in is pretty different from ours. Her annual salary is 10 million in US dollars. I’m sure it starts around 11 billion in our currency.”
“And how do you know all this?”
“Isn’t she a rank A? In the US, a rank A’s worth starts around 10 million. What’s left? If the country took care of the awakened ones management system, it would become the standard in this industry. Whether it’s China, Korea or j.a.pan, they’ll just follow the standard.”
“Oh, that’s right. Aren’t you a fan of the awakened ones?”
Before, he wasn’t interested in them at all, but I heard that Sang Kyu was an old member of a community website that was about the awakened ones and had about one million members.
“That’s right. If you’re curious about anything, just ask your senior.”
“Oh, really? Then let me ask you this. How much is a S rank worth?”
“Information about the S rank is a secret, so it’s difficult to find out, but it’s been widely known that they’re worth over 200 million dollars.”
“2, 200 million dollars?”
Pft.
Si Hyun lightly spit out his soda.
“H, hey, you’re joking, right? How can someone’s annual salary be over 200 million dollars?”
“Do I look like I’m joking? Think about it. The best combat plane, F-22 Raptor, costs over 200 million for one. Do you think a S rank isn’t worth as much as that plane? If no one awakened to S rank when the S rank gate opened, the country would’ve been doomed. Also, even if you bought one of those planes, you would have to spend money to take care of it, but those that are S rank are able to make money from the gate.”
Sang Kyu continued talking.
“It’s already a known truth that in each country, they spend a lot of money in taking care of the S rank. Know why? Taking care of the S rank will prevent other countries from taking them. If not, the US or China will take them all. Then, the country will surely be doomed. There are a lot of countries that don’t have S rank awakened ones, causing them to be dependent on others.”
“Wow, they’re a walking conglomerate. Even if you save a little bit and gave it to someone, you wouldn’t even notice. What do you do with all that money? Curious, very curious.”
“Want to know something funny? The items that they carry are extremely expensive. No, could it get any more expensive?”
“Item?”
“Stop acting like you don’t know. Once you’ve awakened, you receive an item from this world and it’s added to your inventory. If not, what would noobs fight with? Create their own sword?”
“N, no. I knew that. I just remembered after you mentioned it.”
Si Hyun made an awkward expression.
Because he was so busy, he forgot to check his inventory. There must be an item in the inventory.
Reminding himself to check right when he gets home, Si Hyun continued the conversation.
“Anyways, continue. I’m really curious about the items.”
“Are you now interested in this? This has been the hottest topic in the last couple of years. People are even writing a thesis about it.”
Satisfied with Si Hyun’s att.i.tude, Sang Kyu started talking pa.s.sionately again.
“Normal or standard items are dropped easily at the lower ranked gate. They’re usually priced as used. But, rare ranks are different.”
“How so?”
“Rare items can only be acquired at the higher ranked gate by killing either the boss or the A, B ranked monsters. The probability isn’t that high.”
“I see. Okay, I understand.”
“To add on, the rank differs when it comes to unique. In this world, the item is treated as the treasure among treasures. For unique items, one must be a rank A awakened one so that when they awaken, the item will be included in their inventory. But, those ranks are pretty rare. Also, when facing a monster from the higher ranked gate, they’re informed of the probability, but they even have a hard time dealing with that gate because the probability is so low…that’s why the price is all up to the seller.”
“I did hear that unique items are pretty awesome.”
“But, when compared to legendary items, they’re really amazing. It’s the only one. Only one exists in the world and it’s truly a masterpiece and an artwork. It’s made out of rare ingredients, such as an Adamantium and an Orichalc.u.m. Also, the magic involved with it is on a totally different level.”
Like a salesman, Sang Kyu didn’t stop talking.
“Legendary items only appear after beating the S rank gate’s boss, right? I just know that the S rank gate is no joke, at least from what the media has said.”
“Right, and because of that ordinary people and those that awakened were killed…I’m sure most legendary items appear in the inventory once the S rank awakens.”
Sang Kyu continued.
"Among the legendary items, there’s one with leaked information. An S rank in the US, named Jacob, wields the Dragontooth Blade and they said it calls upon the storm. The Thunder Storm magic is sealed within it.”
“There’s something else I’m curious about. Can I ask?”
If this keeps up, he’ll keep praising about the legendary items, so Si Hyun thought it would be better to change the topic. The legendary items were the same as the luxurious apartments in Gangnam anyways. It was an item that Si Hyun could never get in his lifetime.
“I told you, ask me anything.”
“Is there a way for an ordinary human to enter the gate?”
“That’s not possible. If they entered the gate and something happened to him, who would be held responsible?”
“I see.”
It looked like I had to get the Hunter License before entering the gate.
“Even the E rank gate is h.e.l.l to ordinary people.”
All throughout dinner, Sang Kyu kept on talking.
It looked like he was having fun because a friend was listening intently to him about the awakened ones.
Thanks to him, Si Hyun was able to acquire information about the awakened ones.