Chapter 47 - Level 3 Solo
An irregular evolves relentlessly.
A body that continuously grows eternally naturally seeks the nutrients that match its growth.
Jin's insane appetite was born from this fact, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that.
Even in the early part of his first year, he had experienced the desperate agony of hunger.
For Jin, eating was not just a simple act of filling his stomach, but something that touched the deep unconscious part of him.
To put it simply, he eats an incredible amount and does so compulsively.
Despite that, there is not a trace of excess fat because, even though his calorie intake surpassed that of Olympic medalists, his body absorbed every single nutrient without leaving a trace.
Not even a single grain was left behind.
And yet, even with all of that, something went wrong.
Thus, Jin's body had a complaint to make.
It was telling him, "What you're giving me isn't nearly enough."
At this point, strengthening his body and recovering from injuries was already a tight squeeze, so he demanded more!
More!
MORE!
And today.
Finally, after a year and a few months.
Rain fell upon the always hungry body of Jin.
It was a magical elixir.
"Uhm, uh, wow, oh!"
Surprised, Jin could only utter exclamations.
What is this?
Incredible.
Was it some kind of language regression?
It felt like words just weren't coming out.
Jin tried to recall where he had felt this way before.
Ah, the aquarium!
The massive aquarium he had visited as a child, holding his parents' hands, naturally came to mind.
From a child's perspective, the scenery beyond the glass seemed so grand.
The enormous creatures crossing the blue waters...
Enormous...
Hmm.
Let's stop thinking about that.
Jin slapped his cheek with the palm of his hand, just in case he was still half-asleep.
But even after repeatedly slapping himself hard enough for his face to sting, the sensation remained.
"Oh, wow, ugh."
Jin scratched the back of his head, reflexively exclaiming again.
Why was this happening?
To be honest, he was simply perplexed by the situation.
Why?
Because, from the very beginning, he had never had the luxury of feeling depressed about such things.
Or rather, he had never even had the time to feel depressed.
There's a saying, right?
In abundance, one often sees what is lacking.
Just like how a person struggling to make ends meet wouldn't suddenly look in the mirror and lament about their baldness, Jin had long since discarded any thoughts of his own flaws.
Thus, all Jin felt was confusion.
Quadrupedal movement?
What is this?
It's scary...
At that moment.
Sniff.
Without realizing it, his nose twitched.
At the same time, his brow furrowed tightly.
Wait, what is that smell?
Jin turned his head, slowly realizing the source of the foul odor.
It was because of the bed sheets, stained dark red.
It wasn't just a simple stain; the unabsorbed waste had formed scabs on the blankets.
The origin of the smell was clear, without needing to be said.
"Wow. Damn."
Jin quickly sprang to his feet.
He almost jumped out of the bed.
What is this?
My body feels light.
The next realization came when he noticed the muscle pain that had been chronic for over two weeks was gone.
Jin instinctively checked his right arm.
It was clean.
Just the day before, his arm had been covered in dark blood clots like a brand, but now it had returned to its original flesh tone.
That wasn't all.
Creak!
The body that had been in disarray, unable to hold any strength, was now filled with the crackling sound of lightning as his mana circuit was restored.
At that moment, Jin realized that his mana circuit had returned to full functionality.
And it was far stronger and more resilient than before.
At this point, anyone who wasn't a fool would start retracing their memories.
Just like when a person feels ominous signs from their stomach and mentally goes through everything they ate in reverse order, Jin did the same process.
Honestly, how could he not notice?
Naturally, his gaze fell on the glass bottle that had dropped to the floor.
It was supposed to be a gift.
But it felt like he had received something far more incredible than he expected.
As expected, children from rich families are different in every way.
Even the third-generation chaebols live in a completely different world.
And if the family has a thousand-year history, what more needs to be said?
A thousand years is almost twice the length of the Joseon dynasty.
Truly, time is long.
Long?
Wow, hmm, ugh.
Jin, who had been staring absentmindedly at his lap, suddenly shook his head vigorously.
"Hah"
He let out a light sigh and staggered toward the bathroom, consciously shifting his thoughts elsewhere.
To get to the point, what Jin experienced was a form of over-saturation.
Always splitting limited energy to enhance his body, heal his injuries, and keep his body working despite not being able to speak, Jin's body was suddenly hit by a waterfall of elixir.
Naturally, the changes were drastic.
In an instant, the mana circuit, which had been no better than a rag, was restored, and accumulated injuries disappeared as if washed away.
The remaining energy then became the material to further strengthen his body.
Slowly, but without wasting a single drop, Jin's body absorbed the energy from the elixir.
In the process, even the rebellion from his lower half was mercilessly suppressed.
Ah, fleeting.
A midsummer night's dream.
"...What the heck."
Naturally, Jin had no way of knowing any of this.
He simply tilted his head, looking at his lower body, which had returned to its original state the next day.
"Did you leave me again? Hey, hey?"
It was a sullen thing with no response.
Of course, Jin wasn't particularly bothered.
After all, it had at least returned for a while.
That was enough.
It wasn't like there was absolutely no response.
Besides, he had found the medicine to resolve the issue.
He was satisfied.
Perfect.
Jin interpreted the situation in his usual easygoing manner.
The truth was, after consuming the elixir, the energy threshold his body could handle had significantly increased, meaning it would be difficult to expect the same effects (over-saturation) from similar levels.
But how would he know that?
All he thought was, Now I can finally go outside with a refreshed face.
So, without realizing it, Jin, who had been holed up in a motel to avoid others' gaze, finally stepped out of his room.
The familiar downtown streets greeted him.
Uncollected cigarette butts with no set cleaning time, colorful business cards scattered about, dusty outdoor units, and dimly flickering lights.
The narrow strip of sky above was a grim grayish hue.
It was a color that made it hard to guess the time of day with the naked eye.
But Jin had been in downtown for two years.
Squinting, he roughly estimated the time.
It must be around 16:00 to 17:00, he nodded to himself.
The reason for the guess was simple—his terminal was broken again.
The terminal's diagnosis this time was [Exposed to overwhelming heat for an extended period].
So, Jin went shopping.
He bought a new old model terminal, and then stopped by a nearby clothing store, completing an entirely new outfit from head to toe.
Just as he was about to pay, the store owner spoke up.
"Aren't you bored of always wearing the same thing?"
Maybe because he had visited a few times, the owner's face seemed familiar.
The question implied, I know who you are and Jin turned to look at his reflection in the full-length mirror.
He then turned to show off his broad back in the mirror, saying:
"What's the same? The embroidery is different. This one's a cross. What did I buy last time? A tiger? A goblin?"
"No, I mean the style. You always buy the same thing—bomber jackets, jeans, and leather boots. Why don't you switch it up? You've got a good frame, why not experiment a little? Don't waste the hanger."
"I like this."
Jin paid and left the store.
But then, he tilted his head.
Am I the weird one?
Jin's insistence on keeping this style wasn't because of some great reason.
It was simply because when he first fell into this world, his outfit was something very similar to this.
And he had lived for months in this getup.
It had become familiar to him.
Humans tend to feel comfort in what's familiar.
And Jin, in particular, had a strong tendency toward this.
Rumpumpumpum, corner seat on the second floor.
His bed was at a motel in South Downtown.
The hot dog stand only opens in the morning.
His outerwear is a bomber jacket.
The pants are jeans.
A small life, filled with what I like and prefer.
The things that allow me to be myself.
And sometimes, things I want to protect.
Jin crossed the street.
And at some point...
He began to slowly step inside the familiar bar, which was gradually becoming part of the boundaries of his life.
Ding-dong
With the gentle chime of a bell, the bartender, spotting Jin as he entered, smiled faintly.
"Jin."
"Hey, Po."
Waving his hand, Jin walked over to the central table and sat down, casually scanning the surroundings.
"Seems like there are a lot of customers today?"
"Yes, it's quite a fortunate thing."
"Are they all solo?"
"Not exactly."
"Really?"
Jin raised an eyebrow.
He then casually moved his eyes, briefly glancing over the customers, who might or might not be in the same line of work.
He even locked eyes with a few of them.
Luckily, there were no comments like, What are you staring at?
Jin wasn't eyeing them with any hostility, and even though their gazes met, it was more of a fleeting glance.
Eventually, Jin placed his head back in place and turned toward Po, speaking up.
"Is Khalifa in Linker mode?"
"Yes, she's in the middle of a briefing. She's been busy since yesterday. A distinguished guest came to visit."
"Oh, I see."
"If you're in a hurry, I can contact you later..."
"It's fine. I've got plenty of time."
Jin waved his hand as if to say, Don't worry about it.
Po nodded slightly, and before long, cookies and milk appeared on the table.
Ah, this is it.
Jin's eyes brightened.
Looking at the menu, it was hard to tell if this was a bar or a dessert shop.
While others sipped drinks under the soft light, Jin busied himself with the sweet, savory taste of his snacks.
Still, he didn't want to disturb the peaceful atmosphere of the bar, so as usual, he kept quiet, savoring his food without making a big deal of it.
Perhaps noticing this, Po softly smiled and spoke.
"I heard about it. Your performance was extraordinary."
"Oh, you heard?"
"How could I not?"
"Well, I guess I was a bit amazing."
Jin nodded with a subtle smile.
Then, he suddenly thought about how much bigger the situation had become since it all started at Rumpumpumpum.
One of the families and Styx.
Naturally, this led Jin to recall Khalifa's words.
Although it was a bit hazy due to the pain he was in at the time, it was enough for him to bring the memory back.
That day, the Actavis company building had collapsed.
Immediately, the city government launched an investigation.
(Being in the 30th district made such actions possible.)
The result revealed that employees of Actavis had either collaborated with dark sorcerers or were dark sorcerers themselves.
Though this wasn't an official statement from the city government but rather a rumor that had leaked, it was enough to cause Actavis's stock prices to plummet.
Additionally, there were rumors about a giant with severe burns found at the scene of the building collapse, and naturally, various speculations started to spread.
Did Killgit move?
Whisper, whisper.
Did the Black Flame get burned?
Whisper, whisper.
Could it be Solard?
Whisper, whisper.
These were the kinds of rumors going around, and Khalifa had speculated that many people had already figured out the outline of the incident.
And then there was something else...
Jin had a vague, almost tickling feeling, as though something was about to come back to him.
As he sat there, deep in thought, Po, who had been watching him, finally spoke.
"Jin, have you heard?"
"Heard what?"
"Apparently, the CCTV footage from Rumpumpumpum and King's groom has been quite a topic of conversation recently on the solo intranet."
"No?"
Jin tilted his head, and Po, with a knowing smile, spread his palm out.
"Could you lend me your terminal for a moment?"
"Huh? Oh, sure."
Unconsciously, Jin was about to stack his hands, but then pulled his terminal from his pocket and handed it over.
"Thanks."
Po placed his chrome-coated fingertips on the display, and almost immediately, a circular trajectory was drawn around the screen.
As it became a perfect circle, a video began to play.
"Hmm?"
Jin furrowed his brow slightly.
The scene that appeared on the screen looked familiar.
It was Rumpumpumpum—the second floor.
But... it was burning...
The next moment.
In the view from above, someone slammed into the floor.
Violet lightning surrounded them.
The moment the distance closed, someone slammed onto the person on the floor, and whether their opponent was spewing flames in resistance or not, the chaotic dance of sparks didn't stop.
"...Is that me?"
"I figured you didn't know."
Po spoke as he withdrew his hand.
"Here's the footage from King's groom as well.
Once it became known that the protagonists of these two videos were the same person, your reputation skyrocketed.
Normally, you'd have to meet certain requirements through money and the number of requests, but you've already completed them in an instant."
Until then, Jin had been staring intently at the screen, but now he finally lifted his head.
Then, a voice with a hint of laughter followed.
"Congratulations, Jin. Are you a veteran already?"
At the same time, a status window appeared as if it had been waiting for this moment.
[Level Up]
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A little further, a little higher.
You've leveled up to Solo (Lv3).
Reward:
5,000 XP
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