In front of a building on Gangnam-daero.
A man who appeared to be in his late twenties or early thirties was standing there. He looked up at the building with a box of items.
In the building he was looking at, there was a company that cut him off a while ago.
After the internship period, the company cut like a knife. He was disappointed as he had high expectations of becoming a full-time employee.
As I worked hard during the internship and was lucky enough to sign a big contract in the end, I thought that I would be able to rise to full-time this time.
However, the contract he had contributed to was passed on to another intern, and his protest was ignored by the department’s silence.
It was impossible for him to deal with another intern with a background as a company director.
‘If you’re a moving person, you’re just going to be a full-time employee, so do you just follow the rules and drop someone worthless?’
Eventually, the intern was promoted to full-time, and he was looking up at the building as he had just resigned.
‘I will never see you again.’
It was a medium-sized company that used 4 floors of a building in the middle of Gangnam, but it had nothing to do with Kyung-hoon.
‘He gave me one last present.’
Wii yi ing.
An emergency bell rang in the building. It was a fire alarm.
Playing with the smoke detector before leaving the company seemed to work.
The sprinklers in this building were of the sensor-connected type, so it was obvious that everyone would be baptized with water.
‘Eat some shit.’
Kyunghoon turned and walked away from the quiet building.
Suddenly, people started running out of the building in confusion. The people of the company he worked for also escaped.
They were drenched in water, unlike the people on the other floors.
“what? why are you okay isn’t it on fire? The sprinklers worked.”
“You have to wait.”
“Oh, is the computer okay?”
“Can it be okay? I turned all the water over.”
“no! How to! All the documents related to this contract are also there.”
“You haven’t picked it up yet? Why are you in the computer!”
“Ah, I haven’t checked it out yet…”
“You’re coming to sign a contract today! You are responsible for everything!”
With the sound of the emergency bell in the background, the face of the man who went up to the full-time office today turned white.
* * *
That night. Kyunghoon was sitting in his bedroom, looking out his window.
It was an old private room, but the night view was good thanks to its high location.
He was holding a can of beer in one hand, and looking out the window in the distance, his eyes were a little drunk.
‘What should I eat now?’
He failed dozens of jobs, and even the intern who barely got it did not become a full-time employee and ended today.
He was from an orphan, his school grades were not good, he was not particularly handsome, and he had a weak affinity.
The road ahead was bleak as I ended up as an intern in a place I barely entered with my back.
“Still, it’s not like there’s nowhere to come.”
Kyunghoon muttered to himself as he opened a new can of beer.
The desired place was still there.
just the army.
The army, which he had applied for without much meaning, was surprisingly a place where his abilities were displayed well.
He is called around and dispatched. He also received a life allowance.
The company commander and senior sergeant grabbed the crotch of his pants to drive the stakes until he was discharged, and several years later, they were still contacting them.
However, he trembled when it came to the military. The hard military life really didn’t suit him.
‘But his social life wasn’t very different either.’
He was forced to endure it, but the internship didn’t seem to suit his taste either. After all, he was a personality that didn’t fit his social life.
Kyunghoon sighed again. Anyway, it was over now.
“Haha… I’ll have to look for a part-time job again from tomorrow.”
After emptying the beer can one last time, he lay down on the bed.
The lights in the room went out and the city lights went down one by one.
* * *
the next morning.
Kyunghoon woke up and looked at the ceiling with blank eyes.
It seemed that he had slept.
‘This was the unfamiliar ceiling when I opened my eyes… Are you saying?’
Obviously, I slept in an old dorm room, but the ceiling I see now is a rusty iron plate ceiling instead of wallpaper.
Kyunghoon got up immediately.
It was not a small room. Old looking walls, broken and neglected machinery and old electronic equipment.
It was like an abandoned science lab after an accident.
It was a random place.
“Is it a dream?”
It was a really bad dream.
He sighed and slapped him on the cheek. You won’t feel any pain, but it was a good way to wake up from your dream.
match!
“Ugh!”
However, unexpectedly, the moment he was hit in the cheek, lightning flashed from his eyes. It hurt like crazy.
It wasn’t a dream.
Kyunghoon, who gripped his cheek, hardened.
Goosebumps sprang up all over his body. If it wasn’t a dream, it usually wasn’t a problem.
‘Is this kidnapping? Hidden Cameras? Alien invasion?’
All sorts of thoughts popped into my head.
‘Yeah, weapons, we need to find them first.’
Even in a hectic situation, he remembered his priorities.
Fortunately, I was able to find something useful right away. It was an iron pipe that appeared to have come out of a broken machine.
After all, holding something in his hand made me feel a little relieved.
“Whoa, calm down.”
Kyunghoon took a deep breath. I don’t know what the situation was, but he had to stay calm.
My pounding heart slowly subsided.
‘done.’
He barely returned to normal. The tension hasn’t gone away yet, but at this point there was no problem in moving.
Kyunghoon grabbed the iron pipe and swung it around. He had been dealing with me for quite some time, and his body was very light.
‘Are you in good shape? The iron pipe is also light.’
His usual personality was helpful at times like this. As his excitement subsided, he was able to look around calmly.
The personality that was so praised in the military was only useful at times like this.
‘The size of the room is about 10m wide and 7m long. Judging by the rusty walls, it seems that it has been abandoned for over 10 years. I don’t know what the broken equipment is for, but it looks pretty old.’
And, not a single mouse was seen to be alive.
Kyunghoon cautiously approached the iron gate. He was more likely to be kidnapped if he was locked up, otherwise he would just leave.
He leaned against the wall next to the iron gate and carefully turned his handle.
profit.
It was rusty and noisy, but the door was not locked.
Without opening all the doors, he glanced out. There was a long dark hallway.
‘Is there no window? is it underground? Wait a minute?’
Kyunghoon looked back. There were no windows visible anywhere in the laboratory. There was no light source in the room either.
Kyunghoon’s expression darkened.
He had no light, and of course he could not see.
He closed his left and right eyes one by one and opened them, and tried to cover them with his hands, but nothing changed.
He was able to see things even in the absence of light.
Cold sweat was forming on the back of his neck.
‘By the way, my physical strength is completely different from yesterday.’
He had already lost all his muscles after a few years of treatment. It made no sense to swing such a thick iron pipe lightly.
It would have been better if it was a dream. If you dream of becoming a hero and defeating enemies.
But in reality, it would be a completely different story.
Kidnapped and remodeled?
“It won’t be. For sure.”
Kyunghoon immediately erased the thoughts that came to his mind. It was an absurd idea.
It was then.
squeak.
An alarm went off in the boat. Even in this situation, his body cried out for food.
There was nothing useful here, including food.
‘Let’s move.’
It didn’t seem like anyone was coming soon. Anyway, I had to move.
Kyung-hoon grabbed the iron pipe and carefully opened the iron door.
cut profit.
Again the sound of old hinges echoed through the hallway.
Kyunghoon carefully looked into the hallway with the door open.
‘The walls, ceiling, and floor are all made of steel plates. It’s not a laboratory, but some sort of secret base?’
The steel walls in the hallway were old and worn out, but instead looked very sturdy. The problem was that the sturdy walls and ceiling were torn and collapsed.
‘Did there ever be a battle?’
It was creepy. Kyunghoon’s movements became more cautious.
Fortunately, it seems that the corridor was destroyed quite a long time ago. Broken walls and ceilings were full of dust and grime, revealing a rusty surface.
The startled heart calmed again. Relaxed, he cautiously went out into the hallway again.
jerk. jerk.
As he moved his feet, a little dust rose, and the sound of footsteps echoed through the hallway.
‘Stained black blood. bullet traces. There was definitely a fight. Hmm. What is this sign made of? It’s like scratching the wall with something like a trident.’
It would make sense if they were made of tofu, but these walls were made of steel.
Unlike the other traces, the three wounds that split the steel wall did not make sense.
‘Were there any monsters or modified humans who could pull out blades from the back of their hands?’
Kyunghoon sighed. It was a nonsensical idea of his, but considering his own body, it wasn’t just nonsense.
Kyunghoon moved a little faster.
Traces of the fight remain, but they are all traces of the past. I don’t think we need to be too careful.
There were sparse doors on either side of the hallway. All doors were made of sturdy steel. Above the door was a sign covered in dust.
[3-5 Lab] [3-6 Lab]…
As I first thought, this place seemed to be a laboratory.
Some doors did not open, but most were easily opened or broken.
It was full of broken machines and electronic equipment that were of unknown use, like the first room.
As he looked at the doors one by one, he stopped in front of the iron gate at the end of the hallway.
[3-1 Lab]The iron gates here were so broken that no shape remained. Also, the area around the iron gate was much more damaged than anywhere else.
There seemed to be a big fight.
However, Kyunghoon stopped for another reason.
‘It’s a corpse, no, it’s a skeleton.’
Skeletons were scattered in this laboratory.
The traces on the door were predicting the situation inside to some extent, so I wasn’t surprised this time.
After thinking for a while, Kyunghoon entered the laboratory.
He didn’t look like he was dead. Bones were scattered here and there, and many were missing.
Even the clothes he was wearing were not in good shape. They were scattered as if torn by force.
‘Is it a white research suit and a black body armor?’
Upon checking the clothes and the number of skeletons, the dead bodies appeared to be two or three researchers and two soldiers.
And, there was a broken rifle next to the body armor.
‘Can’t a security guard have a gun in Korea?’
It was the first type of rifle he had ever seen, but it was clear that he had been in the military or something similar.
“I thought it was a place like a secret military base… Why did I come to this place?”
Kyunghoon couldn’t understand. He sighed again and began to check the equipment scattered next to the skeleton.
He had no hobby of touching a dead body, but now he had to find something.
Unfortunately, the rifles were all smashed and useless. The magazine on the belt was useless because there was no gun.
‘The bullets are amazing. What patterns are painted on the surface? Priest bullets?’
While checking the bullets, he threw a magazine with a pitiful expression.
He digs bullets and draws patterns. I don’t know where the dead soldier belonged, but if it was the Korean military, it was a back-up.
After that, though, I was able to get a lighter, a dagger, and a pair of good body armor.
“Hey, what else is this? Is it still in operation?”
I could still find an old cell phone that was still flashing.
It was a sturdy phone that looked similar to that of a Finnish company that was equivalent to a hammer.
The problem was the flickering lights in the corner.
The cell phone, which must have been abandoned for 10 years, was still alive and well.
It’s a battery that’s over 10 years old, and it’s not even a solar cell phone. No, there was no light here, so solar charging itself was impossible.
“Come on, let’s see where we go.”
There are people who can see even without light, so how do you know if a battery that lasts more than 10 years is possible?
Now, a dragon appeared in front of me and I was confident that I wouldn’t be surprised even if I cried.
It was just an old phone. It was not a touch screen method, but a method in which you had to press each button one by one.
Fortunately, both English and Korean were written. He pressed each button.
Wrath!
tiling.
The screen turned on. I hoped, but the screen really turned on. I didn’t know if I could get any information.
The screen turned on with the sound of music and the four stars began to spin. It was a loading screen.
“Maybe it’s not that company, is it?”
The most famous company in Korea came to mind, but the logo on the screen was slightly different from that company.
After a while, the loading finished and the screen changed.
[Existing user has been revoked. First time user. I will register my fingerprint. Thumbs up on the screen.]A sentence that appeared on the screen. And below it, a fingerprint mark appeared.
It wasn’t funny. Now, over-technology has emerged. Fingerprint recognition on mobile phones that look over 10 years old.
‘Oh, come to think of it, mobile phones that have been in operation for more than 10 years are more over-tech.’
But it was so absurd that it wasn’t even considered a new technology.
Kyunghoon opened his eyes and looked at his phone. With such an absurd cell phone, I didn’t know that electricity could flow through my thumb, giving me an electric shock.
Now I have heard all sorts of delusions. He sighed and put his finger on the screen.
Fortunately, there was no electricity.
Instead, a strange pattern appeared on the screen. Fortunately, this time it was out of my understanding.
After a while, the pattern that looked like a magic circle disappeared and the text came to mind.
[New Awakening has been confirmed.] [Mana Rank F] [Talent: Dimensional Mover] [Congratulations. An S-class trait has been discovered. I immediately contacted the Awakened Department.]‘No, wait. You can contact me as you like.’
[Connecting… Connecting… Failed to connect. Please visit the Awakened Department.]Kyunghoon stared blankly at his phone. Apparently this was a bad dream.
AmaliaJ’s Note
For those who like Hunter or Awakener stories!!!
I love this one because it depicted how the world changes step by step unlike other stories where gate or rift suddenly BAM! all over the world. And this also nicely involve characters from other countries too, since these kind of stories usually just focusing on the MC’s country and make other countries enemies. That felt bad.