I started thinking about the message that suddenly popped up, but within my field of vision, a human appeared.
It was a guy.
No, is it really a guy?
The face was so thin and pale that he looked like a skull.
His arms and legs were really thin and his ribs could be seen through his skin.
‘No way.’
The original owner of this power?
While making that assumption, I started feeling really thirsty.
This thirst could be compared to a marathon runner that would run without drinking water first.
Si Hyun rushed to the kitchen, grabbed a water bottle and started gulping it down.
Pant…pant…
After finishing the bottle, he felt better.
But, this time, he felt an enormous hunger.
Si Hyun scooped the rice in the rice cooker and place it in a big bowl. He added red chili paste and vegetables and started mixing the ingredients.
He started devouring the food and soon enough, his bowl became empty. If it were any other times, he would’ve felt like his stomach would blow up, but he didn’t feel full at all.
“What is this? We’re influencing each other this way, right?”
He couldn’t think of any other reason.
Since the guy was starving, Si Hyun felt really hungry.
And a message appeared telling him to fill his hunger.
It probably meant that if Si Hyun ate, then it’ll affect the guy too.
As if proving that theory, a new notification appeared.
“A small fire has been started in Po Ah Him’s fragile lamp of life. However, a consistent meal is required from now on.”
“Power +1, Stamina +1 recovered.”
‘Recovered?’
Si Hyun quickly checked the stats window to see if there were any changes.
Power 2 (E)
Agility 1 (E)
Knowledge 1 (E)
Stamina 2 (E)
Mentality 1 (E)
Mana 1 (E)
‘It really increased.’
Power and stamina actually increased.
Of course it was only a small increase.
But still.
‘The fact that it increased is what’s important.’
Seeing 1’s in all the stats made him hopeless.
But now, he had hope.
The stats belonged to the owner and seeing as how his body wasn’t any different from a patient’s, it explained why it was low.
What if he fully recovered?
Even if his knowledge was fully recovered, it’ll remain at E, but I’m sure I won’t get these types of quests.
Then D? Or C?
It would be nice if it can be raised to B.
Then, how much will my annual salary be? Geez…
He knew he was being a bit greedy, but the thought made him happy. Now he felt like he was one of the awakened ones.
As he was lost in his thoughts, Si Hyun quickly turned his computer on and logged into a website called, MPark, and looked at the “Hot Bulletin Board.”
Si Hyun’s finger started typing on the keyboard quickly.
- Title: I think I’ve Awakened
- Body: I drank three bottles of Soju last night and just woke up, but I could feel it. An amazing feeling. This is the turning point in my life and if I get rich, I’ll pick twelve people out of everyone that follows me and I’ll buy you fried chicken.
I’ve always wanted to do something like this.
Posting.
How much pain have I endured through the posts of people bragging about their girlfriends, grades, jobs and so on?
Because it was such a large community, comments started flooding in at a fast rate.
- I’ll line up.
- Second.
- Next.
- Lining up.
- Line.
- Troll.
- Next troll.
- Next post.
- Huh? Aren’t you the guy that posts in the “Side Dishes When Drinking Alone” topic once in a while?
- Are you sure you’ve awakened?
Seeing the comments on his topic, a smile appeared on Si Hyun’s face.
In every community, there will always be the same type of people, so it isn’t unusual to see these types of comments.
If it were any other time, he would’ve felt angry because of those troll posts, but Si Hyun thought their comments were cute.
His fingers quickly started typing the next post.
- Title: Woah…I see the Status Window
- Body: I haven’t checked the message, but I’m really nervous. I don’t really expect something big, but something awesome would be great.
Comments were posted at a much faster rate than before.
- Wow!
- They’ve really awakened? Damn!
- Damn, I’m jelly. When will I awaken?
- I think it’s a lie.
- Beep, it’s a noob magician.
- An immature knight.
- I’m telling you, it’s a troll.
- Let’s not post negative comments just because you’re jelly.
- Congrats.
- Maybe we’re finally getting a sword master on this board. If you become a sword master, buy 1,000 pizzas.
- First, congrats on your awakening. I’m sure you’ll be happy everyday as the awakened one. At our bank, people that just awakened tend to create a bank account and end up having a negative balance due to them spending on their parents, travelling overseas, or resolving their housing issue. The team in charge of the awakened ones can be reached at 010-xxx…
Getting negative comments from jealous users made Si Hyun happy.
“What? A noob magician? Immature knight? They sure are rooting the E rank.”
It’s the same situation when something great happens to a family member.
While laughing, Si Hyun started typing the next topic.
- Title: I checked.
- Body: I got the Depressing Ward. I honestly don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing.
Soon, salty comments were being posted.
- Geez, I got tricked by a troll.
- A ward? How can an awakened one be a ward?
- I told you, I’m the troll.
- Bugs sure are busily working so early in the morning.
- I reported.
- They need therapy.
- If you’re going to be a troll, at least be a skilled one. A ward doesn’t make sense.
Yeah, I’m a ward.
There are times when the truth can really seem like a lie. That’s why I posted truthfully, but the reaction was what I expected.
While Si Hyun had a dull look on his face, his stomach started rumbling.
It hasn’t even been that long since I last ate. Well, when I ate last time, I didn’t really feel full.
Compared to his usual serving, it was a lot.
That means it was the serving of the guy standing.
It might not be 100%, but I’m sure we’re really influencing each other.
If it was 100%, then I’m sure I would’ve already been taken to the emergency room.
In order to eat, Si Hyun headed to the kitchen, but while doing so, he felt a chill.
As if it were waiting for him to feel the chill, a new notification popped up.
“Po Ah Him’s body temperature has dropped a lot. Use any method possible to raise his body temperature.”
“Urgent quest: Quickly raise his body temperature.”
“A new quest.”
Now that I think about it, I saw snow falling when I briefly looked out the window he was standing near. Also, there weren’t any firewood in the room.
Anyways, nothing bad could come out of this.
No, this is actually good.
He’ll be able to recover his power quicker if more quests pop up.
“…But, it is cold.”
The room felt as cold as the snowy weather.
Si Hyun looked through this closet and changed into a thicker shirt and pants. Then he wore a sweater and a jacket. He then turned on the electric heat mat.
Placing a thick blanket on top of the mat, Si Hyun snuggled in.
“Yeah, now it’s pretty warm.”
While warming his body, a notification window popped up.
“Po Ah Him is starting to feel warm.”
“Agility +1, Stamina +1 recovered.”
“Po Ah Him’s body is starting recover a bit of energy, but his heart is still frozen. You must melt that heart.”
“Quest: Comfort his heart a bit through a familiar smell. The smell of prison.”
***
“Si Hyun, did something happen?”
The next day, before going into the office, Si Hyun was in the break room with a blank look on his face until a guy with glasses started talking to him. He was Si Hyun’s coworker and five years older than him. His name was Jung Joon Chul.
“Oh, Joon Chul. Is today the third week?”
Most of the officers that work overtime have four shifts.
However, for Si Hyun, he worked Monday through Friday, just like many of the other public workers.
“Yeah.”
“I see. Nothing happened.”
“Really? You looked so out of it.”
“It’s nothing. I always look like this.”
“Really? Okay then.”
Joon Chul sat next to Si Hyun.
He continued talking.
“Did you hear? There was a big commotion yesterday.”
“What happened?”
“That bastard injured himself last night. Man Duk.”
“Geez, he did it again? What a tiresome guy.”
Kim Man Duk.
He was a scammer and was known for hurting himself.
It wasn’t as bad as suicide, but it was still a tiring issue within the prison.
If it’s not dealt with properly, we can get in big trouble.
If they actually died from it, then their family could sue us for it.
“So, what happened?”
“He was taken to the ER right away. They said he’ll be there for about two to three weeks.”
“Geez, looks like they’re going to schedule a weekend shift.”
Just because the prisoner is in the hospital doesn’t mean that it’s over. The wards have to take turns guarding the place. The more people that aren’t staying in prisons, the more weekends the wards have to cover.
“Also, I think Man Duk is scheduled to change his cell and I think you’ll be in charge of him. You’re stationed in fifth floor, office two, right?”
The prison that Si Hyun was working at had 1,200 prisoners and 800 prisoners that were on trial.
The building has 15 floors and on each floor, there are two offices.
And the floor that Si Hyun was responsible for was the second office on the fifth floor.
“…Geez, is it my turn already?”
When there are prisoners that are difficult to handle, they tend to change the wards. It was something that couldn’t be avoided. Only those that were responsible for the problematic prisoners will know how difficult it is to deal with them.
And they couldn’t just force them to go outside. It was something the both parties had to endure.
“I pray that nothing happens while you’re in charge of him.”
***
Si Hyun stopped in his tracks when a notification appeared.
“Quest: Comfort his heart a bit through a familiar smell. The smell of prison.”
As usual, the quest notification popped up.
Prison.
I noticed when it said Prison Officer, but the words were very old-fashioned.
Now that I think about it, they did use the words sword, magic and knight, which is possible that this world didn’t have any concept of reform, so I guess using prison and Prison Officer is fitting.
With a smile on his face, Si Hyun unlocked the office door.
Only those that have worked here will understand the awkward atmosphere and smell this place gives off. Even for someone that had a dull sense of smell, they would be able to smell this.
“Po Ah Him is feeling better after smelling the scent of the prison.”
“Knowledge +1, Mentality +1, Power +1 Recovered.”
“Oh.”
As soon as he entered the office, a notification saying that he completed the quest appeared.
It also notified that its stats recovered.
On top of that, a new notification popped up.
“Now that Po Ah Him is feeling better, he would like to see his juniors working passionately. Show him how passionately you’re working.”
“Quest: Command the prisoners that have broken the rules. (0/10)”
A new quest!
A new quest was given as soon as one was completed.
Being able to get stronger while working is awesome!