Chapter 2
The World Is a Mess (1)
1.Question.
Have you ever wandered the streets and forgotten your way, or lost something?
Or maybe you went to another world and just returned?
Where should you go in that case?
“Hey, I’m not a bad person!”
“It’s the procedure, the procedure! You broke the police station door as soon as you arrived, didn’t you? Suspects suspected of being players are to be forcibly confined in a special detention cell.”
“No, that wasn’t my intention! I just… I can’t control my strength properly…”
The correct answer is: the police station.
I sighed deeply, holding the iron bars blocking my way.
There’s a rather bizarre story behind why I ended up locked in this cell.
I had opened the door, trying to enter the police station cheerfully, and just for holding the doorknob… the glass shattered into pieces.
So I was put in the cell.
I had experienced prison in another world, but never a police detention cell on Earth.
“Ugh…”
Starting my first day back like this… typical of my life.
“Your guardian has been contacted, so please wait a little while.”
“That’s a relief.”
“You’ll have to compensate for the glass door. It’s been only a week since it was replaced… Goodness. Even if you are a player, how can you disregard public authority like this?”
“Well, I… don’t really care if I’m a player… ugh.”
The officer inspecting me through the bars is Detective Jeon In-soo.
Not a “bad cop” trying to eat me alive for breaking a door… well, I was at fault.
What excuse does a criminal have?
Still, going straight to the police station upon returning was a good decision.
I turned my head and checked the news on the TV mounted on the wall.
“…Therefore, the government has decided to implement strong support policies for lower-level players to accelerate progress in <Abyss>. Players eligible for support are those below the third level, and accordingly, the Ability Management Department…”
After gathering my conversations at the police station and other information, the conclusion was as follows:
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The current year on Earth is 2035.
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A strange phenomenon called <Abyss> has appeared on Earth, and <Players> who operate within the Abyss have emerged.
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The <Abyss> is a world like a maze from a game, divided into levels.
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In short, the Earth I knew no longer exists.
Hmm, even I admit this summary is trash.
If you ask whether this makes sense, I’d also answer no.
But what can I do? This is reality.
Still, there is some good news.
During the ten years I spent in another world, seven years passed on Earth. That means I’m not 35, but 32.
I’m three years younger… sigh.
“Yoo Seong-woo.”
“Yes.”
“Even with your guardian here, the investigation will proceed. You know there was an issue during the identity check, right?”
During the police identity verification, it was confirmed that I was already officially declared dead.
Naturally. If someone goes missing for five years, they’re declared dead.
Even I’d be suspicious if I saw it.
“A person declared dead returning as a player… it’s a highly sensitive matter these days.”
“For example?”
“Perhaps like becoming a foreign special agent or something.”
“Will you personally investigate, Detective?”
“Of course not. That’s outside our jurisdiction.”
Seeing someone confidently assert their lack of jurisdiction made me painfully aware that this was still South Korea.
South Korea hasn’t changed!
Leaving my identity aside, what had been annoying me since earlier was this:
[SYSTEM ACTIVATED!]
[New Unique Trait Acquired: <Attention-Seeker>]
[Attention-Seeker]
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Rank: None
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Description: Following the mediation plan proposed by the <World Spirit> of <Earth>, part of your ability has been sealed. The <World Spirit> detects your desires and can increase the unsealing rate based on your specific goals. Your genuine goal was confirmed as <MiTube Creator>. Thus, the first goal is <Number of MiTube Subscribers>.
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Effect: Sealing is lifted in proportion to the number of subscribers.
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Current unseal rate: 10%
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Condition for first unseal: Reach 100,000 <subscribers>.
If fraudulent subscriber activity is detected, disciplinary action may be taken.
The system messages I was sick of seeing in another world had synced with Earth as well.
I was told I’d lose all my powers upon returning to Earth, yet…
The mention of a “mediation plan” hinted something had changed.
Naturally, I welcomed it. How would I survive without any powers?
Probably the message windows I saw upon return had some added explanation.
“Hmm…”
I swallowed my annoyance and read the system message carefully.
A trait that unlocks my power in proportion to subscribers.
It’s more like a restriction than a trait.
Ten percent.
Honestly, estimating what ten percent of my power felt like was difficult. But considering I broke a police station door due to lack of control… it’s definitely not weak.
‘Alright, let’s think positively.’
Before returning, I assumed I’d lose all my powers.
I’m not limited to “only” ten percent—I can use a full ten percent.
I’m a little concerned that the MiTube subscriber count is tied to the unseal rate, but let’s see it positively.
Streaming, huh. I had planned to try again anyway.
“Detective Jeon, about that Abyss… I have some questions…”
Just as I was about to ask him, a familiar face appeared through the broken door.
Black suit.
Loosely tied, messy tie.
Seeing his face, I froze.
He approached my cell slowly.
He must’ve been in a hurry—sweat was beading on his forehead despite the winter chill.
“What’s that look?”
I didn’t know how to respond, so I just smiled awkwardly.
“Hyung. I told you to take your meds already. Look at your hair… ugh.”
“You… you little… you…”
Yoo Jin-sung.
My only family.
He gripped the bars tightly, staring at me.
“Where… did you disappear to…”
The moment of parting had been awkward, but this reunion felt just as awkward.
Was he crying? Or laughing?
His normally plain face looked even worse today.
I carefully got up and greeted him for the first time in a long while.
“Have you been well?”
Looking at his face, it finally sank in.
I had returned.
To where I belonged.
We just stared at each other in silence for a long while, separated by the bars.
2.
Detective Jeon explained that thorough investigation was needed regarding my seven-year disappearance and my superhuman strength.
But my brother strongly argued that this didn’t justify detention, and as a result, I was freed.
When he handed Detective Jeon a business card, the detective waved his hand as if annoyed.
I wonder what that card was…
“Nice car.”
I leaned back in the passenger seat, enjoying the cushion.
It’s spacious.
An SUV, with a large trunk.
Usually, someone with a child would drive such a car.
“When did you get this?”
“Last year.”
“Almost new.”
It was my first time riding a car in ten years.
The car is new, but my brother sitting next to me has aged quite a bit.
He answered stiffly, then went silent again. I scratched my cheek awkwardly and glanced around.
A photo next to the steering wheel. And next to it, a cute baby photo.
The photo by the wheel shows three people:
Me, my brother, and…
“So they got married? When?”
The girlfriend I called sister-in-law before I went to the other world.
I remembered her name.
Yoon Bit-na.
They had been dating for a long time, and it seems they finally got married.
She’s really my sister-in-law now.
Hearing her name made me nostalgic.
“Two years ago.”
“Wow. So that baby photo… is my niece? My niece?”
“Yoo Ian.”
“Such a pretty name. How old?”
“Two.”
My brother has always been taciturn.
Our parents died early, and he was strict with me.
He’s three years older than me.
Even though he was strict, he supported me silently when I decided to start streaming foolishly.
“Uh.”
Out of boredom, I rummaged through the passenger seat and found a business card:
Law Firm Yoo Sung
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Lawyer Yoo Jin-sung
<Specializing in Players>
Unlike me, my brother was very smart.
He had just joined a law firm before I left for the other world, but the firm’s name had changed, so he either switched jobs or started his own.
The card he gave Detective Jeon earlier must have been this one.
I wanted to ask more questions, but seeing his face, I held back.
He really is icy.
“My sister-in-law must’ve made a huge decision. How could she decide to live with that face forever? She must’ve been an angel in her past life.”
“Yoo Seong-woo.”
I tried to break the awkwardness with a cheeky comment, but his reply was stiff.
“I have more questions than you.”
“I know. Then ask. I’ll answer honestly.”
“But there’s one more person who needs to hear this with you. So wait now, we’ll go together.”
“Who?”
“Bit-na. She searched for you with me for five years after you suddenly disappeared. I’ve told her already.”
Looking at it, my brother really has a talent for shutting people up.
Ah, maybe that’s why he became a lawyer.
My fate was in his and my sister-in-law’s hands, but it felt good.
Better than dying suddenly in another world, at least.
“At least let me see my niece.”
“You don’t deserve to see Ian.”
“Seriously?”
“Just die. I’m afraid you’ll corrupt Ian.”
“She takes after you. The baby’s pretty.”
“…Ian is indeed pretty.”
Still, talking a bit loosened his expression.
I turned my head to look out the window.
Tall buildings rush past.
In the other world, the view was open and refreshing, but in Korea, the view is naturally limited.
Still, it wasn’t unpleasant.
This is the kind of constriction I had missed for a long time.
“Did you move?”
“Not far from the old place. The old house was too small for Ian.”
His tone was still stiff, though slightly softened.
We weren’t expecting a warm reunion, but his formal manner annoyed me.
I had to break his poker face.
“Hyung.”
“Ah, stop talking already!”
My brother had lent me a tablet in the car.
Thanks to it, I roughly understood how Earth had changed.
And I clearly realized what I needed to do.
“I’m going to stream Abyss.”
“What?”
Screech.
At my words, my brother pulled the car to the side and glared at me, astonished.
“Are you crazy? That’s what you do after seven years? Huh?”
“Don’t crush a younger brother’s dream.”
“But you don’t even know what Abyss is. You don’t know what a player is. So what Abyss stream are you talking about?”
I had watched the news while waiting for him.
Players fighting monsters in the Abyss. I saw that some were from the top US team.
I estimated roughly…
“Those players are weak.”
“You’re insane.”
“I’m serious.”
Just by looking, I could handle them all myself.
