Gwanjongcheonma’s Game Broadcast - Chapter 2

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 2

A construction site near Dangsan Station.

The sound of hammering rebar mixes with dust and assaults the ears.

Clang! Bang!

Men sitting in a circle at one corner of the construction site.

One of them raises his voice.

“Hey! Back in my day! I had hundreds of employees under me! Drove around in a Bentley! Did it all!”

The same repertoire repeated every day.

The workers sitting nearby frown and scratch their ears.

Just one person.

Only a young man with delicate features nodded at his words.

“Indeed. How impressive. Leading an organization is no easy task.”

“Right? Haha! I was quite something back then!”

“Something my ass. Hey, Mr. Kim!”

The site manager who had approached glares at Mr. Kim.

“How long has it been since the plastering team started, and you’re still chatting away? Get going!”

Mr. Kim, who had been telling war stories just moments before, frowns and gets up from his seat.

The site manager clicks his tongue while glaring at his retreating figure.

“Geez. How long do I have to listen to that nonsense? What did you say your name was again?”

“Cheon Hae-rang.”

“Right. Hae-rang. Don’t take that blowhard Mr. Kim’s words too seriously. Sometimes he was a chairman, sometimes he was a building owner.”

“Indeed. How impressive.”

“That’s not what I meant…!”

The site manager raises his voice then squeezes his eyes shut.

Then he shakes his head lightly.

“Never mind. Never mind. Just work hard and honestly, that’s enough. Make me a cup of coffee.”

“Yes.”

Hae-rang makes coffee with controlled movements.

Even the perfect finishing touch of flicking the end of the mix coffee packet with his finger.

The corners of the watching site manager’s mouth turn up.

“Hae-rang, you’re not like kids these days, and I like that. You do exactly what you’re told, and never do what you’re told not to. It seems easy when you think about it, but kids these days aren’t like that.”

Twitch!

The paper cup Hae-rang was holding shakes violently.

The site manager’s eyes widen like an owl’s at this sudden change.

“Why… what’s wrong? Was what I said too old-fashioned?”

“Not at all… I’m fine now.”

Hae-rang’s body, which had been trembling from the praise, barely managed to calm down.

“You’re really something. So bland. Anyway, how did you become friends with Mr. Kim? All he does is talk about the good old days.”

“He said this to me. Why is a guy with a decent build so bad at work?”

The site manager’s head tilts to the side.

“Huh? You heard that and became friends instead?”

“He said I had a decent build. He complimented my appearance, so there’s no reason for us to be on bad terms.”

“That’s…”

Does that make sense?

You kid?

Barely holding back these words, the site manager changed the subject.

“Right. How long have you been working here?”

“Three months.”

“Has it been that long already? Time really flies. You’ve changed a lot too.”

“I’ve changed?”

“Don’t you remember the beginning? You suddenly showed up here with your hands behind your back, speaking informally. ‘You will not regret hiring me,’ you said.”

“Ah. That’s right. Three months ago I knew nothing.”

“Haha. You were so funny back then. Anyway, you’ve really worked hard all this time. You came out at dawn every single day without missing one and worked full shifts.”

“Thank you.”

I was wondering what you were working so hard to earn money for, but I guess Hae-rang is just like people these days after all. You said you’re buying a capsule or something?”

“Yes. I’m going to become a streamer.”

“A streamer? What’s that?”

“It’s a job where you receive praise and get paid for it.”

“Wow… There’s really a job like that in this world?”

“Isn’t it amazing?”

Even amidst the swirling fine dust, Hae-rang’s eyes sparkled like sunlight on water.

“Yeah. Give it your best shot. Despite how you look, you’ve got grit and tenacity, so you’ll do well at whatever you try.”

“Heh… Thank you.”

“By the way, I’m in quite a bind now that you’re quitting, Hae-rang. Don’t you have any friends similar to you? I’d be willing to pay extra to bring them over.”

When Hae-rang shook his head, the manager smiled bitterly.

“Well, I guess there aren’t many people like you, Hae-rang. Carrying twice as many bricks while working three times faster than others? Honestly, I’d want to hire you as a full-time employee.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, but I have something I need to do.”

“Right. I was just saying that because I’m disappointed to see you go.”

Hae-rang carefully carried the last brick and prepared to leave work.

After greeting each of the workers including Mr. Kim one by one, he stepped outside the construction site.

In his hand was a crumpled Pay Envelope clutched tightly.

* * *

Many things had become familiar over the past three months.

The way to converse with people.

How to ride buses and subways.

Most encouraging of all was that he had become proficient at using this thing called a Smartphone.

Press.

Sitting in the back seat of the bus, he touched the screen.

Soon a familiar screen came into view.

Dizzying crossover effects passed by, and a blue app name appeared.

【Trend】

South Korea’s most popular gaming platform.

Various types of videos densely filled the screen.

Hae-rang clicked on the ‘Game’ category without hesitation.

And began his earnest viewing.

“Damn it! I definitely pressed the button, so why isn’t the skill activating!”

-Well… because you didn’t press it…

-So slow.. even pressing buttons..

-Blaming the button the entire broadcast ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ blame blame blame!

-I! Pressed! The button!

Moving past a fighting game stream focused more on comedy than skill,

“I’m not eating until I see the ending today!”

-Streamer finally declares a hunger strike!

-If you want to diet, just say so hahaha

-While we’re at it, let’s go for malnutrition too!

-Natural Wegovy lololol omg lolol

Through a hardcore mode game where dying once sends you back to the beginning,

“Yes~ zombies appear here, right? It’s all~ predictable!”

-A human who’s gone beyond stale to rotten.. you memorized all these patterns?

-‘Right now our academy is’ GOAT lololololol

-The zombies would probably get sick of it and run away lololol omg lololol

-That zombie definitely saw us just now, but it deliberately looked away, right? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Zombie: Save me, damn it

To a zombie game where they claimed to do a time attack but kept repeating the same stage.

The machines for playing games were quite diverse too.

But the most popular format was definitely this one.

‘Capsule.’

Capsule games where you enter a machine shaped like a giant egg to enjoy virtual reality.

What he had seen in advertisements when he first came to this world was also a Capsule game.

Since it used the entire body, adaptation seemed easy too.

After all, he had experience conquering Murim with nothing but his bare body.

Adaptation to his new body was already complete.

Though not as much as in his previous life, three months of labor and cafeteria meals had made his physique solid.

‘It would have been nice if I could properly use the Heavenly Demon Divine Art too.’

Despite physical training, his Internal Energy hadn’t grown at all.

Maybe like a sprout barely poking its head out of vast earth?

However, he wasn’t particularly disappointed.

This world had its own rules.

If you carelessly beat up even enemies, you’d be treated like a beast rather than receiving praise.

Hae-rang intended to live as a human in this place, not a beast.

As a human who receives lots of praise.

Beep!

Hae-rang got off the bus with familiar movements.

His gaze turned toward one direction.

A building half-demolished and abandoned.

A banner hangs on the rooftop with missing teeth and shattered sections.

【Our store is operating normally.】

Below the banner, a sign reading ‘Leon Capsule Room’ is visible.

The building on the verge of collapse and the shiny new sign formed a stark contrast.

Hae-rang opened the store door without hesitation and entered.

* * *

“Sigh….”

Choi Gang-sik, the owner of Leon Capsule Room, lets out consecutive sighs.

The empty store comes into view of his dejected gaze.

“Damn. Not even a single fly around.”

He’d welcome even a fly coming in at this point.

Lonely.

Desolate.

He wanted to grab any passerby and pour out his grievances.

How could the building go up for auction right after opening the store?

It was a capsule room he’d ambitiously set up after quitting his job and spending all his money.

Now he might have to vacate soon, let alone recover the key money.

The dark screens inside the capsule room seemed to whisper to him.

‘This is your future.’

Swoosh.

Just then, he heard the sound of the store entrance door opening.

Choi Gang-sik sprang up from his seat like a spring and shouted loudly.

“Welcome! Customer…?”

Choi Gang-sik’s dark circles, which reached down to his cheekbones, drooped even further.

“Hae-rang. It’s you again.”

“Hello. Uncle Gang-si.”

“It’s not Gang-si, it’s Gang-sik!”

Choi Gang-sik’s face twisted with annoyance.

He was a strange guy.

Every time he corrected his name, the guy would tilt his head saying ‘Anyone can see you’re like a Gang-si I’ve seen before.’

But even so, he didn’t turn him away.

Choi Gang-sik was in a state where he’d welcome even a single fly.

“Here you go.”

And like this, he shows his own form of sincerity.

The problem is that sincerity consists of two packets of mix coffee.

“Where the hell do you keep getting these from?”

“From the construction site where I work.”

“Geez…. At least I won’t get sleepy thanks to you. Thank you sooooo much!”

“Gasp…!”

Hae-rang suddenly trembled all over.

Choi Gang-sik, who had been wearing a bitter smile, blinked his eyes.

“You… what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“Yes. I’m fine now.”

Hae-rang nodded and his eyes sparkled brightly.

How should I put it.

It was the kind of look one would give to someone who had shown them kindness.

‘Anyway, what a strange guy.’

Choi Gang-sik shook his head once.

Then he pointed to Room 1 with his chin.

“I’ve got Room 1 turned on, so go take a look.”

Just because business was bad didn’t mean he could turn off all the rooms.

And Hae-rang always watched the videos from outside Room 1.

Standing in the same spot for hours on end.

“But you’re really something. Don’t you get tired of it? Coming every day to watch the same video?”

“Thank you for the compliment that I’m something.”

“That wasn’t a compliment!”

Hae-rang smiled slightly toward Gang-si, whose voice had risen.

“Consistent repetitive training is the shortcut to the ‘royal path’ after all.”

“Royal path? Training?”

What on earth was he talking about.

A big question mark rose above Gang-si’s head.

Following that, surprising words flowed from Hae-rang.

“I didn’t come to watch today. Gang-si uncle.”

“Then?”

“I came as a customer. The time has come.”

Hae-rang showed Gang-si the crumpled envelope.

* * *

“The sun will rise in the west. To think you’d actually come here and use the service.”

Choi Gang-sik pressed a button to open the capsule door of Room 1.

“Your first time doing it yourself? Then you don’t have an account either?”

“No.”

“Hmm. Usually people create a user account before starting. What do you want to do?”

“I’ll just do it. Time spent creating an account costs money too.”

“Hey. Forget it. I’ll give you the account creation time as a service. I have several idle machines, you think I can’t do that much?”

“Later. I plan to do it slowly when I have more time.”

“Do it slowly?”

Choi Gang-sik’s eyes became round like buttons.

That kind of thinking was something only kids who buy capsules would have.

Choi Gang-sik couldn’t read Hae-rang’s thoughts.

“Come on, get in. What game?”

“[Fist of the North Star].”

“[Fist of the North Star], huh. You’re tougher than you look.”

Choi Gang-sik stretched his lips long.

[Fist of the North Star] was a tutorial game for beginners.

Sometimes, beginners had difficulty just connecting to the capsule.

Mild motion sickness symptoms could occur, and in severe cases, they might vomit.

The tutorial game was created to help such beginners adapt.

However, as Choi Gang-sik said, Fist of the North Star was quite a rough game.

Unlike other tutorial games where you just click fingers, you had to constantly swing your hands and feet.

“If you feel anything wrong with your body, tell me right away.”

Since he was a beginner, variables could occur at any time.

Choi Gang-sik gave his warning and closed the capsule door.

Hae-rang closed his eyes and waited for a moment.

Soon, a white lightning flashed through Hae-rang’s mind.

Flash!

Brilliant flashes of full color scattered dazzlingly in his vision.

It felt like his ears were ringing from a large fireworks show unfolding before his eyes.

‘The effect that occurs when connecting… was it like this?’

No.

Among the explanations he had heard from Choi Gang-sik, there were no such dazzling effects.

This was a miracle and anomaly that occurred solely for Hae-rang.

Thump thump.

Hae-rang’s heart pounded roughly.

The variable that the capsule room owner had mentioned happening to beginners.

That had appeared in Hae-rang as well.

However, that variable wasn’t the kind like motion sickness and vomiting.

‘This is… definitely…!!’

Kiiing!

The weapon that had led him to the pinnacle in his previous life.

The treasured sword from the past that he thought he wouldn’t be able to use in this life.

As soon as he connected to the capsule, that treasure had returned.

‘Heavenly Demon Divine Art…!’

A thrilling shiver ran through Hae-rang’s entire body.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————