A few days later, I was discharged from the hospital. I returned to my dark and messy room.

After returning home, I fell asleep straight through to the evening. I had never slept so well. The recovery support from the hospital services was truly remarkable.

I decided that I wouldn't contact Yang. Raynor was right. It was way too risky to get involved in such an uncertain thing. Ray is highly cautious of anything novel, but his instinct rarely lies.

Everything that happened that day, with the teenager bending fire and the giant spider-like monster can now rest in the past. Honestly, when we faced that spider, my mind was not lucid, so the appearance of a few illusions was not entirely implausible.

Yes, I would prefer to continue my boring but peaceful life. Being alone isn't that bad. I do what I like while staying away from this dreadful world. Ray will be fine, he's capable. And Yang, he seems strong. I'm sure he can figure out a way to defeat the Entity of Chaos, perhaps by reaching out to other talented individuals.

That's right, I cannot be the only one. There are so many geniuses and skilled warriors out there, who are a hundred times better than me.

I cannot even fully control my power. Thinking that, I smirked at my reflection in the dusty mirror on the wall.

Well, here I am, back to the old life. Just being a lame useless individual that pulls society down.

I hopped right on my PC after quickly settling my mind.

"Great! Forknite has a new update!"

I played games until 4 am and ended the day with another long nice sleep after slurping some cups of ramen from Friend Mart.

However, that sense of elation did not last for too long. The next day began with a thick stack of bills tightly packed in the mailbox. They had canceled my gas contract and phone line and warned of an electricity cutoff by the end of the month if I did not make the payment by the 24th.

Well... I don't need hot water anyway. I always shower with cold water. The phone line was also not that important because I had no one to contact except for Ray. Electricity is crucial though, I need it to use my computer for online work and gaming.

"Oh yeah... Have I gotten paid for the game reviews last month...?"

I opened the freelancers' access page to check if I've been paid for reviewing a bunch of new games released last month. The figure of 40,000 yen glaring on the screen makes me unable to believe my eyes. Sweat ran down my spine.

"40,000 yen?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I'VE BEEN WORKING MY A** OFF ALL MONTH AND THIS IS ALL THAT I GOT?"

I hastily opened the job contract to see what had happened. It can't be. There must be some mistake here.

Stolen novel; please report.

And then my heart leaped out of my chest as I glanced at the line that read, "If the contracted person does not post for three consecutive days, with or without reason, their monthly salary will be deducted by 75%." Coincidentally, this line was tucked away at the end of the contract, after the page with signatures from both parties and the intermediary.

What kind of nonsense is this? Should I file a case and hire a lawyer?

"Who am I kidding? I don't even have enough to pay my bills and afford living costs."

I dropped down on the bed, in awe.

40,000 yen is only worth half of my monthly rent. If I push myself to the limit, I could skip this month's rent and work like a dog next month to pay back double the amount I owe.

Yeah, maybe that's the only way. This was the only job I could do anyway. Professionals in this industry get paid a lot, but unlucky for me, I don't have any qualifications, and dropping out of high school definitely does not sound like a decent professional background.

I couldn't help but sigh.

A sense of disheartening engulfed my mind. Ah, so that's how it felt like. I've always lived like this, worrying that my income couldn't pull me out of the mud. Always calculating for survival. Always working hard for a long-term contract that exploits the hell out of me.

I miss the carefree days back in the hospital.

I took off my thin layer of clothing, looking into the dusty mirror. A slender figure with average height looked back at me unkempt. The dry, slightly tangled hair cascaded down to the collarbones, partially obstructing the view of my face. The skin was dry and pale, slightly discolored from too much exposure to electronic devices and lack of sunlight.

Suddenly my PC rang, from which I almost jumped. It was Ray, calling me through the app Wire.

"Take boy! What happened to your phone? Did you drop it in your toilet or something? I couldn't call you at all!"

"Yeah, about that... Anyways, what's up?"

"Well, nothing much. Just making sure you're still intact. Bella sent her greetings too."

There's no way Bella did that. I even thought she forgot about me.

"Oh, thank you. Thank her for me too, please."

"Yeah, sure. Promise I will. Anything for my boy", Ray's chuckle echoed back on the other end. I felt my face grow hotter and hotter.

As Raynor was about to hang up, I remembered something.

"Ray, about the thing you said earlier... What exactly did you find out about the thing that happened to Kyou? You said you would tell me, then it's the time now. I want to hear from you about it."

On the other end, silence prevailed, only the faint echoes of the line reverberating. I patiently waited. Time seemed to have stretched endlessly.

"Take... I'm sorry. I-I promise I will tell you. Just... not now. Maybe another time, when we are both ready for it..."

A feeling of disappointment and anger buried me. My ears buzzed. I couldn't tell what Ray was saying anymore.

"Okay, I understand." I hung up abruptly. My eyes blurred, and I felt a rush of heat in my head.

The silence surrounded me once again. The dim light crept from the PC screen into the corners of the room.

I took a deep breath. My mind was completely blank.

Screw that shitty job. Screw all of this.

While I was looking at the pitch-black night sky outside, Yang's words kept echoing in my ears.

I wonder if Yang would offer me a more decent monthly pay.