“Let me take you on a trip. To somewhere we’ve never been to before. Just the two of us.”

“But I’m scared, my love.”

“You don’t have to be. We’ll be there together. Isn’t that the only thing that matters?”

- Episode 32 of Mr. Winston’s Unremarkable Life

Delton laid on his bed, with his bloodshot eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling, which showed a gloomy, overcast sky. He tapped his temple twice and a voice echoed out.

“Normal signs of health.”

He shook his head and rolled over to get up. He shut his eyes tightly and opened them slowly many times while breathing heavily throughout the process.

“The weather today calls for overcast throughout the entire day night. I have prepared a light sweater for you by the door.”

Cold sweat clung to his back as his heartbeat slowed down to a regular pace. Delton groaned and tossed around on his bed. “Fucking hell. This is the last time I’m getting drunk,” he grumbled, as he did not realize a white-haired young man staring down at him.

He crept towards the dining room, reaching the dining table, furnished with a plate of mixed vegetables and grilled fish again. His body keeled over on the chair. Spreading his legs wide and letting his arms droop down, he continued to shut his eyes tightly from time to time.

He muttered, “Why did the dream take so much energy from me? I’m not even hungover.” On the corner of his eye, a light started to blink, he muttered under his breath, “Speak of the devil.”

“My records show that you have not been fulfilling your daily nutritional value. Please eat the dish prepared for you, or I will start deducting credits from you.”

Delton shook his head, gulped, then grabbed the knife and fork. His eyes widened after smelling the food. The heavy sounds of metal clanking and grating against the plate echoed out in the barren dining room.

“Why am I so hungry? It’s like I truly experienced that entire dream,” Delton muttered out with his mouth full.

“You are showing slight signs of lunacy. You have been talking to yourself throughout the waking period. Shall I set an appointment with a therapist?” Delton chuckled then tapped his temple twice.

He then threw the knife and fork down and immediately finished two glasses of water, finishing the meal with a heavy sigh. He got up and stretched with re-found energy. Slapping himself with bot of his hands a couple times, he whispered, “Just a dream. Just a dream. Just a dream…But why am I still remembering it in such detail, like it was my actual memories?”

He continued to mutter to himself about the dream in a daze, as he walked out of his apartment, leaving behind a pressed and fresh light sweater. He walked the familiar route, while the sounds of the cars above and the people below not garnering any attention.

Delton lightly bumped into a bald man in a suit, but he completely brushed past him beelining towards his destination.

“Fucking manufacturer! Did you just bump into me and think you can leave?” The bald man stood a foot taller than him. However, Delton continued to walk, as if the bald man words never existed. The bald man, grabbed Delton’s shoulder and forcefully turned him around. Then, he grabbed Delton’s collar and raised him off the ground brining Delton’s eyes leveled with his. He spoke with a cold and deep voice, “Now did I get your attention you worthless piece of shit manufacturer?”

Delton looked straight at the bald man’s eyes with complete indifference.

‘What the hell’s going on with my body? This is guy is completely stronger than me and can beat the living shit out of me, but…why…why am I not scared of him?’ Delton thought to himself, having snapped out of the daze.

The bald man stared at Delton and curiosity filled his mind since this manufacturer did not panic at all. He noticed a crowd of people, all wearing similar clothes to Delton gathered around them. The main difference in their clothing is that they were all wearing light sweaters. They looked towards the bald man, as if egging him on to do something.

Suddenly, another man in a suit with long flowing blue hair and blue eyes, made his way through the crowd. Having walked up to the bald man, he placed his hand on the bald man’s arms, forcefully pushing it down, allowing Delton’s feet to the touch the ground again.

“Let him go. Now’s not the time and this is not the place for you to have one of your temper tantrums, especially on a much needed manufacturer. Don’t forget why we’re here.” After the blue-haired man finished speaking, he then left the crowd through the opposite direction from where he came from.

The bald man gritted his teeth, then let go of Delton’s shirt. Without hesitation, Delton turned around then continued walking the familiar route, the crowd making way for him.

‘What the fuck is going on with me? Those guys weren’t your average persons! They were wearing suits, so they must be from corporate. Is something wrong with my brain right now? Maybe I should go see a therapist.’ Delton thought as he made his way to the bus stop.

On the way, Delton noticed several people giving him weird looks. Some gave him a thumbs up. Other cheered him on, one even shouting out, “You got the biggest balls in town!”

Delton blushed and looked down, while waiting for the bus stop. When the hover bus landed in front of him, he went in and ignored the gazes given to him by the passengers. He sat in his usual seat, staring outside the window. Letting out a sigh, he kept thinking about his dream. ‘There’s no such thing as transmigration in reality. All of that is just fiction. I have to tell Filian to stop recommending me that garbage.’

Jack_once: Hey, don’t recommend me any transmigration ones in a while

In less than a couple of seconds, he received a reply,

Left_Behind: Hehehe, did you get burned by another show? Your tastes are too refined

Delton shook his head at the reply and thought about his encounter with that bald man. ‘Thinking about it, while that baldie’s pressure was strong, it was nothing compared to those lizard creatures in my dream. How strong were those lizards? Corporates at his age must have been at least Second Awakening…’

Delton mindlessly reached his work and saw Boss Bopa chatting with some of the others. Boss Bopa snickered when he saw Delton’s unkempt appearance and motioned to the others. Bopa walked up to Delton with a smile and said, “Can’t handle your liquor, huh? Haha!” He smacked Delton in the back, causing Delton to trip forward. Regaining his balance, Delton looked at Bopa with a squeamish expression.

Bopa bellowed and said, “Just make sure to drink lots of water to flush it out of your system.” He flexed his arms, such that his bulging muscles showed through his gray long-sleeve uniform. “If you have muscles as refined as mine, then you wouldn’t have to worry about something as stupid as a hangover.”

Looking at his own body, Delton helplessly laughed and said, “I guess I’ll have to work out more in the future, if I want to keep going out with you guys.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The coworkers, that were talking with Bopa, exclaimed and cheered Delton on. Bopa continued to flex in different postures, accentuating different muscle groups, “Just let me know if you want any tips or advice. Hell, I’ll be happy to guide you in working out if you want.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, Boss.” Delton waved his hand to his coworkers. He proceeded to his work room, passing by an open room, from which he saw Micko already working in earnest.

Tapping his temple to begin work, he assembled with a trance, constantly thinking about his dream.

‘Those lizards can probably kill me in one hit. Why does that matter, I’ve had dreams before of stronger beings? It’s just a dream’

‘What kind of world was that? Dreams should be based off our past experiences, but not even the weirdest show I’ve seen had anything like that.’

‘How long ago could that have been?’

‘My dreams, huh?’

Instead of thinking about the dream, he thought about Jade.

“You have reached the daily maximum working hours. Any more work will not be paid.” A voice echoed out in his ear, snapping him out of his trance.

Heading out of his room, he saw next room over, that Jade was still working. His heart raced.

’Asking her out would be easier than fighting one of those lizards, right?’

He took a deep breath and went into her room. Jade noticed him and asked, “What up, Delt?”

Delton asked with an insecure tone, “Do you want to get dinner with me after work, today? Just the two of us.”

Jade showed a shocked expression as she dropped the piece she was manufacturing onto the table. The piece broke apart into all of its components. A flash appeared in her eyes, and Delton snickered and said with a more relaxed tone, “How about I pay for dinner to make up for that piece?”

Jade lowered her gaze and blushing, she said, “Only if the dinner’s good. Wait for me outside to finish up, then let’s go.”

Delton smiled then nodded his head, “See you soon.”

Delton sauntered into the lobby and sat on the edge of one of the couches.

“Word spreads fast. You two will make Mom Sol proud,” said a man with a light voice. The man sported dark round glasses and had a combed over dark red hair. He looked to be in his thirties.

“Hehe, what do you mean, Turk?”

“Mom Sol encourages relationships between people within a division, duh. Right hon?” Turk said as he looked to the woman with short hair, held back by a headband. Then, she sat next to Turk on other edge of the couch, and wrapped her arm around Turk’s neck.

She said, “That’s right, hon. So Delton, should I recommend you a nice place to eat? Or do you already have one in mind.”

“I think we’ll just take a look at the public market and see which one works for both of us. I’m not sure what food she likes.”

“Lisande, don’t mess with him. We all know how expensive your tastes are,” Polte chastised the woman.

More and more coworkers finished their work and went to the lobby to discuss different dinner places. Delton could not help but sigh in exasperation as he did not expect his coworkers to be this interested.

To the side of the lobby Jucor spoke to Boss Bopa, “Hmph, these people must be all bored to find this so interesting.”

“Hehe, your cowardice cost you again,” Bopa grinned devilishly at Jucor.

Jucor sighed and said, “I just thought I’d have more time to gather the courage. I didn’t think he’d have it in him.”

Bopa looked over to the helpless Delton, who has been crowded with coworkers, and replied, “Me neither.”

“Besides, just because he has the ability to ask does not mean they’ll be compatible.”

“Hehe, such a jealous Jucor…Hahaha! Wait till the others hear this, when you’re gone.”

After Delton suffered another thirty minutes of constant bombardment, a voice was able to break the commotion, “What’s going on here?”

Everyone stopped speaking as they all looked to the source of the voice, Jade. Delton quickly stood upright and took Jade by the hand, and escaped the knowing glances of their coworkers. Having exited the building, Delton explained, “Thanks for finally coming out and saving me from those busybodies.”

Jade took a moment, then nodded with understanding, “Sorry for taking so long. I’ll let you off a couple of credits for dinner then.”

Delton looked down at his hand and quickly let go of Jade’s hand. “Sorry about that. Shall we go then?”

“Where off to?”

“Public market sound good?”

“Sure!”

The two walked into the direction of a bustling square filled with food stalls. For the distance of a couple of blocks they talked about the work day and various topics, however each topic ended in awkward silence.

Reaching the stalls, they found a bunch of stalls to be at capacity. “What can we do? You took too long, so we missed out on door busting these places,” Delton teased.

“Don’t blame me! It’s your fault that I broke the piece and had to essentially make two more, so I can eat the cost of breaking one,” fired back Jade.

They both looked and walked all over, and finally came upon a stall which had no one in it. Manning the stall was a handsome young man with blond spiky hair, sporting low-hanging earrings. They both sized the young man up and saw that his eyes were jade-colored and bags had formed under his eyes and he was preparing skewers with a dead expression. Unlike everyone else, he was not wearing a uniform. Instead he wore a white plain T-shirt and pajamas.

Delton, without a hint of jealousy, looked to Jade and asked, “Would this place work for you?”

Jade merely nodded, and the two walked up to the blond man’s stall. Noticing, the two, the blond man spoke with a deadpan tone, “Name’s Tekle. And I make what is for you the best grilled skewers you can have in this damned city.”

The two sat down and Delton asked, “What do you recommend to eat?”

“Skewers.” Tekle responded in his deadpan tone. Moments later, he broke into a laughing fit. “Hahahaha! I’m sorry, just wanted to play with you two for a bit. This city’s too boring and no one wants to play here. Anyway, here’s what I recommend.”

Delton and Jade relaxed and each ordered a plate o skewers.

Tekle smiled as he began grilling the skewers. He flashed a wide smile, showing off sparkling white teeth and large canines. “Would you also like anything to drink other than water?”

Delton replied for a glass of beer, to which Tekle gave him soon after.

“You know, I heard you weren’t able to handle the drinks from yesterday,” teased Jade.

“Damn, I guess all of us at work are bored.” Delton said, then drank his beer.

“Are you saying you were so bored that you had nothing better to do than to ask me out?” Jade continued to tease.

Delton stammered and spat out, “That’s not what I meant.”

“I know.”

Tekle could not help but laugh, “Another person who likes to play with people like me, huh? I’ll give you another skewer on the house.”

“Don’t. He owes me dinner, and I can’t have you shouldering his debt,” Jade replied seriously, then looked at Delton with a heartwarming smile. “Anyway, that’s an interesting dream you have, Delt.”

“Is it really so interesting? I’d have to face reality sooner or later, especially with my Talent.”

“Yes! You’re the only manufacturer I’ve met who seemed content with their life. Not even Boss Bopa would say that.”

“Now it sounds like you’re also bored. Is that why you’re so interested in me?”

“No no no! I find many parts of you interesting.” Jade quickly denied. Awkward silence ensued.

Tekle interrupted the silence, by placing the grilled skewers in front of them. Grabbing one of them, Delton began to gnaw a t a skewer and said with an apologetic tone, “Either way, I’m not entirely that content with it. But I really see no way forward with a Talent like **Jack of All Trades**.”

Jade also began eating a skewer and said, “Hmm, that is certainly a unique talent. It’s my first time hearing about it. I’ll ask my classmates if they have any ideas.”

“You don’t have to bother doing that, hehe. I’ve mostly come to terms with it.”

The eavesdropping Tekle interjected, “You know grilling skewers is a trade.”

“Sorry, but I’ve already got a job taking up my time,” Delton waved his hand carrying the skewer at Tekle, not bothered that Tekle is listening in.

“Delt, you know he’s got a point. You ever thought about trying over trades, maybe glean some insight from them,” Jade suggested.

“Haha, I’ll think about it. You know how hard and exhausting it is to be a manufacturer. Besides I’m already doing something demanding after work.”

“What is it?”

Delton took a gulp of beer and said with a serious expression, “Soap operas.”

Jade choked on her food and coughed a bit, having to drink some water to recover herself. She looked at Delton , “You can’t be serious. That’s not demanding at all.”

“You don’t understand. These stories are important and time-consuming.” Then, the two argued about the validity of those soap operas as entertainment, causing Delton to give examples.

Looking over Tekle’s shoulders, Delton saw a TV. “Tekle, if you don’t mind putting the TV on channel 23. *Long Days Are Overdue* is a master class of combining a heart wrenching story with the political intrigue of a high class society.

The two silently watched over a couple of more plates of skewers. After the show ended, Jade said, “I guess I was wrong. Thank you for enlightening me and for the food.”

Delton, beaming with pride, at his success of converting another member towards soap operas, thoughtlessly said, “We should do this more often.” Realizing what he said, he tried to bite his tongue, but the words had already escaped.

To his shock, Jade nodded her head and replied, “I agree.” She thanked Tekle and stood up, saying “Thanks again for the food, Delt. I have to go train my Talent now because like you I also have to work towards my dream.” She winked at Delton, then left.

As she was departing, Delton stood up and shouted to her, “Who knows, maybe you’re right and if I work with Tekle, I’ll be able to catch up to your proficiency in no time!” He sat back down to finish the remains of his food and drinks with a stupid smile on his face.

“Hey, kid. You serious about that?” Tekle asked.

Snapping out of his lovesick thoughts, Delton answered, “What do you mean?”

“Working here. Because I would actually like some help.”