Ordinary Art Factor [EN]: Chapter 11

An Ordinary Artifactor

Volume 1

1-1

I am ordinary.

Both my mother and father were born in Jeju Island, got married, and then moved to the mainland where they had me and my younger brother.

When I was very young, we seemed to live quite well.

I even took piano lessons when I was little… for the record, I’m a guy.

Later, my father injured his leg in a work accident, and our family fortunes rapidly declined. To make matters worse, he was scammed by a close friend, which only deepened the impact.

Eventually, in the second semester of my fifth-grade year, we moved back to Jeju Island, and my father went to Japan to earn money.

No, it was an escape. He couldn’t handle the credit card bills and various debts any longer.

When I was in the second grade of middle school and my younger brother was in the sixth grade, my mother also left us with my aunt and went to Japan to earn money.

It was also an escape.

As time passed, my younger brother and I lived like everyone else, ordinarily.

Of course, we never ate breakfast, lunch was tap water, and we shared one ramen for dinner.

Still, when we first stayed at my aunt’s house, we had white rice and kimchi stew with plenty of meat….

Before three years had passed, we left my aunt’s house and rented a room. Of course, my mother sent money from Japan to pay for the room.

I didn’t even know where my father was….

After some time, the LC Card [loan company] debt collection team found out where we lived and plastered seizure stickers all over the house (even now, I wonder how they found us).

Then, they took all the electrical appliances and furniture that seemed valuable.

So, we put a lot of water in the electric rice cooker (I wonder why they didn’t take this) and added one ramen, literally spreading it out for my brother and me to share.

That was our daily meal.

But it wasn’t like that every day.

When my mother sent money, we would buy groceries from the small corner store next to our house as if we were sweeping it clean.

Around that time, my uncle brought a used refrigerator from somewhere and put it in our house.

Isn’t this how everyone lives?

Or do most people live like this?

My mother returned from Japan when I was a senior in high school.

Did she make a lot of money?

No. After paying illegal stay fines and strange fees, I don’t remember her having much money in hand.

Still, she rented a small monthly rental house. Around the time I entered university, my mother went back to Japan to earn money.

Even now, I wonder why I went to university.

I just did something stupid.

Everyone else was going to university, so I went too.

Because I’m ordinary.

In middle and high school, I drew quite a bit at school and appeared in TV shows, newspapers, magazines, and so on. I’m still making a living in this field.

My hobbies are drawing, Go [a strategic board game], fishing, and online games.

That’s how it is now, but before it was Go and fishing.

I learned Chinese characters, the Four Books and Five Classics [Confucian texts], and Go from my father when I was very young, so… I wonder if it’s a hobby?

Anyway, I draw quite well. My art teacher in high school seriously told me several times to go to Hongdae [a district in Seoul known for its art scene].

When I entered university, I chose to join a drawing club, like everyone else.

And that’s where I met my current wife.

Isn’t that how everyone gets a girlfriend?

Elementary school, which I transferred to 8 times in 6 years, all-boys middle school and all-boys high school, and then, engineering college.

Club activities are essential, not optional.

I thought living like this was normal since I was young, but when I entered university, it felt like a new world had opened up.

So, I worked a lot of part-time jobs during the semester.

What about vacation?

What was that?

Why can’t I remember?

Anyway, the final exam held around the end of June?

What is this again?

Why can’t I remember again?

It’s been over 15 years since I went to university, so I don’t even remember the exact names for those things. Anyway, I worked a lot of part-time jobs.

Because I had to pay tuition.

But I wasn’t interested in grades.

I started dating my wife in the first year of university and dated for 10 years.

Starting at twenty and getting married at thirty.

Well, in the military, I received awards for shooting, murals, education, and briefings, and when I added up all the regular, special, and consolation leave days, I was number one in the division.

Because I lived in Jeju Island, I got about 4 nights and 5 days more for regular leave than other regions, and that’s how I didn’t break up with my current wife because I had so many leave days and occasions.

For the record, I was on the front line guard duty (barbed wire).

My specialty is… I don’t want to talk about it.

Ugh….

Even now, my wife thinks that if she wants to get leave from the military, she can just come out.

When I was in the military, my youngest uncle came to visit and casually threw me a Photoshop book.

He said that all the pictures inside were drawn with a computer.

He asked if I was good at drawing and suggested I try drawing with a computer after I was discharged.

For the record, my youngest uncle is a computer science professor.

Anyway, I entered an IT company not to pay off the debt I incurred while working part-time, but because I couldn’t live like this anymore.

Of course, I learned the basics in my uncle’s lab for about a year before joining the company. Related to design.

But when I joined the company, they told me to do web development.

I wanted CG [computer graphics].

Well, I had no choice but to do it. I worked so hard that I didn’t even sleep at home for more than three days in two weeks, but my salary was 760,000 won [approximately $600 USD] after deducting the four major insurances.

After a year, it went up by 5,000 won [approximately $4 USD].

So I quit.

Even now, I think that working so hard back then helped me a lot.

Of course, if I worked that hard again now, I feel like my bones would really break, so I try not to work overtime as much as possible. Of course, I have no intention of doing it.

Anyway, my father returned from Japan before I married my wife at the age of 30.

Still, his son was getting married, so he had to come. What else could he do?

We fought a lot until the day before the wedding. Hitting and punching, calling the police a lot.

I even thought about whether I should get married like this. Even now, my wife doesn’t know that I thought this way the day before the wedding.

My family and I are ordinary!

Anyway, the problem started after we left for our honeymoon. Or is it just me?

Our travel destination was Thailand, um… Cebu?

Oh, where was it? Why can’t I remember again?

So, Thailand, where a lot of Koreans go.

It’s not easy to think about something that happened almost 10 years ago.

Ah! Phuket… that’s right.

Phuket!

Is that right?

There, at the Mech Dungeon… huh? What?

What’s a Mech Dungeon?

You don’t know?

Wow….

What about the Bio Dungeon?

Are you playing a game?

What are you talking about!

The world’s greatest mystery phenomenon that happened in 1971, before I was even born!

Why don’t you know?

Anyway, the starting point of this story is that I picked up a strange mineral there on my honeymoon. Damn it!

As I said before, it was 9 years ago from now, ah… I’m already forty years old.

Damn it!

So, 9 years ago, I went on my honeymoon and had a tour of the Mech Dungeon scheduled as part of the honeymoon package.

Women avoid the Bio Dungeon because the fully grown creatures that are sometimes seen are disgusting.

Of course, there were some who deliberately sought out the fully grown creatures because they were good for the body, but even I find the fully grown creatures that I sometimes see in books, broadcasts, and TV a bit much.

So, the Mech Dungeon was chosen, but it’s only a level 10 dungeon, and the Zealots produced from the Gateways have all been cleared by the Awakeners, so it’s not dangerous.

Well, some tourists have seen Probes, and it’s quite cute to see a fist-sized one scurrying around on the floor. Of course, if you catch it and hand it over to the management office when you leave the dungeon, you can get tens of thousands of won [Korean currency].

But you have to pay an even more expensive dungeon entrance fee than that, so there are some who go in to catch it… stupid bastards.

Anyway, I was touring, watching, and experiencing the Mech Dungeon with other couples… what? What’s an experience?

Wow, you really don’t know?

So, a level 10 Mech Dungeon is… ha… I don’t know why I’m explaining this, but anyway, level 10 dungeons have Probes and Zealots coming out. Why are you asking when you can just search it on Naver [Korean search engine]….

Anyway, first, the Awakeners enter. Read it as entering, write it as going in. So, they enter the dungeon and kill all the Zealots, which are the units in the dungeon, or destroy the Nexus. Then it’s over. Easy, right?

And after a certain amount of time, it resets or regenerates, and the reset or regeneration time varies for each dungeon level. Got it?

Huh?

You don’t know?

Why?

Why don’t you know!

Wow….

Cough. Okay, listen carefully.

First, if you destroy the Nexus in the dungeon, the Probes can’t work, right? If the Probes can’t work, the Zealots can’t be produced from the Gateway, right? So, you just have to catch the Zealots that are already there.

Right? Got it?

Ah… I’m too lazy to go on.

If you want to know more, search it up!

What? What’s above level 10?

Of course, it’s level 9! Above that, there’s level 8, 7, 6… all the way up to level 1!

I don’t know why you guys don’t know, so don’t ask me.

I’m lazy.

Anyway, I went inside the Gateway for a tour experience… ah! Think of it as a small house!

There was a reason to pay tens of thousands of won to see that once… it was really pretty.

The colorful Gateway and crystal. The sparkling lights and mysterious atmosphere.

Inside that Gateway, I was walking around with my wife, arm in arm, and we got a little separated from the other couples… no.

The correct expression is that we moved to a secluded spot to take selfies of us kissing.

We were exploring each other’s lips for a long time when we heard the guide calling us, so we hurried out… that’s where I picked up something strange.

Ah, no. It’s not strange. It’s just a small piece of mineral.

I put it in my pocket, hoping to hand it over to the management office and earn some pocket money, and headed to another Gateway.

And as I was leaving after the tour, I forgot about the small piece of mineral to hand over to the management office.

Why? Because I’m ordinary!

Anyway, that’s the starting point. Damn it!

After finishing our 4-night, 6-day honeymoon, I took out the small mineral that I had remembered on the plane back to Korea.

Doesn’t it get caught in airport security?

These small pieces of mineral are often used for decoration!

They’re often used in cell phone accessories, cheap necklaces, and rings.

They’re everywhere~.

It’s just one of those.

Anyway, my wife was tired and fell asleep, and I was curious about the mineral that I was touching for the first time, so I examined it closely.

Then I got tired and fell asleep too… in my sleep, I heard a strange notification.

Looking back now, it was probably something like this.

[Ding! Congratulations on entering the Labor World. Welcome to Hell.]

But in reality, it sounded like this.

[Ding! Acquired the Idea Mech Summoning Artifactor. Suitable candidate. Activating the Artifactor.]

I don’t remember some parts in between.

And when I arrived in Korea, that small piece of mineral was no longer of interest to me. I looked for it again in the middle, but it was gone. So I thought I had lost it.

After returning from our honeymoon, we greeted our relatives from both families, had dinner together, and returned to our daily lives.

As I went back to working, I quit the company I used to work for, and my salary increased to 1.5 million, 1.8 million won [Korean currency], and I even became a team leader… I got angry and quit… I started my own business and failed… and then I rejoined the company I used to work for.

That’s the end.

No, it’s just the beginning.

Anyway, I spent 39 years like that.

19 years since I met my wife.

9 years of marriage after dating and marrying at the age of twenty.

Then, three months ago.

I was talking about this at a drinking party with seniors I often meet to find a new hobby.

Instead of meeting every day to play billiards, drink, play billiards, and drink, let’s do something constructive.

Anyway, let’s find a different hobby with the school club seniors we often meet.

We talked about golf and then turned to fishing.

Did I say that I used to be interested in fishing?

So, I ordered fishing supplies online with the senior I was closest to. Of course, with the senior’s card.

I didn’t ask for advice from my same-age colleague in the SI team [System Integration team]… I delegated it. I asked him to pick it out.

Not for beginners, but for the next level up. Two sets of fishing rods and reels, main lines, leader lines, and float sets. It cost about 385,000 won [Korean currency].

I swiped it with my senior’s card and transferred the money to his account on my payday.

And then, on the weekend, we finally set off to go fishing~

So far, so good.

I was learning how to spread bait and how to set the depth depending on the type of fish I was catching.

Black sea bream, rockfish, wrasse, sea bass, scorpion fish….

The size was getting bigger and bigger, and the fun was increasing.

In the middle, another senior who liked fishing joined us, and in the end, everyone except one senior who really hated fishing attended and went on expeditions to slightly distant places.

Then, last Saturday, I went fishing and accidentally caught a 33cm black porgy… but, but, you know….

I think I’ve awakened. Damn it!

* * *

My age is 39.

Savings?

None.

Car?

None. Ah! There’s a 2006 Avante [car model] that my wife drives around.

House?

None.

I live with my wife and 8-year-old son in a 24-pyeong apartment [unit of area, approx. 850 sq ft] (company housing) provided by the company.

Hobbies?

Fishing, Go, online games, drawing, cooking, cleaning the house?

Alcohol tolerance?

I drink whatever they give me.

Awakener rank?

I don’t know. I haven’t measured it yet… but I don’t want to measure it!

“Status window.”

[Artifactor: Han Ji-won (Lv-1)]

Nationality/Affiliation: South Korea/None, Age: 39, Height/Weight: 176cm/84kg,

Agility: 1, Endurance: 1, Strength: 2, Stamina: 1, Intelligence: 2, Luck: 1, Inventory: 1

Summon Target Stats: 2, Owned Artifacts: Mineral Fragment (Absorption) 1]

“Ha… what to do with this?”

I was deeply contemplating while puffing away on a cigarette in the office smoking room.

Looking at it from every angle, it was clear that this was a status window that only appeared to Awakeners.

The problem is that this Awakening process occurred in a truly ridiculous situation.

I went fishing last week and caught a black porgy [a type of sea bream], and that’s when the notification popped up.

After 9 years….

I wondered if this could even happen, so I thoroughly searched Naver [South Korean search engine] and the Awakener Association website, but of course, I’m the only idiot.

Who would believe me if I went around saying that I picked up a mineral fragment in a mechanized dungeon 9 years ago, lost it, and then just stayed still for 9 years before finally Awakening now?

Moreover, the trigger for Awakening was catching a black porgy while fishing?

They’d either call me crazy or dismiss it as a bad joke.

I also don’t want to go to the community center to take the Awakener ability test (measurement).

Why?

Because the cost is enormous.

The first physical test alone costs 1 million won [approximately $750 USD].

Right now, the only money I have on hand is a little over 100,000 won, and payday was 5 days ago.

Damn it!

Do I have to borrow here and there again to get through another month?

Should I call my brother?

I put out the cigarette and lit a new one.

Then, I called the senior [older colleague/friend] I’m closest to.

‘Hot night~ Can’t fall asleep~ This….’

“Why?”

“Hyung [older brother/male friend], lend me ten bills, I’ll pay you back next month.”

“Ten bills? 100,000 won?”

“A million.”

“You crazy bastard! Did you get into another accident?”

“What… do I always cause accidents?”

“Yes. But why do you suddenly need that much money?”

“Well, that’s….”

I have nothing to say.

If I just say I’m taking the Awakener ability test, the rumor will spread to everyone I know before the day is over….

As I hesitated and couldn’t speak, Senior Kyung-hwan scolded me.

“Are you trying to drink again? You punk! Get a grip!”

“No, I’m not. When did I ever drink!”

“What about yesterday? The day before yesterday?”

“Well, that’s….”

“Cut it out. I don’t have money. Even if I did, I wouldn’t give it to you.”

Watching the senior hang up the phone decisively, I took out a new cigarette.

“Ah, seriously, damn it! Should I just… tell them? If I really get measured as an Awakener, it’ll be a huge win….”

No answer comes, no matter how much I worry.

Let’s drop it for now.

After having another cup of coffee and smoking two more cigarettes, I went back to the office, and Executive Director Kang Jae-yoon was looking for me.

“…Make sure you thoroughly understand this project and proceed with it. Don’t make any mistakes….”

What he says is mostly the same.

Do well. Do well. Do even better.

And don’t make mistakes and do well.

If it goes well, it’s his credit.

If it goes wrong, it’s my fault.

I answered briefly and returned to my seat.

I went to the portal site Naver and searched for ‘Awakener’ and ‘Artifactor.’

Even in the search results that popped up, there was no case of someone Awakening while fishing like me….

Of course not.

Most people visit the community center due to lucid dreams, strong temptations, or some premonition, undergo the first examination, and if deemed suitable, absorb a mineral fragment that suits them.

Of course, most people fail the first examination and only waste their examination fees.

Since only about 3-4% of those who visit the community center are judged to be Awakened, the money earned nationwide in a year is roughly….

Damn it!

A few days later.

My wife says she has overtime.

So, before going home after work, I stopped by the supermarket and bought this and that.

I’m going to make dinner for my son.

He’ll be coming home on the academy bus, so I have some free time until then.

While looking around, pasta noodles caught my eye.

‘Should I make tomato spaghetti, which my son likes, today?’

There’s spaghetti noodles at home, tomato sauce at home, ketchup at home, onions too, and cheddar cheese… oh, it’s all gone.

I bought a pack of cheddar cheese slices and some simple side dishes and returned home.

For the record, my tomato spaghetti is so good that my wife raves about it, saying it’s better than what she eats at restaurants.

After changing my clothes and tidying up the house, I heard the sound of someone pressing the dial on the front door.

‘Beep beep beep… beep. Beep beep….’

“Dad~.”

“Oh… my baby.”

“Dad, were you home today?”

“What? Dad went to the office and came back. Hurry up and change into your taekwondo uniform and let’s eat.”

“Okay. Where’s Mom?”

“Mom’s going to be late today. Should Dad make you spaghetti?”

“Yeah. Delicious spaghetti~.”

As my son turned on the TV and started watching cartoons, I took out onions, tomato sauce, spaghetti noodles, etc., from the refrigerator.

When the water boiled, I added a little salt and the spaghetti noodles, then poured olive oil into a frying pan, sliced the onions, and started stir-frying them with a little minced garlic.

As the onions cooked, I added an appropriate amount of tomato sauce, seasoned it with cheddar cheese and pepper, poured in the noodles, and simmered it a little more.

A delicious smell wafted through the air as the spaghetti was completed.

I divided my son’s and my portion into two plates and was about to take them to the table when….

I heard a hallucination.

[Ding! Delicious tomato spaghetti for your son has been completed. Your son likes it very much. Grants 1 Summoning stat.]

“…….”

What?

What did it just say!

For a while, I stood there blankly, unable to come to my senses.

Until my son called me.

“Dad~ Food!”

I barely ate dinner and came outside for a smoke.

My head is about to explode right now.

I clearly heard it say it was granting some kind of summoning stat?

I muttered quietly in the corner of the apartment stairs.

“Status window.”

[Artifactor: Han Ji-won (Lv-1)

Nationality/Affiliation: South Korea/None, Age: 39, Height/Weight: 176cm/84kg,

Agility: 1, Endurance: 1, Strength: 2, Stamina: 1, Intelligence: 2, Luck: 1, Inventory: 1

Summon Target Stats: 3, Owned Artifacts: Mineral Fragment (Absorption) 1]

Clearly, the Summon Target Stats had increased by 1.

The rest remained the same.

But this is a bit strange. Clearly, the first time the status was activated was when I caught the black porgy while fishing, and this time it’s cooking.

There’s no standard.

For increasing stats.

I don’t even know how to use it.

How could I know?

I’m just an ordinary office worker.

Even when I go to Naver and search for Artifactor, it’s just general information.

A simple explanation that among Awakeners, wizards, and even among wizards, only a very small number are active as Artifactor.

Well, there were pictures of the swords, arrows, shields, and accessories they made, but it had nothing to do with me.

It seemed like quite a bit of time had passed, so I put my worries aside and came back home.

After 10 p.m., I put the kid to sleep, and I also fell asleep… no way!

All sorts of thoughts swirled in my head.

Lying in bed, no matter how much I searched Naver and the Awakener Association website… there was no case like mine.

I am normal, right?

The next day.

Today is Friday. Burning Friday [a Korean expression for a Friday night, implying a night of partying and fun].

All day long, I typed ‘Awakener, Artifactor, Wizard, Awakening Trigger, Dungeon, Mechanized, Bio’ into the internet search bar, but I couldn’t find the answer I wanted.

How can it be that there hasn’t been a single Awakener with the same phenomenon as me, even though it’s been 40 years since dungeons appeared?

Ah!

Maybe there could be.

The Awakener themselves might not know, or it might not be on the internet.

But, can I even work as an Awakener?

I don’t even know what abilities I have.

I don’t need anything else, I don’t even know what the Summon Target Stats do… huh?

Owned Artifacts?

Minerals Fragment… Absorption?

Wait a minute!

Let’s think for a moment.

I decided to test what I was thinking.

Downtown near City Hall.

It’s about a 15-minute taxi ride from the office.

Of course, it’s the area where our members (me and my seniors) hang out the most… no, almost all the time.

Because there are billiard halls, restaurants, PC cafes [internet cafes], bars, etc.

A game of three-cushion billiards for dinner and a drinking session always follow.

We meet as many as 4 times a week. That’s how many drinking sessions there are.

But, today.

No, right now!

I’m too urgent to think about billiards or drinking.

‘Ting-a-ling~.’

The sound of a bell rings as I open the glass door and enter the shopping district.

It’s an accessory store.

A place that sells everything from cell phone accessories to women’s headbands, necklaces, bracelets, rings, bags, and hats. The reason I came here is.

“Welcome. What are you looking for?”

A woman in her mid-40s greets me.

Well, it’s not dinner time, and a customer at this time… especially a man.

Whether she greets me or not, I cut to the chase in my haste.

“What do you have that’s made of mineral fragments?”

“Mineral fragments? There are many things like that….”

“Just tell me.”

I wonder why I haven’t thought of this until now.

I’m not that stupid.

Of course. I’m a team leader in the IT industry. I’ve been working in this field for over ten years, there’s no way I’m stupid… ahem.

“Rings, necklaces, and bracelets use a lot of mineral fragments… everything from over there to here has mineral fragments in it….”

There are quite a few.

Lovely, elegant, and beautiful accessories dazzle my eyes.

The prices ranged from 20,000 to 30,000 won to 400,000 won. It was diverse.

As I was looking around at this and that for a while, I saw something unreal in my eyes.

‘Mineral Fragment (Absorbable)

Source: Mechanized Dungeon (Rank 10), Rank: 10

Stat Availability: 0.25% Increase (Differential Availability Based on Level)’

“…….”

As I stared at a pretty necklace for a long time, the owner lady started talking to me.

“I’ll give it to you cheap. Are you giving it to your wife? Should I wrap it?”

I snapped out of it at her urging and took the necklace in my hand… damn it!

It costs 375,000 won.

How much money do I have in my account right now?

I told her I’d look around a bit more at other stores and came outside.

I walked a block, calmed my pounding heart for a moment, put a cigarette in my mouth, and worried and worried again.

That’s why I have so many gray hairs!

She clearly said she’d give it to me for 340,000 won in cash… never mind.

Let’s go to another store.

Until the dinner appointment time.

No, until it was time to meet my seniors at the billiard hall, I went around to all the accessory stores near City Hall.

The conclusion is that cheap accessories don’t show up as absorbable in my eyes.

In other words, I have to pay to play… the problem is, I don’t have money. Not even enough to eat before I die.

I checked my balance at the ATM and saw the shitty number of 73,000 won remaining. I have about 40,000 won in my wallet.

As you know, I don’t have a credit card. Only a debit card.

I started walking to the billiard hall.

“Heaven and earth… I don’t know the way… This time it’s real… We’re on the same team.”

“You’re on Ji-won’s team again today. Play well.”

“Hyung, you play well. First of all, I’m going to lower your handicap by however many points you have.”

“Oh….”

A three-cushion billiards game for dinner, divided into 2-on-2 teams, began.

I’m the best player among our members.

Of course. If it weren’t for all the money I’ve spent at the billiard hall, I would have bought that damn necklace… no, I would have bought the whole store….

Hyung Seung-chan, who is on my team, works in construction. Along with Hyung Sang-joon.

But Hyung Seung-chan is the boss.