Chapter 26

The overground train stop they arrived at was at a considerable height.

“…….”

“What, is something wrong?”

“It’s been a while since I’ve been somewhere this high.”

“I suppose so.”

Yu Seong-un nodded his head.

‘I guess a portrait wouldn't have a reason to come up this high.’

But seeing as he said it had been a ‘while,’ it seemed he had come out of the portrait and climbed up on his own before.

‘Or perhaps he has a memory as a human of climbing a mountain or a cliff.’

Since he was a being that could move on its own, there were probably many possibilities.

He might have even moved around while still in the portrait.

Unaware of Yu Seong-un's thoughts, Jio was looking around the overground train's stop.

‘…I didn't realize when I saw it from below, but it's covered by a transparent barrier. It seems to be to prevent falling accidents or to block the strong winds at this height, but what exactly is the material? It looks much more transparent and harder than glass or plastic.’

Jio felt a great interest in raising and creating things.

A new material like this, something out of an SF movie, he couldn't hold back his question.

“What is this wall made of?”

“Huh? The wall?”

“Yes, it’s blocked by a wall so transparent you wouldn't know it's there unless you touched it.”

“It's not like I'm an expert in this field, but… it's probably a Formless Crystal.”

“A Formless Crystal?”

“I know it as a component extracted from one of the frequently appearing monsters.”

Yu Seong-un didn't know the name of the monster.

Unless it was a particularly threatening or unusual monster, it wasn't worth remembering.

“I heard that most of the transparent windows installed in the city use this.”

“I see.”

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

Yu Seong-un's expression turned serious.

“You can't take it. It's public property.”

“I am aware.”

“That’s not the reaction of someone who is aware right now.”

“Yes, it is.”

“…If you want it, I'll get some for you later, so be patient.”

The Formless Crystal was a material used in various industries, but it wasn't expensive for its versatility.

This was because the monster from which the crystal could be extracted was not very rare, and the amount of crystal that could be extracted per entity was large.

“What on earth are you going to use this for?”

“It is an interesting object, so I wanted to observe and utilize it.”

“Your spirit of inquiry is truly remarkable….”

Yu Seong-un smiled with a strange feeling.

Showing interest in the rules or objects created by humans was a typical characteristic of beings from the Source.

As they were chatting, the overground train soon arrived.

“There's no one else in this car.”

As Yu Seong-un said, the car marked ‘No. 6’ had only the two of them.

Jio thought quietly.

‘So people really don't ride this.’

It felt like a bit of a waste.

‘To think they can't ride this wonderful new piece of civilization because it's expensive.’

Even when he tapped the card in front of the 1st-floor elevator, only a green light indicating entry was possible lit up; there was no information about how much was charged.

So he didn't know the exact price of the overground train, but he felt strangely bitter.

‘Has the gap between the rich and the poor gotten worse in 31 years, or is it just my imagination.’

Jio asked.

“Is it normally this empty?”

“Ah, no it's not.”

Yu Seong-un shook his head.

“Usually, more people ride it than this. There used to be at least 10 people per car, but today there's unusually no one in sight. I'm not sure if it's because we're riding during peak work hours… it’s been a while for me to ride at this time, too.”

“…….”

Wait a minute.

Something was strange.

“Is it peak work hours?”

“Well, it's 8:38 right now.”

Yu Seong-un checked his wristwatch and continued.

“It varies a little from company to company, but the average time to start work is 7 AM.”

“…….”

“Jio?”

“Work starts at 7 AM?”

“Mostly, yes?”

Do people normally not have human rights?

‘As far as I remember, the typical start time for office workers was definitely 9 AM.’

Jio's confidence in his ability to live in this harsh reality instantly vanished.

Seeing even the local patriotism he never had disappear, it seemed being a portrait suited his disposition.

“…….”

How on earth had the country come to this?

He soon deduced a plausible reason.

It was a reason he could come up with due to the 31-year gap in his life.

“Is it set this way because most people wake up at dawn due to genetic or cultural reasons?”

“Uh… that's not it. If we don't set a specific time, a lot of people would probably sleep until lunchtime. This is just a rule people have agreed upon amongst themselves.”

“I see.”

It was a neat answer, but it left a bad taste. Jio looked intently at Yu Seong-un.

‘Doesn't this person sometimes not see me as a human?’

He was like a butler explaining human society to a talking cat.

“…….”

“Hm? Why?”

“I am an ordinary human.”

“Uh… right.”

No matter how hard he looked, like a high school senior analyzing an exam passage, his reaction was not one of belief.

‘…Well, if I were in Mr. Yu Seong-un's shoes, I probably wouldn't feel like a haunted portrait was the same as a person either. I should just be glad I'm not being openly treated as a monster in a world like this.’

And thanks to being treated like a monster, there were several benefits.

It seemed that being penniless and lacking common sense was overlooked with a ‘well, he’s not human, so it’s understandable’.

There was an undeniable feeling of his pride as a human being slightly crushed, but the thought that living as a portrait would be better for his mind and body than returning as a faithful slave to a capitalist society remained unchanged.

Jio asked slyly.

“Do I not seem like an uncultured and ill-mannered person to you?”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“I do not wish to cause you any inconvenience, so I will be careful.”

“…I don't know what to say, but, yeah, thanks….”

“Thank you.”

As expected, Yu Seong-un was a dependable and considerate person.

Jio sat down next to Yu Seong-un and looked at the still-open door of the overground train.

“It has been open for quite a long time.”

“Subways or buses close much faster than this.”

Yu Seong-un, lightly sharing some basic common sense, continued the story about the overground train.

“The overground train has the time it takes to come up the elevator, and the platforms themselves aren't that numerous, so they keep it open for a long time for people who are a little late.”

“Even in winter.”

“Well, it's a relief that the cold is blocked on its own.”

That's right, it was the middle of winter.

“Ah, come to think of it… if we're lucky, we might find some street food while we're out.”

At Yu Seong-un's words, Jio's heart pounded. He was faithful to his instincts.

“By street food, do you mean things like Bungeoppang?”

“Yeah, or Takoyaki… Gyeranppang… or Odeng, things like that.”

“I want to eat them.”

“I'll try my best to find some, but don't get your hopes up. There aren't many places that sell that kind of thing.”

“Why is that? Warm street food on a cold day should be quite popular.”

“Not many people want to do it because of complaints that it's not aesthetically pleasing. Once a complaint is filed, it creates problems for re-entering the city or doing business again.”

Having said that, Yu Seong-un shrugged.

“And in the first place, city people don't really want to run street food businesses. And it's inconvenient for people from the provinces living far away to come all the way here to sell food, isn't it?”

“…….”

Huh.

Jio was flustered.

“It seems you are making a strict distinction between city people and provincial people.”

“Huh? Hmm, uh… I guess so?”

“Why would that be?”

“…Uhh….”

Yu Seong-un let out a deep sigh.

“I don't know how to explain this, but that's just the way people are. I think it's a shameful story, but we assign grades to each other to distinguish ourselves.”

“What kind of grades?”

“For example, someone like me who lives in the city and works as both a Hunter and a Curator is Grade 1. As far as I know, Hunters B-Class and above are almost all Grade 1 citizens, unless they are Red Hunters who have committed crimes.”

Yu Seong-un took out his ID card and showed the words ‘Grade 1’ next to his name, then pointed beyond the wide-open window of the overground train and said.

“People who live within the city but have unremarkable income and jobs are Grade 2.”

“…….”

“The provincial people I just mentioned are usually classified as Grade 3. And some of the poor who live between the provinces and the city, those who don't even receive an ID card, are tacitly classified as Grade 4.”

“…Is there a Grade 5?”

“From there on, they're criminals. Unlike the Grade 4 citizens who aren't even registered by name, they are recorded in the administration, but they're literally just a record and aren't really treated as human. Measures are in place so that they can be killed at any time if encountered.”

How can life be this undesirable?

Jio, being the sensitive type, felt like tears would well up at the unbelievable development of his hometown.

‘…I did think that as long as the Earth's lifespan is longer than a human's, a class system would be revived someday, but I never thought I'd experience it in my lifetime.’

Looking at the still-open door, Jio asked again.

“Is there a reason to distinguish people to such an extent?”

“For one, it might be because of the large difference in infrastructure between the city and the provinces.”

Yu Seong-un, as if determined to be faithful to his role as a guide, answered kindly.

“I'm talking about the various facilities within the region and the benefits one can receive, and well, the cultural and administrative gap between the city and the provinces is huge. People in the provinces farm to make a living for the day, while city citizens tend to purchase the food ingredients delivered from there….”

“…….”

“Should I say the difference is almost at the level of a century? If you go to the provinces, it'll probably be hard to see not only overground trains like this but even two-story buildings. It's rare for people to own cars, too. There's at least one village railway running, but… then again, maybe that's why they don't buy cars either.”

Since there's a means of transport anyway, there's no need to spend money on a private car.

Yu Seong-un muttered quietly and continued.

“Well… among all that, the biggest difference is, of course, the defense line.”

“What does the defense line mean?”

“On the outskirts of the city, there's a large wall that can be used for defense, like a fortress wall, as a first line. Secondly, there are dedicated public officials who specialize in managing safety within the city, and above all, there are already many Hunters in the city… so even if an incident breaks out downtown, it gets resolved quickly.”

Yu Seong-un rubbed the back of his neck.

“In short, it's the benefit of survival. Most Grade 4 citizens would rather live in poverty than outside the city, and in the same vein, many people want to enter the city… but not all citizens can live inside. Resources and land area are limited, right?”

“Is that why the grades were created?”

“Because only Grade 2 citizens and above can reside in the city. Grade 3 citizens can visit the city or find a job as much as they want, but those who start to reside here without permission are treated a bit harshly.”

“In what way does it get harsh….”

“How should I put it. Um, for starters, their ID card is terminated, so they can't get a job… and while it's not as bad as Grade 5, should I say they're treated as less than human. People who squat in the city because they don't want to be bitten to death by monsters in the provinces become those Grade 4 citizens, the poor.”

So, to sum it up, it's a dystopia.

‘Hearing a story that sounds like it's straight out of a movie makes it feel less real at this point.’

For Jio, who loved friendship, love, and peace, it was a hard world to accept. Until 31 years ago, he felt he could still feel a reasonable amount of human affection, but now it felt like something had gone very wrong.

Jio began to get monumentally intimidated, using his blunt poker face as a weapon, but Yu Seong-un, who wanted him to know human society accurately, continued his explanation.

“In the first place, you never know where a dungeon will burst open, and even if they're not from a dungeon, there are many monsters that have already settled on Earth. In the city, those endemic monsters are managed, but the provinces lack manpower and equipment, so if you're not careful, you often end up dead.”

“That sounds scary.”

“That's why if you live in a provincial village, they tell you not to go outside after 5 PM. Or, in many cases, the villages are run centered around Hunters of C-Class or lower. No matter how weak they are, Awakeners are much more reliable than ordinary people.”

Around then, the door of the overground train finally closed.

“…….”

“It's starting to move.”

“No one else got on.”

“Well, it's not lunchtime….”

“It is breakfast time.”

“What kind of office worker eats breakfast?”

His tone was as if eating breakfast was not a given. It seemed that in the current world, the phrase ‘three meals a day’ had long since disappeared.

‘Even though we are on our way to eat three meals.’

Letting the horrific reality of modern society in one ear and out the other, Jio slowly admired the overground train, which had a structure similar to the subways he knew.

The most impressive parts were the transparent walls and ceiling.

“Are these walls and ceiling also made using Formless Crystals?”

“Probably, right? Their durability and transparency are on a level incomparable to Earth's traditional materials, so they can defend to some extent even if a monster attacks.”

“I see.”

“In the old days, they said they made windows like this with glass or plastic… It makes me wonder how they ever used such weak materials.”

“…….”

And just like that, Jio was instantly relegated to the status of an ancestor.

From the young blood of the education world to an ancestor.

The exponential drop made his head spin.

“Are glass and plastic not used?”

“They're used, but glass… is usually used for decorations, right? You can shape it much more easily than Formless Crystals, and you can mix colors in. It's a type of gem, so it's a bit expensive even though it can be made artificially.”

“What about plastic?”

“Plastic? It's barely used, I think? It's not recyclable and doesn't decompose well.”

To think they were concerned about the Earth's health, it seemed Earthlings had developed in the past 31 years.

I thought they were busy evolving into a dystopia, but this is quite something.

‘The Earth's lifespan must have increased a bit.’

Jio turned his gaze and looked at the overground train again.

The back of the seats was covered with a soft cloth and leather like a sofa, but the windows above the shoulder line and the ceiling were as clear as if there was nothing there.

The gleaming walls of the buildings and the clear sky seen beyond gave a strange thrill.

‘A gentleman's roller coaster….’

There was no sense of speed or rattling, but the unbelievable height of this rail stimulated Jio's sense of romance.

It was like a scene from an SF movie.

“Ah, Jio. We're getting off soon.”

“Is that so?”

“The baekban restaurant and hotel I reserved are near this stop.”

“I am looking forward to it.”

“You can look forward to it, I've booked all the good places.”

While listening to Yu Seong-un's words with interest, Jio had a faint premonition.

‘The Earth has become a place where a crystal of harmlessness like me can no longer live.’

The weakling Jio, who didn't even have a taekwondo white belt that everyone else had, lacked the strength to overcome this terrifying world.

He would have to be cooped up in his portrait for the rest of his life to ensure his own safety.

It was a thought that would have made Yu Seong-un shudder with absurdity had he heard it.

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