Narrator's POV
"Damn, I should really think about quitting," muttered Ken, visibly annoyed, as he opened his apartment door.
Ken Smith is a simple office worker who, unfortunately, often finds himself forced to work well beyond his regular hours.
Why?
His boss supposedly had a "family emergency," which pushed Ken to take on extra work to fill the gap in the team's schedule.
Normally, anyone would have protested against such an abuse of power. But Ken's financial situation forced him to grit his teeth and suffer in silence.
Quit this miserable job? Unfortunately, that wasn't an option for him yet.
Ken, 22 years old, is a rather ordinary-looking man. He's not exceptional in his field, but he's not bad either. His only real negative point? A completely non-existent social life.
Add to that the fact that he had inherited anger issues from his abusive father... needless to say, it hadn't helped matters.
"It's been a while since I logged in. I shouldn't become a slave to the system..." thought Ken as he quickly changed before turning on his computer.
The atmosphere in the apartment was gloomy and silent, but Ken appreciated this solitude due to his past.
"What's this?" he wondered, frowning as he discovered an avalanche of notifications.
Checking them, he found they were from someone using the username "ROB," who had responded to almost all his old comments on a Solo Leveling forum.
Ken had read this manhwa a few months ago, simply to pass the time.
Normally, he would have ignored such messages. After all, who hasn't been harassed online by an internet user too comfortable behind their screen?
But this time, ROB had indirectly implied that Ken was a pervert. This remark had instantly made him furious.
Of course, Ken knew he had some psychological issues due to his difficult childhood. But being called a pervert? Never!
"OK, I'll play your stupid little game," thought Ken with a smirk, glancing at the clock.
He sat down, determined to respond calmly and politely to this ROB to draw public opinion to his side.
[You really think your comments refute my arguments?]
[Your arguments don't hold up.]
"Not only does he attack me, but he dares to ignore my ideas without even providing a single explanation!" muttered Ken, as a bitter smile formed on his lips.
Ken was furious. Why waste time with this ridiculous ROB?
In reality, he couldn't even remember the exact context of his comments, posted several months earlier on this fan forum.
All he remembered was that he had claimed that Keyaru, from Redo of Healer, would be a more effective protagonist than Sung Jinwoo at solving problems.
"Alright... I'll use an AI to tear apart his arguments."
Ken quickly found an artificial intelligence online and triggered a real "keyboard war."
To be honest, at this point, he no longer cared whether he was right or wrong. All that mattered to him was proving to ROB that he had no chance of winning.
Ken had gone into "keyboard warrior" mode.
[You're the worst scum I've ever met, and yet Loki is one of my friends!]
Ken, amused, guessed that ROB must be suffering from "chuunibyou syndrome" (delusional middle school student syndrome). But he paid no attention to it and continued his relentless attacks.
After an endless exchange of arguments and disguised insults, Ken finally blocked ROB with one last word: he had to have the last word.
"Perfect. Now I can finally..."
Before he could finish his sentence, a violent explosion shook his computer.
Stunned, Ken barely had time to notice a holographic image appear before his eyes. On it, he could read a text:
[If you want to come home one day, then prove your claims!]
The firefighters later discovered that Ken's computer had been damaged by a short circuit caused by his favorite juice, accidentally spilled on the central unit...
...
South Korea (Seoul), hospital.
Sound of baby crying.
"Congratulations, you had a son."
An Asian woman in nurse's attire announced the excellent news while handing the newly born baby to the 'happy' mother.
"Finally, I was able to conceive another child... but my husband... sniff" Despite the joy on her face, the mother couldn't help crying when thinking about her deceased husband.
This mother, both sad and happy, was named Kim Mijun. She is an ordinary employee at a prosperous company in Seoul.
Recently, she became a widow.
Her husband worked as a hunter and had unfortunately perished during a mission for his guild.
(Image)
"Have you decided on a name?" asked a doctor in the background with documents in hand.
He had waited for the mother to relax and rest a bit after the effort of childbirth before asking her some questions about the child.
"His name is Kim... Kim Keyaru," she said affectionately while caressing the child, who was surprisingly eager to seek maternal milk.
"Understood," replied the doctor in a professional tone before asking some additional questions, then leaving.
Shortly after the woman fell asleep while nursing the baby, the nurse took him to lead him to safety...
...
"Status!" The tender voice of a young child echoed in a quiet, dimly lit room.
Unfortunately for him, his expression quickly changed from neutral to a frown.
[Status locked]
[Waiting time: 4 years and 6 months]
"*Sigh* I'm really powerless against this stupid rule."
Despite his complaints, Keyaru already knew that access to his status would only be available at age 15.
'Fortunately, I'm not totally powerless.'
He couldn't help but glance at the various tools scattered around his room, particularly his student chemistry kit.
Although he hadn't yet received his powers as a healing hero, Keyaru possessed the knowledge transmitted by his predecessor.
Thanks to this, Keyaru can use his alchemical knowledge in this universe.
Of course, he hasn't succeeded in creating magical potions yet.
He doesn't have a mana stone and doesn't have the ability to manipulate mana to perform advanced alchemy.
He can only reproduce certain simple potions for now.
"Anyway, I can't do much besides consuming potions to improve my natural resistance to poison and training in Kureha Clyret's sword style."
He had already decided to become a hunter, but he didn't plan to let Sung Jinwoo have all the glory.
Keyaru also intends to join the party.
After all, he remains a hero.
*Knock, knock* his future planning was interrupted by knocks at the door.
"Yes!"
After he gave his approval, a girl of about 13 years old entered the room.
She quickly glanced at the chemistry book on the table as well as the other roughly arranged objects in the room before turning her attention to Keyaru.
"Hey, shut-in, it's dinner time."
This girl was his sister, more precisely his half-sister, Hyomin Joo.
Keyaru was the son of a non-Korean hunter, while Hyomin Joo didn't share a father with him.
That's not all, as she's also an "unwanted child."
In other words, her father had "gone to get milk."
"Got it, I'm coming. And that outfit goes well with that hairstyle," declared Keyaru as he left the room, deliberately ignoring his sister's red face and explosion of rage after his compliment.
'This tsundere will always make me laugh,' he thought, sketching a smile while ignoring the insults directed at him.
You should know that at one time, Keyaru and Hyomin were very close, but things had changed after a rather cliché but annoying event that occurred at Hyomin's girls' school.
She had been a victim of bullying because of her status as a fatherless child.
Although she had managed to solve the problem with Keyaru's help, their family relationship had deteriorated somewhat.
'She still loves me, but she can't help comparing my birth to hers, which she considers unwanted.'
It was something that Keyaru deemed impossible to resolve alone. Only time could repair their family bond and bring it back to what it was before.
Author's Note: Hello and good evening. This is a fanfic I wrote during my free time in traffic jams.
So, I really haven't planned anything and I'll start planning things if it has an audience (so react to avoid me putting it aside and forgetting about it).