Escaping NEET Life (2)
Strictly speaking, Yujin was by no means stupid.
Of course, back in his school days he had never been the model student type either. Neither particularly outstanding nor especially lacking, he had simply been an ordinary high school sophomore.
But the Yujin of today was different.
In that other world he had mastered mana breathing techniques, filled his heart with mana, and attained transcendent power that far surpassed any ordinary human. And mana breathing had not merely granted his body overwhelming strength—it had directly enhanced his mind as well. His memory and comprehension now dwarfed anything from his high school years. When he set his mind to learning complex swordsmanship or martial arts, for instance, he could master every movement in under an hour.
But that was one thing, and this was another.
He could memorize every motion of the most intricate, bizarre sword forms after seeing them only once. So why the hell wouldn’t the contents of these damned textbooks stick in his head?
Yujin had tried, in his own way, to focus and study. Yet the moment he sat at the desk and stared at a textbook, drowsiness crashed over him. On top of that, in the five years he had been gone the world had filled with so many new things to see and play with that a little time spent fiddling with his smartphone would make hours vanish in a blink.
Just like that, without feeling as if he had done anything at all, two months had slipped by. And of the GED prep books he had bought two months earlier, Yujin had not even managed to memorize ten pages.
“…I really fucking hate studying.”
Yeah. No matter how he looked at it, this wasn’t it. He had not returned to Earth to live this dry, joyless life.
“…Maybe I should just give up on studying and look for a job that uses my body.”
As the misaligned timelines between that world and this one made clear, the laws of the other world and Earth were fundamentally different. In other words, the power Yujin had clawed together through twenty years of desperate struggle had become completely useless the moment he returned. The mana that had existed inside him had vanished without a trace the instant he set foot on Earth.
“Well… it’s not like I’m completely broke either.”
After two months of various experiments he had learned that, with effort, he could still accumulate mana in his body on Earth through mana breathing. Of course, he would have to develop a breathing method suited to Earth’s environment, so reclaiming his former heights would take at least several decades.
Moreover, while the mana that had once filled him had long since evaporated, the superhuman physique he had obtained through the complete bodily transformation of mana breathing remained perfectly intact. If he leveraged that physical ability to compete in the Olympics or throw himself into combat sports and enter the UFC, he could probably conquer the world in less than a year. Even if he didn’t go that route, working construction would let him easily handle the load of five men, so he might become a rising star in that field too.
“Haa… I don’t even know anymore.”
As these random thoughts drifted through his mind, sitting at the desk once again started to feel like a chore. He let out a sigh, stood up, and stepped out of his room—only to feel his younger sister Gyeoul, who had been sitting on the sofa, staring blankly at him.
“What? Got something to say?”
“Well… nothing major, but are you free right now, Oppa?”
“Can’t you see your big brother is studying his brains out for the GED?”
At Yujin’s words Gyeoul let out a derisive snort.
“Studying your brains out, my ass. Mom and Dad already know. You’re sitting at the desk pretending to study, but you haven’t done a single bit of actual work. The book you bought two months ago doesn’t even have one note in it. What kind of bullshit is that?”
“….”
It was all true, but getting fact-checked this hard by his own little sister still felt like taking a hit to the bone.
“I already got permission from Mom and Dad. They said I can use you as much as I want today. So you’d better just shut up and cooperate.”
Apparently some shady backroom deal had already been struck without any regard for Yujin’s free will.
“Can you help me out with my stream a little?”
“Stream?”
Yujin blinked at Gyeoul’s words. He already knew. His younger sister, Han Gyeoul, was a university student, but on the side she ran an internet stream. She mainly did content related to virtual reality games, and with her pretty face and solid physique she was making decent pocket money. It stood in stark contrast to Yujin, who at the ripe age of twenty-three was still receiving an allowance from their parents.
Fuck.
Recalling that bitter reality and feeling a sharp ache in his chest, Yujin spoke more curtly than he intended.
“You’re planning another VR game stream this time, right?”
“Yeah.”
“But I’ve never played a VR game even once.”
That was true. Virtual reality games had been commercialized for the general public right after Yujin was kidnapped to the other world. To be more precise, VR games themselves had already existed when he was in high school. But back then they had never really gone beyond the category of “games.” Five years later, VR games had advanced so far that comparison was almost impossible. They had transcended mere games to the point where you could call them another reality without exaggeration.
And since returning to Earth, Yujin had never touched the evolved VR games. No—he couldn’t have. After rolling around in the other world for twenty years, he had come back like a primitive man who had completely forgotten how to use a smartphone. How was he supposed to play something as cutting-edge as a VR game?
“It’s fine. No—actually, that’s exactly why I need your help even more.”
“Why?”
“Well… what’s inside you isn’t particularly useful, but at least the outer shell is pretty decent, right? Be grateful to Mom and Dad for giving you that face.”
If she could snag even one good clip involving Yujin during today’s stream, she might be able to pull in more female viewers—
Gyeoul grinned without the slightest attempt to hide that sly calculation, and Yujin’s face twisted into a scowl. He wanted nothing more than to reject her proposal outright, but unfortunately he was in no position to do so. If their parents had already given permission, then free will was basically a non-factor for him. Besides, staring at that goddamn GED prep book at the desk had been making him nauseous anyway, so helping Gyeoul out wasn’t exactly a hardship. And during his days as a hero in the other world he had gotten thoroughly sick of having his face known to countless strangers, so the idea of appearing on stream didn’t bother him either.
But that was only agreement to appear on her stream. If Gyeoul dared to use her exalted older brother to make money, then Yujin deserved proper compensation, didn’t he?
“You’re not seriously telling me to do free volunteer work with nothing in return, right? I heard from Mom and Dad that you’ve been making decent money since you started streaming.”
“…Seriously, then and now, you’re razor-sharp when it comes to this kind of calculation.”
Gyeoul pouted, looking thoroughly displeased.
“A hundred thousand won.”
“Only a hundred thousand? Is that all the affection you have for your big brother? Dig a little deeper.”
“In exchange, you can take every single donation that comes in during the stream. How about that?”
“…Donations?”
Yujin blinked, not quite understanding.
“If my stream is fun, people will donate money directly to you. You know, like the star candies from the old Paprika streams.”
“Ahh.”
“So the base pay is a hundred thousand, and the rest depends on how well you do.”
Yujin ran some quick mental calculations, then nodded. He didn’t fully grasp everything else, but the fact that the harder he worked the more Gyeoul’s earnings for the day would plummet was definitely appealing.
Gyeoul, for her part, looked at Yujin—who had so readily accepted her terms—and smiled contentedly to herself.
I was ready to go up to a hundred and fifty thousand, but I saved some money.
And so Yujin and Gyeoul each believed they were sitting on top of the other’s head as they grinned and chuckled at one another—completely unaware of what results today’s casually started stream would bring in just a few hours.