Chapter 2 – Becoming a Worker

“Aylen! Work properly! I’m only letting you off until today because of your father’s face. Don’t even think about returning unless you fill your share of the cart!”

“Yeees…”

Whoosh!

A vast ocean of snow. I was inhaling a biting wind that seemed ready to tear my lungs apart, mining glacial stones with a pickaxe that had frozen to become one with my hands.

It was already the third day since I had possessed the character Aylen Vale, opened my eyes in the mining camp, and continued a labor that was no different from a punishment.

I was inwardly lamenting at the urging of Merel, the work foreman.

‘Sigh… why does it have to be a worker, the absolute bottom? At this rate, when on earth will I rise to the position of leader!’

At the start, the character’s occupation was randomly set, excluding the leader and deputy leader.

One was placed in a random occupation, such as worker, work foreman, tailor, butcher, blacksmith, statistician, magic engineer, aide… and the difficulty of rising to a leader differed depending on the occupation.

Between a worker who performed simple physical labor on-site and an aide who served the leader or deputy leader, who would find it easier to become a leader?

While it was common sense, it was an element where luck played a heavy part and severely affected the difficulty. That was why most users used to reroll until a better occupation appeared.

Because the tasks one could perform initially differed by occupation, the time and difficulty required to become a leader varied tremendously.

‘Still… if it was going to become reality like this, shouldn’t they have given me a good occupation at least?’

So, I was regrettably… no, truly unfortunately, placed at the lowest starting point of being a worker.

I was absolutely not looking down on workers, but at least in the worldview of , a worker was an occupation at the very bottom of the vocational hierarchy.

In the worldview of , there was a ‘class’ that did not exist officially but existed in practice.

That class stemmed from the professionalism of the occupation, and it was not much different from the 21st-century modern era in that it did not originate from status or bloodline.

Of course, status and bloodlines like gold spoons and silver spoons existed in the 21st century too… but anyway.

What was certain was that work anyone could do was of low value, while work that not just anyone could do was of high value.

Then, what would be at the top of the class?

Naturally, it was the leader.

A position that had to flawlessly draw up the overall and incredibly complex future plans for city operations—such as administration, welfare, industry, management, and politics—which were woven like a spider’s web.

While at the same time being responsible for the management, repair, and maintenance of the sensitive Eternal Embers, which could break down at any moment.

Could just anyone do that?

Absolutely not.

Something that only an extremely small minority of highly capable… or perhaps, ‘chosen’ individuals could do.

Thus, in this world, a leader received honorable treatment as a synonym for ‘royalty.’ Of course, even that required capabilities to support it.

But I was not trying to talk about who was at the very top of the class. Since the point was which occupation was good for rising to the top of the class.

‘Then, the one closest to a leader is…’

A magic engineer. As expected, it was a magic engineer.

‘The final goal of this game. Excluding the leader, the occupation that best fit it was a magic engineer.’

The ending goal of .

To achieve a high level of civilization, expand the size of the city, and obtain the eternal sustainability of the embers.

Yes. A high level of civilization was achieved through ‘magic engineering’, and the expansion of city scale and sustainability were accomplished through the ‘magic engineering generator’ Eternal Embers.

This meant that ‘magic engineering’ exerted a profound influence on the means to approach the goal as a leader.

Therefore, leaders were often magic engineers at the same time. If one was a magic engineer, they could draw up future plans more concretely, and they could monopolize the power that would otherwise be divided in half between the leader and the department of magic engineering.

‘Which meant a magic engineer was a solid choice. Both for becoming a leader and after becoming one.’

“Sigh… let’s stop. It’s not like the situation will change just because I think about it more.”

I stopped thinking.

Now that I had already become a worker, there was no point in lamenting my lot. Even if I had become a magic engineer, game theory and reality were different, so it was uncertain whether I could have fulfilled that difficult role…

Right now, it was correct to ponder how to increase my support base as a worker.

And my head, mobilized for glacial stone mining work, was…

“Foreman Merel. Please take this.”

“No, Assistant Foreman, really. I told you we shouldn’t do this…”

“Didn’t you say it’s your wife’s birthday this week? I know your back is breaking trying to raise your first and second children as magic engineers, so please accept at least this. It is my small token of appreciation.”

“Sigh… then it can’t be helped.”

The casual embezzlement of glacial stones by Foreman Merel and Assistant Foreman James.

In other words, in this world where glacial stones also circulated as currency, it was open embezzlement of public funds and breach of trust committed under the tacit agreement of the entire Mining Team 1.

‘Merel, James, and the remaining five team leaders are the ringleaders. Though the team members, including myself, won’t be able to escape the charge of aiding and abetting… I have to somehow grant them immunity and turn them into my support base. The problem is when and how to blow the whistle on this…’

It was filling up with countless methods and routes on how to exploit this.

Even so, I was a lucky guy who had started as a worker in as many as 300 runs out of 356 playthroughs.

Becoming a leader from a mere worker?

Sorry, but I have already done that many times.

* * *

Around the time the work hours were ending.

“What, you filled this all by yourself? Nobody helped you?”

“Gasp… n-no, sir. I filled it… all by myself!”

“Well… who would help a fellow like you. Pack your things so we can head back.”

Having barely filled my quota on time, I was fortunately able to return to the city along with the others.

‘…I almost died without even seeing the Eternal Embers.’

Regardless of becoming a leader from a worker. I didn’t even know the way back, and I almost met my end by being left alone in the workplace. It was truly a harsh world.

It was while I was following the column with my exhausted body.

“Wow…”

I was astonished by the scene that was gradually revealed.

The vision, which had been obscured by the blizzard so that I couldn’t see an inch ahead, began to clear up at some point…

Thump- thump- thump-!

A massive circular sphere, twenty meters wide and tall.

The magic engineering generator ‘Eternal Embers’, which was said to melt the snow, melt the ground, and even melt the frozen hearts of humans, was melting all of the falling snow with a heavy operating sound!

‘It’s incredible… No wonder the department of magic engineering has no choice but to hold power on par with the leadership.’

Although it was the Eternal Embers that I had seen so many times in the game that I was sick of it, seeing it in reality was on a different level.

Its majesty and greatness were at a level that could not be fully described in words.

To point that just by looking at it, I understood why the city was built and developed with the Eternal Embers as its base, and why humans had hope…

“Pour everything you have into the storage and go! If you get caught smuggling it out secretly, you’ll see what happens!”

While I was marveling at the tremendous grandeur emitted by the Eternal Embers, Merel, who had arrived at the storage, spoke.

I scoffed at those words, poured out the entire contents of my cart, and came out.

‘Just wait. The day your head rolls is not far off.’

However…

‘…Where should I go? Where is my house?’

As for heads rolling, my own head was about to roll right now.

Absurdly, I had not inherited a single piece of memory or knowledge from Aylen Vale.

It was when I was standing stupidly in front of the storage like that.

“Aylen, you came right on time today.”

“…?”

There was a warm and beautiful voice calling me.

Reflexively turning my head, I faced a woman as beautiful as her voice.

‘Who is it? A girlfriend, a wife?’

Otherwise, I thought she might be an older or younger sister, but she seemed a bit too old for that.

Considering that my age was 19, that woman was indeed…

“I’m on my way back from bringing a lunch box to your father because he said he is working overtime again today. Shouldn’t you hurry back and eat too?”

‘As expected, she was my mother.’

No, to think my mom was this young and pretty!

At that moment, I felt the fact that I had possessed a character in this fantasy world to my bones.

There was no other cliché like this!

* * *

Dinner time to wrap up the day.

I was, quite rudely, pouring a barrage of questions at my mother, Renata Victoria, for a long time at the dinner table.

Because to me, she was the only communication channel to grasp this world.

Most of the questions were about this ember, such as how many people were in this city, who the leader was, and what policies and directions were being used to lead the city.

Of course, since I couldn’t ask directly, I had a hard time beating around the bush.

The problem arose elsewhere, however…

“Aylen, did something happen while you were working?”

“Pardon? Nothing happened, why do you ask?”

“No… it feels a bit awkward because you don’t seem like the son I used to know.”

It meant that as I became Aylen, the core itself had changed.

But since this was an unavoidable problem, I chose a frontal breakthrough.

“I’ve grown up. I am nineteen now, after all.”

“Is that so…?”

I squared my shoulders proudly.

What could she do if I said so?

To my mother as well, hearing that her son had got his act together would sound much better than hearing that his personality had been replaced by that of a 21st-century modern person.

“That puts my mind at ease. You’ve quit alcohol and cigarettes, and sorted out the women too, right?”

“…Yes. I have cleared away such a shameful past, Mother.”

“The gambling too…?”

“Pardon…? Yes…”

Was Aylen an unfilial son beyond imagination?

Looking at Renata’s dark expression, I thought that me becoming Aylen might actually be a stroke of good fortune for this family.

Soon, around the time I resolved all my curiosity about the city, I asked Renata.

“By the way… what is Father working overtime for?”

Information about my father; once again, the question was subtle.

Renata began to spin the story smoothly without any suspicion.

“What else would it be? He’s been busy for a few months with the development of the magic engineering golem.”

“A magic engineering golem?”

“Yes. Our embers want to make one too, so the lights in the magic engineering department building never go out. Your father probably slept at the laboratory more days than he did at home.”

A magic engineering golem; I frowned at that.

‘Even if it’s development rather than mass production, it should be impossible with a city of this size…’

Judging by the scale, development level, and scenery of the city I saw when returning from work, this ember was not yet at a level to challenge the development of magic engineering golems.

Indeed, having heard from Renata that the population of this city was only a thousand, meaning it was a newborn ember, that was definitely the case.

Yet, development?

It meant only one thing.

‘The leader of this ember is a magic engineer, or there are many exceptionally skilled magic engineers…’

At the same time, there was one hopeful piece of news for me.

The fact that my father was a magic engineer.

Perhaps I could rise in status from the worst starting point of the worker class to the best starting point of the magic engineer spoon class!

“Mother, you said there are research materials in Father’s study, right?”

“Yes. Since he said he had to work at home too, he brought materials every time. They might not be the latest copies, but they should be there.”

“Yes, thank you for the meal!”

Springing up like a coil at a sliver of expectation, I headed straight to the study.

‘Magic engineering… it must be incredibly difficult.’

The Earth I originally came from was a world where magic engineering theory existed only as a ‘game setting book.’ However, this world was a world where magic engineering theory existed as an actual ‘magic engineering book.’

Even without looking, it was obvious that the depth would be entirely different.

However, I smiled.

‘To think a magic engineering book actually exists…!’

To me, who had ground my life into , magic engineering was not a ‘science’ but a ‘game,’ the greatest pleasure and entertainment that I had wished and wished would be realized in reality!

Since it had been said from old times that those who make efforts cannot beat geniuses, and geniuses cannot beat those who enjoy themselves…

“Slurp… my mouth is watering already.”

Perhaps the 20,000 hours I had poured into were all for this moment.

Licking my lips greedily with a swelling heart, I stepped into the study.