4

I place the meat on the oiled frying pan.

Sizzle—!

The pleasant sound tickles my ears, and the sweet aroma of meat tempts my nose.

Following the way I vaguely remembered, I sprinkle salt and pepper on the meat while waiting for it to cook.

After about two minutes, I flip it over, repeating the process again and again.

Once the meat is cooked, I plate it alongside the salad I had ordered for delivery.

While it's not at the level of a gourmet dish, I'm quite satisfied with how appetizing it looks.

As expected, cooking is half the battle when you have quality ingredients.

"This is what they mean by sinful indulgence and devilish decadence," I say to myself.

The weather is great today, with the sun shining brightly outside.

As I enjoy the view from the window, my brunch—a combination of breakfast and lunch—feels especially elegant.

It's moments like these that remind me how important money is in modern life.

No matter how difficult things get, with enough money and time, most problems can be resolved.

After all, the term 'financial therapy' didn't come out of nowhere.

A returned hero, living in a nice house, eating good food, playing games… such an affluent and idle life is only possible because of money.

Let's be honest—I love money.

And I especially love the lazy life that stems from this abundance.

I wasn't someone who lived a disciplined, goal-oriented life before I became a hero, and that didn't change after becoming one.

Still, I justify myself by staying within reasonable boundaries.

***

"Hmm…"

As I take a bite of meat, a thought suddenly crosses my mind.

'What would it have been like if I had returned to Earth without money, with nothing but my bare body?'

'An undocumented, stateless existence with not a penny to my name.'

'If I had lost my powers as a hero, I would've been in a state perfect for ending up as a homeless vagrant.'

'Though, considering my experience as a hero, I probably could've made it through somehow.'

But I wonder if the struggle of overcoming it all would've left scratches on my heart.

'Why am I suddenly thinking about this?'

Ah, right.

***

'I think the title was The Hero Returned.'

During a break after finishing a game of Soul Warfare, I had read a web novel with this plot.

A summoned hero defeats the Demon King, saves another world, and returns to Earth.

However, the harsh reality shows her no mercy—she loses her family, has no foundation, and falls into despair.

Eventually, the hero becomes corrupted and turns into a Demon King herself—a tragic story.

'Maybe I resonated with it because I'm a returned hero, too.'

'If I were in that situation, what would I have done?'

'If I returned to find that my parents had passed away while searching for me, losing everything and starting over from scratch…'

'Would I have been able to overcome that sense of loss?'

'Honestly, I don't know.'

But as I chew on another bite of meat and reflect, I think I wouldn't go as far as becoming evil.

In other words, I wouldn't blow up the district of Gangnam, where I live now, or anything like that.

A hero can lack money but never dignity.

'Besides, I made a vow to the goddess before we parted ways.'

The conclusion is this:

"Thank you, humans. This hero will remain peaceful, so please carry on with your lives."

Once I finish my meal, these thoughts leave my head as quickly as they entered.

After tidying up, I habitually sit in front of my computer.

I'm not sure if I can call it a habit after only a few days, but still.

I open YouTube and type Soul Warfare Guide into the search bar.

Dozens of videos matching the keyword pop up.

If you're wondering why I'm not logging into the virtual reality game as I did yesterday, it's because I'm reflecting on my mindless playthrough from before.

The truth is, I ambitiously started Soul Warfare but quit after only three matches.

In my first team PVP game, I had no idea what I was doing.

All I did was single-handedly massacre the enemy team.

If I kept playing like that, I'd probably feel isolated and fall into a rut.

Normally, I would study the basics through a guide before playing a game, but I admit it—I was too impatient this time, being away from gaming for so long.

"This one looks good."

I click on a video titled Soul Warfare Guide for Beginners.

'The reason for my choice?' The thumbnail looked clean and appealing.

As expected, the guide was concise and straightforward, hitting all the key points.

It explained the importance of clearing the story mode first to unlock weapons, gear, and enchantments.

It also covered recommended weapon choices based on playstyle, along with stat and skill build optimization.

Watching this, I realized just how unprepared I was when I jumped into PVP mode.

From the perspective of others, I must've looked like an absolute newbie barging into battle with just a longsword, inconveniencing my teammates to no end.

Come to think of it, the atmosphere in the chat at the start of the game wasn't exactly friendly.

The only reason I avoided harsher criticism was probably because I made up for it with my skills and the fact that it wasn't a ranked match.

The story mode, like most games of its kind, has a dark and somber theme.

The single-player matches are fought in circular arenas, focusing on one-on-one PVP battles.

You can't use consumable items, so it's just you and your weapon in a direct fight.

The game also supports up to three-versus-three matches, which is a unique feature.

Spectator mode allows you to watch matches from the stands.

***

Then there's the team battle mode.

This is the most popular content in Soul Warfare and the foundation of its E-sports competitions.

Each team consists of seven players, making it a 14-player game on a large battlefield.

The map is structured like a labyrinth, with a central attack lane and flanking routes connected to the bases.

Its design resembles the Summoner's Rift from League of Legends.

The map's uneven terrain allows for creative tactics, such as knockback plays and vertical ambushes.

"Hmm… must be tough."

Watching a video of players hunting monsters, I feel a bit sorry for them.

Each jungle monster they're facing is said to be equivalent to a mid-tier boss from the story mode.

I thought jungle monster hunting would be similar to League of Legends, but it's on a whole different level.

Thanks to advanced AI, the monsters are fierce and relentless.

Their attacks are brutally strong, capable of taking players down in a single hit.

They're slow at times but can suddenly strike with deadly precision and merciless speed.

The jungle monster they're fighting now is comparable to Red Buff or Blue Buff in League, yet it takes two players working together to bring it down.

If an opponent were to steal it at this moment, it'd be utter chaos.

At the end of the gameplay guide video, the team attempted to take down a massive objective together. However, they encountered the opposing team, and amidst the chaos of a rampaging monster, a ridiculous scene of mutual destruction unfolded.

***

After watching the guide video and grasping the rules to some extent, I accessed the Soul Warfare community website.

I browsed the forum, trying to get a feel for the atmosphere among the game's players.

[20M Drop Smash Parry with God-tier Timing]

[Weeb Face Custom with a Booster, No Red Flags Here]

[Stop the Guild Cup Madness!]

[Miss the super likable STK team from last season? Upvote if you do!]

As I browsed through the trending posts, I was struck by how little the sentiment had changed over the past decade.

'This is no different from Korea 10 years ago.'

Everyone was living their lives just as idly as ever.

Feeling slightly sentimental, I skimmed through the posts—until one particular trending post made my hand holding the mouse freeze.

[Author: ArmpitWrinkle]

[Title: Weeb Face Skin with a Booster? No Red Flags Here]

[Text: A booster who skipped the story mode and went into unranked PVP with just a longsword, smashing our team's heads one by one like it's a horror game.]

Beneath the post was a series of attached GIFs.

Just one glance at the uniquely customized face of the character in the footage, and I immediately knew who it was.

The one wreaking havoc on the game screen with only a basic longsword equipped was…

"Whoa."

It was me.

The post accused me of being a booster and included various GIFs of my gameplay, seen from the poster's perspective, showing them getting defeated by me in several different ways.

Honestly, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't flustered.

I've spent my entire life playing games without ever being involved in something as dramatic as getting publicly called out.

'Who would've thought that on my first day back on Earth, during my first game, I'd stir up such a commotion?'

Suppressing my nerves, I scrolled down to read the reactions.

[ForcedDwarfBuyer: Whoa, check out the quality of that skin. It's not even in the shop. What master crafted this? This is… invigorating.]

[ᄋᄋ(156.xxx): Huh? That's totally the same face as Ungo's Swordmaster character, complete with the visor.]

[Loo(114.xxx): What's Ungo, you weeb?]

[ᄋᄋ(156.xxx): It's Fate Grand Oral, some old mobile game for boomers.]

[Loo(114.xxx): Why didn't you think it might just be a real avatar?]

[ᄋᄋ(156.xxx): Where on Earth would you find a real person with that face, you moron?]

[BlackPeopleAreHumans: The fact that King Arthur is a woman is historically supported by ancient Goguryeo martial arts. Therefore, this skin is canon.]

[ᄋᄋ(125.xxx): The visor covers the eyes.]

[ᄋᄋ(73.xxx): If it's covered, make it visible anyway!]

Some were fixated on my character's appearance, making bizarre comments.

[SunlightSword: Dude, that's not a booster. Do you really think a booster would skip the story mode and jump straight into PVP? LOL.]

[GarlicKnightZekeBelt: Nah, that's just a Challenger smurf account flexing on noobs. You're clueless, OP.]

[ArmpitWrinkle: Shut up.]

Others pointed out flaws in the poster's logic, mocking them relentlessly.

[GameIdiot: On the eighth GIF, dodging to the left to avoid the spear was a nice call. I get why OP thought it was a booster, but why's their reaction speed so sharp?]

[KeepItRealGarlicKnight: If they haven't cleared the story mode, their stats and skill points are probably still locked. Isn't that impressive?]

[ᄋᄋ(156.xxx): If they're unranked with basic equipment, but this good, their main account's probably Grandmaster tier.]

Finally, there were those analyzing my gameplay based on the attached GIFs.

I meticulously read through not just the post but every attached GIF and comment, even the petty arguments.

It wasn't just criticism—there were obsessive discussions about my character's skin, gameplay praise, and speculations about me being a high-tier smurf account.

'Who would've thought that a single day of gaming could spark such a range of reactions?'

Normally, I would skim through posts like this and scroll past quickly, but I found myself fixating on each word as if analyzing it.

Even when I tried to move to another post, I kept scrolling back up to reread everything.

Over and over, I greedily consumed the post and its comments.

At some point, I realized I was covering my mouth with my hand.

'Why was I covering my mouth? Why?'

'What should I call this feeling I'm experiencing right now?'

"Haaa…"

A shaky breath escaped my lips.

Even with a body enhanced as a hero's, one that doesn't feel fatigue and is impervious to physical exhaustion, I found myself slightly short of breath.

It was strange, even alarming.

'Could it be some kind of demon's curse bypassing my hero's resistance?'

The muscles around my cheekbones twitched.

My breathing quickened unnaturally.

I needed to figure out what was happening to my body.

Then, my eyes caught sight of the full-length mirror beside my desk.

Pushing aside the oversized hoodie draped over me, I removed my hand from my mouth.

What I saw reflected back was…

"Ha."

My lips curling upward in a suppressed smile.

It was only then that I realized.

"I love this."

I love it.

Seeing people talk about me like this—analyzing me, reacting to me—it felt unbelievably sweet.

Watching them dissect my avatar, gawk at my gameplay, and praise my moves gave me an overwhelming sense of euphoria.

I asked myself, "Why am I so happy about this?"

'No, there's no need to even ask.'

Thanks to my hero's intuition, I realized the answer immediately.

"I'm an attention-seeker."

'What can I do about it?'

After all, the only thing I remember from my time as a hero is fighting demons.

Even the comrades who joined me were all wiped out quickly.

Eventually, I was left to slay demons alone and defeat the Demon King after countless struggles.

But I didn't even get to savor my victory.

The goddess immediately summoned me for settlement and sent me back to Earth.

Looking around my peaceful room now, it's hard to believe that just days ago, I was fighting for my life in hell.

As a social creature, it makes sense that I'd start craving attention after so long without any interaction.

'At this point… it's only natural.'

In this modern society, where you can draw massive attention with the right methods, I found myself swallowing hard.

I stared at the Soul Warfare title screen.

A thousand ideas to gain even more attention raced through my mind.

Yet the room around me was quieter than ever.