As Shirou stood outside the weapons shop, a sudden wave of stillness hit him harder than expected. The wind was mild, the streets were busy as usual, yet everything felt strangely quiet.
He again felt it, the same feeling, he had… nothing to do.
The dungeon was sealed off for the next twenty days, locked tightly by the system. His thoughts went to training, but even that felt pointless now. After clearing thirty floors of the tower, he'd clearly surpassed the Apprentice stage. The training gym's golems, designed for beginners or those barely into the Adept tier, were no challenge.
Back when he was still an Apprentice, slicing through those things barely gave him a nudge in sword mastery—maybe a percentage increase if he was lucky. Now? They'd be like punching pillows and hoping to grow stronger.
"If only I could find a real trainer," Shirou muttered under his breath, his hand absently reaching up to scratch the back of his head. "Should I try searching for one?"
But the thought lingered and then faded. Finding a skilled trainer who could match his current level or beyond wasn't easy. Especially in this town, where true experts were rare, hidden, or simply not interested in training some random teenage adventurer.
A sigh escaped him.
"In my previous life," he murmured, "I used to dream of a day off. A real day off. No lectures, no assignments, no alarms… just sleep. But here, it's different. I can't sit still. It's like I'm wasting time even when there's nothing to do."
He glanced up at the sky, half-expecting some divine sign. Of course, nothing came. Just the soft glow of the twin suns hanging lazily in the afternoon sky.
Then, as if the world nudged him, a thought clicked.
"Oh right—work."
Shirou spun a full 180°, energized by the sudden realization. "Off to work then!"
He briskly walked through familiar streets toward the factory where he had been helping Darwin and the rest with transportation duties. Despite all his growth, there was something oddly comforting about the routine, the heavy lifting, the sweat. It grounded him.
But as he neared the site, something felt off. The factory doors were open, the conveyor belts inside were running, and machines buzzed rhythmically, but… no Darwin. No transportation trucks. No familiar faces.
"What the hell?"
He stepped inside and approached the first person he saw—a lean man in a grey uniform, hunched over a pile of packages.
"Hey," Shirou called out. "Where is everyone? Did I miss something? Is today some kind of holiday?"
The man straightened up and turned, squinting for a moment before recognition lit up his face.
"You're Shirou, right?"
Shirou blinked. "You know me?"
The man chuckled. "Who doesn't? You're the hardest-working guy this place has seen in a while. Everyone here knows the guy who lifts like three people and doesn't even sweat."
"Heh," Shirou rubbed the back of his neck, smiling sheepishly. "Guess I stood out more than I thought."
The man nodded, still smiling. "As for your question—nope, not a holiday. You probably didn't know since you're kinda new, but Darwin and his team aren't directly part of our staff. They take contract jobs from multiple facilities. Your arrival just happened to line up with when we needed them."
"Oh. So they don't always work here?" Shirou asked, brows raised.
"Exactly. And as of two days ago, they moved to a new contract. Different place."
A small sense of relief washed over Shirou. He hadn't even realized how much he'd wanted to go back to work—how much he needed the familiarity of it.
"That's good to hear. For a second I thought they left town."
The man let out a laugh. "Well, funny you say that. He did leave town."
Shirou froze.
"—Just kidding," the man added quickly, laughing again. "He's still around. Just working at a different factory nearby."
Shirou rolled his eyes but smiled. "Don't scare me like that."
Just as he was about to turn and leave, the man called after him. "Oh wait—Darwin actually mentioned you might come looking. Said he meant to tell you about the shift two days ago, but you kinda vanished before he could say anything. He figured it was urgent, so he didn't chase you down."
"Huh. That sounds like me."
"Hold on a second," the man said, before disappearing into a side room.
A minute later, he returned with a pouch and a folded note.
Shirou took the pouch and felt its weight. Even without opening it, he knew—it was his payment for that day he never returned for.
"Darwin left this for you."
Shirou unfolded the paper. The letters were huge and messy, almost like someone had used a tree branch as a pen.
> "This is your payment for that day. I wanted to toss in a bit extra, but knowing you, you'd probably just throw it back at me. If you're still up for work, come to the address below."
Underneath the writing was a massive sketch of a bicep. Shirou stared at it.
"…Is that supposed to be a signature?"
He shook his head, pocketed both the pouch and the letter, and thanked the worker before heading out.
A new destination now.
The streets were bustling as always. Street performers danced while flickers of mana-enhanced lights burst in the air, creating shimmering trails. The scent of roasted meat and sweet buns filled the breeze. Children ran by, their fingers glowing with tiny sparks of magic from toy wands sold during the festival season.
Despite having walked these streets many times, they still felt magical to Shirou. Maybe because, in his old world, none of this existed.
He remembered the first time he went to a magic show with his parents. How amazed he'd been when the magician pulled glowing doves out of his hat. At the time, he was certain it was real. He had even gotten into a heated debate with a classmate over it.
A quiet chuckle slipped from his lips.
"Guess that kid wouldn't believe me if I told him I now live in a world where magic is real."
Before he realized it, Shirou had arrived.
A booming voice greeted him.
"So, you really did come back, huh?"
Shirou's face brightened as he looked up. "Boss Darwin."
Darwin stood tall as ever, arms crossed and that familiar grin plastered on his face.
"So you got the letter?"
"Yup."
Shirou looked around. His old co-workers were there too. Their eyes lit up upon seeing him—not necessarily out of pure joy, but probably because they knew his return meant they could slack off just a bit more.
He waved at them, and a few waved back with grins of their own. It didn't bother him. Most of them were ordinary people without magic, doing hard labor day after day. For them, any help was a blessing.
Darwin stared at him a moment longer, his brows furrowing.
"…Is there a problem?" Shirou asked.
"No, just… something's different about you." Darwin squinted. "You gain more muscle or something? Your posture changed too. Weird. Maybe I'm just imagining things." He chuckled.
Shirou kept a calm expression, but deep inside, he was caught off guard. For a man without any magical sense, Darwin's instincts were sharp. He could feel the difference. Shirou had grown stronger—his reflexes faster, his body tougher. Yet he hadn't realized those changes were visible to others.
The system's fast-paced growth had made him blind to his own evolution. But clearly, others were noticing.
Darwin clapped his hands together. "So. You ready to get back to your job?"
Shirou looked him straight in the eye, his voice steady.
"Yes, boss."