The path back to normal life has been cut off.
It’s hard for a school to keep a teacher who’s itching to beat up students.
The vice-principal, who was a rookie teacher in the early to mid-2000s, was relatively understanding about hitting kids.
But when a teacher damages school property during a wrestling match with students and injures them, it’s beyond any defense.
“Ha!”
Instead of just being a pathetic contract worker who couldn’t handle even a flimsy position and ran away with a resignation letter,
I beat up the kids who were bullying others and, in the process, saved a kid from a major accident, retiring with a heroic tale.
Isn’t that much cooler than just quitting?
“Oh, right.”
Let’s buy a lottery ticket before going in.
I usually buy one on my way home from work on Mondays at a place nearby that’s had three first-place wins.
I was so busy swatting mosquitoes and testing my strength over the weekend that I forgot to check.
“…Would the luck stat help?”
For the first time ever, I won 50,000 won.
I don’t just scan the QR code; I check each number manually, and even after checking twice, four numbers matched.
Come to think of it, the moment I defeated the Mutation King and jumped 50 levels was Saturday morning, before the lottery announcement.
My luck stat, which I hadn’t invested in, had definitely gone up.
It increases the overall probability, like item drop rates and synthesis chances.
I thought it referred to something dropping when I defeated those weird monsters.
Of course, it could just be a coincidence.
Winning the 4th prize in the lottery is probably less likely than getting two packets of soup mix.
Beep, beep, beep, beep.
I got home early in the afternoon, and unlike the pot, the rice cooker was perfectly fine.
And it greeted me.
[Hello. I am the spirit of the rice cooker.]
“…”
It feels real, but it doesn’t feel realistic.
“The spirit of the rice cooker?”
I took a picture of the rice cooker.
Then an explanation appeared.
The egg of an item spirit has hatched, and a spirit has taken residence.
Unlike breakthroughs or enhancements, spirits can level up like living beings.
Delicious Rice LV15
Objects inhabited by spirits become specialized in their original purpose.
Powerful Insulation LV1
It steams anything that infiltrates the rice cooker.
Depending on the opponent’s level or fire resistance, they may not be steamed.
Cooking LV1
Anything infiltrating the rice cooker, except water and rice, will be destroyed.
Please retrieve items before using this function.
Oh, I see.
So, this rice cooker steams and cooks otherworldly beings around level 15 like it’s making rice.
And it’s leveled up.
“So it’s not a breakthrough but a level-up?”
From what I’ve figured out, inanimate objects get enhanced or break through.
Living things level up.
I and the mosquito level up, while the flyswatter, pot, and fan get enhanced.
[That’s right. But if I face an enemy too strong and lose, I’ll be destroyed. I’m acting as a dungeon now.]
“Well, if I get taken down, I’d die too.”
Only ant-like things come out, so I don’t feel too threatened.
But who knows what could come out?
What if a real giant shows up from their side?
“What’s your name?”
[You have to give me one, Master.]
A name for a rice cooker?
The surname “Ku” sounds good—maybe Cuckoo or Cu-chen?
It feels like a midnight delivery…
I didn’t buy this; it was a gift from my mom so I could cook and live well.
I don’t know.
“Let’s go with RiceCookerMan.”
[Thank you. RiceCookerMan, what a great name!]
Are you serious?
“Well, if you like it, fine.”
[It seems a bit half-hearted, though!]
Yeah, even I think RiceCookerMan is a bit much.
“Oh, really? How about… Jjamtong?”
[….]
“Not good? Then, how about this? Kim, since it’s the most common surname—Kimbap?”
[RiceCookerMan sounds absolutely splendid!]
“No, no. You have a personality, so I went too far. Let’s go with a human-like name…”
[RiceCookerMan! Please make it RiceCookerMan!]
Well, if you insist…
Who would’ve thought I’d go from dealing with 10-year-old teens and teachers to chatting with a rice cooker in my room?
I’m going crazy, aren’t I?
“Alright, RiceCookerMan. What can you do?”
[First, I can act as a dungeon. If you help me, I can carry out my duties without being destroyed.]
“You won’t get destroyed?”
[You can use me like a tool. But if you get defeated, I’ll be destroyed too. It’s unrelated to enhancements or breakthroughs.]
“How do I use you as a tool?”
[Use the cook and keep-warm buttons! I’m holding a gate right now.]
“You call it a gate.”
[Yes. Even I, a spirit, came from that world.]
I needed something to explain that world’s lore.
Like a conversation partner.
The system window exists, and taking a picture with my smartphone shows additional explanations.
But it’d be easier if the system window just talked.
I’ve seen people carry instruments, but carrying a rice cooker—wouldn’t that be too hip?
“So, what’s that world? Why do things crawl over here?”
[It’s a world where humanity like you, Master, went extinct!]
“Oh?”
[Yes, after it became known that everyone has a unique level, hunting others to gain levels opened a world of survival of the fittest, and humanity without magic was wiped out!]
You’re answering so cheerfully about humanity’s extinction.
If levels appear above people’s or creatures’ heads and killing them gives experience and levels…
That’s a pretty chaotic world.
“So, were they always this tiny?”
[I don’t know. Seeing you, Master, I wonder if this is just a world of giants.]
So there are giants.
“Why do they crawl over here?”
[If they don’t invade, the remaining ones, mostly demons, start fighting each other for levels! To avoid that, their culture evolved to conquer other worlds and absorb their levels!]
“How big are the giants?”
[I don’t know exactly. I’ve never seen them. But some have gigantification skills.]
This might not be a small matter.
If they keep coming in this tiny size, it’s a good leveling-up diet for me.
But if something my size shows up, I might have to smash my entire room.
“What’s this magic thing? Casting spells?”
[Yes. But in that world, only demons and fairies could usually use magic. To learn it, you need to build up enough demon affinity!]
My magic stat is zero.
Demon affinity, huh.
“So, talk and get friendly? Don’t beat them up?”
[You can also unlock it with fairy or spirit affinity. Treat fairies and spirits well, and it’s possible.]
Why are you using the word “unlock”?
“Look at your word choice. Are you really from another world?”
[I’m an electronic appliance!]
“Oh, right.”
[But since the fairy race went extinct, I recommend breaking through with spirit affinity.]
Sounds like you’re saying to treat you well, just in a roundabout way.
“What about charm?”
[Exactly what it sounds like.]
I had a ton of questions, and it answers them all.
It’s an answer bot.
I’d get tired of a student asking this many questions.
Among the eight stats—strength, stamina, speed, intelligence, magic, luck, skill, and charm—intelligence, luck, skill, and charm seem important.
I don’t think I can leave this room for long.
It’s not impossible to dive into sports with strength, stamina, and speed to become humanity’s strongest man and earn money.
But for now, beating up whatever comes through this gate is the priority.
“What else can you do besides being a dungeon?”
[I’ll cook delicious rice for you, Master. Just don’t hit me.]
How do I eat rice from a place that steams monsters…
“Uh, okay.”
[Be careful, items might get steamed and fly out! You need to check them yourself.]
I haven’t gone inside the rice cooker, so I don’t know.
But if tiny creatures get hit with cooking or keep-warm attacks in there,
Will I end up with monster rice?
“So, you annihilated monsters while I was out?”
[Their levels were low, so it was possible. And their dropped items had a spirit’s soul, which got absorbed when heated!]
“Is it… okay to open the lid?”
I never thought I’d have to politely ask my rice cooker if I could open it.
[If you open the lid, I can show you the pure white world I created. It’s an honor.]
“I eat brown rice.”
My mom sent me brown rice from a grocery store that makes it without MSG, saying to cook it with other ingredients.
Now that I’ve quit my job, I’m worried about making a living.
But I have rice, instant noodles, stir-fry noodles, bibim noodles, jjajang noodles, retort naengmyeon, and pasta with sauce, so food isn’t a big issue.
I’m whining about money, but I did after-school tutoring as a side gig and saved up for a car, so I can last half a year.
Since this is near Daehak-ro, convenience stores, restaurants, and cafes hire a lot when the semester starts.
I can stay here as a base and get by without going far.
“Can I turn it upside down?”
[Of course.]
I didn’t put rice in it before leaving, so I turned the rice cooker upside down.
Something fell out.
Even with good eyesight, it’s such a miniature world that I can’t see clearly.
Good thing it zooms in well.
“It’s big?”
I don’t know if their world is just small or if they get converted to tiny sizes when invading.
If gold or keys shrink, that’d be sad.
Still, this gold wasn’t like a coin but big enough to pick up with my fingers.
It’s still small, but compared to snack-crumb-sized coins, it’s bigger.
Maybe like instant noodle crumbs instead of wafer crumbs?
This size might be worth something.
There were other items left too.
“What’s this letter?”
There’s something labeled as a letter, and it seems like paper.
But no matter how much I squint, I can’t see it.
I can pull a faraway phone closer, but zooming in on something small makes it blurry.
It looks like something’s written on the paper.
But it’s not Korean or English, so I can’t read it.
[Oh, I’ll read it for you.]
“Uh, okay. You have eyes?”
[It’s the mystery of spirits!]
“Wow!”
I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s mysterious, so I gave an impressed reaction.
It seems to know how to read. Good.
[We are spirits left by the will of the extinct fairy race. In this world, we couldn’t even take root and went extinct.]
[To revive the fairy race, we risked death to cross a controlled gate to send fairy princesses to other dimensions.]
[We leave behind fairy seeds and spirit souls. Plant these seeds and nurture them with love, and a fairy princess will be reborn from the flower as a new fairy.]
[Spirits protect the fairy seeds and serve as your vassals.]
[We heard that your world has humanity, practices agriculture by planting seeds, and uses gold as an important currency.]
[Please fulfill our wish. We beg you.]