Limiter

Waking up in an unfamiliar and strange place with broken lights, cracked windows, dust and pieces of decaying wood scattered around I slowly began to recollect my memories of the past of this body.

In this world, I have been an orphan since I can remember, enduring severe abuse at the orphanage. I eventually escaped and have been surviving on my own for the past five years alone in this dense forest.

The previous memories of this body show I had been strong-willed and was not a wimp, choosing to live in an abandoned house in the middle of a dense forest without any fears.

I had learned and started to survive by eating small berries and fruits and initially feared the darkness but eventually became skilled enough to hunt wild animals for my food in the veil of night itself.

My past memories reveal that this world may look attractive, but is basically a hot coal wrapped in a cool wrapper, because of how wonderful it seemed on the outside there was all kind of shady business starting from drugs to human trafficking at a very large margin in the darkness, but here rather than money your strength stated where you stand in this world's hierarchy Your strength determines your rank in the hierarchy, not money.

I figured out that I was roughly 14 years old and that there were only about 2 to 3 years left before the events of the original story would kick in.

This meant I had to act fast. I needed to set up some kind of foundation to create a strong background for myself, one that would keep me safe from any legal troubles or threats in this world.

My number one mission now was to get out of this wild jungle-like place. I mean, who wants to wander around in the middle of nowhere with no clothes on? So, off I went on my quest for clothing. Even though it was as dark as a cave in there, I had something like a sixth sense for spotting things.

And what do you know? I stumbled upon a mysterious black box. I couldn't help but grin at my stroke of luck

Opening the box, I discovered a set of clothes that was surprisingly stylish. There was also some identification and even a credit card tucked inside.

|10 minutes later|

As I left the abandoned house, searching for water and trying to sense my surroundings, I suddenly experienced a severe headache, strong enough to knock me out in the middle of nowhere.

When I woke up, I realized that my perception of the world had taken a dramatic turn. I could feel this heavy dense negative energy all around me, and it was seriously making me want to puke. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't turn it off – it was like a never-ending bad smell.

And then, out of the blue, a hexagonal window popped up in my vision. It had a tree emblem on it, and it looked like something straight out of a video game.

Clicking on it, I discovered various abilities related to negative energy sensitivity and active powers like teleportation. I felt a bit overwhelmed as I looked at the strange symbol that looked like a demon with horns. When I touched it, a voice inside my head said, "Automatic mode activated."

I knew what it was like I had been using it for years and with this, I had gained control over my strength, able to amplify or reduce it by adjusting my effort. It was like a power bar that charged up as I pushed harder, making me stronger with each increase in effort i put into the action. 

After an hour of navigating this unfamiliar world, I finally reached a desolate road. It was then that I realized that, for my age, I was considerably shorter than I should have been. I had yet to experience my growth spurt, which struck me as a bit odd..... come on man I'm a Hanma!.

The moon's soft glow guided my path as I continued on this broken road and made my way through an alleyway filled with red lights and swirling smoke. These signs hinted at the illegal activities that thrived in this place.

I didn't want any problems that could change what's going to happen in the future, so I chose a smart path. Instead of hanging out with the shady folks down there, I decided to stay up high. I moved easily across the rooftops, keeping a good distance. Being up here gave me a different and clear view of the strange place.

However, my attention was drawn to a scrawny boy who appeared malnourished and frail, who seemed like he came out of a coffin. The only sign that he was alive was his slow, weary movements.

He attempted to conceal his presence while desperately seeking to steal some medicine or money from the medical shop infront of him. Unfortunately, luck was not on his side that day. The gangster like shop owner noticed his weird actions and, instead of offering assistance,  He welcomed him with a brutal punch square in the face., a common occurrence in this harsh world. The sight made me uncomfortable, but I couldn't deny that such occurrences were all too familiar in the world of Lookism.

The boy looked unfazed by the harsh blow he had just received. His expression remained hidden, but an elderly woman approached him looking at his depleted state out of pity I saw her offering some leftover food. Strangely, the boy didn't eat it; instead, he bowed and thanked her and sprinted towards the darker, more secluded part of the slum, away from the reach of the dim streetlights.

I didn't know exactly why, but I felt a strong urge to follow the boy. My heart felt some uneasiness seeing someone so young as me enduring so harsh in this world. I couldn't help but feel a strange connection to him ,like we were meant to meet.

Rather than intervening, I decided to watch where this boy was going even if he was a kid, a cruel place like this makes children mature out of their age so I was wondering how he is surviving . Is he alone? a runaway fam maybe or some cult or crazy shit like that? I had many doubts surging inside me.

It had been 10 minutes since he started running with his bare feet, which already had many cuts and bruises with the uneven hair on his face I couldn't get a clear picture of his face and expression

Soon he reached a broken-down house with walls that would crumble at any time. Oddly the boy climbed up through the roof to get in the house rather than the door like he was hiding something to find the answer to my suspicion I followed him into the house and with my skills  I could easily conceal my presence.

but the sight I saw following him made my eyes cloud with tears without even me knowing

IInside a small wardrobe, a young girl who seemed to be around three or four years old was hiding It was evident that her brother had instructed her to hide, It was clear that her brother had advised her to hide there, recognizing that this wasn't a safe environment for little girls to be alone. When the girl saw her brother, her face lit up with joy, and she rushed to hug him like a koala.

Despite their challenging circumstances, the little girl seemed to be in relatively better shape than her brother. She was wrapped in a worn and tattered towel like a squirrel, but her demeanor was bright.

Upon smelling something tasty on her brother's hand, she eagerly snatched the rice cake from him. With her small hands, she broke the large rice cake into two pieces and, with a heartwarming gesture she offered the larger portion to her brother. 

Tears welled up in my eyes as I watched this touching scene, reminded of my own past family. Witnessing their love for each other, I realized that even in the midst of adversity, the walls of their damaged room held the strength to be called a home.

Feeling moved, I decided to continue my exploration of Seoul. As I walked, I noticed a rusty van heading towards the area where the boy's house was located. What caught my attention was the old lady in the back of the van, the same lady who had given the boy food. Mumbling to myself, I decided to retrace my steps and follow the van only to reach the depleted house again.