SUP Chapter 4: Conceptual Occupation, Something Falling from the Sky

The scene before Ian was all too familiar.

This nightmare, or rather, the strange state he fell into every night, had started even before he awakened his system panel cheat.

"What is this place?"

Frost quickly crystallized on Ian’s eyelashes. He raised his hand to catch the endless snow falling from the sky, the white curtain swallowing the skyline of the ruined city.

The snow was heavy.

Only objects close by were visible. Oddly, Ian didn’t feel cold, as if he were physically present yet detached from this world.

The howling wind mixed with the crisp sound of cracking ice. The silent city resembled a desolate scene from an apocalyptic painting, perhaps a world already past its end.

"Da da da~"

"Da da da~"

Ian walked on the icy ground, unsure what he could do here. Past attempts had proven he couldn’t take anything back from this place.

Perhaps the only benefit this city offered was inspiration for a decadent-style painter. A broken overpass jutted into the snow like dissected steel bones.

Rusted car wrecks were half-buried in ice, collapsed bus stops had shattered glass canopies, and snow-covered buildings had crumbled in many places.

Broken power lines swayed in the wind. This was a ruin abandoned by the gods, where even the sound of a cricket was an impossible luxury.

"Hey! Come out!"

Ian shouted boredly at the sky, but no garbage rained down. His nine years of compulsory education hadn’t provided a cheat code for exploring this strange world.

"Looks like I’ll stick to the usual." Ian had strict rules for himself here. Part of his rapid leveling of the [Student] occupation to LV7 was thanks to this nightmare world, where he gained an extra seven hours for time management.

Studying even in dreams.

No wonder his grades were stellar and his leveling so fast.

And so, Ian began searching the snowy ruins for unburied bookstores, often filled with adult magazines and journals.

While his brothers hid such books in the neighbor’s doghouse, Ian didn’t worry about parental discovery. Plus, he gained experience points from this "study." How could exploring the adult world not count as learning? His [Student] occupation was remarkably flexible in judging experience gains.

"No weaknesses in any field, that’s the true god of learning for the new era!" Ian was pleased with his plan, trudging through snow-covered streets.

His boots scraped against the ice, making teeth-gritting sounds. He slipped occasionally but felt no pain when he stood and brushed himself off.

It was like a lucid dream.

Just more consistent and unique. Soon, Ian found his destination: a snow-buried bookstore. With half an hour of digging, he could slip inside.

The bookstore was empty, not even a dead customer in sight. The books on the shelves were fragile, but those in glass cases could still be gently flipped through.

[You diligently read, gaining some aesthetic skills. [Student] occupation experience +1]

[You diligently read, gaining some aesthetic skills. [Student] occupation experience +1]

…

Time passed second by second in fulfilling study.

By chance, Ian found a still-functional revolver next to a collector’s magazine. He aimed it at his temple and pulled the trigger.

"Bang bang bang~"

The bullets rippled against his flesh but caused no harm. Ian had long figured out the dream’s quirks, and this act brought extra experience.

[You attempted to learn bullet-catching. Though practical learning failed, you gained some daredevil skills. [Student] occupation experience +3]

[You attempted to learn bullet-catching. Though practical learning failed, you gained some daredevil skills. [Student] occupation experience +3]

…

Six system prompts weren’t Ian’s limit, but the revolver’s magazine was. Unfortunately, no more bullets were nearby, or Ian would’ve thanked nature’s gift—eighteen experience points, which would’ve taken ages to earn through reading. This proved only boldness led to success.

"Still not satisfied."

Ian gave himself a voiceover.

As mentioned before.

His [Student] occupation’s experience gain was very flexible, another reason he felt his system panel resembled an unfinished game.

Not exactly buggy, just with minimal restrictions.

"See you tomorrow night, panty-less lady." Ian set down a personal photobook, estimating his return time, and dragged a table to the bookstore’s entrance.

No coffee or cake, but the bookstore had plenty of their pictures. Ian cut out several and arranged them on the table.

When bored enough, one gets a bit abstract. Ian saw this as ritual; without something to pass the time, he’d suffocate in this world every night.

A lifeless world.

Like a dull, dark room.

Outside the doghole Ian dug, snowflakes drifted silently. Only the occasional snap of an icicle breaking off a sign and plunging into the snow broke the quiet.

Boom!

Suddenly, a loud, not crisp, sound shook the ground like muffled thunder, startling Ian, accustomed to the silence.

The abrupt, heavy noise wasn’t an icicle falling but like a mountain collapsing, crashing into the ground!

"Holy crap, something actually fell from the sky?" Ian snapped back to his senses, stood, and deftly crawled through the doghole at the entrance.

On the street, the wind, laced with ice shards, still howled.

In Ian’s wide, disbelieving eyes, a figure as massive as a hill reflected, the culprit of the dull thud, fallen from the sky.

A green giant, completely frozen in ice, just like this world!

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