Legendary in Every Sense
…My heart’s pounding so hard I can’t even look.
“Ugh! Uggghhh!”
“Ah, fuck!”
First things first—I need to do something about this lady.
It was such a critical moment that the zombie girl who’d been glued to my lower body without any issue until now was finally starting to piss me off. Woojin headed out to the display shelves outside the warehouse and grabbed a pair of ankle restraints. The zombie girl who followed him charged aggressively, but at this point it just looked adorable. He stepped back inside the warehouse, clamped the chain-equipped cuffs around her ankles so she couldn’t move an inch, and only then did he let out a long breath.
“Whew……”
Mental prep: complete.
The awakening window was different from the status windows he’d seen in that other world. There were no stats or anything like that. It was simply a feature that let him pull up and review information about traits and skills gained after awakening whenever he wanted.
Once his pounding heart finally settled, Woojin couldn’t hold back his curiosity any longer. He immediately opened the awakening window.
One unique trait.
Two passive skills.
Two active skills.
One common awakener skill.
Six slots in total.
Awakeners were usually divided into attack specialists, defense specialists, and support specialists. It all depended on what kind of specialization their skills leaned toward.
First of all, S-class was confirmed no matter what. He’d already mentioned that S-class awakeners were treated like royalty. An S-class attack specialist was basically a tyrant. People felt more fear than respect. Annoy one and you might end up dead, so everyone had no choice but to tread carefully—especially in a world where power was the law.
From area-of-effect attacks that carpet-bombed a zone to single-target strikes that outdid missiles, the variety was endless. Their destructive power was off the charts. Even the mutant zombies that posed the greatest threat to humanity could be killed without the awakener taking a single scratch. That was an S-class attack specialist.
First strike wins. Hit first and you win, simple as that!
Next, S-class support specialists were likened to benevolent sage kings. Their very existence benefited the citizens and kept the city at peace. As a result, they earned respect just by existing. Support specialists in particular had all kinds of skills useful for combat and survival—if those were S-class, the effects went beyond imagination.
Hadn’t he mentioned it before? That shelters were the safest places. One of the reasons was the existence of an S-class support awakener with a wide-area barrier skill. They could supposedly cover the entire massive shelter with a protective dome. Absolutely insane. These people were essential to humanity’s prosperity.
As for defense specialists…
Uh…
“I really hope I’m not defense specialized.”
Ever seen a king who just gets beaten up all the time? No matter how good the pay is, being a human shield is a hard pass.
“I wonder what specialization I awakened with…!”
His heart hammered in his chest. Woojin clenched his fists tight, then opened them again. He decided to check the very first line at the top—the unique trait.
Eternal Brain (S)
After wandering through eons of lives, you have come to possess an amount of memory beyond what any human could handle. As a result, the unique trait Eternal Brain has formed. Every experience and memory gained while in spiritualized form is completely separated from the main body and stored in its entirety within the virtual brain known as the Eternal Brain.
“Whoa! It’s blinding!”
Woojin instinctively covered his eyes. Not every awakener had a trait. In fact, far more people lacked one than possessed one—they were extremely rare. And yet his very first trait was S-class? Absolutely broken. The man had delivered.
He read on calmly.
“Holy… so this is why I was fine.”
A sigh of admiration escaped him. This was the reason he had stayed sane. In other words, while he’d been jumping between his avatars in that other world, an automatic recording function had been running the entire time, storing every single moment. The overwhelming flood of memories that a normal human brain couldn’t possibly handle had all been saved in a separate storage space instead of his main body. The fact that he hadn’t gone crazy or lost his original personality was all thanks to the Eternal Brain. If it hadn’t been for that, the moment he returned to his real body his head probably would have exploded with a bang. He was incredibly lucky.
That said, the part that said every experience and memory in its entirety was important. The instant he thought about it, the exact scenes replayed in his mind like VR with perfect fidelity… This—
“This is the ultimate trait for writing erotica?!”
The one thing he’d always been weakest at was the storytelling side. But now that he had lived through countless experiences, the current Woojin could be called a flawless erotica author. And according to this trait… he could simply replay the memories in his head and write them down exactly as they happened?
“Hooooooly……”
It wasn’t attack specialized or support specialized. It simply remembered his entire lifetime… What should he even call this? A memory-storage trait? To normal people it would be useless, but to an erotica writer like him it was the best possible gift. A custom-made trait just for erotica authors! This was what a true unique trait should look like.
Wait a second.
“Uh… but do I still have to keep working as an erotica writer? If I just reveal that I have an S-class trait, couldn’t I get into the A-Sector?”
Whoa! Me, living in a shelter?! No… wait. No.
“How the hell would I even explain this?”
Woojin covered his face with both hands as he imagined it.
—Hey, so I awakened and got an S-class trait, right? It’s called Eternal Brain. Basically I went through something like past lives and I can recall all of it! Oh, but the problem is that all the memories are about sex. So back in the day, what happened was—blah blah blah blah.
—I swear I’m not making this up! Proof? I don’t have any proof. And what’s wrong with me being an erotica writer? Over-immersion? Over-identification?!
“Ah……”
A groan slipped out. This was impossible. Absolutely not.
I’d be labeled a mental case in two seconds flat.
…This stays between me and me. Woojin continued reading.
Absolute Immunity (S)
Gains a 100% perfect immune system against all harmful germs, including every kind of disease.
Jackpot.
“Whoa… this? This is like—wait, that thing?”
The passive skill every awakener shared was immunity. F-class had a 10% chance of resisting disease. E-class had 20%. The percentages rose with rank, but in an apocalyptic world where getting sick could literally kill you, an immunity passive was incredibly important. But this was S-class and 100%. It meant he would never catch any illness ever again—and even if a zombie bit him, he wouldn’t turn.
“Hahaha. Haha!”
The anxiety vanished completely. Even if every other skill was trash, just this one skill and the unique trait were more than enough to live comfortably. With a much lighter heart, he checked the remaining passive skill.
Healing Factor (S)
Regenerates all damage to the body.
1. Natural regeneration greatly increases.
2. You will not die unless your head is severed.
3. For severe physical damage (amputation, rupture, etc.) that is difficult to recover through natural regeneration, mana can be consumed to restore it.
“……Yes?”
Come again?
He read it twice, then three times, then kept reading. What in the world—what kind of ability is this?! Woojin blinked rapidly, unable to believe his eyes even as he stared, then clapped a hand over his mouth and cheered.
“Holy shit!… This is that thing… Deadpool!”
It was the same ability the protagonist of that famous superhero movie had. Even if your arms and legs get cut off, you regenerate! Hell yeah! Woojin thrust both arms into the air.
“I’m invincible now, motherfucker!”
Invincible Kang Woojin! No—Dead Woojin has been born!
This is legendary.
This was truly legendary. He had only checked the passives and he already felt that way. …It looked like he had somehow become a legendary-class awakener. There was nothing left to fear. So the reason his body had transformed was because of this ‘Healing Factor’! His previously scrawny frame must have been seen as damage from malnutrition. The regeneration had apparently come with matching growth. That seemed to be it.
He was now around 182 centimeters tall with a balanced, muscular physique—not overly bulky, but ideal physical beauty. When he clenched his fist, power surged through him. His forearm muscles were insane.
“Khhk. Khhhkhk.”
This is what getting pumped feels like. This is the rush! Adrenaline exploded through his veins.
Now it was time to look at the active skills. These were the important ones. It was commonly said that active skills were stronger than passives.
Perfect Clean (S)
Decomposes and removes all foreign substances, including harmful germs.
1. Achieves a state of perfect cleanliness.
2. Purifies all contaminants.
3. Can designate a single target. Can designate range and location.
4. Single target mana cost: 100. Range designation (5m radius) mana cost: 200.
“Uh… um……”
Suddenly? This? Huh?
“…Wow. I have no words.”
So. It’s a cleanliness… a cleaning skill? And this is S-class?!
“Wow. Wow……”
This was seriously disappointing. It didn’t even feel like proper support specialization. It wasn’t helpful for combat or survival—it was helpful for daily life. The fact that a skill like this could be S-rank was shocking. Did this mean he’d have to work as an S-class janitor once he entered the shelter? Ha. Hahaha.
“This is actually ridiculous.”
But when he thought about it, in the current apocalyptic world the skill did make sense. If the shelter hadn’t been established to let the surrounding people live like human beings again, and if they hadn’t provided unlimited water as a welfare benefit—
In a ruined civilization, cleanliness is one of the hardest things to maintain.
The S-rank probably came from the fact that it wasn’t limited to personal use; it could be used on others or even on an area. Wide versatility. Still…
“It’s a little disappointing.”
Tsk. …No, it’s actually really disappointing?! Damn it!
Only one skill left. Please be an attack skill! An attack skill!
“Come on, give me a king-tier laser beam or something!”
Please please please. Woojin licked his dry lips and checked the final active skill with desperate hope.
Electric Shock (F)
Inflicts an electric shock on the target.
1. Applies status effect ‘Stun.’
2. Can only activate by maintaining physical contact with the targeted body part.
3. Casting time: 10 seconds.
4. Base mana cost: 5.
“Ah! Ah……!!”
Despairing, Woojin clutched his head.
“Why are you doing this to me! Why are you like this for real…!”
Even if you’re going to ruin a perfectly good meal, there are limits. He was an S-class awakener, yet his only attack skill was F-class. That was just too cruel……!