Happiness Was Closer Than I Thought
I scratched my head in frustration. "Ugh… ugh…."
I think I mentioned this before. F-class Awakeners don't even get treated like real Awakeners. That's why you only start receiving proper Awakener benefits from E-class and up. And if you need proof, just look at the skill I got: Electric Shock F.
One glance is enough to tell it's completely useless. Casting time: 10 seconds. Are you kidding me?! The activation condition already requires maintaining physical contact with a body part, and now it has a 10-second cast time? That means I have to stay glued to the target for a full ten seconds just to use it once.
"This fucking…"
Status ailment: stun? What a joke. If I choked someone's neck for ten seconds, they'd pass out and then some! And that's against a person. What about zombies?
The most important rule when fighting zombies is don't let them grab you. But the skill requires contact. For ten whole seconds. Ha. Haha. Hahaha.
If it were an instant-kill skill, maybe. But who'd willingly take that kind of risk just to stun an enemy? Who in their right mind?
If anyone else got this skill, they'd probably toss it to a dog. I'd do the same.
"I'd rather just beat the shit out of them than hold on for ten seconds!"
Ugh. So frustrating. Ugh!
What kind of skill even is this?
'Yeah, figures.'
Honestly, the moment I saw it was F-rank, I'd already given up all hope.
"This reminds me of Headhunter-hyung…"
One of the Awakeners in our village. Obviously, he's F-class too. He's nicknamed Headhunter because he only ever attacks the head. It sounds kinda cool, but there's a heavy dose of mockery behind it.
The name comes from his attack skill: Head Bomber.
Despite the badass-sounding name, the effect is simple. After dealing a certain amount of impact damage to the head ten times, it inflicts the status ailment 'concussion.'
Honestly, hitting someone's skull ten times with a club and not killing them is already a miracle. The fact that the only effect is a concussion made the regular civilians—who were secretly jealous of Awakeners—laugh their asses off.
That's why they get treated like ordinary people.
'There goes my dream of being attack-specialized…'
All the strength drained from my body. With a completely deflated expression, Woojin checked the last common skill he had left.
Inventory — (0kg/100kg)
This is a skill every Awakener receives. F-class Awakeners get 1kg of inventory space. The higher the rank, the more kilograms you get.
"S-class gets a full 100kg, huh."
The fact that it's measured in kilograms instead of slots is a huge advantage. You can stuff in as many light objects as you want.
At the very bottom, the lonely line Mana — 1000/1000 floated by itself.
After checking all his status windows, Woojin found it hard to describe how he felt. It was good, but also not good? Definitely good, yet somehow not…
"Ah… if only I hadn't gotten Electric Shock…"
It was like achieving the greatest awakening in history, only for a massive pile of shit to be dumped on top of it.
'But what kind of specialized Awakener am I, exactly?'
I have an attack skill, but it doesn't actually kill enemies, so calling myself attack-specialized feels off. I have a regeneration passive that seems defensive but isn't really for defense. The Clean skill helps with daily life more than survival, so support-specialized doesn't quite fit either.
If only that last active skill had been something decent, I could've made a clear decision. Then I would've entered the shelter with my head held high, basking in everyone's admiration…
"Wait. Oh no."
…I can't go to the shelter, can I?
There's a famous line from a superhero movie: "With great power comes great responsibility."
The same applies to high-ranking Awakeners. They don't just lounge around in the shelter eating for free. They receive treatment and benefits because they fulfill important roles.
But if I went to the shelter?
I'm immune to disease, so getting bitten by zombies is fine. If I get hurt, I regenerate anyway. Therefore, I would be…
A certified meat shield.
There'd be no one better than me for breaking through the front lines. Because I can get bitten and be okay! In a world where even minor injuries can kill you, I can get torn to shreds and still be fine!
I might even be used as zombie bait.
No. No no no no!
This isn't even on the level of a punching-bag prince! I can regenerate, but I don't have any defense skills, so I just have to take hits like a damn training dummy…!
And to make things worse, after fighting like that until I'm a bloody mess, I could picture myself going around to the rooms of my fellow S-class colleagues and using Clean to tidy everything up for them.
"Seniors, thank you for your hard work today. Hehe. Cleanie (that'd probably be my nickname) has prepared your beds nice and neat so you can rest comfortably! Sleep well!"
Even though I'm S-class too, as the weakest little brother I'd be smiling and giggling like some servant instead of rebelling.
A shiver ran down my spine. Cold sweat broke out.
"Horrifying… that's way too horrifying…"
I give up.
Woojin cleanly abandoned any thoughts of entering the shelter.
"Yeah, yeah! Home is the best."
His trembling lips finally curved into a smile. A forced smile is still a smile. Sour grapes. Sour grapes.
No matter how safe, abundant, or perfect the shelter is! Even if it's that great… it's a place with order and rules. I wouldn't be able to live as freely as I do in our neighborhood, right…?
Yep. Exactly.
"I'll just keep writing my erotic novels and go farming once in a while, like always."
Honestly, awakening had created the perfect environment for that lifestyle. I could just replay the memories stored in my brain and write them down as-is. For farming, whether it's an empty house or anywhere else, I no longer had to worry about getting bitten by zombies. And even though I awakened as S-class, I had no responsibilities or obligations. I could just live however I wanted.
Once I comforted myself like that, I realized that living in the E-Sector was actually the sweetest deal possible.
Happiness wasn't somewhere far away after all.
"I'll just tell the village I awakened as F-class."
That was so I could use the inventory comfortably. There was no need to hide the fact that I'd awakened at all.
Woojin felt his mind grow lighter. Honestly, when he'd discovered the cheat-tier passive Healing Factor S…
He'd been thrilled, but a part of him had also felt burdened. The feeling at the time was similar to when protagonists in novels realize they've become the chosen one.
But since I'm an ordinary guy with no big ambitions who just earns enough to eat each day…
'Do I have to do something huge now…? Like rebuilding the Earth or something…?'
Those kinds of worries had weighed heavily on my heart. The anxious feeling of both anticipation and pressure had completely vanished the moment I checked that final active skill, Electric Shock F.
I'd felt both disappointment and relief. Now that I clearly understood my own feelings, it was like setting down a massive burden. My heart felt light.
Good is good. Thinking that way, the Electric Shock F skill had actually cut my chains. Thanks to it, I'd been freed from the pressure of having to do something for humanity.
"Perfect!"
Having finished his self-reflection, Woojin picked up the clothes he'd taken off and put them back on.
'Whoa. These clothes used to be loose, but now they're tight.'
It was a body he'd luckily obtained, but he felt like someone who had never missed a single day at the gym. He was proud of his balanced, firm physique.
Woojin walked around lightly, sweeping every unopened item in the warehouse into his inventory.
"Lalala~"
"Ugh! Uuuugh!"
While humming and stuffing everything he could grab into storage, he noticed the female zombie in the center of the warehouse. Her limbs were still restrained as she awkwardly lay face-down, twisting her body.
Maybe it was because of the habit he'd developed while in soul form—constantly moving between bodies and trying to piece together what had happened. Several theories came to mind about why the front door was locked while the apparent owner of the store, this female zombie, was trapped inside the warehouse.
1. The female owner got infected with the zombie virus and came down with flu-like symptoms.
2. She decided to rest for a few days until she got better, but that's exactly when the products she'd ordered were delivered to the front of the store.
3. She eventually came out to the store, brought all the items inside, locked the front door in case customers showed up, and then went into the warehouse to organize everything.
4. Then she collapsed and turned into a zombie.
Or not. Whatever.
That's how reasoning usually goes. I say what I want. No need to take responsibility if I'm wrong.
Woojin approached the milf zombie and gave her squirming ass a firm smack.
Smack!
"Aigoo, you pretty lady."
"Grrk!"
The zombie who'd just gotten her ass slapped jerked her head up fiercely and tried to bite him. Even that looked cute to him.
Sometimes coincidences pile up and become fate.
If I'd lost my virginity the normal way, would I have gotten the brain? If I hadn't been bitten, would I have awakened?
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't say for sure.
If I'd had my first time with a normal human woman, I probably wouldn't have been that desperate, thinking it was the last time. And in the middle of that, the coincidence of awakening probably wouldn't have reached the dimensional rift or whatever it was.
And if I hadn't discovered this place and had gone straight home, would I have awakened there? That's also questionable.
There's no artificial way to awaken, and most people awaken for no apparent reason, but in my case, I don't think I would've awakened if I hadn't been bitten by a zombie. That's the feeling I get.
"So I can't help but adore you. Aigoo! You bit me so well, so well."
Smack! Smack! Smack!
"Grrk! Grrrrr, grrk!"
Out of gratitude, Woojin unlocked the restraints around the zombie woman's ankles. He'd grown attached, but he couldn't take a zombie back to the village. At least inside the warehouse, she could move around freely.
He didn't know when he'd come back, and it would be so frustrating for our pretty lady to stay tied up like this. If someone else broke in and ran into her, they might faint from shock, but he'd already done his part by binding her mouth and hands.
After gathering every last item in the warehouse with the zombie woman—who kept following him and clinging to him—Woojin left her behind as she reached out with a grrk! grrk! and stepped out of the warehouse.