Chapter 3
Chapter 3
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Customizing Room (3)
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Park Chunduk asked in an excited voice.
"What do you mean? You didn't hear the notifications? The status window? How have you been living without even knowing you awakened?"
He mentioned the status window, a privilege of Awakeners, but Kim Gunja had been unconscious at the time, so he had no idea.
"Uh, well... that could happen, right?"
Kim Gunja averted his eyes from Park Chunduk's incredulous stare.
"What? 'That could happen'? You think that makes any sense?"
"...Anyway. So what do I do now?"
"What do you mean, what? First, check your unique trait. Say 'status window'."
"S-status window."
Kim Gunja muttered the words awkwardly.
It hadn't seemed like much when he heard it, but saying it out loud felt embarrassingly cringeworthy.
Park Chunduk burst into laughter.
"You can just think it. Idiot."
...You could've said that earlier.
The first time opening his status window, it was incredibly simple.
Park Chunduk added a brief explanation for Kim Gunja.
"Physical level represents your body's overall average capability, just as it sounds. Magic level indicates the total quality, including the amount of mana you gained upon awakening and the state of your mana circuits."
"Mana?"
"It's one of the reasons Awakeners can wield superhuman power. When you awaken, mana circuits are imprinted into your blood vessels. Mana is... uh, we'll cover the details during training later. Anyway, what levels did you get?"
Whatever the levels, they were embarrassingly low. Kim Gunja quietly held up one finger. Park Chunduk nodded.
"Well... that's average."
A physical level of 1 meant just a bit better than an athlete.
"You can get stronger through training, so don't be too disappointed."
Park Chunduk didn't mention that it had taken him nearly five years to raise his own physical level from 2 to 3.
Right now, Kim Gunja needed encouragement more than despair.
Kim Gunja pondered seriously for a moment before speaking.
"Hyung. If I really bust my ass... then before I actually die, I could land at least one hit on that bastard, right?"
No. Impossible.
Park Chunduk barely held back from saying it outright.
As a teacher, he couldn't crush the spirit of a student who had just taken his first steps.
"One hit? Well... maybe."
Even as empty words, Kim Gunja's eyes filled with venomous resolve, making Park Chunduk sigh inwardly.
"So, what's your unique trait?"
"Unique trait? Oh. Customizing Room, apparently."
Park Chunduk tilted his head.
"What's that?"
"Beats me? It asked if I wanted to activate it. Guess I should try?"
"Huh? Wait, hold on a sec..."
Flash!
Before Park Chunduk could finish, a faint glow enveloped Kim Gunja, and he vanished completely.
"What the... fuck...?"
Park Chunduk cursed involuntarily.
He was gone.
That could mean one of two things.
One: simply becoming invisible to the eye.
Stealth-type traits fell into that category.
The other: not just hiding, but actually leaving the space entirely.
As far as the public knew—and Park Chunduk knew—only one Awakener in the world had such a power.
Britain's S-rank Hunter and world rank 9.
The Great Magician Royan.
"A space... ability user...? Kim Gunja...?"
The shocking realization left Park Chunduk speechless for a while.
"Where... is this?"
It was an antique room reminiscent of medieval Europe, yet filled with triangular flasks and large glass tubes, giving it the air of a laboratory.
As his eyes were drawn to the grotesque substances floating in the glass tubes,
"Pleased to meet you, Master."
He spun around in surprise at the voice from behind.
A British gentleman.
That was his first impression.
Dressed in a black tuxedo with a red shirt and white gloves, the figure bowed elegantly.
Though in a tuxedo, her stunning beauty, ample bosom, and flowing black hair made it clear she was a woman.
"I am Austin, the guide of the Customizing Room."
A guide? It felt like stepping into a video game.
"It's been truly ages since your last visit, Master. I hope to serve you for a long, long time."
"Ah, y-yeah..."
Go ahead...
This feels so awkward.
Being alone in a room with a beauty like this. And that 'Master' title.
"Please, feel free to speak casually."
"Right now... this feels more comfortable."
"What a polite Master. I like that even more."
"...Ah, sure. Glad you like it. But why call me Master?"
"Because you are the owner of the Customizing Room."
"Huh?"
"Have you heard the term 'customizing'?"
As if he wouldn't know.
It's his favorite thing.
"The Customizing Room is exactly that. A space where you can adjust your body to your exact tastes."
She dropped the bombshell casually. But curiosity was piqued, no doubt.
Kim Gunja mulled over Austin's words and asked calmly.
"Does 'adjust to your tastes' include things like increasing height, slimming the jawline, changing hair color—everything?"
"Of course. That's the very purpose of this room. And that's not all."
Kim Gunja's fingertips trembled faintly at her response.
Not just changing appearance?
"Then... muscles or bones too...?"
"Anything, as far as your body is concerned."
Austin smiled brightly in affirmation.
"The basic rules are simple. Earn points through quests, then spend them on customizing."
Not hard to understand.
But quests? He'd never heard of Awakeners getting quests.
"I'll explain quests in detail next time. On your first visit, you can only select a perk."
"A perk?"
Austin snapped her fingers with a click, and four limbs—left arm, right arm, left leg, right leg—materialized in the air, corresponding to human body parts.
"Ugh."
They were translucent, so not real, but the grotesque sight of detached body parts still sent chills down his spine.
"You can customize arbitrarily, Master, or buy materials with points to gain their embedded abilities."
Austin pointed to the floating materials as she elaborated.
"What you see before you are customizing materials with immense power. Top-tier ones that your current abilities couldn't even attempt."
"Then picking one wouldn't mean anything, right?"
"For the perk, I will perform 'proxy' customizing. So you just choose."
"Proxy?"
"Yes. From the next visit, you'll do it yourself. Remember, powerful materials are hard to obtain, and they require more points and higher difficulty for customizing."
He nodded unconsciously, and Austin bowed once more.
"Then, please select your perk."
Looking at the materials before him, each had a fitting name for its part.
[One-Armed Swordsman's Right Arm]
[Left Arm Grasping Lightning]
[Right Leg Crushing the Earth]
[Left Leg Ruling Over Shadows]
For some reason, among the flashy names, his eyes kept drifting to the right arm.
Unlike the pristine others, it bore burn scars.
As if entranced, he reached toward [One-Armed Swordsman's Right Arm], and a vision exploded before his eyes.
A mountain of corpses, a sea of blood.
Atop the hill stood a man.
No left arm, back hunched like a hunchback. His entire body, face included, was shriveled from burns.
A pitiful appearance.
Born lowly, scorned by the world, yet he conquered it all with a single sword.
Sword Demon Ma Ilcheon.
Fragments of his life flooded into Kim Gunja.
And he learned.
Even one so strong...
Had once been brutally crushed by the powerful.
Just like us, that day.
"......"
The vision faded.
But his hand remained on the One-Armed Swordsman's—Ma Ilcheon's—right arm.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
His racing heartbeat wouldn't calm. He'd empathized deeply with Ma Ilcheon's life.
He wanted that strength.
Enough to never be trampled again.
Austin asked with a meaningful smile.
"Shall we proceed with customizing?"
Having glimpsed Ma Ilcheon's life, Kim Gunja had no interest in the others.
No hesitation.
"Yes, please."
Austin bowed with a beaming smile.
"With pleasure."
Her eyes darkened deeply, as if gazing beyond the void.
Transparent silver threads spun from her hands like a spiderweb, weaving fantastically around Ma Ilcheon's arm and Kim Gunja's.
The cast on his right arm shattered under unimaginable force, and a translucent version of Ma Ilcheon's arm overlaid it slowly.
Austin's hands danced like a pianist's, as thousands—tens of thousands—of threads linked the two disparate beings.
An indescribable buoyant sensation. Like swimming in zero gravity.
In that state,
Relentless notifications rang out, and the influx of vast knowledge made his mind reel.
How much time passed?
When his senses returned, the customizing was complete.
His right arm was fully healed, injury and all.
He clenched his fist lightly.
Groooar.
A power utterly different from before surged through it.
"Master. Shall I show the customizing results?"
Austin asked in a slightly fatigued voice.
Overflowing with fulfillment, he simply nodded.
He wasn't sure exactly since it was his first time.
But one thing was certain.
The customizing was flawless. Perfect.
"Master."
Turning at Austin's call, she kissed the ring on her left hand.
"Huh?"
Kim Gunja panicked at the sudden gesture.
Some medieval courtesy?
As he watched her, wondering,
Austin wore a smile tinged with sorrow and affection.
"Then, I eagerly await your next visit."
Flash!
With a brilliant light, Kim Gunja returned to reality.
And right in front of him,
"Y-you, youyouyou...!"
Park Chunduk gaped like a goldfish, face pale with shock.
Kim Gunja gave an awkward grin and raised one hand toward Park Chunduk.
"Sup?"