Way Too Many Mythic-Grade Traits (1)
All humans are equal? Yeah, right—what a load of crap.
That thought crossed my mind as I stared at the guy in front of me.
"Whoa..."
Our foreman had told me not to feel intimidated since the guy was just a D-rank Awakener. But here he was, effortlessly hauling multiple 40kg loads like they were nothing.
How the hell was I supposed to treat him like a newbie?
I muttered without thinking.
"I'm so damn jealous..."
"Nothing to be jealous of, you punk."
"Huh? Ajusshi?"
A gruff voice came from behind me. It was my mentor, the one who'd taught me the ropes on this construction site.
"That's a guy who climbed the Beginner's Tower—aka Haanamja's Tower. You really jealous watching him haul scraps around here?"
"Hell yeah, I'm jealous. You get to breeze through the Tower and suck all the sweet rewards out of life."
I shot back casually and glanced forward again. The pile of materials had shrunk noticeably already.
But the guy moving them? Not a drop of sweat. He'd probably pocket a few million won looking that fresh.
Made me insanely envious.
"Honestly, if I were even half that good, I'd be set."
"So if you awaken, you'll hit up Easy difficulty too?"
"Hm."
Ajusshi's question hit me, though. If I awakened, which Tower would I climb?
If I became one of the less than 10,000 Awakeners in Korea...
"Obviously the Easy one—Haanamja's Tower all the way."
I answered without hesitation. There was a reason.
"You can party up, and for a fee, seniors will carry you on the bus. Why pass up a golden ticket like that for anywhere else?"
The three Towers only Awakeners could climb—the one place they could truly grow stronger.
Even the Easy difficulty one, dubbed Haanamja's Tower, was plenty sweet for living the good life.
Especially if you awakened a Common-grade trait like the guy in front of me.
"Aigoo, look at this gutless punk."
Maybe my spineless attitude frustrated him. Ajusshi thrust out his one good arm toward me.
Thwack.
His palm landed on my shoulder, heavy with reproach.
"It's only 50 floors, and the rewards suck. You could hit floor 20 in the Challenger's Tower—Normal difficulty—and it'd blow that away!"
"You talk like you've been there yourself."
"Ahem! Anyway, if you awaken, go straight to Normal. You can't switch later, so don't regret it."
He looked ready to launch into a full lecture after that, but...
"You know I've got a little sister, right?"
"...Ah."
"If I bite it climbing some Tower, who's gonna look after Se-rin?"
My ultimate trump card. Mentioning my sister—comatose from Overmana Syndrome—shut him right up.
"Sorry. I think of you like a son, so I was just giving advice... I was being thoughtless."
"Aw, no need to apologize."
I brushed it off.
"You weren't telling me to go there or anything."
"No way the Pilgrim's Tower? Kid, that's straight-up suicide."
"Exactly."
The Hard difficulty Pilgrim's Tower. Nicknamed the Coffin.
Anyone who picked it fell into two categories: fools who overestimated their traits, or fools who'd picked wrong.
Either way, they rarely came back alive.
"Even someone with two Legendary traits—a chaebol heir, no less—is stuck on floor 30-something. You weren't pushing me toward that, so why get mad?"
"Hwi-min..."
"I know you're just looking out for me. Don't worry."
I calmed him down roughly, then turned my gaze back.
The mountain of materials was slotting back into place like it was nothing.
...So jealous.
If I awakened, I could handle that easy. Ah, I want to awaken so bad.
Back home, instead of the usual "I'm home," I shouted something else.
"Status window!!!"
And one second, two, three.
As always, nothing happened.
I sighed, deflated.
"Haah... just let me awaken already."
How many guys in Korea want it as bad as I do?
Normally I'd drown it in a beer. Awakening was that rare.
But not tonight. Ajusshi's words lingered.
...Is there some secret trick to awakening?
Desperate enough for nonsense like that. Like a zombie, I slumped to the computer and powered it on.
Whirr—the ancient tower hummed dramatically.
The family photo on my desk glowed pale in the monitor light.
"Alright, let's see..."
Tap tap—I scoured the web.
Interviews with Normal Tower conquerors. Seen it.
News about a chaebol third-gen with two top-tier traits trapped in a dungeon. Same age as me—such a shame. That was Hyun-seo, right? The one Hwang Hee-chan from Cheongwol Guild was trying to rescue.
Screw that—where's how to awaken?
I swam endlessly through the internet ocean.
Until I washed up at the holy land of shitposts.
"Hmmm."
A post that caught my eye. Quick scan: account with one comment total—throwaway. Pic attached. 3 recs. Refresh: 5. Probably 80% chance of shitpost.
Still gotta click.
I did, casually.
Thankfully no gore. Unfortunately, pure bait.
"...Not easy."
Fun picking on desperate folks? Yeah, probably hilarious.
Fine, let's have some fun too, assholes.
I get you're pissed, but what's next? You know.
"Phew."
The gallery exploded in seconds, but... eh.
Revenge is hollow, huh.
I hovered the mouse over delete, muttering.
"I wanna awaken..."
Click—deleted before mods saw.
The crisp sound echoed in the dark room...
-Halt.
...Huh?
With the mouse button snapping back...
The room blazed with light.
-Fwooooosh!!!!
"Wh-what!?"
Dazzling radiance poured from my body, sparkling off the family photo.
I knew exactly what this was.
The moment I'd dreamed of forever.
"Awakening!?"
Of all times, now?!
No, posting and deleting a shitpic right before? Felt disgustingly timed.
How could my big moment be this lame?
Whatever—nice!!
"Nngh..."
But awakening was awakening. Despite the cramping agony ripping through me, my lips curled sky-high.
Dopamine overload.
I don't need OP traits! Just awakening is enough!!
Others might pray for the best even in this moment, then rage at mediocrity.
Not me. No room for that luxury.
Mom, Dad!! Watch over me!!!
I didn't need insane power. Or excessive wealth. Or fame.
All I wanted was...
Just awaken!!!
Grit—!
I forced myself up, teeth clenched. Exhausted muscles screamed from the day's labor, but I ignored it, reaching out.
"...Status window."
[......]
"Status window!"
[......]
"Sta!! Tus!! Win!! Dow!!!"
After three tries...
Ding.
A crystal-clear chime rang in my ears. Pure enough to bring tears.
"Ah...!!"
So this is a status window. People freak out like "Why's this in real life like a game? Are we in a novel?" But damn, it's pretty.
"......"
Though it kinda looks poop-brown?
A minor nitpick, but whatever.
I'd long forgotten those gallery screamers.
"...Se-rin will love this."
She's been fangirling Awakeners forever.
Sweat-drenched, I collapsed, then reached out a trembling hand.
The luxurious brown-glowing window shimmered.
I tapped and scrolled one by one.
Where are the traits?
What I wanted: traits. The unique powers every Awakener had.
Recalling the D-rank's superhuman feats made excitement bubble unbidden.
No way Unique or Rare, let alone Legendary...
"Even Common's fine."
No big expectations. The highest known grade, Legendary? Not even a dream. Two like that chaebol kid? Unthinkable.
But if I got greedy...
Rare wouldn't hurt. Still heading to Haanamja's Tower, but good traits never suck.
That made my heart race a bit, but—
-Halt.
"...Huh?"
At the scroll's end, what I saw was enough to make me doubt my eyes.
One, two, three...
"...Thirteen?"
What the hell.
I just blinked in shock.
Not a dream.
Glitch maybe?
Max is two, right...?
I know my Awakener lore. Dual-trait Awakeners are ultra-rare, and most crushed Normal Towers easy.
But thirteen?
Impossible.
What am I, some hero?
No past life savior crap... must be a misunderstanding.
Rational doubt kicked in. Probably one real trait, rest just flavor text or something.
Not traits anyway.
Let's check what they are.
"Up we go."
I tapped one on the status window.
Press—
Unexpected text greeted me.
"......Huh?"
Mythic-grade?