Hey, You Noob!

Seoul's massive government building. This is the headquarters of Korea's Hunter Management Bureau. And on the seventh underground floor of that headquarters, in a secret conference room accessible only to the highest officials...

"Huh? What did you say?"

"...I didn't hear that wrong, did I?"

"Wh-what? Mana... yes?"

The ten people participating in the meeting via video link were all stunned speechless. Except for the one person in the conference room, briefing the situation and presenting documents to the group.

"...Let me explain again. On May 29th, in the heart of Cheonan, a massive crater left from the battle between an unidentified awakener and the A-rank villain Arnot. The mana harvested from inside that crater..."

"Exceeded 100,000."

"..."

Silence blanketed the conference room.

"100,000... 100,000... Is that even a possible number?"

Generally, once an awakener or villain gains power, mana settles within their body. While there's no theoretical upper limit to maximum mana, the human body has a known threshold. The highest recorded was 98,000. Though the awakener who revealed that fact is no longer with us.

"...Residual mana readings alone hit 100,000. And that's even as it's steadily dissipating in real time."

That colossal lightning bolt that erased the international criminal Arnot without a trace. Calculating the mana extracted from the crater it left behind yielded results that defied human capability.

"...The world's strongest awakener was Prometheus, right?"

"Yes."

"What was his mana count?"

"...85,000."

Prometheus. The S-rank awakener who called himself the first pioneer, based in America, and slaughtered his country's villains without mercy. Not his real name, of course—just a moniker.

"...My God."

Prometheus was mild-mannered and quick to smile in everyday life, but his eyes would glaze over at the sight of villains, turning him into a merciless killer. He didn't care if he razed the surroundings or caused collateral civilian deaths. Yet no one dared criticize or condemn him. Simply because he was overwhelmingly powerful.

There are countless awakeners on Earth. The ranks are determined by averaging their mana levels as a baseline.

The classifications go like this:

The lowest, C-rank: Mana under 2,000. Superhuman enough that normals can't win in hand-to-hand combat. Even at the bottom, channeling mana makes them more than capable of everyday destruction.

Next, B-rank: Mana under 7,000. True 'superhumans' with power that could wreck a city block if they went all out, depending on their abilities. They make up 70% of awakeners worldwide—the largest and broadest group.

Then A-rank: Mana under 15,000. Human weapons, plain and simple. No need for details; the term says it all.

Finally, S-rank: Mana over 15,000. Each one is a walking disaster. In the early awakening crisis, several nations fell outright because they couldn't handle a single rebelling S-rank.

"...This is just absurd."

Among the ten on the video call, the only one with his camera on—a man rubbing his temples in bewilderment—was President Lee Dong-hyun of Korea.

'I think I get why Dohoon from the investigation team suddenly mentioned God.'

15,000. A single human with that much mana could topple a nation. And this was 100,000?

Not even their full power. Just the remnants in a crater. And even that was evaporating into the air in real time—probably down to less than 30% now.

"...So what's the estimated true mana output?"

At President Dong-hyun's question, the female ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠staffer alone in the conference room closed her eyes briefly, as if calculating. The room fell silent again.

After about a minute, she opened her eyes and murmured a number.

"...Two million."

A beat of silence, then she continued.

"...At minimum."

"Hm... Things have changed a lot."

After bluffing as a regular dorm student and ordering delivery food like usual, I felt a bit empty inside. Stepping out for some fresh air, now it's June. Not quite summer yet, but the warmth is starting to creep in.

Sitting on a bench in a small park near the university, munching a convenience store sandwich and basking in the gentle sunlight—it wasn't half bad.

"...Whoa."

"...An idol?"

I could feel the weird stares from passersby glancing my way.

'...Embarrassing.'

Face heating up, I slipped out of the park. Back in the day, I wouldn't have batted an eye at looks like that. Guess I've changed a lot.

Not just my mindset, either...

Anyway. After learning the criminal I fought on my first day on Earth was named Arnot, I dug into her info. Key point: she was an internationally wanted terrorist whose full profile—identity included—was public knowledge worldwide. No wonder the articles and communities were all positive about me.

Since gates and dungeons appeared on Earth, awakeners have popped up unpredictably in time and place. Even now. If they don't abuse their powers selfishly or commit crimes, they're awakeners. If they do, they're villains.

'So I'd be called an awakener, I guess?'

Biggest takeaway: Arnot was estimated top-tier A-rank. Barely shy of S-rank, but notorious and dangerous.

So what rank am I? S-rank?

'But going to the bureau for a measurement feels like a bad idea.'

They archive mana signatures from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠new awakeners who register. I'd already fought Arnot in the city using my powers, leaving a huge trace laced with my mana. Lightning from a clear sky is my thing, after all.

Obviously, the bureau's harvesting and analyzing that signature to ID the owner. It's even in the news.

If I stroll in for ranking and log my signature, they'd connect the dots instantly. Peaceful, lazy days? Over.

'Saving people with power is fine...'

Plenty of other awakeners handle that. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Earth spun fine without me before; no need to go hero mode now.

'Nah, normal life's the best.'

Popping the last bite of sandwich, I ducked into a quiet alley. Quick scan—no one's around. Homeward bound, as usual. Outing over.

...Yeah, I admit it. First game in ages, gear's totally different from back then. And it's stupid pretty. Skipping it'd be the real loss.

...So.

...Whatever, price doesn't matter. I've got tons of cash!! No issue blowing it like this!!!

That's why I bought it. Yeah. I'm fine!

"..."

...Gotta learn impulse control. Even loaded, burning cash like this turns you broke fast.

Anyway. Danpung Tale's changed completely since I last played. Wasn't this fast-paced before...

My character flails wildly, rolling everywhere to take down the scary tree monster ahead.

Pew—!

"Argh, fuck!!"

Bam!!

"Whoops."

Smashed the shotgun without thinking. Gear can't break...

"...Wait, just buy a new one?"

Staring at the keyboard, guilt hits.

"...Still, save money."

Not like I can talk—dropped 140 million won on cosmetic cash shop in one day. Whatever.

"...I'm beating that thing and crashing."

Five hours later. I lost. Sleep lost too. Just clung to an unbeatable boss till dawn.

"Why... why... sob sob..."

Got God's powers, but not the skills, apparently.