Please Refrain from Hiking After Drinking
"Hehehehe..."
Tree branches brushed against my arms. A cool breeze kissed my face. In one hand, a massive bottle of booze; in the other, dried squid. After drinking with my colleague, that nagging sense of deprivation hit me again, so I ended up climbing the mountain once more.
"Sorry, but Awakened, you can't enter the Tower."
"Why not! I've got traits and everything!"
"We can't let anyone in who hasn't passed the climbing exam."
Damn that climbing exam. I'd failed it nine times.
"Heehee... Status window!!"
No abilities. I'd awakened. I could see mana. Animals and plants were friendly toward me. There were some weird traits too. The Association said they were good ones. But no abilities. No abilities meant I couldn't use mana. At least, according to every report worldwide. The climbing exam required using mana to pass. But without entering the Tower, there was almost no way to get abilities. Hunters grew by conquering the Tower. Rewards from clears strengthened abilities and boosted stats. The more risk you took. The harder the difficulty. The better the clear. The greater the rewards. It seemed fair at first glance, but there was a trap. Your awakening traits and abilities were everything. And I had no abilities. So-called active skills. Proactive actions powered by mana.
"Why... why do I have all these great traits but not a single ability?!"
Other people were hurling ice spears left and right... I had mana too...
"They say hiking after drinking is dangerous, but I'm fine..."
Trait: [Natural Affinity]. Wild animals wouldn't attack me. They protected me instead. Thanks to this, I could hike as much as I wanted—something I loved. This was my exclusive privilege! No one could take it away!!
"Puuuhe..."
I exhaled into the empty bottle I'd been blowing into like a trumpet. My appearance screamed "weak to alcohol," thanks to the trait, but I was actually super strong against it. I'd just gotten done drowning an A-rank colleague in booze. That jerk started off worrying about me, then passed out alone and went home.
"Stupid lightweight... I win...!"
Wonder if that's a trait too? Maybe alcohol decomposition. The other traits hadn't helped my life at all, though.
I gazed at the mana scattered everywhere. Mana flowing in streams. Thanks to [Archmage's Talent]. This trait let me see mana flowing through the air crystal clear.
"...Pretty."
But without abilities, I couldn't use it.
"Useless, but pretty's good enough."
Oh, and one more thing. My looks changed when I awakened. People said I got handsome, so I was pretty hyped. My appearance stat shot up a steep curve—no, a near-vertical cliff. Now, every single person on the street turned to stare. Perfect looks. But the problem? I'd gone from guy to girl.
At first, I was like, what the hell?
My hair turned white and grew long. I shrank in height, and my body got this unfamiliar softness. Eyes went rounder, limbs slimmer. Pupils like transparent jewels, skin snow-white. The past year since awakening had been rough adjusting. Especially in the training center for Tower climbing—suddenly living with girls? Torture. Now I just rolled with it, but not being able to climb the Tower...!
Grrk.
"Up in the blue sky!"
"Build a house like clouds!"
I belted out a drunken shout-song. Night on the mountain—no one around to complain anyway. Everyone had gone down already.
I scanned around. Petting fur calmed me. Any fur to pet nearby...?
[Dragon Eye]—aka eternal telescope mode—shone here. Superhuman eyesight. Probably over 10.0. The eye surgery savings I'd scraped together? Meaningless post-awakening. Let's not dwell on that sad fact.
"Oh, there's Gomi."
Surname Go, first name Mi. I named him. I approached the guy.
—Grrr!
"Gomiii!!"
"Grk!?"
I charged with arms wide; the freaked-out bear bolted. Always stinking of booze when I hugged him in his sleep. Of course, him fleeing instead of attacking set him apart from normal. But I felt insulted. This punk... daring to run from me?
"You little—!!!"
Can't recognize me 'cause I reek? After I brought you meat! Bones and all!
I forgot everything and chased him. But no way could I catch a bear at full sprint. I just got lost instead.
"Haaah, haaah... Give up..."
I pushed through the brush. No way down now—might as well crash here till dawn.
"Gotta find a spot... Huh?"
A wide clearing appeared. Like an artificial flat spot. A massive paulownia tree dominated the center. Fireflies floated in the air.
"Hooong..."
I'd never known about this spot. At least I had a bed now. Crashing anywhere random, Gomi sometimes smacked me with his paw—hurt like hell, even if he was just goofing.
I inspected the tree's hollow. Big enough for a person. But something was off.
"Why's the mana twisting like that?"
Mana swirled like a vortex. Sure, mana-rich spots were comfy for me. But this was too twisted. I'd never seen even an S-rank gate like this—from afar, anyway. Never been inside one.
Hmm.
"Scoot, lemme try something."
I shoved aside the squirrel at my feet.
"Chit."
It'd been rubbing happily—now pissed. Squeaked complaints I ignored.
I took off my shoes. Gotta feel the ground in places like this. Maybe unlock some cool ability?
"Hieeeek!!"
It sucked me in instantly.
I instinctively opened my eyes. Damp, cozy scent. Cool air pressing in. A cave. [Dragon Eye] secured night vision.
"Mm..."
No injuries.
Exit... this way...
Mana swirled behind me. Probably the way out. But that wasn't my goal. I needed comfy, restful sleep. To sober up my fuzzy head.
I focused and walked forward. Soon, I emerged at the cave mouth.
"Bed... Hic. Shit... Cold."
I crawled onto a wide rock and passed out.
When I woke, morning sun was up.
"Ugh... My head."
Summer mornings sucked—sun high, flies buzzing... Wait, no. It was dawn dew, chilly. Morning sun barely up, kinda cold.
"Ugh... So where am I?"
Might as well explore since I'm here. Air and mana were weirdly pure. Breathing alone felt refreshing. Leagues beyond Seoul smog. Even dense forests couldn't compare.
I stretched. Maybe a hidden gate? Magic traits, but combat's just fists. Training center drills weren't for nothing, though.
"Mm... Wanna go home now..."
Come back later? Yeah. Legs hurt, starving. Need food. Blood sausage soup, stuffed with head meat and congealed blood.
As I turned, someone called from behind.
"Halt! New student, this isn't a place for you!"
[Language Blessing] activates!
"Huh?"
My trait message. Foreign languages. Activates for unknown tongues. Heard about it in training. In a gate, unknown language? Especially not from Earth? High chance it's something from inside.
"Screw it, whatever!"
Run first! Glancing back on instinct, I saw a middle-aged guy. Tall, black uniform, short navy hair, sharp, prickly eyes.
"I said halt!"
"Would you stop?!"
He sighed, drew a wooden stick from his belt. Our eyes met; his voice boomed.
"Bind."
A mana net formed to snare me. I saw mana gathering in his stick.
"...Magic staff?"
Item magic hunters sometimes carried to boost power. But this felt way more threatening. Unlike training demos. Mana aligned like precise strings.
The more skilled the Awakened, the hunter, the better they handle mana.
But clean, simple motions? Easy to disrupt the flow.
"Hiya!"
I nudged ambient mana particles into the net's core. Crackle, fizz! They repelled each other. The net vanished.
He raised an eyebrow.
"Quite the talented one, aren't you?"