A Dragon Rose from the Stream
To get straight to the point, if I rub my butt, the Genie of the Lamp, Jinny, pops out. I know full well how absurd and grotesque that ability sounds. Laugh if you want. But please, just hear me out.
In the world I live in, there are people who shatter world records with their superhuman physical prowess. There are also those who perform magic-like miracles with truly astonishing power.
“How on earth do they do that?”
“That magician—don’t tell me he actually graduated from a magic school?”
The public watches them with curious eyes, but the truth is they are awakeners who have awakened their mana circuits. These awakeners, each manifesting unique abilities, began to seep into our society one by one. Their numbers grew. As time passed, abilities far beyond common sense started to appear… until finally they reached the realm where anything—legend, myth, or fairy tale—could manifest.
Blatant superpowers had become possible.
Decades have now passed since humanity first began to embrace fragments of myth and legend within their bodies. This world has become a perfectly natural superhuman society. People live by using their manifested abilities appropriately in daily life.
In short, awakening isn’t some exclusive privilege granted only to the chosen. It’s more like a rite of passage that every citizen naturally experiences.
Age fifteen. Along with the second sexual characteristics of puberty comes the awakening of the mana circuit and the bestowal of an ability. Depending on the body part and the rank, some people become heroes who soar through the sky, others become national agents who punish evil, and still others become popular entertainers beloved by the masses. Everyone finds a way to make the most of their power.
Yet there is also absurdity. Those with low awakening ranks and tiny mana reserves live their entire lives unnoticed, reduced to lighting gas stoves with sparks from their fingertips.
In a single phrase, your awakening rank and ability can completely rewrite the entire direction of your life in this society.
Everyone wants to receive a decent ability and live an ordinary, comfortable existence. Deep down, every person dreams of hitting the jackpot with an incredible power and coasting through life. That kind of effortless happiness was rarer than winning the lottery.
Which is why the event that took place this afternoon became a main attraction watched by the entire nation.
It was the short spring break after middle school graduation and before high school entrance. The time had come for the government’s mandatory physical examination—the Mana Aptitude Test.
The auditoriums of every middle school across Korea hummed with the deep vibration of enormous mana measurement gates.
“Next, student Baek Gangjin.”
The government inspector gestured and called my name. I wiped my sweat-drenched palms on my gym uniform pants and stepped into the gate, heart pounding.
The machine cost hundreds of millions of won—a nationally certified aptitude measurer. The moment I entered, it fired precise scanning beams from the tips of my toes to the top of my head. The test was supposed to take only a few seconds.
But the instant my scan finished, the machine reacted in a way no one had ever seen.
Weee— Weeeeee—!
An alarm blared. The air around the gate vibrated violently. Flustered inspectors hammered at the monitor.
“What the hell? Is it broken?”
“Why is the mana reading like this? It broke through the measurement limit?”
“Shut it down! It’s going to overload!”
I was stunned. What…? Of all times, the machine malfunctions on my turn?
For a second I worried that my awakening value might not be measured properly, but I kept a straight face. Even a B-class would be fine, just like the other normal kids. I simply prayed desperately that I wouldn’t end up a C-class—no different from a non-awakener.
A moment later the machine’s blue light flickered and the system rebooted. The inspector checked the aptitude report on the monitor and his eyes flew wide open. He clicked several more times, as if doubting what he saw, then spoke.
“Student Gangjin…?”
He scribbled something on his paper, looked at me, and said, “According to the first measurement, your awakening rank is S-class.”
It took me a while to process those words.
S-class.
A colossal piece of news I had never dared to imagine. Once I realized it wasn’t a dream, I wanted to leap around the room in pure joy. But I held it in. Most of my friends had received B-class or C-class. I didn’t want them to resent me for showing off.
“The exact awakening location hasn’t been identified yet. The full results will be sent to your phone this evening.”
The envious stares and buzzing chatter from the kids around me made the reality sink in even deeper—I was truly an S-class awakener.
“Next student.”
As the inspector called the next name, I stepped out of the gate wearing a huge, stupid grin.
That evening, our house was in full festival mode.
On the grill in the center of the living room, hanwoo flower sirloin with perfect red marbling sizzled beautifully. The table was piled high with premium cuts we usually only saw during special family celebrations.
Dad’s face was already flushed from several beers. “Whoa! Our family finally produced an S-class awakener!”
He kept slapping my shoulder, clearly over the moon. “Just the first measurement was enough to blow up the machine. This is one hundred percent!”
Mom excitedly stacked a mountain of perfectly grilled meat on my plate. “Exactly, honey. They said the energy Gangjin released inside the gate could be felt all the way to the school entrance.”
My parents were genuinely thrilled. It made sense. Both of them were ordinary awakeners. Dad was a B-class with a goblin dwelling in his right shoulder; he had spent his life quietly hauling loads at construction sites. Mom was a B-class with a forest fairy in both eyes; she worked quality control at a distribution center to raise me.
To them, the news that their son was predicted to be S-class felt like a miracle that could wash away every hardship our family had endured.
“Gangjin, you’re definitely going to manifest an incredible power,” Dad said, eyes shining with expectation. “S-class gets you a government agent position and even a private mansion, I hear.”
My ability hadn’t even appeared yet, but Dad was already drinking the celebratory kimchi soup by the bowl, painting a rosy future.
“Come on… I still don’t even know what my ability is.”
I scratched my head awkwardly and looked away, but deep down I understood their excitement. The word S-class carried a sweet, heavy weight. Imagining myself gaining popularity with flashy abilities made a smile creep across my face.
What kind of ability will I get?
I pictured my still-unannounced awakening part. A right arm would be nice… Something like a phoenix would look pretty cool, right? I imagined my right arm wrapped in roaring flames.
The Four Guardian Gods would be awesome too. Like the Blue Dragon or White Tiger.
I was busy weighing which would look more impressive when my smartphone on the table gave a short, heavy buzz.
Second Detailed Aptitude Test Result Notification Has Arrived.
“It’s here!” Dad shouted, tossing aside the tongs he’d been using to grill meat. Mom set down her rice bowl and scooted right up next to me.
I swallowed dryly, then logged in with a trembling finger. A blue holographic window projected into the air above the table. Beneath the solemn emblem of the Republic of Korea, the details that would decide my fate began to appear line by line.
“S-class! The government officially certified S-class!” Dad yelled, running around the living room with his arms in the air. Mom grabbed my hand, overcome with emotion.
But my eyes were glued to the very last line—the most important one.
The sizzling sound of the beef seemed to stop. The living room fell into absolute silence. Dad’s arms froze mid-cheer. The tears of joy on Mom’s face twisted into a strange expression.
“…Buttocks?”
Dad rubbed his eyes as if he were seeing things. “Honey, does that say… butt?”
Mom leaned so close to the hologram her nose almost touched it and read each syllable aloud. “But… tocks… Yes. It says buttocks, Gangjin.”
A cold silence settled over the dinner table. Next to the glorious title of S-class mana capacity, the word “buttocks” stood out with cruel clarity.
I became aware of the body part in question—the one currently pressed against my chair. The enormous S-class mana was supposed to burst out of… my butt.
“Uh… um! Gangjin! Gaon High isn’t a school just anyone can attend!” Mom quickly tried to lift the sunken mood. “Graduating from there sets you up for life!”
I must have been making a miserable face, because the celebration had already turned into a consolation party for me.
“Who cares if it’s the butt! We only got a goblin and a fairy, but you’re S-class!” Dad’s voice shook as he shoved a piece of unsalted meat into my mouth, desperately trying to cheer me up.
“Gangjin, the buttocks are the largest muscle in the human body!”
The conversation somehow morphed from comforting me into a sudden contest of listing the butt’s advantages.
“It’s the source of power that supports the entire body!”
No matter how nicely they packaged it, a butt was still a butt.
“If power comes from there… uh… right! You’ll be able to jump incredibly high!”
“That’s right, son! These days, being unique is an advantage. Everyone has hands and feet. Those are common.”
My parents loved me so much they were frantically trying to console their clearly depressed son.
“To Mom, the important thing is that our son is S-class. The location doesn’t embarrass me at all!” Mom squeezed my hand, but her pupils were trembling.
The more desperately my parents tried to comfort me, the deeper my head sank. The image of Gaon Special Ability High School, where I would start attending tomorrow, flashed through my mind like a preview of hell.
The new student representative, Baek Gangjin, swearing an oath in front of the entire school. The spotlight shining on me together with the title S-class Butt Awakener. While my classmates showed off flashy abilities and techniques, I might have to wiggle my butt to prove I was S-class. The horror of that scene gripped me.
Lost in those thoughts, I couldn’t even taste the expensive beef in my mouth anymore. It felt like I was chewing sand instead of meat.
“…I’m going to my room to rest for a bit.”
I fled to my bedroom and locked the door. Sitting at my desk, I looked in the mirror. A normal boy stared back, but attached to him was an S-class butt carrying enormous mana potential.
I threw myself onto the bed, buried my face in the pillow, and screamed.
“Aaaaaaaaagh!!”
I kicked the innocent mattress repeatedly, sending dust flying. The brief silence that followed only made the reality I faced even more painful.
“I’m so embarrassed I want to die.”
Outside the window, the full moon hung in the sky—especially round and firm, just like a butt. It was the cruelest night of my seventeen years of life.