Awakener Lee Semin

Someone once said that an easy life makes for a boring one. I couldn't have disagreed more.

When I was ten, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠both my parents went missing while climbing the Tower as Awakeners. Saying our family had simply fallen on hard times wouldn't have begun to cover it.

The inheritance ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠they left behind was meager. That was partly because, as is typical of Awakeners, they'd stored the bulk of their assets in their inventories—and partly, I suspect, because of a temperament that refused to treat anything but Gold Coins, the currency of Awakeners, as real money.

From then on, my life unfolded in the dullest way possible. I was kicked out of the Awakener-subsidized housing we'd been living in and shuffled from one place to the next. A child with neither home nor parents could hardly be expected to get a proper education.

I grew up rough.

Things finally started turning around this year, when I turned twenty. I managed to awaken at last after years of nothing, and whether it was thanks to the effects of the skill I'd gained, my performance in the game I'd been playing improved so dramatically that my rank climbed in a near-vertical line.

By all accounts, it was an excellent skill. The moment you awakened with it, you gained strength ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that left ordinary bodies far behind, along with considerable physical durability. Better yet, it was classified as a prerequisite for most higher-tier skills, which meant the future was practically guaranteed.

Thanks to it, I escaped the bottom class of the Awakener Academy in a single leap. With the graduation date approaching, my name was moved up to the graduating class as well. When the academy refunded every last coin of the tuition I'd paid over the years, I was so delighted I did a somersault right there on the spot.

So lately, my mood had been excellent. Life seemed to be smoothing out at last—wasn't that exactly how it looked?

When my academy junior, who had always been warm to me even back in my skillless days, offered to buy me drinks to celebrate my promotion to the graduating class, I was even prepared to open my own wallet without complaint.

"Hey, you little shit… apologize…"

"I… I'm sorry… it's just, from earlier…"

"Show some proper sincerity…"

But it seemed a situation had just arisen that was doing a magnificent job of ruining my mood. After a few bottles of beer, I'd stopped by the bathroom to take a leak, and that was when I caught the voices drifting in from the main hall. Even from that considerable distance, my enhanced body picked them up with ease.

One voice belonged to a stranger, furious beyond reason. The other belonged to my junior, Do Hwangmin—the one who had put together today's get-together.

"Hm…"

Straightening my waistband, I sank into thought. Funny how a bit of alcohol made my head work better than usual.

Which article of the Awakener Act was it again…?

Assault a civilian, and regardless of how severe the beating, you owed one day of service patrolling the Abyss border. According to a post I'd once read on a community forum where Awakeners gathered, the whole thing felt like nothing more than a day's stroll.

But what if the guy's an Awakener…?

I marched out of the bathroom at a brisk clip, then froze mid-stride. What was it that happened again, if the man picking a fight with my junior right now happened to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be an Awakener?

Fumbling through hazy memories as I made my way back to our table, I found the angry voice swelling louder with every step.

"Oh—Semin-hyung?"

I shot a look at Do Hwangmin, who stood there utterly at a loss at the sight of me, and undid my watch from my wrist. At that, the man who'd had his back turned swung around to face me.

"Wh-what the…?"

His face was flushed red. Panic was spreading across his features, and the awkward way he stood there looked absolutely hilarious.

"Short, too, on top of it."

I swung my fist, just like that. Right before it landed on his outthrust face, something transparent shattered—but it failed to absorb the full force behind the blow.

Thwack—!

In an instant, along with a distinctly unpleasant sensation, the man's body was driven into the floor. A few teeth clinging to my knuckles dropped belatedly to the ground, and a system window—one that only Awakeners could see—flared to life before my eyes.