Chapter 1
It had been two years since I was discharged from the military and returned to college.
We lived in a world where anyone could awaken starting from the age of twenty. If I had been an Awakened, I would have gotten a job as a hunter and skipped military service altogether. But as an ordinary citizen, I had to serve my time, get discharged, and go to college just to secure a decent job.
My life was a mundane routine of school, home, and the gym—no different from how people lived before the Gates first appeared.
Today was no different. I walked into the Apartment Gym and began my workout.
For a residential gym, it had a surprisingly wide variety of equipment, but it was almost always empty. Today, there was only one other person there: a woman I saw quite often.
It's unusually hot today.
I was sitting on the leg curl machine, working through my sets, when I realized I was sweating profusely. I could feel my shorts growing damp.
I felt her gaze. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the woman staring blankly at where I was sitting.
Brushing off my confusion, I stood up. Drenched in sweat and desperate to quench my thirst, I stepped outside the workout area to get a drink of water.
You have acquired a trait.
Your awakened ability category is 'Physical Enhancement'.
Once you awaken a trait, you are officially recognized as an Awakened. Your category is determined by your very first trait, and any subsequent abilities or stat limits you unlock are bound by that initial trait and category.
◈ Description: Secretes highly potent pheromones through bodily fluids (sweat, semen, urine, saliva).
◈ Effect: Inflicts absolute status effects on female targets through pheromone exposure.
◈ Available Status Effects: Happiness, Lust, Fear, Anger
I had awakened an EX-rank trait: Pheromone.
But out of all the details, one word in particular caught my eye: Lust.
I had never heard of a trait like this before.
Should I try activating it?