The Scent of Awakening
It had been two years since I was discharged from the military and returned to college.
In this world, people could awaken their abilities 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 attend university just to secure a decent job.
My life was a mundane cycle of school, home, and the gym—no different from how things were before the Gates first appeared.
Today, just like any other day, I walked into the gym and began my workout.
For an apartment gym, the place I went to 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.
Oh, damn...
Catching sight of her from the entrance, she was wearing a white T-shirt and tight leggings. The view was incredibly erotic.
I didn't remember her looking quite like this before. How should I put it... back then, she seemed more like the innocent, cute type? There was a massive gap between her past image and how she looked right now.
Every time she moved, her plump breasts and voluptuous rear bounced in a way that was downright filthy.
Her breasts were so prominent that their entire shape was outlined through her shirt, almost as if it were a size too small. It was glaringly obvious she wasn't wearing a bra.
Her lower body was no different. Her thighs weren't just thick; they were incredibly firm and bouncy.
Her leggings were stretched to their absolute limit, far more than her shirt, looking as if they might burst at any second.
Even her private area... her cameltoe was so defined that I could see it clearly even from a distance.
Yet, her face was cute and innocent. Her face and body didn't match at all. While her body was a thick, hyper-sexual masterpiece, her face was the epitome of pure, adorable innocence.
With every single movement she made, I could see the flesh of her thighs and buttocks jiggle.
Her braless breasts bounced dynamically in tandem.
...I need to focus on my workout.
Watching her exercise made it impossible to concentrate.
Just as I finished my set and prepared to move to another machine, she walked right past me.
Ah, no.
I was too late. She took the leg curl machine—the exact one I was planning to use next—right under my nose.
Since she had just started, waiting around would take way too long.
Should I ask her if we can take turns?
For Shin Myungho, a virgin who had been single his entire life, asking a woman to share a machine was no easy task. It was even harder when the woman was this cute and beautiful, and infinitely harder when she possessed such an eye-catchingly lewd body and outfit!
Still, let's not wimp out. I came here to work out!
This required an immense amount of courage on Myungho's part.
After a brief moment of self-hypnosis, Myungho, his heart fluttering with a mix of nervousness and excitement, approached her as she finished her set.
"Excuse me, if you don't mind, could we take turns using this machine?"
The woman hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Oh... Ah... Yes, sure!"
She had an incredibly voluptuous body, but her face, tone, and gestures were completely innocent.
Her response and demeanor made my heart race even faster, even though I had only come here to exercise.
And so, we began working out together.
While we were resting after completing a set each, she spoke up. "Do you come to this gym often? You look familiar..."
It seemed she recognized me from before as well.
"Yes, I come here pretty often. The facilities are great, and it's usually quiet."
My heart was pounding. Myungho, who had virtually zero experience talking to women, was currently running his brain at full capacity. She recognized me first and spoke to me so warmly. I have to put in some effort too.
"Then... if you'd like, maybe we could work out together sometime when you're free?" she asked, handing over her phone.
...!
"S-Sure... I'd love to."
It felt like spring was finally blooming in my life.
Myungho exchanged names and contact information as naturally as he could. Her name was Lee Yuna, and she was twenty-one years old.
After exchanging numbers, Myungho couldn't muster another word to Yuna and simply resumed his workout.
Once he actually got moving, it was easy to focus on the exercise.
It's unusually hot today.
Finishing his set, Myungho stood up, drenched in sweat. Having lost so much water, he was incredibly parched.
"Phew... I'm going to grab a quick drink of water."
"...Okay."
Perhaps out of breath from the workout, her face was flushed red, and she responded with a slight delay.
Myungho hurried over to the water purifier and gulped it down. *Gulp, gulp, gulp...* "Ah! That's refreshing. Nothing beats cold water after a good sweat!"
You have acquired a trait.
Your awakened class is Physical Reinforcement.
Huh? Out of nowhere?
Today was turning out to be an incredibly lucky day. With a racing heart, I recalled the awakening manual I had read before.
Once you acquired a trait, you were officially considered an Awakened. Your class was determined by your very first trait, and any subsequent abilities or stat limits you could reach depended heavily on that initial trait and class.
Status Window.
Name: Shin Myungho
Age: 24
Class: Physical Reinforcement
Trait:
Pheromone (No Level, Grade: EX)
Secretes highly potent pheromones through bodily fluids. Allows the user to inflict status effects on targets. (Currently available status effects: Happiness, Lust, Fear, Anger)
EX-rank? I've never even heard of such a thing.
I had only ever read about EX-rank in web novels; I had never heard of it existing in reality.
My Strength and Stamina are on the higher side because I work out, but my Agility and Mana... they're pretty average.
According to what I had read online, an Awakened's stats didn't change upon awakening, except for the generation of Mana. From then on, one could grow through leveling up or by building strength and stamina through physical training.
"The average adult male has 11 Strength, 11 Stamina, and 8 Agility... Working out really does pay off!"
Having consistently worked out, Myungho's starting stats were remarkably good.
Since Agility encompassed both flexibility and reaction speed, his score wasn't bad at all compared to the average male, who typically lacked flexibility.
Myungho continued reading the description of his EX-rank trait, Pheromone.
Wait... I can inflict Happiness, Lust, Fear, and Anger status effects through pheromones?
Myungho was bewildered. He had heard of status effects like Stun, Fear, or Taunt, but Lust and Happiness were entirely new to him.
At first, Myungho felt a twinge of disappointment that his EX-rank trait was an area-of-effect status ailment skill.
But maybe the effects are incredibly potent? Or maybe it'll make any future traits I acquire even stronger.
Still, the 'Lust' effect was highly suspicious. He had never seen such a thing outside of combat or combat-support traits.
Is it really the kind of 'lust' I'm thinking of? Let's give it a try.
The moment he willed the pheromone effect to activate, he felt a strange sensation wash over him, signaling that the skill was now active.
Ah, so this is how it works.
Putting his excitement aside for a moment, Myungho headed back to finish his workout.
Did I keep her waiting too long? Come to think of it, I didn't even wipe off my sweat before leaving.
But as Myungho looked toward the machine, he froze in his tracks. The scene unfolding where he had just been sitting was utterly shocking.
"Inhale... Haaah♡... Inhale... Haaah♡..."
Yuna had her nose pressed flat against the seat where Myungho had left his sweat, greedily inhaling his scent.
She's burying her face in my sweat!
As she buried her face in the seat where I had sat, her buttocks, thighs, and breasts jiggled like soft pudding.
"Haaah... Haaah♡..."
...! No way.
After a brief hesitation, Yuna slid her hand inside her tight leggings and began to move her fingers.
Her hand slipped deep into her crotch, quickly starting to play with herself.
Squelch... Squelch...
I had my suspicions, but she was actually doing it.
"Ahhn♡...! I shouldn't... What is happening to me...♡!"
Yuna's face was pressed close to the seat, her nose buried right where my cock and balls had rested just moments ago. I could hear her breathing grow increasingly wild.
That's exactly where my crotch was...
"Sniff...! Ahh... Sniff! Mmmgh♡!"
Squish! Squish! Squish! Splat!
Clear fluids began to squirt from her wet slit.
Even from a distance, I could see the fabric over Yuna's pubic mound growing damp.
Holy shit! This is so fucking hot...
As if inhaling the scent wasn't enough anymore, she began to lick the seat where I had been sitting.
So that's why she suddenly went quiet when I said I was going to get water.
He realized that the flush on her face earlier hadn't been from exhaustion at all.
"Lick! Slurp! Ahh...♡! *Gasp!*"
Watching her lick my sweat, inhaling my masculine musk, and even gagging slightly from the intensity of it made me incredibly hard.
How could someone with such an innocent face possess such a filthy, depraved body and do something so utterly shameless?
Overwhelmed by excitement, Myungho took a step back, only to bump into a machine behind him.
*Clack!*
Fuck!