After Using a Finisher, I Awakened
But the real story was only just beginning.
Everything I’d tested so far had been basic technique. From here on out, I intended to try the so-called finisher moves, or maybe the special attacks.
One of this character’s biggest traits was that most of its so-called finishers came wrapped in red flame.
In the lore, it was supposed to be a matter of channeling the energy inside the body and releasing it in the form of fire. If I could actually do that, then I’d be wielding powers no different from an Awakened’s.
That didn’t mean it had any proper fireball attack, though. In fighting games, characters usually had at least one projectile, but this one only had a move where it hurled a fan. Later entries did add a version that lit the fan on fire before throwing it, but the original was just fan tossing.
Most of the fire-based moves either made the whole body erupt in flames or added a fire effect to a specific action.
So I decided to test the most iconic one of all: Hōenbu.
It was the most basic finisher, and in the early versions it had excellent reach and hit detection, not to mention invincibility during the motion, so calling it the best midrange poke would have been no exaggeration.
Of course, because it was strong, later installments kept nerfing it, and in the newest one it couldn’t show off the same menace it once had. Even so, the spinning motion that looked like a tail sweeping around the waist had enough recognition that it might as well have been this character’s signature.
I took a slow breath, twisted at the waist, and spun hard. In the game, a long strip of cloth hanging over the hips was supposed to whirl like a tail while flames burst outward.
But nothing happened. My form seemed mostly right, but the fire never came out.
I propped my phone nearby, started recording, and tried again. Just in case it needed a shout, I called out the technique name this time.
"Hōenbu!"
For an instant, I felt something like energy stirring inside me. Curious, I checked the video I’d just recorded. Sure enough, there was a tiny spark flashing in midair.
Thinking I might be imagining it, I zoomed in on the screen, and there it was without a doubt: a little spark.
So I really did have to shout the name. Embarrassing, sure, but if I’d inherited a game character’s setup, that was probably part of the deal.
At least there didn’t seem to be any restriction that said I could only activate it while wearing the same costume. Honestly, I was relieved by that much. There was no way I could bring myself to wear that ridiculously revealing Kunoichi outfit.
I took another breath and tried again, shouting the move name once more.
After repeating it over and over, I gradually started to get a feel for how the energy inside my body responded when I pushed it the right way.
It took nearly an hour of wrestling with a single technique before, all at once, I felt the power inside me burst outward—and the move finally succeeded.
I didn’t even need to check the phone I’d set up. The moment I snapped my waist around and spun, I saw with my own eyes thick flames whip around my body and erupt outward.
Awakened.
- Class acquired: Kunoichi
- Skill acquired: Shiranuki Ninjutsu (B)
The instant I could finally use the energy inside my body, that message appeared: I had awakened.
What people learned at the Awakened Center was, in the end, how to train the body and how to use the power inside it according to one’s own traits.
That said, the ability to release that energy outward in this way was something only Awakened people with some experience could manage. That was also why mages, priests, and the like—classes that could project energy from the moment they awakened—were treated a little better.
And I had even awakened with a B-rank skill. A skill’s rank didn’t mean the same thing as an Awakened’s rank, but having a high-rank skill still counted as a major plus when it came to how people treated you.
Elated, I started practicing the other finishers too. From the move that launched me upward into a somersault and burst flames at my toes, to the one where I leaped, planted a hand against the wall, and drove myself straight down into the ground, to the technique where I snapped both legs together in a rising kick and belched fire across my whole body—this character had existed for so long that there were all kinds of finishers to choose from.
I was so absorbed in practice that I barely noticed the commotion around me.
When I finally looked up, the sun was already hanging low. Evening had come, and the people who’d begun arriving to exercise had apparently noticed the fireworks show I was putting on at the badminton court.
I hurriedly grabbed the phone I’d set out for recording, shoved my cap down low, and bolted out of there.
Just because I’d become an Awakened didn’t mean my introverted personality had magically changed. And on top of that, I was doing it all in a female body.
I made it home in a rush, but whatever the case, there was no doubt about it: I really had become an Awakened.
It was a relief that only my appearance had changed and I’d been given powers to go with it. If I’d just been transformed like this without any strength at all, I would have had a miserable time of it. At the very least, now I had some power to protect myself.
Come to think of it, if I looked at why I’d been changed into this shape in the first place, it made more sense to assume there was some kind of intention behind it.
The moment I got back, I opened my laptop and looked up the Awakened registration process.
It was easy enough to find that the required documents were little more than an ID, and that the registration wouldn’t be completed until I went through a two-week training course.
Whether I planned to work as an Awakened or not, that process was mandatory.
"Phew..."
I let out a small breath. Once I applied, I’d be officially recognized as an Awakened.
Just a few days ago, I hadn’t even imagined I’d become one, but life really was impossible to predict.
After applying online, I immediately got an appointment for an interview for Awakened registration. There was no turning back now.
I went into the bathroom and took a shower. After making that much of a mess at the badminton court in this weather, I hadn’t even worked up a single bead of sweat. Whether that was the power of the TS itself or just because I was basically a game character, I still couldn’t tell.
I’d always been the kind of person who slept naked except for my underwear, but there was no way I could do that now. It was just too embarrassing.
Before sleeping, I offered a desperate prayer. I wished I could meet the ghost in my dreams again. Not because I wanted to do anything indecent with her—though that had happened, and repeatedly—but because I wanted to ask her how to get back to normal.
Of course, that was wishful thinking. I didn’t even get a normal dream, let alone a dream with the ghost in it.
By morning, I’d washed up in a hurry and was standing in front of the closet.
There were skirts in there, but I couldn’t imagine wearing them. There was also a mature-looking dress suit, but that was no better.
In the end, after a long struggle, I chose a black training suit with triple white stripes. I’d be moving around a lot during the test, after all. I even picked sportswear underwear. Come to think of it, wearing ordinary underwear while I’d been doing all that yesterday had been ridiculous to begin with.
I tied my hair into a single bundle, pulled it back through the opening in my ball cap, and covered my face with a black fashion mask as well. At this point, it seemed unlikely that anyone would recognize me by accident. Though, given my body, that might not have mattered much anyway.
When I got into the elevator, I could feel the gazes of the people inside snap toward me all at once. It would have been one thing if I were being paranoid, but their stares were so obvious it was almost hard to cope with. And I was only wearing a loose tracksuit.
I took a bus from a nearby stop and headed to the Awakened Center. As expected, being a game character meant my sense of balance was absurdly good. Even without consciously putting any strength into the arm holding the handrail, I kept my center naturally through sudden stops and sharp turns.
"Eek!"
When the bus braked suddenly, the high school girl standing beside me toppled into my side.
"I’m sorry."
Seeing the girl blush and bow her head made me feel a little relieved, because it confirmed it for me: yes, I really had become a woman. It couldn’t be helped. Not only was the other person female, she was a minor, for heaven’s sake.
"It’s fine, don’t worry about it."
"Thank you..."
Then why was she blushing even more? I didn’t really care, but still.
After a few more stops, I finally arrived at my destination.
When I got off the bus, the Awakened Center was standing right there in front of me. I looked up at it, took a light breath, and went inside.
As I approached the ticket dispenser, an employee standing nearby spoke to me.
"How may I help you today?"
"Um, I’m here for Awakened registration."
"Congratulations. Please take this number and go to the second floor."
"Thank you."
Following the staff member’s instructions, I went up the stairs beside me and entered the second floor, where I found a row of separate reception desks. It seemed to be a reception area reserved specifically for Awakened applicants.
After I went inside and sat on a sofa, a bell rang almost at once and my number appeared.
"Welcome. How may I help you?"
"I came to register as an Awakened."
"Congratulations. May I see your ID first?"
"Here you go."
The staff member who checked my ID paused for a moment. When I looked up to see why, they gave a small cough and spoke carefully.
"I’m sorry, but for identity verification, could you take off your mask and cap for a moment?"
"Sure."
I still wasn’t used to my own face, but I couldn’t exactly refuse.
As soon as I took off my mask and cap, the staff member wore a dazed expression. Their mouth fell open, and they just stared at me as though time had stopped.
"Hello?"
"Ah! S-sorry."
Only after I called out did they finally jolt back to their senses and hurry to finish filling out the documents.
"Can I put them back on?"
"Huh? Yes, of course."
I quickly put the cap and mask back on. Was my face really that shocking? It certainly was an unreal kind of beauty, like I’d stepped straight out of a game.
After answering the staff member’s questions while they fumbled through the paperwork, the form was finally complete.
"Here’s your receipt. Take this downstairs, and you’ll find an instructor at the Basement Training Center. Please get verified by them."
"Thank you."
I bowed politely, stood from my chair, and headed toward the stairs. Behind me, I heard the staff member let out a long, amazed exhale.
When I descended to the basement, I found a door guarded by two sturdy-looking men. Since the sign above it said Basement Training Center, this had to be the place.
"Do you have business here?"
"I’m here to register as an Awakened. They told me to come this way."
"Show me your receipt."
I handed over the receipt, and the man guarding the entrance stepped aside and opened the door.
"Please go in."
"Thank you."