Chapter 2
It was a pure white background.
Where was the floor, and where was the ceiling?
Just staying in a place like this for a day would be enough to drive someone insane. I was standing in that kind of space.
And then, within that all-white void, one strangely out-of-place figure caught my eye.
A person dressed entirely in black, the exact opposite of white.
Who was he?
He just stood there, staring straight ahead.
Was it a training uniform? A martial robe? I couldn’t tell. The man wore some kind of black clothing I couldn’t identify, and he was facing forward, utterly still.
...His feet.
His bare feet, unshod, were covered in scars and dried blood.
Those were feet I’d seen somewhere before.
Where had it been?
I couldn’t remember that either.
My mind felt hazy.
Why was I here?
Why was I looking at this?
I didn’t understand any of it.
Before I knew it, I could do nothing but stare at the man.
Then, starting from the floor beneath where he stood, red traces stretched backward, forming a path.
That’s... blood?
The trail, obviously made of blood, ran cleanly behind him as if showing the road he’d walked.
The sight, for some reason, looked cruel. Distant. And terrifying.
“...Hah...”
Without meaning to, I let out a breath.
Then—
“...”
His head turned slowly, revealing his face.
He was definitely looking at me, but I still couldn’t see his features.
His face was blurred, as though wrapped in mist.
And yet I could tell, without a doubt, that his gaze was fixed on me.
I wanted to run.
Instinct told me so.
Run right now.
Get away.
But my body had gone rigid, frozen in place.
Then—
[A voice spoke.]
* * *
“Haa...!”
I jerked awake, gasping for breath.
Even though I’d just woken up, I could tell my back was soaked with cold sweat.
Feeling my heart pounding in my chest, I blurted out, “Was that... a dream?”
Only after realizing it had been a dream could I finally calm my wildly beating heart.
Wow.
What a ridiculous dream to have.
Good grief... I can’t believe I had a nightmare like that...
Huh?
What dream was it again?
I couldn’t remember the one I’d just been having.
Did I already forget it?
I felt like I’d only just been dreaming it, so why had it slipped away so quickly?
But I didn’t dwell on it.
Dreams were usually like that.
The only thing I could still vaguely remember was the last line.
Hide your identity?
What was that supposed to mean?
Come on. It was just a dream. No need to think about it.
It was only a dream.
At least, that was what I thought for now.
The time now is...
What time was it?
The moment I checked, I shot upright.
As soon as I bolted up in alarm—
“Ah...!!”
My mind cleared, and yesterday’s memories surged back all at once.
“Awakening...!”
I’d awakened. In an instant, my heart began to race.
What if even that had been a dream? Clutching at my pounding chest, I hurriedly checked the palm of my left hand.
There it was.
“...It’s here...”
A star was clearly drawn there.
They said it was proof that I’d awakened, and a tattoo only the owner could see.
“...Yes... It’s real!”
It had appeared on my hand too. Looking at it, I couldn’t hold back my excitement. This was the awakening I’d wanted so desperately, the one I’d longed for all this time.
My emotions were nearly out of control. I forced them down, but my trembling fingertips gave me away.
With a thumb shaking violently, I lightly pressed the star.
At that very moment—
Ding-!
A notification rang out, and something unfolded before my eyes.
[Reincarnation Information.]
[Martial God (EX)]
[Synchronization Rate (0%)]
[Synchronization is too low. Abilities are limited.]
“...Whoa.”
The moment I saw it, I gasped in awe. This was what I’d heard about so often, what I’d desperately wanted to see.
The system window that only appeared after awakening. At long last, I could see it too.
But then—
“...What is this?”
The rank was a little strange.
“EX?”
Because it was a rank I’d never seen before.
“Was there something like this?”
From F-class to SS-class.
That was the rank assigned by one’s awakened past life, and the abilities derived from it were effectively what decided the rest of your life.
F-class usually meant someone whose past life was an unremarkable farmer, or at best an ordinary commoner.
Since they weren’t all that different from normal people, they were practically the same as not having awakened at all.
And the higher the rank, the wider the gap in ability became.
There are currently three SS-class.
There were only three people in the world with SS-class past lives, the highest rank.
One was American, one was Chinese.
And the last one was—
Korean.
Someone currently in Korea.
They said even SS-class could possess power capable of threatening an entire nation...
What on earth was this rank? I’d never seen anything this high before.
“Seriously, what is this?”
I glanced down at my palm again. Even the color of the star drawn there was strange.
...It’s black.
Now that I looked closely, it was jet black.
I thought the color was supposed to be determined by the rank, but there was no color like this in the usual system.
“Did something go wrong...?”
Anxiety began to rise in my chest.
“Back then... an S-class appeared.”
The S-class that had popped out of the Reincarnation Roulette.
When I’d been in a position to choose it, something had suddenly appeared and forced me to pick this one.
But this doesn’t feel like a dream.
If it wasn’t a dream, then what was this now?
And what is this Synchronization Rate?
I frowned at the words. The synchronization rate itself wasn’t strange.
I’d heard that when awakening, the memories of one’s past life came flooding in, but not all at once; instead, they were supposed to slowly seep in according to this synchronization rate.
“...0%?”
Zero percent—what in the world was that?
It was such a bewildering number that I could only stare.
“What if something really is wrong?”
I’d finally awakened, and now I was terrified that something might be broken.
Could it be...
Was I so desperate to awaken that I was seeing things?
That thought even crossed my mind.
Then what?
“...No, that can’t be.”
If I’d gone insane, that would be truly unacceptable.
“Not yet. It can’t be yet.”
My gaze drifted somewhere else. To the photo of my parents sitting on the table.
“...”
I stared at it for a moment, then pushed myself out of bed.
“The time now...”
It was a little after eight in the morning.
Seeing that, I quickly dressed.
“If I don’t know, then I can just check.”
Whether my awakening was real or not, I could find out right now.
I hurried out.
There was only one place I needed to go.
* * *
— Your next stop is Incheon Superhuman Association. This is Incheon Superhuman Association Station.
The announcement came over the bus I’d hurriedly boarded.
I hit the stop button at once.
With a hiss, the door opened, and when I stepped out, a large building came into view. I hadn’t expected to be here so early in the morning.
This was the place known as the Superhuman Association, a place I’d visited once every year.
Of course, the headquarters was in Seoul. This was the Incheon branch.
Rank, huh.
I wondered if I could even say it out loud.
A six-story building. I headed straight for the reception desk on the first floor.
“Hello. I’d like to get registered for an evaluation.”
“Ah. Are you an awakened one?”
“...Yes. I think so.”
“Pardon?”
The receptionist tilted her head at my uncertain answer.
“Ah... yes. Could I see your ID, please?”
“Here you go.”
“Got it.... Hmm?”
She checked my ID, then her eyes widened slightly. My age was the issue.
“Ah... when did you awaken, if I may ask?”
Apparently, seeing that I was exactly twenty made her curious.
“Yesterday.”
“Oh my!! Congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
It was only natural for everyone to be surprised that I’d awakened barely the day before.
I was surprised too, so I couldn’t blame them.
“Your identity is verified. Please receive your test upstairs on the second floor.”
“...Yes.”
“Once your awakening is confirmed, come back down and fill out your registration form.”
“Understood.”
I received a sheet of paper and went upstairs to the second floor.
There were no people waiting. On New Year’s Day, of all days, it was unlikely many would come to register their awakening.
“Just go in and grip the box,” I was told.
Following the explanation, I looked at the box.
This must be it.
It was the thing I’d wanted to see most.
A device that was said to emit a blue light for awakeners, revealing their color by its glow.
I’d heard it had only been developed recently.
Before that, they’d measured things in a rather crude way, but after this box was introduced, they were able to assess things much more systematically.
For me, it was the kind of thing I’d been dying to awaken just so I could touch it.
I swallowed hard.
Please. Let it be blue.
I really had awakened, right? I had to have.
With my dry throat tight, I wrapped my hand around the box—
Wuuuuuuung---
The box trembled violently in my grip.
Shhhhh—!!! It slowly began to glow.
But then—
...Black?
Even that was black.
“Huh? What?”
The examiner watching me reacted in surprise.
“What is this...!”
He turned to the monitor with shaking eyes. The results were already coming up.
[Confirmed.]
[Awakened one status confirmed.]
So I really am awakened.
The machine was clearly telling me I was an awakened one.
“...What’s going on? Why is the color...”
The employee looked flustered. An awakened one should just glow blue, but for some reason it was shining black.
But then—
Shhhhh—!!
The machine that had been emitting black light quickly started to pour out blue light instead.
Only then did the examiner relax.
“Ah. I think there’s a problem with the machine...”
“...Is that so?”
“Yes. Since it was developed not too long ago, errors like this do happen from time to time.”
The employee gave an awkward smile.
“Still, there’s no problem with the measurement, so you don’t need to worry. Please go downstairs and complete your registration.”
“...Understood.”
A stamp was pressed onto the paper.
“You’ll need to have your proper rank certificate verified, so please go to the headquarters in Seoul within ten days.”
“Understood.”
After hearing that, I went back down to the first floor, handed over the papers, and finished registering everything.
“Good work...! We look forward to working with you!”
“Yes. Thank you.”
I’d finished registering with the association. They said my registration certificate would be issued a few days after I went to the Seoul headquarters and had my rank verified, and with that final instruction, I trudged out of the building.
...What is this.
The EX rank in my status window still felt wrong.
What on earth was this rank?
I should have asked the employee about it.
But, somehow...
Back then, the words just hadn’t come out properly. It was as if someone had been covering my mouth.
“Ah, right.”
Suddenly, I remembered something I’d forgotten. If I really had awakened—
Then I should be able to use that now.
There was a space that only awakeners could use, no, only enter.
I lightly tapped the star-shaped tattoo three times.
Then—
Ding!
[Would you like to enter the network?]
Looking at the alert, I had to smile.
...So I really can get in after all.
A space accessible through the system.
There was a place only past-life awakeners could enter.
Commonly called Reincarnation Net.
The community site where reincarnated awakeners gathered.
...And the place where gates could be entered.
A space that made it possible to enter the gates that opened every few days.
My heart pounding, I pressed the enter button.
The system window in front of me expanded, filling my vision.
[You have entered the Reincarnation Network.]
I was really inside. It felt like looking at a computer screen.
A place packed with countless posts. Seeing it, I thought to myself—
So this is where it appears.
I’d heard that when a newcomer entered, a short notice would be posted.
Ding!!
Another alert flashed by.
[A new reincarnated awakener has entered the Reincarnation Network.]
So that’s how it appears. I was watching in fascination when—
Chijijijik.
“Huh?”
Something was wrong. Very wrong.
* * *
Since the day it was revealed, the Reincarnation Network had been used quite effectively.
It was a place that literally tore at dimensions and threatened the peace of the world.
To enter gates, one had to use the Reincarnation Network.
Beyond that, all the reincarnated awakeners in the world gathered there to share information or chat. It was the only space where superhumans could meet each other.
It even sent an alert when a newcomer arrived.
This time was no different.
Messages poured in. All of them, each with its own epithet, focused their attention on a single point.
Since it wasn’t even the season for a new awakening, everyone reacted that way.
[The reincarnated awakener’s presence is too strong.]
[Reconstructing the network after a temporary shutdown.]
Chaos broke out. It was the first system crash ever since the Reincarnation Network had been created. It came back up within seconds, but by then the reactions had already become heated.
Posts were flying faster than usual.
And amid that outrageously intense response—
[Reconstruction successful.]
[The Martial God has entered the network.]
[Please welcome them warmly.]
Something even bigger dropped.
Since the network had gone down, the reaction only grew more feverish.
A color no one had ever seen.
A situation no one had ever encountered.
An unexpected irregularity, and everyone’s response exploded.
And on the post announcing that the Martial God had appeared, comments were pouring in like madness.
In an instant, hundreds of comments. In no time at all, thousands.
It was the aftermath of a single being’s arrival that had shaken superhumans around the world.