Awakener? Awakener!
Awakener? Awakener!
After that day, the world was literally turned upside down.
The immature cheers of 'The start of a real hunter show' that had initially set the internet ablaze didn't even last a few days before turning into horrific screams.
TV news and smartphone breaking-news alerts were pouring out gloomy and terrible news day after day.
The black holes appearing at random locations, and the black mist spreading from those holes. The damage caused by what were commonly called Gates began to be revealed in detail.
Gates that would suddenly appear, spread black mist, and swallow up nearby people as if kidnapping them—injuries began to occur, and even deaths started happening.
Because of this, once people understood that the countermeasure against Gates was to keep distance to avoid being swallowed by the black mist, monsters began to appear from inside the Gates.
If the monsters that appeared had been ordinary goblins, it might not have been a big problem, but unfortunately, not everything flowed so hopefully.
Not only common goblins, but also evolved individuals with superior size and strength like hobgoblins and orcs, and even monsters closer to wild beasts began to appear, and the damage kept increasing.
Moreover, not all monsters were as weak as goblins, so the fact that monsters strong enough to require police or military intervention with pistol or rifle bullets to subdue them began to appear only fueled the fear further.
If things continued like this, people would have lived in fear of the monsters emerging from Gates.
But.
[Breaking News] Some Gate survivors manifest superhuman abilities! The emergence of 'Awakeners'?
There was not only despair.
People who had been exposed to the dense mana inside Gates for long periods of time. A very small number of them adapted to the accumulated mana and began to manifest so-called 'superpowers'.
Videos of those who could use psychokinesis, spew flames and control them at will, or had enhanced physical abilities decorated the news.
The world began to call such superhumans 'Awakeners', but—
"Awakening, my foot. It's just a mana adaptation phenomenon."
I leaned against the sofa, watching the news and clicked my tongue. Because they were calling the physical mutation phenomenon that occurs when mana pathways are forcibly opened in the body due to exposure to high-concentration mana—the mana adaptation phenomenon—'Awakening'.
Because of that, physical enhancement through mana became possible, or primitive forms of magic that respond to will manifested.
It wasn't that a system bestowed abilities; it was merely a natural magical phenomenon.
But in this world without knowledge of mana, they didn't know that fact and simply began treating them as Awakeners.
The problem was that I was also one of those 'survivors' and a human who handles mana.
Jiiing-
The smartphone I had placed on the table vibrated briefly. The caller displayed on the screen was 'Unknown'.
The numbers from the police that had occasionally come after that—I blocked every single one as they came, but eventually, what was bound to come came.
[Hello, Miss Kim Su-yeon. I am Team Leader Seo Ji-yoon from the 'Gate Emergency Response Temporary Headquarters'. Your contact information was officially transferred from the National Police Agency as a key reference person in the survivor rescue process. I have something to discuss with you and would like to meet briefly.]
I let out a big sigh and nervously ruffled my bangs. Even if I tried to resist by not answering, people from organizations like this always end up showing up at your doorstep wearing black suits. Whether it's a democratic country or a monarchy, if they need you, they'll reach out regardless of your will.
But I had to prevent my family from finding out about my activities.
Reluctantly, I chose a quiet franchise café near my house as the meeting place and sent a reply.
At the corner table of the café we had agreed upon. A woman in a clean black suit was sitting in front of me.
She was an agent with a cold, sharp impression, her hair neatly tied back and wearing horn-rimmed glasses. Perhaps they had deliberately assigned a female agent, thinking a young schoolgirl might feel pressured meeting a male adult agent. Quite meticulous.
"Thank you for coming out. I am Seo Ji-yoon."
I nodded casually and took the business card Agent Seo handed me, then took a sip of the peach iced tea placed in front of me.
"Yeah, well. But what do you have to say to me? I already told the police officers everything I had to."
"It's because of the coping ability you showed at the Terminal Gate, Miss Su-yeon. We've confirmed the police reports and cross-statements from all survivors. In a dark cave with no light source whatsoever, you marked the exit with glow sticks, and even subdued monsters with a vinyl umbrella."
Hmm... Should I not have fought where there were survivors? If I hadn't, making excuses would have been much simpler.
Agent Seo's sharp gaze shot at me from behind her glasses.
"By any chance, are you also one of the 'Awakeners' being reported on recently?"
Ha. Straight to the point, huh. Swallowing a hollow laugh inwardly, I put on the most innocent and wronged expression I could manage.
"An Awakener? Me? Come on, don't say such nonsense. If I had superpowers, would I have been running around with an umbrella?"
"But stabbing a monster charging at people with a five-thousand-won vinyl umbrella—that's not something possible with ordinary physical ability or courage..."
"That umbrella was sturdier than you'd think! Ask the convenience store part-timer. It actually worked pretty well as a weapon, you know?"
I rattled the ice in my iced tea and continued.
"And those green monsters. They call them goblins, right? They might look gross, but they weren't that strong, were they? Maybe because they live in dark caves, they lost their nerve when I shined a flashlight on them, and in that gap, I just stabbed their heads roughly with the umbrella and they dropped like flies. I was just swinging blindly with my eyes shut tight to survive."
The agent's brow furrowed minutely.
"According to the survivors' statements, your movements were by no means those of a beginner..."
"Those people must have seen things in the dark confusion. I was desperate to survive too. You know, like how people show superhuman strength at fire scenes? Something like that."
The fact that I beheaded the most dangerous hobgoblin is my secret alone.
Who would have thought that sending the survivors outside and entering the boss room alone would result in such perfect information control? No CCTV, no witnesses—if I keep insisting I was just 'lucky', they won't have any way to prove otherwise.
Agent Seo was silent for a while at my shameless acting, then let out a small sigh.
"Alright. Regardless of whether you've Awakened or not, your calm judgment is a capability that our response team desperately needs right now. Would you consider working with us..."
"I'm a incoming freshman starting university next month, you know."
I delivered the decisive blow.
"My mom set aside tuition for me to go to college. But if I say I'm going to answer the nation's call and hunt monsters, the house will turn upside down. Besides, government officials wouldn't send a student who's practically a minor into such dangerous places, right?"
'Minor, student, and mom.' In Korean society, there's no better shield than this. Agent Seo bit her lip, then finally nodded.
"I understand. It wouldn't be right for the country to burden a young student. I'm sorry for making an unreasonable request."
She stood up. However, she didn't take back her business card left on the table.
"But Miss Su-yeon. The Gates will only increase from now on. If you change your mind, or if something you can't handle happens, please contact me at this number anytime."
After Agent Seo left like that, I remained by the window seat and poured the remaining ice from my iced tea into my mouth.
Wageujak, Ododok.
Outside the window, people were walking briskly along the streets.
An elderly man walking his dog. Teenagers laughing and passing by with linked arms. Office workers heading to work with coffee in hand.
An extremely peaceful and ordinary daily life.
But I know. If black mist suddenly rises beneath someone's feet among them, that peaceful laughter will instantly turn into a bloody hell.
I could just live comfortably for myself, pretending not to know while attending university.
The Magic Stone in my pocket felt heavy against my fingertips.
If I thoroughly hide the experience and mana handling methods I possess, I could live the rest of my life in complete safety without any danger.
But... can I stand by with my eyes wide open while innocent people within arm's reach are devoured by monsters? Will the heart and memories of someone who once risked everything to save the world allow me to fully enjoy this weak and selfish peace?
No matter how much I desire peace, can I obtain it while watching others be sacrificed?
I fingered the white business card Agent Seo had left behind.
"Ah... This is really going to get annoying."
Even as I muttered complaints, my gaze lingered deeply on the phone number written on the card.
The mana inside my body, which had grown by a span, was quietly but fiercely swirling, as if foreseeing the great storm about to come.
Amid such circumstances, I could only continue to struggle in conflict.