Awakening
Chime.
“Haah...”
I had lost count of how many rejections this made. For months, I had stubbornly denied reality, but I couldn't fool myself any longer. The time had come to face the cold, bitter truth.
I had officially become one of those notorious Resting Youths—a full-blown, hopeless NEET.
“It’s not like I don’t want to work...”
I wasn't refusing to evolve like some stubborn Pikachu holding an Everstone. I had all the drive in the world to claw my way out of this miserable hole. Yet despite graduating from a respectable four-year university, finding a job was an uphill battle against impossible odds. I had poured my teenage years into studying and sacrificed every drop of fun in college, but my efforts yielded not a single crumb of decent employment. What kind of sick cosmic joke was this?
Damn the AI revolution, and damn this crippled economy.
And most of all, damn that stupid Tower.
“God damn it all.”
Sick to my stomach with envy, I chucked my phone onto the bed.
“Why couldn't I just awaken...?”
The mysterious Pacific Tower had risen without warning from the ocean depths. An enigmatic monolith packed with treasures of unfathomable worth, it was accessible only to Awakeners. Because of that, even someone who unlocked the most pathetic, bottom-tier skill could rake in obscene fortunes just by sweeping the lowest floors. Awakening was an instant golden ticket—a one-way shortcut to turning life around.
The catch, of course, was that the odds of awakening were practically microscopic.
“Sigh.”
I pushed myself up from my chair and wandered over to the bookshelf.
“No point dwelling on what I can’t change.”
The shelf, still smelling faintly of varnished wood, groaned under the weight of Japanese light novels and manga volumes. It was a massive piece of furniture that crowded my small room, but the treasures packed within its shelves were my sacred sanctuary. Sure, anyone looking in would call me an incorrigible otaku, and I wouldn't have an argument to offer. But a man had to blow off steam after getting crushed by another job rejection, didn’t he? Deep down, I knew I ought to be scouring job boards, but...
“I bought that brand-new volume the other day, didn't I?”
I would read just one. As a hardcore connoisseur, stripping the crisp plastic wrap from a freshly pressed light novel was practically a sacred ritual.
“Where did I put it again?”
I scanned the rows of colorful spines. Craning my neck, I spotted the book waiting for me near the very top of the shelf.
“Oh, there it is!”
Beaming, I reached out as far as I could, but my fingers fell several inches short.
“Hngh...”
Civilized human beings used tools. Normally, I would have dragged my chair over to stand on it, but wallowing in unemployment had reduced my higher cognitive faculties to that of a baboon. I grabbed the shelves and began climbing the wood like a ladder.
It was quicker, easier, and fueled entirely by pure laziness.
Unfortunately, civilized humans used tools for a very good reason.
Creak... tilt.
“Huh?”
Unable to support my full adult weight, the top-heavy bookshelf began to tip forward. I tried to leap backward, but gravity and hundreds of pounds of compressed paper were far faster than my clumsy reflexes.
CRASH!
“Gaaaaah...!”
The entire structure collapsed squarely on top of me, pinning me against the floor. A loaded bookcase was heavy enough on its own, but one stuffed with countless volumes of dense manga and light novels was effectively a slab of solid concrete.
“C-Can't... b-breathe...!”
The air vanished from my lungs. A splintered rib had punctured straight through my left lung, drowning me in my own chest. It was an absurdly, incomprehensibly stupid way to die.
Yet they say that when you hit absolute rock bottom, fortune has nowhere to go but up.
Chime.
You have awakened.
A second chance had arrived—one that would flip my pathetic existence upside down.
Broad daylight poured into the room.
Under normal circumstances, productive members of society would be at their workplaces, toiling away to contribute to the greater good. Lounging in bed during such prime hours was precisely why so many young people bore the shameful label of 'Resting Youth.' As the newest inductee into that ignominious club, however, I wasn't enjoying a moment of leisure.
“Ow... damn, that hurts.”
I rubbed my bruised chest, wincing at the residual ache.
“At least I won't need to visit the emergency room.”
Just moments ago, a broken rib had pierced my lung, suffocating me under the debris of my own hobby. I had been knocking on death's door. But right at the precipice of oblivion, miraculous luck had intervened: I had awakened. The supernatural surge of energy had completely repaired my shattered bones and healed my shredded lung. Upon awakening, all preexisting injuries and chronic ailments were instantly purged from the body. That miracle alone had pulled me back from the brink.
Still, I couldn't waste time celebrating my survival. There was something far more important to attend to.
“Status window.”
Chime.
The screen manifested without a hitch. I breathed a sigh of relief, glad I hadn't become the sort of pathetic grown man who screamed “Status window!” at the top of his lungs in an empty room for nothing. But tension immediately crept back into my throat. The pathetic baseline stats barely registered; what truly mattered was checking my awakened ability.
Gulp.
My mouth went dry as I stared at the translucent display, my heart pounding like a child unwrapping Christmas presents. My eyes skipped past the attributes down to the trait section.
[Dimension Leap]
You can project an avatar into lower sub-dimensions.
Available Sub-Dimensions:
• I Built a Shelter in a Zombie World
• Heart-Throbbing 3D Living Together!
• Space War 3077
Dimension Leap was an unfamiliar name for an ability. But the list of available sub-dimensions beneath it wasn't just familiar—it was my entire media diet.
“Wait... don't tell me these 'sub-dimensions' are the fictional works I've consumed?!”
Pure ecstasy detonated in my chest. In that single moment, all thoughts of the Pacific Tower, accumulating riches, and becoming an elite Climber vanished like smoke.
“Holy shit! I can actually dive inside a light novel?!”
A prospect infinitely more intoxicating than mere money had presented itself.
“Fuck yes!”
I was trembling with excitement. My bloodshot eyes locked dead onto the second title on the list: Heart-Throbbing 3D Living Together!
How could they not? The reason was obvious.
“I can see Ai-ttang in real life?!”
My all-time favorite character—my ultimate waifu. Heart-Throbbing 3D Living Together! was a classic, formulaic Japanese romantic comedy manga. Its sole defining brilliance lay in just how impossibly, earth-shatteringly cute the main heroine was.
“Take me in! Right now!”
“An avatar?”
It seemed that spending some kind of points would let me customize my character. Figuring out how to earn points could wait; right now, every passing second keeping me from entering the manga felt like an eternity.
Select entry timeline.
[Insufficient Points: Entry timeline randomized.]
Wait, randomized timeline? What does that mean?
Before the thought could finish forming, my vision flashed violently.
Entering timeline: 1,000 Years Prior to Original Work.
Identity: Heian-era Swordsman.
Pacify the realm under the heavens!
Light snapped back into focus—and dropped me straight into the heart of a blood-drenched slaughterhouse.
Before my mind could process the shift, an agonizing shriek tore through the air.
“AAAAAAARGH—!”
“What the—?!”
I spun toward the scream and froze. Mounds of dismembered corpses littered the muddy earth, while severed limbs lay scattered around my boots like chopped firewood. In the distance, frantic war cries roared—“Kill them all!”—echoing over the sight of terrified men fleeing across the trampled grass. Stripped of cinematic filters or mosaic censorship, the gruesome reality of ancient warfare hit me like a sledgehammer, turning my blood to ice.
Right then, a frantic voice shouted directly into my ear.
“Boss! We gotta run!”
“Huh?”
“This ain't the time to be zoning out!”
A heavily bearded man beside me was gasping for breath, screaming with wide, bloodshot eyes. His face was a filthy crust of sweat, grime, and spattered blood. But I didn't care about his hygiene.
Who the hell are you?!
Before I could ask, he sprayed spit as he roared over the din.
“That bastard Oden betrayed us! The momentum's completely swung to their side! We've lost this fight!”
“Oden?”
He couldn't possibly be talking about fish cake stew. And what did he mean, we lost?
“I said we have to haul ass out of here right now!”
The situation had spiraled far beyond my comprehension, but the sheer desperation etched into the bearded man's face communicated everything I needed to know. The outcome of this clash had already been decided—and apparently, the loser was me.
Even so, one glaring question burned in my mind.
“Where’s the romantic comedy?”
“Romanic... commedy?! What kind of gibberish is that?! Boss, this is no time to—”
Before my frantic subordinate could finish lecturing me, a booming laugh cut through the chaos.
“Bwahaha! Look at these pathetic fools!”
A man looking like he had walked straight out of a Sengoku samurai cosplay convention strode into view atop an armored warhorse.
“Filthy bandits dare raid our clan’s storehouse?!”
He peered down at us with undisguised contempt, a cruel, mocking sneer twisting his face.
“Don't dream of dying as peacefully as these maggots underfoot!”
“Damn it... so this is where it ends,” the bearded man groaned, his voice cracking as he looked upon the bloody blade in the rider's grip. There was nowhere to run; behind the horseman stood ranks of armored foot soldiers, sealing off the valley.
Clank. Clank.
The heavy plates of armor rattled rhythmically as the rider guided his mount forward.
“...Boss. I’ll buy us some time. You just save yourself.”
I gave a prompt nod.
I wasn't about to play the noble martyr. As I readily agreed and took a brisk step backward, a chime rang out in my head.
Chime.
You have taken your first step into a sub-dimension.
A random starting perk is being granted.
A glowing blue interface flashed before my eyes, followed by a cartoonishly cheerful roulette wheel.
Spin the wheel to claim your starting perk!
Spinning automatically... Round and round it goes~!
Suddenly, blinding golden radiance flooded my field of vision.
I barely had a second to parse what a 'Legendary Perk' was.
“Die and become stepping stones for my glory!”
The mounted samurai bypassed my bearded ally entirely, driving his horse straight at me and swinging his katana down with all his might.
“Whoa!”
On pure reflex, my hand dropped to the hilt at my hip and dragged the curved blade upward in an unpolished arc. Seeing my clumsy posture, the rider barked a sneering laugh.
“Ignorant dog! A dull piece of scrap like that couldn't even scratch the armor bestowed upon me by my lord—!”
The words caught in his throat.
Thwack.
My crude swing severed his neck clean through.
If I had to describe the sensation of lopping off a human head for the first time in my life, it was anticlimactically effortless. Even through heavy layers of iron plates, lacquered leather, and neck armor, slicing through him felt no harder than cutting into a block of Spam. There was no sickening shock or psychological horror; my hands moved with uncanny familiarity, and more pressingly, I had no luxury to admire the corpse I had just produced.
“Kill him!”
“Avenge the commander!!”
Seeing their leader butchered in an instant, the enemy soldiers charged me without an ounce of hesitation. For men shouting about vengeance, their faces were disgustingly cheerful—they clearly saw me as nothing more than a golden opportunity for battlefield promotion.
They really should have stopped to consider why their commander had died so easily.
Thump.
Squelch.
Shhk.
Because they didn't, they paid with their lives.
Thud.
The first three men to reach me were dead before they could blink. Three more headless corpses collapsed into the mud, joining the pile.
The rest of the vanguard ground to a sudden halt, hesitating.
“D-Damn it!”
“Wasn't this battle basically won?!”
“Look at him! He's just standing there frozen! He has to be exhausted!”
Greed for rank overpowered self-preservation once more. A handful of men rushed forward without fear.
Fwooosh—
I swung my katana in the exact same casual arc.
“AAAAARGH!”
“M-My arm! My arm is gone!!”
Every flick of my wrist sent men tumbling into the dirt in pieces.
“Shit!”
“Don’t retreat! Stand and fight! He’s running on fumes!”
Before long, the mud around my feet had turned into a swamp of steaming crimson.
“DIE!”
“Tear him apart!!”
I severed the neck of every idiot who charged within reach. Human bone and muscle yielded like soft tofu. The sheer, bizarre ease of it kept me swinging almost absentmindedly, until finally, the enemy soldiers snapped out of their bloodlust.
“W-What is this...?!”
“No one told us about a monster like this...!”
Staring at the butchered remains of their comrades, sheer panic seized them. Overwhelmed by primal terror, the soldiers began shuffling backward, their trembling pupils reflecting my blood-soaked silhouette as though looking upon a demon straight out of hell.
“A God of War...! It’s the God of War!”
“Run! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!”
They threw down their spears and swords, scrambling frantically over one another to escape. Within seconds, the battlefield fell dead silent. The only ones left were me, the bearded man, a scattering of rolling heads, and headless torsos jetting fountains of blood into the air.
I looked down at the long blade in my hand. Despite slaughtering dozens of men, not a single droplet of blood clung to the polished steel.
“Oh.”
I had killed people. A lot of them, in fact. Yet in this moment, what choked my chest wasn't moral guilt or existential horror over taking human life.
It was a crushing, bottomless void of utter disappointment.
“...Why the hell am I a thousand years in the past?”
Only now did the harsh truth sink in. Why was I swinging a sword in the dirt? Why were there dilapidated straw huts, scowling samurai, and illiterate peasant levies instead of neon-lit Tokyo streets and high school classrooms?
The entry timeline was everything.
“If I’m here... how the hell am I supposed to meet Ai-ttang...?!”
I had celebrated the miracle of stepping into a manga. I had rejoiced at surviving death. But this wasn't what I signed up for!
“Ai...? Who on earth is this maiden? No, wait, Boss! Were you hiding your true strength all this time?!”
“NOOOOOOOOOO!”
Standing amidst a field of headless corpses, the bearded man stared at me in terrified awe as I shrieked into the heavens. Naturally, I couldn't care less about his confusion. I just needed somewhere to vent this catastrophic despair.
“AI-TTANG! I JUST WANTED TO MEET YOU!”
Chime.
Indifferent to my heartbreak, the system blithely shoved its own agenda into my face.
Path of Hegemony Under the Heavens
📍 Objective: Seize undisputed hegemony over the Japanese archipelago.
🎁 Reward: Acquire a new Perk upon completion.