Chapter 2
Chapter 2
The pile of waste that had felt nothing but disgusting a moment ago now sparkled brilliantly like a massive gemstone mine.
Even in the midst of pain, the surreal beauty of it stole my breath for a moment.
Either the world had gone mad.
Or I had.
It didn’t matter which.
Because I had become an Awakened.
Workshop Owner.
A class I had never heard of before.
When the wrench in my hand became the key that activated the Awakening System, three major icons appeared clearly beneath the information window.
[Manufacture], [Disassembly], and [Modification].
All of my powers were contained within them.
The first icon was [Manufacture].
If I had materials, I could create anything in the world based on blueprints or imagination.
It was the power that would become both the beginning and the end of everything for me.
The second icon was [Disassembly].
A power that reduced objects back into their basic component materials.
The final icon was [Modification].
When my gaze moved to the [Modification] icon, three sub-icons unfolded beneath it.
The first sub-function of [Modification] was [Repair].
A power that completely restored the durability of damaged items.
Repairing the wrench required [High-Purity Iron Ore] and [Low-Grade Abrasive], and naturally I possessed neither of them right now.
The second sub-function was [Enhancement].
A power that improved an item’s base performance using materials.
For example, increasing a weapon’s attack power or a piece of armor’s defense.
The third sub-function was [Imbuement].
Using special materials to grant new properties to an item.
It was truly the domain of extreme modification.
It did not take long to review every menu.
I completely grasped the overall structure of my ability.
[Manufacture], which created something from nothing.
[Disassembly], which returned something to nothing and obtained knowledge and materials.
And [Modification], which transformed existing things into something stronger or more special.
These three axes meshed together, forming a perfectly circulating structure.
It was clearly a high-level ability even among production-type powers.
But for now, it was just a pie in the sky.
First I had to grow my ability, and for that I needed materials.
The waste hill that had driven me into despair a moment ago came back into view.
Through the eyes of an Awakened, the waste hill was no longer just a pile of garbage.
From rusty rebars shone [High-Purity Iron Ore].
From discarded chemical containers glimmered faint light marking the location of [Low-Grade Abrasive].
“Grrr…!”
At that moment, through the many status windows floating in my vision, a contaminated wild dog lunged toward me.
Startled, I instinctively swung the wrench in my hand.
Clang!
With the sound of metal striking metal, the contaminated wild dog flew sideways helplessly.
The sight of it tumbling across the waste reminded me of how I had been thrown by Kim Cheolmin.
When I cautiously approached, I saw that the dog’s skull had been crushed inward.
I looked back and forth between the wrench in my hand and the corpse of the contaminated wild dog.
Only then did it truly sink in.
I had become an Awakened too.
The joy lasted only a moment.
A question suddenly arose.
Why now?
For ten years inside the shelter, I had done everything I could but never awakened.
Then why, in the middle of this hellish mountain of garbage, did I awaken?
My gaze returned to the wrench in my hand.
Right before the system appeared.
I had been bitten by the dog, desperately crawling upward, and instinctively grabbed it.
“…Wait. A wrench? My awakening condition was touching a tool?”
A hollow laugh escaped me.
That was right.
Tools were precious in the shelter.
After the collapse, most electrical and mechanical infrastructure had been destroyed.
The technology to properly process or heat-treat metal had largely disappeared.
High-quality tools made before the collapse were essentially relics—once consumed, they were gone forever.
Because of that, only a handful of recognized technicians were allowed to handle them.
For them, tools were both livelihood and power.
Someone like me—a lowest-tier carrier—was forbidden even to approach the areas where technicians worked, let alone touch their tools.
When I realized the truth, the smile vanished from my face.
In its place rose a freezing anger.
It was absurd.
The reason I had been treated like an animal beneath them all these years was simply because I had never touched this piece of metal?
Ten years of suppression and humiliation.
Realizing it had all been caused by such a ridiculous system ignited hatred toward the shelter’s administrators and Awakened.
But the anger did not last long.
In the distance, faint howls of contaminated wild dogs echoed.
Since they traveled in packs, others would soon arrive to investigate the dead one.
Anger could wait.
Right now survival came first.
Before more of them gathered, I needed to fully understand this ability.
I checked the wrench in my hand.
Perhaps due to the impact of smashing the dog’s skull, the head of the wrench was grotesquely bent.
When I focused my gaze, updated information filled my mind.
Its durability had only 1 remaining, and its status had changed to [Structural Collapse in Progress].
If I swung it just once more, it would certainly shatter.
Having worked ten years in the shelter’s supply warehouse, I knew better than anyone how valuable tools were.
In this world, it was extremely difficult to produce such precise instruments.
I needed to repair it first.
Required materials:
[High-Purity Iron Ore] 0.1 g
[Low-Grade Abrasive] 1 ml
I scanned the waste hill through my awakened vision.
Unlike before, very few objects were glowing.
It seemed the filter in my mind had locked onto the two materials needed for repair.
The closest targets came into view.
A heavily corroded waste drum.
And a discarded chemical container whose contents had dried out.
When I focused on the two objects, the materials obtainable through [Disassembly] appeared.
The drum would yield [Scrap Metal] and [Low-Purity Iron Ore].
The chemical container would yield [Glass Fragments] and [Low-Grade Abrasive].
I placed my hand on the waste drum first.
I already knew how to use the ability from watching technicians in the shelter.
When I commanded [Disassembly] in my mind, the large drum turned into blue particles and was absorbed into my hand.
Instantly, 1.2 kg of [Scrap Metal] and 15 g of [Low-Purity Iron Ore] appeared before me.
Next, I disassembled the chemical container as well.
I obtained 250 g of [Glass Fragments] and 30 ml of [Low-Grade Abrasive].
I hadn’t obtained [High-Purity Iron Ore], but it didn’t matter.
The gray indicator showing insufficient materials for wrench repair had turned green.
“Looks like scrap metal can substitute for high-purity iron ore.”
Well, scrap metal was simply refined iron ore.
It might be less efficient, but it worked as a substitute.
Without hesitation, I executed the repair.
This time the light particles flowing from my hand wrapped around the bent wrench.
Like a 3D printer, the particles filled in damaged areas and corrected the twisted structure.
Clang!
With a clear metallic sound, a perfectly restored wrench appeared in my hand.
Its durability had fully recovered to [25/25].
The corroded and bent wrench now looked brand new.
It was like magic.
I didn’t know exactly how powerful the Workshop Owner ability was.
I had heard rumors that S-Grade Awakened existed, but I had never seen one.
But one thing was certain.
It was on an entirely different level from a D-Grade Awakened like Kim Cheolmin.
Normally, the rank of an awakened ability or class could only be judged by someone with a related ability.
The same applied to mutants.
The reason I knew contaminated wild dogs were D-Grade was simply because they were extremely common around the shelter.
Once confidence in my ability grew, curiosity followed.
I rummaged through the waste pile and found a half-broken [Portable Emergency Water Purifier].
“…Guess it doesn’t work.”
Completely disassembling the purifier was impossible with my current ability level.
However, beneath it I noticed a new option.
[Partial Disassembly]
A function that dismantled only the outer casing and recovered some resources.
There was a warning that core components might be destroyed.
But what truly caught my eye was the predicted acquisition list.
[Blueprint Fragment: Portable Emergency Water Purifier]
Blueprint fragment?
What was that?
Without hesitation, I executed [Partial Disassembly].
The purifier’s casing broke apart, and a glowing blue data fragment was absorbed into my hand.
When the process finished, the results organized themselves in my mind.
Along with [Plastic Fragments] and [Rubber Packing], I had obtained a new item:
[Blueprint Fragment: Portable Emergency Water Purifier (1/5)]
At that moment, my head throbbed slightly, and I felt my ability grow more proficient.
[Disassembly] had leveled up.
Information also appeared stating that higher disassembly levels increased the number of blueprint fragments obtained.
In that instant, everything in my mind fell into place.
Disassemble waste to obtain base materials.
Disassemble complex objects to obtain blueprints.
Then use those blueprints to create items.
That was the essence of my power.
At that moment, the corpse of the contaminated wild dog that had tried to kill me caught my eye.
Its corpse was also recognized as a disassemblable target.
Expected materials appeared:
[Leather], [Bone], [Teeth], and a special material labeled [Tendon].
Earlier, when I had grabbed the wrench, the system had mentioned that special materials were required for [Imbuement].
“…Could a dog’s tendon work too?”
Without hesitation, I reached toward the corpse.
When I issued [Disassembly], blue data particles wrapped around the body instead of blood and flesh.
The dog’s corpse instantly dissolved into light and was absorbed into my hand.
I checked the resulting items.
One piece of leather.
Two bones.
Three teeth.
And finally—
[Contaminated Wild Dog Tendon].
I immediately opened the wrench’s [Modification] menu within my consciousness.
The previously inactive [Imbuement] option flickered faintly.
The gray text that had once read “Special Material Required” now glowed green.
“…It actually works.”
I swallowed unconsciously.
The production-type Awakened I had seen in the shelter could only work with similar materials—metal with metal, leather with leather.
I had never once seen someone capable of handling inorganic and organic materials simultaneously.
But my ability was different.
Workshop Owner.
This ability clearly possessed overwhelming potential.
“…But I don’t need to imbue this wrench right now.”
After checking the predicted results, I faced reality.
What mattered most right now?
Survival.
Outside the shelter, night made everything even more dangerous.
First I needed a safe hiding place.
But with what? And how?
To build something like a shelter would normally require advanced tools or heavy machinery.
Right now, all I had was this single wrench.
Shelter…
The word naturally drew memories from the past.
Ten years ago, when Mapo Shelter was first being built.
Even though the world had been in chaos right after the collapse, those days had felt far more human.
Everyone worked together hauling materials from ruined buildings.
There was no distinction between Awakened and non-Awakened.
Everyone sweated together and shared the rations distributed in the dust.
Back then…
There had still been hope.
As an orphan who had lost my parents, hope was the only reason I survived.
It was completely different from now, when people who had devoted ten years to the shelter were expelled like animals.
Bitterness rose within me.
But there was no time for sentiment.
“For now, I need to grow this ability.”
Fortunately, I had awakened on a waste hill.
The surroundings were full of materials.
I began creating simple objects using the materials I had obtained through disassembly in order to raise the level of [Work Protocol].
Just like [Disassembly], [Manufacture] and [Modification] also required experience to grow.
I couldn’t create complex items that required blueprints.
But simple things like nails or plastic cups could be made purely through imagination.
However, even after repeating the process dozens of times, I felt no change in the ability.
Disassembly, on the other hand, was different.
Every time I used it, I could clearly feel the ability becoming more proficient.
“…I think I understand how experience works.”
When I recalled the production-type Awakened in the shelter, the method became obvious.
Not simple repetition.
But creating something new.
Or producing a complex structure for the first time.
That must be what granted experience.
This place was filled with various waste materials.
So it made sense that [Disassembly] experience was increasing rapidly.
The conclusion was clear.
If I wanted to grow [Manufacture], I needed blueprints.