The Game Master

"Yaaawn~"

Seong-il stretched with a massive yawn, forcing his heavy eyelids open as he dragged himself out of bed. It was already ten in the morning, but since all his classes were packed into the afternoon that day, he rose without giving it much thought.

Hankuk University Psionic Department, first-year. That was the name of the school and department Han Seong-il currently attended. Back during an ordinary day in his second year of high school, he had luckily awakened the psychic ability called Induction, which allowed him to enroll at Hankuk University.

Although it was thanks to that Induction ability that he had managed to enter the nation's only dedicated psionic training school... in truth, Seong-il's psychic power was nothing more than a mediocre support-type ability.

It let him read residual thoughts left behind at scenes or on artifacts, determine what had happened there, what kind of powers were imbued within them, or appraise what abilities a person possessed. It would be no exaggeration to call it completely useless in terms of raw combat power, but it was perfect for analyzing circumstances at incident sites. People with Induction found it relatively easy to land stable jobs as psionic civil servants.

That was why, even though it was only half a power that couldn't fight, Seong-il's parents had been overjoyed that he had awakened an ability that would let him work safely.

Seong-il himself found it regrettable that he hadn't gained a strong combat ability, but he comforted himself with the thought that it was still better than having no ability at all.

"Ugh... I really need to work on that report, but I hate it so much I might actually die..."

Hankuk University's Psionic Ability Training Department. It could be called the most vital department in all of South Korea right now. In an era where humanity's very survival hung in the balance due to the decades-long invasion by alien civilizations, it represented the only viable means of resistance against the alien races.

Besides, it was a department that existed solely at Hankuk University. Without a psychic ability, you couldn't enroll no matter how badly you wanted to. Only those who had already awakened powers, or showed clear signs of imminent awakening, could enter.

The reason for the department's creation went back thirty years. Aliens who called themselves "Transcenders" had suddenly appeared on Earth, and everything changed. They were beings from a civilization far beyond humanity's, and they launched a sudden invasion, slaughtering Earthlings with overwhelming psionic might.

These aliens existed in a state where reality and illusion blurred together. They possessed complete immunity to all of humanity's physical weapons, so Earth's armies were crushed without being able to mount any meaningful resistance.

When the whole world had fallen into despair, a sudden change came to humanity: the so-called Psionic Awakening.

After making contact with the aliens, humanity's long-dormant psionic potential began to bloom for unknown reasons. Using these new powers, humans could at least put up a weak resistance against the invaders.

However, humanity's freshly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠awakened abilities were still primitive at best. They weren't enough to turn the tide of the war. Most people had already given up, mocking their own efforts as a final, futile struggle while they waited for the end.

That was when something strange happened. After humans began awakening their powers, the aliens shifted from aggressive assaults to a more defensive posture. They withdrew into their strongholds, only occasionally creating bizarre spaces known as "dungeons" through unknown means. Aside from the sporadic harassment that came from those dungeons, they remained largely passive.

Thanks to the aliens' incomprehensible behavior, humanity gained precious breathing room. For the sake of survival, people poured every resource into developing psionic abilities, eventually creating powers that could threaten the alien civilization to some degree.

The occasional emergence of exceptionally powerful psychics became pillars that defended entire nations. As a result, outstanding psionic users now enjoyed celebrity-level popularity.

In any case, it was in this world that Seong-il had awakened his Induction ability. Recognized for it, he had been able to enroll in Hankuk University's Psionic Training Department.

Even if I'm still treated like a worthless mutt...

In the real world, Induction was considered a fairly valuable rare ability. But because it was non-combat, he couldn't work in the field. At best, it qualified him for a safe civil service position. That was the extent of its worth.

Because of this, classmates who understood the reality either ignored him, looked at him with pity, or in extreme cases, pretended he didn't even exist. The treatment he received at school had left Seong-il a timid, withdrawn person.

Please, just give me a second awakening or a dual ability! Anything!

They say that if you push an ability to its extreme or encounter a specific trigger, there's a rare phenomenon called "second awakening" where your existing power can mutate or you might even gain a new one. Why don't I have anything like that...?

Well, sometimes it unluckily causes your ability to regress instead, but looking at my current pathetic state, even regression would be welcome if it meant getting something new.

There were also extremely rare cases where someone awakened more than one new ability at once. The problem was that such cases were almost never seen at the university level unless the person was a pro hunter who had already pushed their powers to incredible heights.

Sigh... I just don't want to be looked down on anymore. Iron rice bowl? What a joke...

"Iron rice bowl" was the mocking nickname one of his classmates liked to use behind his back.

On the surface they act like they're jealous, saying it's stable and safe, but really they're just saying that even if I do well with Induction, the best I can hope for is a boring government job. What a bastard...

Remembering the way that classmate had subtly sneered at him, Seong-il felt irritation flare up inside his chest.

"This stress is killing me. Maybe I should just play some games... I guess I'll check out the ending of that erotic game Jun-il swore was a masterpiece."

The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠insane adult game called Pocket Girls. It was a lewd parody of the monster-catching games that had been popular half a century ago, before humanity's fall. A few days earlier, at the strong recommendation of his friend Jun-il—an otaku of old-world anime and games—Seong-il had accepted the files with a mix of disbelief and started playing.

The game he had begun with half-mocking intentions turned out to have a surprisingly solid world-building and a genuinely well-crafted system.

For a game that's basically just porn, it's actually pretty well put together...

The moment he muttered that to himself and launched the game, Seong-il's entire world suddenly flooded with blue light, and a voice thundered inside his head.

The pain was on an entirely different level from what he had felt when he awakened Induction. It felt like his skull was going to split open. Unable to endure it, Seong-il lost consciousness.

"Son! You need to wake up! Son!!"

Someone was vigorously shaking him. At the insistent voice, Seong-il finally opened his eyes.

"Uh... um... huh...? Where am I?"

While he was still blankly muttering to himself, someone slapped his back hard and shouted.

"Are you still not awake? Today's the day we visit Dr. Woo! Hurry up, wash your face and get ready—we need to go to his lab!"

In the sudden, confusing situation, Seong-il turned toward the voice. A middle-aged woman was staring at him.

"Why aren't you getting up? I've laid out breakfast, so wash up quickly, eat, and then head over to see Dr. Woo!"

She yelled at the dazed Seong-il, then immediately turned on her heel, closed the door behind her, and left the room.

What the hell is going on? What is this...?

Still confused, Seong-il lifted both hands and examined himself. He was wearing thin pajamas and half-covered by a blanket. Next to the pillow sat a very familiar smartphone.

"Huh? This... this is my phone, isn't it?"

Seong-il turned on the familiar device and looked at the screen. What appeared before him was this:

Induction...? That's my original ability...? And Game Master? Wait, does this mean... I just awakened a dual ability?!

Seong-il clutched his pounding heart, his mind racing. The excruciating mental pain he had felt right before losing consciousness had clearly been a side effect of an ability awakening.

The stronger the ability, the more violent the signs that accompany it...

Then the Game Master ability I seem to have just awakened must be incredibly powerful.

Once the situation started to make sense, Seong-il calmly began examining his surroundings with a cool head.

It said Game Master, so it must be related to games. And this situation... it looks exactly like the very beginning of Pocket Girls. Dr. Woo was the tutorial guide there. I don't know exactly what's happening, but I should probably head over to see him first.

Seong-il quickly got dressed, exchanged a brief greeting with the woman playing the role of his "mother"—Lisa—and headed toward Dr. Woo's laboratory.

"Seong-il! Are you on your way to see Dr. Woo?"

At the voice calling him from in front of the house, he lifted his head. A girl with a gentle face wearing blue shorts and a white t-shirt stood ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠there.

At this timing... that must be Hana, one of the protagonist's rivals!

Gathering his courage, Seong-il put on a calm expression and spoke to her.

"Ah... hello, Hana. Are you heading to see Dr. Woo too?"

"Of course! Today is our coming-of-age ceremony, isn't it? We have to go!"

Whew... I was right.

Relieved that his guess had been correct, Seong-il made small talk with Hana as they walked together toward Dr. Woo's lab.

Good thing she showed up. I had no idea where the place was.

"Oh! Come in, come in, kids!"

A cheerful-looking man with white hair and a lab coat greeted them with a broad smile.

"Hello, Dr. Woo!"

"That's right, that's right! Congratulations on becoming adults. As of today, both of you now have the qualifications to become proper hunters!"

"Thank you, Dr. Woo!"

"Thank me? Nonsense. If anything, we adults should be the ones thanking you. Our hands are already so full, yet we have to burden children who have only just become adults. It weighs heavily on this old doctor's heart!"

"Not at all!"

Chatting like this, Dr. Woo led the two of them down into the basement. Shockingly, three completely naked men and women wearing nothing but nameplate necklaces stood inside transparent cylinders, staring at them.

"Say hello, kids! These are the children who will become your partners!"

In front of the cylinders stood three figures with name tags attached.

Red, Black, Blue...?

It seemed their names were based on hair color. Red was a glamorous beauty with sharp features and fiery red hair. Black was a handsome boy with a gentle face and black hair. Blue was a slender, somewhat pouty-looking beauty with blue hair.

Whoa... they're all incredibly attractive.

"Now, choose your partner from among the three!" Dr. Woo said, looking at them.

"I-I'll take Red."

"I'll take Black!!"

Seong-il, who had always preferred voluptuous figures, instinctively chose Red. Hana picked the only male, Black.

Dr. Woo smiled warmly at their choices and handed each of them a small ball.

"These are the balls that will let you control your partners! Make sure to keep them with you."

Isn't this a little too blatant with the plagiarism?

Seong-il thought with a wry inner smile as he accepted the ball. When he absentmindedly pressed the button in the center, Red instantly turned into a beam of light and disappeared into the ball in his hand. Seong-il stared at it in fascination for a moment before tucking it away safely.

"Alright then. Now that you've received your partners, let me explain the hidden truths of this world to you both."

Dr. Woo led them to a lecture room and began explaining the shocking state of the world while playing a video.

It's official. This is definitely Pocket Girls.

Since Dr. Woo's explanation matched the game's world-building perfectly, Seong-il became certain that this was a virtual world based on the game.

"...While researching psychic abilities, we accidentally created a psychic virus that went out of control and spread ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rapidly across the globe. As a side effect, most of humanity gained psychic powers, but... their intelligence regressed. The original world essentially collapsed."

"I see..."

"The few scientists, capitalists, and powerful figures who managed to control, seal, or suppress the abilities banded together to build shelters. They're barely keeping the flame of human civilization alive."

"So that's the situation..."

"The problem is that our population is already too small, and the limited social circle has led to widespread inbreeding. Genetic diseases are rampant."

"What...!"

"That's why we've been working hard to bring in the regressed humans from outside, socialize them, suppress their out-of-control psychic powers, and turn them back into ordinary people."

"Ah..."

"Over the past hundred years, we've made great efforts to continuously build new shelters starting from Shelter X-0."

"Mm..."

"Then, just thirty years ago, we finally managed to suppress the dangerous elements outside and began building shelters in earnest! Thanks to that, we've been able to gather resources and slowly restore bits of our former civilization!"

"I see..."

"However, the older intellectuals who carry humanity's accumulated knowledge are our final bastion for the future... which is why we have no choice but to train children like you from a young age and send them outside. I'm truly sorry."

"It's alright, Doctor! We're all grown up now. We have to do our part as members of society~!"

At Hana's bright reply, Dr. Woo smiled warmly and continued in a pleased voice.

"Oho! Hearing you say that makes me feel much better! Your mission is to capture the survivors scattered outside and bring them back to the shelter."

"Ah!"

"The so-called 'wild psychics' you bring in will have their out-of-control powers treated by the adults here. We'll restore their intelligence, educate them, and ultimately revive human civilization!"

"Wow, that's amazing!"

"However, the humans outside may have damaged intelligence, but they possess powerful psychic abilities. That's why we pair non-awakened psychics like you with 'psychics' who have already completed obedience and socialization training to serve as your bodyguards!"

"Ooh...!"

"Remember this well, kids! Go meet the instructors at the Psionic Gym, train with your partners, and make sure you fully understand their abilities! That is the only way you'll stay safe! The deeper your bond and the better you understand your partner's powers, the more easily you'll be able to subdue wild psychics outside! They may be strong, but they don't know how to use their abilities at a high level!"

"Yes, Dr. Woo!"

After they answered, Dr. Woo smiled and handed them two small smartphones.

"Here! Make sure you both receive this app!"

He calls it an app, but this is clearly just a Pokédex. At least they had the conscience not to copy the name exactly.

"Kids! This Pokédex app is an excellent tool that links with your balls. When you capture wild psychics, it will tell you what their abilities are and what condition their bodies are in! You must get into the habit of checking their status every time you capture one!"

With that, he gave them each a large bundle of capture balls as a gift. The usage was simple: beat the psychic into submission, then throw the ball to capture them. Since the system was so famous and Seong-il had already played the original game, he understood the method immediately.