Chapter 1

Translator: True Detective

Chapter 1. Awakening

I sat at the convenience store counter, secretly fiddling with my phone.

If the boss caught me, I’d get an earful of curses.

But there weren't any customers anyway, so whatever.

Ten years ago, when the Tower appeared in the world and the Awakened emerged, a place was created for the purpose of sharing information: [Tower Gallery].

Now, it is a place frequently used by many Hunters, and of course, a great place for ordinary people like me to lurk.

"......1 billion."

A sigh escaped my lips.

Ha... Some people live fiercely just to earn 10,000 won an hour.

Yet someone else earns 1 billion just by 'clicking'?

Give me an ability too!!! Give it to me!!!

Reading down the comments, a prominent name caught my eye.

'RulerOfSwords'

I knew just by looking at the ID.

Kim Yu-seong.

South Korea's No. 1 Awakened.

The owner of a 'Unique' grade class, of which there are said to be only three in the entire world.

Countless countries flooded him with love calls, but it is said he rejected them all.

What was the reason again?

Ah, was it that he couldn't eat a meal without kimchi?

Anyway, thanks to that, his public sentiment within the country was quite good.

"If it's Kim Yu-seong, he'd easily pay billions... I'm envious..."

I was about to read other posts.

The door opened.

A middle-aged man in his 50s wearing a hat and sunglasses walked in.

"Welcome~"

I greeted him with a bright smile out of habit.

I really like this saying.

"Don't order a customer around. I'm going to take my time."

Because usually, the right words are the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ones that deserve a beating.

......My f*cking life.

As soon as I got off work and came home, I turned on the computer.

I went straight into [Tower Gallery].

Unless you are a Hunter, there is no useful information.

But since I'm going to awaken someday, it would be good to know, right?

Ten years have already passed since I started browsing the gallery with that mindset.

Sigh...

I was scrolling down to see if there were any posts worth reading.

I saw a post written by a newbie who had just awakened.

"If he's a Rare Blacksmith, he must earn a lot of money, right...?"

I moved on to the next post.

I scrolled down further.

[Title: Alchemists please, the taste of the potions...][Title: Like if you find the Clicker b*stards disgusting]

Production classes and Combat classes fight all the time.

That’s a fact even the dog next door knows.

But it’s particularly heated today.

I can understand why both sides are fighting.

For the Combat classes, the materials they risked their lives to bring back turn into trash in an instant.

How would that feel?

How else would it feel? It would feel like sh*t.

Then can't you just not entrust materials to Production classes?

You could say that... but that's not possible.

Because.

Are they really going to go on strike at this rate?

Well, it has nothing to do with me.

I think every time about what class would be good if I awakened.

I thought a Production class would be best after all.

You could say, 'You're talking big for someone who hasn't even awakened.'

But fighting is scary...

"Haaam..."

Browsing the gallery, it was already well past my bedtime.

As I lay in bed, my phone notification rang.

—Ding!

"Ha... I really f*cking hate going to work..."

I have to go to work again in the morning.

The feeling of not wanting to sleep was strong too.

But my eyelids grew increasingly heavy.

In my sleep, I heard a notification sound.

Thinking it was just another loan repayment text, I just ignored it and fell asleep.

—Ding~!

—Ding~!

When morning came, I wiped the drool and woke up.

A blue window was floating before my eyes.

Something like a game interface?

I rubbed my eyes and focused.

Did I see it wrong because of eye fatigue?

It wasn't that.

"Ah... It's a dream. In the last dream, I advanced as an 'Epic' Swordsman, but this time what? Legendary Maker?"

A hollow laugh came out.

How desperately did I wish for awakening to see something like this even in my dreams?

Well, since I'm dreaming anyway.

I decided to enjoy it.

"Look at this guy Kim Si-woo, just how much did he want to awaken... This dream is quite fun?"

I scanned through the skill description and it seemed quite plausible.

Recipe for the desired item?

As far as I know, the clicking guys can only make basic items if they don't have recipes.

That's why they go crazy trying to secure high-grade recipes from each other.

For a dream, it's detailed.

Hmm... Desired equipment...

I thoughtlessly spoke of one piece of equipment.

"A sword that unconditionally kills in a single basic attack."

It's a dream anyway, so whatever.

—Ding~!

"Oh, it's this kind of vibe?"

Even the names of the materials are ominous.

Looking at the materials, it seemed I couldn't make it even if it was a dream.

Come to think of it, why is there no 'Craft' button?

I looked all over the screen window.

I tried pressing here and there with my finger.

There was no button to 'click'.

"That's a shame. You left out the most important click button."

Shall I look at the rest of the skills?

"You made this part well too, huh?"

I pressed the [Yes] button.

The air in front of me shimmered, and a door was created in the void.

"Oh..."

It's fascinating.

Maybe because it was a dream, I didn't feel dizzy or anything.

I grabbed the handle and pushed the door open.

—Creak

As I opened the door and went inside, hot air rushed into my mouth.

It felt like I had entered a sauna.

—Ding~!

—Ding~!

The inside of the workshop was a little over 5 pyeong (approx. 16.5 sqm).

It was packed with equipment needed for 'Blacksmithing'.

Furnace, anvil, bellows, quenching tank.

It was a typical smithy.

Heat could still be felt from the furnace as if the fire hadn't gone out yet.

The anvil had vivid marks of countless hammer blows.

"Phew... It's hotter than I thought?"

"Hmm... This is also a setting miss."

Looking at the skills, it looks like an ability given to pound away and make things manually here.

"Sigh... Who barbarically hammers these days. Just 'clicking' is enough."

I quickly scanned the workshop and came out.

I couldn't stay there long because it was hot.

Coming outside, it was much cooler.

"Shall I look at other things too?"

"Immune to status effects?? I know it's hard even to make items that resist them? Even if it's a dream, this is overhyping it too much."

I spent time checking this and that.

Even if it's a dream, this kind of thing is fun.

Pressing here and there with my finger.

Reading the skill descriptions again.

It felt like starting a new game.

"Right... It was good that it appeared like this, even if it's a dream..."

Now it is time to return to real life.

It's time for the alarm to ring.

.

.

.

Time passed, but the alarm didn't ring and the window in front of my eyes didn't disappear.

Rather, it seemed to become clearer.

"Why am I not waking up from this?"