No Longer Average

Average looks, average height, average education.

And everything else was just average too!

The epitome of an average Korean man.

Choi Yuseong, 28 years old.

He didn't have any grand dreams for life.

He vaguely remembered dreaming of becoming a space scientist back in the day, but... eh?

Now that he was a full-fledged adult battered by society, he had zero interest in adventures or anything like that.

An ordinary life was the best.

Just an average life.

Or maybe even a little below average.

But then.

He'd awakened out of nowhere.

"I've awakened?"

He stopped clicking his mouse during his job hunt and stared at the message floating in the air.

Job hunt.

He was basically a half-unemployed bum right now.

A convenience store part-timer.

He hadn't always been like this, but that's how it ended up.

Towers and Gates had appeared worldwide, and the mana stones they produced as byproducts had revolutionized entire industries on a massive scale.

Countless jobs vanished, and Choi Yuseong's was one of them.

"Me, awakening?"

The awakening rate was ridiculously low.

Probably something in the decimal places if you crunched the numbers.

His heart pounded with excitement, but worry crept in too.

Awakening was like winning the lottery, but who knew what prize tier it'd be?

Ranks from S down to F.

"I heard E- and F-ranks can barely even enter towers—basically no different from regular people."

What if it was E-rank?

Or F-rank?

Still a win, sure, but like a 500-won scratch-off.

Who'd flaunt that?

'If you don't scratch the ticket, at least you can dream it's first prize.'

A low rank meant no hope left for life.

"Phew."

He took a deep breath. Got cleaned up, sat back in his chair with a reverent mindset.

Cupped his palm over his eyes.

"Status Window."

Nothing visible.

Blocked by his hand.

"Whoa, I'm shaking."

Thump-thump, thump-thump.

Time to check.

Slowly sliding his hand away.

Bits of the Status Window peeked out.

Come on, reveal it.

First prize? Please be first prize?

'Please...!'

Thump-thump-thump—

He froze.

"Ugh."

Hand stopped dead.

No need to see more.

Did you have to scratch a lottery ticket all the way to know if you won?

"E-rank."

At least D-rank let you climb towers and make a decent office worker's salary.

All motivation drained away.

As he lowered his hand and turned back to his monitor for the job hunt—

"Huh?"

What? Not an E-rank job?

EX-rank? What kind of rank is that?

He tapped it with his finger.

"Holy crap."

He yanked his hand back in shock.

Above S-rank? And unique? That meant he was the only one in the entire world right now?

S-rank alone was life-changing.

Korea officially had three.

They got national and corporate backing—basically national celebrities.

'I might think twice about stepping into the spotlight like them.'

But quietly climbing the tower would still net more money than most could dream of in a lifetime.

And this was an even rarer EX-rank above S.

"Life's set."

A shiver of thrill ran through him.

Euphoria gripped his whole body.

He deep-breathed to calm his wildly thumping heart.

"Job description. Gotta check that."

The more he read, the more mind-blown he got.

"Supernova Explosion...? Black Hole...?"

He'd seen documentaries. Even a fingernail-sized version of those would wipe Earth off the map.

Skills that sounded terrifying just from the names.

Ah, good. Safe then.

Seemed like similar appearances but fundamentally different mechanics.

No worries about blowing up Earth.

"Gotta check the rest. Status Window."

Awakener levels rose automatically while climbing the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Tower.

Clear floor 1, hit Lv. 1.

Clear floor 2, Lv. 2.

'All possessed skills level up accordingly too.'

But this skill was already max level?

Meant it was insanely powerful.

No extra growth needed.

'Innate max skill. You have to seize any chance to get one.'

Felt like double lottery jackpot.

What could it be?

Heart racing, he checked the description.

"Ooh."

Lots of functions.

Start with 1.

So, to sum up.

'The universe has tons of life-bearing planets besides Earth, and plenty got wrecked by Towers.'

Not really surprising.

Towers, Gates, monsters already defied common sense, right?

No shock if distant space had other races.

"Ally, so it won't harm me or anything?"

So it said.

Seeing is believing.

"Ally Recruitment."

Thirty-two million... how many!?

Phew, good.

Worried it'd list them all.

Seemed like it filtered out allies too alien for Earth standards.

Temperament, appearance, whatever.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Fancy descriptors.

Could guess the allies from them.

With his subculture knowledge from games, comics, movies...

'1's a vampire, 2's a dwarf, 3's... no clue.'

Could be wrong, though. Earthling guesswork.

Judge by keywords.

1. Offensive Mage.

2. Crafting Supporter.

3. Healing Supporter.

Obvious choice.

To climb the Tower?

Enter first.

Fight monsters inside.

'But right now, my only skill is Planet Exploration.'

Literal normie otherwise.

Crafter or healer won't kill monsters.

Need DPS.

"Select Planet 1."

Poof!

Black smoke billowed up.

An antique chair appeared, and on it sat a girl in a black dress.

Jet-black long hair.

Ruby-red eyes.

Cold beauty vibe.

Beauty so intense it felt burdensome sharing the space.

But tension hit before admiration.

Instinct screamed not human the moment he saw her.

She bowed her head politely.

"Hello?"

"Uh, h-hi. Hello."

He bowed back awkwardly.

She beamed.

A bright, innocent smile clashing with her icy looks.

Phew, tension easing a bit.

She looked around.

"Hehe, so this is Earth. Nice to meet you, Master!"

Super innocent speech.

"Uh, do you know what Earth is?"

"Of course! Duh!"

Long story short:

She was a noble from Nosferatu, a planet destroyed by Tower rampage.

Last memory: dying in battle against monsters. Revived from grudge state, injected with all Earth knowledge for activities here.

'That's why she's not panicking at all?'

He's the one panicking now.

Roles reversed.

"That's the computer, that's the phone! Oh, and that's a drying rack! So cool!"

Not a drying rack.

It's a pull-up bar.

Hadn't used it once since buying.

He casually got up, shoved all laundry into the closet.

"Anyway, thanks for summoning me, Master! I'm Carmina!"

"Master?"

"Vampires call respected folks 'Master.' Highest praise!"

Vampire.

Prediction correct.

"But I'm not that respectable."

"EX-rank Awakening is amazing! Not just anyone can do it!"

"Eh, I just got lucky."

"No way! There's always a reason. System doesn't do 'just because'!"

Mid-chat, he noticed her eyes drifting to the pizza on his desk.

Drool at the corner of her mouth?

"Want some?"

"Ack! Yes please!"

Nom nom nom.

Frozen pizza, but she devoured it like gourmet.

With her looks, it's a CF ad.

Wait, though.

"You okay?"

"Nom nom, with what?"

"That's got garlic sauce. Garlic ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in it."

"I love garlic."

"...?"

Don't vampires hate garlic?

Maybe sauce is fine?

Gurgle.

Oh right, he hadn't eaten either.

Was about to when he awakened.

Late-night snack together.

"...? Why skip the crust?"

"This bread part's tasteless."

"Dip it in sauce."

"...! How can it be this good?!"

While polishing off the pizza, he learned about her.

Allies differ from summons: permanently in real space.

But not treated as full lifeforms, so no need for some maintenance.

"Maintenance like eating or sleeping?"

"Nom nom. Yup!"

"But you're eating now."

"Hehe, don't have to, but can. Pizza! No such taste on Nosferatu. So good!"

Nom nom nom.

Famous foodie back home.

Was that his bank account crying from food bills? Nah, imagination.

Anyway. Even if no eating needed, vampire...

Gulp.

"Need blood periodically?"

"Eww."

Carmina stopped eating, face twisted in disgust.

Pizza slice dropped.

"Not that?"

"Blood makes me queasy."

"...?"

Vampire ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠not drinking blood...?

Then not a vampire...?

His inner discomfort machine stirred.

Average Korean incarnate Choi Yuseong had one non-average trait: pathological faith in archetypes.

Santa? Red suit.

Pirate flag? Skull.

British food? Tasteless.

Some baseball team? Never wins.

Garlic aside.

Vampire skips blood?

Different planet or not...?

His impulse button twitched.

"No, those fangs peeking when you talk."

"Eek, my complex."

"Gimme your arm, bite."

"Ehhh, nooo."

Carmina fled around the room, arm out, him chasing.

Of course, he never caught her.

"Huff, huff. From Temu?"

"Temu? What's that?"

"Y'know, fake stuff central."

"Fakes?"

Carmina tilted her head, then explained.

"Dunno fakes, but not all vampires love blood. Nosferatu had tech for substitutes galore. Not mandatory!"

"Huff, but the planet desc said 'craving blood'."

"Guess it's outdated."

He checked the time.

11:48 PM.

Tower entry: once daily, resets at midnight.

If climbing, now or never.

"Phew, combat skills?"

Carmina pondered, then confidently:

"I can definitely take three space octopuses!"

Space octopuses.

What the hell?

Anyway, EX-skill Ally.

Floor 1 ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠should be cake.

Floors 1-5 relatively easy.

Bail if risky.

"Tower, enter."

Vision shifted to gray space.

Nickname.

Anonymity device for Tower clear rankings.

Rankings only by appropriate-level Awakeners per floor.

He was Lv. 0.

Floor 1.

Meaning Carmina's record would hit rankings.

'Nickname: Hitchhiker, fits Traveler job. Wonder if it'll rank.'

EX-summoned, but she's support.

Top rankers got gov/corp gear from Lv. 1.

Competition?

'Rushed in, time crunch.'

Ding!

No time to prep properly.

Flap! Flap! Flap!

Bat swarm incoming.

Ah, vampires usually turn into bats, so maybe aversion—

"Kyaa! Grossest thing ever! Die!"

Splat! Splat! Splat! Splatter!

—Nope.

Aversion, but the disgust kind.

This was Korea ranking.

World ranking...

Wait, hold up.