The First Touch

When the Tower appeared in Korea, only a handful of people awakened. And I was one of them.

When that message appeared before my eyes, I was thrilled. Awakening meant I could climb the Tower and earn decent money.

"Ha..."

I sighed as I stared at the sword lying discarded on the floor. It was a heavy steel blade, yet my pathetic strength gave out after swinging it for only a few minutes.

That's right. I had awakened, but my stats were no different from an ordinary non-awakened adult. A special case, through and through.

Even my trait was Purification: Purifies all status abnormalities on myself and any target I maintain physical contact with.

It might have sounded like an overpowered skill at first glance, but the real bullshit was that the effect vanished the instant contact was broken. Touch someone poisoned and they'd be cured. Let go? The poisoning returned immediately.

Why did I have to get trash stats and a worthless ability like this...?

An ability that only worked while touching. How meaningless. How utterly worthless.

It was nice that I was permanently immune to every status abnormality, but what good was that? I was too weak to do anything useful with it anyway.

Since I couldn't accomplish anything alone, I applied to every guild I could find.

"You're applying to our guild?"

"Yes!"

"It says here you possess a Purification ability. That's quite impressive. With a skill like that, we could hire you immediately. What exactly is the level of your Purification?"

"It temporarily removes any status abnormality."

"Any status abnormality? That's incredible... but what do you mean by temporarily?"

"Well..."

I swallowed a sigh. Lying would only cause bigger problems later, so I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠told the truth.

"The purification only activates while I'm touching the target."

"Oh, that's fine. Contact-based traits are pretty common, aren't they?"

"And... once I let go, the purification ends."

"...?"

The interviewer tilted his head. "By temporarily, you mean the condition returns the moment contact is broken? It doesn't permanently remove it?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"..."

"And your stats are all listed as 1?"

"Yes."

The interviewer smiled politely. "Thank you for your time. We'll send the interview results via text. Next candidate, please come in."

Today, like every other day, I was rejected.

What a shitty world.

I stared blankly at the sky and sighed. Even after awakening, there was nothing I could do. My life hadn't changed at all. Despite being an awakened, I had no path forward.

Guess I'll just work part-time.

My stats were too low to enter the Tower, and no one would take me. So I started working at a convenience store for the time being.

While living that ordinary routine, a single text arrived.

What is this? Awakened Care Special Talent Cultivation?

I thought it was spam at first and searched the number, but it was genuinely from the national agency. And the conditions were tempting. A nationally certified counselor license was one thing, but the promise of direct government job placement was even better. Having spent years as a job seeker, I knew exactly how brutal the employment market was.

But will I even be able to complete it?

My ability was barely worthy of being called a mental-type trait. Purification only activated during contact and immediately deactivated the moment I let go. Still, if the government had reached out, there must be a reason. I called the number immediately and expressed my intention to join.

Exactly twenty-four months after the training began, the instructor looked at me and spoke.

"Mr. Lee Jungwoo, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠congratulations. You have fully completed the Awakened Care Special Talent Cultivation Program."

"Really?"

"Of course."

The instructor smiled as he handed me the documents.

"As of today, you have obtained a nationally certified counselor license. With this qualification, you may open your own counseling office or work at any institution that requires a counselor."

The curriculum hadn't been complicated. It mostly involved studying various mental health issues and conducting actual psychological counseling sessions.

"Additionally, since you finished the program as the top student, you are eligible for placement at a government-linked counseling center, if you wish."

The reason I had ranked first was simple: my Purification trait. The Tower contained high concentrations of mana at all times, and most awakened suffered from mental degradation due to mana poisoning. Their conditions weren't true psychiatric illnesses but rather depression, schizophrenia, and dissociative disorders triggered by that poisoning. In short, most hunters' mental problems were permanent status abnormalities.

But my skill temporarily purified those broken minds. The awakened who received counseling from me gave me high evaluations as a result.

"You could work at the National Awakened Mental Health Center. The pay is excellent."

There was no reason to refuse. They were offering good money and a guaranteed job.

"I'll go there."

One month later, I began my first day at the National Awakened Mental Health Center, commonly called the Center. The building was enormous. It didn't resemble a normal psychiatric clinic at all. It had the security level of a military base. Every time I passed through a checkpoint, my identity was thoroughly verified, and armed guards stood watch.

What exactly is this place?

I had assumed it would be an ordinary counseling office, but that clearly wasn't the case. Fortunately, the government-issued license allowed me to pass without issue.

"Are you the new hire?"

Inside, a woman holding a chart asked the question. She looked utterly exhausted.

"Yes, I am."

"Follow me."

We walked down a long corridor as I looked around. The people here didn't seem like typical patients. One was swinging a blade at incredible speed, another was emitting electricity from his body, and yet another was releasing massive flames from his hands. They were all awakened. The problem was that every one of them had a vacant, broken look in their eyes. Some were openly self-harming.

"There are a lot of patients. Their conditions look severe," I muttered.

The staff member replied in a tired voice. "It's unavoidable when you climb the Tower. Awakened constantly suffer from mental illnesses caused by mental pollution, the complication of mana poisoning. Some people never contract it, but many awakened struggle with these disorders. We provide counseling for them."

"Don't these people need treatment rather than counseling...?"

She shook her head. "Mental pollution caused by mana poisoning is an incurable disease. There's no way to completely cure it with modern medicine or any awakened trait. If someone is constitutionally vulnerable to mana poisoning, they must live with mental problems for the rest of their lives."

"I didn't realize so many ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠awakened suffered from mental pollution. There seem to be plenty of people who raid the Tower constantly and remain fine..."

She added, "Think of it like diabetes. Some people can drink ten cans of cola a day and stay healthy, while others develop it from just one can. Mana poisoning works the same way. Some can enter the Tower every day without issue, while others have their minds polluted after a single visit."

"..."

"In any case, even among the highest rankers, quite a few have broken minds. Treatment is impossible, and they can't stop climbing the Tower, so we help them manage their symptoms through counseling at least. That's the role of the National Awakened Mental Health Center. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand everything."

The staff member turned to me. "Mr. Lee Jungwoo, normally new employees spend their first days doing various training exercises, but..."

She looked at me with a pitying expression before continuing.

"Today, you'll need to provide counseling for one awakened individual right away."

"What? It's my first day and I'm already counseling someone?"

"There won't be much actual counseling required. Just stay beside them and don't run away. This person has already gone through dozens of counseling sessions with zero change. To be honest, we've given up on them here at the Center."

"The Center has given up? Just how bad is their condition...?"

"You'll understand when you see them. Anyway, we'll skip the training for today, so please come this way."

Her complexion grew darker and darker. A sense of unease settled over me. And wasn't the phrasing strange? Don't run away during a counseling session?

What exactly is this patient going to do...?

Still, I couldn't refuse the first task I was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠given on my first day. As we moved, we arrived at a massive iron door. It creaked open, and the staff member looked at me.

"My name is Seo Yeseon. Let's meet again next time."

"Pardon?"

"I hope you stay safe. I'm sorry."

"What do you..."

Before I could finish, the enormous iron door slammed shut.

In the wide, empty space stood a woman staring at me with hollow, vacant eyes.

"This time it's a man."

When I met her gaze, I was stunned. It was Han Yuhee, South Korea's S-class hunter, ranked seventh in combat power.

The lights came on. Her arms were covered in self-harm scars. For some reason, she was holding a knife with a blade sharpened to a deadly gleam. Her eyes told me everything.

"You don't have to say anything. I already know. A brain ruined by mana poisoning can't be cured. The most you can do is offer empty counseling."

"..."

"If I die, it will disrupt Tower conquests. If we fail to clear it within the time limit because of me, countless more people will die. I can't even choose death freely. Every time I enter the Tower, my mind breaks further. I just want to give up on everything and die."

"..."

I couldn't say a word. Her eyes were too empty. They were the eyes of someone who genuinely longed for death.

"I self-harm hundreds of times at home. Since I'm S-class, my recovery is excellent, so I don't die from simple blood loss. But you know what's funny? The scars remain."

She stared at me blankly and continued.

"Sometimes I hear strange voices in my head, and an overwhelming desire to destroy everything and kill rises up. That's probably another mental illness caused by mana poisoning."

A chill ran down my spine. And then I thought:

Fuck... So this is why they assigned psychological counseling for an S-class to a rookie like me. They just dumped the hopeless case on the newbie.

Hiding my trembling heart, I stepped forward and spoke.

"Nice to meet you. I'm counselor Lee Geon-hyeok."

When I extended my hand, she spoke in a dry, emotionless tone.

"I wonder how long I'll see your face. Whenever I lose my mind, I act out, and the counselors get replaced one by one. Even now, I'm hearing strange voices in my head. They say everything around me is an enemy and to kill them all quickly."

"..."

I remained still with my hand extended. I was testing whether my Purification skill would work on an S-class hunter.

"Do we really have to shake hands? You'll be replaced soon anyway."

I simply smiled and kept my hand outstretched without saying a word. Han Yuhee let out a small sigh and slowly took my hand.

And at that moment...