Chapter 10. How to Make an Awakened.
Chapter 10. How to Make an Awakened.
The energy that flowed into me when the Awakening System updated.
Honestly, back on Titan, there was no such thing as a convenient system.
Kill a zombie and get points you can use to easily enhance your physical abilities?
From where I stood, after all the time I'd spent on Titan, it was absurd.
On Titan, the only path was to grind away the hours and train with your own two hands.
But now that I was on Earth, any time I used swordsmanship or magic, it naturally registered as a Skill. That was one thing.
Now, what if I formed a Mana Circle or a Dantian in someone and passed on a technique? Wouldn't that let me forcibly create an Awakened?
Of course, I'd lived an absurdly long life and spent those centuries fighting tooth and nail, so I happened to be proficient in both.
Right now, even if these people formed a Mana Circle and a Dantian, they wouldn't become overwhelmingly powerful overnight. But with the Awakening System's help, that gap could be compensated for to some degree.
I didn't know how many Awakened there were worldwide, but to survive in this world, you ultimately had to grow stronger yourself.
Chaeyeon, for instance, was attacking with nothing but raw Mana and no Circle at all. It was no wonder her efficiency was terrible.
And I intended to give these people the strength to carry their own weight. I hadn't watched them for long, but at the very least, they weren't the kind of people who'd harm others.
So I explained everything up front, separated a fingernail-sized piece of my Origin Essence, extracted only my memories, and implanted them into the group.
One by one, the ones who'd received the memories began to drift off to sleep.
* * * * * * * *
Even with all the filtering I did, it's still nine hundred years of memory. They'll be out for at least a day.
What happens if you suddenly cram nine hundred years of memories into an ordinary person?
Their brain won't hold up. It'll melt. Ending up a simpleton would be getting off easy.
I'd only implanted a rough outline — this is roughly how I lived. Nothing more.
A day and a half later, they finally stirred awake one after another and gathered on the first floor.
"Ha ha, you all look like you've got a lot on your minds."
Every one of them wore faces filled with emotions they couldn't put into words, and none of them spoke.
"You... I've often said you don't seem quite human, but through all that time, you held onto your humanity better than anyone..."
"Sihu... it must've been so hard. And thank you."
"If I'd been in your shoes, hyeong, I might've killed myself..."
"The past isn't what matters. The present is. Which is why I intend to teach you all."
"But with your level of skill, couldn't you just resolve this whole crisis—"
The old man caught himself mid-sentence and stopped. He must have remembered what he'd seen — what happens when you become a hero, the backlash that overwhelming force invites.
In a crisis beyond human control, strength is a massive advantage. But once the crisis ends, there's always that nameless fear lingering — that the strength might turn on us.
As the saying goes, the hunting dog who's finished the hunt gets boiled in the pot. And what exactly do you do with a hunting dog that won't even fit in the pot?
"Anyway, now that we're all here, let me ask you something. Have any of you ever stopped to wonder what a Class really is?"
They'd been too busy surviving. They'd never once had the luxury to question something like that.
"Hm, was that a bit too abstract? Then let me put it this way. What do you think the difference is between a Warrior, a Swordsman, and an Assassin?"
Little by little, their faces showed they were beginning to grasp what I was getting at.
"If a Swordsman assassinates someone, what does that make him? If a Warrior assassinates someone, what does that make him? And if a Swordsman picks up a shield, does that make him a Warrior? Where I lived, we only divided people into martial artists and mages. True, there were special cases — people who commanded magical beasts, or who used spirits — but that was it."
"What you're trying to say is, it all depends on the situation — don't get too hung up on just one thing. Am I right?"
The years had given him wisdom, it seemed. He'd nailed exactly what I was trying to say.
"Exactly. Fortunately, our Awakened are Chaeyeon and Mr. Chu. Chaeyeon should keep learning magic, and Mr. Chu and the rest of you can learn whatever you'd like."
I laid out the pros and cons of the various options — martial arts, spears, bows, shields, outside of swords and magic — and let them each decide.
And so,
Chaeyeon stuck with magic,
Mr. Chu chose shield techniques,
Jia chose the bow,
Min-cheol and Seok-hyeon chose the sword.
I positioned them at the center, opened my subspace, and arranged a combination of the Eastern Continent dragon's Reverse Scale and a Western Continent dragon's bone around them.
I gave Chaeyeon advice on her Mana Circle, passed on suitable martial arts to the others, firmly drilled the pitfalls to watch out for, and activated the Formation.
Using precious Reverse Scales and dragon bones like this... If anyone from Titan knew, they'd keel over.
People of a certain age, their bodies caked with Turbid Energy, who knew nothing of martial arts or magic — and in no time at all, they'd become mages and martial artists? With my help and these treasures, it was possible.
* * * * * * * *
About a day later, energy had settled stably in their hearts and Dantians.
A staggering stench and filth poured from their bodies.
It couldn't be helped. When Turbid Energy accumulated over long years is expelled from the body, this sort of thing is inevitable. On top of that, they'd poured sweat like rain from all the concentration.
They'll be exhausted. They've all fallen asleep. Should come to in a few hours. I'd better have food ready for when they wake up.
"Kyaaah!!!"
"Ugh... this is unbearable..."
"Hyeong, what is this... urp..."
I smirked as I watched them. It was a natural phenomenon, but it must've been mortifying for them.
"Hey! Cheon Sihu, you didn't tell us about this!!!"
"Well... the Turbid Energy built up in your bodies over a long time is being expelled. It's only natural. Anyway, everyone go wash up."
They scattered, washed themselves off, and changed into clean clothes.
"Ugh... I feel like I still smell."
"I've never smelled anything like that in my life."
"Still, how do your bodies feel? Lighter? Heads clearer?"
As if they'd just remembered, they started stretching and testing their bodies, nodding.
"Oppa, the Awakening System says it's been updated. Did you see?"
"Hyeong, same here."
My theory had been right, then. Even without having the System to begin with, if you can handle Mana and Internal Energy, you become an Awakened.
"Anyway, I've got a meal ready for everyone. Let's eat first. I'll go over the real details after."
We finished eating, each tidied up, and gathered again.
"First, I'm going to give each of you a weapon suited to you."
To Chaeyeon, the Eternal Staff made from the horn of a Divine Beast. To Mr. Chu, the Radiant Shield once wielded by the Dwarf High Chieftain. To Jia, the Sky Bow carved from a branch of the World Tree Yggdrasil. And to Min-cheol and Seok-hyeon, Damro and Geogwol — two of the Ten Great Swords of the Eastern Continent.
I gave a brief explanation of each as I handed them over.
"Is it really okay... to just hand out weapons like these?"
"It's fine. This one sword I carry is enough for me."
I properly distributed martial arts manuals and magic books suited to each of them and began teaching.
Mr. Chu was the exception — he wanted to improve his blacksmithing skills more than martial arts. So I gave him the tools the dwarves had used and some refined minerals.
"For now, study on your own. If you hit a wall, come ask me."
I also warned them: if you train with an impatient heart, at worst, your life could be in danger.
We spent our days training, eating, and going through the same routine as always.
I'd checked when they first awakened, but I went over their statuses again to confirm the details.
For Chaeyeon, the Apprentice Wizard Trait had vanished, replaced by a Circle notation. Mr. Chu had gained the Sun Knight Division Shield Technique Trait.
Min-cheol had gained Blue Cloud Sword Technique, Seok-hyeon had gained Yang Sword Technique, and Jia had gained Luneskar Archery.
I was genuinely strict when teaching them. You couldn't judge a person by Class alone. On Titan, there were plenty of bastards who wielded all sorts of bizarre techniques.
Black magic, summoned beasts, spirits — there were people who used every kind of outlandish sorcery and mystery.
Give it time. The ones who narrow their vision to their Class alone will get weeded out, and the weird ones will start appearing.
Of course, there's nothing wrong with doggedly devoting yourself to one thing. Usually, the strong ones who make a name for themselves are the ones who reached the pinnacle of one thing. But letting your vision get boxed in by it — that's a different problem.
It's about time I taught them real combat. And... they might end up experiencing killing.
I know how hard a first kill is. Because I went through it too. Everyone already knows that in a world like this, if you don't kill, you die. But when you actually have to do it yourself?
"We'll be heading outside soon. You all need to experience real combat. And if... you happen to run into looters..."
Their faces showed they understood what I meant. Then, resolve settled into their eyes.
"That doesn't mean we're leaving right this moment. We'll head out once we're reasonably prepared. As I said before, this place was only ever a temporary shelter."
Just shy of three weeks later, we packed up everything and stepped outside.