LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 2
Chapter 2: The Mysterious Awakening
“…Yes, yes, I’m sorry. I usually work unless I’m really sick, but I’m just feeling terrible right now… Yes, please handle it that way. No worries, I’ll be back to working hard starting tomorrow. Alright, take care.”
After making the early morning call to the prison where he worked, Si-hyun finally took a breath.
His head was pounding from a hangover, and his stomach churned, still reeling from the unbelievable events of yesterday.
He first grabbed a cold bottle of water from the fridge and gulped it down.
That felt like it was waking him up a bit.
“Awakening…”
What kind of trick of fate was this?
To awaken on the very day his beloved dumped him, no less!
And it was an awakening that made him feel fate was playing more games with him.
Si-hyun plopped down on the couch and opened his status screen.
[Depressed Guard]
Name: Po-ahim
Gender: Male
Occupation: Guard (Main), Executioner (Sub)
Fame: Very Famous
[Title]
1) Iron-Blooded Guard – Po-ahim instills fear in all prisoners across the Reiter continent. Even the toughest criminals can’t breathe properly in his presence.
– All stats increase by 1,000% when dealing with prisoners.
– Prisoners freeze in fear and panic when they see you.
2) Fanatic Executioner – Born to be a guard, Po-ahim is also a skilled executioner. The number of death sentences he’s carried out is innumerable. He takes pleasure in it.
– All stats increase by 500% when dealing with death row inmates.
– Death row inmates freeze in fear and panic when they see you.
[Stats]
Strength 1 (E)
Agility 1 (E)
Wisdom 1 (E)
Stamina 1 (E)
Mental Power 1 (E)
Magic Power 1 (E)
[Resistances]
Physical Resistance 0.05%
Magic Resistance 0.05%
Poison Resistance 0%
Fire Resistance 0%
[Skills]
Passive: ??? (Inactive)
Active: ??? (Inactive), ??? (Inactive)
He had definitely awakened.
Yet—
A guard, huh? Nowadays they’re called Correctional Officers, right…?
That’s exactly what it sounded like.
How should he even think about this?
And the descriptor was “Depressed”.
Right off the bat, it sounded ridiculous.
Depressed…
He wasn’t an expert on awakenings, but he had heard a bit here and there through the media and the internet.
The descriptor was the simplest way to gauge an Awakened Being’s abilities at a glance from the status screen.
For example, an A-Class Awakened Being’s descriptor would be something positive like “Great,” “Excellent,” or “Outstanding.”
And then those descriptors would attach to titles like Outstanding Knight, Excellent Wizard, or Great Priest.
On the flip side, E-Class Awakened Beings got descriptors like “Clumsy,” “Inexperienced,” or “Awkward.”
They would be attached to titles like Clumsy Knight, Inexperienced Wizard, or Awkward Priest.
But absurdly enough, the descriptor he received, “Depressed,” had an entirely different character altogether.
Wasn’t this literally indicating a feeling or emotional state?
How was he supposed to gauge abilities with that?
No one had ever mentioned that such descriptors existed for Awakened Beings.
It was a new job with a new descriptor.
It just kept getting more confusing.
And next was Fame.
“Very Famous?”
Being very famous meant that the owner of this awakening power was quite the celebrity in that world.
Sure, there were those with superficial fame, but reputation usually followed skill in tow.
So there was a possibility he had a higher grade after all.
Now for the Title.
Iron-Blooded Guard and Fanatic Executioner.
The names were chilling and terrifying, yet the actual effects were questionable.
Even though 1,000% and 500% were impressively high figures, upon closer inspection, they were limited to prisoners and death row inmates.
In short, they were utterly useless against the monsters at the Gates.
It was perfectly described as “a pretty shell with nothing inside.”
If he were to show his status screen to others, they would surely shake their heads in disbelief.
Then came the stats.
The worst of the worst.
All the stats were tauntingly marked with the letter E.
The number one arrangement was so embarrassingly low that it almost felt shameful to call himself an Awakened Being.
Si-hyun sighed softly.
“Ha… Lastly, the skills.”
He was sure there was something there, but they were all just ‘???’, and he had no clue what they meant. Moreover, they were marked as inactive, indicating that he couldn’t use them.
And there were only three of them.
A number too low that suited E-Class perfectly.
He had heard that A-Class skills easily exceeded double digits.
After awakening, was this what he got?
E-Class? Really E-Class?
The words “just a guard” that Su-jin had said echoed bitterly in his mind. It felt like her mocking laughter was ringing in his ears.
Was it a no-go to be a guard in either this world or the other?
What’s wrong with being a guard?
Is the fantasy protagonist always a knight or a wizard?
Can’t a guard be the protagonist too?
“Huuh.”
Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Si-hyun sat at the desk where the computer was.
He needed to take another look in detail about Awakened Beings.
If used properly, the internet was like a gold mine of information.
Especially for subjects like Awakened Beings, which were of high interest, there were tons of useful resources.
Si-hyun found a well-organized blog post about Awakened Beings and started reading it from the top.
The introduction explained a horrifying tragedy that occurred across the world ten years ago when Gates to other dimensions suddenly opened due to unknown causes.
Monsters of unknown origin spilled out of the Gates that opened simultaneously.
The monsters slaughtered humans as if they were starving for blood.
The army was hastily mobilized to stop the monsters, but absurdly enough, none of modern weaponry could harm them. Humanity was helpless in the chaos, and millions lost their lives on the very first day.
At that rate, humanity was headed for extinction.
Fortuitously, people began to awaken their powers during this disaster.
Using a system, they were able to wield the unfamiliar powers of swords and magic, referred to as Awakened Beings.
Their newfound powers proved effective against the monsters.
Thanks to the powers of the Awakened Beings, the world narrowly survived the crisis, and they took on the role of a shield guarding humanity from the monsters of the Gates.
Now, Awakened Beings were revered by most people, seen as figures of awe and admiration.
Si-hyun continued to read the section that described the stats of Awakened Beings.
“Hmm… The basic stats of a D-Class Awakened Being are usually 100. C-Class is 300, B-Class is 500, and A-Class is 700? They increase by 200 each time. And anything below 100 is E-Class.”
The basic stats referred to the main attributes.
For knights, it would be strength and agility; for wizards or priests, it would be wisdom.
For example, a knight could have low wisdom and it wouldn’t affect their grade at all.
Of course, there were common main stats. The most important one was Magic Power.
You needed Magic Power to use active skills.
And stronger skills required more Magic Power.
In fact, saying that the amount of Magic Power determined one’s rank wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
Magic Power could only be outwardly measured using a Magic Power Meter made of Magic Stones.
Other stats were unknowable unless the individual revealed them.
And relatively few Awakened Beings wanted to disclose that information. The status screen was far more important than modern personal information; in fact, it could even be a matter of life and death down the line.
However, measuring rank based on Magic Power wasn’t a problem, as having more Magic Power meant higher stats, better titles, and skills.
In other words, it could be considered almost a rule that the amount of Magic Power was proportional to rank.
“But having a Magic Power of 1…”
Right now, Si-hyun’s Magic Power was 1.
If he tried to go to the Hunter Association to obtain a Hunter License like this, he’d automatically be an E-rank.
An E-rank’s fate was to be the bottom of the guild ladder, merely cleaning up after the raid teams.
With a bitter smile, Si-hyun next read the section about Fame.
Fame was as essential as stats or skills, and there were examples of fame from E-Class to B-Class mentioned.
Comparing his fame with those examples, Si-hyun continued reading.
Grade: E-Class
Fame: Failed Student of the Magic Academy – 000 is a failed student at the Leon Magic Academy. He was the laughingstock of the entire student body.
– Casting time for spells increases by 100%.
– The power of magic spells decreases by 70%.
“Wow… This is no joke. I seriously wouldn’t want to live in a world like this. The state should offer mental care for people like him.”
It was said that fame was a name with power but was this the powerful kind? Sure, it was fame, but…
Grade: D-Class
Fame: Anger Management Knight – 000 is known among his peers for managing his anger well. He becomes a berserker against those weaker than him, but turns into an incredible pacifist against anyone slightly stronger.
– All stats increase by 50% when dealing with weaker enemies and he becomes high-spirited.
– All stats decrease by 50% when facing stronger enemies, and he becomes cowardly.
“Come on, this is also… Well… I guess he can handle the minions well.”
Is there anything even halfway decent?
Si-hyun hurriedly checked the C-Class fame.
Grade: C-Class
Fame: Kobold Slayer – 000 is an enraged kobold hunter. After losing his father to a kobold, he vowed to hunt them for life. He has piled up the corpses of kobolds until his death.
– All stats increase by 100% against kobolds, and all skill efficiency increases by 60%.
– Kobolds feel fear and attempt to flee when they see you, entering a panic state.
Finally, a fame descriptor without negativity!
It really felt like you had to be at least C-Class to be a useful Awakened Being.
“But even for a Slayer, 100%?”
It’s not a small increase, though. If a C-Class’s stats are 300, a 100% increase would make it 600, surpassing B-Class against kobolds.
So if an A-Class with 700 had a 100% increase, it would be 1,400?
“Even the same percentage, a higher rank increases stats immensely. Truly a monster, just a monster…”
If C-Class had this much, B-Class or A-Class fame should logically be even higher.
Si-hyun quickly skimmed through the B-Class fame.
Grade: B-Class
Fame: Prodigy of Ellason – 000 was renowned as a prodigy in his hometown of Ellason since childhood. Although he realized he wasn’t a genius upon coming to the capital, everyone acknowledges he is an exceptionally intelligent top-class wizard.
– Fast casting (Medium) possible. Casting time for spells decreases by 30%.
– Magic amplification (Medium) possible. The power of magic spells increases by 35%.
“Huh?”
Oddly enough, the B-Class numbers were lower.
Lost in thought, Si-hyun bobbed his head as if he had realized something.
No constraints.
Instead of high numbers, it was a title that would help in any situation without restrictions.
You wouldn’t just be hunting kobolds forever while attacking Gates; the Prodigy of Ellason was a far more versatile title.
“I see, high numbers arise from constraints. That’s why such extreme limitations…”
Only 1,000% against prisoners.
Only 500% against death row inmates.
Completely useless against the monsters emerging from the Gates.
As soon as he understood that the numbers attached to his fame were 1,000% and 500%, it clicked in his mind.
Finally, after searching for over half an hour online using the keyword ‘Awakened Being Skills Inactive,’ he found nothing.
“Ugh.”
Exhausted, Si-hyun turned off the computer and flopped onto his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Dumped by his girlfriend, becoming an Awakened Being, and then having a set of abilities full of questions.
“Isn’t there a tutorial or something like in online games? That would solve a lot.”
As he muttered that to himself absentmindedly, a new message suddenly appeared before his eyes without any forewarning.
[Po-ahim was deeply shocked after executing the death sentence of his dearest friend and is now in a very depressed state, sequestered in the northernmost part of the continent, a place where even breaths freeze. Furthermore, due to having refrained from food for so long, he has reached the brink of starvation. If he doesn’t consume food soon, he might die.]
[Emergency Quest: Consume food as quickly as possible.]
A new path opened up for Si-hyun.