Chapter 89

“I’m... an Awakener?”

For an ordinary person, becoming an Awakener was often compared to winning the lottery. By all accounts, this should have been wonderful news—something worth celebrating.

“No. That can’t be.”

Gu Seohyeong shook her head, plainly unable to make sense of it.

“When someone awakens, they’re supposed to come down with a high fever and suffer all kinds of symptoms, aren’t they? There’s no way you could awaken without realizing it.”

“Who told you that?”

“Well... everyone on the internet.”

As Gu Seohyeong spoke, the man beyond her blurred field of vision shifted in his seat and propped his chin on one hand.

“You’ve been looking in all the wrong places.”

What?

She was briefly startled by the smoothness of his voice. Then someone held a phone screen up in front of her.

“Can you read this?”

[“Could I Be One Too?” Seven Myths and Truths About Asymptomatic Awakening]

Asymptomatic awakening.

She had heard that there were, indeed, people who awakened so quietly that the phenomenon had earned its own name.

‘Why would I be an asymptomatic case?’

A probability of one in a hundred million was not something she could readily accept. Gu Seohyeong hurriedly offered another possibility.

“Wouldn’t it make more sense if I awakened when I fell from the rooftop earlier?”

Awakenings often occurred under extreme circumstances, particularly in moments of mortal danger. Under normal reasoning, an awakening triggered by a suicide attempt seemed far more plausible than an extraordinarily rare asymptomatic one.

“No.”

But the man sitting across from her was anything but ordinary.

“You’re far too stable for someone who awakened only moments ago. I’m talking about your mana.”

Kiryeo was certain.

Judging from her condition, at least several months had passed since her awakening.

“Several months? That’s impossible! How could I go all that time without feeling anything?”

“What does feeling have to do with it? There’s clearly mana inside your body.”

Bubbling sounds rose from his drink.

Kiryeo took a sip through the straw, then idly blew air back into the cup, his expression thoughtful.

“Maybe it has something to do with the nature of your innate skill.”

The answer was not difficult to find.

Even trapped in the toothless body of an F-Class hunter, he was still an archmage reincarnated into this world.

“The nature of my skill?”

“Yes. Images that anyone can easily visualize—flames, for example—are usually easier to manifest as skills. But complicated concepts, such as the circuitry inside a machine...”

“C-Could you explain that a little more simply?”

“In any case, it’s because of your awakening attribute. Your skill isn’t as crude and straightforward as someone like Jung Haseong’s.”

How could he describe the nation’s number-one hunter as crude and straightforward?

Gu Seohyeong was briefly appalled, but she had a more urgent question.

“How do you know what my awakening attribute is?”

The man answered without hesitation.

“I can tell just by looking at you.”

“What?”

“Well... it’s something like physiognomy. You know. Statistics and intuition.”

Physiognomy.

A strange sense of déjà vu washed over Gu Seohyeong at the word. What followed did little to ease her suspicions.

“Anyway, stay still for a moment.”

A short while later, she felt his piercing gaze from beyond the haze obscuring her vision.

“Hmm.”

Kiryeo studied the woman across from him with such intensity that his expression suddenly became rather serious.

“Could it be related to Enchantment or Invocation?”

“What?”

“I’m talking about your awakening attribute.”

At last, he gave his conclusion.

Material manipulation or enchantment. He suspected she possessed a skill belonging to one of those fields.

‘Hoho.’

It was, admittedly, only a half-educated guess based on intuition. But the instincts of an archmage were not to be underestimated.

His deductions were remarkably accurate. After all, he had once uncovered the hidden awakening attribute of a B-Class hunter.

‘I’m getting rather good at seeing through these machines.’

Kyaa.

Just as he was silently admiring his own abilities, Gu Seohyeong spoke in a cautious voice.

“So... what you’re saying is that, based on the magical energy I possess, you can determine what category my awakening belongs to?”

Kiryeo nodded brightly.

“Yes!”

Let us examine the situation.

Physiognomy. Energy. An excessive display of kindness.

Gu Seohyeong closed her eyes and carefully reconsidered everything the man had said and done.

But in all honesty, she could reach only one conclusion.

‘Ah... This man is trouble.’

That was it.

He had been suspicious from the moment he claimed he could identify an Awakener merely by looking at their face. And now he was pretending to know the nature of her ability without ever seeing her use a skill.

That was precisely the sort of thing a swindler would say.

‘He’s definitely a con artist.’

Her expression hardened at once.

Gu Seohyeong’s face turned cold as ice. She had mistaken Kiryeo for a member of some religious cult.

“To think I initially assumed you were a secret fan, being so kind to me.”

“What?”

“Be honest. Are you a follower of the Rakshasa Temple or something?”

Naturally, Kiryeo was deeply shocked by the accusation.

“What does the Rakshasa Temple have to do with any of this?”

Do not lump me in with that strange organization!

Kiryeo vehemently denied it, waving both hands. But his protest alone was not enough to dispel her suspicions.

So he decided to prove his claim.

“Look, if you have enough time to stand here accusing me of nonsense, go to an Awakening Examination Center.”

Once it was officially confirmed that she had awakened, everything he had told her would naturally gain credibility.

“Am I really an Awakener?”

“I’m certain.”

“But I haven’t felt any power at all.”

“Perhaps because you aren’t a combat-type.”

“And I haven’t developed any skills.”

“We can worry about that later.”

Gu Seohyeong continued questioning him, still only half convinced, and each time the young man across from her answered without hesitation.

“Besides, it’s better than dying, isn’t it?”

For some reason, his words lingered in her ears.

It was strange.

He was unmistakably young, yet his voice did not carry the roughness one would expect from a smoker.

***

The next day.

Chrrrrrrrrrrrr.

I repeated my usual routine.

I withdrew cash from the bank near my house, bought a triangle kimbap I had never tried before, and eventually arrived at the same familiar place.

‘Is it going to rain?’

The park felt markedly different from the day before.

Perhaps because dark clouds threatened rain at any moment, there were almost no pedestrians. More importantly, the woman was nowhere to be seen on the rooftop.

‘She isn’t there.’

I wondered what that Earthling was doing now.

Perhaps she was undergoing basic training at the Hunter Association. But honestly, I had no way to confirm it. We had parted without exchanging contact information, or even properly introducing ourselves.

‘There should be no reason for us to meet again.’

Dwelling on a matter that had already been resolved would only waste energy.

I decided to put the whole incident out of my mind.

“Aaaahhh!”

But wait.

I had not asked the universe to hand me another problem immediately.

‘What?’

A scream rang out from somewhere nearby.

Following the instincts of any living creature startled by danger, I turned toward the sound.

“I-I found him! Oh God, thank you!”

Strangely enough, the person running toward me looked familiar.

‘A white wool coat.’

To my surprise, the woman from the rooftop had appeared again.

This time, however, she was accompanied by three suspicious-looking figures.

‘No, seriously. What is going on?’

I blinked several times, unable to understand the situation, but the woman had already rushed up to me.

“I-I knew you would be here! I used to watch you come to this park from the rooftop all the time!”

“Is that so?”

“I’m so relieved! Ah, I was terrified I wouldn’t be able to find you again...”

Had she been deliberately searching for me?

And why had her manner of speaking suddenly become so polite?

“Hmm.”

I had many questions, but I decided to begin with the most obvious one.

“Who are the people behind you?”

The woman hurriedly explained.

“They’re from the... Association!”

“What?”

Apparently, the results of her awakening examination had been far beyond anyone’s expectations.

“In the first place, I was assessed as D-Class. But listen—the rank isn’t the important part!”

“Then what is?”

“My skill! The moment I entered the examination machine and came back out, I somehow understood my skill immediately. And the attribute that appeared was...”

Whoo.

The Earthling took a deep breath, then spoke in a trembling voice.

“Enchanter.”

What was that?

“I’m an enchanter. An enchanter! An Awakener who can add new effects to items!”

Ah.

An enchanter.

“Why are you acting as though you don’t know? Yesterday, you were the one who said I might awaken with that kind of skill!”

No matter how thoroughly I interpreted this world through Kim Kiryeo’s brain, subtle differences in vocabulary could not always be overcome.

I awkwardly steered the conversation elsewhere.

“For now, continue your explanation.”

“What?”

“I understand that you’re an enchanter. But why would that cause the Association to assign people to you?”

Gu Seohyeong raised her voice in disbelief.

“Why, of course—”

But the actual explanation came from one of the Awakeners in suits standing behind her.

“We are here to ensure Ms. Gu Seohyeong’s safety.”

“Her safety?”

“Enchanters are an exceptionally rare class. There are only ten known in the entire world.”

“What?”

“Furthermore, Ms. Gu is the first enchanter ever discovered in Asia. The Association therefore considers her safety a matter of great importance.”

Only then did I begin to understand the magnitude of the situation.

It seemed the woman named Gu Seohyeong had truly won the awakening lottery.

“Ah. Congratulations...”

“It’s all thanks to you.”

Just as I opened my mouth to congratulate her, a faint voice came from across from me.

“If you hadn’t been there yesterday, I would have died.”

Her expression held a complicated mixture of joy and sorrow.

“I learned afterward that latent Awakeners like me remain physically vulnerable until they become aware of their mana.”

“...”

“Thank you. Truly. I don’t even know what else I can say.”

Gu Seohyeong bowed repeatedly as she expressed her gratitude.

It would have been far more convenient if she had shown me this attitude from the beginning.

Still, the scene was rather heartwarming.

“Now, then. Let’s get to the important matter.”

However...

Roughly thirty seconds later, Gu Seohyeong wiped away her tears and suddenly raised her voice, as though she had been waiting all this time to say it.

“Please give me your phone number!”

I froze at the unexpected request, but she continued before I could respond.

“W-Why do you need my number?”

“I want to repay you!”

“What?”

“Judging by the abilities you used to save me, you’re obviously an Awakener too, aren’t you?”

“Ah. Yes.”

“And I’ve been told that enchantments are incredibly useful to other Awakeners.”

She could no longer conceal her excitement. Even her face had turned red.

“You saved my life. How could I possibly let you walk away without doing something in return?”

“Uh...”

“Please give me your contact information. I’ll enchant every item you own. Every single one!”

Item enhancement?

Oho.

That sounded rather appealing.

“And how much would it cost?”

“Are you out of your mind? How can you ask about money in a situation like this? Naturally, I’ll do it for free! You’re my VIP customer for life!”

Free.

Then there was no reason to refuse.

“All right. Give me your phone. I’ll enter the number myself.”

The instant I heard the word free, I reached out at lightning speed.

I was materialistic to the very core.

“My phone? Just a moment... Ah!”

But then—

As Gu Seohyeong searched through the pocket of her coat, several objects slipped out and fell to the ground, her phone among them.

Lipstick. A receipt. A mobile phone.

There was nothing unusual about the objects themselves.

“Huh? W-Where did my lipstick go?”

Her behavior, however, was strange.

The lipstick was lying directly in front of her, yet she could not see it and began searching in a panic.

“Here.”

“Th-Thank you!”

Ssssk.

I picked up her lipstick and asked a simple question.

“If your eyesight is that poor, shouldn’t you get glasses as soon as possible?”

The woman smiled awkwardly.

“Oh, actually, I already stopped by an optician...”

“You did?”

“I still can’t properly control my strength because of the awakening adaptation process. I accidentally broke about one hundred thousand won’s worth of glasses.”

“Hehe.”

As her embarrassed laughter drifted through the air, the blood drained from my face.

I began to tremble.