[ You are chosen as a Player. DO YOU WISH TO BECOME A PLAYER?: YES – NO ]
"What? Is this… my awakening? Did others receive a message like this when they awakened?"
The golden text hovered in front of my eyes, glowing ominously. Two options appeared before me—YES or NO.
The choice was obvious. After waiting for so long, I was finally going to awaken.
But something felt… off.
"Player?" The term lingered in my mind. I had never heard of an awakened being referred to as a Player before.
Normally, when someone awakened, a radiant golden light would envelop them. Once the process was complete, they could check their stats simply by saying: ⟪ Open Status. ⟫
But in my case, nothing happened. No golden aura. No familiar surge of power.
This was… different.
Before I could dwell on it further, another system notification flashed.
DING!
[ You have 3 seconds to answer. ]
My eyes widened as I read the message. A countdown had already begun.
3…
2…
1…
Without hesitation, I willed the answer in my mind—YES.
Then—
A system notification flashed again, displaying a new message.
⟪ Congratulations. ⟫
[ You have been chosen as a Player. To check your status, simply say or think "STATUS." This will reveal your basic stats. ]
With a soft puffing sound, the message vanished, and the system interface disappeared.
I stood there, momentarily stunned. Something about this felt different.
From what I knew, awakened people always said "Open Status" to summon their stat screen, which appeared in front of them for anyone nearby to see. If they wanted to reveal more details, they could manually extend their information.
But in my case, I only had to say "Status" to view my basic stats. A small difference… yet it still made me uneasy.
My heart pounded faster, each thump echoing in my ears.
Excitement. Nervousness. Anticipation.
For the first time, I was about to see my stats. More importantly—my skills.
Would I have any?
James and other awakened ones all gained skills upon awakening. It was common knowledge.
For example, James received Swordsmanship and Superhuman Strength—two powerful abilities.
Most people only obtained one skill upon awakening. Out of a thousand, nearly nine hundred would receive just a single ability, while the rare few would awaken with two or more.
Those individuals were immediately recognized as D-rank awakeners, though they still had to complete their education before fully stepping into the battlefield. However, they could enter portals early by acquiring a Raid Card.
Then there was Ava Stanford.
An S-rank hunter.
She possessed five exceptionally rare skills, each one powerful enough to shake entire nations. A nation-level hunter.
And the most shocking part?
She was just two years older than me.
Yet she stood at the pinnacle—while I was only now taking my first step.
But now… it was my turn.
I took a deep breath—then spoke.
"Status."
Then – a window appeared in front of my eyes – revealing my whole status.
⟪ STATUS ⟫
[NAME: REN THRONE] LEVEL:1
[HP: 10/20] [MP: 20/20]
[STRENGTH: 10] [SPEED: 10]
[AGILITY: 10] [INTELLIGENCE: 25]
[ENDURANCE: D]
⟪ SKILLS ⟫
[EXTRACTION] RANK: E.
My eyes widened as I finally saw my stats.
But then—
Something caught my attention. My skill. Extraction.
"Extraction? What does that even mean?" I thought.
Then, I noticed a rank beside it.
[E].
Disappointment washed over me. An E-rank skill.
But then, a strange thought struck me—Awakeners can't see their skill ranks. The Hunter Association determines them after evaluation.
Yet, my status window clearly displayed mine.
Confusion crept in.
Extraction—I had never heard of such a skill before. Maybe it was rare. Maybe it had potential. But seeing it labeled as E-rank only deepened my disappointment.
My gaze drifted downward, landing on my HP. 10/20. The result of my earlier fight. But something else stood out.
Endurance: D.
Unlike my other stats, which were numerical, this one had a letter grade.
"A D-rank in Endurance…" I muttered under my breath. "Not bad. At least I can last longer in a fight."
A small smile crept onto my face as I closed the status window. It didn't matter if my skill was low-ranked. It didn't matter if I wasn't the strongest.
I was an Awakener now.
And that was enough.
But one thing still gnawed at me.
"Why does it say Player instead of Awakener?"
The thought lingered, but I pushed it aside. There were more important things to focus on.
With a light heart, I turned and walked home, a faint smile still on my lips.
After a short walk, I reached my house. My face was still swollen, a lingering reminder of the day's events, but I ignored the pain and stepped inside, shutting the door behind me.
My gaze shifted toward Olivia's room.
With careful steps, I moved toward it and slowly pushed the door open.
The room was dark, faint moonlight seeping through the curtains.
My eyes landed on Olivia. She was fast asleep.
Guilt churned in my chest.
"I'm sorry, Olivia," I whispered. "I couldn't protect you before, but from now on... everything will be different."
My fists clenched.
"No one will bully you again. I promise."
With that silent vow, I gently closed the door behind me and made my way to the kitchen.
As I stepped inside, my gaze fell on the empty bowls and dishes. A faint smile crossed my lips. She ate her food.
Relief settled over me.
I sat down at the table and quickly ate my meal. The exhaustion from the day weighed heavy on my body, but I forced myself to stand and clean the dishes.
Once everything was spotless, I turned off the kitchen lights and stepped out, shutting the door with a soft click.
I moved toward my room and entered.
The bed in front of me looked like heaven right now.
Without a second thought, I shut the door behind me and collapsed onto my bed.
The moment my head hit the pillow, exhaustion took over.
I dozed off.
The next morning, I slowly blinked awake. Sunlight filtered through my curtains, casting a soft glow across the room.
I turned to look at the clock—
11:00 AM.
My eyes widened in shock.
Shit.
I abruptly sat up and scrambled out of bed. I was late for work.
But then—
As I rushed toward the bathroom, something caught my eye.
I stopped.
My gaze locked onto the mirror.
My face.
The bruises were completely gone. The dark circles under my eyes had vanished. My skin looked clear—smooth, almost unnaturally flawless.
My breath hitched as I slowly raised a hand to my face, pressing my fingers against my cheek.
"This… isn't normal."
Then—
"Status." I spoke.
The golden letters flickered to life in front of me, revealing my stats once again.
⟪ STATUS ⟫
[NAME: REN THRONE] LEVEL:1
[HP: 20/20] [MP: 20/20]
[STRENGTH: 10] [SPEED: 10]
[AGILITY: 10] [INTELLIGENCE: 25]
[ENDURANCE: D]
⟪ SKILLS ⟫
[EXTRACTION] RANK: E.
My eyes widened as I scanned my stats.
My HP—20 out of 20.
T-this is…
My thoughts spiraled. This shouldn't be possible.
An awakener who loses HP in battle doesn't recover naturally overnight. They either have to be treated in a hospital or drink a health potion.
But me?
I fully recovered in a single night.
Awakeners can regenerate health without potions or medical treatment too, but it takes at least two to three days to fully recover. Not one night.
This was different.
This was unnatural.
I closed the status window and sat on the edge of the bed, my mind swirling with thoughts.
This is different… completely different. My status, my recovery—everything about this awakening felt off.
Then—
The door creaked open, revealing Olivia.
She stood there in a simple white t-shirt and shorts, looking at me hesitantly. I frowned.
"Why aren't you at school today?" I asked.
She flinched at my question, her fingers gripping the hem of her shirt.
"Uhh… Uhh… I-I…" Her voice trembled. I immediately understood why.
I sighed. "Don't worry about it. Just rest today, okay? You're feeling better, right?"
She nodded with a small smile, but then—
"You look… different today, brother."
"Huh?" I blinked.
She stepped closer, her curious eyes scanning my face. Then, leaning in slightly, she observed me closely.
"Yeah… you definitely look different today. More handsome," she said matter-of-factly.
I chuckled. "Of course I do. Your brother is always handsome."
She rolled her eyes, taking a step back and crossing her arms.
I smiled at her, but then, without hesitation, I said—
"You know… I awakened last night."
Her eyes widened in shock.
"You… awakened?" she repeated, her voice barely above a whisper.
I nodded. "Yeah. Last night."
For a moment, she just stared at me, as if trying to process my words. Then, suddenly—
"Wait—really?!" Her voice shot up with excitement.
I chuckled at her reaction. "Yeah, really."
She gasped, her eyes lighting up. "That means you have powers now, right? What kind of skill did you get? Is it strong? Is it rare? How many skills you got? Tell me, tell me!"
She bombarded me with questions, stepping closer with eager anticipation.
I scratched the back of my head, feeling a little embarrassed. "Well… I did get a skill, but…"
"But…?" She tilted her head, waiting for my answer.
I sighed. "It's called Extraction… and I don't know about its power yet and this is the only skill I got. And it's an E rank skill."
Her excitement dimmed slightly, but she quickly shook her head. "So what? You still awakened! That means you're officially an Awakened now, right?"
Her words caught me off guard. I expected her to react differently—to be disappointed, maybe. Instead, she looked… proud.
A small smile tugged at my lips.
"Yeah. I guess I am."