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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 2: Two Status Windows (1)
[Aurelia, the God of Volcanoes, disapproves and revokes your F-rank Awakener status in the Neutral faction.]
[You have been awakened as an Awakener of the Neutral faction.]
[The Quest System, Status Window, and Inventory Window are now activated.]
[Attempting to integrate Quest Systems...]
[Integration of Status Windows has failed... They remain separated.]
[You are an Awakener of two factions. You have earned the title, "Bat Awakener."]
Notifications kept popping up in my system window.
It was overwhelming.
This doesn’t feel like a hallucination.
I’ve never even imagined anything like this.
What is this "Neutral faction"?
Even as an Awakener enthusiast, I’ve never heard of it.
[Four items have been added to your inventory.]
“Inventory?”
As a one-year veteran Awakener enthusiast, I, Kim Jiho, had never heard of such a system.
Sure, I’d seen it often in games.
But as I wondered aloud, a translucent brown pouch appeared before my eyes.
Inside were a book, a letter, a black stick, and a bead.
Instinctively, my hand reached for the pouch.
As I grabbed the images of the book and letter, the images disappeared, and the actual book and letter appeared in my hands.
Should I start with the letter?
[To myself, from myself.
I am your future self. Get stronger. And don’t throw away this letter.]
The first two lines were in Korean.
But below them were rows of unfamiliar characters I’d never seen before.
At the bottom, one last line was written: "Return this to the inventory."
From myself?
Future me?
This sounded absurd.
Turning on the light and reading this all of a sudden makes no sense.
I have no idea what’s going on.
And what are these strange characters?
Explain this to me, future me, you jerk.
Oh, right.
Should I check the book?
Maybe there’s a hint there.
I opened the coverless book and found that the paper wasn’t modern A4 sheets but felt more like aged brown parchment.
The title on the first page read:
[Kim Jiho’s Strategy Guide for Post-Regression.]
Regression?
What does that mean?
Let’s turn another page.
[November 1. You will awaken. If you get dragged into the tutorial, don’t listen to the explanations and ask the Goblin Blacksmith for a shield. Once you get the shield, run to the dungeon where the door opens and grab the dungeon core. If Imps attack, don’t fight back, just let them hit you. Just endure it for five minutes. Absolutely.]
The messy handwriting was almost endearing, but the first page was already wrong.
Today’s June 1, after all…
And as far as I know, being an Awakener enthusiast, the tutorial involves an Elf helper and a Dwarf blacksmith.
What Goblin are they talking about?
Ah! Come to think of it, if you awaken at midnight, you’re forcibly dragged into the so-called tutorial world at 1 AM.
It’s now 12:34.
Only 26 minutes left.
Better search quickly.
“Awakener... tutorial strategy guide.”
I typed it into the search bar and noticed that it was ranked 7th in real-time search trends.
“Pollux,” “Gemini,” and other related terms were also trending.
Seems like I’m not the only one in this situation.
[Welcome, prospective Awakeners.]
I was about to check out a blog post when an advertisement from the Korean Awakener Association popped up, featuring a link to a "Tutorial Strategy Guide."
I clicked on it immediately and skimmed through the content with more focus than I’d ever given to my college entrance exams.
By the time I finished reading, it was 12:59.
My body started dissolving into dust from my fingertips.
No pain at all.
Is this it?
Am I finally going?
Flash!
My vision turned blindingly white, and I felt my entire body floating.
It felt like I was drifting in a bathtub when—
Suddenly, cold air hit my body, snapping me back to reality.
I was standing with both feet firmly planted on the damp floor of a cave.
“What the...?”
“Welcome, 13th batch of Earth’s Awakeners.”
A clear, melodious woman’s voice rang out.
It felt like my ears were being purified.
When I turned toward the voice, I saw a beautiful golden-haired woman with a gentle smile.
She had long ears, blue eyes, and porcelain skin.
An Elf?
I’d always thought they looked pretty on TV, but seeing one in person was a culture shock.
She was stunning.
Too stunning.
Her beauty made celebrities look like Orcs.
My jaw just dropped open.
“Awakener Kim Jiho. I’d like to explain the tutorial to you now. May I?”
“Ah…”
I wanted to listen.
I wanted to keep talking to her.
I wanted to have a conversation with such a beautiful woman!
Her smiling eyes made my heart race.
But…
“No, thanks. Hey, Mr. Dwarf over there, do you have any shields? A big one. Something that can cover my whole body.”
The muscular, bearded dwarf sitting on a rock.
I’d only glanced at him because I was too busy staring at the Elf.
“Huh? Oh, yeah. I have one…”
“Hand it over quickly. I need to finish this in five minutes.”
Ignoring the heartbreakingly beautiful elf, I turned toward the dwarf.
The dwarf, seemingly surprised by my sudden arrival, glanced at the elf momentarily before rummaging through his pouch.
Was that a magic pouch?
Out came a large shield with a whoosh.
“Here you go, a kite shield for beginners. But are you sure you don’t need an explanation?”
“I need to finish in five minutes. Thanks for the shield. I’m going. That way, right?”
“Uh… yeah, that’s right.”
“But, Awakened One, you really should—”
Leaving the bewildered elf and dwarf behind, I dashed toward the depths of the cave.
As I gathered strength in my legs for a full sprint, my body suddenly shot forward like a slam dunk.
What… what’s happening?
I did feel lighter, but I didn’t expect to spring forward like this.
All I wanted to do was run.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Join our Discord for release updates!
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“That human’s unusual.”
“Indeed. Must have agility 10 or something. And maybe they were an athlete in the past? That would explain why they’re charging in without a briefing.”
Actually, my stats are just 5, 5, 5…
And I only did a couple of months of PT.
Even so, this speed is insane.
My body feels full of energy, and my vision has become crystal clear.
The cave walls were lit with torches, but as I went deeper, the light dimmed.
Yet my improved eyesight allowed me to see everything clearly, even in what should have been darkness.
“Kiieeeek!”
“A human! A human!”
An imp appeared.
Gray skin, less than a meter tall, small and frail like a child, with red eyes and sharp horns.
The weakest type of demon monster, wielding a crude spear.
The Awakened Association’s tutorial guide specifically mentioned not to be intimidated by monsters like these.
Even an adult man—or woman—could defeat them barehanded.
The guide also encouraged engaging in combat, saying that as an Awakened, one must get used to battle.
Fighting is the fate of the Awakened, and failure to adapt will only lead to personal suffering.
That’s true enough.
But… finishing in five minutes comes first.
Let’s just charge through!
Bam!
“Kiieeek!”
“So fast! Human!”
“So strong! Human!”
The imps that collided with the shield were sent flying like bowling pins.
With the path cleared, I sprinted ahead.
Whoosh! Whoosh! My body shot forward as though gliding through the air.
The imps’ cries faded quickly into the distance.
Several more groups blocked my path, but I simply plowed through them with the shield or leaped over them.
My body is amazing—light, strong, and brimming with vitality.
Back when I was a fan of the Awakened, I’d read somewhere that beginners in the tutorial weren’t particularly powerful, so I shouldn’t expect much.
How strong could a Level 1 be? They said.
You get stronger from here.
But this… this is incredible.
What is this?
I’m not human.
At this rate, I could beat Usain Bolt.
Did I misread my stats?
“Status window.”
[Name - Kim Jiho
Class - NOVICE
Guardian Deity - Pollux, God of Gemini
Title - None
Level - 1
Strength - 5, Agility - 5, Magic - 5]
[Name - Kim Jiho
Class - Novice
Guardian Deity - Aurelia, God of the Volcano
Title - None
Level - 1
Body - F-, Magic - F-, Skill - F-, Luck - F-]
Wait… there are two status windows?
And the stats aren’t wrong—they’re as low as I thought.
Just 5, 5, 5…
But why do I have two windows?
The only thing I did was unlock a gift…
Unlocking a gift?
Neutral faction, F-rank Awakened certification?
Ah, right.
It said something about “status window integration failure.”
So that’s the reason!
“Hu-man! Die!”
“Ugh, shut up already!”
I swatted aside the imp waving its spear with my shield and kept running.
After sprinting a bit more, I saw a large red gemstone glowing on an altar deeper inside the cave.
About ten imps were guarding it like sentries.
“This… this is impossible! You’re already here?”
“Kiieeek! Stop him at all costs!”
The imps screamed in desperation, but it was pointless.
A little strength with the shield, and they were sent flying.
I crushed the spears blocking my path, knocked imps aside, and leaped forward.
Some didn’t fly away but were smashed on the spot.
I didn’t feel much about that.
“Kiieeek!”
Yeah, sometimes they explode like that.
Their bodies shattered against the shield, horns snapping, necks twisting, and green blood splattering all over me and my clothes.
But rather than being disgusted, all I felt was annoyance that their green blood had dirtied me.
This lack of emotion was strange.
Crunch.
Even cockroaches make me flinch when I kill them.
Now, I casually stepped over an imp corpse and grabbed the dungeon core.
[Tutorial mission cleared. You have gained 1 stat point.]
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Join our Discord for release updates!
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