Chapter 3 : Slaps, Screams, and a Phoenix.

“One hey, commoner. Or are you a lowborn now? Ha ha ha.”

Cheon Taejin.

He was a well-known delinquent in the area, famous for his fighting skills that matched his large frame.

He always called me ‘commoner’ like that.

Why?

Well, my name is Woo min.

“Uh, lo-ng time no see. Ha ha.”

I said with an awkward laugh.

Just buy what you need and get lost. Please.

But as if he could read my mind, he stood in front of the counter with no sign of leaving.

“How come you’re still like this? If you can’t fight, you should at least be good at studying.”

The jeers kept coming.

Honestly, I wanted to punch him right away.

But I had to hold it in.

If I got into trouble for no reason, I’d have to pay for the hospital bills and surgery.

That’s not just a few bucks.

“Well, that’s why you’re a commoner, right? Oh, and I awakened my Ability this time.”

“Huh?”

“Wow, are you jealous? What can you do? The world needs me.”

Taejin kept talking with a cocky expression.

“It’s a physical enhancement Ability, but I’ll probably get at least an 8th grade. I just came from the Association after the test.”

“That’s… good for you.”

“Of course. I’m on a different level than a commoner like you. Right?”

The more I listened, the more annoyed I got.

He thinks he’s the only one who awakened? I did too, you jerk!

I wouldn’t even envy you if you got a B-grade Awakening. Screw you.

“Hey, how about a sparring match for old times’ sake? We used to do that a lot back in school.”

Delinquents always say things like that.

Twisting memories.

Play? Bullshit. They just brought in kids who couldn’t fight as well as them and called it sparring, but it was basically just beating them up.

Should I just give him a good beating now?

It’s just sparring anyway.

There aren’t any customers.

But then I shook my head.

Taejin was famous for fighting ever since school.

Rumor had it he even got scouted by some organization.

Win or lose, I’d get nothing out of it.

“I’m working part-time right now.”

“Hey, there aren’t any customers. And—”

Thud—

“Isn’t that what friends are for? I’ll put in a good word with the owner.”

He even locked the store door.

Wow, unbelievable.

Now he’s really going all out?

“Look, see? This is a jab and this is a hook.”

He strikes all sorts of poses, acting cool.

His fist trembled as he showed off.

But something was weird. Back in school, I couldn’t react at all to his punches, but today, why do they look so slow?

Even a turtle would be faster.

Would it even hurt if I got hit by that?

“You’ve gotten a lot slower. Back then, I couldn’t dodge at all.”

“What?”

Oops, I let my true feelings slip out.

Taejin’s face turned red, as if his pride had been wounded by my words.

He immediately pulled me out from behind the counter and shouted.

“You’ve gotten cocky? If I’m so slow, dodge this yourself.”

Swish—

He stretched out his arm like a boxer.

But it was way too slow.

I just turned my head slightly and dodged.

Taejin looked at me with a shocked expression.

“Try dodging this too!”

Swish swish swoosh.

A one-two uppercut followed.

This was even easier to dodge.

Do I really have some kind of innate talent?

You know, sometimes you discover a talent by chance as time goes by.

Maybe it had just been sleeping inside me until now.

But now it’s totally different.

Genius talent.

The god-given dynamic vision has finally awakened from its slumber!

If that’s the case, maybe I should try attacking too.

But I shouldn’t go too hard and cause an incident. Just a light tap.

Slap—

….

I really meant to hit him lightly, but I ended up slapping him without even realizing it.

Taejin, flustered, let out a scream.

“You bastard!”

Thanks to that, his movements became even simpler.

Still slow as ever.

But now, I could even predict his next move.

“Next, you’ll go for a hook, right?”

Swoosh.

‘Then next is a low kick.’

Whoosh.

Even his patterns were predictable.

Two jabs, then a hook, and if that doesn’t work, he goes for a low kick—just like his old school habits.

I must’ve gotten hit by that so many times that I memorized it.

Suddenly, I got really pissed off.

Was this all it was, and yet he bullied me for so long?

Smack.

Hey, snap out of it.

I slapped him again for good measure.

Smack.

One more time.

Bonk.

This time, a flick to the forehead.

Bonk bonk bonk.

Just keep getting hit.

Let’s see if you can even touch my collar.

Soon, Taejin was panting heavily.

Look at that red face.

His pride must be hurting badly.

“You… you bastard.”

He still hadn’t come to his senses.

Let’s hit him a bit more.

So I did.

Flinch.

Taejin’s body reacted.

Did he just flinch from me?

Let’s check. Did the mighty Cheon Taejin really get scared?

I raised my other hand.

Flinch.

Ha. This is it.

The privilege only the strong can enjoy.

“Hey, Cheon Taejin.”

“W-what?”

“Do you still think this is like the old days at school?”

I crushed him.

Look at him, speechless after just a single sentence.

“Just go. Leave.”

“………. You… you. Just you wait. I’m a Player, you know? I wasn’t in good condition today, but next time, you’re dead—”

Look at him babbling and running away so pathetically.

My chest feels lighter.

This is catharsis.

Feels like a hundred years’ worth of frustration just got washed away.

And just then.

Ding-a-ling—

“I’m here for my shift.”

The next part-timer arrived.

She’s early today.

“You’re covering for me today because I filled in for you last time.”

“Ah, right. Got it.”

When things go well, everything goes well.

I handed over the vest and got ready to leave.

I even checked on Ppiak, who was sleeping soundly.

I’m in such a good mood today, I should grill some meat for dinner!

***

The Korea branch of the World Ability Awakeners Association, located in Seoul.

Since it’s an international association, one of the biggest buildings in Seoul belongs entirely to the Association.

Today, the Association is as busy as ever.

Investigating new Awakeners, handling complaints—so busy they barely have time to breathe.

But yesterday, an official document arrived from headquarters.

-Find the SSS-grade Awakener.

It’s overwhelming.

They don’t even know which country.

They just said to find them.

The world’s first ever triple 5-grade Player.

How could anyone just sit around and wait?

They must find them and provide all sorts of benefits and curriculums.

First priority: safety.

Second priority: safety.

For a stable climb to the top, every precious talent is invaluable.

The so-called A grade and above Players.

These are the heroes responsible for the world’s survival.

If they don’t climb the Tower?

The Gate collapses and monsters pour out.

It’s different from the periodic Overrun Phenomenon.

This is true Collapse.

Disasters occur all over the world.

Earthquakes and tsunamis rage.

And even then, monsters keep pouring out of the Gate.

Compared to the Overrun Phenomenon, it’s about ten times worse.

We experienced this at the very beginning, when the Tower first appeared.

The crimson sky looked like the end of the world.

To prevent such scenes from happening again, the Association was created.

Its name: World Ability Awakeners Association.

That’s why this task is so important.

It could be the very foundation of the Association.

Not just any Awakener.

An SSS-grade.

It could be the appearance of the one who will climb the Tower to the end.

Thanks to that, work piled up like a mountain.

Especially for the Awakening Management Division—it was hell.

“Hoo.”

A neatly dressed woman exhaled a sigh as she smoked in the smoking room.

Her name was Seo Rin.

She was the manager—and the one who handled all the chores—for the Awakening Management Division.

Until she got this job, she hated the smell of cigarettes more than anything, but after working at the Association, she couldn’t help but pick up the habit.

If she didn’t, she wouldn’t be able to endure.

At that moment.

Someone opened the door and entered the smoking room.

“Ahem.”

It was Kang Dohyun, the team leader of the Management Division, with short hair and sharp eyes.

Dohyun coughed as he glanced at Seo Rin.

“Quit smoking. It’s bad for you.”

Then he handed her an energy drink, trying to comfort her.

“No matter how hard it is, we just have to deal with it.”

“I know. I do. But it’s been really tough lately.”

“Exactly. I asked for more staff, but upper management keeps ignoring us. I miss the old days when I was climbing the Tower.”

Dohyun let out a sigh.

He was also a Player who had awakened an Ability.

He’d even climbed past the 40th floor—a true elite.

But due to an unfortunate accident, he was now serving as a team leader in the Management Division.

“Still, that wasn’t always good. I get anxious just thinking about this month’s climb.”

Seo Rin sighed heavily.

There’s so much work, and on top of that, she has to climb the Tower.

If she does nothing for a month, her Ability disappears.

It’s like having a second job.

Work during the day, climb the Tower at night.

And if a Gate Overrun happens? She’s assigned to the front lines immediately.

“How about getting off work a bit early today?”

“Really?”

Seo Rin’s eyes sparkled at Dohyun’s offer.

How long had it been since she heard the words “leave early”?

For the past week, she’d worked overtime six days in a row.

Yesterday, she didn’t even make it home.

“This is when a senior should step up.”

Dohyun always felt sorry for Seo Rin.

She was the youngest, but had to take on all the chores, and the list of Awakeners to manage was piling up like a mountain—she’d need two bodies to handle it all.

He had to help his few junior Players however he could.

“And also.”

Dohyun pulled out a printed sheet of paper.

-Special Leave Authorization

“Take a real break tomorrow.”

Special leave that only a team leader can grant!

Moved, Seo Rin hugged Dohyun tightly.

“I love you, senior.”

He gently pushed her head away.

“Hey, watch your mouth. Even though I look like this, I’m a dad with two daughters.”

“I’m not into older guys anyway.”

Leaving early must really be that great.

Well, it’s not just any early leave.

Tomorrow is a special day off.

Sweeter than honey.

Better hurry.

If something comes up, I’ll get dragged back in.

“Thank you, senior.”

“Yeah, go ahead and get going.”

Leaving Dohyun behind, she hurried to pack up.

She grabbed her suit that she hadn’t washed in days.

Might as well drop it off at the cleaners on the way home.

She needed to catch up on movies and do some shopping.

So many things to do.

Even after leaving work, she’d still be busy.

Still, she felt great.

Even if it was hard, it didn’t feel so hard.

Her body felt as light as a feather.

But then.

Beep beep beep.

Her watch rang loudly.

A Gate had appeared nearby.

Not far at all.

Right next to the supermarket she was about to visit.

Fine, time to stretch my body for the first time in a while.

She accepted the mission on her smartwatch and headed straight for the Gate.

A White Gate, shining with white light—the lowest grade of Gate.

This should be a piece of cake.

At most, it’s about as hard as the Tower’s 10th floor.

Flash—

As she passed through the white light, a wide Great Plains spread out before her.

Unlike the Tower, there’s no particular mission.

Just defeat all the monsters and beasts inside.

“Summon, White Fang White Tiger!”

Seo Rin’s profession was Tamer.

One of the rarest jobs in the world.

She tames beasts that appear in the Tower or Gates and fights with them.

But does that mean the Player is weak?

Not at all.

To tame a beast, you have to defeat it yourself.

That’s why it’s a high-tier job.

Even raising a single decent beast gives you more than double the strength.

The White Fang White Tiger she just summoned was the same.

A C-grade beast.

Equivalent to about an 8th grade Player.

Now her most precious companion and friend.

“Let’s go, Haran.”

Haran let out a thunderous roar.

Don’t underestimate a C-grade.

Once tamed, it’s at least two grades higher.

The chain attacks linked by the bond with the master are unrivaled among / grade Players.

Haran raised its huge forepaw and pounced nimbly.

Its target: a pair of giant Mantises right ahead.

First, the male—taken down in one blow.

Small and weak, not much to worry about.

But the real threat was the female.

True to Mantis form, it was more than twice as big and much fiercer than the male.

Just because it’s an early Tower monster doesn’t mean you can let your guard down.

Seo Rin climbed onto Haran’s back and drew her Bow.

She looked like an Amazon warrior.

The bowstring grew taut.

Swish—

The arrow was released.

A strike containing over half her Mana.

A finishing move that could deal fatal damage even to a 20th-floor monster.

She was about to wrap it up and go home.

But then.

The giant female Mantis twisted its body with surprising speed, dodging the fatal blow, and immediately headed elsewhere.

Then.

Crunch crunch—

It began eating the dead male Mantis.

Kiiiaaaa—

With a roar, the giant female Mantis changed completely from before.

Its whole body turned red.

Dangerous. The aura it gave off was no joke.

“Haran, dodge!”

Seo Rin quickly turned Haran away.

Now she had to keep her distance and stack damage with ranged attacks.

But—

Rustle rustle rustle.

A huge swarm of locusts attacked Haran.

There were so many, it was like a wave—impossible to dodge.

In the end, Haran lost its balance and fell.

Seo Rin bit her lip, looking at her precious friend.

Behind her, the enraged Mantis was closing in. In front, the hungry swarm of locusts hovered.

A complete dead end.

She really thought she was going to die.

So she closed her eyes.

At that moment.

The area brightened, and a warm heat was felt.

Bbyak—

A red bird gliding swiftly, blocking out the sun.

“Ph-phoenix?”

It was Bbyak.