Chapter 1: First Outing (1)

Choi Shin-woo was probably inside a gate. Communication devices still malfunctioned due to the magic within gates, and technology that could connect the inside to the outside hadn’t even been developed yet.

Hmm, what should I do?

Should I skip the guild tomorrow?

No, if I go for one day and then don’t show up the next, what will they think of me? Won’t I get fired immediately?

The more I thought about it, the more I realized there was a high probability that Choi Shin-woo’s schedule and mine wouldn’t line up in the future.

It was only natural that our schedules wouldn’t match if he was in a gate and I was in a gate.

It’s not like we could just stop going to our guilds until we were both free.

Ugh, what do I do? What do I do? What do I do?

I’m screwed.

…Wait a minute.

If I transform, no one will recognize me outside.

*

Leaving the house may be a small step for some.

But for me (in my transformed state), it was a giant leap.

It was a sentiment worthy of a shut-in, but for me, it was the truth.

First, thorough preparation. Even Neil Armstrong must have prepared thoroughly to walk on the moon.

Combat suit and shorts.

Long pants would be hot, and they seemed like they’d be uncomfortable to wear over the combat suit.

A robe.

The guild gave me the robe. Apparently, magical energy (or in the case of an Elemental Mage, the element itself) can sometimes spark from the body, and the robe was meant to block it.

It was practically essential for a Flame Elemental Mage. It was hot, but I had no choice. Besides, it covered my whole body.

Can’t I just wear the combat suit and shorts, then put the robe on top?

Oh, right. A mask.

My beauty would be too conspicuous if I transformed. It would be dangerous if my face became too famous.

After putting everything on, I looked in the mirror. Wow.

I looked incredibly suspicious.

But it couldn’t be helped. I’d put the shorts on after transforming—

Transform.

Fwoosh.

I tried transforming with my clothes on, and oh, it worked just fine.

Thank god for this combat suit. It’s incredibly stretchy. So stretchy… so stretchy that… everything is visible.

My nipples were clearly visible, like two little eyes on my chest.

And my crotch… ugh. I might as well be naked.

No wonder they told me to wear shorts.

First, I put on the shorts. Now, what to do about my nipples?

I didn’t have any nipple pasties, so maybe tape? Tape seemed like it would hurt. I’d have to cover them with bandages.

There, that should do it for now.

Oh, a figure that even a robe can’t completely hide.

Alright, let’s go. My shoes… thankfully, the difference in our foot size wasn’t that big. Hmm, I should probably buy a pair, though.

Am I all set? Then—

Click.

Lee Han-gyeol, deploying!

*

Where do you go when you need to have sex?

Even as a man, I’d never gone out with that as my sole purpose. I’d never even been to a club. As a fresh-faced twenty-year-old, the only place I’d gone was my university’s orientation trip… Aren’t clubs scary places where people do drugs and crimes happen all the time?

Still, I made my way to a street known for its many clubs.

Wow, look at this crowd. Don’t these people have jobs?

I’d made it to the street, but I was hesitant to actually enter a club. And could I even go in dressed like this?

A hooded robe and a mask.

I looked completely suspicious.

Worse, robes were usually only worn by inexperienced Awakeners whose magic was still unstable, or by cautious Awakeners who wanted to be prepared for anything. Non-Awakeners tended to avoid anyone in a robe on sight…

Time was ticking away, and my shift tomorrow was getting closer…

Aargh, should I just skip work and wait for Choi Shin-woo? Maybe I could just say, ‘I’m feeling a bit weak after using my magic for the first time. I’m sorry.’ Would that work?

God, why have you given me such a trial—

“Excuse me.”

I jumped. When did he get so close?

A man with narrow, snake-like eyes was talking to me. He had the look of a handsome delinquent, the kind who knows he’s a player.

“Ah, yes.”

“You’re an Awakener, right? If you just stand there blankly in a robe like that, someone’s going to report you to the police.”

“Oh, thank you.”

What a nice guy, I thought, just before I noticed the tattoos. There was one on the side of his neck and another peeking out from his sleeve. At this rate, his whole arm was probably covered. There had to be a reason he was wearing long sleeves in the summer.

They weren’t magic patterns like the ones Yang Geun-tae from the Expeditionary Force had. He was just a delinquent—ah. Stop being prejudiced.

“But you’re pretty even with just your eyes showing. Could you take off your mask for me?”

Definitely a delinquent.

“Why? I’m just covering my face.”

“Well, non-Awakeners tend to be wary of Awakeners who wear both a robe and a mask, you know?”

Maybe he wasn’t a delinquent?

“Oh, is that so? But you’re a non-Awakener, and you don’t seem wary of me.”

“Hm? I’m not a non-Awakener.”

The narrow-eyed delinquent said with a flirtatious smile.

“Oh, so you’re an Awakener?”

After my own Awakening, I could roughly tell who was an Awakener and who wasn’t. But I couldn’t feel anything from him.

“Maybe I am, maybe I’m not.”

What was that supposed to mean?

My thoughts must have shown on my face, because the narrow-eyed delinquent chuckled and said, “I’m kidding. I’ll tell you if you take off your mask.”

It’s not like I care whether you’re an Awakener or not. Why would I take off my mask for no reason?

“That’s okay, I should get going. Thanks for the advice.”

“I’m sorry. It’s just that your eyes and that beauty mark are exactly my type. Can’t you just show me once?”

He was being persistent. I had a feeling he’d keep bothering me if I didn’t. And what was he going to do if my face wasn’t his type after I took off the mask?

But since I was confident, I took off my mask. Ta-da.

“There. Satisfied?”

The narrow-eyed delinquent stared at my face, momentarily dazed.

“Alright, then—”

“Wait. Do you have any plans tonight?”

I didn’t.

But spending them with you seems a little sketchy.

“Why do you ask?”

“If you have time, want to get a drink? My treat.”

How do I know what kind of tricks you’re planning…

But what kind of tricks could he pull? I needed to have sex anyway…

…

Might as well get some free drinks.

*

“So, what’s the deal?”

“What is?”

“You said you’d tell me if you were an Awakener or not if I took off my mask.”

“Ah, I have Awakened.”

“What the…”

“What’s your name?”

Uh, what should I say? Using my real name felt wrong.

“Hmm, it’s a secret.”

“Come on. Tell me when we get closer. I’ll tell you my name then, too.”

“Alright.”

“You haven’t been an Awakener for long, have you?”

“Oh, no. How did you know?”

“The flow of your magic seems a little clumsy, and your outfit is strange. You’ll only fix it after you get reported and warned a few times for dressing like that.”

“Oh, you’re sharp.”

“I have my moments, right? And should I try to guess your rank? Hmm… C+ or B?”

Assuming my magic power level was the same, it was probably correct to say my rank in this form was the same as it was before I transformed. But I hadn’t actually measured it.

“Hmm…”

“How about it? Was I right?”

“Well, I haven’t registered as an Awakener yet…”

Which was true, for this body.

“Oh, you haven’t registered yet?”

The narrow-eyed delinquent looked surprised, then fell into thought for a moment. Then, he carefully brought up the subject.

“Do you really… have to register as an Awakener?”

“Excuse me?”

It was possible not to register as an Awakener. Some people saw the contribution system and other regulations created by the state as a leash and chose to operate without registering.

An unregistered Awakener.

However, this made them difficult to manage, so the state classified them as criminals and kept them under control. Superhumans who weren’t managed or controlled by the state were extremely dangerous.

Furthermore, since the contribution system was affected by one’s prior criminal record, criminals often chose not to register. Therefore, unregistered Awakeners were, in fact, criminals and treated as such.

Was he a narrow-eyed delinquent or a narrow-eyed criminal?

“Uh… what do you mean by that?”

“I’m asking if there’s any need to register and be restricted.”

“But the penalties are severe.”

“It’s fine. You’re free in other ways.”

“You must be an unregistered Awakener.”

So that’s why he was so vague when I asked if he was an Awakener. He wasn’t a non-Awakener, but a criminal who hadn’t registered as one.

“…Yes, that’s right. I’m nicer than you thought, right?”

Normally, I would have made some excuse and run away, but maybe it was the alcohol, because I suddenly felt brave.

Well, if things go south, I can just run away and undo my transformation.

“Hmm… so far? But we haven’t really done anything yet.”

“Haha, true. But being an unregistered Awakener isn’t so bad. Registering is a huge pain. If there’s an incident nearby, you have to go in for questioning; you have to do annoying tasks to raise your contribution points; you have to come running whenever the government calls. Anyway, it’s a lot of trouble. Honestly, what does the state really do for you? Not much.”

His logic… sounded like a criminal’s logic.

But apart from that, I found myself listening intently. Not because the advantages of being an unregistered Awakener were tempting, but because this body couldn’t be registered in the first place. How could I possibly register this?

“Hmm, but if you don’t register early on as an Awakener, there’s nothing you can do.”

“For things like that, you just need connections. There’s no need to put on a leash just because it’s tough at the beginning. That leash just gets tighter as you get stronger, you know? If you decide not to register, I can help you out.”

“Oh, really?”

“It’s nothing.”

“How?”

“We can just go into a gate and hunt monsters together. It all works out if you have the time. It’s time-consuming, but it’s easy for me. And there are tons of ways to avoid crackdowns. I can teach you those if you join our guild.”

An unofficial guild.

Unlike state-certified guilds, no matter how much you did, it wouldn’t raise your contribution points or rank.

They existed in the open, but they were more common in the shadows.

With certified guilds, Awakeners were highly dependent on the guild itself because of the contribution system and the guild’s internal structure.

Unofficial guilds had none of that, so unregistered Awakeners had a high rate of working as freelancers. However, a group was more advantageous than an individual when it came to evading crackdowns.

“Hmm, it doesn’t sound too bad. I’ll think about it.”

For an unregistered Awakener, it really didn’t seem like a bad option.

“Yeah. Unregistered Awakeners can always register later, but once you register, you can’t come back to this life. Give it some thought.

“Anyway, what brings you here? Dressed so strangely. Ah, and where did you get that robe and the Nephthra Suit?”

“The robe and… this is called a Nephthra Suit? Anyway, I got them secondhand from a friend. The reason I’m here is…”

Oh, right. My objective. Sex.

But how was I supposed to say that? Should I just say I came here to have sex? It was too blunt. And would he just agree if I said that? Then again, if I were him, I think I would.

But was it okay to do it with this person? He seemed like a pretty strong Awakener. They said higher magic sensitivity allows for more Essense to be absorbed, so should I do it with him?

I should read the mood first and then decide.

“Hmm, I don’t know. Why don’t you try guessing, like you did before?”

“Hmm, you don’t seem like the type to not have friends or a boyfriend, but you came here alone to have some fun, didn’t you? Even wearing a mask.”

“That’s… true. Though I don’t have a boyfriend. What kind of fun should I have?”

“Have fun with me. I’ll show you a good time.”

The narrow-eyed criminal flashed a flirtatious smile.

Did he really mean just ‘fun,’ or did he mean sex? I couldn’t afford to waste time just playing around. Should I drop a lure?

“Should I? To be honest, I was feeling a little lonely all of a sudden today.”

The narrow-eyed man’s smile deepened. He leaned his upper body toward me and whispered.

“What part of you is lonely? Your body? Or your heart?”

He took the bait.

…He took it way too fast. What do I do? Ah, whatever. It’ll work out somehow.

“Well, my body’s a little lonely, and I’m lonely as an Awakener, I guess?”

“…Is that so? Then—”

The narrow-eyed delinquent flashed a grin.

“I’ll make sure you’re not lonely anymore.”