Chapter 2: The Awakened Angel (1)

Episode 2: The Awakened Angel (1)

“This is me…?”

A boy was touching his face. With flowing blonde hair, fair skin, and green eyes, he could easily be called a beautiful boy by anyone.

“This is…”

The boy is a little surprised. It’s because he had seen this beautiful boy somewhere before.

“That angel.”

Except for the lack of wings, this appearance was the angel he had talked to about heroes just before he died.

“…What the hell is this.”

The boy quickly grasped the situation.

That angel was not an illusion caused by excessive bleeding, but a real angel, and he had been sent back to the past to become the guardian angel for heroes.

How did he know he was sent back to the past?

The boy looked out the window.

Honk Honk-

He saw a road with a long line of cars. It was a scene he couldn’t see in the future where the world was destroyed by the demons and monsters.

“Should I believe this situation?”

But he had no choice but to believe it. After the great chaos, there was magic, there were espers, and there were dragons and fairies in this world. With magic and fairies, what’s there not to believe about this situation? It was already a world governed by principles that went far beyond human understanding.

“Then.”

The boy’s heart skipped a beat.

That thing that appears to Awakeners. The word everyone mutters at least once.

“Status window…?”

===

Leffrey Lv.1

Race: Angel

HP: 32/32 MP: 20/20

Strength: 7

Agility: 5

Magic: 12

Esper Ability: 5

Angelic Power: 1

===

The status window really appeared.

A blessed ability that only Awakeners can activate. Leffrey carefully examined his stats while hiding his surging emotions.

“…It’s kinda trash, isn’t it?”

His stats were no different from those of an ordinary person. Even though Leffrey was level 1, this was too serious. This is because, in general, the stats of Awakeners are often determined early on. Based on that standard, Leffrey’s stats were just trash.

The only strange thing was the stat called Angelic Power… The boy had never heard the word Angelic Power in his life. It wasn’t in the novels he enjoyed reading, nor was it a stat he had seen in Awakener documentaries.

There was no way to know for now.

However, seeing that it replaced the part where Divine Power should exist, it could be understood as a power compatible with Divine Power.

This power was Leffrey’s only hope.

“Are angels this weak?”

The boy sighed and searched the room. He needed to find a cell phone, wallet, ID card, or any documents that could prove his identity. Leffrey needed to figure out what situation he was in and exactly what point in time it was.

“Cell phone.”

New fact: Angels also use cell phones. Leffrey was a modern angel. The boy quickly opened his phone to check the information. Fortunately, it wasn’t locked.

Phonebook, KakaoTalk, Internet, etc…²(KakaoTalk is a popular messaging app in korea)

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It wasn’t until late at night that Leffrey could put down his phone. Honestly, there were quite a few surprising facts. First of all, Leffrey has a citizenship in South Korea. And based on a combination of KakaoTalk and the phone book, it appears that Leffrey was an orphan living at the Saebit School. (Citizenship aka i think Leffrey has korean blood in him? Or something else… In any case he’s a citizen of south korea)

A bitter laugh escaped his lips. Even in this new life, it seemed some things never changed.

The only strange thing was…

There were signs of mental problems.

Based on the KakaoTalk conversation history, it seems that Leffrey was a victim of a serious crime when he was young and was receiving psychiatric treatment related to it.

It was a darker story than I thought…

The boy bowed his head and thought. So even angels, once they fall to earth, are just sinners?

“It’s funny. What kind of angel is this.”

At this rate, he was just a pretty little kid. What kind of angel, my foot. (Ass.)

“Haa.”

When the light of the phone went out, the room became completely dark. Leffrey closed his eyes and fell into deep thought. First of all, the being he met was definitely an angel. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to perform such a miracle (sending him to the past + giving him this body).

And he was the one who confronted the demon king.

If not, he wouldn’t have been so injured.

Lastly, the angel hoped for heroes.

“…Heroes, there’s no such thing.”

Leffrey thought about his previous life, the world before it was destroyed by the demon king. As the angel said, there were heroes who could stand up to the monster, even though they couldn’t reach the demon king at that time. However, the curse that had been cast long ago, the opportunity that came too late, and the traps caused by envy and jealousy ruined them.

But at this point in time, it could be stopped, that damn angel claimed. For that, Leffrey…

“I have to enter the Central Superhuman Academy.”

He had to enter the Central Superhuman Academy. No matter how he thought about it, there was no other way.

Central Superhuman Academy. Known as the world’s best academy for Awakeners, it is said that only a select few can enter this place. Money? Power? The only thing you need to get in is skill and talent.

The potential to become a hero of humanity.

It is widely known that the academy promises full support to students who demonstrate such skills and talents.

According to what Leffrey learned through the internet and documentaries, the minimum cut-off line for the Central Superhuman Academy is ‘good enough to be a hunter right now.’ However, since it is an academy, naturally only minors can enter, and of course, they must be Awakeners.

For now, Leffrey was both a minor and an Awakener capable of activating the status window. However to be able to work as a hunter…

‘Of course not.’

But even so, he had to enter.

‘The Golden Generation. The only superhumans who can stand up to the demon king. Maybe starting this year, the Golden Generation will start entering the Central Academy. And to maximize their potential, I need to intervene during their academy years, the most important time to develop their abilities. Make them much stronger than they were in the future…’

Leffrey made up his mind.

‘I will defeat the demon king.’

It’s not because the angel asked him to. No, Leffrey wants to live. If the demon king turns the world into a wasteland again, Leffrey will die with this world anyway. Once is already more than enough for that kind of experience.

Growl-

A sound that doesn’t match his serious thoughts.

He learns a lot of new things today. Fun fact: Angels also get hungry if they don’t eat. Leffrey opened his worn-out wallet once, checked the remaining bills, and gave a hollow laugh.

‘No, with no money to even buy breakfast tomorrow… defeat the demon king? What kind of arrogant thought is that?’

Anyway, he had to solve the immediate problem which is hunger. Leffrey searched for a nearby convenience store to buy at least a hot bar with the remaining money. (Hot bar, essentially skewered pre-cooked food on a stick under a heating lamp)

Fortunately, after looking it up on his smartphone, there was a convenience store not too far from where Leffrey lived. Looking at the softly falling snow, Leffrey hid his complex emotions.

‘I can’t contact myself at this point in time.’

‘My Original KakaoTalk and Facebook are both gone. Did my existence disappear?’

‘Well, I didn’t have family or any connections to take care of.’

‘Damn it…’

The night felt somehow colder.

With all of Leffrey’s remaining money, he could buy two hot bars. He planned to eat one today and the other tomorrow. Truly the rational calculation of all time.

That was the moment.

Meow-

The sound of a cat came from nearby.

Leffrey immediately looked in the direction of the sound.

It was on the wall to his left.

There was a cat. A pink cat, but its front paw was injured and bleeding. Snow was slowly piling up on the injured cat.

“It’ll freeze to death at this rate.”

Leffrey carefully reached out and stroked the cat. The cat came in without resistance, rubbing against Leffrey’s warm hand. Perhaps it was so dazed from the cold that it couldn’t even resist.

[Sharing warmth is an angelic act!]

[You have acquired angelic powers]

‘What is this…?’

Angelic Power, a power that increases when you do good deeds.

Leffrey intuitively realized that Angelic Power increased when he did something kind or noble.

“…I can’t raise you.”

Rub rub- Rub rub-

The pink cat got up and was looking at him. Leffrey stroked the cat with a sad expression.

“…I don’t have money. I can’t take you to the hospital. Find someone else.”

The truth is, Leffrey liked animals. He especially liked dogs and cats. But the boy was too embarrassed to admit it.

“It can’t be helped. I like dogs better than cats…”

He had to gather Angelic Power anyway, so he had no choice.

Leffrey held the cat in his arms.

He could feel a small amount of Angelic Power rising.

“Still… we need to do something about the cold…”

Although animals can’t understand human language, the cat seemed to understand and stayed quietly in his arms.

[Protecting a life is an angelic deed!]

[You have acquired angelic power]

‘I don’t know what this Angelic Power is, but… it will be helpful if I gather it, right?’

Leffrey thought while holding the cat.

“Hey, student over there!”

A voice calling out to the boy was heard from afar.

A man in a suit was calling Leffrey from a distance. A suit is a common attire for office workers, and it wasn’t strange for an adult male to be wearing one. However, the problem is that people like thugs and gangsters also often wear suits.

“Let’s talk for a moment.”

The man had the look of a thug in a suit. Of course, it’s wrong to suspect someone just because they look good in a suit in that sense, but under the circumstances, he couldn’t help but suspect.

“What do you want to talk about?”

“Oh, it’s nothing…”

The man in the suit smiled.

“Have you seen a pink cat? It’s unique, so you would have recognized it at a glance.”

There’s a saying that what you expect is what you get. Leffrey muttered the word ‘as expected’ in his heart. Memories of news reports from before the world’s end surfaced It was news about a criminal organization that kidnapped and smuggled magical creatures.

As expected, this pink cat was a magical creature.

‘And it’s being chased by magical creature hunters.’

Leffrey muttered after tightening his coat.

He felt a small warmth in his arms.

“I haven’t seen it.”

“Really? Are you sure?”

The suit approached arrogantly.

Leffrey honestly regretted it a little.

‘I think that guy is an Awakener too.’

He should have just given the cat back when he first saw it.

The man’s ‘thug in a suit’ aura made Leffrey instinctively hide the cat from view. Even if he gave it back now, a clash would be inevitable. He might even try to silence him.

‘I’m screwed…’

The man’s steps exude the arrogance typical of Awakeners. Leffrey, in terms of stats alone, was weaker than an adult male. But he couldn’t give up the cat.

[Protecting the weak against the strong is an angelic deed!]

[You have acquired angelic power]

This was because Angelic Power was continuously increasing due to the act of protecting the cat. He didn’t know what kind of power it was, but it was the only hope for the weak angel Leffrey to overcome this situation.

“Don’t do something you’ll regret.”

“…I really haven’t seen it.”

[Protecting the weak against the strong is an angelic deed!]

[You have acquired angelic power]

‘I can’t run away with my stats. If I’m going to get caught anyway… I’ll use this Angelic Power or whatever…’

“I think there’s been a bit of a misunderstanding.”

The man in the suit made a somewhat sad expression.

But everyone would know. That wasn’t a sad expression, but a happy one.

“I’m a person who hates violence. Let’s settle this with words.”

With those words, a fist flew lightly. But to Leffrey, it wasn’t a light punch at all. This punch, built up as an Awakener and a thug, was powerful enough to incapacitate even a strong adult male with one blow.

But Leffrey blocked it.

[Angels become stronger when they do the right thing!]

“…He blocked it?”

Leffrey and the man in the suit,

Both stared at each other in surprise.