ppagak!!

Using my God-given hull vision to locate the wooden sword, I had a brief moment of hesitation. Should I grab it? No, if I grab it, it's over.

I rolled my head, hoping my brain would work a little faster. Or should I pretend to be ill? Yes, this is better! After quickly finishing my judgment, I tilted his body a little and wrapped it around my left shoulder. I didn't forget to let out a little groan.

"Argh, ouch."

"......."

"Oh, and how it hurts."

Of course, it didn't do much good. I sounded perfectly fine to myself, and in my panic, I'd faked the pain a little faster than I'd intended. My eyes narrowed. What kind of wooden sword is this? A ladle from the Haejang-guk house would be stronger!

Flying in a perfect parabola, the wooden sword landed between the stacked boxes with a thud.

"......."

"......."

"......."

"It hurts.... a lot..."

I tried to make a soulless boast, but it didn't stop the eerie silence from filling the container.

Choi Seok-yoon alternately looked at a broken wooden sword with a blank face, a wooden doll that stood still, and Ui-jae's arm around his shoulder. Choi Seok-yoon wanted to say something. With a thud, the doll's right arm fell limply to the ground.

The eerie silence had gone from silence to noise. I looked at the doll's arm on the floor and gritted my teeth.

Don't you check your supplies, you bureaucrats, you're really fucking slipping up...?

I came to my senses after blaming every government for all these unexpected situations. This is no time to blame old dolls and weak wooden swords! I had to solve this unresolved situation quickly. Choi Seok-yoon slowly came to his senses.

"Excuse me, Cha... Ui-jae?"

"Yes."

"The skill you just used, is it a D-rank?"

Choi Seok-yoon's face was full of doubt. I calmed down and replied.

"Yes, it's a D-rank skill."

"But why were the doll and the wooden sword broken?"

"I don't know..."

His head hung low. Then he rubbed the floor with his worn sneakers and muttered.

"It says it strengthens your body, but I'm not sure what or how it strengthens it..."

I stammered, then rubbed my neck and asked sullenly.

"Excuse me, sir. This doll, I'll have to compensate you, right?"

"Yes? No, for now...."

"Is it really expensive?"

[Trait Poker Face (B) is activated]

When I rubbed my shoulder where the wooden sword had hit him, Choi Seok-yoon started to panic.

Oh dear. What are you saying to someone who just woke up!

There is a story that has spread like a joke in the hunting industry. Newly awakened humans are very, very, very, very sensitive and must be handled with the delicacy of a bomb!

Of course, the people who worked at the Awakening Registration Center also knew this. Not that it wasn't true. Because that's what the instructor who was training the new officials was shouting at the top of his lungs.

"The newly awakened are very sensitive as they adjust to a suddenly changed environment. You have to be very careful when dealing with them, because small irritations can turn into big problems".

In summary, the advice was that New Awakeners are just as sensitive and moody as someone who's been up for 72 hours and can go around in circles, so don't mess with them, just calm them down and get them registered.

Luckily for Ui-jae, Choi Seok-yoon was a new employee. A new employee who still had the special legal training for Awakened Ones in his head, and who kept emphasizing the importance of caring for the general public and new Awakened Ones!

If he'd had a better eye, he might have noticed that Ui-jae's eyes looked like they were ready to punch anyone in the face, but unfortunately, the near-brainwashing training he'd received from the Awakening Bureau had put a wedge in Choi Seok-yoon's eyes. Besides, Ui-jae's handsome face, even if it was hidden by the hood, added to his credibility.

Of course, what would an Awakened know who only woke up three days ago?

Choi Seok-yoon's idea leaned towards the need to calm down the new Awakened in front of him before he could overcome his emotional ups and downs and cause a bigger accident. He will return to the office soon, so he can't cause any trouble. Choi Seok-yoon coughed and picked up the broken arm of the doll.

"It's okay. This doll is very old. We wanted to replace it when we moved to the main building."

"Oh... Is that so?"

"Yes, you don't need to worry too much. We're done with the skill demonstration for now, shall we measure your skills?"

Choi Seok-yoon smiled softly and pointed to the measuring machine. I smiled back, but inside I thought that the time had finally come.

This is a mountain beyond the mountain.

This damn measurement will never end.

Choi Seok-yoon pointed to the step.

"If you take off your shoes and go up here, the machine will check the rank and skills registered in the system and display them on the monitor. Ui-jae, you just have to stand there. Easy, right?"

"Yes."

Too easy was the problem. Even if he dropped one rank from his actual rank, Cha Ui-jae's current rank was A-rank. It's as far as heaven and earth from the D-rank he wants.

I quickly looked around. A monitor connected to the machine was placed on the desk. Why don't we check the results and break it down if it's not suitable?

To do that, Choi Seok-yoon had to turn his eyes or at least get him out of the room. I stopped taking off my shoes and raised my hand.

"Excuse me, sir."

"Yes, can I help you?"

"My shoulder is a bit sore from the blow I just received... Do you think I could have some potion?"

[Trait Poker Face (B) is activated]

I looked as grumpy as I could. It would be a cheap supply potion to give to an Awakened who came to register, so it wouldn't be in his personal inventory, and it would be expensive to give me one of his own... He would have to go to the warehouse after all.

As I expected, Choi Seok-yoon scratched the back of his head as he looked around.

"Oh, the potion is in the warehouse right now... I have to go for a while, is that okay?"

"Yes. I'll take the measurements in the meantime. You said the machine would do it anyway."

"Would it? Then I'll be back soon! You can stand according to the shape of your feet. Don't move too much. When you hear the bell from the machine, you can come down and check the result. I'll be right back!"

As soon as Choi Seok-yoon left the room, I quickly took off my shoes and climbed onto the stool. The blue light began to scan my entire body from my feet. After a while, a red alphabet with a bell appeared on the screen.

[Number 93, Cha Ui-jae's rank is A].

I knew it, you bastard.

I sighed and remembered Min-ki yelling 'Fight! I wanted to ask him, shaking his collar, if it was really the best to measure today, but I couldn't imagine that the potion I tested on my body wouldn't work, so I couldn't get an answer.

At this point I'm going to have to do some minor tinkering with the computer. To prove it, I stepped off the ledge and crumpled up my shoes.

Thud!

Suddenly the world rang loudly. After a few seconds of rumbling, the door and container began to rattle and shake, and a typhoon-like wind blew in. All this in a windowless container!

Unable to overcome the strong wind, the hood I was wearing was taken off. Covering my face with my arms, I took a step back and managed to steady myself.

"Awake! Are you okay..."

Choi Seok-yoon appeared at the door with a package of potions. His hair was disheveled, maybe because he managed to get here through the wind. As he checked his condition, my eyes widened at the sight behind him. A blue glowing vortex appeared behind Choi Seok-yoon.

It's a rift!

I quickly grabbed Choi Seok-yoon and shouted.

"Hold my hand!"

"What? Huh? Argh!"

Choi Seok-yoon, who was looking around in confusion, screamed and was sucked into the rift. I clenched my teeth. An unknown cold sweat ran down my temple. I felt nauseous. I felt like something was going to come up with a lump in my throat.

What will happen if I get sucked into a rift like this? I slowly rose to my feet and began to gasp at the horrible sight that filled my consciousness.

Hands clinging to life, the unrecognizable bodies of people trampled by monsters, blood so thick you couldn't tell where it came from.

And left in the crevices...

"Ah, fuck."

Blue light washed over my head like a wave. I squeezed my eyes shut.