The records say this:
When Awakened beings first appeared on Earth and the System flashed before their eyes, someone shouted into the air,
“Log out!”
Even now, after countless studies on Awakening and Dungeons and the way their byproducts enrich the world, the structure of the System and its grading scale for Awakened remain the academic world’s greatest mystery.
And no, the real enigma isn’t where supernatural powers originate or how one comes to Awaken.
SYSTEM: A rank is being generated.
SYSTEM: A unique skill has been generated.
The question is, why does this so-called System—also referred to as god, devil, antichrist, alien, savior, transcendent, or administrator—look so damn much like a human-made game?
Was humanity’s DNA laced with a touch of precognition, causing it to develop game systems nearly identical to this one?
Or were those dark, demonic games just so malevolent that they somehow infected the world and gave rise to this bizarre shift?
Who knows… They probably just recycled it.
After two regressions, Cha Eui-sung had come to a simple conclusion about this greatest of mysteries.
Controlling the world eats up a ludicrous amount of energy, so the Earth’s Administrator must be constantly on the lookout for “native intelligent lifeform practices” to borrow, using whatever’s already available to cut costs wherever possible.
He was sure there were plenty of recycled mechanics humanity hadn’t even noticed yet.
Still, couldn’t they have put some effort into the grading system? ABCD? Really?
Flash. He opened his eyes to find himself in bed.
With a low groan, Cha Eui-sung shoved the blanket aside.
Cold air brushed against his bare skin, and his frozen-over brain started ticking back to life.
He looked down at his body, still covered in fading traces of last night’s mess, and slowly recalled the events of dawn.
“More… just a little more…”
“Ah! Hnnng…!”
“H-Hold me.”
“Ah.”
A wave of humiliation slammed into him like a stealth assassin, silently but with brutal force, striking him square in the head.
He’d felt fine—at least until he passed out after getting home.
But now that reason had returned, he was dying of secondhand embarrassment. Just imagining what he must’ve looked like made his face go beet red.
His temperature surged, then dropped again in a flurry of panic. Cha Eui-sung smacked the back of his head against the wall with a loud thunk, trying desperately to snap out of it.
But the harder he tried to push it away, the more his mind filled with Moon Tae-young. Goddammit. Something about it all felt terribly wrong.
“Haa…”
Okay, fine. He’d admit it. It was good.
The act itself—his first time—had been good. So was that stupidly big thing that pounded into him without a shred of decency. Even the Savior Gauge sounds ringing in his ears were sweet as sugar.
But did he have to moan like that? Did he have to writhe and buck his hips like that, making all those weird noises?
Wouldn’t the gauge have gone up just the same if he’d not been such a whimpering mess? It’s not like Moon Tae-young would’ve pulled out mid-thrust just because Eui-sung wasn’t making enough sound.
“Urrrghhh.” Like a monster groaning in agony, Cha Eui-sung slammed both palms over his eyes.
If he even twitched wrong, if he stomped too hard, this whole damn house might come crashing down. He had to calm down. Had to.
“Mmm~ yawn… Are you going straight to work?”
“Yeah. If I leave now, I won’t be late.”
“You sure it’s okay for you to go today?”
“…”
“Ugh, unless you’ve lost your mind, don’t do this kind of thing here, please.”
Still, recalling the moment they parted cooled the overwhelming shame just a little. Which only pissed him off more.
Strangely, though, his chest felt… warm. Soft. Goddammit, it was disgusting how ill-fitting that warmth felt.
It was like he was acting out some real romance. Even as he scolded himself—This is dangerous. Don’t go catching feelings—the scent of someone else lingered faintly at the tip of his nose.
With a grunt, Cha Eui-sung finally kicked the blanket away and stumbled toward the bathroom.
Considering how many times that absurd girth had been slammed into him the night before, it was shocking how intact he felt down there.
No pain, no swelling, no residual heat. That was an S-rank body for you.
Sure, it wasn’t meant to be used like this, but he couldn’t deny he was thoroughly reaping the benefits.
If he hadn’t had such a sturdy build, there was no way Moon Tae-young would’ve just barged in like that on impulse.
I’d have been torn in half.
My body, I mean.
Shuddering at the horrifying thought, Cha Eui-sung glanced at himself in the mirror.
No wonder Moon Tae-young’s eyes kept lingering on his neck before he left—he’d practically left a damn buffet of love bites.
Christ, he devoured me.
Faint bruises and bite marks were scattered all over, forming an almost sensual pattern. His chest and shoulders weren’t exactly untouched either, but his neck was easily the worst of it.
He could usually heal broken skin in a day, so what the hell kind of chewing had he endured that these marks were still here?
No wonder it’d felt like Tae-young was biting down. And why the hell the neck, of all places?
Not like he could interrogate the bastard now—the Demon King with the awful mouth was long gone, probably already at work.
The guy pulls all this shit in private, then acts like a celibate monk in public. Just thinking about that contrast made Eui-sung feel flushed all over again.
[SAVIOR GAUGE]
■■■■■■■■■■
■■■■□□□□□□
70%
Only the sight of the dramatically raised gauge managed to pull him back from the brink of spiraling.
Letting himself savor the sense of satisfaction filling his chest, Cha Eui-sung admired the steadily rising bar.
He’d gained a full 12% in one night.
The rush of achievement and euphoria was almost dizzying.
Goddamn it. So the damn thing could shoot up like this, and yet it’d been dribbling along by 1% or 2% increments all this time?
Sure, the fact that it had been their first time probably earned him some bonus points…
Even accounting for that, this number is insane.
What was clear was this: something between the two of them had undeniably shifted since last night.
The way the gauge had lit up again and again, multiple times, left no room for doubt.
Splashing cold water on his face, Cha Eui-sung tried to piece together the memories from the night before.
His brain had been totally fried, but he still remembered, more or less, when the notifications had gone off.
Every single pop had happened while he was locking eyes with Moon Tae-young.
Grinding his teeth, trying to resist, until he finally gave in and admitted how much he liked it—all while his expression melted into helpless bliss.
…What kind of face was I even making?
The chill creeping down his neck was unmistakable. Cha Eui-sung shuddered, horrified at the thought.
In the mirror, a strangely dazed man stood dripping wet, his features slack and dreamy.
Still flushed, looking like a lion that had just feasted.
Pathetic.
Back in the Association days, guys walking around with faces like that were always fresh off making a mess somewhere.
Smack. With a final sigh, Cha Eui-sung slapped himself across the cheek.
***
Fweeet~ Fwiiiooo♪♩♬
Bam bam! BwoooOOOo-!
Episode 5. The One Who Strips the Wanderer’s Coat on the Eve of the Storm
The Veil of Suspicion is like the final line of defense—once it’s raised, it’s not so easily brought down!
And so, with their mission reaching a dead end, the [Hero] lures the [Demon King] in by offering himself as bait.
Thanks to the Hero’s bold decision, one that melts away the cold, the Demon King’s castle begins to crumble.
Meanwhile, following a ░░░Treaty Violation░░, the movements of the Outer God suddenly vanish, but a silent tension settles over the kingdom…
The new episode arrived just after lunchtime.
Cha Eui-sung, sprawled lazily on the sofa half-watching TV and mostly glued to his phone, snapped upright at the sudden fanfare.
He had expected a new episode, given how dramatically his gauge had shot up— but no matter how many times he heard the System’s beloved celebratory music, he could never get used to it.
King: Good tidings once again, brave Hero!
King: Congratulations on reaching 70%! You’ve pressed onward with great effort in harsh conditions.
King: A performance bonus would be appropriate, but then again, isn’t the experience and winning mentality you’ve built just as valuable a reward?
King: I continue to believe in you, always!
Whether that was meant as sincere congratulations or some kind of taunt, the barrage of ridiculous nonsense was impressive.
Winning mentality, my ass… what the fuck…
Where does this freak even get these lines?
Anyway, so-called “performance bonuses” from that guy usually amounted to some weirdo skill Eui-sung didn’t even want, or maybe a triggered [Faded Photograph Fragment].
It’s not like he’d asked for any of it. So instead of focusing on that baited “bonus,” Cha Eui-sung turned his attention to the contents of the episode itself.
“‘Tensions’…?”
The Outer God’s movements had vanished, yet silent tension lingered over the kingdom…
A rare bit of good news—but there was still something off about it.
As always, he had a ton of questions he wanted to throw at the System, but the moment he read that ominous line, his priorities flipped completely.
Frowning, Cha Eui-sung ran a hand through his now noticeably longer hair.
Why now, all of a sudden…
Hadn’t the System always claimed to be fighting back against the invaders?
So why bring up “tension” now, unless all that world-scale land-grabbing that had been going on wasn’t war after all—but more like a petty brawl with the thugs next door?
“…It’s quiet right now, is what they’re saying.”
The bastard who picked fights every damn day had suddenly vanished—not like they’d up and left, so the System was probably just monitoring them closely.
King: Despite past missteps, I find myself fond of you, Hero.
A weirdly vague compliment floated in, as if to say bingo, you guessed right.
Cha Eui-sung crossed his legs, wearing a thoroughly unimpressed expression.
He didn’t recall doing anything so wrong that the System could throw around words like “past missteps.”
Was it just another burst of nonsense from a roleplay-obsessed AI? Or could it be blaming him—absurdly—for the failures of his second life?
The thought soured his mood, but he had no intention of arguing about it. The System wasn’t the type to actually listen anyway, and besides, he still had a ton of questions he wanted answered.
Like this one:
“That trace you mentioned last time, near the Gateway—I want to know exactly what that meant. It didn’t seem like it was limited to just some Dungeon accident.”
That last encounter had been way too unusual.
He’d come face-to-face with an Outer God, the System, and likely something close to a supervisor too—and after that, one thing after another had spiraled out of control: the Jeongchoduk incident, Go Yeong-won’s surprise visit…
All of it stemmed from that day.
