Mom passed away.

After crying until I nearly fainted, Mom was moved to the morgue.

Dad was busy.

He had to handle the necessary paperwork and procedures.

He spoke with hospital staff.

He confirmed the funeral hall reservation.

He even meticulously gathered the insurance-related documents.

It was painful to watch him do all of that.

After arranging the funeral hall Dad notified relatives and acquaintances of Mom’s passing.

He clung to the phone and called them one by one...

He forced his voice to stay calm as he delivered the news but restrained grief seeped through his words.

“Oh my baby... Hanbyeol, Hanbyeol, why are you there... oh, oh...”

The first to arrive was my maternal grandmother.

Just as I was ‘my everything’ to Mom I was probably the same to Grandma.

Only then did Dad finally break down.

He dropped to his knees before Grandma and kept saying he was sorry.

He apologized over and over and begged for forgiveness.

Grandma’s weak hands struck Dad’s body but what hurt more was probably Grandma’s heart.

The mood at the funeral hall was heavy.

Because it wasn’t a natural death.

There were more mourners than I expected.

The Yakult company sent condolence wreaths.

A man with a fairly high-ranking title came and discussed compensation matters with Dad.

He said it would be processed as an industrial accident and they would compensate sufficiently so a legal lawsuit would be unnecessary.

People who used to work with Dad also came.

Was Dad a little glad to see them after so long?

He shared soju with them.

My friends came too.

Even if we didn’t meet often, the friends I could still hang out with without it being awkward comforted me.

Should I laugh or cry?

It was awkward so I told them the boiled pork tasted good and to eat plenty of yukgaejang (spicy beef soup) before they left.

My friends only left when it was already dawn.

None of the ‘close customers’ Mom always bragged about came to pay their respects.

Is that just how it is?

I don’t know.

On the day of the funeral procession Mom became a handful of ashes at the crematorium and was placed in a columbarium (ash depository).

Maybe because I didn’t have any tears left to shed but once everything was over I felt oddly numb.

Dad lit a cigarette even though he had quit.

“Is the studying you were doing going well?”

Dad asked as he looked up at the sky and exhaled smoke.

The way he looked reminded me of incense stuck into a burner.

“Yes.”

“That civil service thing isn’t very fun these days. Want to do interior work with me? Even with my hand like this... I can still teach you everything.”

Dad still thinks I’m preparing for the civil service exam.

But I didn’t really correct him.

“No, Mom... awakened me.”

All of a sudden my throat tightened again and something surged up.

I tried to say it calmly like it was nothing.

But that wasn’t something Dad could hear and be fine with.

“What are you talking about?”

“Mom showed up in my dream and... that’s what happened.”

“Huh.”

Dad snorted like it was ridiculous.

“She left while only worrying about us until the very end.”

Then tears poured from Dad’s eyes as he kept staring up at the sky.

Tears streamed down his cheeks and gathered at his chin before dripping off.

“Dusik, whew… I’m sorry. Dad is so useless... I’m sorry.”

After roughly wiping his tears Dad looked at me with reddened eyes and said it.

It feels like we’re going to live with regret for the rest of our lives.

* * *

I told the old landlord I would move out of the studio apartment and went home.

Mom’s absence felt too big.

I couldn’t just leave Dad living alone because I was worried.

Honestly my room and my parents’ home were both in Seoul.

It’s basically the same either way.

The reason I didn’t visit often is that thinking about it just makes me regret things again.

Dad called coworkers he used to do carpentry with and looked for work.

“Even without a finger, I can still install doors.”

“Yeah, yeah, okay. Tomorrow?”

“Okay.”

“Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”

See?

He could do it.

But I decided not to blame him.

“Don’t worry. Installing doors isn’t dangerous at all. I’m more worried about you. Being a Hunter is dangerous. If you end up like that too then...”

Dad must’ve felt like he was jinxing it because he quickly shut his mouth.

“I haven’t even decided whether I’ll do Hunter work or not.”

“Right. Think carefully and decide. They say these days a lot of people awaken and still don’t become Hunters.”

“Yes.”

“If you still want to keep studying for the civil service exam, you can.”

“Dad, I gave up on the civil service exam a while ago. Right now I’m studying coding and preparing for employment...”

Dad paused.

“Yeah… Is that so? I didn’t know. But I’m hungry. I’ll go buy something.”

“Okay.”

“Hangover soup?”

“Sounds good.”

A world without Mom.

It’s sad but it’s still where people live.

* * *

A five-pyeong studio apartment.

My things were packed full into moving boxes.

“Whew...”

Still it’s a space I got really attached to.

A space that was entirely mine...

Here I decided to check the gift Mom left me for the first time.

I couldn’t help feeling resistant.

An uncertain thought that if she hadn’t awakened me then maybe she wouldn’t have died made me that way.

I muttered quietly.

The exclusive possession of Awakeners.

“Status Window.”

In that moment it felt like my heart stopped.

A bizarre interface that reminded me of bones filled my vision.

+——+——+Status Window+——+——+

Name : Lee Dusik

Level : 0

HP : 300

MP : 250

Experience : 0 / 1,000

Class : 'Unique' Skeleton Lord

Constellation : Skeleton Star

Traits : [Skeleton] [Lord]

+——+——+Stats+——+——+

Strength: 3

Agility: 4

Constitution': 3

Intelligence: 17

Wisdom: 25

Luck: 3

Distributable Points : 3

+——+——+S k i l l s+——+——+

['Unique' Summon Skeleton Soldier LV. 1]

Skeleton Lord’s unique skill.
Summons a skeleton soldier for 17 hours '1 hour x Intelligence'.
Stat Inheritance: The summoned skeleton soldier inherits 25% '0.01 x Wisdom' of the lord’s stats.
Number of summonable soldiers: 1 'proportional to skill level'
Equipment System: You can equip each skeleton soldier with an individual equipment set.
The equipment set is saved and upon resummoning it will be summoned with the saved setup.
Individual Entity: Each skeleton soldier is a separate entity and can have different abilities and equipment configurations.
Stat Transfer: If a skeleton soldier dies in combat the stats of that entity transfer to a nearby skeleton soldier for 17 minutes '1 minute x Intelligence'.
MP Cost : 50
Cooldown : None
EXP required to level up : 0 / 1,000

+——+——+——+——+——+——+

So this is what it is.

I blinked and carefully examined the Status Window in detail.

‘Is this... good?’

To be honest it was ambiguous.

Even if it wasn’t good I didn’t plan to complain but with just one quick look I could see the pros and cons.

First the advantage is that the class is 'Unique'.

It wasn’t a common class like swordsman, archer, mage, necromancer, priest and so on.

Of course calling something common also means it’s solid so that isn’t necessarily bad.

On the other hand, that was also a disadvantage.

There would be practically no information I could get.

And the constellation that awakened me is Skeleton Star.

I’d never even heard of it.

Another disadvantage is that I only have one starting skill.

As far as I know generally when you awaken you have at least one unique skill with no skill level cap and one ultimate skill whose efficiency and output are on another level.

Of course as you grow your constellation grants you additional skills that fit your class and combat style but...

For now it was a clear disadvantage.

It even made me think it might be too much to start being a Hunter.

But it’s too early to judge without even using the skill.

“Summon Skeleton Soldier.”

The moment I cast the skill for the first time.

Honestly I was shocked.

A vertical crack split the air and a literal white-bone skeleton soldier pushed its way out from the gap.

Faced with a scene straight out of a creepy and grotesque horror thriller occult movie I had no choice but to freeze stiff.

“Holy...”

The skeleton soldier dropped to one knee and bowed its head to show respect.

Now it feels real.

Regardless of performance I awakened and gained a power that no scientific law can explain.

‘Ahem... but the visuals…’

Another disadvantage.

If this guy walks outside right now people will scream and run and Hunters will get dispatched to erase it.

It looked exactly like a monster.

Still I should think positively.

I wanted to awaken.

Who knows?

Maybe when I get my rank evaluated it’ll be amazing.

First I got curious what the skeleton soldier can actually do.

“Pick that up.”

I pointed at the box containing my computer tower and monitor and gave the order.

The skeleton soldier that had been kneeling in obedience stood and walked to the box then bent at the waist.

That’s not how you lift something heavy.

You’ll strain your back...

You’re supposed to squat and lift with your legs...

Sure enough.

The skeleton soldier’s arms and legs trembled as it lifted the box about five centimeters off the ground then,

Crack-

Its spine snapped and it vanished with black smoke.

“Huh?”

* * *

After cleaning up the studio apartment I headed to the [Awakener Management Office] located in Seocho-gu.

A stiff and boring square building sitting on expensive land.

But the headless dragon sculpture at the entrance was pretty cool.

On the stone plaque explaining the sculpture it said this.

[Dedicated to the Subjugation of the One-Horned Dragon Krazidrach]

[Jang Hyeonguk, Hwang Taesan, Baek Jongdu, Lee Chowol, Ahn Seongjin and Kang Sangjun]

The names of six S-grade Hunters representing South Korea were engraved there and now that I looked closely a one-horned dragon head lay beside the plaque.

I heard that terrifying-looking thing became excellent material for the equipment of those six S-grade Hunters whose names were on the plaque.

I admired it for a moment, took a few photos and went into the building.

At the entrance a public service worker guided me to a kiosk.

“Hello.”

“Yes, hello. You can apply for whatever business you need to handle here.”

“Thank you.”

[1. Grade Rejudgment Application]

[2. New Awakener Registration]

[3. Awakener Information Change]

[4. Awakener Death Report]

[5. Hunter License Application]

[6. Disaster Response Cooperation Applicant]

[7. Hunter Guild Registration]

[8. Counseling Reservation]

When I pressed number 2 a ticket printed without any questions asked.

Reception Number : 329

People Waiting : 4.

About three thousand Awakeners are born in Korea every year and legally they must register at the Awakener Management Office within 28 days.

But since only the Awakener themselves knows the exact date of awakening it’s hard to catch someone registering late.

However, if an unregistered Awakener uses a skill in a public place they will be fined and if they abuse it for crime they become subject to heavier punishment.

But those cases are rare.

Usually when people awaken they want to sign up for Huntthreads first and above all the benefits the government provides to Awakeners are pretty decent.

Generally the first thing you do after awakening is come here and register as an Awakener.

I sat in a chair and waited for my turn doing nothing then opened the Status Window and read the skill description carefully.

There were a lot of options.

First, Stat Inheritance : The summoned skeleton soldier inherits 25% '0.01 x Wisdom' of the lord’s stats.

‘So that’s why the skeleton soldier was trash. With 25% of my current stats that means Strength Agility and Constitution are all below 1…’

It was like ordering a baby to lift a sack of rice.

It’s no wonder its spine snapped.

It was shocking that it completely vanished though.

Still my stats will grow someday and… Stat Transfer : If a skeleton soldier dies in combat the stats of that entity transfer to a nearby skeleton soldier for 17 minutes '1 minute x Intelligence'.

‘This is pretty good.’

If later I can summon multiple skeleton soldiers then the one that survives the longest can receive the transferred stats of the ones that went first which implies it can become much stronger.

Right now I can only summon one but later that will increase and then...

Ding-dong-

[Counter 4]

[No. 329]

At this point isn’t it doable?