Chapter 10
Flash!
My vision, which had been engulfed in a swirl of light, soon brightened.
I had emerged from the Tower.
Perhaps because not much time had passed, I could still see Awakened people reaching toward the Tower and entering it.
"Hmm."
I watched them for a moment, then clenched my fist and experimentally swung it through the air a few times.
Whoosh, whoosh!
My movements seemed a little sluggish. Maybe fatigue was catching up with me.
"Hmm."
I began to loosen up.
From jumping jacks to exercises for my waist and sides, I went through the only calisthenics routine I knew: the Korean military's.
Though it was a relic from an era before I was born, astonishingly, it was still in active use in the military.
Even today, soldiers across the country still did calisthenics to the drill commands every morning.
'If only I'd Awakened a little sooner.'
I could've legally avoided military service, but I Awakened only after finishing my full term. What was that about?
Anyway, as I stretched my whole body and continued the routine with gusto, I felt the Awakened around me turn their eyes toward me.
A little kid—more specifically, a girl—doing Korean military calisthenics was bound to attract attention.
Of course, most of them quickly lost interest and looked away.
A few kept watching me to the end, tapping away on their phones.
[Title: Saw a Girl Doing Korean Military Calisthenics Today]
They were probably writing something like that.
"Ah."
The moment I finished with the final breathing exercise, I came to my senses.
It was the same feeling as waking from a deep dream, like I'd experienced while clearing the first floor a little while ago.
"No."
What was that, seriously? Why did this happen every time I entered the Tower?
Was there another self sleeping inside me, like a werewolf? And whenever I saw the Tower, did it lose control and run wild?
'But my memories are way too clear for that.'
It wasn't just the memories—the sensations and emotions from that time were so vivid they gave me chills.
When I smashed in the goblin's chest, I enjoyed it.
The moment I snapped a goblin's neck with one hand, I felt a rapture like I owned the world.
That was probably why I got so irritated when the goblin shaman tried to run off at the end and spoil my fun.
Every one of those emotions was disturbingly vivid.
'But I'm not some lunatic who enjoys hunting monsters.'
Ah, since my body had changed, would that make me a crazy woman now?
Anyway. I wasn't a psychopath who got pleasure from slaughter.
I used to be the softest of soft guys—I was too scared of bugs to kill even one.
'This...'
Last time, my dopamine had been going through the roof over the SSS rank, so I'd brushed it off. But not today.
For now, I was satisfied with fighting monsters, but what if a day came when monsters weren't enough?
I might end up turning into a criminal who hurt people.
It might sound like a huge leap, but Awakened people who committed murder after being swept along by their traits regularly made the news.
'This isn't all good, is it!'
I hadn't even achieved my dream yet, and I was going to become a mad serial killer? Absolutely not.
"F-First, I need to get home!"
There was no way I'd find an answer by clutching my head outside.
I hurriedly called a taxi to take me home.
***
I took a quick shower, roughly dried my hair, and immediately opened Wizard Gallery.
They say leave medicine to pharmacists and illness to doctors.
And if it was a problem with a trait, the Wizard Gallery crowd would know best.
[Title: Another SSS Rank? Fuck]
[Title: The World's So Unfair]
[Title: Heavenly Demon <<< Any Chance This Guy's a Mage?]
Maybe the rumor had already spread that I cleared the second floor with an SSS rank, because the gallery was already in an uproar.
A quick look showed that most posts were asking who Heavenly Demon was or desperately hoping the newbie called Heavenly Demon wasn't a warrior type.
"Hmm, they're praising this sovereign."
Normally, I'd have replied to every post and built Heavenly Demon's reputation, but...
Since this was an emergency, unfortunately, I had no time to respond to all this fervent support.
[Title: Mage Bro Hit SSS Rank, How'd I Do?]
[Posted by: Heavenly Demon]
Hey, you're here? Bro's got a question.
Have you ever seen a trait that makes your emotions swing all over the place, or makes you go berserk?
[Comments]
MageSsi: Why hasn't this bastard been blocked yet?
ㄴ Heavenly Demon: Because this sovereign is the Heavenly Demon.
Roombound Archmage: Ugh, this guy tricked me again with his name.
ㄴ Heavenly Demon: This sovereign is indeed the Heavenly Demon.
Allah's Magic Wand: Now he's even got a whole persona, damn.
ㄴ Heavenly Demon: Answer the question.
These guys weren't answering what I asked and were just going on about my username again.
I really needed to prove once and for all that I was the Heavenly Demon soon...
"Ah, right."
Come to think of it, I'd forgotten to take a proof shot.
I'd thought about it, but once I actually entered the Tower, I'd forgotten.
Honestly, even if I'd remembered, there was no telling whether the me back then would've calmly done it.
"At this rate, I can't prove to the world that I'm the Heavenly Demon...!"
I could almost hear the countless sponsors who'd nearly flocked to me drifting away.
Loves Magic: Traits that make you lose your mind? A lot of warrior mains have those.
ㄴ Warrior Main: Were you calling me?
ㄴ Loves Magic: Not you, dumbass;;
Just as the phantom image of my departing sponsors flickered before my eyes...
Loves Magic posted a comment.
"This guy actually knows quite a lot."
A user with the fixed username 'Loves Magic.'
A hardcore Wizard Gallery addict who showed up in nearly every post, yet whose knowledge was as vast as the sea, making him pretty helpful.
He appeared at all hours of the day and night, whenever you least expected it—a truly insane amount of activity.
At this point, I was starting to wonder if he was actually an AI run by some company rather than a person.
Well, given the gallery rules, casual mentions of usernames were allowed, but overtly cozying up to someone was forbidden, so I'd have to keep my curiosity to myself.
ㄴ Heavenly Demon: Warrior mains have a lot of those?
I quickly replied.
"Warrior main" was Wizard Gallery slang for the warrior class.
These days, because of the user who went by that name, the derogatory term 'muscle monkey' was used more often than 'warrior main.'
Warrior Main: Were you calling me?
"Yeah, you."
He was clearly a hybrid-class user.
He was such an avid defender of warriors on Wizard Gallery that his nickname was even 'Warrior Rights Activist,' and...
I also couldn't understand why he hung around a mage gallery when he could go to a warrior gallery if he wanted to defend warriors.
Did he just like trolling? Then again, other users were always cursing him out.
ㄴ Heavenly Demon: Do you know anything about the trait he mentioned?
At any rate, when it came to information about warriors, this guy was the most knowledgeable on Wizard Gallery.
Warrior Main: Roughly, yeah. But aren't you keeping up the bit? It was funny.
ㄴ Heavenly Demon: Could you explain it to me?
ㄴ Warrior Main: I can, but your way of talking's pissing me off. Blocked.
ㄴ Heavenly Demon: Ah.
"Don't tell me..."
With trembling hands, I hurriedly began typing comments.
ㄴ Heavenly Demon: Hey, you're not, right?
ㄴ Heavenly Demon: (Meme of someone clinging to a leg and crying, 'Don't go!')
No response. He seemed to be dead.
ㄴ Heavenly Demon: Hey.
ㄴ Heavenly Demon: Hey, you muscle-monkey bastard! At least finish explaining before you go!
"Ah, shit."
That crazy bastard actually blocked me!
"U-Ugh."
I wanted to scream right then and there, but I forced myself to swallow my anger, knowing the neighbor would raise hell if I did.
What was I supposed to do with this boiling anger?
Just as I was seriously considering beating a pillow mercilessly to let it out...
Ding!
Warrior Main: Kidding. It was too long to explain, so I made a new post. Go read it.
Warrior Main: https://…….
Right on cue, Warrior Main had replied with a link.
ㄴ Heavenly Demon: I knew I could count on you, damn it!
ㄴ Warrior Main: Some guy who says he trusts me... (frog punching meme)
ㄴ Heavenly Demon: (side-eye meme)
I immediately clicked the link Warrior Main had posted.
[Title: About Traits That Change Your Emotions or Personality]
[Warrior Main]
Today, let's take a look at traits that change your emotions or personality.
First, there's the trait called Berserker, or Frenzied Warrior.
It's a trait that makes your eyes roll back and sends you into a wild frenzy when you enter combat, but you usually die fastest after pulling that shit.
"Berserker, huh."
A trait that makes your eyes roll back.
My mind stayed clear, but my way of thinking changed a little, so this was different.
[Warrior Main]
Next, there's Pain Insensitivity.
You ask if that's a medical condition? It is. Our Tower turns illnesses into traits, too.
This one makes you unable to feel pain, so you charge in recklessly and die early.
That's all the traits I know.
I could feel pain just fine. So that one was out, too.
[Comments]
Heavenly Demon: Professor, is that it?
ㄴ Warrior Main: That's it.
Heavenly Demon: I think all the traits are total bullshit!
ㄴ Warrior Main: Good observation. All the traits listed above are trap traits.
Heavenly Demon: What should I do if I have one of those traits?!
ㄴ Warrior Main: No idea. Like I explained, most people with them didn't live long and died.
ㄴ MageSsi: You two are getting along great.
"No, you bastard."
In the end, there was nothing useful in there at all.
The conclusion was simply that people whose personalities changed because of their traits, like me, all died after acting recklessly.
In other words, there was no answer this way. Just as I was at a loss over what to do...
Roombound Archmage: If the problem is getting too excited during combat, why not solve it with magic?
A new comment appeared.
“Magic?”
What kind of magic was he talking about?
Roombound Archmage: Use a calming spell. The kind you use to subdue monsters.
It felt like a bolt of lightning had struck my mind.
I could see a way forward.
The clue had appeared.