Chapter 2
Mythic-grade.
It was a grade that had never existed before.
What could that mean?
As someone who had long admired Awakeners, I knew exactly what it meant.
'According to all reported records, I'm the only one.'
I had suddenly become a one-of-a-kind Awakener.
Even Legendary-grade Awakeners were fought over by every guild, and now there was an Awakener with an ultra-rare trait above that…
My gaze was drawn to the Status Window.
'What kind of trait could a Mythic-grade one be?'
"Let's see…."
My eyes darted up and down.
And when I saw this Mythic-grade trait…
I was disappointed.
[The Tower's Harmonizer (Mythic)]
Your soul is not bound to a single Tower.
You can move freely between Towers.
(When used, moves you to the same floor)
"What is this?"
So this was what it meant?
If I was climbing Easy, I could switch to Normal whenever I changed my mind?
What use was this?
I was only going to climb the Wimp's Tower anyway.
'It is Mythic-grade, all right—the kind of grade that makes me angry because it's so damn stupid!'
They had given me this shitty trait.
No wonder even the Status Window was shit-colored.
A sigh escaped me.
"Sigh… Figures."
'The others will probably be similar.'
Even my hand reaching for the Status Window had lost its strength.
Not even a press—just a click.
The next trait appeared after my halfhearted gesture.
[Dragon Armor (Mythic)]
The dragon's blessing imbues your body.
All damage taken is reduced by 80%.
"……Huh?"
At that moment.
My world came to a brief stop.
'If it's 80 percent, that means I take only 20 percent of the damage?'
It was obviously a ridiculously overpowered trait.
Had a trait like this ever been reported in the world?
I hurriedly got up and headed for the computer.
Before long, I found an interview from overseas.
[Norway's S-rank Hunter makes headlines after revealing he takes only half damage…]
"S-rank?!"
S-rank.
That was a strategic weapon on the national level.
Even he only took half.
I, on the other hand, had 80 percent.
That meant I took only two-fifths as much damage as he did.
I was dumbfounded.
-SMACK!!!
"…It's true, it barely hurts."
To confirm it, I slapped my cheek.
The trait was confirmed to be real.
Gulp.
I swallowed and, unlike before, paid my respects to the Status Window.
'Could the others be like this too….'
"…Wow."
I pressed the remaining traits one by one.
Every one of them was Mythic-grade.
[Dragon Eyes (Mythic)]
The dragon's dignity imbues you.
Appraises items of Mythic grade or lower.
Reveals all secrets.
Sees through the enemy's weaknesses.
[Guardian Dragon's Blessing (Mythic)]
The dragon's prayer imbues you.
Once per day, nullifies a fatal injury and fully heals you.
[Dragon Knight (Mythic)]
The dragon's love imbues you.
You can summon and ride dragons.
(Requires reaching Floor 50 or higher of the Tower)
"A dragon set…?"
Dragon Armor, Dragon Eyes, Guardian Dragon's Blessing, and Dragon Knight.
Four traits sharing the same keyword.
Though Dragon Knight was a late-blooming trait that only came into its own from Floor 50, making it useless to me, who was going to be an 'Easy Tower-climbing young man'…
'The rest alone are more than enough, though.'
A Mythic-grade tank with an extra life attached.
An Awakener who could appraise items on the spot.
And identify a monster's weaknesses.
Wouldn't the major guilds try to recruit me?
They'd probably even roll out a red carpet for me.
'…That is, if it ended here.'
"Phew."
After rubbing my face with both hands,
I shifted my gaze to another trait.
As expected, this wasn't the end.
[Myriad Severance Sword (Mythic)]
The sword is imbued with mystery.
You can cut through anything.
"Anything…?"
First, the Myriad Severance Sword.
This probably meant something like defense penetration.
Like a kitchen knife with roses painted on it.
This alone secured my attack power, but,
[Sword God (Mythic)]
You attain mastery over martial arts.
You receive a bonus in combat using a sword.
'Even a combat-related trait?'
Was giving me a sword alone not enough?
They even threw something like this in.
I had no idea how large the bonus would be.
It probably wouldn't be ordinary.
I was already short of breath at the thought of how easily I could exploit this.
'The others….'
[Golden Rule (Mythic)]
The threads of fate shine brightly.
Greatly increases the chance of obtaining loot when hunting monsters in the Tower.
[Fusion (Mythic)]
Your hands are imbued with mystery.
You can consume large quantities of low-quality items to create higher-grade goods.
[Inventory (Mythic)]
You gain remote access to the treasure vault of another world.
You can freely bring in and take out most items.
"……Insane."
Even 'artifacts,' items that drop extremely rarely in the Tower.
I could apparently farm those too.
Could it end there? There was even a trait that upgraded them, and an inventory to store them in.
Bundles of money were already dancing before my eyes.
Everything was truly great, but…
'Now, now, that's enough!! This much favoritism is scary, damn it!!!'
If you're going to shower me with gifts, show some restraint.
If you gave me this much, it made me feel like I had to do something incredible.
Like being the first to clear the Pilgrim's Tower on Hard difficulty.
I had absolutely no intention of doing that.
I was going to climb the Wimp's Tower.
Still, after giving me this much, maybe trying the Challenger's Tower on Normal difficulty wouldn't be so bad. Anyway.
'The others….'
[Hyper-Adaptation (Mythic)]
Blessing flows through your blood.
When struck by an elemental attack, you immediately gain resistance to it.
[Overlord (Mythic)]
You gain absolute charisma.
Upon clearing a boss floor for the first time, you acquire that boss as a summon.
[Seed of Transcendence (Mythic)]
You gain infinite possibilities.
"…Phew."
'The remaining three are a little underwhelming.'
Whether fortunately or unfortunately, the other traits weren't as useful as the ones before.
Hyper-Adaptation?
I'm never going to meet monsters that use elemental attacks.
Overlord?
What use would I have for a boss monster that died in a few swings of my sword?
Oh, the Floor 10 boss is cute, so I could use it as a pet.
As for the Seed of Transcendence…
It looks impressive, but it's useless when the owner is an Egen Man.
'Why did I end up with something like this?'
It's too much for me. Way too much.
I was about to leave it at that.
…Until something suddenly came to mind.
I really intended to.
[—Once you awaken, go to Normal difficulty no matter what.]
"Ah."
A voice suddenly flashed through my mind.
The old man's image shimmered before my eyes.
An imaginary conversation played out in my head.
[You'd take those fucking overpowered traits to Easy? You fucking idiot?]
'Old man—no, Gigachad?'
[With an opportunity like this, can you really face your little sister with your head held high if you don't seize it?]
'But what if I die?'
[You fucking never die. Climbing the Pilgrim's Tower is no big deal.]
'…….'
[Be brave, Hwi-min Ppippi.]
And after finishing my consultation with the Gigachad inside me.
I quickly erased the Status Window.
It wasn't to run away.
'…Should I really try it?'
Click—
After a crisp mouse click rang out,
the Awakener community appeared on my monitor.
I logged in with an account different from the one I'd used earlier…
[Awakener Minor Gallery]
Title: What would you think if you had 10 Legendary-grade traits?
(A green-haired VTuber picture I found in the gallery)
A man climbing the Egen Man Tower with this
<<< Is this too fucking gay?
'Help me, collective intelligence.'
I wrote the post and waited.
Whether I'd succeeded in baiting them, the comments quickly piled up.
[Comments]
That's pretty damn Tower-gay, though.
At that point, you'd smash even Hard mode.
ㄴ A national-power-level monster is born lmao
'They're similar too.'
At first, public opinion was favorable, but…
-Freeze.
'…Huh?'
But that lasted only a moment.
I froze and gaped.
Because the comments section had begun to catch fire.
With horrifying content that would make me freeze.
[Comments]
If there really were an Awakener like that, they'd definitely get taken away.
ㄴ For real lmao
ㄴ You'd just become a government-certified Chunsik.
ㄴ The guy who faceplanted into the Hard Tower and got stuck only got off because he was a chaebol; normally he'd have been dragged into the military.
"That's right, the military!!!"
I'm twenty-two, and haven't served yet.
I'm eligible for alternative service as an Awakener.
I'm not grateful, damn it.
'Was it mandatory service starting from the Normal-difficulty Tower and above, with a service period of three years and two months?'
Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have cared.
No, I might even have welcomed it.
Alternative service only meant lazing around at home most of the time and being sent out when Gates were short-staffed.
It was basically a cushy assignment where you deployed once every three months and collected five million won a month without fail.
But for me, it was a serious problem.
Because I…
Had far too many traits.
[Comments]
(OP Anonymous) Enough to get arrested?
ㄴ At that level, they should treat you like a nuke;;
ㄴ If the country lets someone like that run free, is it even a country?
ㄴ If you don't have resistance to mental attacks, you'd immediately get hit with a hypnosis app, stare into a camera, and say I'm a proud member of the Republic of Korea's Toilet Armyyy♡♡
(OP Anonymous) You just have to keep your traits hidden.
ㄴ You'd get caught by an Administration Bureau employee on the first floor just for going to Normal Tower, right? You'd be subject to a comprehensive examination, right? Information-type Awakeners would expose everything, right?
ㄴ Ah, if you go Easy, none of that happens, though lol
ㄴ Legendary-grade traits and Easy lmao
(OP Anonymous) Then what would you guys do?
ㄴ At that level, you'd have to challenge the Chad's Tower.
ㄴ Just die (somewhat paraphrased)
ㄴ Even with ten Legendary-grade traits, you'd probably have no trouble reaching Floor 50.
"Hmm."
Everyone's advising against going to Normal, the Challenger's Tower.
Because in this hellscape of a peninsula, you'd be arrested without chaebol-level connections.
There was…a point to it!
[Comments]
YUNA : Ugh, another conspiracy theory;;
YUNA : You think there'd be a mind-control trait?
YUNA : If there were, you'd mind-control the president.
YUNA : Information-type traits aren't that all-powerful either.
YUNA : This is why non-Awakeners…
"Huh?"
Of course, there were also opinions to the contrary,
[Comments]
(This comment has been deleted)
ㄴ Administration Bureau IP apprehended
'Oh, it was just a troll.'
No wonder they used a username despite being an anonymous user.
They must have deleted it to make their own Administration Bureau joke.
Then again, would anyone who went around a cesspool site like this with a girly username like 'YUNA' be normal?
"Phew…."
Click—
I closed the browser window.
As I looked up at the dark ceiling, it seemed the old man's image was flickering before me too.
"Hey."
[Fucking goddamn Korea… I'm so sorry, my boy….]
"I'm going to the Wimp's Tower. You have no complaints, right?"
[Of course, Hwi-min Ppippi.]
Since even the Gigachad inside me approved.
All right, let's go.
To waste the most overpowered traits in history.
* * *
But the moment I entered the Tower.
I finally realized.
"I'm sorry I failed to recognize you, O GOAT of traits!!!"
Mythic-grade traits had a reason for being Mythic-grade.