Chapter 13: A Cascade of Awakenings

#13

[Dambi, duck! Right side coming! Behind! Lean back! Front, front…!]

After that, there was scarcely a moment to even frown. Han Dokyeom, following the frantic warnings, threw his body about with desperate abandon, dodging the black branches that assailed him like a barrage of bullets and blades.

Whoosh! Swish!

“Damn it! What the hell is this?!”

[Dambi! Behind! Another one coming from behind! Roll!]

“Seriously, is everyone just…!”

Han Dokyeom’s gaze shot sideways in exasperation. As if watching a distant fire, everyone was mesmerized, their eyes fixed on the spectacle. Some even had their mouths clamped shut. ‘What’s there to be so shocked about that you have to cover your mouths?!’

Han Dokyeom drew the dagger he carried for self-defense, gripping it with the blade facing downward, and swung it horizontally at an incoming root. The impact of the hard object against the blade sent a jarring shock through his arm, making his hand tremble as if it would shatter.

Teal letters spread like ink, encroaching upon his vision.

[‘Trait Skill’ is preparing to awaken.]

!

‘Awakening.’

It was the coveted means by which skills were acquired, a moment of sudden fortune that every hunter desperately wished for. This was the scene of a random draw, where experience, circumstance, and luck aligned perfectly.

Typically, two conditions governed the awakening of a skill. One type could only be acquired through ‘special experiences,’ while the other was obtained from a ‘Seongwi’—the contracted demons and angels.

However, skills acquired through ‘experience’ typically held a greater proportion than those bestowed by Seongwi. This was primarily due to the Seongwi’s notorious reluctance to impart their formidable abilities.

And the skill now awakening for Han Dokyeom was likely one triggered by ‘experience.’

Immediately, a dazzling blue light enveloped his eyes, signaling the onset of the awakening. Han Dokyeom, who had watched with a hopeful expression, found his face contorting into a scowl the moment he saw the shimmering blue letters.

[‘Trait Skill’ has awakened.]

“I asked for an attack skill, an attack skill!”

Oh, this was driving him utterly mad! The hurried voice, ringing frantically in his ears, screamed at him to dodge left once more.

Han Dokyeom, having rolled sideways to evade the attack, panted heavily as he frantically surveyed his left, right, and front. Then, with an exasperated grunt, he flung mud into the air. More precisely, he flung it at Orias.

“A skill… *gasp*, give it to me, you bastard.”

[Alright, alright! I’ll…!]

[The demon ‘Orias’ of ‘Ars Goetia’ frantically rummages through their pouch of abilities.]

“Hunter Han Dokyeom!”

Following a rush of wind, someone shot past Han Dokyeom’s side. A broad, solid back, like a fortress wall, now shielded him. Booted feet sank into the marsh, as if pickled in its venomous depths, and the acrid stench of burnt flesh and decay assailed his nostrils.

It was Nam Yuseong. He stood with his feet submerged in the swamp, body low, gripping his sword as his gaze intently tracked the Udia monster. In that fleeting moment, as his back seemed to hunch, Nam Yuseong’s body sprang forward with explosive force. A faint blue light shimmered on the keen edge of his blade.

Han Dokyeom, too, adjusted his grip on his sword and pushed his trembling body upright. In that exact moment, the world seemed to turn utterly upside down.

[‘Seongwi Skill’ is preparing to awaken.]

His vision went utterly black, and a frigid chill crawled over his skin. Hatred assailed him like a ravaging fever, gnawing relentlessly at his emotions. These were the very sensations he had experienced when he first plummeted into this world and witnessed Orias’s ‘True Word’.

Hatred and disillusionment tore at each other, yet through their maelstrom, he gradually perceived the world returning to clarity. Before his sweat-drenched eyes, white letters had already begun to materialize.

[‘Seongwi Skill’ has awakened.]

A skill with no displayed rank. As Han Dokyeom struggled to open his eyes and trace the words, Orias’s True Word reappeared before him.

[The demon ‘Orias’ of ‘Ars Goetia’ tears at their hair, claiming it’s not that!]

‘…Not that?’

Han Dokyeom instinctively opened his status window and looked up at the empty air. However, a sudden, powerful force yanked him backward. The crushing grip on his arm was so immense it brought an unspeakable pain.

“Hunter Han Dokyeom! Come this way!”

It was another A-rank hunter, one of the instructors. He gripped Han Dokyeom’s arm with crushing force, pulling him behind him for protection. Effectively, all the A-rank hunters had formed a defensive line in front of Han Dokyeom.

The area where the trainees were positioned behind them seemed to have already been cleared. They were now dissecting the fallen Udia monster’s corpse, meticulously extracting magic stones and other materials. The trainees, cutting away rotten branches and retrieving roots from the swamp, appeared more seasoned than ever before.

It had to be, considering money was involved.

[The demon ‘Orias’ of ‘Ars Goetia’ bows profusely, claiming they have something to tell you.]

“Oh, right, you lion-faced bastard. Han Dokyeom pointedly ignored Orias’s words, which reeked of a bandit’s cunning, and refocused his attention on the neglected status window. In that brief, chaotic moment of fighting alone, he had acquired two skills. It was a rather expensive price to pay for desperately fighting to survive on his own.”

[Han Dokyeom]

[Rank: E-class.]

[Contract Affinity: Star of Orias, one of the 72 demons of Ars Goetia.]

[Authority: None.]

[Traits: ]

[Skills: ]

The newly categorized and . Whether blood splattered or monstrous roars echoed before him, Han Dokyeom calmly examined the skills, propping his chin in his hand.

[: A skill that awakens when the user ‘perfectly’ evades an attack from an enemy ‘significantly’ higher in rank. If the user wills it, they can perfectly evade attacks from monsters of A-class or lower.]

The phrase ‘A-class or lower’ implicitly included A-class monsters. Despite his lament about not receiving an attack skill, the ‘gacha’ had, in fact, bestowed upon him a remarkably rare and valuable ability.

Han Dokyeom then examined , which had no displayed rank.

[: Allows the user to view an opponent from a third-party perspective.]

That was the entirety of the description. Given Orias’s persistent attempts to cut a deal, rubbing their hands together, it was clear this skill was never meant for Han Dokyeom. Indeed, was an ability that even Han Dokyeom, the very creator of this original world, had never before encountered.

How could a skill he had never even conceived of come into existence? Was it because this place was now a real, existing world? Or perhaps because the narrative itself had broken free from the author’s grasp, forging its own independent path?

Whatever the reason, he now knew for certain that the future developments could diverge from the original story.

[The demon ‘Orias’ of ‘Ars Goetia’ slyly approaches, subtly asking if they could perhaps retrieve it.]

“Haha, my dear demon. Why are you spouting nonsense about taking back what you’ve given? Just go over there and be quiet, won’t you?”

[The demon ‘Orias’ of ‘Ars Goetia’ insists you listen to them first, claiming they have mountains of things even better than that, and offers to give them to you.]

It made Han Dokyeom wonder just how extraordinary this skill must be for Orias to cling to him so desperately, practically clutching at his pant leg. Pushing away the words that crowded his vision, Han Dokyeom activated the skill on Nam Yuseong, who was shaking the monster’s ichor from his blade.

‘‘

At first, the situation remained unremarkable. The swamp stretched like a misty wasteland, with toxic bubbles constantly rising. Nam Yuseong moved with an almost artistic grace, trampling through the poisonous effervescence, his sword sweeping with the precision of an acrobat.

For a long time, Han Dokyeom struggled to keep his eyes fixed on Nam Yuseong’s movements, which were almost too swift to follow. Then, as Nam Yuseong finally planted his feet and shook his blade clean, Han Dokyeom saw letters shimmering above his head like black mist.

A terrible headache immediately erupted upon confirming those words. His magic power drained all at once, and his breath came in ragged gasps. His knees trembled uncontrollably; this was clearly no ordinary occurrence.

Han Dokyeom immediately deactivated the skill, bending over to gasp for breath. A hand then settled gently on his hunched back.

“Hunter Han Dokyeom, are you alright?! You should sit down for a moment.”

He was helped to a sitting position. The letters above Nam Yuseong’s head, who still stood in the distance, had long since vanished. Han Dokyeom, still breathing heavily, ceaselessly deduced the context of Nam Yuseong and those fleeting words.

As a result, he arrived at a single conclusion.

‘They’re skills.’

They were ‘skills’ that Nam Yuseong possessed—unique abilities particular to hunters with strong stealth tendencies.

A subtle smile played on Han Dokyeom’s lips. Orias’s persistent attempts to retrieve it were entirely understandable now.

Just because a hunter had gained a Seongwi didn’t automatically mean they could acquire that Seongwi’s skills. As with anyone, truly good things are rarely shared willingly, and demons, who had existed since the dawn of creation, were no exception.

Especially when it came to their accumulated journeys, experiences, or powers.

Therefore, Seongwi either restricted or invested skills based on their dispositions, preferences, or affection for their contractors. It meant that the amount of spiritual energy invested in each contractor varied greatly.

In Nam Yuseong’s case, it was no exaggeration to say he was favored by his Seongwi, as he possessed high-grade skills.

Here, the potency and rarity of a skill also varied greatly depending on the Seongwi’s position. In that sense, Nam Yuseong likely had a high-ranking Seongwi backing him.

[The demon ‘Orias’ of ‘Ars Goetia’ bursts out in exasperation, claiming they don’t know anymore, and to assume they’re dead if they disappear!]

Oh, go on and cry. Then don’t give it to me by mistake in the first place.