The system didn't chime.
It didn't flash across his vision like in the training reels or the drama shows where awakened ones screamed and light poured from their hands.
It was quiet.
Almost shy.
Like it had been waiting, watching, and now, just barely, it decided to speak.
A soft flick at the edge of his vision.
Then:
[Combat Record Registered]
[Initializing Status Readout…]
[System Sync: Complete]
Taesung blinked.
For a second, he thought he imagined it.
But the faint glow lingered in the center of his mind—not in front of him, not on his screen, but inside.
Real.
He focused, the way Harin had taught him. Calm breath. No fear. Just intention.
The status window opened.
[Awakened: Yoon Taesung]
Level: 3
Rank: C (Confirmed)
Type: Unclassified
Skill: [Null Read] — Analysis Pending
Stats:
Strength: 4
Agility: 5
Endurance: 6
Perception: 12
Willpower: 15
Energy: 8
Passive Effects:
[Distortion Trace]: System feedback obscured. Analysis continues.
[Instinct Echo]: Latent pattern recognition active in non-combat environments.
He stared.
And for a long time, he didn't feel anything.
No sudden rush of pride.
No horror.
Just silence.
He was still weak.
Stronger than a normal person, maybe, but barely.
His physical stats were what you'd expect from someone who never trained seriously. But… his perception and willpower were different. Off-balance. Skewed.
And the skill Null Read was still a question mark.
Even to the system.
He touched the side of his temple.
"Unclassified," he whispered.
He didn't know if that was good or bad.
Just real.
Later that morning, Harin found him outside the same corner store where they'd first talked.
"You look like someone punched you in the soul," she said, biting into a red bean bun.
"I saw it."
She stopped chewing. "Saw what?"
"The system. It finally synced."
"And?"
He turned the screen toward her.
She looked.
Her eyebrows lifted.
"…Huh."
"That's it?"
"Your Perception's high," she said. "Willpower too. That's rare."
"What about the rest?"
"You're still weak as hell."
He nodded. "Yeah."
"But you've got something most people don't."
"What?"
She tapped his chest, lightly. "You kept moving without needing proof."
Taesung said nothing.
She tossed him a second bun. "Eat. You're gonna need the energy."
"For what?"
She grinned. "For training. You think Graylight lets you walk into a Rift more than once without learning how to stand straight?"
"…You training me now?"
"I'm bored. And you're bad at saying no."
She wasn't wrong.
That evening, Taesung stared at his stat screen again, alone in his apartment.
He memorized the numbers.
Didn't fantasize about what they'd become.
Just accepted what they were.
C-Rank. Weak strength. Unclassified skill.
But now he knew.
And somehow, that was more terrifying than not knowing at all.
Because now he didn't have the excuse of being in the dark.
Now it was real.
And whatever came next… would be real too.