Bang! Bang! Bang!
Jeong-min and Jun-ki stood in front of the noisy school building, which was still under construction.
Jun-ki said in a worried voice.
"...I really hope they accept us here... This is the last of the large shelters." Jeong-min replied to Jun-ki's worried voice.
"...If they don't accept me here either... don't worry about me, Jun-ki, and just go in yourself."
"Hey, how can I go in alone..."
"What do you mean alone? You have to think about your family. I'm alone, so don't worry about me. I'm a triple-grade Awakened with three skills, there's gotta be somewhere for me to go."
Jun-ki sighed softly at Jeong-min's seemingly calm words.
Jeong-min tapped Jun-ki on the shoulder and said.
"Let's go in."
The two entered the school.
The school, nearing the end of its construction, boasted a tremendous grandeur.
Jeong-min looked at the school and said.
"Wow... they made it this far in just two months... The power of a large corporation is amazing. Well, they're pouring so much money into it, they better be able to do this much... It looks completely sturdy, doesn't it?"
Jun-ki seemed to agree with Jeong-min, and exclaimed in admiration as he looked at the school.
The two went to the container box in front of the school and knocked on the door.
"Come in."
Hearing the man's voice from inside, Jeong-min opened the door and went inside.
Inside the container box, there was an office desk and a chair, and a small sofa in front of it.
A young man in a suit, who was sitting in the desk chair, stood up and greeted them.
"Welcome. You're Choi Jeong-min and... Park Jun-ki, right?"
The man held out his hand and asked for a handshake, and Jeong-min and Jun-ki shook hands.
Jeong-min said while shaking hands.
"Yes, I'm Choi Jeong-min... and this friend is Park Jun-ki."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Kim Yoon-soo, an assistant manager in charge of admissions at Shelter [Daesung]."
After the three shook hands, they sat on the sofa following Kim Yoon-soo's guidance.
Kim Yoon-soo also sat down and spoke to the two.
"Actually, our Shelter [Daesung] has already finished selecting all the residents. The reason I asked you two to come was because I heard that you are both triple-grade Awakened. Is that true?"
Jeong-min and Jun-ki nodded.
Jeong-min said.
"Yes, as I told you on the phone, Jun-ki and I both had three skills generated when we awakened."
Kim Yoon-soo said in amazement.
"Wow... that's amazing. There aren't many double-grades, but both of you, who are friends, are triple-grades... Good. The shelter is full, but if you're a triple-grade Awakened, it's right to make room somehow... Of course, if those skills are useful."
Jeong-min and Jun-ki's faces hardened at Kim Yoon-soo's words.
Kim Yoon-soo said to the two.
"When did you awaken?"
"We both... did it yesterday."
"Yesterday... You wouldn't have had time to raise your stats or skill level proficiency. Right?"
"Yes, well... we didn't have time..."
Kim Yoon-soo nodded and said.
"Tell me about the skills you each have. You have to tell me accurately because we're going to test them." Jeong-min nudged Jun-ki's thigh.
When Jun-ki looked at Jeong-min, Jeong-min gestured for him to speak quickly.
Jun-ki looked at Jeong-min for a moment, then spoke to Kim Yoon-soo.
"The skills I have are Fireball, Storm, and Swordsmanship... is what it's called."
"Hmm... good names. Can I hear an explanation of the skills?"
Jun-ki continued to speak at Kim Yoon-soo's question.
"The Fireball skill is a technique that can shoot a ball of fire forward. It explodes when it hits the target. Storm is a technique that creates wind with the palm of your hand. The Swordsmanship... skill... it says that I receive a bonus when wielding a sword, but... I don't know what that means yet. I haven't been able to use it..."
Kim Yoon-soo, who heard Jun-ki's words, looked very satisfied.
"All three are skills that can be used in combat, so that's really good. The combination of skills seems very good too... I'll have to test the skills, but Jun-ki seems to be qualified enough to enter our shelter. Do you have a family?"
"Yes... I have my parents and a younger sister."
"Hmm... a total of four people... Well, let's try to make room somehow. Ah, of course, the skill test comes first. You understand, right?"
"...Yes."
Jun-ki was not happy even though he was qualified to enter Shelter [Daesung] with his family.
It was because he had heard the same answer from all the shelters he had visited before.
Kim Yoon-soo was curious about Jun-ki's reaction, but decided to move on. "Okay, Jun-ki is done... then Jeong-min? Can I hear about Jeong-min's skills?"
Jeong-min answered Kim Yoon-soo's question.
"Yes, my skills are Base Designation, Spatial Movement, and Clairvoyance, for a total of three. Base Designation allows you to designate a base only once, and after that, it's a skill that allows you to open a gate to that base and return to the base from anywhere, and Spatial Movement is a skill that allows you to move anywhere you can see. Clairvoyance is... literally clairvoyance. I tried it out and I can see through walls up to about 10cm thick."
"Hmm..."
Kim Yoon-soo seemed to think for a moment, then said to Jeong-min.
"It's a unique skill... but the fact that there isn't a single combat skill... is a big problem. Hmm... First, can you tell me about the range and versatility of the Spatial Movement technique?"
Jeong-min said to Kim Yoon-soo in a nervous voice.
"Yes, as I said, I can move anywhere within my sight. I can move with one additional person. Right now, my mana is low, so if I use it once, my mana will be depleted..."
"Yes, I understand. And... that Base Designation skill. You said you can open a gate if you designate a base."
"Yes. It says that you can open a gate and move to the base from anywhere at any time."
"Is that gate only available to you? Or can others use it without restrictions?"
Jeong-min was speechless at Kim Yoon-soo's question.
"...Well... that's actually..."
"...?"
"I... I don't really know. Designating a base is only possible once, so I couldn't try it rashly. If Daesung accepts me, I can designate this shelter as a base and test the gate..."
"Ah, it's okay."
Kim Yoon-soo said, waving his hand.
"Hmm, actually, Jeong-min's skills don't seem to be immediately useful in combat. As you already know, most shelters are gathering Awakened people with combat skills. If the gate created by the Base Designation technique is a gate that can be used by many people, it would be somewhat useful, but it's not certain... and above all, there's no guarantee that only allies can use it... As for Spatial Movement... there's already a resident who has a similar skill... with combat skills as well... And... the Clairvoyance skill seems quite useful depending on how you use it..."
"..."
"As I said before, the selection of residents is already complete. It would be a bit difficult to accept Jeong-min based solely on his potential."
Kim Yoon-soo tapped the armrest of the sofa with his finger and said.
"I'm afraid it will be difficult to have Jeong-min join our Shelter [Daesung]. I'm sorry."
Jeong-min sighed at Kim Yoon-soo's words.
'As expected...'
The same reaction as the shelters he had visited before.
"Then I..."
Jun-ki tried to say something after hearing the rejection of Jeong-min, but Jeong-min grabbed Jun-ki's thigh tightly.
Jeong-min looked into Jun-ki's eyes, who was looking at him, and shook his head.
'This is the last one. Think about your family. You have to go in.'
Jun-ki looked at Jeong-min's eyes and dropped his head as if he had given up.
Jeong-min got up from his seat and said to Kim Yoon-soo.
"I can't help it. Then please take good care of this friend. I'll be going then..." Kim Yoon-soo got up and said to Jeong-min, who was leaving.
"I know that there are quite a few small guilds formed by Awakened people who want to face the [Trial of God] by forming groups, even if it's not a shelter. I think you can find a place to rely on if you look into those places."
"...Yes, thank you for your concern. Jun-ki, get a good test. I'll contact you."
"Jeong-min..."
Jeong-min ignored Jun-ki's small call and came out of the container box.
The sky was already getting dark as he had been walking around the shelter construction site all day.
Looking at the darkening sky, Jeong-min slowly walked home.
*********
One day, Awakened people suddenly began to appear.
The Awakened could see a status window in front of them, check their stats, and manipulate a power called mana. They had an inventory that only they could use, and they could use various skills.
In addition, they could also check the notice that the god would personally grant any wish to the Awakened who ultimately overcame the [Trial of God] that would begin soon and survived.
The content of the [Trial of God] that the Awakened spoke of was as follows.
-Three months later, numerous dimensional gates will appear in random locations around the world, and monsters will emerge from those dimensional gates.
Modern weapons are completely ineffective against monsters, and they destroy everything around them and protect the dimensional gates from which they emerged. Awakened people who have been awakened and granted skills must defeat the monsters and destroy the dimensional gates.
The [Trial of God] ends when all dimensional gates are destroyed.-
The first Awakened person to reveal what had happened to him to the world did not receive much attention.
He even demonstrated the skills he had acquired and revealed the truth about awakening, but the skills were dismissed as magic-like tricks, and the [Trial of God] was ignored as if it was not worth mentioning.
However, as time passed and more and more Awakened people appeared, it became impossible to disbelieve, and the world hurriedly began to prepare for the [Trial of God] mentioned in the Awakened's status window.
The first to move were the large corporations.
They built large-scale air raid shelters in preparation for the [Trial of God] and began to gather Awakened people who had awakened powerful skills by using them as bait.
Because there was little time left, they had no choice but to build air raid shelters by adding solid outer walls to existing buildings, but the construction, which was carried out by mobilizing huge capital, proceeded at a very fast pace, and many Awakened people with powerful skills relied on them with their families.
Jeong-min and his friend Jun-ki became Awakened two months after the first Awakened appeared. It was just yesterday.
They were happy to have become Awakened with three skills, but they soon realized that there was not much time left, and the two immediately began to inquire about entering a shelter.
They knocked on the doors of many shelters, but Jeong-min, who had skills that were not very helpful in combat, had no choice but to give up entering the shelter.
Jeong-min, who arrived home powerlessly, opened the door and went inside.
Jeong-min's semi-basement two-room house was a small but deeply affectionate home where he had lived since his mother was alive.
Jeong-min went into the house and immediately looked at the hamster's cage in one corner of the room.
"...It hasn't eaten again... Should I really give up..."
There was a white hamster lying limp in the hamster cage.
This hamster, named [Cloud], was the child that Jeong-min had bought from the mart two years ago and had cherished ever since.
Recently, it had an accident falling from the table and its leg seemed to be broken and twisted.
Since then, it had not been eating and seemed to be losing energy, so when he inquired at the animal hospital, he was told that if a hamster had lived for two years, it could be a lifespan issue and it was best to give up.
He wanted to fix his leg, but he couldn't afford the high cost.
Jeong-min gently stroked the limp hamster with his finger and said.
"Cheer up... Cloud..."Jeong-min sat on the bed with a gloomy expression.
Turning on the TV, news was showing a large group of people protesting in front of the construction site of a shelter.
The signs held by the protesters read things like, 'No Discrimination Against Non-Awakened' and 'Are Your Lives Human and Ours Ant Lives?'
Feeling frustrated, Jeong-min turned off the TV, lay down, and stared at the ceiling, lost in thought.
'I was so happy when I found out I had three skills... How can none of them be combat skills? What a life...'
Jeong-min sat up on the bed and thought.
'I don't have time to be like this. Since entering the shelter is off the table, I need to find another way to survive. Should I join even a small-scale Awakened Guild...? Would they accept me even if I don't have any combat skills? I should check those places out tomorrow...'
Vibration
Jeong-min picked up his phone at the sound of the vibration.
The name [Jun-ki] was on the smartphone screen.
Jeong-min answered the phone.
"Hey Jun-ki. Did you do well on the test?"
Jun-ki's dejected voice came from the receiver.
[Yeah. I did well on the test. My shelter residency is confirmed, and I signed a contract to move in with my family as soon as construction is complete.]
"That's great. I knew you'd pass."
[....Judging by their reactions, they seemed quite satisfied with my skills. I could feel that their attitude towards me had changed a bit. So I asked if it was possible to add one more person... but they flatly refused.]
Jeong-min said to Jun-ki, who sounded apologetic.
"Hey, hey. Don't say unnecessary things and get disliked. I'm fine. I'm thinking of going to an Awakened Guild tomorrow. I'm a triple-grade Awakened, even if I don't have combat skills, there's gotta be a place that will take me. Don't worry about me and take care of your family."
[....The person in charge said that if there are vacancies in the shelter after the [Trial of God] and if I perform well, they might consider a favor of adding one more person. So... just hold on as best you can. I'll somehow try to secure a spot for you. Until then, absolutely don't do anything dangerous and lay low. Got it?]
Jeong-min felt a surge of emotion at Jun-ki's words, but he didn't show it and said with a smile.
"Yeah, you've grown up so much, taking care of your friend. Let me get some help from my talented friend. Anyway, I need to research the places I'm going to visit tomorrow. Get some rest."
After hanging up, Jeong-min sat blankly for a moment before shaking his head and saying.
"Let's get it together. Shelter residency is out of the question, so I need to prepare in another direction. First... let's pack my bags in advance."
Jeong-min opened his inventory.