“……That’s why we’re implementing the registration system.”
The counselor spent quite a bit of time explaining the reason behind the Awakened registration system.
For the safety of ordinary citizens, to prepare for potential side effects of power usage, and so on-many reasons were given, but Yonghoon couldn’t agree with any of them.
It had only been two weeks since Awakened started appearing. Their numbers were still low, and not many were committing crimes.
Yet they were preparing as if anticipating the future. Yonghoon increasingly felt that his suspicions were correct.
In any case, the counselor finished speaking and handed Yonghoon a document.
The document included various precautions, rewards, and sections for bank account numbers and contact information.
Noticing that Yonghoon was reading the contents, the counselor began to explain.
“As it says, you must not harm civilians. We’ll call you once a week for a basic check-in. And once a month, you’ll need to visit here or another Awakened Center that will be established later. If visiting is difficult due to your schedule, let us know and we’ll come to you.”
Yonghoon frowned slightly. This registration system felt more like an emergency contact network for crisis situations.
Perhaps misunderstanding his expression, the counselor continued speaking.
“Also, we’ll deposit one million won each month into the account listed below. You can think of it as a kind of contract position.”
A million won for one visit a month and a weekly phone call was quite a good deal. As a method to entice Awakened to register, it wasn’t bad. Yonghoon nodded.
“Ah, and in urgent situations, we may call you in separately. We ask for your understanding.”
The counselor added, as if she had forgotten to mention it earlier. There was likely a high chance of an emergency summons soon.
That was because Awakened would soon become necessary.
Yonghoon began filling out the document.
“Is your name Eunseo Lee?”
He heard the counselor at the next booth speak. Yonghoon’s hand stopped mid-writing. He definitely knew that name.
A-rank Strike-type Awakened Eunseo Lee, a famous Korean Awakened known for her combat achievements.
In that other world, Eunseo had been badly injured in battle and her face had changed significantly.
Her bold personality had made her popular, but now she appeared like a stylish office worker in a suit, which was why he hadn’t recognized her.
But hearing the name, he was certain it was the same Eunseo.
Yonghoon had seen her a few times, but since they were assigned to different regions, he hadn’t encountered her often. Besides, A-ranks and C-ranks lived in different worlds.
In the end, she had died in battle three years ago, and her name had been erased from his memory.
‘But did Eunseo awaken this early?’
Yonghoon tilted his head, confused by the discrepancy in the awakening timeline he knew.
“Excuse me, is something wrong?”
Seeing Yonghoon pause mid-document, the counselor asked him a question.
Yonghoon shook his head and resumed writing.
Now that his curiosity was satisfied, he needed to focus back here. Eunseo might be powerful, but he didn’t feel the need to engage with her yet.
When Yonghoon returned the documents to the counselor, she began reviewing them. He took the opportunity to ask a question.
“I have a question.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
The counselor looked up from the documents.
“I heard there’s a company that supports Awakened registration online.”
The counselor immediately responded to Yonghoon’s words.
“Ah, you mean Link System?”
“Is there a representative from that company here as well?”
“Yes, they’re helping out in the testing room. Why do you ask?”
“Just curious.”
It seemed they had sent support to Korea too.
The counselor finished checking the documents and pointed to a door behind Yonghoon.
“All done. The testing room is in the back. They’ll do a basic physical fitness test and check your superpowers. Once that’s done, everything’s complete.”
Yonghoon nodded and stood up, heading toward the place she indicated. Behind him, Eunseo also seemed to have finished and was getting up from her seat.
Yonghoon looked up at the sign above the door. A hastily made nameplate was visible.
[Superpower Testing Room]
Yonghoon stepped through the open door beneath the nameplate.
Inside was a fairly large space.
Along one wall were rows of devices for measuring physical abilities.
Several people were already using them, being monitored by staff in white coats holding charts.
But one corner of the room had a scene that felt completely out of place. A man in a suit sat at a desk with a small laptop placed on it.
Just then, Eunseo, who had followed him in, tilted her head in confusion as she noticed the same scene Yonghoon was looking at.
But Yonghoon could tell what that setup was for. He had seen it often in the other world.
As the two stood at the entrance, two men in white coats approached them.
“Mr. Kang Yonghoon?”
“Yes.”
One of the two guided Yonghoon. He seemed to be assigned to him. The other took charge of Eunseo.
Shortly after, Yonghoon changed clothes in a partitioned changing room and moved to where the measuring equipment was.
The place was filled with physical fitness machines you’d expect to see in a large hospital or university sports science lab.
Yonghoon looked around. People were being tested on the equipment. One person was running at 40 km/h without breaking a sweat, while another kept breaking records on the muscular endurance tester.
Yonghoon began his own test.
“This device here measures your cardiopulmonary capacity……”
While Yonghoon was being tested, the man kept explaining the equipment, but Yonghoon let his words wash over him.
A short while later, after finishing the test and wiping his sweat with a towel, the man spoke excitedly.
“This is amazing. According to these results, you’d break world records in Olympic track or swimming. Others are impressive too, but you’re on another level, Mr. Yonghoon. Wow, the Olympics are over now. And……”
Yonghoon frowned.
Since awakening, he had trained systematically. It was only natural he’d be ahead of others.
But as the saying goes, the protruding nail gets hammered down. If he stood out too much, he might attract unwanted attention. He needed to be cautious.
“Wow!”
Suddenly, an exclamation echoed through the testing room. Yonghoon turned toward the sound.
It came from where Eunseo was being tested. People in white coats had gathered around her, and the machine she was using kept emitting beeping sounds.
“As expected of an A-rank.”
Yonghoon murmured softly.
Awakened with high maximum levels had rapid early growth. It was clear that even without special training, Eunseo was posting impressive numbers.
“Is my test done now?”
Yonghoon cut off the man who was still talking beside him. If he didn’t, the guy might never stop.
“Ah! Right. My bad. The physical tests are all done. Lastly, just go to that person over there for one final test.”
He pointed to the man in the suit Yonghoon had seen earlier.
Leaving the man running toward Eunseo behind, Yonghoon approached the suited man. Another Awakened was seated in front of him.
The Awakened was sitting with a wristband-like device strapped to his arm. A cable extended from the device and connected to the laptop on the desk.
The laptop had the name Link System written in large letters alongside the company logo.
‘Dimensional Power Detector?’
Its form was quite different, so he couldn’t be sure. He needed to confirm it more closely.
“All done. No issues. You can remove the device and head out.”
The suited man said this to the Awakened in front of him, who then left gleefully, happy about the easy money.
“Next, please.”
The suited man told Yonghoon to sit, then took a sip of coffee from the cup on the desk. He was creating a café vibe all by himself.
Yonghoon placed the towel he’d used to wipe his sweat on his lap and sat down in the chair in front of the desk. He then strapped the device onto his wrist as instructed.
The wristband-like device had metal on the part that touched skin, giving it a slightly cold feeling.
Yonghoon asked the man about the device.
“Could you tell me what this device is testing?”
“Yes, it checks your hormones and biorhythms while using your powers to see if there are any abnormalities. Don’t worry-your body’s fine.”
Yonghoon narrowed his eyes. He needed to check it himself.
Ding!
At that moment, Yonghoon’s Dimensional Power appeared on the screen. A small alert sounded from the laptop.
Now was the time. Yonghoon pretended to make a mistake and bumped the cup on the desk.
“Oops!”
The little remaining coffee spilled across the desk and floor, and the man recoiled to avoid getting his suit stained.
“I’m sorry.”
Yonghoon apologized and stood up, wiping the desk with the towel he had been holding. Then he glanced sideways at the laptop.
[Kang Yonghoon] [F] [ 1.4 / 10.0] Monitoring Required
His Dimensional Power information was displayed on the screen.
There was definitely someone in this company who had come from the other world. And the man had lied.
Yonghoon, who had naively thought he could just reveal his identity and get help from those people if someone from the other world was here, snapped back to reality.
He remembered what the company that developed the Dimensional Power Detector in the other world had done. The company had made a fortune developing equipment for Awakened, and later became a government-affiliated research institute.
It was a company that had treated Awakened as mere test subjects, causing countless deaths, and the Awakened who heard the news had ground their teeth in anger. The vegetative state incidents involving the Dimensional Connector had also been caused by the research institute that succeeded that company.
Yonghoon tensed up again. He had to approach this carefully. If they found out he came from the other world, they might not welcome him-they might turn him into a test subject.
The information was in small text at the very bottom of the list of people, and since not many had been tested, he barely managed to confirm it.
His level was F, and his Dimensional Power was 1.4. It seemed that here, they could display it to one decimal place.
The training had paid off. Dimensional Power, which was hard to raise without combat or special methods, had increased by 1.4.
A moment later, the man who had stepped back remembered the laptop and quickly sat back down, while Yonghoon, feigning innocence, sat down holding the towel he had used to wipe the coffee.
The man was worried that Yonghoon might have seen the laptop, but seeing nothing unusual in Yonghoon’s expression, he told him the test was over.
“You can take off the device now.”
Yonghoon removed the device from his wrist.
“Then may I go home now?”
“Yes, you may return home. As the counselor mentioned earlier, there will be an emergency summons later. Please make sure to participate. You’ll likely receive a separate payment.”
Yonghoon nodded. The summons would come after the monsters appeared.
Yonghoon stood up from his seat and turned around.
Eunseo, who had been waiting behind him, stared intently at him.
Yonghoon gave a bitter smile inwardly.
He could fool ordinary people, but his abilities weren’t enough to hide from an Awakened’s enhanced vision. She had definitely noticed he spilled the coffee on purpose.
But Yonghoon passed by her pretending not to notice. There was no need to show any weakness.
A moment later, just as Yonghoon came out of the changing room after getting dressed, a loud noise echoed through the examination room.
Bang!
When Yonghoon turned toward the source of the sound, the man in the suit had collapsed to the floor along with the desk.
“Oh dear. Looks like the desk leg was weak. But I managed to save the laptop.”
Eunseo smiled as she spoke, holding the laptop in front of the fallen desk.
Yonghoon gave a bitter smile. She must have broken the desk leg with her power to check the laptop’s contents. He had misunderstood her appearance as a career woman-turns out, her aggressive nature was her true self.
Yonghoon shook his head and slowly exited the examination room. And he erased her from his mind.
He needed to make a plan. It seemed like many things were happening that he didn’t know about. If he didn’t want to get swept up in the storm, he had to stay grounded and plan carefully.
Lost in thought, he walked out the main gate of the city offices-but then someone shouted at him from behind.
“Stop right there!”
Yonghoon turned his head at the voice calling him.
It was Eunseo.