---
Do you know what it means to be a failure in a world that only acknowledges talent? To live among people who consider themselves the peak of excellence—not because they're truly exceptional, but because your presence beside them makes them look that way.
In this world, well... just being awakened means you're one of the elite individuals respected and admired wherever you go.
Of course, not everyone fits that mold. There are exceptions. And I am one of them.
I am known as the disgrace of the Awakened.
When I underwent the Awakening, I imagined I would rise and live a better life. Even if I wasn't classified as a B-rank or higher, I would've been satisfied with anything.
But fate mocked me and flipped its middle finger in my face.
I was granted only one mana point.
It didn't make any sense. How could someone who awakened have the same amount of mana as an average human?
There were even regular humans with more mana than me! Because of that, I couldn't join any dungeon-clearing teams or guilds to raise my level. I heard every kind of insult and mockery and saw every kind of scornful smile from those around me.
I saw the true faces of everyone I had once called friends, family, or lovers.
It was then that I realized something: humans are worse than monsters.
Humans wear kind masks, but once you lose your worth, their true faces emerge... beasts.
---
In a dim room lit faintly by a small television screen, a flickering light danced on the worn walls, amplifying the deep sense of gloom that clung to the air.
The room resembled a trash heap—scattered soda cans, empty bottles of cheap alcohol, instant food wrappers everywhere, and dirty clothes piled up in corners like forgotten corpses.
The stench was suffocating—a mix of stale air, booze, and cigarette smoke forming gray clouds that drifted slowly through the cramped space.
The wall paint was faded, pale, and stained with yellow and brown marks of moisture and smoke, making the place feel long forgotten.
On a tattered couch in front of the TV, sat a 25-year-old man.
His long black hair was messy and fell over his hollow eyes.
His pale, grayish skin resembled a corpse in a morgue, untouched by sunlight for who knows how long.
His bloated belly protruded from beneath a stained, worn-out shirt.
His right hand trembled as it held a cigarette, as if screaming from sheer weakness, while his other hand held a nearly empty alcohol can.
His eyes stared blankly at the TV screen, devoid of any spark of life—like a doll that had lost its soul.
The TV was broadcasting news:
{Today, a team from the White Tiger Guild cleared an A-rank dungeon}
{New dungeons are appearing across the country—and across the globe}
{Are we on the verge of another catastrophe?}
{The Awakener Association is currently holding a meeting to analyze the situation}
{Latest news on Jin Kim: promoted to A-rank, considered the youngest high-rank Awakened in the country. Could he become the youngest S-rank in the country and the world?}
Rio's eyes remained empty, but when the last headline appeared, his eyelid twitched, and he clenched the cigarette tightly, causing some ash to fall on his pants.
The buried rage in his eyes flared like fire beneath a layer of ice.
Helplessness, jealousy, and hatred all swirled in one look. Things got worse when an image appeared of Jin Kim—handsome, radiant—and beside him, a breathtakingly beautiful girl smiling at him like no one else existed.
But there was something strange... If you placed the man on the couch and the one on the screen side by side, you'd notice an uncanny resemblance—like two copies of the same person.
Same facial features, same eye color, even the same slight curve at the corner of the mouth when speaking.
Suddenly, a phone's ring shattered the heavy silence.
Rio slowly turned his gaze toward the sound, as if his body resisted movement. It was a new email notification.
Sender? Jin Kim.
The same name as the man shining on screen.
It might seem like a coincidence—but no. It was him. The reason was simple: they were twins. Rio Kim and Jin Kim. Rio was older by a few seconds.
Why were they so different now? They started off equal.
But after Awakening... everything changed. One received 20 mana points. The other barely got one.
And from there, the divide began—one rose to the heavens, the other sank into the mud.
One was lifted on everyone's shoulders, the other trampled underfoot.
Rio stared at the message. The few words on screen hit him like a slap:
[Money has been sent. Oh, and… it's better if you don't show up to the birthday party.]
He clenched his phone tightly, the screen cracking slightly under the pressure. His hand trembled from the mix of rage and humiliation.
He didn't choose this wretched life, didn't choose to live in isolation and darkness.
But that bastard who once called him brother, called him family, forced him to live like a stray dog away from the spotlight so he wouldn't tarnish his shining reputation.
Rio exhaled a hoarse breath, like a dead man gasping for air, and said in a bitter, raspy voice:
"As if I'd want to be anywhere near a gathering of white wolves with blue eyes."
There was a clear fury in his eyes.
"If only I had more than one mana point… If I had entered a dungeon and leveled up… If you had just spoken up and told everyone you wanted your brother with you, but you… YOU!"
He threw the phone in rage, then dug his nails into his palm until they broke the skin and blood dripped.
He clenched his teeth, veins bulging, his eyes on the verge of bursting.
"If I had just one chance… just one... I'd show everyone what I'm truly capable of!"
He took a deep breath and calmed himself.
"Who would give me a chance when I'm the disgrace of the Awakened in this world?"
He rested his head on the couch edge and stared at the old ceiling.
The Awakened... I always wanted to be one of them.
People looked up to you like a hero since childhood—but what can I do when I can't even get a job as a porter for an Awakened team?
---
It all began fifty years ago, in the year 2050, when the first Gate appeared in the world.
The Gate Counter began to spread across the globe. Everyone tried to understand the nature of these gates, and the greatest scientists and researchers gathered, but their true nature remained unknown—until the Rift appeared and the monsters emerged, and the massacre began.
Thermal weapons worked at first, but as more monsters appeared, they grew stronger and more dangerous.
Humanity had no means to fight back. Just as the world seemed on the verge of collapse, the first groups of Awakened individuals emerged, standing against the monsters.
Thus, humanity began to reclaim its place, launching attacks and entering dungeons. They discovered that by fighting these monsters, they could level up and gain power, as well as acquire skills and weapons from the dungeons.
For fifty years, humanity has been fighting and evolving. To increase the awakening rate, one of the SS-rankers invented an Awakening Device, and the results were positive.
Of course, this is to be expected—after all, SS-rankers are called Demi-Lords. There are twelve SS-rank Awakened individuals in the world. As for the SSS rank, it hasn't yet been achieved. It's considered a mythical rank, and those who might one day reach it are called the Lords.
---
As Ryo stared at the ceiling, a light approached his house from outside. Suddenly, the light pierced through the walls and entered his body.
But unlike what one might expect, there was no pain—no sound, no sensation. Nothing. It was as if it were just an illusion.
"Was I imagining things?" Ryo muttered.
Suddenly, a screen appeared in front of his eyes...