They say powers awaken when you need them most.
For some, that moment comes in battle. For others, it comes during a tragedy.
And for a few... it just comes while brushing their teeth.
Yeah. Life isn't fair.
My name is Han Jihoon, and I was born in a world where nearly everyone has a superpower. They awaken randomly—some at birth, some at thirteen, some at seventy-two. It's all luck. There's no special ritual or genetic test. You wait, you pray, and one day... it either happens or it doesn't.
And if it doesn't? You stay powerless. A nobody. A ghost in a world filled with living weapons.
---
There are three ranks of powers:
Bronze – weak, short-range, often useless.
Silver – reliable, flexible, sometimes dangerous.
Gold – the rarest. Powerful. Feared.
Everyone hopes for Gold. Almost no one gets it. But I did.
One day, during a normal day in school, while writing a math quiz, my hand froze and the world turned gray.
And just like that... I awakened.
The screen in front of my eyes read:
> [Awakening Complete]
You have unlocked a GOLD-tier ability: Eyes of the Unknown.
Lv.1 – You can now perceive "The Others."
At the time, I had no idea what that meant. But the moment I blinked, I saw them.
---
They stood in corners. They crouched in shadows. They floated through walls.
They weren't people. They weren't animals.
They were... things. Shapes with faces, faces with too many eyes, hands where mouths should be.
And worst of all — no one else saw them. Not my teacher, not my classmates. Just me.
I screamed. They laughed.
I thought I was cursed. I begged the system to take it back. But it didn't care.
> [Skill Progression Locked]
To reach Lv.2, form a Contract with one of The Others.
That's when I realized something important:
Gold-tier or not, my power wasn't meant for battle. It was meant to ruin me.
---
It's been a year since that day. I still haven't leveled up.
Most people evolve their abilities naturally over time — they meet a requirement and go to the next level.
But me? My quest is to choose one of these creatures — The Others — and say yes to something I don't understand.
They whisper to me at night. They offer me things.
Strength. Fame. Safety.
But there's always a cost.
And the system doesn't tell me what I'll lose in return.
Not yet.
So I wait. I try not to look at them.
But they always look back.
And one of them has started to smile.