"Was getting hit earlier a mistake?"
I'm pretty sure she aimed mostly at places like my abdomen, where it's hard to be life-threatening.
No, wait, she didn't hit my head in the first place.
"...Trait Window."
[Feminist (Lv1)
Female Felicity by your Feminist hands!
Gain trait experience whenever you make a woman happy.
Each time the trait levels up, new sub-traits are unlocked, and magical power is enhanced.]
"It's really there?"
Whoa, is this a hallucination with insane realism?
It even has trait levels, which felt incredibly natural.
"The name and description of the trait are a bit weird, though."
Fundamentally, it was quite similar to the actual trait window system I knew.
First, it states the method to gain experience to level up the trait.
Second, there are levels up to a maximum of 10 that change based on experience.
Finally, there are skills called sub-traits.
[Am I the Only One Who Finds This Inconvenient?(F)-
Warps the target's perception.]
"It's short. Is this the only one unlocked right now?"
By the way, I've never seen an F rank before in my life.
The lowest known rank so far was E.
"Just how realistic is this?"
To see how far this hallucination's realism went, I headed to the bathroom.
If I had really awakened, my eye color would have changed.
"Is this for real?"
Looking at my golden irises, my mind grew hazy.
To implement it to this extent? The quality of my hallucination is insane.
"Golden means support type, right?"
And close-combat types have red, long-range types have blue, I think?
Of course, determining the actual position by eye color is foolish.
Traits depend on how you use them, regardless of their original color.
"My hair color is still the same."
I heard some people's hair color changes due to magical influence upon awakening.
Mine remained the same for now.
"Or is it a dream, not a hallucination?"
If it's a dream, that could explain the detail better than a normal hallucination.
Am I dreaming this because I wanted to awaken so badly?
"Bullshit, no matter how I think about it, this is reality."
What the hell?
Wasn't it that men can't awaken?
Why only me? An irregular?
"One thing's for sure, it's not a hallucination."
Okay, let's assume, conceding a hundred, a thousand times, that the hallucination even implemented the eye color.
But then, what about this sensation I feel in my body?
No matter how I think about it, this is magical power.
"I'm going crazy."
I always wished to awaken, but now that I have, my head hurts.
The first man to awaken?
I'll be lucky if I don't get dragged to a lab and become a research subject.
'Wait...'
Civilian women undergo magical power tests once a year.
That's to weed out those who hide their awakening and use it for crime.
But what if it's a man?
'I can hide it sufficiently.'
I'll hide the fact I awakened as much as possible and build my strength.
And when I reach a level where no one can touch me...
'For instance, if I become S-rank?'
In this world, no one except another S-rank can touch an S-rank.
Of course, S-ranks do care about their image because it offers many advantages.
But if one seriously abandons their image and acts, there's no one who can stop them.
"Okay. Let's set that as the goal for now."
The only problem is this trait.
I can't grasp what the hell this trait wants me to do.
"Gain experience whenever you make a woman happy."
Then what's the standard for that happiness?
Traits are originally hard to interpret, but this one seems especially severe.
"The sub-trait is the same."
Warps perception?
Just from the words, it sounds like hypnosis.
'Wait, hypnosis?'
I think there was a trait category related to mental interference.
There were many Awakened who used that to commit crimes.
"After that, if the trait was a mental interference type, they'd perform an awakening deprivation surgery before it developed, right?"
If this sub-trait really is a mental interference type, I'm screwed the moment I'm caught.
It's a chance to fight back that I somehow obtained; I can't lose it like that.
"I wonder if it works on me?"
Hmm, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Can't hurt to try.
Let's start by lightly changing color perception.
"This cup here is white, see? 『Am I the Only One Who Finds This Inconvenient?』 Shouldn't it be black?"
As I muttered that, magical power began to tingle and rise.
And when I focused that magical power on myself, my vision suddenly changed.
"It really works?"
The cup that looked white just a moment ago now looked black.
The perception was successfully warped.
It was so natural that I wouldn't have noticed if I didn't know I was interfering.
"Magical power keeps being consumed, huh."
Just in case, I cut off the magical power, and the cup's color returned to normal.
"The question is, what level does this work on?"
For Awakened, whose bodies are enhanced with magical power, the magical power consumption would likely increase.
If they have a trait related to mental defense, it might be impossible.
'Since it worked on me, it probably works on Awakened too.'
I should test it on the C-rank Hunters at work tomorrow.
If it doesn't work on C-ranks, I'll have to use it on Academy students or civilians.
"But civilians are a bit iffy."
According to research, even under the same conditions, the stronger the target monster, the more experience you gain.
Of course, in my case, the target is a person, but I know that even in this case, the stronger the target, the higher the gain.
'To level up as fast as possible, I have no choice but to target Hunters.'
At least it's fortunate that my job involves frequent contact with Hunters.
For the first time in a long while, I looked forward to going to work tomorrow.
"Manager Park, weren't you taking the day off today?"
"I just came out planning to hide well. I didn't want to waste my annual leave."
"Be careful."
"Yes."
While exchanging simple greetings, I scanned my surroundings.
I was looking for the C-rank Hunters to try out my trait.
"Who are you looking for?"
"My assigned Hunters. The new ones this time."
"Ah, I saw the two of them heading towards the rooftop earlier."
The rooftop?
Why did they go there?
Are they hiding there because they're afraid their seniors will bully them?
'Sigh, poor kids.'
There are many good Hunters, but of all people, those bitches ended up as their direct seniors...
Of course, since they're my assigned Hunters, I'm not much different.
'The door is open?'
Peeking through the crack in the door, I saw the two of them talking.
I can't hear from here.
'I should try it.'
If I can warp their perception here, I can get close and eavesdrop without being noticed.
Even if I fail, I can just say I was looking for them, so it should be fine.
"It's strange that I'm visible, 『Am I the Only One Who Finds This Inconvenient?』 Shouldn't I be invisible?"
This time, I targeted both of them.
Clearly, it consumed much more magical power than during yesterday's test.
'Not bad?'
I don't know if it worked properly, but it seems the activation itself was normal.
Now, if I go up to the rooftop and remain unnoticed, it's a success.
"What, why did the door suddenly open? Was it the wind?"
They noticed the door opening but seemed to suspect the wind, as they couldn't see me.
And right after I entered the rooftop, Bae Jeong-ah created an ice block in mid-air and shot it towards the door.
Bang!
The door slammed shut with a loud noise, sending a chill down my spine.
'If I had entered a little later, I would have been screwed.'
She probably just used her trait because she was too lazy to go close the door, but if I had been unlucky enough to get hit, it would have been a critical injury.
Plus, they would have discovered I'm Awakened.
"Ah, annoying. Why do we have to hide like this?"
"What can we do? We're still weaker than the seniors."
"No, it's not about Senior Yu-rim. Ah, damn it, because of that manager bastard..."
Me?
Why am I being brought up here all of a sudden?
"Jeong-ah. Even so, he was trying to help us..."
"What's it to me? Senior Yu-rim hates us, but we could have gotten close to Senior A-young if we played our cards right. That bastard ruined everything."
Hmm, is that how she sees it?
It's true that for a C-rank, Min A-young isn't that hostile.
"But still, he did it to help us."
"So what? He's just a nuisance in the end. Nothing was solved anyway."
It's a bit irritating to hear, but it's a fact, so I can't really argue.
I didn't know Yoo Chae-rin was that kind of person either.
"But the manager was thinking of us..."
"Hey, are you a teacher? Stop lecturing me. If you're just going to talk like that, get lost. Let me rest alone."
"Huh? Uh-huh."
As Bae Jeong-ah got annoyed, Myo Seol-ah flusteredly walked towards the rooftop entrance.
At that moment, just as I felt something was off, Myo Seol-ah fell flat.
"Kyaak!"
It's black.
No, that's not the important part.
'Did ice just form on the floor?'
I looked at Bae Jeong-ah just in case, and she was snickering with a sinister glint in her eyes.
She probably made Myo Seol-ah fall on purpose.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, the floor was a bit slippery."
Myo Seol-ah left the rooftop, completely unaware.
Bae Jeong-ah, thinking she was alone on the rooftop, burst out laughing.
"Ah, that idiot. So funny."
Would you look at this one?
She was bullying Myo Seol-ah while pretending otherwise?
'Unbelievable.'
I thought she was a victim like Myo Seol-ah, but Bae Jeong-ah is trash not much different from her seniors.
I guess I really have no luck with assigned Hunters.
'Sigh, first, let me release the effect on Myo Seol-ah.'
I still have some magical power to spare, so should I experiment a bit on Bae Jeong-ah?
Normally, I'd feel guilty, but after seeing what Bae Jeong-ah just did to Myo Seol-ah, that feeling completely vanished.
"My appearance and voice, you see, 『Am I the Only One Who Finds This Inconvenient?』 Shouldn't they feel like the person you like the most?"
I was curious if such an abstract concept would work.
I didn't think to try this yesterday during my tests.
"Uh, wha? Senior Yoo Chae-rin?"
Bae Jeong-ah, who saw me, was startled and straightened her posture.
By the way, Yoo Chae-rin?
'Her favorite person is Yoo Chae-rin.'
Fandom, respect. Something like that?
Well, I didn't specifically set the target as a romantic interest.
It's actually good that she sees me as an S-rank Hunter, as she won't dare act up.
"Ah, what was your name again?"
We are at least acquainted because of the previous incident.
Of course, there's no way Yoo Chae-rin, who doesn't treat low-rank Hunters as people, would remember Bae Jeong-ah, a C-rank Hunter.
"B-Bae Jeong-ah."
"I see. But are you feeling unwell? You're trembling quite a bit."
"I, um... I-I'm your fan!"
"Ah-ha."
I did my best to imitate Yoo Chae-rin's personality.
It won't be perfect, but the trait will probably cover up any strangeness to some extent.
"Being a fan means you like me, right?"
"Y-Yes, that's right."
"Eh, you're lying."
"Huh? No, I'm not!"
Hmm, how can I mess with Bae Jeong-ah here?
While pondering, a good idea came to mind.
"Then, you'll do anything I tell you to do?"
"Th-That's of course!"
Oh, unexpectedly bold in front of someone she likes.
Bonus point 1.
"You'll do anything I say, really?"
"Yes!"
"Then take your clothes off."
"Huh?"
Bae Jeong-ah looked like she thought she misheard, and I felt a little sorry for her.
But hey, she enjoys bullying others too, so it's okay if she gets a taste of her own medicine, right?
"I said take off all the clothes you're wearing."
As if confirming what she heard was correct, I issued the command once more.