I was a heinous criminal in the eyes of the world.
More precisely, I had lived my life being treated as nothing less than one.
This was because my father, a man who always possessed a volatile streak, had orchestrated a colossal fraud scheme, amounting to 180 billion won in damages, before absconding overseas.
[The Entire Nation Deceived! Whereabouts of Fugitive Choi XX?]
[Damages Exceed 180 Billion Won, How Was Such a Fraud Possible?]
[Victims Demand Severe Punishment, Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office: “Negotiating contract with the Hunter Association… We will pursue with all our might.”]
Had the scale of the crime escalated by merely one more digit, let alone two, even my young, innocent self might have fallen victim to the heinous acts spawned by such intense hatred.
Yet, by some stroke of immense fortune, the situation did not escalate into such utter catastrophe, and both my mother and I, left in its wake, managed to continue our studies and scrape by.
However, I merely came to an agonizing realization of the indelible stigma that being a criminal’s family imprinted upon us in this 21st-century information society.
– Hey, isn’t your dad on the run in America?
– Uh, sorry, my mom says he’s a really bad person…and that I shouldn’t hang out with you.
– Ugh, seriously, this is bad luck. Oh, Teacher! How can I possibly sit next to him? I’ll tell my dad to complain to the principal!
As a sixth-grader at the time, I found myself stripped of all my friends and any semblance of understanding, becoming an utter outcast in an instant.
Indeed. A ‘fraud of national proportions’.
In some ways, its heinousness surpassed even crimes like murder or robbery. No matter where my mother and I relocated, within a week, whispers about us would inevitably spread.
“Ji-an, I’ve done all I can… I’m too exhausted. I’m leaving.”
How many individuals could possibly sustain a normal life amidst such circumstances?
My mother, who had harbored regrets about her marriage from the very beginning, soon abandoned me and departed, leaving me utterly alone in the world.
With my impending transfer to an orphanage swiftly decided, the sole possession left to me was a rather stylish smartphone, once lauded as a cutting-edge model.
[Title: What’s the market price for Fairy-crafted Lifesteal Enhancement Stones?]
[Content]
I’ve collected 5 so far.
[Comments]
– 5 of them?
– They’re 7 million gold each, but they only sell for cash.
– Looks like about 70-80,000 won per piece.
– Give me chicken.
While I wasn’t exactly academically gifted, I possessed a certain confidence in my ability to scheme and use my street smarts.
I increased my savings through what was known as ‘rice farming’ (TL Note: A Korean slang term, ‘ssal-meok,’ referring to playing a game to earn real-world money, often through repetitive tasks), grinding in popular mobile games with active real-money trading, and as a reward for my efforts, I was able to move into a decent two-room apartment immediately after graduating from the orphanage.
Naturally, any notion of attending university, as others did, had long since been cast aside.
[Title: No-spec, Unemployed High School Grad – What Should I Do With My Life?]
[Content]
I have about 7 million in my account, but once that’s gone, I’ll have no income besides welfare.
I’m an orphan with no parents, so I have no one to rely on.
[Comments]
– Go work for Coupang (TL Note: A major South Korean e-commerce company, similar to Amazon, known for its delivery services).
– What else is there to do besides joining the military? There are a lot of vacant non-commissioned officer positions these days.
– Just pray to the heavens for an awakening, lol.
┗ Seriously, if you just awaken, you can make a living somehow, unless you get a really trashy job.
┗ My cousin got a trashy buffer job but got hired by a rich family and earns 20 million won a month as a human Bacchus (TL Note: A popular Korean energy drink, implying they provide energy/support like the drink).
An awakening, indeed. Naturally, I would have yearned for one, had it been within my grasp.
Ever since I had been branded with the infamy of being the son of the 180-billion-won fraudster, how fervently I had dreamt of a complete life reversal through an awakening!
Yet, awakenings were never so easily attained. Statistically, it was a rare occurrence, affecting merely one in every 843 individuals, making it a struggle to find even two or three awakened people within an entire school in the metropolitan area.
Furthermore, with the awakening probability said to diminish exponentially as one’s growth period neared its end, it was no exaggeration to claim I had already squandered my window of opportunity.
“…Life wouldn’t unravel so easily, would it?”
Having weathered every conceivable injustice and misfortune, I had long since relinquished any hope tied to my very origins.
Such is the nature of the world.
Like a player with a trash-tier account in a game, who, despite the game company’s assertions of fairness, inevitably lags two or three times behind others in growth, despite exerting comparable effort.
That was precisely my predicament; unlike a game, life offered no tantalizing reset button.
And yet.
“What the f*** is this…?”
The very next day, following that lament, I found myself utterly dumbfounded, forced to utter a gasp of disbelief as I stared at a body completely transformed overnight.
Immediately thereafter, two fierce emotions surged within my heart.
‘Your life has finally turned around, buddy.’
And now, I, too, could finally indulge in the Archive, just like all the other awakened.
‘Sweet.’
****
The Archive.
Commonly known as the community of the chosen, it was an enigmatic space, accessible solely through the authentication of one’s personal mana.
Its origins traced back centuries to the ‘Akasha System,’ conceived by a figure named Daniel Roberts in England. It was reportedly designed to serve as a vital bridge, unifying all awakened individuals across humanity to confront common adversaries such as dungeons and monsters.
‘But….’
As eras passed, an awakened individual named Amelia Graham undertook a significant overhaul, and then, over a decade ago, after a mysterious figure known only as J. J. Russell seized control, the Archive effectively transformed into an international community for the awakened.
It was a dreamlike space, one that anyone who enjoyed browsing online galleries would undoubtedly yearn to enter at least once. Now, that invaluable opportunity had been bestowed upon me.
“Oh, is this it?”
Bzzzt.
Upon scanning the QR code and brushing against the golden bird’s invitation that had materialized in the corner of my vision, a prompt asking for authentication of my unique mana pattern shimmered into existence in the air.
Naturally, I agreed.
Having made my selection and completed the mana authentication, my account was created in an instant. I promptly entered the public channel where Korean awakened individuals congregated, leaving behind my monumental first post.
[Title: Accept the Newbie]
[Content]
A fresh middle school girl who just awakened yesterday has joined the Archive. My height also shrunk after awakening, making it difficult to type.
[Comments]
– I thought it was a troll, but it’s a real newbie.
– Congrats, congrats! What’s your class?
┗ Weather Mage
┗ What’s that?
┗ I don’t know either lol
– Post a pic.
┗ I’m too cute; if I upload it, it’ll start a war.
┗ This one’s a real character;
Perhaps it wasn’t a community notoriously harsh on newcomers, as my introductory message was met with a reasonably warm reception. Soon, users intrigued by the Weather Mage class began sporadically unearthing information and uploading follow-up posts.
[Title: Wait, Weather Mage is a rare class?]
[Content]
There aren’t any in Korea, and probably only about ten worldwide combined? It’s definitely the first in Korea.
[Comments]
– What, seriously?
– So, did they win the grand prize?
┗ I don’t know about that. Considering there aren’t many high-ranked ones, it just seems to be rare.
┗ F***, lol. Got surprised for nothing.
[Title: Weather Mage Newbie Hit the Jackpot]
[Content]
It’s a class where research is actively underway, so it seems like places like Saudi Arabia are looking for them a lot. But I’m not sure if there are any clear achievements.
[Comments]
– Saudi Arabia, f*** that.
– I wouldn’t go there even if they paid me.
– If it’s a Weather Mage, isn’t it a magic class? Can’t they just go to dungeons?
┗ Apparently, it has a severe cast time and terrible firepower, making it ambiguous to call it a combat class. Separately, its research value is said to be high.
┗ What a truly useless class (TL Note: A Korean term, ‘gyeleuk,’ literally meaning ‘chicken ribs.’ It refers to something of little practical value that one is reluctant to discard, often a ‘double-edged’ or ‘useless but not entirely worthless’ item or situation).
Since even extensive internet searches yielded little information, I had subtly cast a lure on the Archive, and it appeared that my newly acquired profession, the Weather Mage, was an exceedingly rare class with an alarmingly small population.
‘Hmm….’
While the designation of a rare class certainly brought a fleeting sense of satisfaction, its practical evaluation, quite separately, proved far from favorable.
In particular, the revelation that it was a non-combat class, utterly unsuitable for dungeon raids, constituted a rather fatal flaw—a piece of news that couldn’t help but douse my previously fervent spirits with a cold splash of reality.
“Saudi Arabia is a no-go…”
While the peculiar environment was certainly a deterrent, the prospect of engaging in such projects and constantly clashing with diverse personalities was far removed from my desires.
To be frank, owing to the profound impact of my childhood, I harbored a significant aversion to mingling with others.
Furthermore, for any project deemed ‘corporate-level,’ wouldn’t stringent identity verification be an absolute given? In that unavoidable process, my past would inevitably resurface, and the mere contemplation of the judgmental stares that would follow ignited a potent surge of injustice and irritation within me.
Pat-a-pat.
Whoosh.
Gazing out the window, I observed that rain had begun to fall. My mood, in turn, dipped into a slight melancholic state.
Stepping into the bathroom, I stole a glance in the mirror, where a mysterious, short-haired beautiful girl with silky silver hair and heterochromatic eyes—one emerald green, the other molten gold—greeted my gaze.
“Nothing of my old self remains…”
It was, truly, an otherworldly appearance. Not only was she exquisitely beautiful and undeniably cute, but her features were so captivating that it wouldn’t be surprising if she enchanted people like a mythical fairy. Despite this, I struggled to recognize it as ‘me’.
On this very day, I had truly shed every last vestige of the human Choi Ji-an.
Perhaps this was for the best. My life, from its very inception, had been akin to an insurmountable precipice, offering no path to salvation.
Squeeze.
I stretched my cheek, then gently squeezed my soft chest, yet an inexplicable sense of disconnect stubbornly persisted.
I had no comprehension of why my body had undergone such a drastic metamorphosis. Then again, in an era where individuals could transform into werewolves or vampires, perhaps becoming a girl was hardly a novel phenomenon.
Well, as had always been the case, I would eventually grow accustomed to it. Allowing the past to recede with the passage of time was one of my most honed skills, and I felt confident in my ability to adapt to this latest transformation.
“…Tsk.”
Even as I emerged from the bathroom, the relentless rain persisted, drumming against the windowpanes.
Initially, I had dismissed it as a mere shower, but it seemed I had been mistaken. Sensing my mood grow increasingly restless, I tore my gaze away from the window and reconnected to the Archive once more.
‘Still, it’s a rare class, so there must be some suitable job if I look. Whatever I do, it’ll be much better than before.’
Should things not pan out, venturing into something like streaming wouldn’t be an entirely bad idea. Or, if even that proved impossible, perhaps something even further beyond…
Even as somewhat extreme fantasies began to burrow into the recesses of my mind, the relentless rain persisted, further disorienting my already troubled thoughts.
‘…It’s too loud.’
Honestly, a wave of irritation washed over me.
It had been bright and clear just moments ago, so why was it suddenly unleashing such a tumultuous downpour, causing such a racket?
At this rate, I wished it would simply pour hard enough to trigger a flood, coolly sweeping away even this disquieted heart of mine.
As if in direct response to my unspoken wish, the raindrops grew even heavier, and the violent drumming of rain against the windowpanes began to relentlessly pound at my ears.
Whoosh.
Thump-thump-thump-thump.
“…It’s really coming down.”
Deeming it a truly peculiar day, I abruptly found myself engulfed by an inexplicable sense of unease, my gaze fixed intently on the relentless downpour outside.
‘Something… is strange….’
Upon closer inspection, the rain was, in fact, pouring down with an utterly excessive and alarming ferocity.
Regardless of the circumstances, wasn’t this intensity a little beyond the ordinary?
Tilting my head in bewilderment, I hastily pushed aside the half-drawn curtain, flung open the window, and peered out, desperate to ascertain the scene unfolding outside.
WHOOSH—!
THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP—!!
…?
That day, I bore witness to the apocalypse, cascading from the heavens.
More precisely… the entire city of Bucheon almost got washed away because of me.
