Sung Daeho tightened the straps on his backpack and sighed. The morning was already muggy, and he could feel the sweat trickling down his back, even though the sun had barely risen. The city streets bustled with early risers, many of them awakened hunters preparing for dungeon raids. Daeho, too, was awakened—but no one ever treated him like one.
At nineteen, he had been awakened for two years. Most people, when awakened, received a status interface—a glowing panel of information visible only to them, listing their rank, attributes, and, most importantly, their unique abilities. But not Daeho. When he awakened at seventeen, he had waited eagerly for the interface to appear.
It never did.
No matter how hard he tried, nothing came. No glowing text, no abilities awakening. Just… silence.
He had consulted awakeners, spiritualists, and even data-mages who specialized in mana diagnosis. All had the same verdict: "Your mana signature is awakened, but we can't find any unique ability. Sorry."
In a world where even the weakest awakened had something—super strength, minor telekinesis, water shaping—Daeho had nothing. Well, almost nothing. He was three times stronger and faster than a normal human. Enough to lift crates, dodge falling debris, or carry out monster remains from a dungeon. But that was it.
So he became a porter.
Not a hunter, not a fighter. Just the guy who carried things, cleaned up after kills, and got the smallest share of dungeon profits. He worked under sneers and scorn, always silent, always enduring.
Today, like every other day, Daeho followed a D-rank hunter party into a dungeon. The leader, Kwon Jinsoo, glanced back and scoffed.
"Don't slow down, trash. We're not here to babysit you."
Daeho nodded wordlessly and kept pace. Jinsoo, a brash D-ranker with wind manipulation, led the team of four other hunters. The rest of them—flame user, shieldbearer, healer, and swordsman—were decent fighters, all above him in power and rank. They treated him like a bug crawling at their feet.
The dungeon was standard, or so it seemed. Stone corridors, dim glowing crystals lining the walls, and goblin-like creatures that swarmed in loose groups. Weak monsters, similar to F-rank dungeon types. The team made quick work of them while Daeho cleaned up and gathered the remains: cores, hides, claws.
They didn't even thank him.
Hours passed, and eventually, the team reached the boss room. The wide obsidian doors loomed ahead, humming faintly with mana. Jinsoo grinned.
"Piece of cake. Probably a goblin king or a troll brute."
He pushed the doors open with bravado, stepping inside.
Daeho hesitated for just a second. Something felt… off. The mana in the air was denser, heavier. But he followed. He had no choice.
Then the doors slammed shut behind them.
The room was eerily silent. Unlike the usual boss rooms, this one wasn't decorated in bones or fire or crude goblin thrones. It was bare, save for a thick mist that hugged the floor.
From that mist, something moved.
"W-what is that?!" the swordsman shouted.
It was fast. A blur of color that shimmered in and out of view, like a ripple in glass. Then suddenly—screams. Blood sprayed the air as the swordsman was torn apart. One after another, the hunters were picked off. The creature was invisible. It moved with lightning speed and struck with terrifying precision.
Daeho ran. There was nothing else to do.
But the door wouldn't open. No matter how hard he slammed on it, it was sealed shut.
Then he saw it—briefly—the form of a large chameleon-like creature, covered in iridescent scales. Its eyes glowed with malevolence.
Daeho didn't even have time to scream before everything went black.
---
When he opened his eyes, he wasn't in the dungeon anymore.
He was… somewhere else. A space of white light. Empty. Infinite. Silent.
And in front of him, a glowing blue panel finally shimmered into view.
[Awakened Status Interface – User: Sung Daeho]
Rank: E
Special Ability: [Singularity] – You are the only being in existence with this trait.
Active Traits:
1. Return by Death – When killed by any cause, you regress to the start of the previous morning. All memories and statuses are retained.
2. Absorption by Death – If killed by another being, you may choose to inherit one ability from the killer.
3. ???????? – Locked
Daeho stared in disbelief. It was there. Finally. His interface. And more than that—he had a special ability. No… three. One locked, two active.
Return by Death. He had died, and now he was here. And he could go back. To this morning.
His chest tightened. Everyone else had died. Brutally. But he could go back and change that.
Then he noticed something new. Below his interface, a list appeared.
Choose one ability to inherit from your killer:
1. Flame Control
2. Invisibility
3. Super Speed
All three had been used by the chameleon. And he could take one.
Daeho didn't hesitate.
Selected: Invisibility.
The world warped.
Light bent around him. Space twisted. And when he opened his eyes again…
He was back.
His bedroom. The morning sun filtered through his curtain. Birds chirped in the distance. His digital clock blinked: 6:01 AM.
He sat up slowly, breathing heavily. Was it real? Was it all a dream?
He opened his hand.
The interface reappeared at will, as if answering his thoughts.
It was real.
Everything had changed.
Sung Daeho smiled for the first time in years.