Chapter 2. Supernatural Survival Method (1)
I sat on the creaky bed, staring blankly into the air.
Even without turning on a light, the glow from the notification window brightened the room.
[Congratulations, ‘Lee Ha-won’, on your Awakening. Babel supports your climb.]
I already knew from reading BabelWiki that all Awakeners see this message first.
Still, seeing it with my own eyes felt completely different.
Knowing something exists and experiencing it yourself are worlds apart.
I reached out toward the floating window that I couldn’t touch and muttered:
“…So I’m an Awakener now.”
All those days when I struggled as a powerless normal human in a world ruled by Awakeners—
they suddenly felt like a dream fading away.
…Well, even if my title looks suspicious, the fact is: I awakened!
Honestly, when I saw it in the Gate, it felt kind of dreamlike.
But staring at this notification alone in my empty room, it finally hit me: I really awakened.
Maybe… I won’t have to worry about rent or food anymore.
Maybe I can finally live a peaceful life.
Maybe that’s why my heart kept fluttering.
‘If I say “Status Window,” it should show up.’
Thank you, countless BabelWiki editors.
I took a deep breath.
This was the moment my life would change.
“Status Window!”
The moment I shouted without shame, the hologram instantly shifted.
Lines and lines of text filled the air.
As I read from the top, my excited expression slowly turned strange.
“…This feels weird.”
***
Awakener Information
Awakener: Lee Ha-won
Unique Title: Open Market Manager (EX)
Region: Dimension–Earth Ι Zone–Republic of Korea
Awakener Rank: E [Locked]
Unique Skills:
[Dimensional Gate Lv.1]
[Item Appraisal Lv.1]
[Repair Lv.1]
[Merchant’s Mark (P)]
Babel Best Record: None
Owned Gold: 0G
Achievements (1)
***
Looking at a window that quantified “me” objectively was… quite an experience.
If only it didn’t objectively make me look pathetic, it would’ve been perfect.
I already knew title rank and Awakener rank were different.
But out of six ranks… E? The lowest?
Before I even had time to be upset—
“…Huh?”
Something wasn’t there.
I frowned and read the short status window again, slowly.
Still nothing.
“…Where are my stats?”
- HAVE. NO. STATS.
The one thing every Awakener absolutely must have—stats—
are NOT THERE.
I rubbed my eyes.
Nope. Not a hallucination.
They were still missing.
“…This can’t be right.”
Almost every Awakener interview includes the same cliché:
“The moment I awakened, I felt full of power!
I suddenly had muscles, and I didn’t get tired at all.
My whole body felt completely different!”
They always say that completing quests gives you level-ups and stat points.
But I have no stats.
Which means no stat points.
“…Is this a bug?”
A normal human’s physical stat is 1.
Awakeners start at 5 or more right away.
That’s why “Awakener preferred” shows up in EVERY job listing.
And Awakeners always feel changes after awakening,
even if their title has nothing to do with strength.
Even if they wake up as rank E.
But I…
“…I don’t feel ANY different.”
If I have no stats, I’m basically the same as before.
I thought EX-rank title meant I’d hit the jackpot, but—
“…I’m an E-rank hunter with an EX-rank title…?”
What kind of broken balance is this?
What does EX even mean?
Extraordinary? Exceptional? Extreme?
Basically: amazing, powerful, incredible.
“…Or does it literally mean ‘EX—out of the system’?”
Like an NPC?
Or a receptionist lady in a video game?
Then that “Locked” behind my rank suddenly felt like a small ray of hope.
I’ve never seen a locked rank before,
but since it’s EX…
maybe something good will happen?
“…Right? It has to be, right?!”
I nodded desperately.
Come on, Copium Engine, start running.
I didn’t come back from near death and awaken just to fall into despair now.
***
New Notification
- You can now create your Open Market Administrator account.]**
Right. Forget everything else for now.
Focus on my unique title: Open Market Manager.
A title that has NEVER appeared in 10+ years of Babel’s history.
Until now, Babel only gave combat-type titles.
Even Park Bo-bae—the girl I met in the Gate—was a tank with the title “White Shield.”
But something so capitalist and businesslike?
Nobody has ever gotten anything like this.
Who could’ve imagined I’d get a title just because a cat guided me inside the Gate and gave me a feather?
Should I… have ignored the cat?
But I shook my head.
“No, no. It saved my life.”
If not for that cat, I wouldn’t even be alive to complain right now.
…Though I can’t say I’m not stressed.
I might become a one-of-a-kind existence.
Or I might become a complete flop.
But nothing will change by just sitting here.
I stared at the window for a long time and finally muttered:
“…Let’s create the account.”
Instantly, a holographic laptop appeared in the air.
But it wasn’t like a normal laptop.
“…Whoa.”
A huge blue-tinted hologram screen floated like a wave.
When I moved my hand toward it, its pieces shimmered apart like water.
It was beautiful. Unreal.
“Wow…”
As if my touch triggered something, a bright notification sound rang.
Ding!
A popup window appeared—like an ad.
[Creating Open Market.]
[Please choose a market name.]
Well… whether I like it or not—
“If it says to do it, I have to do it.”
I fell into deep thought.
A “market,” huh?
The first thing that popped into my head was Carrot Market, the second-hand trading app I used constantly.
‘That’s copyrighted, so I obviously can’t use it.’
Even my username on Carrot Market was terrible: ‘Friendly’.
A nickname I made because my brother always called me “This friend here…”
and even that took forever to decide.
And if Awakening powers never disappear,
whatever name I choose now will be permanent.
So I should choose something cool. Something awesome.
“…Friend-ly…”
I was mumbling, trying to twist my Carrot username somehow, when—
[Would you like to register the name ‘Friendly Market’?]
“…Excuse me? No??”
[Checking if name is already taken…]
[‘Friendly Market’ has been registered on Babel’s server.]
[Please choose an administrator nickname.]
WAIT.
Did it auto-accept because I said “Friendly…” out loud??
Aren’t systems supposed to ask “Are you SURE?” at least once?!
“…I don’t understand this at all.”
And then things got worse.
[Administrator nickname can only be two characters maximum.]
[Checking for duplicates…]
[Administrator nickname ‘Lee-Hae’ has been registered.]
“…Wow. What the hell.”
It processed everything faster than a scammer taking your money.
My name is Lee Ha-won.
They took the first two syllables—‘Lee-Hae’—and made it my nickname.
Why??
Why not my whole name?!
I slammed the bed and jumped up, furious.
This was definitely cosmic bullying.
“…”
In Awakener communities, people usually use random mixes of letters and numbers.
Who would’ve imagined admin nicknames had weird rules like this?!
Maybe I should be grateful I got a rare two-character nickname.
I tried to convince myself as I read my new market name out loud:
“Lee-hae’s Friendly Market…”
Hmm. Saying it out loud…
“…It sucks.”
It sounded like a wholesome market for elderly people seeking emotional healing.
I’m not obsessed with being cool, but this was too much.
I needed to find a way to change it.
[Once set, the nickname and market name cannot be changed.]
“…Babel… you scammers…”
I grabbed my hair with both hands.
I got a title with zero guides.
No stats.
A ridiculous market name.
A weird nickname.
And none of it can be changed.
All I had left was hollow laughter.
[Please set a login activation phrase.]
I quickly shut my mouth.
I couldn’t risk blurting out something stupid again.
“…Log… in…”
I whispered cautiously.
The window immediately changed.
[Logging in as Administrator of the Open Market ‘Friendly Market’.]
Instantly, my anger faded.
Curiosity filled me instead.
Would it look like a shop interface from a game?
Since there were no records of this title, I had zero clues.
But instead of a store window, what appeared was… a quest.
[An exclusive Administrator Job Quest has arrived. Would you like to check it?]
“…A quest?”
Maybe something like “Sell an item.”
I had 52 points of Carrot Market manners.
I could do this.
As I imagined different possibilities, the quest revealed itself.
[Title Job Quest (1)
Enter the Tutorial Floor of the Babel Tower.
Reward: Unlock Administrator Tutorial Quest, Unlock Administrator Manual]
…But I have no stats.
And the tutorial floor definitely requires killing monsters.
I immediately imagined myself walking in and being ripped apart by a monster in seconds.
I squeezed my eyes shut and screamed from deep within my soul:
“Babel, you SCAMMER—!”
