He is a legendary prison guard

Chapter 2
Awakening of Mystery

“…Yes, yes, I’m sorry. I usually try to work as much as I can, but I’m feeling sick. Yes, please handle it that way. No, you don’t need to worry. I’ll work hard again starting tomorrow. Alright, take care.”

Shi-hyun, who had contacted the prison where he worked early in the morning, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

His head was pounding from a hangover, and his stomach was churning, not to mention the overwhelming events that had happened the previous day.

He first grabbed a cold bottle of water from the fridge and gulped it down.

He felt a bit more awake.

“Awakening…”

What kind of twist of fate is this?

The day he got dumped by his awakened lover, he awakens himself.

And it’s the kind of awakening that makes him feel the twists of fate once again.

Shi-hyun sat down on the sofa and opened his status window.

[Depressed Guard]
Name: Poahim
Gender: Male
Occupation: Guard (Main), Executioner (Sub)
Fame: Very Famous

1) Iron-Blooded Guard: Poahim is a figure of terror for all prisoners in the Reiter continent. No matter how vicious a criminal may be, they cannot even breathe properly in his presence.
All stats increase by 1000% when dealing with prisoners.
Prisoners freeze in fear and panic at the sight of you.
2) Fanatical Executioner: Born to be a guard, Poahim is also a skilled executioner. He has executed countless death row inmates throughout his life and enjoys it.
All stats increase by 500% when dealing with death row inmates.
– Death row inmates freeze in fear and panic at the sight of you.

Strength 1 (E)
Agility 1 (E)
Wisdom 1 (E)
Stamina 1 (E)
Mental Strength 1 (E)
Magic Power 1 (E)

Physical Resistance: 0.05%
Magic Resistance 0.05%
Poison Resistance 0%
Fire Resistance 0%

Passive: ??? (Inactive)
Active:??? (Inactive),??? (Inactive)

He had indeed awakened.

But he was a guard.

These days, they are called prison officers in English.

It seemed like that was what it meant.

What should he think about this?

Moreover, the descriptor was “depressed.”

It was an utterly bizarre descriptor at first glance.

Depressed…

Although he didn’t know much about awakenings, he had heard a bit from the media and the internet.

When one awakens, the simplest way to grasp the abilities of the awakened is through the descriptor in the status window.

For example, an A-rank awakened person would have descriptors like “great,” “wonderful,” or “outstanding,” which are very positive.

And those descriptors would be attached to titles like “Great Knight,” “Wonderful Mage,” or “Outstanding Priest.”

In contrast, the descriptors for E-rank awakened individuals are “clumsy,” “inexperienced,” or “awkward.”

These would be attached to titles like “Clumsy Knight,” “Inexperienced Mage,” or “Awkward Priest.”

However, absurdly, the descriptor “depressed” attached to him was completely different.

It was a term that indicated his emotional or mood state, wasn’t it?

How could he gauge his abilities with this?

No, he had never even heard of such a descriptor existing for awakened individuals.

It was a first for both the job and the descriptor.

It was becoming increasingly perplexing.

And then there was fame.

“Very famous?”

Being very famous meant that the original owner of this awakening power was quite well-known in that world.

While some only have a hollow reputation, fame generally follows one’s abilities.

So there was a possibility of a high rank.

Next was the reputation.

Iron-Blooded Guard and Fanatical Executioner.

The names were chilling and terrifying, but the actual effects were enough to raise questions.

The percentages of 1000% and 500% looked impressive, but when examined closely, they were limited to prisoners and death row inmates.

This meant they were utterly useless against the important monsters in the gates.

It fits the expression “a beautiful but useless shell” perfectly.

If he were to show his status window to others, they would undoubtedly shake their heads in disbelief.

Then there were the stats.

The worst of the worst.

All his stats were mockingly labeled with an E.

The sequence of 1s was so pathetic it hardly seemed worthy of being called an awakened individual.

Shi-hyun let out a small sigh.

“Ha… Finally, the skills.”

There were some, but they were all marked as “???,” so he couldn’t tell what they were. Moreover, seeing that they were labeled as inactive, it seemed he couldn’t use them either.

And the number was only three.

Too few to be fitting for an E-rank.

He had heard that A-ranks easily surpass double digits in skills.

He had awakened, but this was the state of affairs.

E-rank? E-rank?

The words “a mere guard” that Su-jin had told him flashed bitterly through his mind. He could almost hear her mocking laughter echoing in front of him.

Was being a guard unacceptable in this world or the other?

What’s wrong with being a guard?

Isn’t it possible for a guard to be the protagonist?

“Phew.”

Taking a deep breath to calm his feelings, Shi-hyun sat down at the desk where his computer was.

He wanted to check more details about awakened individuals.

The internet, if used properly, was a treasure trove of information.

Especially for a group like awakened individuals, which drew a lot of interest, there was a plethora of useful information available.

Shi-hyun found a well-organized blog post about awakened individuals and began to read it from the beginning.

The introduction explained a horrific tragedy that occurred ten years ago when gates to other dimensions opened worldwide for unknown reasons.

Monsters of unknown origin poured out of these gates.

The monsters slaughtered people as if they were starving for blood.

The military was hastily mobilized to stop the monsters, but absurdly, no modern weapon could harm them. Humanity was helpless in chaos, and on the first day alone, millions lost their lives.

If this continued, humanity faced extinction.

Fortunately, awakened humans began to emerge who possessed supernatural powers.

These beings, known as awakened individuals, used unfamiliar powers like swords and magic through a system.

Their new powers were effective against the monsters.

Thus, with the help of the awakened individuals, the world barely overcame the crisis, and they took on the role of shields to protect humanity from the monsters of the gates.

Now, awakened individuals were beings that most people revered and admired.

Shi-hyun continued reading the sections that described the stats of awakened individuals.

“Hmm… Usually, the basic stats of a D-rank awakened individual are 100. C-rank is 300, B-rank is 500, and A-rank is 700. It increases by 200 each time. And anything below 100 is E-rank.”

The basic stats refer to the main stats.

For a knight, it would be strength and agility, while for a mage or priest, it would be wisdom.

For example, a knight could have low wisdom, and it wouldn’t affect their rank at all.

Of course, there were common main stats. That was magic power.

One needed magic power to use active skills.

Moreover, the stronger the skill, the more magic power is required.

In reality, the amount of magic power determined the rank, so it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say.

Only magic power could be measured externally using a magic power measuring device made of magical stone.

Other stats couldn’t be known unless one revealed them.

And very few awakened individuals wished to disclose them. The status window was far more important than even modern personal information. In extreme cases, it could be life-or-death information.

However, measuring ranks based on magic power wasn’t problematic, as having more magic power often meant higher stats and better reputations or skills.

In other words, it was almost a law that the amount of magic power was proportional to the rank.

“But my magic power is 1.”

Right now, Shi-hyun’s magic power is 1.

If he were to go to the Hunter Association and attempt to acquire a hunter license, he would undoubtedly be an E-rank.

E-rank meant a lifetime of being at the bottom of the guild, destined only to be a caretaker for raids.

Shi-hyun wore a bitter smile as he read the paragraph about reputation.

Reputation was as important as stats or skills, and there were examples of reputations from E-rank to B-rank.

As he compared his reputation with the examples, he read on.

Rank: E-rank
Reputation: Failed Student of the Magic Academy—000 is a failed student of the Rion Magic Academy. He is the laughingstock of the entire school.
The time taken to cast magic increases by 100%.
The power of magic spells decreases by 70%.

“Wow, this is no joke. I really wouldn’t want to live in this world. The state should provide mental care.”

Reputation meant a powerful name, but this was a powerful name.

It was reputation, but

Rank: D-rank
Reputation: Anger Management Knight-000 is well-known among his peers for managing his anger well. He becomes a berserker against those weaker than him, but a peacekeeper against those slightly stronger.
All stats increase by 50% when facing weaker opponents, and he becomes elated.
All stats decrease by 50% when facing stronger opponents, and he becomes cowardly.

“Hey, this is also something. Well, he can handle the minions well.”

Was there anything decent?

Shi-hyun hurriedly read the C-rank example.

Rank: C-rank
Reputation: Kobold Slayer (000) is a vengeful kobold hunter. After his father lost his life to a kobold, he vowed to hunt them for life. He piled up their corpses until he died.
All stats increase by 100% against kobolds, and the efficiency of all skills increases by 60%.
Kobolds freeze in fear and try to escape upon seeing you, entering a panic state.

Finally, a reputation without a downside appeared.

It seemed that one had to be at least C-rank to be considered a decently awakened individual.

“But even being a slayer, 100%?”

100% isn’t a small number. If the C-rank stat is 300, then increasing it by 100% would make it 600, surpassing the B-rank against Kobolds.

Thinking this way, if a 700 A-rank increased by 100% would become 1,400?

“Even the same percentage, the upper ranks have stats that rise dramatically. They’re monsters, indeed.”

If C-rank was like this, B-rank or A-rank reputations wouldn’t be lower than this.

Shi-hyun quickly glanced at the B-rank reputation.

Rank: B-rank
Reputation: Prodigy of Ellason – 000 was famous as a prodigy in his hometown, Ellason, from a young age. Although he realized he wasn’t a genius after coming to the capital, everyone still acknowledged him as an exceptionally intelligent upper-class mage.
High-Speed Casting (Medium) is available. Casting magic takes 30% less time.
Magic Amplification (medium) is available. The power of magic spells increases by 35%.

“Uh?”

Instead, the B-rank stats were lower.

Shi-hyun fell into thought for a moment and nodded as if he had realized something.

There are no restrictions.

Instead of having high stats, the lack of restrictions made it a reputation that could help in any situation.

One wouldn’t be fighting only kobolds for life when attacking the gates, and the prodigy of Ellison had a far more useful upper-class reputation.

“I see when there are restrictions, the stats go up. That’s why such enormous restrictions exist.”

Only against prisoners, 1,000%.
Only against death row inmates, 500%.
It was clear that it was utterly useless against the monsters that appeared in the gates.

As soon as he understood why his reputation had those percentages of 1,000% and 500%, he moved on.

Finally, after searching the internet for over 30 minutes with the keywords “Awakened Skills Inactive,” he found nothing.

“Damn it.”

Exhausted, Shi-hyun turned off the computer and lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling blankly.

He got dumped by his lover, awakened, and now his awakening abilities were filled with questions.

“Isn’t there a tutorial or quest like in an online game? Then something might get resolved.”

Just as he muttered that to himself absentmindedly, a new message appeared before his eyes without any warning.

Poahim, after personally executing the death sentence of his most precious friend, was deeply shocked and fell into a severe depression, isolating himself in the coldest part of the continent where even breath freezes. Moreover, due to having abstained from food for a long time, he is on the brink of death. If he doesn’t consume food soon, he may die.

[Emergency Quest: Consume food as quickly as possible.]

A new path opened up for Shi-hyun.