SWNOVELXO Chapter 2 - Awakening (2)
Unfamiliar objects suddenly appeared in Kang Ian’s small one-room apartment.
A luxurious-looking sword, shield, and upper body armor.
[Valhalla’s Beginner Knight One-Handed Sword]
[Valhalla’s Beginner Knight One-Handed Shield]
[Valhalla’s Beginner Knight Leather Tunic]
“Huh…”
Kang Ian let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.
“Where the hell did these come from?”
Above the items, glowing messages floated.
They weren’t just ordinary objects—they were items that only an Awakened could possess.
And these were items from Devil Road 3, the game he was currently playing.
The moment he claimed the quest reward in the game, it appeared in reality.
It was baffling, but it wasn’t something he could just dismiss.
“They say Awakened individuals have all sorts of abilities… Is this one of them?”
Awakening was great, but gaining a job from a game?
And even having its items drop into reality?
“…This is too good.”
Kang Ian clenched his fist unconsciously.
‘How do I equip these? There seems to be a way to wear them. Can I sell them? If they’re treated as items, they must be expensive, right?’
All sorts of thoughts flashed through his mind.
He cautiously reached out to the sword.
[Valhalla’s Beginner Knight One-Handed Sword]
– Item Grade: Normal
– Item Effect: Attack Power +1
– A sword for novice knights who have passed Valhalla’s trial.
[Valhalla’s Beginner Knight One-Handed Shield]
– Item Grade: Normal
– Item Effect: Defense +1
– A shield for novice knights who have passed Valhalla’s trial.
[Valhalla’s Beginner Knight Leather Tunic]
.
.
.
The item specs were exactly as they were in the game.
With an attack of 1 and defense of 1, these were nothing more than basic starter gear—meant to be replaced quickly.
Unsure of what to do with them, Kang Ian reached out again.
Suddenly, the items vanished into thin air.
“Huh!?”
His surprise at the sudden disappearance was short-lived.
When he wished for them to reappear, they materialized again on his bed.
‘…Can I make them appear and disappear as I wish?’
It felt like he was putting items in and out of some sort of subspace.
He didn’t know how much space there was in this subspace, but for now, it seemed plentiful.
‘What about equipping them?’
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, the items in the subspace appeared not on the bed, but equipped on Kang Ian.
In an instant, a fully-equipped hunter stood in the studio apartment.
“…Even though it’s me, I can’t believe it.”
Kang Ian exclaimed as he looked at the full-length mirror in the corner of the room.
He saw himself wearing the leather armor, equipped with a sword and shield.
It was the same mirror he had checked his suit in before heading to job interviews.
But now, instead of business attire, he was clad in knight’s armor.
And strangely enough, he had never felt more cool.
A fire ignited in Kang Ian’s eyes.
“…I need a lot more of those game items.”
He had roughly grasped the mechanism.
By completing quests in the game, he could acquire items—and then summon them into reality at will.
There were many things he needed to figure out. How many more items he could acquire, the extent of his abilities, and how strong he could become with them, etc.
It wasn’t easy for newly Awakened hunters to use their abilities effectively.
There wasn’t a detailed manual that came with Awakening. They had to figure it out through their own research.
Therefore, newly Awakened hunters could request assistance from the Hunter Association.
They helped with ability development while maintaining strict confidentiality, but since many Awakened were reluctant to reveal the basis of their abilities, not many applied for help.
“First… Let’s play the game.”
Kang Ian, worried that the items might disappear if he took them off—though he knew it was unlikely—carefully placed the sword and shield next to his desk and sat down.
He had countless questions about his ability, but his first instinct was to jump back into the game.
He had obtained items in reality by completing quests in the game.
And there were certainly more than just a couple of items in this game.
Right now, they were just basic items with +1 Attack and +1 Defense, but true to the hack-and-slash genre, the late-game items would be incredibly powerful.
‘If I equip myself with those items, I might even become one of the world’s top hunters.’
The thought filled him with motivation.
Kang Ian grabbed the mouse and keyboard and began to focus on playing Devil Road 3.
* * *
Some time passed.
Kang Ian realized his prediction was wrong.
“Damn it! Again! Why?!”
Bang!
He slammed his fist against the desk, frustration seething through him.
Kang Ian was usually calm, rarely losing his composure, but this time was different.
– Ding!
[You have received ‘Valhalla Beginner Knight Greaves’ as a quest reward.]
[10 Evil Souls are required to claim the quest reward.]
[Would you like to claim it?]
[Y/N]
He had just completed another beginner quest and received an item.
But unlike in the game, where his character successfully obtained the reward, nothing appeared in reality.
He had been eagerly anticipating it, only to be left with crushing disappointment.
“Why? Was it a one-time ability?”
The dream of arming himself with powerful in-game items and living as a top-tier hunter was crumbling before his eyes.
Having hope and losing it was more painful than never having it at all.
Just in case, he tried another quest. It was a quest that rewarded beginner pants, but the result was the same.
His in-game character clearly received the item, but Kang Ian’s hands remained empty in reality.
“Sigh…”
Leaning back in his chair, he stared blankly at the ceiling.
In the corner of his vision, the glowing text was still there.
[Class: Knight of Valhalla]
[Skill: Communion with Valhalla]
The text was usually semi-transparent, but when he focused, it became clearer.
As he stared at the skill, more detailed information appeared below.
[Skill: Communion with Valhalla]
– Knights of Valhalla can communicate with Valhalla.
– Evil Souls possessed: 0
– Nobility Points possessed: 10
“Hmm?”
Kang Ian straightened up.
Evil Souls and Nobility Points.
Both were used as currency in Devil Road.
Among them, Evil Souls were used to claim quest rewards.
“Could it be… I couldn’t claim the rewards because I didn’t have any Evil Souls?”
His Evil Souls were at 0, while his Nobility Points remained at 10.
That was exactly how things had started.
Back when lightning struck, and the monitor exploded into a blinding light, engulfing his entire room.
He didn’t know if it was related to the game he was playing, but he awakened with the same class as his in-game character.
‘I must have started with 10 Evil Souls and 10 Nobility Points, just like my character.’
And when he claimed his first reward, he must have spent the 10 Evil Souls.
After that, with none left, he couldn’t claim any more rewards.
‘The monsters I hunted were in-game monsters. That’s why only my in-game character got the Evil Souls.’
Then, to obtain Evil Souls in reality…?
‘…I have to hunt monsters in reality.’
It was just a guess, but he felt certain.
Kang Ian stood up.
He picked up the sword and shield he had placed next to his desk and strapped them to his back and waist.
Strangely enough, the moment he picked them up, he instinctively knew how to fasten the straps properly.
– Creak
Then, Kang Ian left his apartment.
He checked the message he had received earlier on his smartphone.
[Emergency Disaster Alert]
[Sudden Gate occurrence at approximately 1500m above Seongnam City, Gyeonggi Province, has been resolved.]
[A search of the surrounding area will be conducted for approximately 1 hour as a precaution.]
[Residents in the vicinity are advised to remain in a safe place.]
Sudden Gates could appear anywhere, but they were usually dealt with quickly by hunters on standby.
Hunters would enter the Gate, destroy its core, and close it.
During that process, they also eliminated any monsters spilling out.
However, occasionally, a few monsters would slip through the cracks.
Hunters were only human, after all.
That was why civilians were always advised to stay indoors even after a Sudden Gate disappeared.
‘The Gate opened 1500m above ground. Unless they were flying monsters, most of them should be dead. But…’
Kang Ian was not the reckless type.
He had never been one to throw himself into uncertain danger.
But the hope of becoming a powerful hunter made him impatient.
The chance was slim, but if there was even one weak monster left, couldn’t he try to hunt it?
He opened the door and stepped out of the shared entrance of his villa.
“…”
It was a dark, rainy night.
Even standing still, his breathing grew heavy with tension.
Honestly, it was more likely that he would find nothing there.
Kang Ian cautiously looked around.
It was a quiet alley to begin with, but due to the Sudden Gate incident, there wasn’t a single person outside.
‘Is there really nothing?’
– Krrrk. Kyarrrrk.
“!”
Just as Kang Ian was about to give up and return home, a strange cry reached his ears.
Startled, he raised his shield and looked in that direction.
On the wet asphalt, writhing in the darkness, was an unknown creature.
‘An Earthworm?’
Kang Ian was, after all, preparing to apply to a Hunter Guild.
Although he was applying for a back-office position, he would be working closely with hunters, so he had memorized related materials.
That included information about monsters.
He had crammed their appearances, characteristics, and other details into his head so he could answer any questions the interviewers might throw at him, and that knowledge proved helpful now.
‘Did it fall from the Gate above? It doesn’t look normal…’
Earthworms were monsters that looked like ordinary earthworms, but scaled up to about 1 meter in length.
They were widely despised due to their grotesque appearance, but they were weak enough that even novice hunters could kill them easily.
He’d heard they were usually aggressive, jumping and attacking people on sight, but this one, perhaps due to the fall, seemed to be in an abnormal state.
It must have seen Kang Ian, but it only continued to wriggle on the ground.
– Ding!
[You have encountered a demon.]
[You have acquired the skill ‘Valhalla’s Knightly Spirit (P)’ through Communion with Valhalla.]
Kang Ian flinched at the sudden message.
But the moment he processed it, his emotions shifted.
His heart had been pounding moments ago at the sight of a real-life monster.
Yet now, he was calm.
Strangely enough, he felt more disgusted than afraid.
‘Is it a passive skill related to mental fortitude?’
He even had the composure to analyze the newly acquired skill.
Kang Ian drew his one-handed sword.
Though it was his first time wielding a real sword, it felt strangely familiar, as if he had swung it many times before.
‘It seems the patrolling hunters haven’t arrived yet. Then… I’ll take care of it!’
Kang Ian ran towards the Earthworm.
Despite the creature’s disgusting wriggling, Kang Ian showed no hesitation.
He quickly approached it and, aiming precisely for a weak spot, slashed at its neck.
– Slice!
The Earthworm died without much resistance.
It was already weakened from the fall, but Kang Ian’s attack also had been swift and precise.
-Ding!
[You have defeated evil.]
[Evil Soul + 1]
‘So this was the answer.’
Seeing the message, Kang Ian surveyed his surroundings with cold eyes.
His guess was correct.
The unclaimed quest reward required 10 Evil Souls.
With his shield raised and sword drawn, Kang Ian began to slowly patrol the area.