The Passive Skill Collector

After a seemingly endless 20-minute ride, he finally arrived in front of the Association. The street was busy, cars were driving in and off the parking lot, which was connected with the main path to the Awakening Association's main entrance.

"I will wait for the young master to finish with his matter. You will be able to find me in the parking lot, that is right here."

He left the car and went off through the busy path while seeing three towering buildings that loomed overhead, linked by expensive bridges that spanned over 20m in width. Together, they formed a triangle, surrounding an enormous park between the towers, filled with pavilions and benches for people to relax amid the hustle.

If the path to the highest and closest building hadn't been so crowded, it would have taken about 4 minutes to reach the entrance.

He finally stepped inside after pushing his way through to the entrance, which took more effort than he anticipated.

This was his 5th attempt at the awakening, yet it felt entirely different from his four attempts back in his hometown.

The entrance featured two huge gates, providing access to the interior. Upon entering, he could see multiple ticket-dispensing machines, that were placed in two rows throughout the whole building. Multiple elevators were on the left and right side.

Wide stairs faced the two huge gates, with multiple service booths filling the space under the stairs, split off the main stairway, and led to the upper floors. There were at least twenty on each side, which helped people get in contact with different higher-ups, make reservations, and mainly, get in line for The Awakening process.

Multiple screens hung from the ceiling, displaying numbers and directional arrows guiding everyone to the booths. simple LED lights brightened the hall, emphasizing simplicity and efficiency over luxury.

The floor, covered in durable carpet tiles, was designed for easy replacement, ensuring the space was functional at all times, despite the heavy foot traffic.

Lu Jae-sung waited for one of the ticket dispensers to be available, while a feeling of anxiety arose inside him, he made his way to an available dispenser, and clicked an icon showing the word "AWAKENING."

The machine whirred and printed a ticket with the number 92877. He made his way through the two rows while looking at the screens filled with different numbers.

His inner thoughts and feelings started to take a toll on him. He felt drops of sweat condensing inside his armpit, while his last attempt flooded his mind. This made those who waited patiently beside him look curiously at him. 

Without noticing the environment, he stepped to one of the far left booths, after he saw that his number popped up in one of the big screens. On his route, he tried to clear his mind, slowly becoming more calm and ready to talk with the representative inside the booth.

He slid his ticket through the small opening in the protective glass, which separated them.

"Your ID card please," said the representative, her voice was flat without a sign of emotion.

Most of the booth operators were women, none of them superior to each other with their looks. They all looked quite beautiful in their work clothes. The one in front of Lu Jae-sung was small and skinny. Her noticeable brunette hair shone brightly.

He pulled out his wallet and slid his ID card to her.

She looked at the name written on the card. Her expression changed as she raised her eyebrow and looked back at Lu Jae-sung. She didn't say anything and looked at the monitor, that was in the corner of the booth on her left. Typing sounds could be heard, and after some moment, she spoke again.

"Go up to the fifth floor, testing room number 20. Wait there a bit, until your name is called. Good luck with the last try," she said professionally, even though she displayed a questioning look at first, possibly because of his biracial status.

He was unfazed by her reaction, as most of the people he met, reacted like her when they got to know him a bit more. After handing him the ID card back he ascended the seemingly endless stairs.

Each floor of the Awakening process contained four rooms, each numbered from one to twenty, depending on which floor it was situated. After reaching the fifth floor, his legs shaking with exhaustion, he walked through the corridor, stopping beside the twentieth room, and sat on one of the empty plastic chairs to unwind.

"Lu Jae-sung!" A sound resonated through the closed door to the room.

He noticed a guy slowly exiting the room, leaving the doors open behind him. After observing his mediocre figure, he assumed that the Awakening had not gone well. He walked slowly, his hands crazily tugging at his hair and leaving it messy, showing a blatant display of his anger.

Lu Jae-sung entered the room cautiously, feeling a twinge of stress. He tried to calm down by fidgeting. He closed the door behind him, while leaving a mark of sweat on the handle, and saw a great amount of machines that filled the space. Each of those served a different purpose, like reading vitals during the procedure.

The most necessary device couldn't be missed, examining the familiar circular pad on the ground, where many cables were connected to the machines on the side.

Three people were standing in different positions. A tall bodyguard was standing by the entrance and gave off a dangerous feeling when he looked across him. This hulk was probably an Awakener and guarded in case of berserk Awakeners, who got mad when acquiring power.

"Since it is your fifth time already, I trust you know the drill. Go on the pad and my assistant will give you a relaxant, so you hold still until the very end," said the scientist, while clicking all sorts of buttons on the machines.

Lu Jae-sung was focused on the pad and didn't waste time glancing around. He went directly into the middle of the mechanical pad, waiting for the assistant to dose him with a relaxant.

A sharp sting pierced his arm, fading slowly after the injection. Before the substance could take effect fully, the assistant secured him to the supports, assuring he wouldn't move or collapse during the procedure.

"We will start with the process. Don't expect much from your fifth try," he sighed and pulled a huge lever with his all might, making sweat flow from his forehead, as the lever was really stiff for security reasons.

The pad began to shine brighter, revealing an inner circle with pulsing yellow light that radiated in rhythmical waves.

For five tense minutes, nothing was happening, and the atmosphere felt heavy. Just as the scientist reached for the lever to halt the procedure, a loud beeping sound resonated through the deathly silent examining room. Everyone present was in shock, and they hastily gathered and tried to stop the machine from exuding otherworldly energy.

Lu Jae-sung felt his heartbeat suddenly spike, breathing heavily, he tried to maintain consciousness. He sweated crazily, while darkness slowly swallowed him.

The lever was stuck, and the team struggled to turn off the machine with their utmost might. Even the brute Awakener used his super strength skill, giving his all to pull it back. He even appeared to turn red, as his strength flowed within him.

It suddenly got unstuck, and everyone flew backward with the lever broken tightly and grasped in their hands. The machine started smoking, and the otherworldly energy quickly dissipated.

Lu Jae-sung lay unconscious, bound to the supports, looking like a fresh corpse. He was breathing heavily with a severe fever. The bodyguard didn't hesitate and quickly rushed to unleash Lu Jae-sung from the ties and hoasted him on one of his wide shoulders. He was so fast, that it took a while to comprehend the situation for the Scientist and assistant duo.

They stared eyes wide open at the broken machine and the shattered door in the corridor, their expressions a mix of confusion and disbelief.

As the bodyguard was rushing through the corridor, everyone who was waiting on the chairs looked at the flicker of light that raced past them. He was so fast, that he couldn't be seen with the naked eye. He rushed off through the closest emergency exit, sprinting to the nearest hospital.

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Hours later, Lu Jae-sung was lying soundlessly on a hospital bed, connected to a set of wires, leading to an electrocardiogram showing his now steady heartbeat.

Suddenly, a notification-like sound resonated in his head, jolting him awake with a painful headache. He looked left and right, assessing his situation in confusion, as he slowly regained memories of what had happened in the Awakening Association.

After a session of quick blinking to force his eyes to focus, he looked dazedly and stupefied in front of him. There appeared to be a levitating transparent sign blocking his view, even if he moved his head.

New Message - Show/ignore

He was observing the sign, also trying to touch the "Show" button.

"Congratulations on your Awakening! You have been granted access to the Leveling Up system."

"Do you wish to proceed to the stats tab?" - Yes/No

His heart raced as he clicked yes, and an even larger interface appeared before him, showing a hefty amount of information.