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EP.29 The Transcendent’s Eye and the Awakened 

『The Transcendent’s Eye is a skill that allows Nano Warrior Kim Taesik to detect the presence of other Awakened and to discern their abilities.』 

『The rank of Awakened that Kim Taesik can identify with the Transcendent’s Eye is limited to those of the general rank. For general Awakened, he can check their specific job and current ability status.』 

Exhausted from my wild stepping practice, I, Kim Taesik, caught my breath and carefully read the explanation about the Transcendent’s Eye. 

At first, the name felt abstract. 

But when you look at the details, it’s actually quite straightforward. 

The ability to see another person’s status window- 

Even among transcendent status windows, this feels transcendent. 

Notably, the skill is limited to seeing only general Awakened. 

It seems likely that only a limited number of people can possess or acquire the Transcendent’s Eye. 

If many people could have it, there probably wouldn’t be a rank restriction. 

“Even just identifying general Awakened would make it possible to distinguish hidden jobs, right? You might not be able to see the specific skills of a hidden job, but still.” 

It would be hard for someone with a hidden job to hide their uniqueness. 

If someone like Dohee is healing, it’s actually unreasonable to think she’s not an Awakened. 

This is a situation where extraordinary abilities have been injected into ordinary bodies. 

Even at a glance, the movements resulting from these abilities feel distinctly unnatural. 

I myself have been amazed and embarrassed by how strange my own movements look during practice. 

It’s like spotting a bodybuilder who’s obviously been doping, just by looking at them. 

If someone clearly stands out but you can’t see their status window with the Transcendent’s Eye, they’re probably a hidden job. 

The Transcendent’s Eye doesn’t directly provide me with combat buffs. 

Still, as conflicts with other Awakened are bound to increase, it will likely become a very important skill. 

And that actually happened. 

[Is there an Awakened in that survival camp?] 

...People started talking openly about Awakened. 

This was about two days after I advanced to D level on day 6-so, on day 8. 

Martial law was declared on day 4, and people started taking real action from day 5. 

Looting of supermarkets, convenience stores, and survival goods began openly on the evening of day 4. 

But it was only from day 5 that people started acting in organized groups for survival. 

The mass looting on day 4, unchecked by authorities, quickly took on an organized character. 

The actions on day 4 were more about venting pent-up anger and madness than survival. 

From day 6, people started forming their own survival groups. 

It wasn’t about going to shelters, but about creating independent survival groups. 

[RuinedLikeADog: Should I go to a survival camp? Honestly, it’s just powerless people gathering together, so I don’t really trust it...] 

From day 7, people started calling these community groups “survival camps.” 

At this time, there was a flood of questions about whether there were good survival camps nearby, and whether it was right to join one. 

Of course, not everyone was heading to a survival camp. 

[IfThisKeepsUpImDone: Fuck... Honestly, people are worse than zombies... Zombies are scary, but people are just hateful...] 

After the apocalypse, people who had seen the worst of humanity became extremely distrustful of others. 

Especially from day 4, with looting happening everywhere, those already frightened became even more terrified. 

So, those who found people scarier than zombies continued to hole up at home. 

It seems about 20% of people did that. 

The remaining 80% started forming survivor groups to try to survive. 

“So now the term ‘survivor’ is really coming into use...” 

On the evening of day 7, as the words “survivor” and “survival camp” were popping up everywhere, 

I remember zoning out in front of my computer, watching it all unfold. 

I’d been holed up in the bunker for seven days. 

The only time I went outside was on the bunker property. 

I got all my information about the outside world from the internet. 

I didn’t have any acquaintances to contact for updates. 

The last world I remembered was the one before I entered the bunker-right as zombies started spreading. 

That world was a mess, but there were still far more normal people. 

Because of that, the words “survivor” and “survival camp” felt strange to me. 

Had so many people really died that we’re already using the word “survivor”? 

The speed of it all was truly beyond my expectations. 

[ApocalypseKid: I heard there’s an Awakened in your survival camp. How is it? Are they a good person? A total psycho?] 

As the term “survival camp” was being coined, people also started talking about Awakened. 

By day 8, it became quite common. 

I suspect that with so many people dead and the government gone, the Awakened started moving in earnest. 

With so many dead that survival camps were forming, it was only natural for Awakened to seize the initiative. 

Ordinary people couldn’t outnumber them. 

And with the authorities gone, there was no risk of being forcibly conscripted by the government as a “special ability user.” 

Maybe those folks were also waiting, like me, to see when the government would collapse. 

“That one looks at least E rank, minimum.” 

I think the fact that some had grown stronger was also a reason for their emergence. 

There were a few videos of suspected Awakened, and they were definitely above F rank. 

F rank would have been too weak. 

From E rank, with stat synergy, you really start to feel superhuman. 

Of course, the Transcendent’s Eye doesn’t activate through video. 

But you can tell from their movements-they’re distinctly different from normal athletic ability. 

For example, strength that exceeds their body size, 

or movements that look like they’re being enhanced. 

[WillFollowForRamen: Should I try killing a zombie just to see if I can become Awakened? That’s how it works, right?] 

[WantToAwaken: That’s what people say, but be careful. A lot of people have died trying to find out if they’re Awakened by killing zombies.] 

A lot of people died in just over a week. 

Still, there were enough survivors that I thought there’d be plenty of general Awakened. 

But reality was tougher than I thought. 

Most people still hadn’t killed a zombie. 

It’s really different from a game. 

When regular people actually face zombies, their bodies freeze up. 

And you don’t become Awakened just by killing one. 

With no guarantee of awakening, risking your life is hard for ordinary people. 

[DontWantToDie: I can’t go outside... I think I’m getting panic attacks... Just stepping outside makes me shake... I’m going crazy with self-loathing... In games I was so brave...] 

About 5 out of 20 people end up like that. 

The other 15 aren’t that bad, but they stay home or become extremely passive. 

I figure, after some more time, they’ll either commit suicide or break out of their shell. 

Because of this, there’s still very little information about Awakened abilities or traits. 

If there were more of them, surely a few loose-lipped people would have spilled the details by now. 

The fact that hasn’t happened suggests there aren’t that many, and those who have awakened are pretty cautious. 

So far, all that’s circulating online is the term “Awakened” and the idea that they have superhuman strength. 

There’s no mention of general jobs, hidden jobs, growth systems, or subclasses. 

“Still, now that Awakened are starting to act, I might run into one soon.” 

There’s definitely a connection between Awakened and their abilities. 

But who becomes Awakened seems to be random. 

Personality and character don’t seem to matter at all. 

If only good people could awaken, the system wouldn’t be giving me all these anti-Awakened traits and skills at D level. 

Some people will use their powers purely for survival. 

Others might be driven by justice and use them for the good of the community. 

Some psycho or sociopath might awaken and do crazy shit. 

There could even be people who just focus on leveling up, like it’s a game. 

I’m focusing on three types: 

Those who might be helpful to me, 

Those trying to build power and gain strength, 

And total psycho scumbags. 

If I cross paths with an Awakened, it’ll probably be one of these three. 

“Out to hunt zombies today?” 

On day 9, I planned to go outside the bunker to hunt zombies. 

As I was about to leave, Dohee approached me. 

“Yeah. Training is good, but it’s also important to regularly hunt zombies and build real combat sense. The feeling you get from training is different from actually fighting zombies.” 

The world has changed dramatically in these 9 days, 

but 9 days isn’t really enough for me to fully adapt. 

I’m still experimenting with and refining my abilities. 

I’m figuring out my skills and practicing enough before heading out into real combat. 

“You’re not going far, right? Wouldn’t it be good for me to go out with you? I can’t just sit around doing nothing all the time.” 

Dohee really wants to help me. 

She already works hard keeping the bunker in order and doing housework. 

“You’re right, but honestly, I’m still barely able to take care of myself. Maybe once I get stronger, we can go out together.” 

That’s why I don’t want to put Dohee in danger. 

I’m still inexperienced and in the middle of experimenting. 

“And you got upgraded this time, too. Thanks to that, at least you won’t turn into a zombie just from getting scratched. Just having you around is a huge help to me.” 

When I upgraded to D rank overall, Dohee, who’s in my party, was affected and her status window changed as well. 

It was a pretty big change.