I knew it was just an illusion.
I knew it was nothing more than a petty way of venting my anger… but the warm blood spurting from the man's wound gave me an incredible sense of satisfaction.
The man's eyes widened in disbelief as he asked in terror, "H-how?!"
Countless questions raced through his mind.
How could a small boy, with such a small fist, tear open his chest?
Was he awakened?
That's the only reason he could think, for his sudden surge of power.
If he had awakened so suddenly, how was that even possible?
He and his wife were nothing more than third-rate citizens of this country, with no connection to any awakener bloodline.
Was it even possible for someone like them to produce an awakener?
No answers came, only fear filled his eyes.
Seeing the blood drenching my hands and the floor, I felt a thrill I had long forgotten in that empty, suspended space.
"This is it… this is me… not some helpless brat…" I said with a proud smile.
Even though, deep down, I knew it was only a petty satisfaction and not the real thing, so what?
I knew I could never return to my real childhood and kill my abusive parents, but at least in this vision, I wanted to find the strength to fight back.
The man fell to the ground with a dull thud, clutching the hole in his chest. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but no sound came out, only shallow gasps until the end of his life.
"Hm?!"
At that moment, a familiar mechanical sound echoed directly in my mind.
[Ding! Detected traces of potent mana and skill. Individual has been successfully bound to the World System: Gaya.]
[Congratulations to host for being enlisted as the 120,548th awakener of the planet Gaya.]
[Scanning individual for status information…]
[Scan complete. Host #120548 may directly access status information.]
[Permission granted to view self-related data through the Gaya System.]
"This is… the voice of the Gaya System?!"
This vision could even imitate the Gaya System.
Amused by the sudden discovery, I shouted, "STATUS"
A thin, translucent panel appeared before my eyes, displaying the following:
[Status]
Level: 0 (000/100)
Name: Arjun
Constitution: 0.4
Mind: 2
Soul: 2
Mana: 1.5 / 2
Passive Skills: None
Active Skills: [Mass Override (L1)]
My eyes widened in shock as I stared at the screen.
The status panel felt incredibly nostalgic.
This was my status from before I ever leveled up, something I had long forgotten.
Only after reaching Level 1 could one truly tap into the potential of awakening and become a Tier 1 entity.
Constitution represented the overall capability of the physical body, strength, agility, stamina, recovery rate, and endurance.
A normal, healthy adult usually had a constitution between 0.9 and 1.1.
Mind represented willpower and mental resilience, whether someone could withstand the terror of monsters or not.
Mana was the fundamental basis of magic.
Since I awakened magic related skill, my mana was quite high for someone who was only semi-awakened and not yet Tier 1.
Everything about the screen felt so real that it almost convinced me I had returned to reality.
I looked at the corpse of the man, my biological father.
Countless thoughts flooded my mind.
All those years of torment and abuse suddenly felt like a cruel joke.
One punch.
That was all it took to end his life.
I knew it wasn't real, yet that strange satisfaction still lingered in my chest, until it was interrupted by a sudden scream.
"AAAAUUUGGGHH!!!"
Turning to my right, I saw a woman standing there, terror etched across her face.
She looked back and forth between me and the corpse on the floor, as if she were staring at a monster.
Her lips quivered uncontrollably as she stumbled backward, her body trembling.
I had almost forgotten there was another person here.
My biological mother.
The woman who never did anything for me except snatch money from my hands when I was young.
A smirk spread across my lips as I stepped toward her.
"D-don't come near me… I saw nothing… s-stay back…"
The overwhelming fear in her eyes was unmistakable, and I loved it.
Within moments, she was pressed into the corner of the hall, her body shaking violently as she stared at me.
Without hesitation, I focused my mana into my legs, went towards her and kicked her right knee joint as hard as I could.
The sound of bone shattering filled the room, followed immediately by a scream.
"AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!"
Her leg bent at a grotesque angle as she collapsed to the floor, wailing in agony.
She clutched her leg, throwing her fists wildly as she screamed at me.
"Y-YOU UNGRATEFUL MONSTER! YOU BROKE MY LEG! WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!"
Moments ago, she had been terrified.
Now, pain and rage clouded her mind as she lashed out blindly, tears streaming down her face.
"It feels too real…"
I muttered as I dodged her flailing fists.
Seeing the fury in her eyes, I couldn't help but smile.
Locking my gaze onto hers, I asked in a cold, stern voice, "Do you really not understand why I attacked you? Really?"
"You let me sell drugs around this area just so you and your husband could live off me. While he beat me every day, you watched with a twisted smile. When I had a fever and couldn't even stand, you planned to sell my organs if I didn't recover."
"If you want a reason for why I broke your leg… I can give you at least a thousand."
"Do you want to hear every single one?"
Hearing that, the woman's face twisted with genuine anger as she glared at me.
"SO WHAT?! WE GAVE BIRTH TO YOU, WE CAN DO WHATEVER WE WANT! DON'T GET COCKY JUST BECAUSE YOU SUDDENLY AWAKENED!"
"I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU MANAGED TO AWAKEN, BUT YOUR LIFE IS ALREADY OVER! YOU KILLED MY HUSBAND!"
"IF I CALL THE AWAKENER ASSOCIATION, YOU'LL BE THROWN INTO PRISON AND SENT TO THE DUNGEONS!"
"THERE, YOU'LL DIE MISERABLY AT THE HANDS OF MONSTERS! HAHAHAHA! YOUR LIFE IS OVER!"
Yes. This was my biological mother.
As I watched her wail and scream about how my life was already over, memories of how Han Seo-Jun's parents had cared for him surfaced in my mind.
***