'Resistant One (Inactive)'
"...I've never seen this before."
An unfamiliar term occupied one of the trait slots, something he had neither heard of nor seen before.
Generally, awakened individuals were granted only one trait per person. He had never heard of anyone possessing two traits, and this particular trait was entirely new to him. As someone who had grown sick of seeing nothing but the "True Evil of Humanity," the sudden appearance of "Resistant One" was undeniably puzzling.
Was this another trick the system was playing on him, just like the "True Evil of Humanity"?
Given the "Inactive" label, would it activate later and impose another ordeal?
Or perhaps...
His distrust of the system flared up at the sight of this unfamiliar trait. Having endured countless misfortunes, Sayoon's instincts were sharp when it came to sensing impending disaster. His hunches were never wrong no, they were infallible. With a cautious expression, he stroked his chin, his dark eyes darting around as he assessed the potential harm this trait might bring.
He took his time observing it, but unlike his initial encounter with the "True Evil of Humanity" notification or the forced execution quests, he didn't feel the same unease. His heart didn't race as if anticipating an imminent catastrophe, and no anxiety crept in.
It wasn't because he had grown numb to the system's sudden cruelties, nor was it because this foreboding felt lighter than the misfortunes he had endured before.
No, it wasn't that it was lesser it just felt... genuinely fine.
In fact, it felt more than fine. Somehow, it even carried a faint glimmer of hope. Like holding a winning lottery ticket in his hand.
Something about this was unusual.
His intuition, honed from running an information guild, buzzed with excitement.
This thing is suspicious, he whispered. And not in a bad way.
"Resistant One", resistant to what?
As he lost himself in speculation, a thought from the past flashed through his mind.
Back when Sayoon hadn't completely lost his sanity and still retained half his rationality, he had once entertained a hypothesis:
If I am the "True Evil of Humanity," then perhaps there is something like the "True Hope of Humanity" out there.
After all, in every story, whenever a villain appeared, a hero would rise to oppose them. Where there was good, there was evil.
The duality of good and evil was an ancient, unchanging truth of the world. So, unlike ordinary awakened individuals, Sayoon had wondered if there might be someone special out there, someone tasked with opposing him, with killing him. Others might have called it delusional, but in his increasingly miserable life, the idea of an opposing force had become a thin thread of hope.
Fueled by that hypothesis, Sayoon reignited his dwindling will to resist. He convinced himself that somewhere out there was the key to changing his life, and from that moment on, he began picking fights and seeking death.
Even when the system, which refused to let him die, stubbornly revived him each time, he would immediately get up and throw himself into the hands of others to die again. The pain of death was nothing compared to the hope of escaping the system, so he repeated the cycle, dying and reviving, tirelessly, for what must have been at least three months.
To an outsider, it would have looked like the actions of a madman. But the first one to break wasn't Sayoon, it was Jongsik. After Sayoon unintentionally saved him from terrorists during a quest, Jongsik had followed him around like a lost puppy. Watching Sayoon repeatedly die in ways that pained even the observer, Jongsik had begged him through tears to stop. And in the face of repeated disappointments, Sayoon had spiraled further into madness.
Jongsik would later say that period was the darkest of his life, so miserable that even now, it brought him sorrow.
Day after day, Sayoon threw himself into death, but he gained nothing from it. Instead, his repeated deaths and resurrections earned him a notorious reputation among the few awakened individuals, rumors of an "immortal" that even prompted the system to display an achievement message in mockery.
Defeated by the system's taunts, Sayoon abandoned his futile hopes and lived even more viciously. Looking back now, it had been a foolish, naive challenge.
Remembering that time, Sayoon fell into deep thought. He wouldn't have recalled that day for no reason.
"There's something here..."
Since "Resistant One" had triggered this memory, perhaps this trait was related to his old hypothesis. Maybe, just maybe, it could be the clue to finding the "True Hope of Humanity"—the search he had given up after dying over a hundred times.
After all, the only thing he could resist now was the system. At this point, who else could possibly interfere with his life?
Even if it was just a sliver of hope, he had to check.
Sayoon, whose curiosity wouldn't rest until satisfied, steeled himself and tapped the "Resistant One" trait.
Ding!
The rejection didn't disappoint or frustrate him. Instead, it only strengthened his conviction.
The system had always withheld helpful skills or information, if it was hiding something, then that something had to be important. The fact that it had denied him a status window for ten years was proof enough.
If this was truly a means to resist the system or even a way to screw it over
"I'll get my hands on it no matter what."
Muttering under his breath, Sayoon pressed the trait again, only to be met with the same notification. Crossing his arms, he scrutinized every corner of the system window.
Squinting, he spotted tiny letters at the bottom of the blue screen: "View Activation Conditions." The text was so small even his S-rank vision could barely make it out.
Well, it was small, but still...
*You're showing me this so easily?*
The solution had appeared too simply, making him suspicious. Compared to everything he'd endured, the difficulty had plummeted so drastically it felt like a trap. Hesitantly, he tapped "View Activation Conditions."
Of course.
He should've known it wouldn't be that easy.
Most people would've given up, but Sayoon wasn't most people. He tapped it again.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Again and again.
Like a battle of wills, he kept tapping. The system's ever-present smiling emoji now felt like a taunt, Go ahead, try if you can. His fingers moved faster, driven by irritation.
*Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!*
His frenzied taps were met with the same blue window. Even after a hundred attempts, nothing changed. Logically, it shouldn't havethis was clearly hardcoded. Most would've given up long ago, but Sayoon's stubbornness was far more vicious than most.
It was too early to quit.
If he stopped after less than 30 minutes, it'd be an insult to his pride as the leader of an information guild. No, pride aside, he just wanted payback against the system that had screwed him over for so long.
*Like crashing it, for example.*
If he tapped fast enough, maybe it'd trigger an error and force a shutdown.
It was a ridiculous thought, but he clung to that sliver of hope. Fueled by it, he kept pressing the blue window. His SS-rank agility stat was finally being put to use here.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
...
Before he knew it, five hours had passed.
Yet he showed no signs of fatigue, stubbornly refusing to back down. Let's see who breaks first.
Ding!
A slightly different chime rang in his ears. His finger, moving almost mechanically, froze just before the screen.
A new emoji accompanied the message one he'd never seen before. The monotonous denial had finally changed.
In this battle of sheer stubbornness, Sayoon had won.