MSGE 02

MSGE

Posted by Akame, Released on July 30, 2026

Chapter 2 [Park Kang-hoon’s LCD Tablet +1]

A single-sized small mattress.

Lying on the creaking bed, Kang Hoon blinked his eyes.

In front of his eyes, still,

【 Mr. Park Kang-hoon. Congratulations on awakening as an ‘Enhancer.’ 】

The system window was floating.

In Hamchorong font, as if someone had printed it on the ceiling.

“Why?”

Kang Hoon asked as if talking to himself.

“Why did I awaken now of all times?”

While thinking about Korea today.

It’s not difficult to explain current Korean society.

‘The Great Hunter Era.’

Gates.

‘When they first appeared, the whole world was in an uproar.’

It was heated as if a war had broken out.

From the outside, they looked exactly like sinkholes, but they were mysterious ‘doors’ that led to other dimensions when passed through.

‘At first, everyone was happy about the new discovery. Later, monsters came out and chaos ensued.’

It’s a disaster that occurs when Gates are left unattended for too long after opening.

They say many people died back then.

‘God only gives humans pain they can endure,’ was it?

Since then, that famous saying changed a little.

──’God evolves humans so they can endure great pain’!

Along with those Gates, something called ‘Awakeners’ also emerged.

Simply put, they’re special people with superpowers.

People who have the power to protect others.

Or those who attack and fight monsters.

Or people who provide healing.

Like some mobile game, they can see status windows.

And their level goes up when they kill many monsters.

‘I’ve only heard about it. It’s too distant a world for me.’

Those ‘Awakeners’ enter Gates, defeat boss monsters, and obtain items.

‘Just like dungeons in games.’

Games became reality.

When they clear Gates like that, something called a protective barrier is created,

and then monsters no longer attack outside the Gate.

Led by the United States, many powerful nations made their countries safe.

Places like Africa, where governments are weak or in civil war, became a complete mess.

People say this:

‘Beyond the 38th Parallel is the demon realm.’

The North Korean region has long since become a demon territory.

South Korea issued ‘Awakener Registration Cards’ during that period.

Awakeners also voluntarily rushed to nearby community centers, or rather, Happiness Something Centers.

Other countries were frantically searching for Awakeners and forcibly sending them to Gates.

There were even murders during that process.

South Korea’s headline that day was this:

『Gate Crisis 6 hours 24 minutes. Era of 100 Awakeners! Government’s slow response.』

“….”

That’s right.

Other countries took a month, but South Korea took 30 hours.

It became the country that established the [Awakener Registration System] fastest, beating the United States, Japan, China, and others.

‘The initial registration system was hastily made so you could just apply through mobile, right?’

The ‘hurry hurry’ spirit never goes away.

They built the system!

And for some reason… citizens voluntarily registered themselves!

Even when awakening was suspected, they sensitively registered, so while non-awakeners registering as awakeners happened,

there was never a case of an awakener not registering!

…The people of Hell Peninsula were truly insane.

‘Plus, becoming safe from the Gate crisis took less than a week?’

For that reason.

Korea today is safe.

There are even people who ‘awaken’ abilities but don’t work as hunters.

Why?

Regardless of Korea being safe, the hunter profession is still dangerous.

‘They say the danger level has decreased recently…’

But the mortality rate during missions is still 26%.

‘In other words, two to three out of ten people die fighting monsters.’

But why is it called the ‘Great Hunter Era’?

‘Because they make a lot of money.’

Making enough money to buy a compact car each time they complete a dungeon mission is basic.

If they’re pretty, they make money through commercials.

If they write essays about Gates and get squeezed on broadcasts, it becomes a bestseller the next day.

‘They’re just celebrities, stars, walking small-to-medium enterprises.’

People admired hunters.

Hunters stick their hands into fire to make money.

Unlike the old celebrities who just showed off their bodies on Instagram, gained a million followers,

or became popular through dramas despite bad acting.

‘They kept sticking their hands into the fire.’

Hunters die, and die, and die.

People genuinely shared their sorrow.

As content.

Yes.

In such a crazy world.

The young man Park Kang-hoon awakened.

“Usually, don’t people do this ‘awakening’ thing around puberty?”

There are even fetuses who awaken in their mother’s womb.

“Even awakening right when you’re old enough to get an ID is considered a bit late, but you did it at this age?”

Faced with this hard-to-believe reality, Kang Hoon frowned.

“Isn’t this level basically a bug?”

And he reached out toward the system window again.

“I saw in dramas that hunters somehow manipulate these things.”

He waved his arms around aimlessly in the air.

Still, nothing changed.

He needed to know something first.

“Ugh. How do I open the skill window?”

The moment he muttered to himself.

He had only thought about wanting to open the skill window.

But the System Message before his eyes suddenly changed!

【 Skills 】 ‘Enhancer Who Enhances Well’ Basic Skill: [Enhancement] – Can enhance any object. – Requirements: None – Restrictions: 10 enhancements possible per day (0/10)

“It’s real! There really is a skill! I guess I really did awaken!”

His amazement at feeling like the protagonist of a drama was brief.

Kang Hoon focused on the skill’s contents.

“Hunters usually have three basic skills, and at most they fill all ten fingers…”

Somehow, Kang Hoon only had one skill.

Its contents were also simple enough for an elementary student to understand.

“Can enhance any object?”

Even the requirements were ‘None’.

‘Like in that game, does this mean I don’t need to gather materials through grinding?’

Thinking this way, it felt like all of today’s sorrows were washing away.

Not stopping at just thinking, Kang Hoon jumped up from his seat.

“There is one thing I want to enhance right away.”

The place he headed to was back to his work desk, in front of the computer.

His target was obviously the LCD tablet.

An old, worn-out device so outdated that replacement parts were no longer available on the market.

Because of this, he couldn’t even replace the cracked screen at the corners and had to stick Scotch Tape on it.

The moment he carefully placed his hand on the LCD tablet.

“Huh?”

Immediately, ‘information’ he had never seen before appeared before his eyes.

Not only that, but the contents instantly flowed into his mind.

As if he were reading everything about the object through his fingertips!

The information he read was as follows.

[Park Kang-hoon’s LCD Tablet] : The LCD tablet of an unknown illustrator, Park Kang-hoon. An old model of the Wacom brand, a semi-relic that cannot be found on the market. However, it’s a worthless object. Special note: Due to Park Kang-hoon’s carelessness and heavy use, durability has hit rock bottom. * Remaining device lifespan: 3 days

“The remaining lifespan is 3 days?!”

The merciless evaluation aside, the fact that the remaining device lifespan was 3 days was shocking.

Even when he placed his hand on it again just to be sure, the information values didn’t change.

Not only that, but now Kang Hoon could feel it too.

Had he developed an ‘enhancer’s’ instinct? He realized it without knowing.

That this object’s lifespan was over.

“No way. I have a mountain of commissioned work…”

Barely holding onto his shaking mental state, Kang Hoon stood up straight.

And he placed both hands together on the black screen of the LCD tablet.

He closed both eyes and concentrated all his nerves.

His one and only basic skill.

“…Enhancement.”

Using that skill required no research whatsoever.

As naturally as if he had been doing it his whole life.

Kang Hoon cast his skill!

Clang!

A very clear hammering sound rang through his mind.

It was on a different level from the hammering sounds of the blacksmith NPCs in that game.

Heavy and powerful, yet clear and pure!

Clang!

Just hearing that sound, he could feel it.

That the object beneath his palm was undergoing a complete transformation!

All it took was just 1 second.

──Claaang!!

It felt like a gentle breeze was entering his eardrums!

An incredibly refreshing and clean resonance.

The enhancement ended after three strikes.

“Did, did it work?”

It didn’t feel real.

Was using a skill really this easy?

When he turned his head, he saw the skill window he had opened earlier.

A slight change had occurred within it.

【 Restrictions: 10 enhancements possible per day (1/10) 】

The number that had been 0 out of 10 had gone up to 1!

“That means…”

Had the ‘Enhancement’ succeeded?

Swallowing dry saliva, Kang Hoon shifted his gaze to the LCD tablet.

Outwardly, there was no change to the LCD tablet.

The corners with Scotch Tape remained the same.

The scratches on the LCD surface from years of pen use were also unchanged.

But Kang Hoon could feel it.

This LCD tablet before his eyes was no longer the same as before.

“Item.”

He said that without realizing it.

“This went from just a ‘thing’ to an ‘Item’.”

Objects are just objects.

Among them, we call the few that possess special powers ‘Items’.

The moment he placed his hand on the LCD tablet.

Sure enough, ‘information values’ quite different from a minute ago lit up before his eyes.

[Park Kang-hoon’s LCD Tablet +1] : The LCD tablet of an unknown illustrator, Park Kang-hoon. An old model of the Wacom brand, a semi-relic that cannot be found on the market. * 15% increase in output quality when working.

“Wh, what?! What is this. It got an option attached?!”

Just by saying ‘Enhancement’ once.

An ordinary object had evolved into an ‘Item’!

“Plus the lifespan thing disappeared too.”

Had the durability also increased through one enhancement?

“This… this is actually possible?!”

At the very least, as long as he enhanced something, he could keep using that item!

Then what would happen if he kept repeating the enhancement process?

“Ah, wait—does this thing break if it fails?”

That’s how enhancement worked in games.

Usually +1, +2, +3 enhancements were easy.

But starting from +4, the success rate decreased as you progressed to higher levels.