Only I Am A Reader-Chapter 570: Dormant Awakening

"It may be easy to tell that I'm a Special Ability User right now, but things weren't that easy then."

A hint of excitement still remained in Kara's eyes. However, upon taking a deeper look, Leo could see the conflicted emotions under that cover.

"After all, I was a 'fabled' natural awakener."

While Kara's words sounded like she was praising herself, they were heavily laced with self-mockery.

'Rather, she resents it.'

"Although Catalyst-based awakening was already the norm at that time, natural awakening was still a legend, something to be celebrated… For most people, that is."

As someone who awakened by ingesting an Enigma Stone, Leo couldn't relate to the supposedly fortunate Kara, but he could tell she didn't enjoy that fortune.

"For someone like me, this great blessing was nothing more than a curse. A parasite that turned my once happy life into a pit of despair."

'Interesting.'

The dramatic description finally triggered Leo's curiosity about this forgotten character.

Not unlike himself, her lacking presence in the novel never meant she was a nobody.

'A golden spoon gone wrong.'

After the first wave of natural awakening, finding a natural Ability User was akin to finding ice cream in the desert. Yet that didn't diminish their value, only increasing it further.

"My early life might not have been the best that a child could have, but I liked it. Even if we were financially struggling, smiles and laughter never left the house."

The very basic fact that it was a return that required no investment was more than enough to support the hype, but that was merely the tip of the iceberg.

"However, everything was soon to fade after one unforgettable night. My father rushed me to the hospital with a burning fever. Having kept his hand on my forehead for the entire trip, he kept begging for a miracle, because deep down he didn't think I would make it."

Taking his extensive knowledge of awakening into consideration, Leo could already deduce what happened next, but he let Kara say her piece.

"Yet, against all expectations, something miraculous did happen. Not only did my fever go down on its own, but the hospital director personally came down to congratulate my father on the fact that the routine Enigma Scan actually provided results in my case!"

Natural Awakening!

If the story had ended here, Leo could see the potential happily ever after looming in the distance.

After all, a normal person had to spend a fortune to get a chance of getting a Special Ability of his own, and even if he did manage to get one, he couldn't possibly match the possibilities that opened up for a natural awakener.

If Cassian hadn't been sponsored by one of the government's ambitious programs, he would have remained powerless. Perhaps even dead after attempting a hopeless revenge.

"A blessing in disguise, they called it. At that time, I was also elated to see my parents filled with joy because of me, but that was my most foolish thought yet."

'Perhaps we aren't so different.'

Considering that the natural awakener's second attribute was what made them valuable, Leo could tell that Kara's circumstances were very similar to his.

"After all, I had no idea about the mountain of expectations that followed that joy."

'Disappointment.'

"It was a saying meant to bring hope at the start, but it soon became the bane of my existence. 'A natural like you should be better', 'A special person like you has to have something amazing'... What was once a cheer became a terrifying demand."

Natural Awakeners were never normal, but for them, that was the norm.

It was one thing or the other, if they didn't have a crazy special ability, their Enigma rating had to be magnificent. However…

"In my case, only one thing was certain. 'Enigma Emissions Detected.' The same phrase repeated by every scanner we tried was a constant reminder that brought back the unrealistic expectations, but it was also the sole value that I exhibited."

'...No Special Ability?'

Considering her current capabilities, Leo originally imagined that Kara started with a weak ability like his 'Moving Shadows', taking a different path of growth to achieve her current peak, but it seemed like things were beyond different.

"The amount and strength of said Enigma couldn't be measured either. At first, the researchers believed that I possessed a crazy quality beyond measure, but they soon came to the conclusion that I was just a dud."

'So that's Dormant Awakening…'

Although the contradicting name spoiled the possibility of change, Leo could imagine the hell it resulted in until the trigger finally appeared.

For most people, not having any kind of prominent talent was their excuse for being unsuccessful, yet Kara had to deal with the exact opposite.

"My parents never desired to elevate their lives with my unique situation, but they longed to make my life better."

'Almost like a reminder of incompetence.'

Despite changing upon the Enigma that everyone desired for free, she failed to achieve the most basic success, obtaining a Special Ability.

"In their attempt to do so, they failed to see the pain it brought me, but that didn't matter. I was ready to accept the decision they made for me. Alas…"

While Kara preferred the time before her useless Enigma came into the picture, she wanted to play along if only for the sake of making her parents happy. Unfortunately…

"I might have been okay being forced into a role that I didn't desire, but somehow, the role itself was the one that rejected me."

Leo felt his heart twist as he started to imagine the situation that Kara was previously in.

'Would Cass- Would I have managed to preserve in a situation like that?'

The only reason Cassian was able to push forward was because he saw progress. It was slow, but it was progress, nonetheless!

On the other hand, Kara was put against a stone wall and forced to make a path with nothing but her fingernails… Who could have possibly endured such a situation?

'The turning point.'

Now, Leo was genuinely curious about the experience that melded the despair-strewn Kara into her present self.