Man of the House

I quietly opened the door and slipped into the apartment like a damn ninja. No creaks, no thuds, nothing. My mother and Elina were still asleep. I let out a small breath of relief.

I thought of taking a bath before crashing. My body was still sore from everything, and I felt sticky with dried blood, snow, and exhaustion. As I passed the mirror on the way to the bathroom, I glanced at it out of habit—and froze.

A masked man stared back at me.

I jolted back like I'd seen a ghost.

Then I remembered—I hadn't taken the damn mask off.

It felt like nothing on my face. No weight. No tightness. Nothing pressing against my skin. It was like I wasn't even wearing it, which was why I forgot it was still there.

I raised my hand and tried to grab it.

My fingers passed through it. Like mist.

"The fuck…?" I tried again. Same result.

Was I supposed to wait for the hour to run out? The mask had a one-hour usage limit. I remembered the description clearly—can be used once per day for a maximum of one hour. If equipped for even a minute, the cooldown applies.

But that meant there had to be a way to take it off manually. Right?

"…Mask off," I muttered awkwardly.

Nothing.

"…Unmask?" Still nothing.

"…System menu."

This time, a holographic screen slid into view. A note floated at the top:

[You don't need to call it out loud. The system will respond to your thoughts.]

Well, thanks for telling me now.

I navigated to Equipped Items and found the mask listed.

[Mask of the Abyss — Time Left: 3 minutes]

I tapped it. The option to unequip popped up. I selected it.

The mask faded off my face.

"Still disappointing," I muttered, rubbing my jaw. "But at least now I won't take it off by accident."

I took a hot bath. Let the water hit every muscle. Steam filled the bathroom, fogged the mirrors. It didn't heal my exhaustion, but it helped.

When I got out, my mom was already up, shuffling around the kitchen and making breakfast. I told her to take it easy and let me handle things, but she didn't listen. Typical.

She told me to sit at the table and eat, so I did.

A few minutes later, Elina dragged herself out of her room, half-asleep, half-grumpy. She did the usual—brushed, showered, yawned like a baby panda—and then sat beside me at the table.

We all ate together. For the first time in a while, it felt normal.

"Do you have classes today?" Mom asked Elina.

"Nope," Elina said, munching on toast. "But I'm going out. Hanging with friends."

Mom nodded and glanced at the clock. "I'm getting late too. I need to leave for work."

"No, you don't," I said, putting my fork down. "You're not going to work anymore. I'll handle everything."

She looked at me like I'd grown a second head. "Ian… you just graduated. You still have to take the training lessons before you join the Superhero Academy."

"I'll do that too," I replied. "But you're done working. Seriously. Just rest now."

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a thick wad of cash. Thirty thousand. Neatly stacked. Still crisp.

I placed it on the table.

Her eyes widened. "Ian… where did you get this?"

Elina blinked and leaned closer. "You rob someone?"

"No," I said casually. "I joined a guild. Got this as a joining bonus."

Elina narrowed her eyes. "What guild gives thirty grand to some unawakened rookie? What are you doing, working as a porter?"

I shrugged. "Can't go into details. You'll see me on TV soon enough."

Elina rolled her eyes like I'd said the most delusional shit ever. But Mom… she was still holding the money. Quiet. Her hands trembled slightly.

"It's fine," I said. "Trust me. I've got it covered."

Only then did she relax.

After breakfast, Elina left for her little hangout.

Me? I collapsed on the couch like a dead body. I hadn't slept properly all night, and my soul felt like it had aged twenty years.

I passed out almost instantly.

Until my phone buzzed like a chainsaw against my face.

I grabbed my phone, still half-asleep, groggy as hell. But the second I saw Lex's ugly-ass face on the screen, I was wide awake.

I answered the call.

"Hey, where you at?!"

"I'm sleeping."

"Now is not the time to sleep, bitch! Guess what?!"

"What? You can't get your dick hard?"

"I awakened!"

"Huh?" I blinked. "Why the hell are you calling me to say something like that?"

I genuinely forgot for a second that this was that world—monsters, superpowers, dungeons. All the fantasy crap was real here.

"Guess what my ability is?" he said, voice shaking with excitement.

"Hmm... what?"

"Hardening!"

"…The fuck?"

"I'll tell you everything! Meet me at the park—"

"Yeah no. You've got a bike. Come pick me up from my house."

"I knew you'd say that. I'm already outside your apartment, you lazy bastard. Get your ass out."

"Argh… fine."

I checked the time—1:32 PM. Damn. I passed out hard.

I threw on some clothes and stepped outside. Lex was there, revving his stupid little bike like he was some anime protagonist. He grinned, and I rolled my eyes. We headed to the park—the park. The one with the city's big-ass landmark tree.

He parked, and we walked in.

After a few minutes, he glanced around like a shady drug dealer.

"Alright, don't freak out," he said. "Check this out."

He placed his palm on a tree trunk. And slowly… his skin started shifting. It turned into bark. Not just visually—texture, tone, everything. His voice even got rougher as he asked, "How do I look?"

I squinted. "Ugly as always."

He scoffed, then touched a concrete bench. His skin morphed again—gray, cracked, solid.

Okay, I won't lie. It looked kinda cool.

"How do you change back?" I asked.

He grinned and touched my shoulder. Instantly, his skin went back to normal.

"I haven't figured out how to undo it on my own," he said. "But touching people seems to reverse it. Still, I feel slow for a bit—takes around ten minutes to feel normal again."

"So your ability's got a ten-minute limit," I muttered.

"Pretty much."

I crossed my arms. "So how'd you awaken all of a sudden? You weren't even awakened yesterday."

Lex got quiet. His eyes narrowed, and his face turned serious.

"When I went home last night… I couldn't sleep," he said. "All I could think about was you."

I immediately took a step back. "Dude. What?"

"No, no, not like that, asshole. I was thinking how the hell a loser like you awakened before a genius like me." He pointed at himself like a dumbass. "I couldn't accept it. Then this morning, boom—I awakened."

"…That's the lamest origin story I've ever heard."

Lex shrugged. "Who cares? We both awakened now. Which means we don't have to enter the Hero Academy as fillers anymore."

I smirked. "Yeah."