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Chapter 003: The All-Master Who Returned to Bronze
After the storm-like meal came to an end.
Shinhyuk’s family was the first to leave the gathering.
Watching the seat vacated by Shin-hyuk’s father, In-gyun, the eldest son, In-seok, glared and asked Choi Cheol-ho.
“Father, do you truly intend to take In-gyun’s family back?”
“Why? Should I not?”
Cheol-ho, casually sipping drinking (scorched-rice water) after the meal, responded as if it were nothing. In-seok gritted his teeth at his composure.
“That bastard Ingyun ignored your orders and married some woman from who-knows-where. If we bring such a guy back into the family fold, problems will—”
“Inseok.”
“…Yes, Father.”
But the moment In-seok met Cheol-ho’s gaze, which had turned sharp and penetrating, he froze like a human facing a bear.
Patting In-seok’s stiffened shoulder, Cheol-ho whispered lowly.
“Are you the father here?”
“…!”
“Manage your children as you please. But I will manage my children as I see fit. Whether casting them out or calling them back.”
“…Yes.”
Having subdued In-seok with a single remark, Cheol-ho finished his drinking. Meanwhile, the second son, In-ho, offered an amiable smile.
“Well, if our nephew gets placed in the Silver tier, he’s a top prospect… Naturally, we should slot him into our Myth Guild, right?”
“That’s for you to decide. Isn’t the Myth Guild yours?”
“Haha, Father, really. There’s nothing with the Myth name that isn’t yours. Anyway, I’ll take that as your permission. Of course… only if that absurd claim of his succeeds.”
Though Cheol-ho recognized the sharpness hidden behind that amiable smile, he said nothing.
“Oh, then it would be nice to do a collaboration at our Myth Department Store too, right? The reversal of a nephew called a useless all-rounder!”
With the eldest daughter, Seonhwa, subtly joining her brothers’ remarks and putting down Shin-hyuk, the December 30th family gathering concluded.
After everyone had dispersed to their own homes.
In his study, Cheol-ho, who had been reading a book, spoke into the empty air without changing his posture.
“What do you think?”
“…Shadows do not have thoughts.”
“I am asking now, so you may answer.”
Surprisingly, a reply came from the seemingly empty air. It was a skill possible only for one who had honed the player ability [Stealth] to its extreme—the art of a true master.
Pressing for an answer again, Cheol-ho, who employed such an existence as his shadow, waited. After a brief silence, the shadow laid out its thoughts.
“He seemed to have presence.”
“Presence, you say… In what way?”
“He was filled with conviction that what he said would come true. I saw the presence contained within that conviction.”
He had presence.
The presence contained in the demeanor of one declaring his words would absolutely come true was so remarkable it impressed even the shadow.
“Then, do you think that absurd claim will truly be fulfilled?”
“…But presence and ability are separate. If what he has shown so far wasn’t a deliberate, high-level ploy just for the placement exam… Frankly, I think it will be difficult.”
But that and acknowledgment were separate matters. Especially since the opponent was Lee Ju-ho, the eldest son of the O-seong Guild Leader, receiving the full support of the O-seong Group. Blessed with innate talent, his expected tier was not Gold, but he was evaluated as top-tier Silver. As such, the possibility of Shin-hyuk defeating Ju-ho was extremely low. No, to be honest, it was nonexistent.
Of course—
“Shall we make a bet then?”
“A bet… you say?”
“Yes. A bet. I wager he will keep his word.”
“…Do you, Chairman, truly believe that child will accomplish it?”
“At least to my eyes, it seemed so. Something has changed. Something fundamental.”
Cheol-ho was different. Closing the book he was reading and smiling, he resembled a child who had found a delightful toy, not knowing what to do with it. The shadow sighed at the sight.
“Then I forfeit.”
“Why?”
“I have never seen you make a wrong decision, Chairman. I am not foolish enough to take a bet I will clearly lose.”
“A pity. It was a chance to tease you.”
Chuckling and expressing regret, Cheol-ho rose from his seat and commanded.
“Contact the PR team. On January 1st, during the placement exam, say a new star will be born from the Myth Group. Have them prepare in advance.”
“Yes.”
And that was that. The value of Shin-hyuk, whom the entire Myth Group would now promote, was decided.
At the Hannam-dong residence—specifically, Shin-hyuk’s home—a commotion was unfolding.
“Shin-hyuk, what on earth were you thinking, saying such things in front of your grandfather?”
At the center of the commotion was Shin-hyuk’s father, Ingyun. Still reeling from the bomb his son had dropped, he staggered, holding his forehead.
But Shin-hyuk didn’t seem overly concerned.
“Father.”
“…Father?”
“Please believe in me just this once. Then I will show you the results.”
“…What on earth happened overnight? A kid who never even called me ‘Father’ before…”
Instead, he pushed forward with his will confidently, much like when he faced Cheol-ho earlier. A sense of facing an impregnable wall. For some reason, that feeling made it impossible not to believe him. Unable to hide his bewilderment, Ingyun plopped down on the sofa.
“…Are you confident?”
“Yes. And it would be even better if you could grant my request.”
“A request… Alright, I’ll grant it. How could I not, when my son who never asked for anything in his life finally makes a request?”
“Thank you.”
“Shin-hyuk.”
“Yes, Father.”
“I believe you. Not because of the reward for winning you mentioned, but because I believe my son is truly such an outstanding person.”
“…Yes.”
The voice held strictness, but Shin-hyuk, who couldn’t miss the warmth within it, answered with a slightly trembling voice. He then told Ingyun what he needed and returned to his room.
“First, let’s check my status.”
As the saying goes, ‘Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.’ With the thought that perfect self-knowledge would bring him one step closer to victory, he pulled out the estimated status sheet. It was shocking.
“…The highest stat is Strength, a mere 14. Mana is only 9? Is this really the stat sheet of a prospective player about to take the placement exam? And a Myth High School student at that?”
Player cultivation high schools—‘high schools’ for short—had systems that could reasonably estimate the status window visible after player awakening. Myth High School boasted the best equipment among them, making the margin of error negligible. Yet, the results were bizarre even to the naked eye, so Shin-hyuk’s dismay was understandable. The average stat for an adult male was 10. But Shin-hyuk, who was professionally aiming to be a player, had a stat of just 14. That said it all. It was especially fatal that his Mana stat, arguably the most important for a player, was 9.
Looking at the document that made him sigh, Shin-hyuk glanced at the Traits section and let out a dry chuckle.
[1. Jack-of-All-Trades]
“As expected, only one is displayed.”
Trait: Jack-of-All-Trades. The trait that allowed one to be good at anything. It was the trait that earned Shin-hyuk the name ‘useless all-rounder’—good at everything but not exceptionally so in any one area, leaving him without a specialty.
But Shin-hyuk knew. He knew he possessed another trait besides Jack-of-All-Trades.
“The release condition for ‘Late Bloomer’ was probably Platinum.”
Trait: Late Bloomer. Commonly known as a hidden or sealed trait, one of those whose existence remains unknown until specific conditions are met. The specific condition for Late Bloomer was achieving Platinum tier. And the effect of the Late Bloomer trait was simple.
“All skills possessed before the trait’s awakening rose by at least one grade, sometimes several. After that, the growth rate of newly acquired skill grades also accelerated.”
Skills. If traits were the heart, skills were the organs. Vital components constituting the body, indispensable like organs. A trait that could raise the grade of such skills by several levels was incredibly powerful. Moreover, thanks to Shin-hyuk’s other trait, Jack-of-All-Trades, he possessed a variety of skills, doubling the synergistic effect. The time it took to reach Platinum was longer than the time it took to climb from Platinum to Challenger.
“This time, I’ll bloom Late Bloomer more perfectly.”
In his past life, Shin-hyuk had various miscellaneous abilities but focused on only one skill to raise his tier. Therefore, when Late Bloomer blossomed, the number of skills Shin-hyuk possessed wasn’t large. But this life would be very different from the last.
“I should get some sleep.”
Having solidified his resolve, Shin-hyuk threw his tired and exhausted body, weary from dealing with Cheol-ho, onto the bed.
December 31st.
With one day left until the placement exam, Shin-hyuk faced his father, In-gyun.
“As you asked, I got the Low-Grade Stat Enhancer and Mana Pills. With the exam right ahead, listings were scarce and prices were high… But I managed to get them somehow. I’m sorry I couldn’t get better ones.”
“No, this is enough. Thank you for your hard work, Father.”
Before In-gyun were the Low-Grade Stat Enhancer and Mana Pills, barely obtained after a day of effort. The Stat Enhancer raised physical stats, and the Mana Pills raised the Mana stat. Being low-grade, they were only useful early on, but since everyone taking the placement exam was a beginner, it wasn’t a big problem.
‘The Stat Enhancer and Mana Pills raise stats by 5. So roughly, my current status window is…’
Immediately consuming what In-gyun brought, Shin-hyuk calculated his current status in his mind.
[Status Window]
Name: Choi Shin-hyuk
Class: X
(Stats)
Strength: 19 Stamina: 18 Intelligence: 18 Mana: 14
(Traits)
-
Jack-of-All-Trades
-
Late Bloomer <Sealed>
(Skills)
X
‘That should be about right.’
His highest stat was 14, and now his lowest stat was 14. Confirming this, Shin-hyuk wore a satisfied smile. But he was not complacent.
‘This is barely getting to the starting line. Students from Myth High probably have higher stats than me. That bastard Juho might have stats over 30. In that sense, I can’t let my guard down.’
What Shin-hyuk obtained were items anyone could buy with money. Juho, who undoubtedly consumed items that couldn’t be obtained even with money, was someone Shin-hyuk had to surpass. There was no room for complacency.
“Then, I’ll be on my way.”
“What about equipment?”
“I’ve prepared it in my room.”
“Right, you haven’t awakened yet, so you can’t use the inventory. Well done.”
Finishing all his thoughts, Shin-hyuk entered his room, leaving the clock slowly approaching midnight behind. He equipped the basic gear prepared in advance and sheathed a sword at his waist.
Just as all preparations were complete.
[You have awakened!]
[Welcome to the Dimension Arena!]
[We will now begin the placement exam!]
