Chapter 6

While dragging my dead-eyed teammates toward the Ilseong company training ground, I ran into a group of people.

“Team leader Kim? What brings you here?”

“We’re here to use the training ground.”

A look of discomfort appeared on Team leader Kim Jeong-su’s face.

Not only that, but looks of unease spread across all of our team members’ faces.

“The training ground? You’re not going to train in that state, are you?”

“We are here to train.”

“In that state?”

“Is there a problem?”

The team leader on the other side tilted his head. Then he scanned our team members’ equipment from top to bottom.

There was certainly a huge difference in equipment between our side and theirs.

While they had iron armor, staffs, swords, and shields that looked like they’d just been pulled from a gacha, our side had worn-out leather armor, a chipped Longsword, and a dirty Longsword.

I could also see exactly why they felt uncomfortable around these people.

They were looking down on us while making snide remarks. You’d have to be crazy to like that.

Around then, the other team leader’s gaze shifted.

Toward me.

“Well, birds of a feather flock together. Heh heh.”

The man clicked his tongue and patted Team leader Kim Jeong-su on the shoulder.

“Don’t be like that. Go out and get some Buff Magic. It’s not that expensive.”

With that, the man led his group into the training ground.

Wearing a victor’s smile.

“‘Get some Buffs’? They’re bragging when they barely get them once a week themselves.”

“Their equipment isn’t even that great. And what kind of bastard wears their Raid gear to train?”

“That’s their training gear. Their Dungeon gear is even better.”

“Damn it.”

Having gathered in a corner of the training ground, Kim Jeong-su’s group grumbled one by one.

I asked Team leader Kim Jeong-su, who was smiling bitterly.

“Who is that person?”

“That’s Choi Hyeong-woo, a D-Rank Raid team leader. He’s annoying, but he’s the most successful guy among the D-Rank teams.”

“But why does he hold such a grudge against us?”

“That guy was a huge fanboy of Im Seong-joon. He knows very well that Im Seong-joon used to torment us. Like master, like dog. He’s the type who lives for the pleasure of bullying us because we’re an easy target.”

Although he said that, the gazes of the team members looking at Choi Hyeong-woo were dripping with envy.

“Honestly, I’m not envious of the equipment. It’s just pearls before swine, anyway. But the Buffs… I am a little envious of that.”

“Me too. I don’t know about anything else, but I’d like to receive that at least once. I heard it’s a huge help when training.”

“I received it once a long time ago, and it was pretty good. The efficiency is on another level.”

There is a hierarchy even among Awakeners.

Among them, Enhancement Type Awakeners are valued quite highly.

While not as much as high-Rank Mage-type Awakeners, they are recruited as essential resources in high-level attack parties.

Just look at the situation now.

Choi Hyeong-woo, in the distance, is still swinging his sword vigorously, while our side is gasping for breath.

This is a disaster.

It seems they’re getting tired even faster because they’re overdoing it, trying not to lose.

At this rate, they’re going to pass out.

Tsk.

Deciding this couldn’t go on, I opened my mouth.

“Let’s get them too.”

All eyes immediately turned to me.

“They say it’s so effective, let’s try it once.”

“It’s fine. What’s the point of Buffs when we can’t even fix our weapons? We’re just grumbling.”

I shook my head and said.

“I wasn’t suggesting we pay for them.”

“Then? Do you know someone?”

“Yes.”

“You do?”

After saying that, I waved my hand.

The Mana wandering inside my body became a wave and flew to Choi Soo-jung.

Immediately after, Choi Soo-jung tilted her head.

Then she repeatedly clenched and unclenched her fist.

“Huh.”

“What, why? What’s with the sudden reaction?”

“No. It’s not that.”

Then she tilted her head again.

Choi Soo-jung stared at me with a dazed expression.

“Is it just my imagination? This?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Then.”

I nodded.

As if possessed, Choi Soo-jung grabbed her bow.

Fwip-

The lightly shot arrow hit the dead center of the target.

The only difference was that its speed was on another level compared to a moment ago when she was panting from exhaustion.

Everyone fell silent.

In that gap, I once again looked over at Choi Hyeong-woo’s side.

The faint Mana wafting from them certainly smells a bit like the Enhancement Type.

“No matter how I look at it, my magic seems better than what they received.”

Based on my diligent research so far.

Strength Enhancement, Boots of Swiftness, Endurance Increase. Each of these three spells is worth at least a C-Rank.

They are stackable, with a duration of 30 minutes.

The time it takes for the spent Mana to fully Charge is two hours.

The effect is beyond words.

After all, it’s the magic of the greatest Mage in all of history.

Drawing out my Mana again, I said.

“Next person, please.”

The days continued in a hellish forced march of Buffs, training, enhancements, and more training.

Of course, it was a schedule that was killing only the team members, not me, but anyway.

It was about time to make a move.

“I’m going to the Association for a bit.”

There are largely two ways for an Awakener to obtain Skills or traits.

One is artificial learning, the other is natural learning.

The former is usually the path for Awakeners on the elite track.

Awakeners with high Potential Ranks receive Skill Books in exchange for signing contracts with corporations.

Each time their Rank goes up, they learn a corresponding Skill, quickly reaching their Potential Rank.

The latter, natural learning, is when the System gifts a Skill, much like a Level Up reward in a game, when one’s Rank increases.

They only get Skills related to their initial Skill, and usually, the Skills given by the System are better than those from Skill Books.

In that case, what about me?

Potential Rank F-Rank, current Rank F-Rank.

It’s a structure where I have no way of obtaining Skills other than through a Skill Book.

“Tsk.”

I clicked my tongue.

Even without a surveillance-type Skill.

I know that someone is watching me from all over Ilseong.

Right now, I’m the guy sent by an enemy nation as a Sacrifice.

Therefore, the fact that I’m using Buff Magic to train Kim Jeong-su’s team must have already reached the ears of Ilseong’s top brass.

That’s not a problem.

What’s the big deal if a guy from the Association has one or two Buff Skills?

The problem is the Association.

The Association, which knows all my information, might find this strange.

How on earth did an F-Rank Awakener, who until recently only had a crude Skill for seeing past lives, obtain a new Skill?

They could very well suspect that I received a Skill Book from Ilseong by handing over a few of the Association’s corruption secrets.

That’s why my steps naturally led me to the Association.

It’s best to nip suspicion in the bud before it sprouts.

It was as I was passing through the Association lobby, which was less crowded than before.

“We meet again.”

I ‘coincidentally’ ran into Im Han-na, who was passing by.

The Grim Reaper of Hunters.

The woman who had brought me in on my first day in the new department.

She says with a bright smile.

“Weren’t you at Ilseong? What brings you over here?”

What are the odds of coincidentally running into Im Han-na now, whom I hadn’t seen once in the past three years of working at the Association?

“You said you were going to make up with Ilseong. Did you give up? Well. It seems the media’s interest has died down. You held out for quite a while, didn’t you? Though it’s a bit pathetic compared to the spirit you showed when you threw down the gauntlet.”

Just as Ilseong has put a tail on me, what are the chances the Association is watching me too?

“…That’s not it. I have something to report.”

“Report?”

What if that guy was in a key department and knew a few corruption secrets that reporters would die for?

What’s there to say? It’s 100%.

Wait a minute.

What’s my expression right now?

I quickly changed my expression.

To look as bewildered as possible.

“If you have something to report, tell me. I’m your mentor, Choi Gi-woong.”

“I think I need to get a Status Window inspection.”

I deliberately let my breathing become ragged.

To look like a fidgety guy.

Im Han-na looks at me with surprised eyes.

Why, I guess she didn’t expect me to come on my own.

“…Really? So suddenly?”

“I think I’ve gained a Skill.”

“‘Think’ you’ve gained one? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I gained a Skill, but it’s not showing up on my Status Window. So I was debating whether I should report it or not, and then I came.”

I said, scratching my head vigorously.

Im Han-na stared at me with a strange gaze, then smirked.

“Follow me. We’ll know once we run the test.”

Those words sounded exactly like she meant she’d kill me if anything strange popped up.

Im Han-na, holding the test results, frowned.

She stood still, staring at the paper for a long time before she spoke.

“No changes in the test results. Current Rank and Potential Rank are both F-Rank. No traits, and the only Skill is Past Life Lucid Dream.”

As expected.

My abilities don’t show up on the Status Window scanner.

“That Skill you said you got, is it a conditional activation?”

“No. It’s not like that.”

“You said it’s an Enhancement Type, right? Tell me what the effect is. No, just use it on me directly.”

“Yes.”

I minimally adjusted the Mana flowing through my bloodstream and cast the three Buff Magic spells on Im Han-na.

This is where the biggest difference between an Awakener’s Skill and Ian’s magic lies.

The ability to control the amount of Mana.

Much like game characters, Awakeners can only use Skills with a fixed value.

But not me.

I don’t know the exact principle, but the magic I use is like…

Real magic that would only appear in fantasy novels.

“Hmm.”

After receiving my Buffs, Im Han-na moved her body here and there.

I could see the interest draining from Im Han-na’s face in real-time.

“Is it stackable? What’s the Mana consumption?”

“It seems to be stackable, but my Mana pool is so small. The Mana consumption is…”

“That’s enough.”

Im Han-na waved her hand.

“I was startled, thinking it was something amazing.”

“Really? Then is there nothing wrong with my body?”

“Wrong with what? Congratulations. Now you won’t have to worry about making a living even if you leave the Association.”

“There are no other problems, right?”

“Yes, yes. No problem. There are all sorts of strange Awakeners in the world. I guess this is just one of those things. Oh, by the way. You haven’t taken anything from Ilseong, have you?”

Look at this.

She’s trying to poke me the moment I let my guard down.

“I did tag along once for a company beef dinner. And…”

Im Han-na cut me off by waving her hand.

“I get it. Anyway, you’re going back to Ilseong, right?”

“Yes. I have to. My work there isn’t finished yet.”

“Okay, then. Good luck.”

“Just a moment.”

I hurriedly called out to Im Han-na.

Why else did I act so naive this whole time?

“If I get another Skill like this next time, what should I do? I’m busy with work, so it’s a bit much to come back for another test.”

As I spoke, swallowing inwardly, Im Han-na made an annoyed face.

“It’s not a Skill worth making such a fuss about.”

“Then…”

“I’ll handle it at my discretion, so just mention things like that at the annual check-up once a year. No, don’t even mention it then. It’ll just be a hassle for a lot of people.”

“Yes. I’ll do that. Well then.”

I quickly bowed my head.

If I didn’t, I was afraid she might see me smiling.