….
Jin-Ho had finished breakfast and returned to his room.
He dropped onto the bed, exhaled once, then sat upright again, cross-legged, spine straight, hands resting neatly on his knees.
His eyes unfocused slightly, his breathing evened out, and for a moment, it looked like he was meditating.
Then - his body lifted.
Not much at first.
His knees rose an inch off the mattress… then two.
The sensation was strange, like water pushing against him from all directions, trying to keep him suspended.
His balance wobbled, the world tilting slightly as his right side sagged down.
He instinctively threw his arms out to steady himself, overcorrected, and tilted too far left.
For a split second, he looked like a guy trying to surf in zero gravity.
"Whoa—"
A panicked grunt slipped from his throat, and he flailed a little, before catching himself.
Then, with a faint mental push, he leveled out.
Hovering…
A foot above the ground.
Weightless.
A nervous laugh bubbled from his lips. "Okay… okay, that's something."
A thought was enough to summon the system panel.
◤---•JACKIE⬢CHAN ADVENTURES SYSTEM•---◥
「BIO:」
-> [Name: Yoo Jin-Ho Race: Human| Status: Awakened Age: 16]
「Titles:」
-> [Reincarnator (Epic Rank)
-> [Youngest of the Yoo Family (Unrank)
-> [☒☒☒☒☒☒] (Unclassified)
-> [Protagonist Magnet] (Epic Rank) (NEW)
「Power Level:」
-> [9-A: SuperHuman(:Small Building Level)] ↑ (Leveled UP)
「Skills:」
-> [Talisman Arts]
-> [Telekinesis(:Rooster Talisman) (NEW)
-> [Jackie Chan Martial Arts] (NEW)
•••
「INVENTRY:」
[-> Pan'ku Locket] (NEW)
◣-----------------------------------------◢
Even at a glance, the changes were obvious.
The System looked… fuller.
His attention went first to the [Titles]. A faint gold glow pulsed beside one of them.
[Protagonist Magnet] (Epic Rank).
He frowned. "Protagonist Magnet? That sounds… bad."
"Nah, let's not jinx myself."
Jin-Ho only realises later that it was already too late.
His gaze dropped to the [Power Level].
Before, it had read [Tier 9-C: Street Level Superhuman].
Now it was [Tier 9-A: Small Building Level].
That was a solid leap - though, to be fair, he had no idea what that actually meant.
"Building's definitely higher than streets, right?" he murmured, half convincing himself.
The [BIO] and other [Titles] stayed mostly the same, except for that censored "☒☒☒☒☒☒" entry still annoyed him every time he looked at it.
Then his eyes fell to the [Inventory].
A new addition shined faintly below the usual entries:
[Pan'ku Locket].
He didn't need the tooltip to know this was special.
But Jin-Ho brushed that aside for now.
New titles, new items, stronger power tier… All of that was fine.
Still, none of it mattered as much as the one section that made his pulse quicken—
「Skills」
That is where his real growth lay.
He dismissed the other panels and opened the skills tab.
◤-----------------------◥
「Skills:」
-> [Talisman Arts] – Level 0(Proficiency 0%)
-> [Telekinesis] – Level 0(Proficiency 5%)
-> [Jackie Chan Martial Arts] – Level 4(Proficiency 0%)
◣-----------------------◢
Three skills total.
But his eyes went to the first one - [Talisman Arts] Level 0(0%).
"Talisman Arts, huh?" He rubbed his chin. "Feels like I am about to start some Taoist YouTube tutorial... or blow my fingers off trying."
He still didn't get how this whole 'Level' and 'Proficiency' thing worked.
Was it time-based? Usage-based?
Either way, that [Level 0] sitting there didn't sit right with him.
Then something else caught his attention.
Before breakfast, [Telekinesis] had been at [Level 0 (Proficiency 0%)] too.
Now the Proficiency is at 5%.
"Does that mean when it hits a hundred, it levels up?" He muttered, tapping the side of the screen. "If that's the case, do I just spam it all day like some MMO grinder?"
Then he paused. "Wait, no - that can't be right. Five percent for just using twice? Not to forget the first time was me just flexing my ego? That's way too much. Unless this is one of those games that pampers you early and smacks you later."
He glanced toward the ceiling, smirking faintly. "Guess I should have thrown the whole table around while I was at it. Might have hit ten percent."
For a second, he remembered the letter - the one from that so-called god who had dumped him here.
The smug tone still echoed in his mind–
[If you wish to survive and get stronger, grind for it.]
"Dah, easy for you to say, cosmic prick."
After a few seconds of silent swearing directed at the heavens, he straightened up again.
Time to move on.
He shifted his attention to something important:
[Talisman Arts] was a skill he had had before even opening the beginner pack. Like it was built-in, directly related to his class - [Sorcerer].
And there was one more thing that had been irking him for a while now.
"I think I can make talismans..."
The certainty in his statement shocked him too.
He continued, listing. "Like... one, two, three... huh, about eight different types of talismans."
How come he knows this? Well, he just knew.
Honestly, it freaked him out when he released this for the first time.
It was the same with the skill [Jackie Chan Martial Arts].
Before all 'this' things, Jin-Ho had been confident in fights because he had kicked quite a few asses and punched even more faces and guts.
But now?
"I could probably take ten guys at once without breaking a sweat."
He looked around the room - table, chairs, mirrors, even smaller objects like pens and books. For him, everything looked like a weapon he could use at any time, and improvisation came naturally now, instinctively.
He chuckled under his breath. "Yup. Definitely [Jackie Chan Martial Arts]."
To test it, he threw a few punches into the air - a kick, a pivot, a fast block-chain combo. His body moved like it remembered every angle before he did.
"My movement flow is insane." He was almost impressed with himself. "Guess I owe the Legend one."
He made a mental note to test it in real combat soon - maybe in one of those gate rides.
Satisfied for now, he turned his attention back to the first skill - [Talisman Arts].
The eight talismans he had mentioned? They were the most basic and foundational.
Entry-level stuff, each had a different function, something small but incredibly useful.
And again, how did he know about all this?
"I don't know... but I just know."
From the movement of his awakening, it was like knowledge he had always had, lodged somewhere deep in his brain.
Like a second nature, instinctive and immediate.
But even as the information flowed through his mind, Jin-Ho could tell that the art of creating talismans was a really difficult process for any normal person to learn.
Even with the System's boost and knowledge, the sheer complexity - the mana balance, the complex geometric structures, the precise brushwork, the infusion of chi into paper and ink - all of it screamed "high difficulty."
Everything that was now sitting in his mind - normally, it would take years to learn all that. Decades, even, for a master-level understanding.
But somehow, he just... knew it.
….
So, basically Talisman Arts is the practice of inscribing spiritual energy into physical mediums - paper, cloth, wood, even metal, transforming mundane materials into vessels of supernatural power.
But unlike the awakened abilities or skills of Hunters that required constant mana expenditure, talismans were different.
They stored power, crystallized intention that could be activated by anyone, even the unawaken.
"Does that mean, not just Hunters, and normal people can use them too?"
For a second, Jin-Ho understood just how important this ability of his could be - especially in a world where only five percent awakened humans.
Artifacts existed, sure - but those were exclusive toys for the rich.
Also, only awakened beings could use the magical relics pulled from dungeons.
In the end, for the unawakened, they were nothing more than expensive souvenirs.
That was a fundamental rule of this world.
So if there were tools that anyone could use? Things that gave ordinary people access to supernatural effects?
They could be counted on fingers, and his skills could be a game changer.
But first, he needed to test these things.
He reached over to his desk, dragging out a stack of plain printer paper - nothing fancy, just standard office supplies.
"Paper first." He murmured. "I can use cloth or wood later… maybe even walls and ground if I get my Proficiency and Level increase."
He paused. "I think if I had a medium with high spiritual quality, the effect multiplies. But…" he glanced at the empty room. "…I doubt that I would find some divine-grade wood lying around."
"Would dungeon magic stones work as a medium?" he wondered aloud. "Maybe later."
For now, he focused.
He pricked his finger with a pin - one, two, three drops of blood fell into a small bowl of blue ink. The mixture shimmered faintly, as if aware.
Or maybe that was just his imagination.
He picked up a brush, dipping it into the blood-ink mixture.
"Yeah." Jin-Ho muttered. "First test - Healing talisman."
Basic, straightforward, easy to test.
The brush glided smoothly at first.
The pattern took form in sharp, flowing lines that seemed almost alive - geometric shapes interlocking with symbolic characters, each stroke channeling specific intentions into the talisman's structure.
But, halfway through, the light died out.
He frowned. "Too much mana in the outer ring."
Crumpled and tossed.
He tried again.
Failed again.
And again.
Before long, his room looked like an art student's worst nightmare - papers scattered, corners singed faintly from discharged energy, a dozen half-finished patterns that never came alive.
But Jin-Ho didn't stop.
The most important component of talisman creation - after the medium itself, was the inscription.
Complex symbols and patterns drawn with ink mixed with his own blood, each stroke channeling spiritual energy into the talisman's structure with precise intention.
One mistake, one imbalance, and the whole thing failed.
Finally, after what felt like hours, the last stroke fell into place.
A pulse.
A faint flare of light that made Jin-Ho's eyes widen.
And then... stillness.
The talisman hummed in his hand - delicate but alive, warm to the touch.
"...Did it work?"
The paper felt heavier than it should, warmer than normal, and alive in its own strange way.
Without hesitation, he grabbed a pocket knife from his desk, drew it across his palm, hissing at the sharp pain, and pressed the talisman to the bleeding cut.
To activate a talisman required a trigger - a word or gesture that would release the stored effect.
"Okay… trigger phrase… What should I say? Maybe 'activa—'"
He didn't even get to finish.
The paper glowed suddenly, clinging to his skin like a bandage, and warmth flooded through his palm - not burning, but healing.
He could feel it working, feel the flesh knitting back together beneath the glowing paper.
In less than a minute, the gash sealed shut, leaving behind smooth pink skin.
He blinked. "...Holy crap, that worked."
He stared at his palm, flexing his fingers slowly.
Not even a scar.
"…Guess I was a genius along, getting it done…"
"How many tries was that…?"
He asked himself, looking around at the dumpster zone his room had become.
One, two, five, ten, twenty—
"Bah, the number of tries doesn't matter. It's the time it took."
He looked at the window.
…It was dark outside….
"I must have started only an hour ago..."
But he distinctly remembered eating breakfast in the morning.
He also vaguely recalled someone knocking on his door at some point - something about lunch? Dinner? He had been too focused to care.
"Nevermind. All that matters is that I succeeded."
He ignored everything else, and leaned back in his chair. Then his gaze dropped to the glowing parchment still warm against his palm–
"Umm, so they are single-use."
The understanding came instantly.
Each talisman could only be used once before its stored energy dissipated, returning to the natural mana flow of the world.
They were consumables - disposable, not permanent enchantments. But their simplicity was deceptive and not to mention their limitless versatility.
At the moment, Jin-Ho could craft eight basic types:
[Basic Healing Talismans] - Seal wounds, cure minor injuries
[Basic Heat Talismans] - Generate warmth, ignite flammable materials
[Basic Cooling Talismans] - Lower temperature, extinguish flames
[Basic Barrier Talismans] - Create temporary protective shields
[Basic Detection Talismans] - Sense nearby mana signatures or hostile intent
[Basic Purification Talismans] - Cleanse poison, curse, or corruption
[Basic Strength Enhancement Talismans] - Temporarily boost physical power
[Basic Light Talismans] - Illuminate darkness, repel shadow-based entities
Basically, eight tools with eight functions.
And by the end of all this experimentation, Jin-Ho opened his status screen again.
◤-----------------------◥
「Skills:」
-> [Talisman Arts] Level 0(Proficiency 37%)
-> [Telekinesis] Level 0(Proficiency 5%)
-> [Jackie Chan Martial Arts:] Level 4(Proficiency 0%)
◣-----------------------◢
"So, since I managed to make one type of talisman, it rose to 37%." He leaned back further in his chair. "If I can pull off all eight types? I should be able to level up..."
That made Jin-Ho think for a bit.
His hunger for strength was on full display - the kind of raw ambition that had driven him to 'accept' that mysterious letter in the first place.
He looked at the window - darkness had fallen completely, the city lights glowing in the distance.
A slow smile spread across Jin-Ho's face.
"Hehee, time for a night out after a long time."
….
.
[To be continued…]
★─────⇌•★•⇋─────★
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