"Young Lord, above all, your health comes first. Please moderate your studies and spending. I'll take good care of His Excellency, so don't worry."
'Is this old man getting senile and forgetting the family motto? What does he mean by moderate?'
At any rate, it was a relief to see he seemed fully recovered.
Jae-hyeok grinned happily at the text from Butler Hwang, then unpacked his luggage.
Not that there was much to unpack: a single sword, dozens of lead weights, dumbbells, a humidifier, a family photo (with his brother and sister's faces cut out), a gaming console, underwear, socks, masks, sunglasses, sunscreen, various daily medications and supplements, a few books on how to make friends, hair dye...?
"No way! What the hell did you stuff in here?!"
No wonder the bag had felt so heavy.
The guidebook said textbooks and daily necessities would be provided unlimited by the school, and he'd confirmed it with Butler Hwang, yet here it was.
'Our Butler Hwang is getting more of an old worrywart with age.'
Jae-hyeok picked up the hair dye he'd tossed in the trash.
He remembered it was Butler Hwang's favorite product. He'd stash it in a drawer and return it later.
'In three years, his hair will have thinned even more...'
Jae-hyeok flopped onto the bed, his expression darkening.
It was the first time he'd left home since birth, and it was for a full three years.
His heart felt unsettled.
At least there was a silver lining: the chairman seemed favorably inclined toward him.
From his attitude, he probably had some connection to Jae-hyeok's father.
Not that he could fully trust him.
'Still, it looks clear he's in a position where he needs me, so I'll keep a moderate guard up.'
In short, he'd bought himself three years.
'At the very least, he said he'd block external threats.'
No one would come barging in with a knife to threaten him out of the blue.
'The next three years will be a chance I'll never get twice.'
Jae-hyeok's ambitions were sky-high.
To become a National Treasure.
To track down and crush every domestic and foreign figure involved in the East Asia Gate Summit eight years ago, he needed overwhelming power and authority.
On the other hand, the most urgent matter was qualifying to operate in top-grade Gates of S-Rank or higher.
The supreme essences and herbs dropped at minuscule rates by top-grade bosses.
The [Elixir] that could be concocted from them was the sole clue to his father's recovery.
'I need to become at least an A-Rank Player before graduation. That level of buzz will draw the public's eyes to me, letting me use them as a shield.'
A minor dreaming of A-Rank Player status?
A hundred out of a hundred would laugh it off as the ravings of a madman.
Because it was impossible.
It was a structural flaw in the Player system itself.
But Jae-hyeok trusted in himself. He had solid grounds for it.
"Whoa."
Peering out the window, Jae-hyeok let out a sigh of awe.
Two moons hung in a star-filled night sky.
The first night in a Gate was more beautiful than he'd imagined.
It truly sank in that this was not Earth, but another world.
Seeing the two moons side by side brought his mother and father to mind.
The brightest star beside them was him.
The next closest was Butler Hwang.
Far off in the distance, a tiny star was Kang Duna.
Next to her, faint stars on the verge of winking out: Kang Dae-seong, Kang Hyeon-ah...
"Ugh... Suddenly I'm in a bad mood."
Scowling, Jae-hyeok opened his status window.
Name: Kang Jae-hyeok
Job: Player awakening conditions not met.
Level: Player awakening conditions not met.
Stats: Player awakening conditions not met.
Skills: [Empty], [Empty], [Empty]
Awakening as a Player was simple.
Kill a Monster, or fill the first skill slot to fully activate the [System].
There were rumors that killing otherworlders counted too, but that was just hearsay.
Non-awakened rarely even encountered otherworlders to begin with.
They never set foot on Earth. They lived solely within the safety of Gates.
'Otherworlders... the "other" refers to people too.'
Aside from language and culture, otherworlders weren't all that different from Earth humans.
Depending on their faction, some were hostile to humanity, but usually, they interacted normally, from what he'd heard.
Unless awakening required specifically killing otherworlders—which it didn't.
No sane person would go hunting them just to awaken.
'Wonder what my stats are at now.'
Jae-hyeok had deliberately delayed his Player awakening.
Even the troll that attacked the mansion a few days ago—he hadn't killed it himself.
The reason was straightforward.
To maximize physical, mental, and technical training before awakening, starting Level 1 with the highest possible stats.
Assuming an average Level 1 Player's total stats summed to 10, Jae-hyeok planned for over 30.
Of course, easier said than done.
Unlike Players who gained [Stat Points] through level-ups and quest clears for endless growth.
Ordinary human bodies had limits.
Training didn't make strength or stamina infinitely stronger.
Gains diminished sharply.
Mental limits existed too.
While other Players shot up in power, amassing wealth and fame, why should he alone endure endless asceticism?
Even mountain ascetics would fidget.
Thus, most seized the chance and awakened as Players the moment it arose.
But Jae-hyeok's position was different.
Doing things like everyone else wouldn't even let him survive.
He was slated for murder before adulthood.
Rain or snow.
Even wracked with fever, hands and feet blistered—he never stopped honing body and technique. All to survive first.
Limits?
He faced them daily.
And broke them daily.
Today's self swung the sword one more time than yesterday's.
With the iron will to survive and repay every ounce of suffering he'd endured.
'Someday... definitely.'
Reaffirming his vow, Jae-hyeok's gaze fell on the empty skill slots.
When was it that his first [First Skill] bloomed?
He couldn't recall precisely, but around when his daily sword swings topped 10,000.
Feeling bitter betrayal toward the public decrying his father.
Burning with vengeance against the government and Association that smeared him.
Harboring killing intent toward his siblings who wrecked the house in emotional fits.
Swinging his sword until he collapsed daily, Jae-hyeok unlocked his First Skill at a speed others couldn't fathom.
In the past eight years, he'd unlocked a whopping 25 First Skills.
What took average people a decade of effort, he unlocked once every three months.
Yet Jae-hyeok wasn't satisfied.
First Skills formed a Player's foundation.
Only one could be equipped in the 'first skill slot,' and it froze permanently upon equipping.
Vastly more critical than the second and third slots, where skills from market [Skill Books] could be swapped freely.
'What if the skill I want doesn't show in three years?'
Stats-wise, starting three times higher than average would suffice. Aiming beyond was inefficient.
He already had supreme confidence in his strength and stamina, near his targets.
But skills were a whole other realm.
The domain of luck...
"Again, again. Feeling too comfortable, so I start moping around."
Strapping lead weights all over his body, Jae-hyeok grabbed his sword and left the dorm.
He passed roads lined with every convenience, climbing a nearby hill.
"Huu..."
Anxiety, fear, sorrow, rage...
His beast-like growling breaths, unable to suppress the boiling emotions, calmed in an instant. Blending into the late-night silence, rendering the surroundings utterly still.
Spang-!
He flawlessly executed the full quick draw to sheathing motion.
Only then could he deem it a true 'single swing.'
Jae-hyeok swung his sword through the night until he lacked even the strength to twitch a finger.
First Skills as luck's domain?
Fine.
Then he'd just work harder.
Continuously, relentlessly, until the ultimate skill bloomed!
He'd seize the desired result, leaving no room for mere luck to interfere.
[Player Candidate breaks through physical limits.]
[Player Candidate breaks through mental limits.]
[Player Candidate's technique deepens further.]
[Player Candidate has broken through physical limits for 2,951 consecutive days.]
[Stat bonus acquired.]
[Player Candidate has broken through mental limits for 2,951 consecutive days.]
[Stat bonus acquired.]
[If current state maintained for 49 more days, new hidden skill activates.]
System messages unheard by non-Players.
Thus, the boy's world remained silent.
Unaware he was being rewarded.
Yet he pressed on, shedding sweat and blood.
Unable to sleep without exhaustion.
Trusting the sturdy body inherited from his father above all else.
Thud!
Finally collapsing like a felled tree, heat haze rose from Jae-hyeok's body.
The swings generated heat that rapidly evaporated his sweat.
Dawn was breaking. The world slowly dyed in sunset hues.
"A Gate unraided for 200 years..."
Lion's Castle, where modern and otherworld civilizations coexisted.
Jae-hyeok's expression grew solemnly resolute as he took in the magnificent view.