'Ah, it's Park In-hwan's gang.'
It had been a while since I'd heard that name, and I chuckled to myself.
Park In-hwan's gang.
The group that bullied other students back in my first year, only to get thoroughly thrashed by Lee Seo-jun.
Of course, I hadn't personally gone through first-year life myself, but the novel described it that way, so I knew.
These guys end up playing a pretty significant role later on.
They turn into full-blown villains, blackening and causing all sorts of incidents.
"Seo-jun, you're going with Enhancement as your main specialty, right?"
"Yeah. It's my strongest field, after all."
"And your sub-specialty?"
"Manifestation."
"As expected."
Eavesdropping a bit, it seemed they were talking about their main specialties.
Main specialty, huh...
In this world, magic is divided into four systems.
Enhancement, Manifestation, Auxiliary, and Summoning.
That makes four in total.
Enhancement refers to close-range magic that strengthens weapons or the body, while Manifestation is the more traditional style—bringing magic to life and firing it off. Like launching a spear of flame, for example.
You can probably get the idea for Summoning and Auxiliary without much explanation.
Exactly as the names suggest: fields that handle summoning magic and support magic.
First-years train evenly across all four systems, but starting in second year, you pick one main specialty and one sub-specialty to focus on.
It's more efficient to specialize deeply in one rather than spreading yourself thin across multiple.
And for next week's ranking evaluation test, unlike first-years who get tested on everything, second- and third-years only get tested on their main specialty.
For reference, my main specialty is Manifestation magic.
No real reason—just looked coolest when I read the original novel.
Plus, it's a stable, straightforward choice.
I watched them blankly for a moment before heading off toward the convenience store again.
I grabbed a simple sandwich there and headed back to the dorm.
Beep!
The dorm door unlocked when I tapped my smart student handbook against it.
"...Hoo."
As soon as I stepped inside, exhaustion hit me all at once.
I hadn't even done much, but I felt wiped out.
Probably because I'd dealt with so many absurd things today.
"Man, this dorm is flashy no matter how many times I see it."
A one-room setup around 500 square feet.
Way too spacious and luxurious for a dorm.
Sure, plenty of guys would love the interior, but it just means more stuff to maintain, which is a hassle for me.
I plopped down on the bed in the corner of the room.
And stared at the mirror across from me.
"I look younger, alright."
The seven-year difference was obvious. My skin was plump and firm, and I'd slimmed down overall.
My arms were noticeably thinner.
My thighs too.
Gotta bulk up a bit.
And start exercising.
"...No wonder I couldn't eat much."
Wizards in this world weren't the stick-up-the-ass type who just flung magic orbs around.
There were tons of close-range casters who used mana to enhance their bodies or weapons, so basic physical fitness was essential.
"Might as well go work out."
I glanced at the clock: 7:58 p.m.
Not a bad time for a light digest-and-exercise session.
But right as I started to get up...
"...Huh?"
I suddenly remembered that important event I'd momentarily forgotten.
Why had I spaced on it this whole time?
I checked the clock again.
7:59.
Perfect timing.
If things were like before, the event would kick off any second now.
I held my breath and locked my eyes on the clock.
Tick-tock.
The second hand ticked away.
57... 58... 59...
Click.
8:00.
Ding!
[The main scenario has begun.]
[You have acquired the unique trait 'Outsider's Benefit'.]
"Yes!"
Just as I'd predicted—the messages popped up right on cue at 8:00. I'd been sweating it might not show, but relief washed over me.
[The unique trait 'Outsider's Benefit' has been activated.]
[The achievement system has been activated.]
[The reputation system has been activated.]
"Oh. Working perfectly."
Outsider's Benefit.
Exactly what it sounds like—a perk granted only to me, an outsider to this world.
Not super useful right now, but it'll become a huge asset as time goes on.
The benefits came in various forms, but they boiled down to three main ones.
First: the achievement system.
Like a game, accomplishing this world's hidden achievements nets you special points.
[You have achieved 'Second Life'.]
[Reward: 3,000 points acquired.]
Like this.
Second life? What kind of achievement is that?
Second: the reputation system.
True to its name, you earn points every time you etch your presence into people's minds or leave a strong impression.
[Character 'Yoo Ah-ra' has remembered your name.]
[Reward: 500 points acquired.]
...Not sure if I should be happy about this one.
Third: the point shop.
As straightforward as it gets—use your earned points to buy traits, skills, items, and more.
The achievement and reputation systems existed to fuel this.
[Entering the point shop.]
[Points held: 3,500]
[Inheriting data from previous playthrough...]
[Synchronization in progress...]
Ding!
[All traits and points from the previous playthrough have been inherited.]
[3,200 additional points acquired.]
[Points held: 6,700]
"Huh? Traits got inherited too?"
Caught me off guard with that one.
Things were shaping up better than expected.
Inheriting traits meant I could use the ones I'd bought with points in my previous life for free.
[Checking held traits.]
►Additional Acquired Traits
Lifestyle Traits
[Culinary Master (A)][Housework (D)][Memory (A)]
Adaptive Traits
[Magical Meditation (D)][Stamina Recovery (D)][Pain Tolerance (F)]
Combat Traits
[Mana Control (B)][Enhancement Basic Martial Arts (C)]
"Jackpot."
All the traits I'd used before had carried over.
Nothing overpowered, but getting them intact made me thrilled.
Hang on.
Did my base stats carry over too?
I immediately pulled up my status window.
[The unique trait 'Outsider's Benefit' activates.]
[Checking stats.]
［Info］
Name: Kim Sunwoo (Points held: 6,700)
［Stats］
Stamina: 42
Strength: 34
Mana: 21
Speed: 30
Agility: 32
Dexterity: 28
"What the hell."
My base stats had been completely reset.
Even worse, I'd dumped every point from my previous life into mana, and that was wiped clean too.
"Tch."
Left a bitter taste. Should've spread the points around if I'd known.
"Stats are way too low."
Especially that mana at 21. Brutal.
Sure, I'd been Enhancement-focused in first year per the setting.
But even accounting for that, the mana was pathetically low.
Of course, this isn't a world where high mana automatically means strength.
Plenty of wizards scrape by on control alone despite low mana.
But even control wizards need a baseline mana pool.
This didn't even meet the minimum.
"Hmm..."
Low base mana meant a naturally small mana reservoir.
The textbook fix would be mana cultivation training, but for me, the point shop was the real answer.
[Entering the point shop.]
This life, I wouldn't blindly dump everything into mana like before.
[Welcome! Special benefits for you, the outsider!]
[In the point shop, you can acquire anything you desire!]
The welcome message hit first upon entering the shop.
Felt a bit mocking, but I brushed it past.
Ways to build mana via the point shop were plentiful.
But efficiency varied wildly by price, and some items were so inefficient they screamed scam, so you had to research carefully.
"Hmm. What to do..."
I skimmed the shop before heading straight to the basic stats purchase tab.
[Basic stats can also be purchased with points!]
［Basic Stat Shop］
►Stamina 0.1
►Strength 0.1
►Mana 0.1
- 100 points
- 100 points
- 100 points
Exchanging points for base stats.
I'd used this a ton before regressing.
Showed decent efficiency at first too.
1,000 points for +1 mana.
Achievements gave 1,000 points pretty easily, so it was a quick way to snag mana.
But it had a fatal flaw.
［Warning］
［Basic stat prices increase by 10 points every 10 purchases.］
The more you bought, the pricier each stat point got.
Might sound minor at just +10 points, but it snowballs into unaffordable territory.
In my previous life, I abused it so much that 0.1 mana cost 350 points.
"Pass on this."
For efficient mana gains, traits or items were the way.
Let's see...
Time to search mana-related traits first.
［Using search function.］
［Searching for 'mana'.］
Ding!
►［Trait］Gourmet's Gift (B)
►［Trait］Great Absorption Technique (S)
►［Trait］Arcane Wizard's Shadow Training Method (D)
►［Trait］Ancient Empire Magical Meditation (C)
►［Item］Grand Reversion Pill (B)
►［Item］Necronomicon (SS)
►［Item］Mana Efficiency Meditation Books 1-2 Set (D)
►［Item］Heart of the Ancient Dragon, Kaissas (SSS)
A disorganized list scrolled out.
Pondering what to check first, I tapped the top one: 'Gourmet's Gift'.
［Gourmet's Gift (B)］
Type: Trait
Description: Acquire mana by consuming food.
［Passive Effect］
►Calorie Conversion
Gain mana equal to 0.001% of calories consumed.
Price: 20,000
"Not bad, but..."
Pricey.
And 0.001% efficiency wasn't great upfront.
Even assuming a generous 1,000 calories per meal across three meals, that's just 0.03 mana.
Sure, cramming 3,000 calories daily could net at least +10 fixed mana in a year for free.
But in the late game when growth slows, maybe—but for someone like me just starting to build mana, +10 was nowhere near enough.