After the stormy meal had ended,
Shin-hyeok’s family was the first to leave.
Watching In-gyun’s vacant seat, the eldest son, In-seok, turned to Choi Cheol-ho and asked,
“Father, are you really going to accept In-gyun’s family?”
“Why? Shouldn’t I?”
In-seok gritted his teeth at Choi Cheol-ho’s casual reply as he drank scorched-rice tea after the meal.
“In-gyun ignored Father’s orders, brought home a woman from who-knows-where, and married her. If you bring someone like that back into the family fold, there will be problems-”
“In-seok.”
“......Yes, Father.”
But the moment In-seok met Choi Cheol-ho’s narrowed eyes,
he froze like a human facing a bear.
Choi Cheol-ho lightly patted In-seok’s stiff shoulder before whispering in a low voice.
“Are you his father?”
“......!”
“Manage your own children however you like. But I will manage mine myself. Whether I cast them out or bring them back in.”
“......Yes.”
As Choi Cheol-ho subdued In-seok with a single sentence and finished his scorched-rice tea,
the second son, In-ho, put on a friendly smile.
“Wow, if our nephew is placed in Silver Tier, he’ll be an exceptional prospect...... Naturally, we should slot him into Shinhwa Guild, shouldn’t we?”
“That is for you to decide. Shinhwa Guild is yours, isn’t it?”
“Haha, Father, really. There is nothing with the Shinhwa name on it that is not yours. In any case, I’ll take that as permission. Of course...... if that absurd claim comes true.”
Although Choi Cheol-ho noticed the sharpness hidden behind that genial smile, he did not say a word.
“Oh my, then Shinhwa Department Store should do a collaboration too. Something like, ‘The Reversal of the Nephew Called Useless Jack-of-All-Trades!’”
With the eldest daughter, Seon-hwa, slyly joining her brothers in putting Shin-hyeok down, the family gathering of December 30 came to an end.
After everyone had left for their respective homes,
Choi Cheol-ho, who was reading in his study, spoke into the empty air without changing his posture.
“What do you think?”
“......Shadows do not have thoughts.”
“Since I am the one asking, you may answer now.”
Surprisingly, an answer came from the empty air.
It was an art that only someone who had honed the Player ability of Stealth to its absolute limit could display.
Choi Cheol-ho, who employed such a person as his Shadow, urged them to answer once again.
Shadow fell silent for a moment before finally giving their opinion.
“He seemed to have a powerful presence.”
“A powerful presence...... In what way?”
“He was filled with certainty that what he said would come to pass. I could sense the force of that conviction.”
A powerful presence.
Even Shadow was impressed by the force contained in Shin-hyeok’s demeanor as he declared that his words would certainly become reality.
“Then do you think that absurd claim will truly come to pass?”
“......But presence and ability are separate matters. Unless everything he has shown until now was a highly calculated move solely for the Placement Exam...... Honestly, I believe it would be difficult.”
But admiration and recognition were separate matters.
Especially when his opponent was Lee Ju-ho, the eldest son of the Oseong Guild Master, who received the full support of Oseong Group.
Thanks to his innate talent, he was not expected to reach Gold Tier, but was still evaluated at the very top of Silver Tier.
As such, the possibility of Shin-hyeok defeating Ju-ho was extremely low.
No- to be honest, it would be more accurate to say that there was no chance at all.
Of course—
“Then shall we make a wager?”
“A wager......?”
“Yes. A wager. I’ll bet that boy keeps his word.”
“......Chairman, do you really believe that child can do it?”
“At the very least, that is how it looked to me. Something has changed. Something fundamental.”
Choi Cheol-ho was different.
Closing the book he had been reading, Choi Cheol-ho smiled like a child who had found a toy he liked and did not know what to do with it.
At that sight, Shadow let out a sigh.
“Then I concede.”
“Why?”
“Because I have never seen you make a wrong decision, Chairman. I am not foolish enough to make a wager I am certain to lose.”
“What a shame. It would have been a good chance to tease you.”
Choi Cheol-ho chuckled as he spoke regretfully, then rose from his seat and gave an order.
“Contact the public relations team. Tell them that on January 1, during the Placement Exam, a rising star will be born at Shinhwa Group. Have them prepare in advance.”
“Yes.”
And that was the end of it.
The value of Shin-hyeok, whom all of Shinhwa Group would soon promote, had been decided.
***
The house in Hannam-dong.
More precisely, a great commotion had broken out in Shin-hyeok’s home.
“Shin-hyeok, what on earth were you thinking, saying something like that in front of Father?”
At the center of that commotion was Shin-hyeok’s father, In-gyun.
Still reeling from the bomb his son had dropped, In-gyun pressed a hand to his forehead and staggered.
But Shin-hyeok did not pay much attention to it.
“Father.”
“......Father?”
“Please believe in me just once. I will prove it through the results.”
“......What could have happened overnight? You have never even called me Father before......”
Instead, just as he had done when facing Choi Cheol-ho earlier, Shin-hyeok forcefully pressed ahead with his will.
It felt as though In-gyun stood before an iron wall.
For some reason, it was a feeling that compelled him to believe.
Unable to hide his hollow disbelief, In-gyun dropped heavily onto the sofa.
“......Are you confident?”
“Yes. It would be even better if you grant me one request.”
“A request...... All right, I will grant it. You have never wanted anything in your life, and now you are even using the word request. I should grant it.”
“Thank you.”
“Shin-hyeok.”
“Yes, Father.”
“I believe in you. Not because of the reward for success you spoke of, but because I believe my son is truly such a remarkable person.”
“......Yes.”
Shin-hyeok understood the warm heart contained within that strict voice.
He finished answering in a faintly trembling voice, told In-gyun what he needed, and returned to his room.
“First, I should check my condition.”
As the saying went, know yourself and your enemy, and you will win every battle.
With the thought that knowing himself perfectly would bring him one step closer to victory, Shin-hyeok took out his estimated status sheet.
The contents were shocking.
“......My highest stat is Strength, and it’s only 14. Mana is only 9? Is this really the status of a prospective Player right before the Placement Exam? Especially one attending Shinhwa High School?”
Player-training high schools had systems that could fairly accurately estimate the Status Window a student would see after awakening as a Player.
And Shinhwa High School boasted the best equipment among them, so it was safe to say there was no margin for error.
Yet even when he saw the results with his own eyes, they were bizarre enough to leave Shin-hyeok flustered.
The average stat of an adult man was 10.
Yet Shin-hyeok, who had trained professionally to become a Player, had a Strength stat of only 14.
Most of all, the fact that his Mana stat, arguably the most important stat for a Player, was 9 was fatal.
As Shin-hyeok stared at the sheet that made him sigh just by looking at it, he saw the Trait section and let out a faint laugh.
[1. Versatility]
“As expected, it is only displayed as one.”
The Trait called Versatility.
A Trait that allowed him to become good at anything.
It was the Trait that had earned Shin-hyeok the name Useless Jack-of-All-Trades.
He could do anything well, but he did not exceed the average by much in any field, leaving him with no specialty to call his own.
But Shin-hyeok knew that he possessed another Trait besides Versatility.
“Late Bloomer was probably unlocked at Platinum Tier.”
The Trait called Late Bloomer.
It was one of the Traits commonly called hidden Traits or sealed Traits, whose existence could not even be known until a particular condition was fulfilled.
The condition for Late Bloomer was reaching Platinum Tier.
And the effect of the Late Bloomer Trait was simple.
“Every Skill I had acquired before the Trait awakened rose by at least one grade, sometimes by several grades. The grade-growth speed of Skills I acquired afterward increased as well.”
Skills.
If Traits were the heart, Skills were the organs.
They were indispensable organs, essential elements that made up the body.
The ability to raise a Skill’s grade by several levels was extraordinary.
Furthermore, because Shin-hyeok possessed a wide variety of Skills thanks to his other Trait, Versatility, the synergy was multiplied.
It had taken him less time to advance from Platinum Tier to Challenger Tier than it had taken him to reach Platinum Tier in the first place.
“This time, I will make Late Bloomer bloom more perfectly.”
In the past, Shin-hyeok had possessed a variety of miscellaneous abilities, but he had focused on only one Skill to raise his Tier.
As a result, he had not possessed many Skills when Late Bloomer bloomed.
But this life would be very different from his previous one.
“I should get some sleep.”
With that resolve, Shin-hyeok threw his tired and exhausted body onto the bed after dealing with Choi Cheol-ho.
***
December 31.
With one day left until the Placement Exam, Shin-hyeok was facing his father, In-gyun.
“As you asked, I brought Low-Grade Stat Enhancers and Mana Pills. Since it is right before the Placement Exam, there were barely any for sale and the prices were high...... Still, I managed to get them somehow. I should have obtained something better for you. I’m sorry.”
“No, this is enough. You worked hard, Father.”
In front of In-gyun were the Low-Grade Stat Enhancers and Mana Pills he had barely obtained after spending the entire day searching.
Stat Enhancers raised physical stats when consumed, while Mana Pills raised Mana stats.
Of course, their drawback was that they were low-grade items useful only in the early stages, but since everyone taking the Placement Exam was a beginner anyway, that was not much of a problem.
‘Stat Enhancers and Mana Pills raise stats by 5. Then my current Status Window should be roughly......’
After immediately consuming what In-gyun had acquired, Shin-hyeok calculated his current Status Window in his head.
[Status Window]
Name: Choi Shin-hyeok
Class: X
(Stats)
Strength: 19 Stamina: 18 Intelligence: 18 Mana: 14
(Traits)
Versatility
Late Bloomer
(Skills)
X
‘It should be roughly like this.’
His highest stat had been 14, yet now his lowest stat was 14.
Shin-hyeok smiled with satisfaction.
But there was no room for complacency.
‘This is barely any different from standing at the starting line. The students from Shinhwa High School probably have higher stats than I do. Lee Ju-ho may even be above 30. There can be no complacency.’
The things Shin-hyeok had obtained and consumed were items anyone could acquire with enough money.
From Shin-hyeok’s perspective, he had to surpass Lee Ju-ho, who had surely consumed items that even money could not obtain.
There was no way Shin-hyeok could let down his guard.
“Then I’ll be on my way soon.”
“What about your equipment?”
“I prepared it in my room.”
“Right, you have not awakened yet, so you cannot use an Inventory. Well done.”
After finishing his thoughts, Shin-hyeok entered his room, leaving behind the clock as it slowly neared twelve.
He put on the basic equipment he had prepared in advance and fastened a sword at his waist.
Once all preparations were complete—
[You have awakened!]
[Welcome to the Dimension Arena!]
[The Placement Exam will now begin!]
January 1.
The day of awakening and the Placement Exam had dawned.