Chapter 78: Awakening
Chapter 78: Awakening
18. Awakening
After the meeting, I stepped onto the road in front of the apartment.
I intended to move several cars abandoned along the roadside.
"Are you truly all right doing this alone?"
"I'll be fine. There's plenty of work inside. More importantly, how long are you going to keep pinching Su-jin's cheek?"
"Oh. I didn't realize... It's strangely addictive."
"Look how red it is, hehehe. She might wake up complaining that it hurts."
Eun-mi followed while pushing Su-jin's wheelchair.
While we worked outside, Su-jin would monitor the surroundings with Mapping. If danger appeared, I could carry both women and flee.
"This is the nearest car. Are we skipping it? It looks undamaged."
"Look through the driver's window. The owner shifted into park, engaged the parking brake, and took the key."
The day of the outbreak must have been chaotic, yet this owner had apparently remained composed.
Perhaps it had simply been habit.
"Find one that will be easier to move."
"Understood. If I could use my Ability, I'd simply remove the brakes."
"That would solve everything. We could push it slowly together."
The model and condition didn't matter. I cared only whether we could move it.
The first car was unusual. Almost none of the others had engaged parking brakes or transmissions locked in park.
Most had crashed while moving and remained wherever the impact stopped them.
"This one appears to be rear-wheel drive. Wait here."
I inspected an undamaged foreign sedan standing in the middle of the road.
Believing I could lift its rear and drag it, I took position.
I bent my knees, slipped both hands beneath the rear bumper, and inhaled.
"Hup!"
Lift—crash!
"Whoa... Raid Leader, why did you destroy a perfectly good car?"
I'd braced my abdomen and exerted myself, but the vehicle rose far too easily.
The excess force made me lose balance for an instant.
Fearing injury, I shoved the car away and leaped backward. The impact shattered every window.
"The grip was awkward, so... Ah, what am I saying? The glass must already have been damaged."
"I doubt the owner will return for it. Are you injured?"
"I'm fine. Nothing struck either of you, right?"
"No. Su-jin appears unharmed as well."
I'd lifted an SUV once before.
This vehicle felt unmistakably lighter than that one had.
Wait. If that was true, then perhaps...
"Eun-mi, move farther back."
"Is this enough?"
"Yes. I'm going to try lifting the entire car."
This time, I placed my hands under the rear bumper and raised it slowly.
The back rose so easily that I supported it with both hands and pushed it above my head.
"Wow..."
"Let's see... Where can I grip it?"
I stepped beneath the vehicle, which stood at an angle of roughly seventy degrees.
One hand grasped the exhaust pipe running beneath the engine cover, while the other secured an axle extending toward the front.
I tucked my head down, inhaled deeply, and lowered my stance.
"Hnngh!"
As though receiving a heavy load sideways onto one shoulder, I crouched beneath the car and slowly straightened my legs.
I had found the center of gravity correctly and rose without tipping in either direction.
I could probably straighten my arms with more force, but doing so would immediately destroy my balance.
"Incredible..."
"Eun-mi, lead the way. I can see nothing but the ground."
"Yes, sir. I'll move slowly."
"Not too slowly—hff. This is heavy. Walk a little faster."
Strain began building in my neck and shoulders.
Following Eun-mi's heels at a brisk pace, I returned to the apartment with a sedan balanced across my back.
I hadn't expected this to work.
I'd assumed failure, yet the car was now on my shoulders.
Why had I believed it impossible?
I'd set the limits of my physical capabilities far too low.
Although I personally used the Ability, my understanding of it remained confined by ordinary assumptions about the human body.
The old common sense had already become meaningless when I leaped several stories while carrying someone or shattered a zombie's skull with a thrown stone.
Even after repeatedly exceeding human limits, I'd unconsciously thought, How could one person lift something like that?
I'd been like a flea trapped beneath a glass lid, never realizing how high it could jump.
A cool wind seemed to sweep through my chest.
Liberation filled me, along with certainty that I could become much stronger.
* Transformation: Optimization
* Enhanced Recovery (99), Body Enhancement (99), Body Enhancement II (25)
* Available Points: 3
Guided by instinct, I opened the Status Window and attempted to raise Body Enhancement.
The value that had remained trapped at 99 finally increased to 100.
Investing Available Points wasn't as simple as clicking a button in a game.
My own mental restriction had prevented the number from rising.
The moment Body Enhancement reached 100, the crushing weight on my shoulders diminished.
A distinct transformation swept through me, just as it had when I first acquired Body Enhancement.
The gap between 99 and 100 wasn't a single point. It was evolution into an entirely new stage.
I'd gained insight into my physical changes while lifting a car once before.
This time, lifting a car produced another realization and carried my Ability to its next level.
#
"It was unbelievable. Even while watching, I could barely trust my eyes."
"Tae-sik, does this mean you can throw cars now?"
"Not yet. I can barely lift one onto my back. Something heavier, such as a truck, may still be impossible. But if the Ability keeps growing, perhaps I'll eventually throw cars."
We'd moved two abandoned vehicles to the corner of the barricade destroyed by the boar, then returned upstairs for dinner.
During the meal, Eun-mi excitedly recounted what had happened.
"It looked like movie CGI. Do you have any idea how bizarre a person looks walking beneath a car?"
"I imagine it was surreal. From the front, I probably resembled the letter T."
The conversation naturally shifted toward my Ability.
I explained my realization and shared everything I had learned.
"What about controlling your strength? You said it feels completely different now. Are you safe?"
"Yes. I don't think I'll accidentally crush anything."
"From your description, the Status Window clearly doesn't function like one in a game."
Ye-jin, normally quiet, joined the discussion.
I should ask her someday what games she used to enjoy.
"Is it influenced by perception—or perhaps realization? If so, an Ability may be connected to the user's inner self."
"That is possible."
"We've been adding five points at a time to compare the results, but each point clearly doesn't provide one fixed unit of power. Since the returns diminish so sharply, perhaps the points don't strengthen the Ability directly... Hmm. How should I explain this?"
Our discussion of my breakthrough naturally broadened.
Everyone shared theories they'd formed about the Status Window.
"Ah! Put simply, could it be like filling an experience bar? Higher levels require exponentially more experience. And sometimes a class advancement requires a quest or special condition... Has no one else played games?"
"I have. I understand what you mean."
The comparison was imperfect, but my thoughts followed a similar path.
The theory that Abilities reflected their users' identities also seemed plausible.
When I was younger and still competing as a player, I had desperately wished for greater physical ability.
During team training, I envied teammates who woke earlier than I did and possessed greater discipline and recovery.
That desire had persisted throughout my office career.
As I aged, I wished to remain younger and correct the imbalances accumulating throughout my body.
On the smallest scale, I'd wanted my hangovers to disappear faster.
I'd wanted to converse more naturally with younger employees.
To avoid being dismissed as a parachute hire, I'd driven myself to produce results and earn recognition.
My Ability was called Optimization.
I had always wanted to become someone optimized for whatever circumstances surrounded me.
Someone who adapted anywhere, kept pace with change, and eventually moved ahead of it.
But didn't everyone desire something similar?
Perhaps I was grasping at coincidences and forcing them into a convenient interpretation.
Or perhaps priority, intensity, or some other standard determined the result.
I remained uncertain, but several questions now felt closer to resolution.
"Tae-sik, besides becoming stronger, did anything else change?"
"I'll need to test it. I was too busy moving the car earlier. I expect the other effects resemble the previous enhancement."
"I wish Information Display could analyze your Ability, but I wouldn't dare try now. This must be what a difference in tier feels like..."
"Ah, when will I ever reach 99...? The road ahead is impossibly long."
"Exactly. Even after hearing the explanation, I can't use it yet. If Multiple Creation reached 100, maybe I could cover the entire sky with Shields. Heehee."
Ga-yeong chattered excitedly, delighted by the possibility alone.
That was encouraging.
My breakthrough was restoring energy to the raid party.
The morale crushed by the giant boar had begun to recover.
"Let's continue working and strengthening our Abilities. But never push yourselves to collapse. Manage your condition carefully."
"Agreed. Let's combine our strength and survive together. Fighting!"
"Fighting!"
#
After dinner, I returned to the barricade.
Two cars blocked part of the breach, but the gaping opening still looked exposed.
Schneider apparently found it strange as well and stared into the gap for a long time.
I placed her food and water beside her.
"Eat."
Until my watch began, I intended to move several more cars.
I didn't summon Su-jin or Eun-mi.
Seon-yeong insisted that working alone was dangerous, but I persuaded her to let me leave.
As when I first gained Body Enhancement, all five senses had probably improved.
I'd see and hear more clearly and detect approaching presences sooner.
Fwoosh—
I leaped onto the intact section of barricade in a single bound.
Wind rushed past my ears.
Without intending to, I'd launched my body—now well over one hundred kilograms—onto a wall roughly four meters high.
Yet I landed lightly.
Instinct supplied the optimal way to move my body.
On the road, I approached a car I'd dismissed earlier and lifted it.
I'd told Eun-mi that another vehicle would be easier and passed this one by.
At the time, my body had been weaker, so I'd compensated with careful planning.
That was why I selected cars without engaged brakes.
Now my body no longer required so much assistance from my mind.
Transmission? Parking brake? Front-wheel or rear-wheel drive?
I no longer needed to peer inside and deliberate.
I simply approached and lifted.
All four wheels left the ground.
Unlike before, I walked alone through the empty street.
I wanted to use our labor efficiently.
Safety mattered, but I'd chosen to continue advancing as I always had.
The decisions I reached after careful consideration were calculated progress, not suicidal recklessness.
That was why I had ignored everyone's objections and moved cars alone.
Eun-mi and Su-jin had other tasks and watch shifts to perform.
Was this not a more efficient allocation of personnel?
With my enhanced senses, I believed I could detect zombies, Feral Dogs, or the giant boar early enough to escape.
Thud.
"Kkyaak!"
"Did I frighten you? Hahaha. Sorry."
When I dropped the car into place, Schneider jumped backward in alarm.
Why had she remained here?
I'd expected her to finish eating and disappear long ago.
"Tae-sik! It's after seven."
"All right. I'll come up and prepare."
I must have been making considerable noise, because Seon-yeong leaned over the veranda railing.
I returned inside, showered, and changed.
The clothes I'd taken from the Company N store were beginning to run short.
We would need to visit it again soon.
"What number are you at?"
"Fifty now! Let's head up shortly."
Enhanced Recovery and Body Enhancement now displayed three-digit values.
I looked forward to discovering how much stronger—and more comfortable—my life would become.
Greater combat power was welcome, but the improvement to my quality of life mattered even more.
That was why seeing the Sub-traits trapped at 99 had frustrated me so deeply.
Even while I tried to ignore them.
My elation refused to fade as I left for watch duty.
I was so pleased that I wanted a special term for this evolution.
Privately studying the newly three-digit Sub-traits, I decided to call them Awakened Abilities.
I had no intention of sharing that name with the raid members.
At thirty-four, saying “Awakened Ability” aloud would embarrass me to death...