Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Gangsin
The crooked, worm-like writing could now be understood.
Or rather, it felt like I understood it, without actually knowing how to read it.
“Why do you know this is unusual?”
Shati tilted her head.
Energy… I can see it…
I flipped through all twenty pages of the book, even checking the front and back covers carefully, but there was nothing special except the writing itself.
The only thing I could tell was that it was bound in animal hide.
That’s all.
“Annoying. You’re really dense.”
Molek cut in.
“Do you know something?”
You’re only making yourself sound more foolish. If this is an act, I’ll at least commend you.
I pulled Molek out of the inventory.
“So what is it?”
You don’t feel it?
“What?”
The power in that book is restless.
I frowned.
The book?
I tried flipping back to the first page and reading it carefully again.
I grant my power to those who align with my thoughts.
Those worthy are those who rejoice sincerely in my presence. Those who do not fear fulfilling my will.
To such beings I grant anything they desire.
My name is Jina Sansa—
After the fifth line, the text became impossible to interpret.
No matter how many times I looked at it, it refused to be read.
The power is not in the letters. The book itself is ordinary.
“Letters?”
The writer is not ordinary.
My thoughts became tangled.
So why did my foster father, Park Sang-jin, even have something like this?
My head grew heavier.
What matters is not its origin.
Shati interjected, her tone sharper than usual, staring at Molek.
Awakener Im Jin-hyeok, will you undergo gangsin?
Gangsin meant the act of accepting a spirit that actually exists in this world but cannot be seen.
A true god entering the body.
Normally, awakened ones use high-density energy stones as a medium to invite such beings.
But I was doing it with an old book.
Mr. Sang-jin, what on earth did you leave behind?
I’m just looking.
It was a keepsake from the person who raised me. I could at least look at it.
Object to user.
Gangsin completed.
The book dissolved into smoke.
Shati’s voice echoed in my mind.
Do you feel it?
“I’m not sure.”
There was no physical change.
But the system would not lie. I had succeeded.
Name Im Jin-hyeok
Gangsin unknown
Only a question mark remained next to the gangsin field.
Confusing. Extremely confusing.
Status screens were supposed to reveal the identity of the spirit you had bonded with.
I just hoped it wasn’t something strange.
Level 7
Health 130
Strength 100
Endurance 120
Mental power unknown
Agility 105
My stats rose as expected for a level increase.
Did I gain a skill?
Skill enhancement: Realization
Skill enhancement.
Gangsin effect applied. Awakener Im Jin-hyeok’s growth structure is revised.
You can no longer gain additional stats from leveling up.
What?
So I became stat-locked?
But.
But what?
Instead, stats from equipped corrupted items will be applied.
Only one item stat can be applied at a time.
“Shati. Become a club.”
I equipped Shati.
Something incredible happened.
Name Im Jin-hyeok
Gangsin unknown
Health 410
Strength 180
Endurance 210
Mental power unknown
Agility 555
An absurd increase.
Even conservatively speaking, this alone could push me into rank 11 territory.
The system was stacking item stats directly.
Why are you staring at me like that?
Molek spoke.
I wondered how much my stats would rise if I used Molek too.
No.
Something was wrong.
I equipped Molek.
It burns!
Pain surged through my body.
I quickly checked the status screen.
“...Molek.”
Did I not tell you to address me properly?
“I just got a skill that adds item stats to mine.”
Silence.
Then a strange pause.
Oh? I see. That is… good.
Her voice trembled slightly.
How admirable. You have grown stronger after gangsin. Perhaps you are now slightly more suitable for me.
Level 7
Health 140
Strength 101
Endurance 119
Mental power unknown
Agility 103
Strength increased by only a small margin.
Health by ten. Strength by one.
But agility and endurance had dropped.
What kind of upgrade was this?
Molek spoke again, smug.
You are pathetic.
Shati laughed from the side.
Pathetic. Pathetic. Extremely pathetic.
“Hey.”
Shati protested immediately.
I am not some lowly thing that runs around blindly like that girl!
Then show me your real form.
Molek had never shown her true body before.
Now it appeared.
A woman with white horns rising from her forehead and golden eyes.
Dark brown hair flowed down her back.
She was crying.
Her face was flushed, trembling with rage.
Why are you crying?
“You’re heavy?”
How dare you mock me!
Molek gritted her teeth.
It was a cramped apartment, and her presence alone filled the room with pressure.
“Realization off.”
Molek returned to the earring form.
That was close. I almost got roasted.
Shati growled.
That cursed woman…
A few minutes later, Molek had calmed down.
Now she wandered the room as a floating presence.
Still arrogant.
This place is beneath me.
“My house.”
Clean it up. It is too unsophisticated.
At that moment, my phone buzzed again.
Awakener Management Bureau
And another message.
King
The strongest awakener in Korea wanted to meet me.
Only I knew I was the one called Im Jin-hyeok, not “Scars.”
If I sold large quantities of mana stones, I would be flagged.
A problem.
Molek suddenly spoke.
King?
“You know him?”
Of course I do. I know him very well.
Her tone softened.
He is strong. Very strong.
He was the one who separated me from Black Crow.
Black Crow?
Molek refused to say more.
Whatever. I would ask later.
For now, I had another idea.
“Molek. Do a job for me.”
I refuse.
“Just one hour. I’ll give you a better room and let you see the outside.”
Outside?
She hesitated.
Very well. I accept.
A week later.
System entry request to the exchange center.
“I, Molek, will go personally. Be grateful.”
“Please take care, Lady Molek.”
Scars entered the exchange.
Molek vanished from my side.
One hour later, the world exploded again.
Breaking news
Scars destroys a rank 12 gate in minutes