Chapter 24: Park Siwoo (2)
Park Siwoo stared blankly at Kim Minwoo. He had practically given up on awakening himself.
Hearing this in such a situation made his chest tighten for some reason.
“…Thank you.”
“Yeah. You’ll give it a shot, right?”
“Yes. Who am I to say no? If you’re giving me this chance, I have to grab it. I’ll work hard!”
Park Siwoo bowed his head deeply.
“Let’s go pack up with your sister. I’ll get you a place to stay.”
“Yes.”
And so the two returned to the orphanage.
“Oh my! This is wonderful! Siwoo and Arin are both such diligent and kind children. I’ll leave them in your care!”
“Yes. I’ll take good care of them. Oh, and I made a donation to the orphanage. I’ll come every year.”
“Pardon? A donation… Gasp! A-a hundred billion…?”
The director’s face melted into a puddle at the generous donation. The two were discharged from the orphanage in record time.
Park Siwoo and Park Arin.
He set them up in a luxury apartment. It wasn’t far from their family home either.
“B-Big Brother… are we really going to live here?”
Park Arin’s eyes trembled at the sight of the apartment, which looked as though it had cost tens of billions of won.
Park Siwoo couldn’t believe his eyes either.
“B-Bro… This place seems way too expensive…”
“It’s your home now. I’ve already transferred the ownership.”
““…Yes?!””
“What’s with the surprise? It’s just this much.”
The two gaped at Kim Minwoo, who said it as if it were nothing.
From casually donating a hundred billion to handing over a top-tier apartment like it was candy.
‘Bro really lives in a different world…’
Park Siwoo was stunned.
“By the way, I absolutely won’t take it back, so keep that in mind.”
“…Th-thank you. Arin. Say thank you too.”
“Minwoo! Thank you so, so much! I’ll definitely repay this kindness!”
Their thanks went on endlessly.
After handing over the house, he headed out with Park Siwoo.
“You’ve tried pretty much everything by now, right?”
“Yes. But I still didn’t awaken.”
That made sense.
Players could learn awakening conditions right after starting, so they could challenge them easily, but Park Siwoo wasn’t a player.
He didn’t know the conditions.
So he had no choice but to flail around blindly.
“Let’s spar with me for exactly one week.”
“Spar?”
“Yeah. First, we need to properly draw out your instincts.”
To challenge a high achievement, they needed to maximize Park Siwoo’s instincts.
And so the hellish training began.
* * *
For a full week, Park Siwoo sparred with Kim Minwoo.
And he didn’t win a single time.
‘Amazing.’
Park Siwoo was in awe.
He’d always had confidence in his swordsmanship since he was young. And why not? He’d always won.
But against Kim Minwoo, it was different. Even though he’d matched his body to normal human levels.
“There’s another opening here!”
Clang!
He was toyed with like a child in front of his sword.
‘They said he was a prodigy acknowledged by the Sword Sage…’
The world is wide, and there are many experts, as they say.
Park Siwoo was feeling it in his bones. Covered in sweat and collapsed, he looked up to see Kim Minwoo grinning.
“Tired?”
“Huff. I feel like I’m dying, bro.”
“Quit whining. Drink this potion.”
He gulped down the potion Kim Minwoo handed him.
His body, on the verge of collapse, began recovering in an instant.
“You’ve improved a lot anyway. You’re pretty decent now.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah, man. You already forgot the first day? You couldn’t even block twenty times. Now you’re handling hundreds.”
“When I look at you, bro, it doesn’t feel like I’ve improved…”
“You’re talented at your level. What more do you want?”
He said it casually, but Kim Minwoo’s inner thoughts were different.
‘Monster of a guy.’
A real monster.
The experience and know-how from 15 years of play. This guy was sucking it all up day by day.
His growth speed was absurd.
‘Good thing I’m a necro.’
It was to the point where he thought that. At least their classes were different, or he might’ve felt a real hit to his pride.
‘Still, now that he’s here, his growth is slowing down.’
Park Siwoo’s swordsmanship, which had been growing explosively, was finally hitting a wall. Without a bolt of inspiration, breaking through in one go would be tough.
‘And waiting for enlightenment takes too long.’
The timing of enlightenment was entirely random; even a falling leaf could trigger a flash of insight.
Or if unlucky, stagnate at this level for years.
‘I’ve raised him to the target level, so this should be enough.’
The current Park Siwoo was far more polished than when he’d played him in the past.
A satisfying result.
S-grade or higher, guaranteed.
And luck was on his side too.
Seeing snow falling from the sky, he grinned. Perfect timing with winter.
“This should be enough prep. Let’s go.”
“Where to?”
“You’ll see if you follow.”
He left the training grounds with Park Siwoo.
The vehicle they boarded started moving.
“…Bro, this isn’t a deserted island, is it?”
They’d arrived at a small uninhabited island.
“Yeah. Deserted island.”
“Why here…?”
“Ever been to one?”
“Yes. Once.”
“Was it snowing that day?”
“No.”
“Did you fight?”
“No. I went alone, just swung my sword around a bit…”
“That’s why.”
Park Siwoo’s awakening condition was extremely tricky.
No one would find it without knowing.
Fighting on a deserted island during a snowfall.
How would anyone figure that out?
‘That’s why even chaebols can’t awaken without knowing the conditions.’
Players were different.
As the first character, Park Siwoo had very helpful hints.
A tutorial starting in a ‘dream.’
‘That’s where it tells you everything.’
The dream was simple.
It starts on a snowy deserted island.
Monsters pop out, and you learn combat.
First five goblins, beat them, and a message kindly says, ‘Fighting in a place like this feels like it could lead to awakening.’
‘Well, if you can’t beat the goblins, it loops forever…’
That was why Kim Minwoo brought Park Siwoo here.
“You think I can awaken here, bro?”
“Who knows. But you haven’t tried, right? So there’s a chance.”
“…True.”
Park Siwoo nodded.
He had no counterargument.
Awakening conditions were so varied. Who’d guess fighting on a snowy deserted island was one?
Though the odds were minuscule, he decided to try.
“Come out.”
At Kim Minwoo’s words, a horde of over five hundred skeletons was summoned.
Park Siwoo’s eyes went wide at the sight.
Easily over 500, way more than the 300 the media mentioned.
“B-Bro. You can summon this many skeletons?”
“There’s a saying to hide at least thirty percent of your power.”
This wasn’t thirty percent; it was everything hidden.
He said to the stunned Park Siwoo.
“Your job is simple. Fight them. Cedric?”
―The guy you said needed fixing. That human?
“Yeah. Don’t go easy. Do it properly. Okay?”
―Got it.
“Siwoo, you fight my summons. Cedric’ll lead them.”
“…Understood.”
Park Siwoo nodded.
This was the bro who’d given him immense grace. Whether it helped awakening or not didn’t matter.
‘If he tells me to, I do it.’
That was his resolve.
No way he’d brought him here to bury him on this island.
No reason for that.
“Please take care of me, Sir Cedric.”
―The master says you’re promising. I won’t expect much.
Soon, the skeletons charged at Park Siwoo.
* * *
Clatter!
A skeleton thrust its spear ferociously. Park Siwoo twisted his body to dodge the blade and cleaved the skeleton’s torso in one stroke.
Hundreds of skeletons lay reduced to powder in his wake.
‘Impressive.’
Cedric was inwardly amazed.
The skeleton soldiers’ average level was 17.
Even with just weapons, they were far stronger than average goblins, thanks to accumulated combat experience.
And this unawakened human had felled hundreds.
‘Without even proper real combat experience…’
Yet his movements had no wasted motion.
Clean, lethal strikes.
The way he sliced the skeletons’ bones along their ‘structure’ almost made Cedric clap.
‘To think there’s another prodigy like the master.’
The guy grew stronger with every fight.
And very quickly.
Cedric glanced at Kim Minwoo.
―…Master, where the hell did you find a human like that?
“Orphanage. Place like that.”
―Orphanage. Must be impressive to raise a swordsman like that.
“Yeah, something like that.”
Orphanage.
He should visit sometime if he got the chance.
Who knows.
Maybe find another prodigy.
Cedric mused.
As the battle progressed, a blue aura around Park Siwoo grew denser.
The achievement blooming process.
Once all combat ended, the achievement would settle.
Cedric spun his spear.
The wall of skeletons had thinned to nothing.
The upcoming fight.
Would be fun.
Soon, a battered Park Siwoo approached.
“Huff. Huff.”
―Tired?
“…Still fresh.”
His eyes burned as if five hundred skeletons weren’t enough, and Cedric nodded.
―Human. What’s your name?
“Park Siwoo.”
―Right. I’ll remember it.
A human worth remembering.
Cedric aimed his spear.
―I’ve matched my body to your level.
The spear tip instantly stabbed at Park Siwoo’s head.
“Urk!”
He jerked his head back just in time, but spear shadows rained down in multitudes.
Veins bulged across Park Siwoo’s body. A split-second slower, and he’d have holes in his limbs.
‘Fast!’
The speed was similar to his own, but it felt faster.
The long spear.
It dominated the entire space.
[Awakening in progress!]
[Achievement begins blooming more strongly!]
Each clash of spear and sword deepened the blue light from Park Siwoo’s body.
‘I’m being pushed.’
Park Siwoo grasped the situation instantly. Cedric was a spear master.
Closing the distance was incredibly hard. He was being cornered like prey.
His body was long exhausted.
‘At this rate, I lose without doing anything!’
Park Siwoo sensed it instinctively.
A turning point.
Hesitate here, and it’s over.
Body tired.
Many enemies faced.
Cedric’s no pushover.
All excuses.
‘Bro wants a high achievement from me.’
Reason unknown.
Didn’t matter.
What mattered was Kim Minwoo wanted it.
The man who invested in him without stint.
He wanted to repay the grace.
Park Siwoo’s eyes hardened with resolve.
He kicked off forward.
His sword naturally met the blocking spear.
He twisted the sword slightly on the shaft.
The thrust at his heart veered off.
Park Siwoo threw himself without hesitation.
Stab!
The spear pierced his side.
While impaled, his sword slashed from above down.
Slash!
The blade severed one of Cedric’s arms.
‘Damn…’
He’d aimed for the head.
Cedric’s response was seasoned.
He twisted at the last moment, avoiding a fatal wound.
His plan failed.
Impaled, Park Siwoo collapsed to the ground. Blood gushed from his side.
No strength left to move.
Kim Minwoo rushed over with a potion.
“Hey, you okay?”
“Cough! Bro, I’m fine…”
“Don’t talk! Stay still!”
The potion poured over, and the wound began healing. With his fading mind, Park Siwoo closed his eyes.
Then, blue light exploded from his body. An immense glow that engulfed the island.
* * *
‘To throw himself onto the spear there.’
Give flesh to take bone.
For a rookie without real combat, it was boldly decisive.
The board nearly flipped.
If Cedric had reacted a second slower, his head would’ve split in two.
‘He’s something.’
Cedric looked at the passed-out Park Siwoo.
He’d poured top-grade potion generously, so he’d be fine now.
The achievement should be settling by now.
Judging by the light’s intensity, S-grade or higher for sure.
Soon, messages appeared.
● One of the main characters, ‘Park Siwoo’, achieves an SSS-grade achievement!
● You have greatly altered ‘Park Siwoo’s’ fate!
● The story begins to change!
● A large amount of achievement points is awarded!
“Wow.”
Kim Minwoo marveled.
How impressive an SSS-grade achievement was could be seen from Cedric.
Though his level was low now, enduring humiliations…
The mighty knight who flew on dragons was SSS-grade.
‘He earned it.’
An unawakened hunting 500 skeletons stronger than goblins, then holding his own big-time against an SSS summon.
Not strange at all for SSS achievement.
‘My prediction was spot on.’
The thought that big changes to a protagonist would yield achievement points.
It hit exactly.
‘Achievement Shop.’
[Achievement Shop unlocked!]
[Rank: Bronze]
[Achievement Points: 330]
[Item List]
[1. Limit Breakthrough Elixir]
[Required Achievement Points: 100]
[2.???]
[3.???]
“300 points?”
He’d gotten 30 from hunting Lee Seoyoon before.
Ten times that.
Limit Breakthrough Elixir raised level potential by 50 each…
‘Now I can hit level 350?’
Over 1,800 days of playtime.
Finally, Kim Minwoo’s level cap surpassed the neighborhood F-rank awakener.
A miracle.