Three Stages in One Minute
Kim Minchul's mana level was revealed.
It wasn't really a secret. Most of the people here had already checked my test numbers before showing up in the first place—even though I'd never given permission for them to be made public. Meaning they had information networks inside the Academy.
In a situation like that, what was the point of trying to hide anything?
When I checked with my ability, Kim Minchul's mana was B-8. Respectable enough. But of course the number that came out of this test was different from what I saw. The notation systems were different to begin with.
"Ooh, not bad."
"As expected of a Diamond Guild Awoken."
Admiration rose from behind, but only from a few. The big-corporation people wore arrogant expressions that said their companies were full of people at that level.
I asked the doctor:
"How is it?"
"Impressive. At this level, he'd rank within the top two hundred in the current Academy. Considering his age, it's remarkable progress."
Apparently he'd already finished comparing it against the numbers from Minchul's Academy days.
I checked myself too.
Huh? This guy was the same age as me?
His final inspection numbers right before Academy graduation… Elite Grade 13. Now it was listed as Elite Grade 15.
Since Kim Minchul was my age, it had been about two years and a few months since he graduated. Raising his mana by two stages in that short a time.
My own B-10 mana had come out as Elite Grade 20 on the test, so roughly converting, he'd gone from about B-7 to B-8?
As expected, corporate Awoken were different. Raising their own mana through pure effort in such a short period. He'd clearly suffered plenty inside dungeons. Probably brushed death more than once.
I addressed everyone, spectators included:
"From this moment, I will enhance Kim Minchul's mana."
Grumbling erupted here and there. Still looking at me with suspicious eyes.
Fine. Keep doubting. I'll enjoy watching those expressions flip.
I grabbed the back of Kim Minchul's neck.
For an Awoken, having someone seize the nape of their neck might feel humiliating. But I liked this position. No need to look at their face or meet their eyes.
"Uh… um… do you really need to hold my neck…"
"Stay still. Everyone has different spots where their potential manifests."
Even as I said that, I was turning various thoughts over in my head. I needed presentation. More spectacular presentation. Presentation that could move people! I wanted to make this situation look more convincing.
If the person currently synced with me had been Lee Donggeul… then I could have used a heal and made it flash. That was a bit of a shame.
Hmm? Wait.
What if I concentrated mana into my fingers? Like when I draw a bow—if I focus mana, wouldn't a fairly spectacular light burst out?
I put it into action immediately.
"Kim Minchul. Don't move."
"Ah, yes!"
I gathered about 0.5 percent of my mana into the hand gripping his nape. It was for show, but using more than that would be a waste of mana.
As expected, pure white light gathered dazzlingly, and gasps of admiration spilled from people's mouths.
People really needed something they could see with their own eyes to believe.
I waved my empty hand around in the air, or stared intently at the back of Kim Minchul's head with a deadly serious expression. Even so, it took less than a minute.
"Ohh…"
"What just happened?"
"Does doing that raise mana or something? Normally?"
"Nonsense. If it were that easy, what would the Academy be for?"
"Hmm… doesn't look particularly special."
Ignoring whatever people were babbling, I released the hand that had been gripping his nape and asked the doctor:
"Would you measure his mana level once more?"
"Hmm… not difficult. But can mana really rise this simply?"
"I-i-i… impossible…"
People's doubts faded as they watched Kim Minchul's reaction. He was kneading various parts of his body with a greatly shocked expression. Even having experienced it directly, he seemed unable to believe this was reality.
Then he suddenly shouted.
"Whoa!! My mana got stronger!"
"Kim Minchul. Quietly take the test."
"Ah? Ah… yes! Thank you so much."
While he was having his mana measured again, the watching people were busy murmuring among themselves. Especially the Diamond Guild executive, who was staring at me with suspicious eyes.
Oh crap!
Thinking about it now, when I'd raised Hong Eunyoung's mana, I hadn't done any of this presentation at all. She was also a B-class mana holder.
I casually turned my head to look at Hong Eunyoung, and she was smiling at me. She was definitely thinking I was an idiot right now.
Ugh…
I could make the excuse that the kids' mana was F-rank so it was too weak for theatrics… but what could I do? I'd just have to bluff my way through. My ability works like this, so what were they going to do about it?
While I was mentally reflecting on my mistake, the test finished. And a little later, the doctor appeared holding a paper with the test numbers written on it. Looking at his greatly shocked expression, I was quite satisfied myself.
"How on earth did this… His mana rose a full three stages."
Scouts from each corporation swarmed around the doctor. They were making a fuss trying to confirm the numbers with their own eyes.
The test result was Elite Grade 18.
"Raising two stages over two years was already an impressive number, but three stages in a single day!?"
"A day? More like it took about a minute?"
"Doctor. Is this reliable?"
"Of course. Saying you can't trust this data means you've been sponsoring students with garbage data all this time."
At the doctor's statement, everyone clamped their mouths shut. And gradually started watching my reaction—expressions that said That person's ability is real!
I simply smiled lightly at them and nodded.
"Well then, shall we continue the conversation about sponsorship from earlier? Anyone who still can't trust me may quietly leave."
No one left.
The doctor and Hong Eunyoung were watching me and the people with keen interest. Especially the doctor seemed to have many things he wanted to ask me, but was holding back and waiting.
Meanwhile, the scouts from each corporation were busy making calls here and there. There was no way their companies would easily believe what they were saying. Even the people who'd confirmed it with their own eyes still had expressions questioning whether this was real.
In that situation, the first to speak was the Diamond Guild executive. He'd figure Kim Minchul, being from his own company, wouldn't lie. And he'd experienced having his mana taken by me. He knew better than anyone that I had a somewhat unusual ability.
"Can that ability be used on anyone?"
"Hmm… if limited to Awoken, yes. Ah, assuming sufficient potential. If someone has already trained to the absolute limit of the potential they were born with, it might not work."
"How do you check that? That potential thing."
"I can see the other person's potential just by shaking hands. That's all I can tell you for now."
"Then what about me?"
He held out his hand to me. I had no choice but to shake it. I'd roughly looked when I eliminated his mana before, but might as well look again.
A-5 with Potential 7.
He was still someone with high growth potential. His potential was high enough that he could even reach S-class mana.
"Impressive. Tremendous potential."
I'd said it partly as praise, but he was sizing me up with sharp eyes. This was a normal reaction, but it still annoyed me for no reason—enough that I wanted to take back the compliment.
However, unlike his expression and eyes, the words that came out of his mouth made me happy.
"How much would it take?"
How much can you afford, customer!
I wanted to say it right away but held back. Not yet. I'd never planned on doing annoying individual consultations from the start. I needed to get every company involved and make them compete.
"Please wait a moment. I need to hear from the others as well."
At my answer, his eyebrow twitched once. He seemed to think he was maintaining a poker face, but it was all showing.
The other company people who'd been watching and listening to our conversation approached me one by one.
"We'll contract as well. What level of sponsorship amount would be appropriate?"
"Hey now. Wait your turn. I was here first."
"Our company president said if what I saw is real, he wants to send every single Awoken…"
"If possible, our company too!"
Companies with money to spare were aggressive. Some small-to-medium companies could only watch from the sidelines, unable to join this game.
I intended to encompass all of them. And I also needed to raise the value of my ability even higher.
"Now, now. Please calm down. First, there are a few things I need to inform you of. My ability is not omnipotent. The number of people whose mana I can strengthen through this ability per day is limited. I can't disclose exactly how many, but it won't be a large number. Especially for people who already possess tremendous mana like Kim Minchul, it's even more difficult."
First, put a limit on usage count. Once a day seemed too few, and I'd already shown using it on five people today alone. So I planned to make people think it was about ten people a day. That way the value of my ability would skyrocket, and people who wanted it would line up. If there was a sold-out frenzy every single day, the value would jump even higher. Then people would appear who were willing to pay premiums just to get it first.
"Of course, since F-rank mana is weak, the number would be somewhat higher… but in any case, I can't do your entire company roster. So I have a proposal. Until next Monday, I'll use my ability on the Awoken of the top two companies in order of the sponsorship amounts you've given me. And one more thing—I'll set a limit of twenty people per company. That should take roughly two to three days per company. Meaning only about two companies' worth of people per week. Every Monday I'll check the sponsorship accounts, and it'll be just the two companies that sponsored the most. Any questions?"
"Then what happens to the company that sponsored in third place?"
"Good question. For the first- and second-place companies, the moment I use my ability, that week's sponsorship amounts reset. However, the third-place company's sponsorship amount carries over to the next week. Understood?"
"Even so…"
No matter what they said, it wouldn't work on me. If you were to pick the greediest people in South Korea—no, the world—it would be the people in this industry. There might be a tiny minority of heroism-oriented groups, but most companies were solely about money! They risked their lives heading into dungeons for that one thing.
And when an Awoken's mana rose, the amount of money they could earn changed entirely. For example, if someone who'd been running C-rank dungeons could go to B-rank dungeons? They'd probably rake in ten times as much money. I myself came from a company like that. Whether the people in front of me knew that or not.
"Then last place… when on earth…"
"If you lack confidence, simply don't sponsor. I won't force anyone."
"Urgh…"
"Ah, instead, I'll announce the top sponsorship amount every week. Then you'll roughly get a sense of how much is needed, and it'll be easier to give up midway. Of course, the amounts you've sponsored up to that point will be put to good personal use by me."
A few people clicked their tongues, and some checked rival companies.
"What if someone takes first place two weeks in a row?"
Which company was that guy from? Ah, Dragon Guild. One of the top three major corporations in the country. I'd been smelling money on him from earlier.
"First place is still first place. You'll receive my ability two weeks in a row."
He smiled, and the others clicked their tongues.
A single guild monopolizing like that wouldn't do. Then competition would decrease and companies giving up on sponsorship might proliferate.
"However, consecutive first and second place will be limited to two weeks. Of course, after skipping one week, you can participate again in week four."
This part was a bit ambiguous. I couldn't exclude the richest groups for too many weeks, but if they hogged everything, competition wouldn't happen and sponsorship amounts themselves would drop. Well, whatever happens, happens. Let's watch for the first month.
But… if I make a ton of money with this, do I even need to go into dungeons?
Nah, that's ridiculous talk. The revenue from A-rank dungeons is on a completely different level. Different dimension entirely.