The Skill I Threw Away
"You're the one who told me to wait."
Not long ago, when I'd leveled up after what happened with Hannah, I'd seen a skill list. And among those skills, there was one I had judged useless and skipped right over.
[Touch of Attunement].
I opened my skill window, and the familiar screen unfolded before me.
Available Skill Points: 0
1. [Enhance Existing Skill]
2. [Acquire New Skill]
I reached out into the empty air and pressed the [Acquire New Skill] button. Light flickered before my eyes, and two skills appeared.
1. [Bullet Time]
Description: Upon activation, enter a state of hyper-acceleration for up to 3 seconds, perceiving the flow of the world—everything but yourself—at 1/10th speed. Usable once per day. The number of uses increases as your level rises.
2. [Touch of Attunement]
Description: Directly interferes with the flow of biological energy (mana, ki, etc.) of a target through physical contact with your hands. Capable not only of stabilizing rampaging energy to eliminate pain and heal, but also of deliberately disturbing the flow to inflict excruciating agony or grant euphoric pleasure. Precision of attunement rises with skill level; eventually allows energy to be absorbed and claimed as your own, or granted to others.
Without so much as a glance at [Bullet Time], I lowered my gaze. And I began to read through the skill description, line by line, with complete focus.
“….”
Then I swallowed hard. It was a shock like being hit square in the head with a hammer.
'Stabilize rampaging energy…?'
Seraphina's [Mana Overload]. That was a phenomenon where the mana inside her body slipped out of control and ran rampant. In other words—wasn't that literally 'rampaging energy'?
'…Why didn't I know this?'
I had assumed [Touch of Attunement] would be useless in combat. I figured I'd take a bullet to the head before I ever got my hands on an enemy. But apparently my thinking had been far too narrow.
Looking at the description again, there was never any need to confine this skill to the battlefield. If anything, its purpose was closer to maintenance and recovery than to combat.
'…Hm. Why does it look pretty decent the second time around?'
Having [Strong Mind] didn't make mistakes disappear. It only kept my mind cold and clear at all times. It didn't correct the things I'd missed, overlooked, or gotten wrong.
In the end, I had fundamentally misjudged the nature of [Touch of Attunement]. If anything, it was a kind of field medicine. The kind that erased a wounded man's pain without anesthesia, and steadied soldiers wracked by shell shock.
And above all—Seraphina's [Mana Overload]. For that walking time bomb of a woman, this looked like it could become the single most reliable means of control.
'I have to do this.'
I made up my mind quickly.
But there was one problem with this plan.
Acquisition of [Touch of Attunement] is currently impossible.
I had no skill points. It was the result of pouring every last point into raising [Status Analysis] and [Charming Speechcraft] to their maximum levels.
'If I'd known this was coming, I would've saved one.'
Regret was useless now. What mattered was that I needed a skill point, right here and now.
Which meant I needed to level up.
But I hadn't leveled up yet. That was strange. Until now, military feats of this caliber had always been enough to trigger it.
Was I missing something? I rifled quickly through my memories. When had I leveled up before? That would be… my promotion to First Lieutenant, my consolidation of the 3rd Platoon, and Hannah's mana awakening—and our first time together.
'Surely today's feats alone should be worth a level.'
And then there was today—the infiltration of the Ashen Forest. My exploits had been overwhelming. I had penetrated deep into enemy territory flawlessly, turned their position into a sea of fire with a crate of explosives. Without pausing to rest, I'd saved the 2nd Squad and sealed off the enemy's line of retreat completely.
I was, quite literally, the MVP. It would have been stranger not to level up. And yet the level-up notification still hadn't appeared.
'There's some kind of condition.'
I recalled my memories in greater detail. Not just the superficial knowledge that I'd leveled up after accumulating military credit—I needed to know exactly when and how it had happened.
Inside my barracks, right after returning from my promotion ceremony. On my bed, exhausted after completing the mission to bring the 3rd Platoon to heel. In my temporary quarters, right after finishing things with Hannah at the mana spring facility.
In an instant, a realization flashed through my mind.
'My own room.'
A pattern emerged. The level-up had always come only after I returned to my barracks and took my rest. As if the system refused to settle my rewards until it confirmed that every mission had officially concluded and I'd returned to a 'safe, private space.'
It would surely be the same this time.
'…Then I'd better get back to the barracks.'
I quickened my pace. I slipped out of the bustling supply depot and cut across the barracks district, where the platoon members were making the most of their leave.
“Oh! It's the Platoon Leader!”
“Sir! First Lieutenant, sir!”
The soldiers who spotted me came up and saluted. But without sparing them so much as a glance, I brushed straight past them. My head was filled to bursting with one thought only—skill points.
The distance to my barracks felt unbearably long, and only after what seemed like an eternity did the familiar door finally appear before my eyes. The moment I pushed open the creaking wooden door and stepped inside, I shut it behind me and slid the bolt home.
A dull thud echoed, and the world fell silent along with the noise outside. A perfect private space where I alone existed. Holding my breath, I waited for something to change.
“….”
I waited.
'…Nothing's happening.'
I was just beginning to wonder if I'd been wrong when the change finally came.
My guess hadn't been wrong after all.
You have flawlessly completed the Ashen Forest suppression operation.
As the core striking force of your company, you achieved overwhelming military distinction.
As a reward, you have gained a large amount of EXP.
Level increased to 9!
You have acquired 1 new Skill Point.
Level up.
I was Level 9 now. I lifted my head toward the system window floating in the air. Written there, crisp and clear:
Available Skill Points: 1
Now I could take [Touch of Attunement]. Without a moment's hesitation, I stretched my finger toward the skill window.
You have selected the skill [Touch of Attunement].
A new skill has been acquired!
With a bright chime, my fingertips tingled faintly—and at the same moment, a new sensation burrowed into me.
'There it is.'
I clenched my fist. Now I held the card that would let me control Seraphina's little problem.
'Testing first.'
I needed to get comfortable with how it worked. I sat down and wrapped my right hand around my left arm. Then I quietly activated the skill.
Touch of Attunement.
Skill [Touch of Attunement (Lv.1)] is now active.
In that instant, a strange sensation washed over me—like I could perceive the inside of my left arm through the palm of my right hand. It wasn't the physical touch of skin, muscle, or bone. It was something deeper: a fine, warm current of energy flowing along my veins. My life force itself. Like a calm river, it circulated steadily and smoothly.
'So this is… my biological energy.'
I decided to test the skill's next function. According to the description, I could interfere with this flow directly. I focused my will and manipulated the energy with the feeling of smoothing a river's current even further.
The target's biological energy has been stabilized.
A warm energy spread instantly through my entire left arm. My knotted muscles loosened, and I felt a subtle vitality welling up—like plunging my arm into a bathtub full of warm water. The fatigue of battle seemed to wash away.
'I could do the opposite too, I suppose.'
This time I deliberately disrupted the flow. I imagined hurling a boulder into the middle of a river, churning the current into chaos.
The target's biological energy circulation has been thrown into disorder.
“Kgh—!”
A blunt, violent pain erupted through my left arm, as if a hammer were coming down on it again and again. There wasn't a scratch on the outside, but it felt like the arm itself was screaming, like the bones were being rattled loose. Just before cold sweat broke out on my forehead, I hastily released the skill.
'…Damn. That hurts far more than I expected.'
I pondered for a moment what this skill could actually be used for.
'If someone were tortured with this much pain, could they endure it?'
Something like the hammer-blow from before, a strong-willed person could probably withstand. But the frightening part was—what I'd just felt hadn't even been maximum output.
'…It'd be terrifyingly effective.'
I cut off that chilling line of thought and moved on to the next stage.
'…The final function.'
I swallowed dryly. According to the skill description, it could also induce pleasure. This time, opposite to before, I caressed the river's flow until it was soft and warm. With the delicacy of a tickling feather, I stimulated the energy.
The target's senses have been sharpened, and a faint euphoria has been induced.
“…!”
Goosebumps rose across my skin. An entirely different sensation from the pain—electric, pleasant, climbing up along my spine. My whole left arm felt as if it had become an erogenous zone, a tingling warmth radiating out from where my palm touched.
I released the skill immediately. My heart was beating slightly fast.
'Not bad at all.'
I was satisfied. The skill test itself had been a success. What remained was how I would use it—and whether it would work on Seraphina.
I leaned back deep into my chair and closed my eyes, turning over the skill's activation condition. A target touched through the hands. In other words, my hand would have to make direct contact with Seraphina's body. How could I get past her wariness and arrange for my hand to touch her naturally? Should I offer a handshake? Or wait for another moment of stumbling and catch her again?
While I was deep in that deliberation, the sunlight slanting through the window slowly turned to red evening glow, then sank into a deep navy darkness. The clamor of soldiers filling the barracks district began to die down as well. Without my noticing, night had fallen.
Knock, knock.
And a cautious knock ended my pondering.
'Is it that late already?'
Out of habit, I started to cast [Status Analysis] through the door—then stopped. I'd be seeing everything down to her skin soon enough. Why bother?
“Come in.”
At my quiet reply, the door opened with a whisper. The faint light of the corridor. Backlit by it, a single silhouette stepped into the room.
It was Hannah.