Now I'm Really Getting Strong
Hoo.
The 10,000 coins had been confirmed in his account.
And this—
He was planning to buy it a little later.
First, the skill window.
What exactly was this First Awakening? That was what Seo Hwarang was most curious about.
Name:Skill Book Collect (1st Awakening)
Proficiency:100 (MAX)
Currently Registered Skills:0
— Class-exclusive skill.
— Translates the contents of all skill books into an easily readable form.
— Reading a skill book thoroughly adds the skill to your collection.
— Registered skills begin at Proficiency 1.
— No limit to the number of registered skills.
— All stats increase by 1% of acquired Proficiency. (Current Proficiency: 2,700)
What!
Seo Hwarang jolted in shock. That last line, newly added to the description!
His stats increased in proportion to the proficiency he earned? And across all of them?
Whoa.
That was absurdly overpowered, wasn't it?
He immediately pulled up his status window.
Insane!
Every single stat really had gone up by 27.
Not that I need Magic, but still.
It was enormous nonetheless. A bonus total of 135 stat points—which, at 5 points per level, meant he was effectively 27 levels higher than any other Awakener.
"Haaah."
When he clenched his fist, he could feel the tremendous strength coursing through it. At this level, he could probably bend steel without breaking a sweat. Presumably the same applied to every other stat that had risen.
Wait, though.
When had he racked up 2,700 proficiency? That couldn't be right—could it? But when he looked into it, it added up perfectly.
First, Skill Book Collect, Wellspring of Mana, and Astra Gate each sat at 100, for 300. Most of his 1st Circle spells were at 80, with Ice Needle at 50 and Rock Shield at 30, which came to 1,040.
Then came the production skills—and this was the kicker. Every intermediate production skill was currently at 70, but it seemed the 100 he'd earned at the beginner tier still counted. That was 170 apiece across 8 skills, for 1,360.
300 plus 1,040 plus 1,360 came to exactly 2,700.
Whoa.
So this is how they're pushing me toward production skills.
It was as if the system were speaking to him: learn more production skills, and grow that much stronger.
What made it truly broken was this—if he simply kept reading skill books without end, he'd eventually accumulate stats no one could hope to contend with.
This is what a born S-rank looks like.
So this was the majesty of the Skill Book Collector. What a generous class.
Reading. Just doing the thing he loved most could make him stronger... He could live a life that the world actually acknowledged...
I'd better read even harder from now on.
Next up—should he take a look at what this Plantman was?
Hwarang opened the Coin Shop and clicked item number six straight away.
Would you like to summon Plantman?
Using 10,000 coins.
Yes, please!
Whoa.
That was the most coins he'd ever spent at once. But it was fine. He'd earned it through a stroke of good luck, after all.
He waited a moment.
Shhhk!
Came the sound of wood rustling—and then:
Crreeeak!
A tree began to grow right out of the floor.
It really was exactly what the name promised. A tree man.
So—what exactly were you for?
A humanoid summon made entirely of wood, the Plantman is an exceptionally useful production-type summon that provides a wide variety of resources. The timber growing from its arms sprouts into any species the user desires, while herbs and flowers of the user's choosing bloom from its head—and both can be harvested continuously.
◈ Effect: Improved quality when harvesting
◈ Skill — Wood Generation: The desired type of timber grows rapidly from its arms.
◈ Skill — Nature's Garden: The needed herbs or flowers grow from its head.
Whoa.
What even was this thing? It could genuinely be used for everything, couldn't it?
The lumber would serve for construction, tool-making, even carving. The herbs and flowers could be used in cooking or as alchemy ingredients. And he could obtain any variety he wanted—which meant he could churn out expensive, rare specimens by the armful!
No wonder it was so expensive.
A spider only gave you webs. A sheep only gave you wool. But this creature's capacity to generate value was virtually limitless.
"Hoo."
And just like that, he found himself wanting to learn even more skills.
He could read books, grow stronger, and make money all at once. Life had really started feeling fun lately.
The next morning.
"Mom."
Seo Hwarang had steeled himself. He'd decided to tell his parents about his Awakening.
He'd moved out—well, technically—and become an employee of Seona Couture. He couldn't keep hiding it forever.
He'd been clinging to the house like a baby kangaroo, burying himself in books day after day, but now he could finally stand tall and repay them properly.
"Hmm?"
"I've Awakened."
"...What?"
"Huh?"
Both his mother's and father's eyes went round as saucers. Out of nowhere, at the sacred breakfast table, he drops a bombshell like that?
"What are you talking about?"
"You became an Awakener? Just like that, out of nowhere?"
"Yes."
Seo Hwarang nodded with his head held high.
"I'm an F-rank Mage, but it seems to be a rather unusual class with some life-skill-type abilities mixed in."
Naturally, his parents were stunned. In this day and age, people said that simply Awakening was a bigger jackpot than winning the lottery—and their son had Awakened!
Now we can finally marry him off.
So the boy can put food on the table now.
The corners of his mother's and father's mouths twitched upward. They were clearly delighted.
A pang of guilt stabbed at his chest. He really had been living like a deadbeat all this time.
"That explains why you stopped going to the library lately... Still, you have to be careful. Dungeons are dangerous, so stay out of them unless you absolutely have to. But with a life-skill class, finding a job shouldn't be too hard, right?"
His father asked with a serious expression.
Hoo.
After a brief, steadying breath, Hwarang answered.
"Actually, I already got a job."
"Really?"
"It's still a small company, but the growth potential looks great. I got lucky. It's run by an older woman I used to work with at the library... She suddenly Awakened and started her own business."
Mix ten percent fiction into ninety percent truth, and what happens? The listener buys it as ninety-nine percent fact.
"Hmm. Well, you're an Awakener, so I'd have thought you'd aim a bit higher than that... Ahem, never mind. You know what you're doing better than we do."
"Yes. They even paid my first salary generously. In cash, no less."
Whew.
Another deep breath. Maybe because this was his first official act of filial piety, his nerves were getting to him.
"One moment, please."
He lifted the 007 paper bag he'd placed under the table in advance. Curiosity bloomed in his parents' eyes.
"What's that?"
"My first salary. 100 million won, in cash."
Click!
He opened the bag to reveal it stuffed full of bundles of pale-yellow bills. Two thousand 50,000-won notes.
"Th-this is—!"
"A 100 million won salary? You're not mixed up in anything illegal, are you?"
"Of course not. Look up 'Seona Couture' online. The CEO, Yoo Seon-ah, is an acquaintance of mine."
The meal was long forgotten. His parents frantically searched on their phones—and there it was, right in the news. Articles about the recently red-hot artisan Yoo Seon-ah, and even coverage of the Unique-grade items traded with the White Tiger Guild!
"It's true."
"How did you end up with a company like this!"
"Mother. Father."
Swish.
Seo Hwarang rose from his seat. He could count on one hand the times he'd addressed them so formally.
"I'd like you to have my first salary as a gift. You've worked so hard for so long. Take it easy from now on—work less, travel more. Thank you for raising me."
He bowed deeply.
Then, worried his parents might grab him and refuse to let him leave, he hurried out the door. He had to head back to Etherion soon anyway.
"...Heh heh."
Inside the house, his father laughed in bewildered disbelief. His mother, Madam Kang Sook-hee, couldn't close her mouth either.
"Honey."
"Yeah?"
"I think our son has finally grown up."
"I'm not sure 'grown up' covers this...?"
100 million won, in one shot. Honestly, this wasn't maturing—it was a full-blown transformation.
"Is that really our son?"
"Well, I guess this is why people are always going on about Awakeners this, Awakeners that."
Even as she said it, Kang Sook-hee stared at the bag in front of her like she couldn't quite believe it was real. Her eyes seemed to ask: Are we really allowed to accept this?
"Well... shall we count it?"
"Let's do it."
It was a moment of joy shot through with a dozen other feelings, all tangled together.
They stopped by the Awakening Wholesale Shop for a moment.
"Hwarang!"
Director Park Juhee came rushing over.
"...That cooking skill book you mentioned! I tracked it down right away."
She'd been through that hellish night, and she'd witnessed exactly what Hwarang was capable of—but she cheerfully pretended none of it had happened. They might be working together for the rest of their lives, after all! Something like that wasn't going to make things awkward between them!
If she was honest, fear had been her first reaction—but now the feeling that came first was reassurance. Standing next to him felt safer than anywhere else on earth.
"Oh, you already got it?"
"Yes, exactly 10 billion won. I wrote it off as a company expense instead of allocating that portion to you—no point paying unnecessary taxes on it, right?"
"Clean work."
That was Park Juhee for you. The woman could handle business. He'd found out later that she'd come out of Hankuk University's business program early—a top graduate, no less. She was elite through and through.
"Hoo."
With a measured breath, Seo Hwarang accepted the weighty tome.
The cooking skill book was dramatically thicker than his usual skill books—roughly five times the size, easily bigger than most encyclopedias.
"So this is the cooking skill book..."
This one would take considerable time to get through. Flipping it open, he found an staggering variety of recipes packed inside.
And that wasn't all. It covered the underlying principles of cooking—baking, frying, stir-frying, boiling, steaming, pickling—right down to foundational techniques like slicing, dicing, whisking, and grinding.
It was thick for good reason.
Which suited him just fine. Reading was his joy, after all.
There was only one thing. It would be better to shift some of that reading time elsewhere—so he'd read this one on the continent.
"Where's Unnie?"
Yoo Seon-ah had said she'd be sleeping here. Pulling an all-nighter practicing her proficiency, or something?
"She's asleep back there. She went down around five in the morning, I think?"
"Ah."
He stepped into the back room to find her sprawled in a full frog pose, drooling all over the pillow.
Tsk tsk. Would anyone ever take this woman off his hands?
How to wake her? Simple.
"Unnie, I'm heading out without you. To Etherion?"
"HYAAAAAK!"
Like someone escaping a nightmare, Yoo Seon-ah sucked in a ragged gasp and snapped her eyes open. This was genuinely terrifying now. Her obsession with Etherion ran that deep?
"Absolutely not, you brat! You're taking me, no arguments!"
Yaaawn.
She answered mid-stretch.
"Hoo, then get ready fast. If you show up looking like that, you'll give Bella a heart attack."
"You little—"
Lips jutting into a pout, Yoo Seon-ah soon pulled something out of her inventory.
Ten books.
"Oh?"
Hwarang's eyes widened.
"Don't tell me—"
"That's right. I finally cleared it yesterday—the 2nd Circle quest. Here, take these. Ten 2nd Circle spellbooks."
Ha!
So Yoo Seon-ah had finally delivered. This was what made paying her worth every won!
Seo Hwarang carefully took the books into his hands.