Jo Yu-mi's Boyfriend, Geum Tae-yang...? [Evolved to C-Level!]
◈ Growth Power [1650/2000] 『Unapplied Points』 【Apply】 [1000]
『Zombie Energy』 [Point conversion follows probability.]
[Zombie Energy without a clear sense of purpose will not convert into points.]
『Redeemer』 [Points convert when a sincere act is shared with a precious bond.]
『Special Quest』 [Special missions form according to the situation. Points are awarded upon clear.]
I could fill the entire 2000 D-Level Growth Power in one shot and still have some left over!!!
When Geum Tae-yang woke that morning, he found himself sprawled alone across Park A-young’s bed. A quick look around confirmed her pajamas were gone, and so was her phone. He fired off a text. The reply came back that she was with her mother, Kim Min-jung. The mother-daughter cuddle mode had finally been restored. Relieved, Tae-yang opened his Status Window, certain that the night had brought massive changes.
And of course it had. After the first five hundred points, roughly another five hundred had piled on top. A full thousand points in total—the highest single haul he had ever seen.
Might as well level up right now!
Thrummmmm! Thrummmmm!
The C-Level entry threshold of two thousand Growth Points was no joke, yet he had filled it in a shockingly short time. A huge rush of triumph flooded through him. Grinning with pure swagger, Tae-yang tapped the residual-point Apply button, then the Level Apply button in turn.
『Name』 Geum Tae-yang
『Gender』 Male 『Age』 21
『Class』 Homekeeper
『Qualification』 The Chosen
『Level』 C 【Level Applied】
『Trait』 Multi-Growth Capable
◈ Stats
『Power』 C 『Agility』 C
『Durability』 C 『Stamina』 C
『Mana』 C [1000] [Resets at midnight]
◈ Traits
『Combat Mental Master』 『General Combat Skill Master』 『Excellent Senses』
『Sturdy Body』 『Awakener Scan』 『Transcendent’s Step』
『Sharpshooter』 『All-Poison Immunity』 『Mana Detection』 『One Who Sees Darkness』
◈ Special Skills
『Inventory』
『Weapon Enhancement』 [Injects projected mana energy into ordinary weapons to strengthen them.]
[The stronger the mental bond between the Awakener and the object, the greater the effect.]
『Suit Enhancement』 [Injects projected mana energy into worn clothing to strengthen it.]
[The stronger the mental bond between the Awakener and the object, the greater the effect.]
『Equipment Summon』 [Equipment that has reached a certain projection level can be summoned or stored via Inventory.]
『Mana Bullet』 [Range 100 m. Power scales with level.] [Mana cost: 10 points]
◈ Growth Power [0650/5000] 『Unapplied Points』 【Apply】 [0000]
『Zombie Energy』 [Point conversion follows probability.]
[Zombie Energy without a clear sense of purpose will not convert into points.]
『Redeemer』 [Points convert when a sincere act is shared with a precious bond.]
『Special Quest』 [Special missions form according to the situation. Points are awarded upon clear.]
“Whoa!! There’s so much more!! Feels like a ton of stuff just got added!!!!”
His overall level had jumped straight from D to C. The C-Level Status Window that unfurled afterward was packed; even a glance showed the sheer volume of entries was on another level.
“Hmm… ooooh… so that’s how it is… this is the feeling…!”
Nod…! Nod…! Nod…!
Bright-eyed and fully locked in, Tae-yang examined every change.
Feels like I’ve stepped clean into the superhuman realm. D-Level was like hitting the absolute peak of human ability. C-Level? The base stats the window lists, the nature of the traits and special skills—everything’s on a completely different dimension.
Having climbed through E and D, Tae-yang had already analyzed and catalogued how Status Window growth worked. He had sketched a rough mental roadmap of what a C-Level window would look like. The real thing matched that roadmap pretty well. He had planted one foot firmly in the territory beyond human limits.
And the signature skill of that leap is this right here—Mana Bullet!!
His eyes locked onto the most symbolic entry of the new C-Level kit: the long-range skill Mana Bullet.
Close-quarters brawling still matters, but when you’re talking about the virtues of a superhuman—especially when you need to smash a whole crowd—the skill you really want is long-range.
Grin…!
For a while now Tae-yang had been drawing up plans to hit Do Min-chul’s crew first. Yesterday he had also gained a new ally, Jo Yu-mi, who had set up camp in another district. That meant the odds of leaving this bunker and facing large numbers of enemies outside had just shot up. He had already sketched contingency blueprints, and the skill he craved most inside those blueprints was a proper long-range option. Looking at Mana Bullet sitting at the bottom of the special skills list, he let a satisfied smirk curl his lips.
This distance should be enough, right?
Rustle! Rustle! Rustle! Rustle!
Dressed in sweatpants, a short-sleeve tee, and slippers, Tae-yang was arranging something in the open space outside the bunker: red reinforced bricks.
About fifteen meters?
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
He stood ten bricks upright in a vertical line, then walked to the opposite side. He was in Park Do-chul’s parking garage.
This place has solid soundproofing. Even if it gets a little loud, it shouldn’t be a problem.
He had come outside specifically to test Mana Bullet. He had considered using the bunker’s basement gym, but Kim Min-jung and Park A-young were deep in mother-daughter cuddle mode, and he didn’t want to interrupt. So the training ground of choice became the parking garage of that endlessly generous sucker, Park Do-chul. The garage sat on the landlord’s own property and, true to the man’s security obsession, had been built rock-solid. Even if Mana Bullet turned out more destructive than expected, Tae-yang judged the place could take it without real trouble.
Before I fire a Mana Bullet…
Thud!
Reaching the far side of the brick line, Tae-yang suddenly squared his shoulders like a bodybuilder striking a perfect pose.
“Summon!”
That was the other special skill unlocked by reaching C-Level—Equipment Summon.
Swaaaaaaaaaaah!!
A thin film of blue mana energy sheathed his body. He didn’t actually need to shout the word, but the whole point of this session was to do it properly and savor the rush, so he struck a cool pose and called the skill name like a sentai hero announcing a finisher.
Shwaaaaaaaaaang!!!
After the mana phenomenon formed, his reinforced combat suit materialized over him. At the same time, the projected iron pipe appeared in his left hand.
Chwaaaaaaaaaang!!
“Khh…! Looking sharp as hell!!!”
This was exactly the look he had been aiming for. The awakening high surged so hard it felt like knocking back a shot of soju; a pure, satisfied exclamation burst out of him.
“And I can shove it right back into Inventory like this!!”
Shwaaaaaaaaaang!!!
“But then pull it out again!!”
Shwoooooooong!!!
“Stuff it away once more!!”
Swaaaaaaaaaang!!!
“And yank it out again!!!”
Chwaaaaaaaaaang!!!
One hit of the new summon high wasn’t nearly enough. Tae-yang kept alternating summon and store, milking every last drop of how ridiculously cool the newborn skill felt.
Thud…!
Finally he extended his left hand toward the bricks standing fifteen meters ahead.
Hmm… thanks to the Sharpshooter trait, the aim feels locked in tight? Not an absolute “this will hit no matter what” guarantee, but zero weirdness or disconnect either.
He was fully tasting the Mana Bullet skill now. The first thing he registered was the aiming feel. One of his new traits, 『Sharpshooter』, had basically come free with the long-range skill. The moment he focused the Mana Bullet image into his left palm, the trait kicked in and applied its correction.
Oh… power control looks possible too! So max output is about this… min is…
The basic image of Mana Bullet had already downloaded into his head the second he recognized it in the Status Window. But locking onto a target and triggering the trait made the sensation far more concrete. Just as the projected iron pipe allowed fine power control through mana, Mana Bullet wasn’t stuck at a single fixed power either—it scaled and adjusted according to the user’s level.
Fwaaaaaaaaaaaang!!!
Okay—max power!!
He concentrated his mana to the absolute ceiling and fired the first Mana Bullet. A spherical mass of energy shot out at insane speed—roughly the size of a handball.
Boooooooooom!!!
The energy mass slammed dead-center into the red brick standing on the floor fifteen meters ahead.
“Oh!! The brick just exploded!!!”
The destructive force was ridiculous. One shot had pulverized the brick. Even the man who fired it had his eyes go round.
“Impact area’s pretty wide. Still, it’s not an explosion type, so no real AoE. The sound went ‘boooom,’ so I got my hopes up a little.”
Dead serious about mapping the skill, Tae-yang’s eyes sharpened as he checked the wrecked brick. The blast had left some shockwave traces around the impact, but nothing that counted as serious collateral damage. Meaningful destruction stayed locked to the body of the Mana Bullet itself—handball-sized surface area.
Fwoooooooong!!! Fwaaaaaaaaaang!! Fwoooooooong!!!
This time, rapid-fire Mana Bullets!!!
The tasting session continued. He tested one-handed continuous fire, then two-handed burst fire in sequence.
Damn… this is actually pretty hard. Maybe because I’m still not fully used to it? Two shots lock on clean, but from the third the aim starts shaking hard.
Shake…! Shake…! Shake…!
Looking at the ten completely shattered bricks, Tae-yang shook his head. Compared to the projected iron pipe, Mana Bullet demanded far finer continuous-fire mastery.
While he was reviewing the training results, his phone buzzed hard against his hip.
Bzzzzzzzz…!! Bzzzzzzzz…!!!
“Huh? Yu-mi?”
It was a call from Jo Yu-mi. He answered immediately. He had been so focused on taking care of A-young that he hadn’t properly checked on Yu-mi last night.
“Hey, it’s me, Yu-mi. You get back okay yesterday? Things on this end were rough, so I couldn’t send a long check-in text. Sorry~”
But the voice that reached his ear was not Jo Yu-mi’s.
“Um, mister… are you our big sister Yu-mi’s boyfriend…?”
It was the voice of a little girl who looked no older than ten.