Three months have passed.
During this time, my daily life has undergone significant changes.
I quit my part-time job and started working at a construction site.
Something I would never have done in the past.
‘Because it’s dangerous.’
There’s a chance of accidents on the site, and I could even end up dead.
I’ve never shied away from hard work, but I’ve always steered clear of anything risky.
However, thanks to my newfound magical abilities, the situation changed, and I had to find a way to make up for the reduced income from quitting the delivery job.
Fortunately, this led to some free time in the evenings.
I filled that time with rigorous training.
I learned all the practical martial arts, dagger techniques, spear skills, and hand-to-hand combat that a special forces soldier learns.
In the process, I ended up spending most of the ten million won I earned from the promotion exam.
Spending over two million won every month for the past three months quickly depleted my funds.
It was frustrating, but there was no other choice. If there was a chance to reduce the risk of death, I had to take it.
‘Let’s consider the kids getting a laptop each as a satisfaction.’
After all, it was unexpected money.
The results of spending the money were good, and any regrets could be quickly dismissed.
I was already in a state where I could control my body almost perfectly, so my skills were outstanding.
I could spar with the instructor directly.
“Stop, stop, I lost!”
The head instructor, who was being mercilessly attacked with a rubber dagger while lying down, declared his surrender.
I stood up, catching my breath, which had been forced out during the session.
“You’ve worked hard.”
“Ugh, why are you getting fiercer every time?”
The head instructor, holding my hand as he got up, said with a wry smile.
‘I want to live.’
I chuckled, keeping my answer to myself.
The head instructor, looking at me with a strange gaze, spoke in a stiff voice.
“Just in case, you aren’t doing this in order to commit a crime, right?”
Was it because of the increasingly rough sparring sessions recently?
The head instructor’s gaze was quite stern.
“It won’t happen. I told you, I’m not learning with ill intentions.”
“…Alright.”
Although I answered like that, the suspicious look remained.
But I had no intention of going out of my way to dispel any misunderstandings.
More precisely, there was no need to.
When I lowered my gaze for a moment, the reason became apparent.
[Main Server (Earth) Activation 99.997%.]
There wasn’t much time left now.
The remaining percentage could increase at any moment.
So, I decided to stop coming to the gym from today onwards.
After all, today was the last day of his membership for the month.
As always, I finished the remaining exercises and left the gym.
I checked again, but the sentence at the bottom of my field of vision was the same.
‘Activation….’
The main server had entered the activation process directly after the stabilization process.
It was a different course of action from when the tutorial started immediately after the stabilization process during the beta test.
‘It could be that I’m not getting tutorial messages simply because they don’t appear to me.’
It was a possibility. I had completed the tutorial.
But what if it wasn’t?
Could the system have changed the order of events?
There was a slight delay between completing the first tutorial and external access becoming available.
The main server was undoubtedly larger in scale than the beta server.
It was only natural for the delay to be longer.
If this assumption was correct, the consecutive processes of stabilization and activation signified something definite.
‘It’s correcting errors.’
The system was using the information obtained during the beta test to improve any issues.
Was there a GM managing the system like in regular games?
Or did the system itself have a consciousness?
‘What are you, exactly?’
I asked the question that had been consistently on my mind for the past three months.
[Main Server (Earth) Activation 99.998%.]
As always, the system responded with the number at the bottom of my field of vision.
It seemed almost like it was saying, ‘Soon.’
With that short word in mind, I started running.
I always ran like this when leaving the gym and heading home.
It was my version of endurance training.
After running for a short while, catching my breath, I slowed down.
I started going to the gym and met someone I recognized.”
“Grandma.”
“Oh my, young man!”
“You’ve collected a lot today too.”
It was a grandmother making a living by collecting recyclables.
“Not a lot, these days there’s hardly any scrap paper.”
“Not a lot? Nonsense.”
I glanced back at the cart Grandma was pulling.
Whether there was a landfill nearby or not, Grandma’s cart was always piled up to form a small hill.
“Seeing her pull this every day, you can tell Grandma’s secretly strong.”
She had a straight back, and she was a very upright old lady.
But just watching wasn’t comfortable for me.
Thoughts of my deceased grandparents from when I was young came to mind.
So, whenever we met, I ended up offering her a ride back home.
“Ah, lift me up quickly. I need to get home.”
“It’s alright, I can manage on my own.”
“Let’s just say I caught you at the right time.”
I lifted Grandma and held onto the cart with one hand, pulling it.
“Your strength is impressive again today, young boy!”
She started singing a hearty cheer.
“There aren’t many people stronger than me, you know?”
As I chuckled, spouting an unexpected comment, her anxiety seemed to dissipate a bit.
After bringing Grandma home and returning, it was 10 o’clock.
When I came back to the room after washing off the sweat, the last task awaited me.
Mana training.
Over the past three months, I had raised my proficiency in Mana usage to around 40%.
It was the result of daily, unwavering effort, and the outcome was not meaningless.
Looking at the red mist overlaid on the blade of the dagger, I concentrated my mind.
But it disappeared in less than 10 seconds.
“Phew.”
I sighed, sweeping my hair that had become completely dry without realizing it.
“It’s darn difficult.”
Applying mana to objects was much more challenging than simply pulling it out of my body.
Even when I tried to overlay it, the mana kept pushing back.
Still, repeating the practice without giving up was because I was confident it would keep me alive.
When red mana was applied to a dagger, its power surpassed imagination.
‘It pierced rocks like tofu; it might come in handy.’
I focused my mind again and started using Mana.
The duration wasn’t that long, but it was okay.
It was increasing slowly but surely.
After a couple of hours of training, it was time for me to sleep.
But instead of closing my eyes right away, I muttered softly.
“Storage.”
What I took out from it was an item I couldn’t use no matter what I did over the past three months.
Attribute Stone, one of the rewards from the promotion exam.
I poured mana into the rainbow-colored stone.
[Please inject attribute Mana.]
But for the past three months, only that annoying sentence appeared.
According to the message, it seemed like I could only use it if I injected attribute man.
The problem was, I still couldn’t distinguish between regular mana and attribute mana.
‘The attribute mana I currently have is 33.’
Maybe the minimum threshold to actually feel the mana was 50.
If that’s the case, I could only use it after the game started again.
“Phew.”
I sighed deeply and put the Attribute Stone back into the storage.
Now, it was really time to get some sleep.
A new system message appeared two days later.
* * *
I woke up at dawn to go to the construction site.
After having breakfast, washing up, and changing into work clothes, I was ready to go outside.
As I was about to step out after putting on my shoes.
“Oh Rabang…”
Rubbing my eyes, Yeonwoo came out of the room.
“Why are you up so early?”
I laughed, brushing off Yeonwoo’s sleepiness.
“Be careful and come back safely.”
After receiving Yeonwoo’s farewell, I felt a surge of strength.
“Sturdy…”
Just as I was about to speak with a smiling face, an unpleasant notification sound rang out for the first time in a long while.
“The main server (Earth) is activating.”
I shuddered.
“Rabang? What’s wrong?”
But soon, as if nothing had happened, I smiled.
“It’s nothing. Thanks for seeing me off; it makes me feel secure. Just go back to sleep; you might doze off during class.”
“Uh-huh… I got up to go to the bathroom.”
“Sure, I’ll be back soon, so go inside quickly.”
“Yeah….”
Watching Yeonwoo go into the bathroom, I left the house. What I checked immediately was the changed interface.
“The interface has changed.”
Several icons appeared on the left side of the field of view, and a minimized message window appeared at the center bottom.
New messages were continuously appearing there.
Previously, messages always appeared directly in front of my view.
“It seems better this way.”
On my way, I noticed weeds and meticulously pulled each one, leaving none behind.
“It feels refreshing.”
It was June, just past spring and approaching summer. Unlike around March, greenery overflowed everywhere.
Thanks to that, it became easier to collect mana during my spare moments.
“I’ve probably collected more than 100 in the past three months.”
The saying “every little bit helps” wasn’t without merit.
I muttered as I saw the message confirming the absorption of mana.
“Message window.”
When I called up the records, I could see messages I hadn’t scrutinized in detail before.
[Main Server (Earth) Activation 100%]
[Main Server (Earth) is activating.]
[Beta Server is closing.]
[System Manual (Revised) is provided.]
[Player Status Window function is updated.]
[Player Development Program (Absorption and Purification) is updated.]
[Player Management Program (Summoning and Recovery) is updated.]
[Player Support Program (Storage and Shop) is updated.]
[Player Interaction Program (Community and Party) is updated.]
[Hall Management Program (Allocation and Closure) is executed.]
[Mission list is updated.]
[First round player selection is in progress. (10,000/10,000)]
[0.9 mana is absorbed.]
[0.4 mana is absorbed.]
[0.5 mana is absorbed.]
Those were the messages I received.
The noticeable number among them momentarily stunned me.
“…10,000?”
In the beta test, there were 100 players who joined the game with me. This time, the number joining the game increased by a hundredfold.
“What on earth…”
What do they plan to do with so many people? My hands clenched involuntarily.
Suppressing my hesitation, I carefully examined the message window.
Anything related to programs seemed familiar at first glance.
The development, management, support, and interaction programs seemed to be modified based on information from the beta test.
However, the hall management program was something I saw for the first time.
“Seems intense…”
The mana collection incident during the promotion exam mission crossed my mind. It couldn’t be unrelated to that event.
“What’s this guy planning, trying to extract mana no matter what?”
I’ll have to be careful not to have my mana taken away in the next mission.
“Tsk.”
After a brief click of my tongue, I opened the revised system manual with expectations.
I hoped it might be different from the damaged one, but it wasn’t much different.
It was just a cleaned-up version, removing the broken characters and organizing it.
Ultimately, the content about the shop, which I was curious about, was the same.
[Shop]
– Sells items to help players maintain and support their growth.
– Conduct player-to-player transactions in the auction tab.
– Create items for players in the custom order tab.
I had already read all the content before.
Now it was time to check the actual items.
“Shop.”
As I mumbled softly, one of the icons lined up in a row on the left side was enlarged.
Unlike before, it was a white window.
There were a total of five tabs: Skills, Equipment, Medicine, Custom Order, and Auction.
Custom Order and Auction gave me a rough idea of what they were about.
So, I decided to check the contents of the other tabs one by one.
When I pressed the Skills tab, the first thing that caught my eye was the prices.
“…Mana.”
All prices were measured in man.
Was it implying that I should set up equipment using the absorbed man?
While thinking about the system’s intentions, I decided to carefully examine the first page.
[Mana Utilization.]
“Huh?”
I have a total of four attributes.
Question Mark, Purification, and the mana utilization I’m looking at now.
Although the attributes moved to the skill category instead of the attribute when the main server was activated, the fact that I have them didn’t change.
I didn’t expect to see them in the shop, though.
Curious about what was happening, I quickly opened the status window.
Player Kang Hyunwoo (Beta Tester)
mana: 1563.48 (Attribute mana: 33)
Chaos Index: 0.00%
Affiliation: Earth
Species: Human (Player)
Grade: Alpha
Attribute: –
Skill: mana Utilization (41.19%), Sensory Expansion (11.17%)
Attributes: ?????, Assimilation, Dedication, Purification (Level 1 – 15.11%)
Some of the attributes that were categorized as attributes had moved to the skill tab.
“Come to think of it, they mentioned that the status window function was updated.”
Curious, I clicked on the contents of the status window, and a new window appeared.
[Assimilation]
– Classification: Attribute (Talent)
– Description: Due to having no prejudice against unfamiliar things, the speed of acquiring new knowledge is fast. It becomes easier to acquire new skills, and adaptation to acquired skills is quick.
– Effect: Increases the player’s own skill acquisition probability by 100%, increases the speed of skill proficiency increase by 30%.
[Dedication]
– Classification: Attribute (Habit)
– Description: Once started, the habit of sticking to it until the end enhances concentration. Proficiency in various skills can be quickly accumulated while concentrating.
– Effect: Increases the speed of proficiency increase by 20%.
It was the moment when the questions that had been lingering inside me were finally answered.
For the past three months, I had been trying to teach Ethan mana utilization.
And after over a month of effort, Ethan finally succeeded in mana utilization.
Even though it was an explanation in words, it felt strange that it took him so long compared to me.
“I finally understand now.”
The Assimilation attribute increases the possibility of players acquiring skills with their own abilities without the system’s assistance.
Since Ethan didn’t have this attribute, it was difficult for him to learn mana utilization without the system’s help.
Once I understood one thing, the next was the classification of attributes.
I didn’t know the criteria for distinguishing talents from habits, but there was a noticeable difference.
“Talents are higher-ranked attributes than habits.”
It was evident just by looking at the numbers listed in the effects.
Assimilation had a 30% increase in proficiency increase beyond its effect on skill acquisition probability.
In contrast, Dedication’s effect ended with a 20% increase in proficiency increase, despite having no other effects.
“Is this like a higher version?”
The question was short-lived. I had already confirmed the effect, and that effect was beneficial to me.
“Now that I’ve been wondering what effect it might have, I feel relieved now.”
With a contented heart, I pressed Sensory Expansion.
[Sensory Expansion (11.17%)]
– Classification: Permanent Skill
– Description: Senses become more acute, and the cognitive area expands.
– Effect: Expansion of all senses (cognitive ratio 1:2)
In addition to enhancing all senses, it made me feel one second as if it were two seconds.
It corresponded exactly with what I had experienced firsthand.
Finally, I pressed the Question Mark attribute, but nothing appeared.
“Tsk.”
After finishing checking the status window, I turned my attention back to the shop.
However, it didn’t take long before I had to look away.
Except for the mana utilization method, most of them started in the thousands.
For severe cases, the digits were even higher. It was still a tab that didn’t concern me.
“I’ll slowly check and see if there’s anything useful later.”
So, I passed the skill tab, skimmed through the equipment tab, but it was the same with expensive items.
I let out a deep sigh and immediately moved on to the Medicine tab.
This time, unlike what I had seen so far, low-priced items caught my eye right away.
