4
"I'm home."
"You're actually early?"
As he took off his shoes and stepped inside, Jang Miyeon, who had been lying on the sofa watching TV, sat up with a surprised expression.
"Mom."
"Why, why not call me Mother?"
"Mother."
"Oh my~ Is this because you've become an adult? I'm kidding. Kidding. Look here. I'm getting goosebumps."
Baek Woojin smiled silently at Jang Miyeon's playful gesture as she extended her arm toward him, then sat down right next to her on the sofa. And he held out the test paper that he had originally intended to throw away but instead folded neatly and brought back.
"What's this?"
"Awakener test results."
"Hmm, awak……?"
Jang Miyeon looked back and forth between the paper she held out and Baek Woojin, who was calmly watching TV, then her eyes widened as she snatched the test paper from his hand.
"…Son."
Having confirmed the test paper with numbers so直观 there was no room for misinterpretation, Jang Miyeon didn't know how to react, so she gently placed her hand on the back of Baek Woojin's, who had been watching TV with an indifferent face.
"Mrs. Jang. Mr. Baek would throw a fit if he knew."
"You're a Baek too, you know."
At the hand slapping his back, a chuckle escaped Baek Woojin's lips, and only then did Jang Miyeon's face lighten as well.
Baek Woojin took back the test paper from Jang Miyeon's hand and continued speaking.
"I didn't get tested because I was expecting anything. It's mandatory, so I just went and got it done. Don't misunderstand."
"Really?"
"Well, I was a little curious?"
"Yooou~ No wonder you were acting a bit strange this morning. It was because of this?"
Baek Woojin just smiled without answering.
"More importantly, Mom. See the magic power section here?"
"Yeah?"
"What does it look like to you?"
"My dear~ Mom's eyesight is better than yours, you know?"
"Is that so?"
"That's what I'm saying? And if I couldn't see what's written here, it would be a problem way beyond eyesight, don't you think?"
"Just in case."
"Good grief. What kind of dream did you have to act like this~? Let's see, it says 7. Happy now?"
"It's normal."
Baek Woojin folded the test paper and stood up from his seat.
"Weren't you supposed to meet your friends today?"
"Yeah, I'll head out in a bit."
"Staying out late is fine, but don't go drinking too much just because you've become an adult now, okay?"
"Yes."
He would have liked to sit beside her a little longer and chat about this and that, but there were things he needed to sort out first, so Baek Woojin returned to his room, quietly closed the door, and sat on the edge of his bed.
'7, huh.'
Baek Woojin unfolded the test paper again.
Name: Baek Woojin
Age: 20 Gender: Male
Strength: 10 Stamina: 10
Agility: 10 Magic Power: 39
"It's not that my eyes went bad."
He had already confirmed on the way home that his eyes were normal by observing surrounding objects multiple times. Then are the people around him strange? That couldn't be.
If a person with two eyes falls into a country of one-eyed people, naturally the person with two eyes would be the irregularity.
Baek Woojin rose from the bed and turned his body. Then he thrust both hands under the bed and applied force. There was some weight to it, but the bed lifted easily even without using his full strength.
Baek Woojin gently set the bed down so as not to leave marks on the floor, then sat back down on the edge.
"At least it's clear I haven't lost my mind."
Baek Woojin, who had been crossing his arms and racking his brain, eventually folded the test paper and shoved it into the desk drawer.
Deduction has its own methods.
Without even proper clues, there was no way an answer would come no matter how much he thought about it. Knowing that, clinging to it would be foolish.
If it had been a negative change, he might have agonized over it a bit more, but in the opposite situation, what did the cause of something that had already happened really matter?
Rather than wasting time trying to find the cause of something that had already occurred, pondering how to make use of this change was hundreds of times more productive.
"Someone should have regressed before me so I could at least ask."
Pulling out the chair in front of the desk and sitting down, Baek Woojin reached for the tablet he'd received as a New Year's and birthday present combined, then changed direction and picked up a notebook and pen instead.
"Magic power is D-rank, and the rest of the stats are E-rank."
To add a bit of context, the stats of an ordinary adult range between 3 and 5, and medal-winning athletes reach around 7. And before regression, my starting stats averaged 4 in total. The lowest among them, magic power, was 3, practically a level lower than soldiers who had been exposed to dungeons for a long time.
'And that me has 39?'
Even before the regression, my magic power talent was at rock bottom. Perhaps because of that, even now after regressing, I was uncertain whether I even had magic power inside my body.
The rest of the stats were each 1 higher than my final stats before regression.
'So there was a reason I didn't feel any sense of incongruity.'
Before regression, all my stats except magic power were 9. And right above that, 10 was the breakthrough point, the dividing line between F-rank and E-rank.
"And after regressing, my stats, without even going near a Tower, arbitrarily became E-rank."
From E-rank onward, one could at least pull their own weight. From this point, not only legally but also in public perception, it was the turning point where one shifted from an ordinary person to an Awakener.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Tapping the margin of the notebook with the pen in his hand, Baek Woojin gripped the pen properly again and scribbled a few words.
Make lots of money (Important)
Move family to a better and safer place.
Let Baek Ahyeon do everything she wants to do.
Whatever the reason for his regression, he vowed to definitely achieve the three things he had just written in the notebook.
"Hmm, money."
Honestly speaking, making money after regressing was no difficult task. He might not know the minor details, but when it came to major incidents, he had heard about them whether he wanted to or not through word of mouth or the news, so that information was safely stored in his head.
"The problem is that it takes too long."
Among the stock or hunter business information he could properly utilize, the earliest he could use was 5 years from now.
"Well, moving isn't urgent."
At least in his memories before regression, there were no incidents or accidents in this apartment where he had lived continuously from childhood.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Despite the door being closed, the footsteps echoed clearly, and Baek Woojin set down the pen he was holding and turned his chair toward the door.
"Come here!!"
His younger sister, who kicked the door open without even knocking and immediately started shouting.
"Hehe, I heard you were going out to hang out with friends, so I couldn't give you birthday beats… huh?"
Slapping her palms together while looking downward, Baek Ahyeon froze mid-step as her eyes met Baek Woojin's, who was sitting in the chair looking at her.
"Mo- Mom!!"
Then she ran back out and dragged in Mrs. Jang, who had been peacefully watching TV on the sofa.
"What did this guy eat to get so strong?"
"That's thanks to Mrs. Jang's home cooking! No, no! That's not what's important?!"
"Your lungs are impressive too."
"She gets that from Mom. Anyway! Look at that, ugh!!"
"What are you doing to your brother?"
After getting smacked on the back by Jang Miyeon, Baek Ahyeon, still unable to give up, pointed at Baek Woojin and said.
"Do I look like the type to stay quiet? A guy who was all scrawny just yesterday suddenly doubled in size, and you expect me not to freak out? Huh?"
Watching Baek Ahyeon chatter nonstop and bounce around like a hungry sparrow, Baek Woojin finally ran his hands lightly over his own body.
'No abs.'
However, as Baek Ahyeon said, compared to before regression, he could feel lean muscles here and there that shouldn't have been there originally. Since Jang Miyeon hadn't shown any particular reaction, he hadn't even thought about the change in his physique.
"To Mom's eyes, you look as dependable and handsome as always?"
"Blegh…"
At Baek Ahyeon's genuinely nauseated expression, Baek Woojin found himself laughing. Before the regression, they would have fought over something this trivial.
"I'm not really sure. But if something did change, it's probably because of that."
"Because of what?"
"Your brother is an Awakener from today."
"What?!"
So shocked that Baek Ahyeon's eyes bulged out, making him wonder if her eyes would pop forward if someone smacked the back of her head, her head jerked stiffly toward Baek Woojin.
"Ahem."
The chatterbox tomboy from moments ago had disappeared, and a demure young girl of unknown origin approached Baek Woojin.
"This maiden, Baek Ahyeon, offers one bow to her brother who has reached his birthday."
"Very well."
"Accept my bow, ugh…"
Baek Ahyeon, who had been about to bow, failed to do so ultimately, unable to overcome the wall that was her school uniform skirt.
"Cough! This maiden shall take her leave now."
At his sister's antics, retreating backward, perhaps having picked up habits from watching dramas with Mrs. Jang, Baek Woojin smiled silently and shook his head.
As the door closed and the sudden storm that had swept in retreated, Baek Woojin leaned back against the chair and closed his eyes.
The reason for wanting to earn money was merely to use it as a means for his family's happiness and safety.
His family's happiness and safety.
Behind his closed eyes, faces he didn't want to recall flashed across Baek Woojin's darkened vision. Kim Taemin, who had put a hole in his chest, and the foreman who had contributed to it.
Revenge?
Honestly, it would be nice to have, but it didn't matter if he couldn't.
Strictly speaking, it was practically thanks to those two that he had regressed, so that much was sufficient payment to quell his anger.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Baek Woojin's index finger drummed against the armrest of the chair.
With money, he could hire skilled hunters. But those hired by money would eventually turn away for more money. Most importantly, even humans crazy for money still valued their own lives.
Someone who wouldn't be swayed by money and was always prepared to lay down their life for his family.
"As expected."
Baek Woojin opened his eyes, turned around, and picked up the pen again. And in the still-plentiful blank space, he scribbled one more line.
Get stronger.
Baek Woojin closed the notebook and rose from his seat.