Episode 2.
I remember it clearly.
After today, Kim Jinho will end his life on the school rooftop.
Everyone knew why he died, why he had no choice but to make that decision.
But no one spoke of it.
Because of the delinquents' backgrounds?
Of course, that was part of it, but the biggest reason was that everyone was an accomplice.
Everyone knew.
That their silence drove Jinho to his death.
That's why they couldn't speak the truth even though they knew it.
Because revealing the truth would expose their participation in those ugly acts.
If they just buried it, it would pass quietly; there was no need to reopen the wound.
And so Jinho's choice was concluded as an impulsive act of being unable to endure academic stress.
‘But this time will be different.’
This was one of the most unpleasant memories I had buried deep in my heart.
Of course, stepping up now didn't mean my past silence and bystanding would be forgiven.
But I didn't want to see it repeat.
No matter how I looked now, before the regression, I was also a hero who saved countless people.
"Live."
I offered advice to Jinho, who was wounded in his soul.
"It'll be hard right now, but try to live. Good days might come, you know."
Honestly, I knew it wouldn't be comforting.
A guy with nothing, not even the fence of family to lean on—how could a few words give him strength?
He would continue his difficult life.
But what if a year passed? What if the Great Upheaval came?
In a world where the existing order and ruling class had collapsed, he might seize unexpected opportunities.
"Kkeuheuk…."
Had he been longing for just one warm word?
Jinho couldn't hold back his surging emotions.
"…Euheoheong!"
He burst into tears.
Like the howling of a beast, that sorrow seeped deep into my heart.
"…."
The children who had only watched on the sidelines also seemed shaken by those sorrowful sobs, shaking their heads or grimacing.
But.
"You bastard!"
One of the delinquent group, a huge guy burning with rage, approached.
Lee Myeonghyeon.
A delinquent who wanted to leech onto the ruling class by any means.
Whenever someone resisted the group, the acting leader, Lee Myeonghyeon, invariably stepped forward to make an example of them.
Thud. Thud.
First of all, the weight class itself was different.
In the past, I could have just cursed him out as a fat pig, but now….
Well, honestly, with this pathetic body I had now, handling that mass, that weight difference, was impossible.
I picked up the textbook lying on the desk.
Coincidentally, it was Korean, the book boasting the thickest cover.
There's an old saying.
If you can't fight, at least bring a tool.
Of course, books are for studying, not for harming people.
But once it's in my hands, the story changes.
Tsstssts.
A light leaked from my hand.
A mysterious power invisible to others, visible only to me.
『Reinforcement』
When the apocalypse comes, people awaken innate traits one by one.
And this power I was using now, Reinforcement, was a unique ability given to me at the start of the apocalypse.
But why did I have a power from before the regression?
The reason I could use traits even though it was a year before the apocalypse began was none other than the ability of the Stone of Regression.
Through a unique ability named 'Regression Benefits,' I could bring one of the traits I possessed along with several additional 'abilities' when I regressed.
Flash!
The Korean textbook flashed with golden light.
This was the phenomenon that appeared when reinforcement succeeded.
If reinforcement had failed, the book would have become battered along with blue light, but that wouldn't happen.
『Great Fortune (運數大通)』
Something different from traits, called a Quirk.
If Reinforcement is an active skill, Quirks are like passive skills.
Rather than an ability, it's closer to the domain of luck (運), and no one will know how much effort I poured into completing this Quirk.
I even nearly died trying to obtain the Words of Power (言靈), 'Luck' (運) and 'Great' (大).
Of course, the effort paid off.
Reinforcement and Great Fortune—these two abilities were truly a match made in heaven.
As long as I had Great Fortune, there could be no failures in my reinforcement.
Flash, flash!
I watched the Korean textbook flicker with golden light several times in a brief moment.
『+9 Korean Textbook
Category: Junk Item (Blunt Weapon)
Durability: 1/1
Unique Effect: None
Reinforcement Effect (9/9): High probability of inflicting Rigidity
Description: The Korean textbook, king of all books. It was too big and too thick. It was not a book, but a blunt weapon!』
And through the final talent, 'Appraiser's Eye,' I grasped the reinforced Korean textbook at a glance.
Originally, the Regression Benefits allowed choosing one ability to bring back, but through dozens of reinforcements, I had increased the regression probability and the number of benefits, allowing me to bring back one each of these three: trait, quirk, and talent.
"Die!"
The hulk had approached before I knew it.
Whoosh!
A punch without a moment's hesitation.
Before the wind-cutting punch reached me.
Thwack!
The Korean textbook I'd been hiding behind my back collided directly with his fist.
"Argh!"
He hopped once as if electrocuted by a tingling sensation running up from his fingertips.
But no follow-up movement came.
Because the textbook's special effect, the Rigidity effect, had activated.
There was no time to think.
I immediately shoved the Korean textbook in my hand into his face.
Bwoong!
An explosive sound rang out, far too loud for paper meeting skin.
Because the power was strong?
No.
The fragile Korean textbook with 1 durability had burst.
Rustle!
Pieces of torn paper scattered in all directions.
And.
"…Kkeuk!"
The hulking guy who took that impact to the head lost consciousness and collapsed.
"…."
"…."
Silence settled after a brief commotion.
They must have been bewildered by the unexpected sight.
Who would have known that I, merely one of the school's top two outcasts alongside Jinho, would take down the hulk, the acting leader of the delinquent group?
"Look at this bastard?"
But there was no time to get cocky.
"You used a weapon? That's fucking cowardly."
Unlike the hulk from before, this was a rather cunning guy.
By weight class, he was similar to me, but in truth, this guy was more dangerous.
Screech.
He was babbling about weapons being cowardly while dragging over a chair.
Jeong Guyeol—a guy who fought using anything he could get his hands on.
"But what about this? I think I'm holding something stronger, yeah?"
A chair.
Certainly, a chair made of steel and wood was stronger than a burst Korean textbook.
"Come on, try your tricks again, punk!"
Swoosh!
The chair he threw flew through the air, charging toward me.
Flash.
This time, the thing emitting golden light was my shoes.
『+9 Sneakers
Category: Clothing (Shoes)
Durability: 3/5
Unique Effect: None
Reinforcement Effect (9/9): Movement speed increases slightly.
Description: Bargain-bin sneakers. If these were name-brand, couldn't they have performed a bit better?』
I immediately rolled to the side.
Crash bang!
Thanks to dodging urgently, the desk and chair hit my body, but it was better than taking it head-on.
Pushing aside the throbbing pain, I quickly scanned my surroundings.
The closest thing was the blackboard, and the chalk pieces on it.
Tap-
I quickly went there and grabbed a few broken pieces of chalk in my hand.
"Where do you think you're—!"
Thinking I was trying to run, the guy holding the chair again prepared to throw it.
Flash.
But I was faster than him—no, precisely speaking, the chalk was faster.
『+9 Chalk
Category: Junk Item (Thrown)
Durability: 1/1
Unique Effect: None
Reinforcement Effect (9/9): Accuracy, Acceleration, Power increase.
Description: Chalk that diligently flew about to wake sleeping students. If you hold this reinforced chalk, you too can reach the realm of a 20-year veteran teacher.』
It had become much faster than ordinary chalk, and its accuracy had increased dramatically.
Thwack!
"Aargh!"
The chalk that hit his eye crumbled into powder and fell to the ground.
But what now?
I still had 7 pieces of chalk left.
Papapapat-
The chalk I threw with force.
Peupeupeupeupuk!
Pounded his entire body.
"Kkeuk, kkeueuk!"
This was no ordinary chalk.
With enough power to pulverize the chalk itself, his bones must have been throbbing, not just his skin.
And.
Pueuk!
What decorated the grand finale was not chalk, but a chalkboard eraser.
It struck the guy's head precisely.
Thud.
He collapsed just like that.
"Wow, that guy's a total psycho bastard?"
Finally, he showed himself.
"A book and chalk? Fuck, to think there are dumbasses who'd lose to this shit."
He approached with his hands in his pockets, swaggering.
The hulk, and the guy with the chair.
Those two were also somewhat known for being good at fighting at school, but they couldn't compare to this one.
‘Park Woojin.’
A true delinquent laughing like the ones before, the lackey of those siblings.
But while the first two were neighborhood thugs, this guy was more like a bodyguard?
"Why? Try it on me too. Let's see what happens."
He approached while swaying his upper body.
It wasn't just swaggering—it was weaving, a movement unique to boxing.
Yeah, he was a boxer.
A boxing genius with enough talent to be called a prospect.
He wasn't an opponent you could face with mere +9 chalk.
I slowly backed away.
"Why? You scared?"
"I'm scared."
An athlete.
This was a serious balance breaker.
"Bastard, you're honest?"
"But hey, is it okay for an athlete to use his fists on a civilian?"
"Who the hell asks something like that all of a sudden?"
I glanced toward the back.
If those siblings with their excellent backgrounds stepped in, everything that happened today would be erased.
"You won't kill me, right?"
"Scared of dying? Then you shouldn't have overstepped."
Of course, he couldn't kill me.
No matter how excellent their backgrounds, murder was another realm entirely.
But at the very least, he could cripple me.
And the guy in front of me was cruel enough to do that.
The small mercy was that they hadn't all rushed me at once—a so-called gang beating?
Well.
If they'd swarmed a loser like me together, nothing could be more embarrassing.
"Stop fucking running and come here."
Before I knew it, I was cornered.
No, honestly, this was intentional.
I fumbled with my hand and picked up 'that' thing behind me.
And.
Snap!
I set it diagonally and stepped on it, breaking it.
"What are you doing?"
The guy looked at me as if bewildered.
"What do you think I'm doing."
Flash!
And I reinforced it.
What I held was a broken mop.
For the most part, something with a sharply broken end makes an excellent weapon.
Flash, flash.
"To catch an athlete, and a talented prospect at that, you need to prepare at least this much."
I kept reinforcing even as I spoke.
Golden light flashing without rest.
So-called junk items—the book, sneakers, and chalk I used earlier couldn't be reinforced beyond +9 unless under special circumstances.
But the broken mop is classified as a weapon, precisely a spear.
When it comes to items officially classified as weapons and armor, my reinforcement shines even brighter.
『+50 Broken Mop Handle
Category: Weapon (Spear)
Durability: 10/5
Unique Effect: None
Reinforcement Effect (9/50): Thrusting speed increases slightly.
Reinforcement Effect (15/50): Accuracy increases slightly.
Reinforcement Effect (20/50): Penetration increases slightly.
……
Reinforcement Effect (50/50): Accuracy, speed, penetration, all abilities increase slightly.
Description: A broken mop handle. But a handle reinforced dozens of times can no longer be called a mop handle.』
"Try swinging at me. Fuck, I'll plant a counter right in your face."
There was no time, so further weapon reinforcement was impossible.
I stopped reinforcing and faced forward.
He charged with his upper body lowered.
The face of the charging guy was full of confidence.
But.
Pueuk!
A sudden sound like a leather drum bursting.
"…Kkeueuk…."
The solar plexus, a place he had been protecting fairly well with both arms.
But there was a very small gap, and my attack dug in precisely.
He groaned as if his breath had suddenly caught.
It was +50, for god's sake.
Even an ordinary mop handle would hurt; there probably weren't many people in this world who could endure a +50 reinforced handle.
Thud!
Unable to endure the impact, the guy collapsed to his knees.
"Now then, I've cleared out all the lackeys. What's left is just you two, right?"
It was a warning to the two siblings, these crazy bastards, who were looking at me with expressionless faces as if it were none of their business.