Episode 4: My Little Brother Is Strange (2)
You've returned to the past. Wasn't it supposed to be as if it never happened?
Does what happened before I returned affect me?
Is that why the Guardian title changed too?
Before checking the title, I examined the rest of the stats.
[Level 1 HP: 6 Strength: 4 Agility: 5 Spirit: 4 Magic Power: 2]
Hmm, this is still the same.
An F-grade, with a level 1 average stat of less than 5 excluding Magic Power.
An Awakened's stat grade is determined by the average stat value of the same level, excluding Magic Power, which grows incredibly slowly.
There were often cases where the stat grade changed based on growth, but usually, it would only rise by two stages at best, making further growth impossible.
It is said that a cat does not grow up to become a tiger.
[Skill: Spirit Up (E): Target's Spirit +5% (Instant effect, cannot stack with similar or identical skills), Duration 30 mins; Agility Up (E): Target's Agility +5% (Instant effect, cannot stack with similar or identical skills), Duration 30 mins]
The basic skills were also similar to before.
Previously, it was Strength instead of Spirit, but it likely changed due to the altered Awakening status.
As a basic buff skill, its grade was E, one level above the bottom. Still, it was a decent skill that could rise to D grade if leveled up well.
I couldn't raise my grade, though.
Even if the stats were F, if the skill was D, one could rise to Awakener Grade E.
So, it happened very, very rarely that a character with F stats would reach B grade just by relying on their skills. Roughly one in fifty million?
There was exactly one Awakener in the entire world who had F stats but became A grade with an SS-grade skill.
Saint Emily Spence, who is said to be able to bring anyone back to life perfectly fine as long as they are alive.
She is an amazing grandmother, and there were many opinions that she should have been S grade.
It didn't help clear S-rank dungeons, so I ended up remaining A-rank.
That was because clearing S-rank dungeons was too dangerous to protect F-rank stats.
I'll probably barely scrape by the crack this time, too.
There were many Awakened people in the world.
They were common to begin with, but after the Awakening Center opened half a year later, the world became one where the grandfather in front, the kid next door, and the man behind were all Awakened.
However, 99 out of 100 Awakened people had F-rank stats and F-rank skills.
In other words, they were just ordinary people.
Furthermore, since F-rank skills could not grow, they couldn't raise their rank either.
Therefore, a Hunter license was issued only when either a stat or a skill was E-rank or higher.
This was the reason why there were many Awakened people but few Hunters.
Then, now for the titles...
I unconsciously swallowed hard.
Not A or S, but L.
To think I had two legendary titles.
Though, considering that, there wasn't a single change in my stats.
Is Dragon Slayer a skill title too?
Titles were divided into Skill Titles and Stat Titles.
Stat Titles, as the name suggests, increased stats, while Skill Titles came with bonus skills.
An L-grade Stat Title would raise stats to at least a B-grade level, which is a shame.
If it were just a B-grade stat title, Yuhyeon wouldn't try to protect me excessively. I guess I have no choice but to rely on the skills.
Praying for a defensive skill to appear, a defensive skill to appear, I opened the Dragon Slayer title information window.
[Dragon Slayer (L)
Proof of a hero who single-handedly hunted a Grade 1 dragon (Lauchitas).
Title Bonus Skills: Poison Resistance (L), Curse Resistance (L), Fear Resistance (L), Natural Enemy of Lauchitas (SS)]
Four bonus skills right from the start!
As expected of a Legendary-grade title.
Usually, S-grade titles have 2 to 3, A-grade 2, and those below that 1 initial bonus skill.
Furthermore, titles of B-rank or higher can be leveled up, potentially adding more bonus skills.
All the skills are related to Rauchitas. So, defeating the Fire Dragon grants Fire Resistance, and defeating the Ice Dragon grants Freeze Resistance, I suppose.
Rauchitas was a dragon species famous for its poison and curses.
Although I could guess the effects of the resistance skills just by looking at their names, I checked them anyway.
[Poison Resistance (L) - Complete immunity to poisons of Legendary rarity or lower]
[Curse Resistance (L) - Complete immunity to curses of Legendary rarity or lower]
[Fear Resistance (L) - Nullifies intimidation of Legendary rarity or lower]
These skills were beyond good; they were practically overpowered.
That is, if I were an A-rank or higher hunter on the front lines.
Where would I even use these?
Even though there are dungeons that deal almost exclusively poison and curse damage with almost no physical attacks.
Ultimately, taking down monsters required actual power.
Besides, physical attacks usually followed up anyway.
Even with Rauchitas, despite its immunity to poison and curses, if your agility or physical defense isn't up to par, you'll just get finely ground to the tips of its claws.
On the other hand, if an S-rank Hunter holds this title, they'll be flying high.
It is literally putting a pearl necklace on a pig.
Oink.
I let out a deep sigh and checked the last skill, SS-rank Rauchitas's Natural Enemy.
[Rauchitas's Natural Enemy (SS) - Doubles all skill effects against Rauchitas and its similar dragon species]
It's a bust!
A total bust!
All the skills it has are immunity and buffs; even if the damage is doubled against a giant lizard, it'll just be a snack!
The same goes for similar dragon species.
Even the weakest Grade 5 dragons, as long as they have the name "dragon" attached to them, were not at a level where an F-ranker could mess with them.
Damn it, what a waste! If only this had gone to an S-ranker instead of me! Can't I somehow pass it on to Yuhyeon?
If those damn good skills of Yuhyeon had double effects, he could have beaten Rauchitas to a pulp!
“Oh my, oh my—”
It’s beyond a waste; it’s bringing tears to my eyes and twisting my stomach.
Oh, what a waste!
After pounding the ground for a while, I calmed down and looked at the status screen again.
Perfect Caregiver should still be useful.
Right, I decided to live quietly anyway.
Instead of thinking about sneaking into a dungeon for no reason, let's just live by applying growth buffs.
[Perfect Caregiver (L)
Proof of a caregiver who has raised a globally outstanding strong individual. It is all the more perfect because their own past stats are +100% or more of the caregiver's current stats.]
…What?
Wait, what is this title description?
The beginning was exactly the same as the description for my previous title, Caregiver.
Proof of a caregiver who has raised a globally outstanding strong individual.
However, Perfect Caregiver had an extra line of explanation at the end.
If the ward's stats increase by +100%... could it be that thing where I got doubled after Yuhyeon died? Does that mean my title became "Perfect Guardian" because of what happened back then?
An event from the past, yet simultaneously a vanished future, is affecting the present.
Thinking about it that way made me feel strange.
Is it okay? I wonder if there might be other side effects besides the title.
But it really is worthy of being called legendary.
Meeting the conditions for that title is damn hard.
You have to raise a world-class powerhouse, at least an S-class, and on top of that, you have to be twice as strong as that S-class in the past.
I obtained it because of the trick of time regression, but if you do it the standard way, a munchkin of SSS rank would have to raise an S-class.
Even if I get the double buff from the ward's death, it isn't the past timeline, so the conditions aren't met.
It might be possible if I raised another S-class after that, but would that be easy?
As far as I know, I was the only one with the "Guardian" title who raised an S-class.
There might have been others who hid it and didn't reveal it like me, though.
Then, the skills...
How has it changed?
I lowered my gaze slightly to check the bonus skills.
[My Kid Is the Best (L)
Final Gratitude (L)
My Kid Is So Great (SS)
Promising Sprout (S)]
The number of skills was four, the same as the Dragon Slayer, but the grades were lower.
Two L-grade skills, one SS-grade, and one S-grade.
Of course, this alone is impressive, but it fell a bit short compared to other L-grade titles.
Still, this is much more useful to me.
With a satisfied feeling, I opened the info window for 'My Kid Is the Best' first.
The skill name is lame.
[My Kid Is the Best (L) - Growth Speed +100% for targets inspired by the keyword. Duration: 3 days. Cannot be used without keyword on targets already inspired. Cannot be used on the same target. Cooldown: 30 days on the same target. Keyword: I Love You.
※ Cannot be applied if the target is aware of the keyword's effect.
Inspired Target (1): Han Yu-hyeon (S)]
Good.
Everything is good, but...
Damn it, why is the keyword like this?!
It was definitely 'Cheer Up' before!
Is it because I told Yuhyeon I love him? Because he was moved by those words?
Damn it!
How on earth am I supposed to use this!
It might be manageable if it were family or at least an adult woman, but what if the target is a man? Or a kid?
I’m going to end up in handcuffs trying to raise a minor Awakened!
It’s not like just blurting out "I love you" to anyone works.
If the conditions for influencing him are the same as the old skills, I have to invest some time with him.
I had to talk to him, listen to his interests, and share an emotional connection before waiting for the right timing to say the keyword.
Or maybe save his life in an extreme situation and confess... or something.
Confess.
Yeah, I’ll end up looking like I’m confessing.
Hahaha.
…Let’s just use it on Yuhyeon.
It’s a waste, but I can’t help it.
Fortunately, I only have to say the keyword once when influencing him.
…Since it’s only once, maybe I should pretend to be crazy and use it if there’s someone I can actually raise.
Ugh.
Lost in agony, I opened the information window for the final Gratitude skill.
[Last Gratitude (L) - Keyword: Inspiration. When the target dies, transfer their skills and stats with double efficiency. Duration: 7 days.]
This was a higher-tier version of my old skill, Last Repayment.
Seven days is quite long, but it's still a one-time use skill, so why is it rated L?
This is sealed.
Not only is it better not to use it, but it is also a skill I cannot reveal to others.
Think about it.
Who would welcome a skill that allows you to kill someone to steal their stats?
On the contrary, it feels unsettling to be around them and gives you a nagging feeling of being stabbed in the back.
In a dangerous situation, you would naturally think, "That guy is going to stab me in the back and survive."
That is why I never revealed it to anyone, even before my regression.
Next, I checked the "My Kid Is So Great" skill.
This one has a lame name, too.
[My Kid Is So Great (SS) - When cheering for a Keyword Inspiration target using the keyword in front of five or more sentient beings capable of understanding the keyword, increase target's stats and skill effects by +% of the number of sentient beings (max. 100%). Duration: 30 minutes. Cooldown: 10 days.
※ Cannot be applied if the target or surrounding sentient beings are aware of the keyword's effect.]
Keyword.
That damn keyword.
I scoured the skill information window, but there was no keyword listed separately.
That meant...
Is it a public confession this time!!
Damn it, I can't even use this on Yuhyeon!
The skill itself is good. Really good.
If I use it with a hundred onlookers gathered, the effect doubles.
But why is it a love confession? Are they trying to make me die of embarrassment?
And if the duration is 30 minutes, I have to be right next to him.
After calming down and thinking about it, it was a skill I couldn't use properly anyway.
My kid's skill lasts for 3 days, so I could just use it before entering the dungeon, but if I used it outside the dungeon, the effect would wear off before we could even clear half the level, let alone the boss fight.
Plus, there's a dungeon player limit.
At best, I might be able to use it if the dungeon wipes out.
Sigh, this is just wishful thinking.
I really want to give it away.
It would be perfect to pass to a buffer or healer with B-rank stats or higher.
Preferably someone with a thick skin.
A skill that boosts overall stats and skill effects at once is considered A-rank even if it only increases by +10%.
That is because while there are many skills that increase stats, skills that increase skill effects are rare.
Since the entry limit for S-rank dungeons is usually around 30 people, filling the quota would give a whopping +30%.
It would be incredibly helpful during boss battles, so it felt like a terribly wasteful waste.
To think that, following the final reward, this is another skill I can't use properly, I can't help but sigh.
The grade is good, but most of them are duds.
Without much expectation, I checked the last skill, 'Promising Seedling.'
[Promising Seed (S) - Allows checking the expected awakening grade of a non-awakened character, Awakening target to 'Talent Optimization' via keyword influence, 30-day cooldown for 'Awakening Optimization']
…Huh?
Wait a minute.
This is amazing?
Just checking the expected awakening grade is a huge deal.
It means you can pick up a potential S-rank or A-rank awakened character in advance.
But the real jackpot was the Talent Optimization awakening.
Roughly three years later, it is revealed that post-awakening abilities change depending on the situation at the time of awakening.
For example, if you awaken while at risk of drowning, you gain underwater-related skills, and if you awaken while at risk of falling to your death, you gain flight-related skills.
Not only that, there were instances where I awakened while working in the fields and gained plant manipulation skills, or awakened while dealing with difficult customers at a call center and acquired hypnosis skills.
In my case, too, didn't my title and some of my skills change because I awakened in a different situation than before?
There was even research suggesting that the awakening level itself is influenced by the awakening conditions.
The theory was that even if one's potential for the maximum awakening level is A, they will awaken to B or lower if the awakening conditions are unfavorable.
However, adjusting the awakening conditions to suit the opponent is no easy task.
Optimizing the awakening situation was impossible, not only now but even five years from now.
Yet, to hear that a promising sprout skill can be optimized for awakening.
The highest level and best skill relative to potential!
It means I can pick up the best rookie once a month.
Wow, this is seriously the best; it's amazing enough to be called L-class...
...Is this another keyword?
Ah, seriously.
It's so gross!
Seriously, me, me!
...But I still have to use it.
Sob sob.