Chapter 14
Chapter 14 – Awakened Abilities (1)
—–CROW—–
After leaving the hospital, Seong-ho ran along a mountain path. It was to shake off any potential pursuers, as well as to minimize encounters with zombies.
The problem was that this route was quite difficult for Lim Chan and Lim Ji-hyo.
Instead of slowing down or changing his route, Seong-ho found a quicker solution.
“Ahjussi, you’re fast! Whoa!”
He carried both Lim Chan and Lim Ji-hyo as he ran along the mountain path.
After climbing the mountain like this for several tens of minutes, Seong-ho set the two down and said,
“Let’s rest here.”
“Yes, yes… Yes….”
Lim Chan struggled to stand, his legs trembling.
Meanwhile, Seong-ho opened his status window.
A short while later, the timer conveniently ended, and all his increased stats returned to normal.
Seong-ho checked his special ability first. If it dropped to 0, even standing would become impossible.
Physical Ability: 5
Special Ability: 8/12
Fortunately, it seemed that the recovery granted by the fortune cookie wasn’t lost even after the timer ran out. Having confirmed the difference between recovery and enhancement, Seong-ho breathed a sigh of relief.
He then recalled the time when his physical ability had soared to 10 due to the fortune cookie’s effect. He had climbed the mountain path effortlessly, carrying a grown man, a child, and several backpacks weighing over 20kg each.
‘I was worried because the ability I awakened was support-type, not combat-oriented.’
It seemed that this physical ability could compensate for his lack of combat power.
‘That’s a relief.’
Thinking about his future growth direction, Seong-ho unpacked his backpack.
While Lim Chan spread out the sleeping bags, Seong-ho started a fire with the lighter he had acquired on the first day.
Lim Ji-hyo, who had been hovering near Seong-ho, asked,
“Ji-hyo, what do I do?”
Her tiny hands looked eager to help.
“Don’t bother me and just sit down.”
“Hmph.”
Lim Ji-hyo pouted.
But she didn’t push it any further.
From their brief time moving together, Seong-ho had learned that Lim Ji-hyo gave up easily. Whatever it was, whatever the reason, if Lim Chan or he said no, she wouldn’t throw a tantrum.
He felt a pang of guilt, seeing how this small child seemed to understand her situation.
Then Lim Ji-hyo, still hovering around Seong-ho, spoke again.
“But, Ahjussi, Ji-hyo has a question.”
Seong-ho glanced at the child and replied curtly,
“What is it?”
“Is it really because of Ahjussi that Ji-hyo isn’t sick? Appa said so.”
Her eyes, looking up at him, were sparkling.
He felt a little embarrassed, like he was childishly boasting in front of a child. Clearing his throat, Seong-ho replied,
“Of course it’s real. Would it be fake? You saw it yourself in the emergency room earlier. I healed not only you, but everyone else there…”
“Ahjussi, you’re amazing!”
「You exert a stronger presence on the members of the world.」
「The influence of the Fate Pioneer slightly increases.」
「Discrepancy Score decreases by 4P.」
Seong-ho looked back and forth between Lim Ji-hyo’s surprised, open-mouthed face and the system message.
His surprise at the sudden event was only momentary. He belatedly remembered the information he had confirmed through the Pioneer’s Cradle.
‘So… her perception of my presence has grown stronger? Because I said I healed her.’
Did it have an effect even if he didn’t actually show his ability, but just told her about it?
Thinking about it carefully, it made sense.
‘Some people easily believe even absurd rumors.’
Judging by the lack of reaction from the people in the hospital when Seong-ho’s rumors spread, it probably didn’t affect everyone.
But what about people like Lim Ji-hyo, who were young and innocent, or those who desperately wished for a miracle?
Such people might be influenced by rumors even if they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes.
While Seong-ho was lost in thought after this new realization, Lim Chan’s voice broke through.
“Ji-hyo-yah, you shouldn’t interrupt Samchon.”
“Mhmm….”
“Seong-ho-ssi, what should I prepare for dinner?”
Snapping back to reality, Seong-ho focused on setting up camp again.
A short while later, the three of them sat around the campfire. As they began to eat, Seong-ho voiced what he had been thinking about since leaving the hospital.
“Lim Chan-ssi.”
“Yes?”
“Have you considered getting infected with the virus?”
Taken aback by the unexpected question, Lim Chan stammered,
“In, infected… infected… Yes? What are you…?”
“I’m suggesting that it might be a good idea to get infected with the virus while we have time.”
Seong-ho remained perfectly composed, both before and after speaking. He set down his now-empty food container and put his hands in his pockets. They were filled with virus beads. He had saved them because his special ability would fully recover when he leveled up.
‘It’s better to save these and use them to level up when I urgently need to use my ability.’
And one of these saved viruses was meant for Lim Chan.
Seong-ho took out a virus bead. It seemed to be stained even darker in the darkness.
‘I can carry the virus.’ He could also extract the virus from someone at any time. In the first place, it was because of this ability that he could even perform such a bizarre act as carrying around viruses. As he thought this far, he arrived at a rather appealing conclusion.
‘This means I can select Awakened without any risk.’ Others had to risk their lives to confirm their immunity. But not Seong-ho. He could identify Awakened individuals without turning anyone into a zombie.
‘Only I can do this.’ He was the only one who possessed the power to disrupt the order of this world and create discrepancies. Was there any reason not to take advantage of this?
‘Lim Chan’s awakened ability is quite useful, too.’ He decided there was no need to wait for Lim Chan to be infected by external factors.
“With me here, you can check your immunity without much danger.”
“Ah.” He had followed Seong-ho after witnessing his ability, yet the shock of being told to get infected was so great that he hadn’t immediately recalled that Seong-ho could cure the virus. Lim Chan blushed, seemingly embarrassed.
“Th-that’s right. That method…” He stared down at the disposable container and food in his hand for a moment. Lim Chan then nodded and said,
“As Seong-ho-ssi says, it would be good to try it.” If he happened to be immune, he could contribute more to the community. After speaking with a somewhat solemn tone, Lim Chan asked,
“Then should we hunt a zombie? On our way tomorrow…”
“There’s no need for that.” Interrupting Lim Chan’s question, Seong-ho handed him the virus bead he was holding.
“What… is this?”
“It’s the virus. My ability is to extract this from people or zombies. I extracted it from your daughter’s body like this.”
Realizing what the bead was, Lim Chan glanced at Seong-ho and kept checking on Lim Ji-hyo. His hesitation was evident in his actions. He had decided to try getting infected, but he seemed anxious when it came to actually doing it. In response, Seong-ho showed him another virus bead he had saved and popped it into his own mouth.
“As you can see, it has no effect on those who are immune. And if you’re not immune, I can extract it again.” Despite the encouragement to ingest it, Lim Chan’s hesitation continued. Finally, sighing, Seong-ho said,
“Should we just hunt a zombie tomorrow and do it then?”
“Oh, no! No, that’s not it.” Did he take that as a rebuke? Lim Chan gulped, closed his eyes tightly, and put the bead in his mouth.
“Uh…? Is that it?”
“Yes, now we’ll just observe for a few days.”
“Okay…” Perhaps because the process was over quickly after such a long hesitation, Lim Chan seemed bewildered.
The next night, he awakened his ability. Seong-ho, and even Lim Ji-hyo, focused their attention on Lim Chan’s hand.
“Wow! Appa, that’s amazing!” The potato they had brought from the hospital was sprouting in Lim Chan’s hand.
‘He awakened faster than I thought.’ Perhaps infection through the virus bead had a quicker reaction. Seong-ho filed this unconfirmed hypothesis away in a corner of his mind. He watched the transformation taking place in Lim Chan’s hand with satisfaction.
‘Yes, this is it.’ It was exactly as Seong-ho remembered. The ability Lim Chan awakened was related to plant growth. In the original story, this ability was used to cultivate poppies and cannabis, which were used as drugs.
‘Not anymore.’ Seong-ho intended to prevent Lim Chan from even touching dangerous things like drugs. Instead, he would have him grow things that would be a beacon of hope for the survivors. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, bean sprouts, ginkgo nuts, persimmons, apples, and hundreds, thousands of other crops and fruits!
Just as Seong-ho nodded with satisfaction,
「Congratulations! You have successfully changed the fate of the character ‘Lim Chan’ once again!」
「You have intervened in the fate of the world.」
「Fate Intervention Reward will be distributed.」
It would be a lie to say he wasn’t surprised by the sudden message. However, it wasn’t his first time experiencing this, so his surprise didn’t show outwardly. After glancing at Lim Chan and Lim Ji-hyo, Seong-ho postponed receiving the reward. Instead, he carefully analyzed the situation and pondered the system message. Seong-ho had proactively triggered Lim Chan’s awakening and even set a new direction for how his ability should be used. Lim Chan, who had used his ability to cultivate drugs in the original story, now focused on food cultivation.
‘If I use this advantage well, I can receive more Fate Intervention Rewards.’ Just as Seong-ho began to rack his brains,
“Uh oh…!” Lim Chan, who had been concentrating on growing the potato, suddenly collapsed. His face had turned pale. Checking the potatoes scattered on the ground, Seong-ho immediately realized the reason.
“Stop and rest. It’s dangerous if you collapse from exhaustion.”
“Oh, yes, yes…” Lim Chan accepted Seong-ho’s advice, wiping away the sweat dripping down his face. Even though he had just been sitting still, his whole body trembled as if he had run a 10km race.
“Ah… so this is why you suddenly felt strange in the emergency room yesterday?”
Seong-ho readily nodded at Lim Chan’s question and explained about the Awakened’s abilities.
“This power is like the muscles in your body. As you repeatedly strain and recover them, the total amount and efficiency increase.”
“Ah…”
“Right now, it’s just a few potatoes, but someday, you’ll be able to cultivate an entire field.” As soon as he finished speaking, Seong-ho reached out his hand. Lim Ji-hyo had picked up a potato that had fallen on the ground and was about to put it in her mouth. ‘What harm could come from eating a raw potato?’ Lim Ji-hyo’s sullen expression, after having the potato taken away, brightened. Seong-ho had thrown the potato into the fire.
“Thanks to Lim Chan-ssi, we don’t have to worry about food anymore. Let’s roast some potatoes tonight.”
“Oh, yes! That’s a great idea.” Lim Chan and Seong-ho put the other potatoes into the fire. As the smell of roasting potatoes began to waft through the air,
“Um…” Lim Chan cautiously began to speak.
“May I ask where we are headed? Of course, we intend to follow you wherever you go, but still, I was wondering…”
He was asking about the destination of this little community for the first time.
—–CROW—–