SCREEEEEECH—!
Tires screamed against the wet road as the truck barely managed to skid to a violent halt.
Minjae hit the pavement, sliding slightly across the soaked asphalt. His head was spinning and he felt like throwing up right then and there.
The truck's massive front bumper loomed only a few feet away from his face. Minjae blinked slowly. "…Huh."
The driver's door flew open. "HEY! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL YOURSELF?!"
A middle-aged man leaned halfway out of the driver's chair, his face completely filled with rage. "GET OFF THE ROAD!"
Minjae groaned quietly as he pushed himself up onto his elbows. Rain dripped from the hood of his jacket as he looked up at the truck.
"…My bad."
The driver stared at him in disbelief. "You drunk or something?!"
"…Just a little," he lied.
The truck driver muttered something under his breath before climbing back inside. Within seconds, the vehicle disappeared down the street, never to be seen again.
Minjae stood there for a moment in the middle of the road.
"…That was close."
He scratched the back of his head before stumbling back toward the sidewalk.
That was when he heard it.
Zzzzzzzzt…
Minjae frowned and looked up.
Above the street, a loose power line swayed slightly in the wind. Rainwater ran along the cable before dripping down toward the ground.
"…That doesn't look safe."
CRACK!
Electricity ran down the soaked line, racing along the rainwater toward the ground. Minjae barely had time to think before his limbs gave out immediately. Pain exploded across every nerve in his body as his vision flashed between black and white.
Ah…I never got to accomplish my dream.
If only…if only I had a better skill.
His vision stopped flashing as it decided on black, and the world faded away in his eyes.
***
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!
Minjae opened his eyes slowly, the bright light above so blinding that he raised a hand to shield himself from it.
"Ugh…what happened…"
"Minjae?"
"...Mom?"
"Minjae!"
Instantly, two hands wrapped around him, pulling him into a hug. His hands flailed for a second before he wrapped them around his mother.
"You're awake," her voice sounded hoarse, like she hadn't slept much.
"What… happened?" Minjae muttered.
"You collapsed on the road," she said quietly. "They said you were electrocuted by a fallen power line."
Ah…that matches my memories.
His mother pulled back, now sitting upright and close, her hands tightened around his blanket.
"You scared me, Minjae. You could've died."
Minjae looked away, choosing to look at the nearby vitals monitor instead. Everything seemed to look good—his heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen saturation look good.
"You don't have to keep doing this," his mom's voice came softly from the side.
"Doing what?"
"Risking everything for Battle Arena."
"I heard the news," she gestured faintly toward him. "You lost your team and ended up in the hospital."
"There are other options, Minjae," his mom said, trying to talk him out of it. "You're still young. You could go back to school. Find a stable job."
"…"
Seeing that he wasn't returning any of her questions, his mother stood up and glanced at the door.
"You probably haven't eaten anything," she said. "I'll go grab something from the cafeteria."
Minjae nodded faintly.
"…Okay."
The door clicked shut behind her. Silence filled the room immediately after, only disrupted by the occasional medical equipment sounds around him.
Minjae stared up at the ceiling before he sighed. "Maybe she's right…"
For years, Battle Arena had been the only thing he ever focused on. But maybe it didn't have to be. He could go back to school and finally finish his medicine degree.
It wouldn't be easy, but it wasn't impossible either. He'd always been decent academically before everything started revolving around the arena.
And even if he didn't become a player… He could still stay in the scene. There were plenty of analysts and advisors who worked with teams.
Minjae let out a quiet breath. "…That wouldn't be so bad."
At least his mother wouldn't have to worry anymore. He turned his head slightly, staring out the window at the gray sky beyond.
Maybe it was time to move on—
[Ping!]
"…Huh?"
For a moment, he thought the sound had come from the heart monitor nearby. But the translucent floating screen that appeared in front of his face quickly proved otherwise.
[Secondary Awakening Detected]
[The host's intense desire has generated a new skill.]
Minjae stared at the floating window, rubbing his eyes once.
"That's not possible."
Those who awakened, if they even did at all, only awakened once and always gained one skill their whole life.
Everyone knew that. Yet…the sentence in front of his eyes right now was about to change his whole world.
[Skill Acquired: Analyze]
"Unbelievable…" he muttered.
Deciding to play along, Minjae expanded the skill description. Maybe this was some kind of joke or prank…
[Details: Allows the host to analyze targets and reveal their attributes and conditions.]
Minjae stared at the floating window.
"…Attributes?"
His mind instantly jumped back to the match earlier that night. If he had known Lee Taehyun's real stats…
He wouldn't have gambled wrong.
"No no…" Minjae raised both hands before slapping himself on the cheek. "This might still be someone's cruel joke."
Alright, if it works on myself…it's gotta be real.
Taking a deep breath, he muttered.
"Analyze."
The moment the words left his mouth, the screen in front of him flickered into the usual panel that he'd always seen from confirmations. But now, displayed in clear numbers…were his stats.
[Target: Kang Minjae]
Strength: 20
Agility: 22
Endurance: 18
Mana: 12
Skills: Stat Conversion, Analyze
"No fucking way…"
Minjae was probably one of the only people that knew his exact stats, mostly because Stat Conversion gave him the information.
Analyze had given him the exact right information that took him weeks to figure out in a single go.
"…So it's real."
The pieces slowly clicked in his brain as he realized how broken this was. If he knew exactly how strong, fast, or durable someone was…then Stat Conversion wouldn't be a gamble anymore.
He could redistribute his stats perfectly for every fight, for every scenario…
Minjae leaned back against the hospital pillow, letting out a quiet breath as he looked back onto the translucent screen.
"…Looks like I'm not done just yet."