Chapter Text
The first two things I can clearly remember are the stench of death, and the fading warmth of my mother’s corpse.
The third was the sight of a young girl, splattered in blood and bathed in moonlight, taking me into her arms and carrying me away.
That was the night my parents died — the night of the Kwang-Oh Evacuation Shelter Massacre.
My next memories for a while are of the orphanage I grew up in, and then the military academy.
I always tried my best at the academy; I worked out often, I trained my swordsmanship intensively, and I studied hard enough that I always just knew what the answers were in my theory classes.
But no matter how much effort I put in, no matter that I was the top scorer in theory for my year, I was always just… ’somewhat above average’ in my practical abilities.
In a world governed by the likes of Talent and Luck, it just seemed like Effort would never be enough to close the gap between those who are Extras, and those who are Extraordinary…
No matter how hard she tried, and no matter how much she wanted to be, Kim Yujin would never be Extraordinary.
…
Until the day she moved into the student housing at Cube, that is.
As Yujin unpacked her stuff, she found something that should not have been there.
Something that wasn’t hers.
Something that felt… wrong.
Out of place.
Otherworldly.
Unnatural.
Something That Just Didn’t Belong.
As she sat down at her new desk, facing a laptop that she just knew — inherently — shouldn’t exist… it felt like time had stopped.
All of Yujin’s thoughts, feelings, fears, and desires seemed to disappear as she stared at the laptop.
As if entranced, Yujin’s body moved on its own; opening the laptop as if it were the most natural action for her to do.
As she opened the laptop, memories and knowledge that weren’t hers attempted to take her place.
But she resisted, fought against it, and held onto all that made her her.
It was painful, and it was difficult, but she persevered through it all.
When time began moving as it should once more, as the fight to maintain her very existence finally stopped, and as the fragmented knowledge and memories that weren’t hers settled inside her mind, Yujin was left in a state of disarray.
Her heart beating faster than it ever had before, her lungs burning as she struggled to breathe in and out as deeply as she could, tears building up in her eyes, barely in her chair as her arms were desperately sprawled across her desk, where the laptop laid open.
It took a while for her to regain conscious control of her body — to calm down as best she could — but when she finally did, she wiped the tears from her eyes and looked up to the laptop’s screen.
The screen had two different windows open, one on top of the other.
The first window mostly covered up the window beneath it, displaying four messages for her to read.
“[Thanks to her Perseverance and some aid from a strange twist of fate, User: Kim Yujin has resisted Synchronisation with The Author.]”
“[User: Kim Yujin has achieved Partial Synchronisation, gaining all of The Author’s memories regarding ‘The Returnee Hero’ and the Authority: ’Setting Intervention’.]”
“[Through a strange twist of fate, User: Kim Yujin has received an inheritance from an alternate self.]”
“[The Arts ’Ninja’ and ’Parkour’ have fused into a New Art: ’Master Shinobi’.]”
Closing that window, Yujin then looked at the one that had laid beneath it.
“[User: Kim Yujin
Variable Stats:
Strength: 4.5
Stamina: 5
Speed: 7
Perception: 7
Health: 4.5
Magic Power: 2
Invariable Stats:
Intelligence: 5
Perseverance: 9
Luck: 3 -> 9.1
Charisma: 3 -> 4.1
Gifts:
Observation & Reading (Attribute: Null) (Status: Static)
——Observation — allows Yujin to "observe" anyone with her senses. This ability allows her to see through walls, hear the faintest whispers, and bypass illusions and other effects that would normally fool or restrict her senses.
——Reading — allows Yujin to see the description and characteristics of objects, and memorise any information she reads or observes.
Master Sharpshooter (Attribute: Spirit) (Status: Evolving) (Proficiency: 0%) (Grade: 10) (Rank: Intermediate)
——Master Sharpshooter’s Training – Allows the user to be familiar with all long-range type weapons (also applies when using mundane objects).
——Thousand-Mile Eyes – Can see far away and predict target’s movement path. Can also give a satellite view of an area.
——Bullet Time – Once a day, for 3 seconds, the user can enter a state of accelerated perception and movement, which allows them to see and predict the trajectory and movement of their enemies. The user can turn the ability on and off at will, thus they don't have to use the accumulated time in one go. It also affects equipment, for example: while normally it would be impossible fire 60 bullets from a handgun in 3 seconds, Bullet Time makes the gun and bullets surpass their physical limits, making them faster. It also seems to activate automatically when something dangerous is about to happen to the user. (The duration increases by 20 seconds each time the gift's grade increases)
Arts (1/3):
Master Shinobi (Attribute: Null) (Status: Evolving) (Proficiency: 0%) (Grade: 10) (Rank: High)
——Grants the user flexible and shrewd movement.
——Any noise the user makes when using this art is silenced, and the user becomes incredibly hard to notice or perceive.
——The user is not affected by terrain features and can use terrain features like walls and obstacles to freely run, jump, and climb.
——The user is able to instinctively utilise available objects, resources, and nearby terrain to their fullest potential in order to help her to achieve any set goal.
——Speed and application of the Art depends on the strength and speed stats.
Physiques (0/3):
Authorities:
Setting Intervention
——Using SP, Yujin can modify or add settings to a non-living target.
——Using SP on herself, Yujin can modify or add settings to stats, Gift, Art, and Physique.
——Can be used without the need of her laptop.
——Spatial Modification - Can modify environmental settings. However, the specified environment must be limited in scope.
——As Kim Yujin’s importance increases in the world, she can gain more SP. Yujin can exchange Points with SP. SP cannot be used to increase Invariable Stats.
——Story Points (SP): 0]”
Yujin was… weirdly calm after reading through the laptop’s displayed system window.
It was a bit of a shame that it took her achieving an Awakening in order to realise that she should’ve been a scout rather than a warrior, and that she was more suited for sharpshooting than being a swordsman — even before she was given the ’Master Sharpshooter’ Gift.
“But I guess that’s kind of on me,” Yujin said to herself.
“If I hadn’t ignored guns entirely, if I had just spent more time with the bow, and maybe if I didn’t focus so much on using a sword… I would’ve known that I was meant to be a Sharpshooter.”
Looking back down to the laptop, she began thinking out loud.
“From the looks of things, I’m specialised in Sharpshooting, Scouting, Spying, Infiltration, and Assassination…”
Looking to her Variable Stats, she continues.
“And since my Magic Power is so low, I’d probably be better off using a gun than a bow… which, given its reputation, would almost certainly get me at least some SP…”
And for the rest of the day, she deliberated over what to do from here.
How to get the best outcome not just for herself, but for the entire world.