Ch.109109 – Enhancement 1

# 109 – Enhancement #1

The “Training Ground” was an incredible option included in my status window.

If I put someone in this “Training Ground,” they could acquire one trait that suited them.

That’s how Yang Ju-hui got her “Fast Legs” and Jeongseok got his “Speed Reading.”

These traits could boast effects powerful enough to change a person’s life from the roots.

Take Yang Ju-hui’s “Fast Legs” for example—it made her running speed 1.5 times faster for 10 seconds.

With just a little training, anyone could become good enough to compete in the Olympics.

Of course, these traits weren’t easy to acquire. You had to complete special missions assigned by the training ground, which cost 100P to activate.

“Yang Ju-hui – Training List!”

“Push-ups 0/1000 times”

“Run at a speed of over 2km/h 0/100km”

“Reward: ‘Fast Legs'”

“‘Fast Legs’: You can run 1.5 times faster for 10 seconds.”

That’s how it worked.

And I, Ha Yeongwon, also had a training list.

Mine was a bit special, looking something like this:

“Ha Yeongwon – Training List!”

“Reach Level 3 5/3 Lv – Achieved!”

“Have 5 players reach Level 5 5/5 – Achieved!”

“Reward: ‘Trait Enhancement'”

“‘Trait Enhancement’: You can enhance players’ traits by consuming points. Enhancement probability and cost vary by trait grade.”

Enhancement!

I could acquire the trait “Trait Enhancement” as a reward for training!

Now my status window looked like this:

“Status window.”

“Name: Ha Yeongwon Lv.5

Traits: ‘The Broken Clock’ ‘Holding Breath’ ‘Strong Heart’ ‘Trait Enhancement’

Quirk:

Funds: 784 Points

Description: Once promising, you’ve been killing time in a meaningless daily routine. But even a broken clock shows the correct time twice a day.”

“Shop ◀ Click to open”

“Clinic ◀ Click to open”

“Training Ground ◀ Click to open”

“Mercenary Corps ◀ Click to open”

“Trait enhancement…”

According to the description, I could clearly enhance the traits I had: “The Broken Clock,” “Holding Breath,” and “Strong Heart.”

I touched the words “Trait Enhancement” on my status window with my finger.

Ding-

A strange sensation tingled at my fingertips as unfamiliar text appeared.

“Please select a trait to refine from the list.”

Despite the situation, it was quite fun.

I pressed “The Broken Clock” with my finger.

More text appeared.

“Do you want to spend 100 points to enhance the unique-grade trait ‘The Broken Clock’?”

“Enhancement success rate: 55%”

“Upon success, trait changes to ‘???'”

I could get a new trait with a 55% success rate.

A 55% chance meant I’d succeed once if I tried twice.

Not knowing whether this was a high or low figure, I decided to check my other traits just in case.

“Do you want to spend 10 points to enhance the common-grade trait ‘Holding Breath’?”

“Enhancement success rate: 5%”

“Upon success, trait changes to ‘Diving Expert'”

“Huh? 10 points with a 5% success rate?”

I read the description of my newly acquired “Trait Enhancement.”

“‘Trait Enhancement’: You can enhance players’ traits by consuming points. Enhancement probability and cost vary by trait grade.”

The part about enhancement probability and cost varying by trait grade particularly caught my attention.

“The Broken Clock” was unique grade, and “Holding Breath” was common grade.

Simply calculating the probability, spending 10 points for a 5% success rate meant… spending 10 points 20 times to succeed once.

So the expected value for enhancing “Holding Breath” was 200 points.

I wasn’t sure what effect “Diving Expert” would have, but I could easily guess it would let me hold my breath longer.

“This is thrilling.”

I was already starting to feel difficulties in conquering the corridor.

This direct and visible enhancement event felt as refreshing as rain in a dry desert.

“Do you want to spend 50 points to enhance the hero-grade trait ‘Strong Heart’?”

“Enhancement success rate: 10%”

“Upon success, trait changes to ‘Apatheia'”

Hero grade.

It seemed like a high grade at first glance.

That’s probably why the point cost was so high.

As expected of “Strong Heart.” Even when I drew it, the gacha effect was extraordinary.

“Apatheia…”

What was that again?

I felt like I’d heard it in moral education class.

Was it a term meaning unwavering composure regardless of changes?

Spending 50 points for a 10% enhancement success rate meant…

I’d need to spend 500 points to succeed at least once.

“This is a dilemma.”

I wanted to taste the effect of my newly acquired “Trait Enhancement” at least once.

Of course I had to consider which of my three traits would be most helpful to enhance.

Simply looking at the point-to-success-rate ratio, “The Broken Clock” was clearly the best.

“Do you want to spend 100 points to enhance the unique-grade trait ‘The Broken Clock’?”

“Enhancement success rate: 55%”

“Upon success, trait changes to ‘???'”

Above all, The Broken Clock was labeled as “unique grade.”

Though I wasn’t sure what that meant, given that its point cost was higher than the hero-grade “Strong Heart,” “unique” was clearly a high-grade trait.

“A 55% success rate means I’ll succeed once every two tries.”

With good luck, I might succeed with just one attempt.

And the fact that the trait would be enhanced to “???” really intrigued me.

Perhaps… it could be a trait that would help me overcome my situation of being trapped in the corridor without a talisman. At times like this, I needed to make a manly decision.

“Let’s go!”

“Consuming 100P.”

“Please tap the trait.”

Tap it?

What am I supposed to do?

Just in case, I made a fist and knocked on “The Broken Clock” like I was knocking on a door.

Then I heard a clang-clang sound like a hammer hitting metal.

“Oh, shit! Great effect.”

I sometimes felt that the status window’s effects were quite elaborate and fun, like during trait draws, training ground, or clinic visits.

Clang-clang!

The text heated up with each tap.

Finally, a dazzling light burst from the status window, and majestic music played.

“Trait enhancement successful.”

“Unique trait ‘Sloppy Clock’ acquired”

“‘Sloppy Clock’: The clock that had stopped working has started moving again. But due to imperfect repairs, it seems to be working somewhat sloppily.”

“Oh, yes!”

This is it! Success on the first try!

A man needs guts and determination.

It was amazing.

But as I read the text, my feelings became somewhat mixed.

“Sloppy Clock…?”

A clock is a clock, but what does “sloppy” mean?

Just in case, I put this “Sloppy Clock” into “Trait Enhancement.”

“Do you want to spend 100 points to enhance the unique-grade trait ‘Sloppy Clock’?”

“Enhancement success rate: 10%”

“Upon success, trait changes to ‘???'”

“This is…”

Spending 100P with only a 10% success rate?

That’s straight-up robbery.

After “broken” came “sloppy,” so maybe next would be “fixed clock,” but I only had 684 points left, and it seemed too wasteful to blow them all on enhancement gambling.

So what happens now?

Wondering about the difference between “Sloppy Clock” and “The Broken Clock,” I decided to use the advice function I’d been saving.

“Advice!”

Ding-

“‘Sloppy Clock’ advice: Capsule draws are one of the shop’s useful features. It’s said that one in five capsules available at the shop contains a ‘mysterious talisman.'”

“The shop’s capsules are known for quick and accurate delivery. In the Nightmare Corridor, you can receive items directly.”

“Who could be running the shop? They say everyone who has met the shop owner ends up dancing strangely.”

“Oh?”

The advice had changed from broken clock advice to sloppy clock advice.

It felt a bit more friendly, and the sentences seemed longer.

But more important than that was the content!

Capsules with mysterious talismans in one out of five!

This “mysterious talisman” must refer to the “Escape Talisman.”

“One in five means… a 20% chance. So far I’ve drawn capsules 3 times. I got ‘Subtle Perfume,’ ‘Yeongwon’s Glow Pen,’ and ‘Suspicious Pink Lipstick’…”

None of the three capsules contained a talisman.

The chance of drawing a talisman is 20%, so logically speaking… I might get a gacha talisman once in the next two attempts.

“Maybe I can escape by spending points!”

Oh yeah!

I was so happy I started dancing by myself.

Then I opened the shop window and started drawing capsules!

# # #

The boy opened his eyes as the dazzling sunlight seeped through his eyelids.

Reaching for his phone, he saw it was already 7 AM.

At this early hour, his mother was busy opening the windows and cleaning the room.

The boy frowned slightly at his mother who had removed the curtains, but his mother laughed like a silly girl.

“Son. Wake up. Today’s the day you’re going with your father to meet Assemblyman Mapo. Seyeon said she’s coming too—do you want to go with sleep in your eyes? Hurry up, wash and have breakfast.”

The boy, Jeongseok, felt like he’d had an extremely long dream.

It seemed like many things had happened in the dream, but much of it was hazy.

‘I feel like I had an important dream but forgot it… Ah-‘

As he tried to recall the dream from last night, Jeongseok finally remembered that he had navigated through a nightmare.

Before the memory of the dream evaporated like alcohol exposed to sunlight, Jeongseok opened his notebook and recorded everything that had happened.

‘Gong Yerin and Lim Huiyeon… And the second floor map… Even information about the third floor… I gained a lot. I remember everything accurately.’

Just as he was about to take a photo of his notes to upload to the group chat “Ha Yeongwon Pirates,” he noticed some concerning messages already in the chat.

“Yang Juhui: I escaped too. Is everyone awake? So this is what escape feels like lol”

“…Huh?”

Jeongseok rarely got flustered in daily life. But Yang Juhui’s message was quite concerning.

‘Wasn’t Yang Juhui supposed to stay behind because we were one talisman short?’

What happened?

Soon, Jeongseok was able to deduce the most plausible explanation through quick thinking.

‘Ha Yeongwon must have given his talisman to Yang Juhui. That’s impressive.’

Being prepared to die for others was praiseworthy in itself. Jeongseok genuinely admired Ha Yeongwon’s decision as a leader.

“Ha Yeongwon must still be asleep.”

He probably forgot that he died.

So Jeongseok reviewed the notes he had written, adding details to parts he felt were insufficient.

After washing up and having breakfast, it was already 8 AM.

Today, his father, who was friends with a National Assembly member from Seoul’s Mapo district, was having a private meeting for future matters.

“Seyeon is coming today too, so you two should have a good chat.”

Who was Seyeon again?

Jeongseok was already starting to feel annoyed.