Chapter 25
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The first meeting between Lee Shin and the character Park Soo-bin goes back to the time when his older brother first gifted him GM.
Unlike the other great characters, Park Soo-bin was a character crammed into a corner, lacking any presence.
A gloomy illustration, trash stats—there wasn’t a worse trash-tier character in existence.
However, the budding veteran Lee Shin couldn’t help but discover it.
The something hidden within this trash-tier character.
Trait 「???」
Trait 「???」
Many overlook this, but not all traits are created equal.
There’s a hierarchy of priorities.
Especially the first trait—it represents the identity, the essence of the character.
And yet, Park Soo-bin’s first trait was filled with 「???」.
It was an unidentified trait Lee Shin had never seen before, and it ignited the fiery curiosity of a teenage boy.
An obsession-level desire to uncover the truth.
For three long years, after an arduous journey of trial and error, Lee Shin finally approached the essence of the character named Park Soo-bin.
- ·
“You’re a prince cursed with misfortune.”
“??!!”
Curse…? Prince…?
Park Soo-bin widened his eyes in shock.
That’s right. A curse.
Park Soo-bin was cursed.
Traits 「???」, 「Weakness」, 「Timidity」, 「Deficiency」, 「Compulsion」, 「Inferiority Complex」, 「Self-Doubt」, 「Self-Deprecation」, 「Sweet Potato」
From the nine slots in his ‘Traits’ column, eight were filled with negative traits.
Those were the curses placed upon Park Soo-bin.
“If there’s a starting line for growth, you, Bokchi, can only get to the same starting line as others after resolving all these curses. Got it?”
It was an excessively heavy conversation for someone sitting on a swing while slurping an ice cream cone. Not to mention, wearing a red-carpet-worthy outfit at a neighbourhood playground was sheer nonsense.
Yet, paradoxically, such an appearance made the message feel even more genuine.
“But Bokchi… what is that supposed to be?”
“A sunfish, a fish that resembles you in its cute, delicate nature.”
He refrained from adding how easily the fish could drop dead if mishandled. This boy needed gentle care.
“So, what you’re saying, Representative, is that I…”
“Call me Hyung. After all, you and I are in this for life. Come on, say it—Hyung~”
“…”
“That’s more like it, Bokchi. Let’s take it slow.”
“Yes… Y-Yes.”
“Good. Bokchi, now ask again, properly this time. Lift your head, tighten your stomach, and look me in the eye. That’s it. Now speak.”
“S-So… then…”
In short, it meant that the timidity and weakness he despised so much were all because of this curse.
To him, it was a kind of solace.
He had always blamed himself—because he was weak, because he was pathetic, because he was foolish. But Lee Shin was telling him, “It’s not your fault.”
A shattered mental state began to piece itself together, even if just a little.
And so, curiosity bloomed. Could someone as flawed as me have a next chapter…?
“Is there… any way to break the curse?”
That was exactly what Lee Shin was hoping for.
As if he had been waiting for this, Lee Shin smiled brightly.
“Of course~!”
Many people had bowed before Park Soo-bin’s curse.
Even those who prided themselves as veterans in GM gave up, unable to handle the fragile mentality. And those who did manage to raise him barely achieved half his potential, ending up with nothing but frustration.
Indeed, in the GM universe, Park Soo-bin was the character with the most hellish growth difficulty.
But Lee Shin could confidently say this to Park Soo-bin.
No—if it’s not me, then no one can say this about this child.
Because Park Soo-bin was Lee Shin’s main character.
With a serious expression, Lee Shin looked at Park Soo-bin and spoke.
“From now on, I’ll teach you the spell to break the curse.”
“A s-spell…?”
“Yup!”
Of course, there was no such spell in the game.
But in reality, isn’t this sort of ritual necessary?
‘Who knows? Maybe this mindset will make something happen.’
With a smile, Lee Shin began his “Project Save Park Soo-bin.”
He tapped the glittering “Gold Card Pack (Trait)” in the corner of his interface. The card pack spun, releasing vibrant fireworks like the GM interface, and then—
【You have acquired the A-tier Trait 「Fear Resistance」.】
An A-tier trait from a Gold Card Pack was a decent result.
Moreover, 「Fear Resistance」 was particularly useful for a tank.
But the specific trait didn’t matter right now. What Lee Shin needed was the A-tier classification.
“Now, follow me.”
Lee Shin stood up abruptly.
Standing firmly on both feet, he puffed out his chest, tilted his chin upward arrogantly, and drew a deep breath from his core.
“I am.”
He pointed at himself with his finger.
“Awesome!”
“…??”
“Awesome!!”
“??!!”
“Awesome!!”
“!!”
Park Soo-bin’s jaw dropped.
What’s awesome? Is that the spell? He wants me to do that?
His eyes trembled endlessly.
“It’s easy, isn’t it? Give it a try.”
“R-Really? Me? That?”
“Look at you, already talking faster. Keep it up.”
“…Representative.”
“You don’t have to. Not if you’re okay living like this forever.”
“…”
Living like this forever…
That one casual remark pierced straight through Park Soo-bin’s heart.
It was a message: If you can’t do this much, then you don’t deserve to change.
Yes, he was right. There was no arguing against it.
Ultimately, change had to come from within. If he didn’t act, nothing would change.
“You can do it, Bokchi. You’re much more amazing than you think. I guarantee it.”
If you can’t trust yourself, then trust me, the one who trusts you.
It was a line Lee Shin had once heard in an anime and always wanted to use. And for someone like Park Soo-bin, with such low self-esteem, it was exactly what he needed to hear.
Finally, he mustered up the tiniest bit of courage, got up from his seat, and—
“I… I…”
He raised his chin. Sweat dripped from his frail jawline.
He puffed out his chest. His thin chest heaved visibly.
Then, clenching his teeth, he pointed at his chest with his finger and declared.
“I… I’m awesome…”
“What was that?”
“I’m awesome!”
“Again.”
“I’M AWESOME!!”
“That’s it!”
That’s the spirit!
Lee Shin clapped enthusiastically.
Success. The sense of accomplishment visibly brightened Park Soo-bin’s face.
The gloom momentarily lifted, leaving an unmistakable change.
At that moment, Lee Shin tapped on Park Soo-bin’s [Growth Management Window].
A flurry of messages and cheerful notification sounds followed.
【Assigning the trait 「Fear Resistance」 to ‘Park Soo-bin’.】
【The traits of ‘Park Soo-bin’ are at maximum capacity. A trait of the same tier will be replaced.】
【The trait 「Sweet Potato」 will change to 「Fear Resistance」.】
【Negative trait 「Sweet Potato」 cannot be replaced. Would you like to offset it with 「Fear Resistance」? < Y / N >】
<Yes>
Traits (9/9)
「???」, 「Weakness」, 「Timidity」, 「Deficiency」, 「Compulsion」, 「Inferiority Complex」, 「Self-Doubt」, 「Self-Deprecation」, 「Sweet Potato」
▶▶
Traits (8/9)
「???」, 「Weakness」, 「Timidity」, 「Deficiency」, 「Compulsion」, 「Inferiority Complex」, 「Self-Doubt」, 「Self-Deprecation」
“Congratulations. You just got rid of one curse.”
“J-Just one?!”
“Oh? Did you really think that was the end?”
Our Bokchi’s mentality isn’t just trash; even his conscience is trash. Puhahaha.
When Lee Shin signaled with his phone, a waiting truck stopped right in front of them.
Then, the truck’s stage, where Lee Shin had earlier put on quite the show, opened again.
“!!”
What filled both sides of the truck were none other than items.
Items that had been bought in a fiery shopping spree at the black market.
“How’s it look, Bokchi?”
Lee Shin picked up a black mink coat from the side and draped it over Park Soo-bin’s shoulders as he spoke.
“Show me the money meta. Isn’t it killer?”
Time passed, and the day of the Mir Guild’s second-round raid arrived.
* * *
Level 4 Gate.
Imp Archer’s Advance Base.
To prepare for the raid, the Mir Guild raid party had gathered under Kim Jong-pil’s leadership early that morning.
“Before we begin, let’s have a quick briefing—”
“Pfft.”
“The gate we’re entering is the ‘Imp Archer’s Advance Base,’ one of the more challenging Level 4 gates—”
“Ki-kik.”
“The primary monsters are Imps, and their ranged magic attacks—”
“Ahh, my stomach hurts.”
Kim Jong-pil tried his best to maintain a serious tone during the briefing, but the raid party couldn’t concentrate at all.
To be fair, Kim Jong-pil wasn’t much better. He was trying hard to be serious, but how could anyone ignore that ridiculous sight without gouging out their eyes?
“……”
Cowboy boots with serrated spurs straight out of a Western.
Unnecessarily tight black tights, paired with an equally unnecessary oversized champion belt.
Colorful gemstone rings adorning all ten fingers.
A bracelet on one wrist, an earring on one ear, and both a short and a long pearl necklace.
And to top it all off, a gaudy mink coat reminiscent of a 90s housewife showing off at a neighbourhood gathering.
All of this was worn by a single person.
Each of these items alone would draw attention, but here they were, all piled onto the slender frame of 16-year-old Park Soo-bin.
Already small in stature, he looked like a scrawny black swan trying to balance on its legs, with tights underneath and a mink coat draped over.
Kim Jong-pil decided that continuing the briefing was meaningless.
Even he, who was approaching 60, couldn’t focus on anything other than this absurd sight. How could these rookies? It was impossible.
“—That concludes the briefing that no one listened to. Let’s make sure there are no mistakes in the field. Over and out. Prepare individually and move out immediately.”
“Yes!!”
As expected, instead of dispersing to prepare individually, the team members flocked to Park Soo-bin.
“Pfft, Soo-bin, what the hell happened to you in the past few days?”
“Our youngest disappeared for personal training with the Representative and came back as a full-fledged attention seeker. Haha!”
“Where did you get these items? Their performance aside, the designs are… wow. Soo-bin, do you know all their options?”
“How many do you even have? One, two, three… He even gave us each one, but with all of this added? Insane…”
That’s right.
Lee Shin’s solution to the Mir Guild’s defensive weaknesses was very simple.
Equipment support—crudely put, gear advantage.
He had armed the raid party with items from his black market shopping spree.
And that was why Park Soo-bin stood out even more.
While the items provided to the team were worth tens of billions, the items on Park Soo-bin alone were worth several times more.
Naturally, this led to some complaints.
“That necklace… isn’t that the Pearl Eyering? The quintessential magician’s necklace. Must be nice. I want one too.”
“But am I the only one bothered? We only got one or two each, so why does he get so much more?”
“Well, it’s fine for me, but you must feel pretty annoyed.”
“You okay, Jung-seok?”
“…….”
Aside from the Mountain King in the first round, Park Jung-seok had received the highest evaluation in the raid party.
It was beyond frustrating for him that the lowest-rated Park Soo-bin, who couldn’t even cast a proper shield, received so much support.
If anyone deserved those items, it should be him, shouldn’t it?
He had performed better than that little brat. He was more desperate than that little brat.
At that moment, as Park Jung-seok sat fuming, a woman tapped him on the shoulder.
“Fix your expression, will you?”
“Screw off, Lee Hye-jung.”
“Geez, you’re so petty. Grown men getting jealous just because the youngest got a few items.”
“…Isn’t it only fair that I get them instead?”
Hye-jung smirked mockingly.
“This is why you don’t adopt black-haired beasts. Pick up an abandoned promising rookie, debut him, make him shine with strategic plans, and what does he do? After one decent performance in the first round, his ego balloons, and he starts ruining the team’s mood.”
“…Are you done talking?”
“Did I hit a nerve? Because it’s all true, isn’t it?”
Since he couldn’t badmouth Lee Shin, who had chosen him, he was taking it out on the easiest target—the youngest, Park Soo-bin.
Stung by the truth, Park Jung-seok flushed red and glared at Hye-jung, who met his gaze with the same fiery intensity as the twin swords at her waist.
Noticing the tense atmosphere between the two, their teammates began to gather.
Hye-jung glanced at the overwhelmed youngest and snickered. Then she tapped Jung-seok’s chest and walked past him.
“Let’s keep it reasonable. You’re not the only one desperate here.”
“Hey. Come here.”
“The others are coming. If you have something to say, let’s talk after the raid.”
Waving off Jung-seok, Hye-jung reassured the team that it was nothing.
Then she hugged Park Soo-bin and burst into laughter.
Just as Jung-seok, feeling slighted, was about to confront them, Kim Jong-pil appeared, halting everyone in their tracks.
“Park Soo-bin. Follow me.”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
—
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