Level 1 Superhuman — Part 1
Level 1 Superhuman
Level 1!
It sounds like a big deal, but it’s really not.
A healthy adult male gets some training in a boot camp, picks up an assault rifle, and voilà, that’s a Level 1 superhuman.
That said, it’s not entirely meaningless.
In this world, being a superhuman is a status symbol.
Even just carrying a superhuman certification card can get you a loan at a low interest rate from any bank, and businesses would prefer contracting with superhumans over hiring mercenaries, given the choice.
“Hoo.”
Despite the pain, I managed a faint smile.
I lost a lot, but I gained even more.
Just when I was about to calmly treat my injuries and check on what I’d gained—
Splash, splash.
The sound of footsteps stepping into puddles echoed, and a group of men appeared.
They were all bulky guys, dressed in tight black suits.
None of them carried umbrellas, letting the rain drench their bodies, and they all wore sunglasses.
Their appearance screamed, “I’m a gangster.”
The man leading them grinned at me.
“Wow, you really made quite the scene, didn’t you?”
I silently stared at the man.
A face like a hardened thug, hair slicked back, and cauliflower ears.
But the most notable feature was his right forearm—an artificial limb.
A steel prosthetic.
Compared to his left arm, it was much bulkier and stronger.
I knew who he was.
Kim Chulkwon.
One of the “Kim Series,” a reinforced-type superhuman who joins you second during the Arcane Seoul tutorial.
At his left waist, a submachine gun, resembling a Mini Uzi, was proudly displayed.
A signature trait of reinforced-type superhumans.
Roe Deer had been taken down by me before he could properly showcase his skills, but under normal circumstances, his strategy involved spraying bullets while darting around with agile movements, only using kicks when an opening was found.
“I couldn’t just die, you know.”
“Oh ho, is that so?”
This area was supposedly under control of the Iron Fist Gang, so they must have come after hearing reports of the gunfight.
Kim Chulkwon’s eyes narrowed, the look he gave when he was about to make an important decision.
I couldn’t afford to clash with the Iron Fist Gang here.
They were all armed, and given my current condition, winning was nearly impossible.
So I decided to bluff a bit.
I switched out my traits.
I removed [Smash] and [Chain Attack] and slotted in different traits.
[Vigor], [Endurance], [Strength], [Mana Core], [Mana Recovery], [Wound Recovery].
I grabbed my right forearm with my left hand.
My arm had been more than just broken—it was smashed, bent at a grotesque angle.
“Hoo.”
I took a deep breath.
Then, gritting my teeth, I yanked the arm back into place with a swift twist.
“Arrrrrgh!”
Sparks flew before my eyes, and the world turned white.
I barely managed to stifle my scream.
Thankfully, it worked.
Whether it was due to the strength boost or the endurance and vigor buffs, my elbow snapped back into place.
“Ugh!”
“Ugh!”
“Holy shit.”
My face remained expressionless, but the Iron Fist Gang members weren’t as composed.
They flinched, instinctively covering their crotches and reaching for their arms, as if imagining the pain.
Kim Chulkwon reacted similarly, his brow furrowing as he raised one eyebrow.
I couldn’t stop here.
Next, I realigned my wrist joint.
Immediately, a cool sensation spread throughout my right arm, accompanied by a dull ache.
[Regeneration] Trait Acquired.
I erased the [Strength] trait and replaced it with [Regeneration].
By pairing it with [Wound Recovery], I could heal my injuries within a few days.
“Haha, I’ve got guts, but you’ve got guts too. What’s your name?”
He asked for my name…
That meant he wasn’t planning to escalate things further, at least for now.
“My name’s Warrior Kim.”
“Hmm? You said your name is Warrior Kim?”
“Yes. If you check, you’ll find out soon enough.”
“Haha, that’s amusing. Well, there’s Mage Kim and Priest Kim, so why not a Kim Warrior?”
Mage Kim and Priest Kim.
Did Kim Chulkwon have some connection to those two?
“Anyway…”
Kim Chulkwon scanned the area.
The alley was soaked by the pouring rain.
And scattered across it were corpses—one, two, three… seven bodies in total.
The one lying between me and Kim Chulkwon, the corpse of Roe Deer, was particularly gruesome.
His body was twisted beyond recognition, and his face was utterly destroyed.
Tap, tap, tap.
Kim Chulkwon nudged the body with his foot a few times before smiling with a pure white grin.
“Warrior Kim. You owe me one.”
I didn’t like the sound of that.
It meant that someday, I’d have to lend Kim Chulkwon my strength.
But I had no choice.
Given the situation, there was no way I could handle this mess on my own.
‘It’s not all bad.’
I smiled lightly.
I needed a variety of traits, and some could only be obtained from the darker side of the city.
Kim Chulkwon wasn’t the type to backstab you once a deal was made. If anything, it was better to have a clear boundary set with him.
“Alright. I’ll remember that. If you need my help, just contact me. But there’s a condition.”
“A condition?”
“Yes. I don’t care if it’s illegal, but I won’t do anything that goes against my conscience.”
“Hahaha.”
Kim Chulkwon burst into laughter.
Then, with a knowing look, he stared at me.
“Alright. I won’t ask you to do anything you don’t want to.”
“In that case, we’re good.”
I gave him a slight nod of acknowledgement.
Kim Chulkwon nodded in return.
And with that, we parted ways. After collecting my belongings, I left the alley.
Ssshhhh!
The rain came down even harder, almost blindingly so.
The rainwater washed away the blood, leaving me both relieved and uncomfortable.
“Hoo.”
As I passed a familiar neighborhood park, I let out a long sigh.
From here, I was in a patrolled area.
Judging by how Roe Deer’s group had opened fire recklessly, it didn’t seem to mean much, but I felt a little safer.
After walking for a while longer, I finally arrived at my hotel.
The security guards looked startled when they saw me and hurried over.
“Sir! Are you alright?”
“Were you out in this heavy rain?”
“My business took longer than expected.”
“Please, come inside quickly.”
The guards covered me with a black umbrella.
Is their service always this good? It’s not even a luxury hotel.
As I pondered this, I saw the answer in the hotel’s glass door.
My body was still surging with mana.
Thanks to that, the rainwater evaporated the moment it touched me, causing a thick mist to rise around me.
The evaporation of moisture was clear proof of being a superhuman.
While it didn’t reveal what level I was, even a Level 1 superhuman was far beyond ordinary people.
A modern-day caste system, you might say.
I chuckled bitterly and walked into the hotel, passing through the door held open by the guard.
“Welcome, sir.”
“Welcome, sir.”
Both the staff standing in the lobby and the receptionist greeted me even more warmly than usual. It didn’t feel like a mere coincidence.
I nodded gratefully to the guards.
“Thank you.”
“No need to thank us, sir. Please enjoy your stay.”
I took the elevator up to my room.
The moment I stepped inside, I collapsed with a groan.
Finally, the tension released, and the fatigue and pain I had been suppressing washed over me like a flood.
“Ahh, seriously.”
My whole body was burning up.
If I took my temperature, it would easily be over 40 degrees Celsius.
And my right arm, broken and crushed, hurt like hell.
Though it was healing thanks to [Regeneration] and [Wound Recovery], the bone had been shattered into several pieces.
What does it feel like when something like that rapidly heals?
“Damn it! Damn it!”
If I had a higher-tier trait like [Immortality], this wouldn’t have been an issue.
But acquiring the [Immortality] trait is an incredibly difficult and grueling process.
For now, I’d have to make do with [Regeneration] and [Wound Recovery].
Trembling, I crawled towards the bed.
That was as far as I could go.
My consciousness snapped off as I hit my limit, and when I opened my eyes again, the rain had stopped, and the bright sunlight pierced through my window.
“Is it already morning?”
Lying face down, I barely managed to lift myself.
“Oof!”
Out of habit, I tried to use my right arm, only to wince in pain.
Still, it was more bearable than last night.
My fever had dropped, and my head was clear.
I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, gulped it down, and sat on the bed.
“I survived…”
Honestly, I thought I was going to die yesterday.
If I had made even the slightest mistake, it wouldn’t have been Roe Deer lying dead—it would have been me.
Still, I gained a lot in return.
There’s no need to even mention [Smash] and [Chain Attack].
During the chaos of the gunfight and my frantic escape, I distinctly felt something. A sense, a new awareness.
I pulled the pistol out of my pocket.
Since I couldn’t use my right hand, I clumsily aimed at the edge of the desk with my left.
I held the gun steady for a while, but nothing seemed to happen. I tilted my head in confusion.
“Something felt different though…”
Maybe the [Shooting] trait only applies to rifles?
Just as I was about to put the gun back in my pocket, the trembling in the pistol steadied, and my vision expanded. The iron sights grew larger, filling my entire line of sight.
And then, the corner of the desk, my target, rushed towards me, as if zoomed in.
[Shooting] Trait Activated!
The [Shooting] trait was one of the fundamental abilities of the reinforced-type superhumans, but it wasn’t exclusive to them. Any class of superhuman could acquire basic shooting traits.
There weren’t many warrior-type traits that improved shooting, but that didn’t matter for me.
I could just switch traits whenever necessary.
“Alright, next…”
I sprinted.
In the cramped space of my hotel room, I dashed from one end to the other, back and forth.
As I did, I thought of the [Sprint] trait, and suddenly my body became lighter. My speed increased significantly.
‘How about [Throw]?’
I grabbed a pillow and threw it into the air.
Once overhand with all my strength, then a submarine-style throw, and finally a direct toss straight ahead.
Unfortunately, nothing triggered. It seemed simply throwing a flash grenade once wasn’t enough to generate the [Throw] trait.
I tested out a few more abilities, but the results were the same.
In the end, the traits I’d gained from last night’s events were [Smash], [Chain Attack], [Regeneration], [Shooting], and [Sprint].
“No, wait…”
Suddenly, I remembered.
While fleeing from Roe Deer’s gang, I had taken a bullet in my bulletproof vest and pretended to be fatally injured.
As far as I knew, that was definitely the condition to unlock a certain trait.
[Feign Death]
I stood in front of the mirror and collapsed.
Instantly, the blood drained from my face.
My lips turned blue, and even my heartbeat slowed to a near standstill.
‘Not bad.’
It was a handy trait in the game.
Despite being a common trait, it could fool even high-level contaminated or mutated creatures. In the colosseum, it was also useful to momentarily break targeting and take enemies by surprise.
In the past, I hadn’t used it much because only six traits could be equipped at once, and I didn’t want to waste a slot on [Feign Death].
But now, after one battle, I had gained six traits. And I had fully awakened.
The only downside was my equipment.
I rummaged through the golf bag and pulled out all the weapons inside.
A broken assault rifle.
Shattered pieces of a collapsible baton.
A pistol and a single flash grenade.
And a few magazines.
I was still wearing the bulletproof vest. It was still serviceable for now, and considering the dangers ahead, I planned to wear it all the time.
“So they were good for just one day, huh?”
That’s the story of the rifle and the baton.
Should I ask for a refund?
But it’s not like there was anything wrong with the weapons.
The problem was the enemy.
A weapon that could withstand a full-force kick from a Level 1 superhuman had done its job. Both the rifle and the baton had served their purpose.
The baton, in particular, had exceeded my expectations. I never thought it would hold up that well, especially after being used so many times.
“I guess I’ll need to visit a gun shop.”
But before that, I had something more urgent to deal with.
The recent incident made one thing crystal clear: legal access to a pistol and a single-shot shotgun wasn’t enough to protect myself.
I needed an assault rifle, a machine gun, a sniper rifle, and grenades.
Getting those through illegal channels would be insanely expensive.
That’s why I had to go the legal route—more specifically, I needed a firearms license.
I left the golf bag behind, taking just the pistol and a spare magazine. I tucked them deep into my pocket to avoid any attention, grabbed some cash, and left the hotel.
I hailed a taxi and gave the driver my destination: Sincheon-dong, Songpa-gu.
That’s where the Superhuman Tower was located.
–TL Notes–
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