“So… what ability should I choose to survive — and grow?”

  I studied the interface for several seconds before speaking again.

  “System. What kind of ability can I choose?”

  “You may choose any ability. It will be adjusted according to the ability’s nature and your traits.”

  Adjusted.

  That word again.

  “So I can’t be Goku.”

  “Correct.”

  Expected.

  “Can I get Spider-Man’s abilities?”

  “Yes. Spider-Man possesses multiple abilities. Specify which one you require.”

  Professional. Emotionless. Thoroughly unimpressed.

  I leaned back, thinking.

  Precognition would help avoid danger… but avoidance alone doesn’t win fights. It also doesn’t guarantee long-term survival.

  If this world intended to kill me — and all available evidence suggested that it did — then I needed something that allowed both defense and growth.

  Think, Korin Kai.

  All those novels.

  All those manga.

  All those hours spent analyzing fictional power systems instead of building a social life.

  Time to justify that investment.

  I straightened.

  “System.”

  “You have decided?”

  “Yes. I need an ability related to the eyes — something that can detect hostile intent, predict an opponent’s movements, and push my perception to its absolute limit.”

  A brief pause.

  “Ability creation in process.”

  The words appeared calmly on the screen.

  Nothing happened.

  No light.

  No sound.

  No dramatic buildup.

  Then my eyes began to itch.

  Mild at first.

  Then burning.

  Then pain.

  A violent pressure erupted behind my eyes, as if something were being carved directly into my vision. I dropped to my knees, clutching my head as the world dissolved into blinding static.

  Excellent.

  My first custom ability, and I was already dying.

  The pain intensified — sharp, invasive, relentless. It felt less like injury and more like forced alteration, as though my body were being rewritten from the inside out.

  My vision collapsed.

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  Darkness swallowed everything.

  When I woke up, I was lying on the floor.

  My phone rested beside me, intact.

  Disappointing.

  The screen displayed a new message.

  Ability Creation Successful and Adjusted

  Silent Eclipse — Stage I: Hairline Awareness

  Passive — Danger Instinct

  Detect hostile intent directed toward you

  Cooldown: 8 hours

  Active Mode (Limit: 60 seconds)

  Predict opponent movement (0.5 seconds prior)

  Enhanced focus and perceptual sharpening

  Cooldown: 2 hours

  Warning: Overuse may result in temporary blurred vision or blindness

  I stared at the cooldown timers.

  “…What’s with all the restrictions?”

  “It has been adjusted according to your current status. It will grow as your status improves.”

  Of course.

  I design a perception god ability.

  The system gives me a trial version.

  “What about talents? Can I add more?”

  “Yes. With Karma Points. When sufficient Karma Points are collected, additional talent slots may be unlocked.”

  “And Karma Points are…?”

  “Points awarded for positive actions. The more gratitude directed toward you, the more Karma Points you receive.”

  So I needed to help people.

  Annoying.

  “Wait. What about mana? You didn’t show mana in my status.”

  “Mana is not a trait. It exists naturally in the environment. Proficiency depends on the individual.”

  “So my proficiency is high?”

  “No. You cannot use mana.”

  Silence.

  “…What?”

  “You cannot use mana.”

  “Then how am I using this ability?”

  “You do not use mana. You use Ether.”

  Right. The mysterious internal energy.

  “And what is Ether?”

  “It is similar to mana but in a purer state. You may consider mana as diluted energy and Ether as its refined form.”

  I blinked.

  So everyone else was running on ambient energy…

  And I was operating on something condensed.

  Impressive.

  Also sounded like something that would cause catastrophic side effects later.

  “Whatever.”

  Exhaustion hit me like a delayed impact. I pushed myself upright and staggered toward the bed — then froze when I caught my reflection in the mirror.

  My iris had changed.

  Graphite grey. Almost colorless.

  The pupil looked sharper than before, subtly elongated, as if designed for something predatory.

  And around it—

  Faint hairline cracks spread outward.

  Thin lines, like fractures in glass.

  No glow.

  No supernatural light.

  Just… wrong.

  I stepped closer to the mirror.

  “…Is this the effect of Silent Eclipse?”

  Silence.

  Of course. The system answers technical questions, not existential ones.

  The cracks were subtle, but unmistakable.

  So this was the price.

  After a moment, I turned away, lay down, and fell into sleep so deep it felt closer to unconsciousness.

  “Beep. Beep.”

  I opened my eyes.

  I felt… refreshed.

  Suspiciously refreshed.

  Possibly because I had slept for twelve uninterrupted hours.

  “System.”

  “Yes.”

  Still operational.

  Reassuring.

  “Good morning.”

  “Good morning.”

  Polite. Emotionless. Reliable.

  I packed quickly.

  Phone first.

  Everything else optional.

  Minimalism is efficient.

  It was 6:00 a.m.

  I needed to report before 10:00 a.m.

  The academy was sixty-seven kilometers away.

  Teleportation machines were available across the city.

  Naturally, I ignored them.

  If physical attributes improved through exertion, today would serve as a field experiment.

  So I chose the bicycle.

  Yes.

  A perfectly functional bicycle stored inside the apartment for reasons I chose not to investigate.

  “Let’s begin.”

  Sixty-seven kilometers.

  This would hurt.

  Mental exhaustion I understood.

  Physical endurance was unfamiliar territory.

  But I had Ether. With Intelligence 9.9 and Luck 10, my survival odds were theoretically acceptable.

  Probably.

  The town looked normal — suspiciously normal — except for the occasional person in combat gear carrying weapons as casually as groceries.

  Time passed.

  The road stretched on.

  Then I saw it.

  Echelon Academy.

  Calling it a castle would be inaccurate.

  It looked less like a structure and more like a geological formation — towers rising like mountains, walls stretching beyond the horizon, mana barriers shimmering faintly in the air.

  As if someone had dropped a continent and declared it a school.

  My phone read 9:37 a.m.

  Sixty-seven kilometers completed.

  I was tired…

  But not destroyed.

  Which was concerning.

  Either Luck 10 was already influencing events…

  Or the consequences were merely delayed.

  “System.”

  “Yes.”

  “How do I activate Silent Eclipse?”

  “Intent-based activation.”

  So I simply think it.

  Activate.

  The world sharpened instantly — not dramatically, but enough to feel unnatural.

  Edges clarified.

  Motion smoothed.

  Details intensified.

  Then I noticed something else.

  From my body, faint white threads flowed outward and inward simultaneously.

  Like breath made visible.

  “System. Is that Ether?”

  “Yes.”

  Around me, other people emitted a faint blue aura.

  Mana.

  I slowed my cycling.

  The white flow weakened.

  I accelerated.

  It intensified.

  So Ether output correlates with exertion.

  Useful.

  Naturally, I decided to test the upper limit.

  Full speed.

  Maximum effort.

  My legs burned.

  My breath sharpened.

  My vision hyper-focused.

  Every pebble on the road became visible.

  Every shift in the wind perceptible.

  Then—

  Blur.

  Right.

  Sixty-second limit.

  Deactivate.

  My reaction was slightly too slow.

  Crash.

  I probably should have used the brake first.