The Passive Skill Collector

"Condition has been met. A new passive skill was created. The Passive Skills folder is now unlocked. Do you wish to open it now?" - Yes/No

Lu Jae-sung was bewildered, left stunned in place while staring at the message with disbelief, furiously blinking his eyes trying to process what he was seeing.

"How many more shocking features are in my Leveling Up system?" he asked himself, not expecting an answer.

He proceeded without hesitation and pressed "Yes." The sudden pop-up disappeared, and the main interface changed folders.

- Stats

- Inventory

- Tasks

- Passive Skills (NEW!)

Before checking what the interface displayed, he needed to confirm, that the folder was showing up in the row beside the others. A quick glance revealed it was there!

Unexpectedly, he felt calmer than he normally would, but the reason would show right before him, as he swiftly looked back down on the interface.

Passive Skills:

↓ Common

- Cognitive Resilience Lvl 1 (1/10 XP)

Lu Jae-sung guessed it had to do something with his calmness. He looked at the passive skill with a slight understanding.

"But how do I exactly force myself to be under constant pressure? Should I feel the thrill of fighting?" questions slowly filled his mind. He wasn't able to find a consistent and repeatable solution.

"Wouldn't it also mean I will slowly change, as psychic passive skills overwhelm me?" anxiety surged inside him and his head started to hurt again under the constant thinking.

As doubts began to slowly dissipate, he noticed a slight change in the collection.

- Cognitive Resilience Lvl 1 (2/10↑ XP)

"Could it be connected to my headache?" thinking about it, this occurrence felt strange. He continuously facepalmed his head as he tried to solve this difficult puzzle.

"I get that a headache makes leveling up my Cognitive Resilience easier, but what happens when I am in a healthy state?" with a sign of frustration he proceeded to slap his cheeks and stopped his wild thoughts since they led nowhere but to even more confusion.

Suddenly, the screech of tires could be heard beside the sidewalk. A black limo stopped on the side of the road and the chauffeur got out to open the back door for Lu Jae-sung.

"Good afternoon, young master. You may come in." he patiently waited beside the opened door, while signaling with his left hand to his right.

"Thank you very much," replied Lu Jae-sung as he moved to step inside.

However, as he proceeded, he could see the familiarly stunning figure on the other side of the limo, freezing him in place while entering. He didn't want to stand there stupefied while staring at the gorgeous Bu Hae-ryung and slipped inside next to her.

He glanced at her with a questionable look, tilting his head slightly in confusion.

"Wouldn't her father feel slightly suspicious? probably not right, since she could hide her true face from him for her whole life." he thought to himself: She giggled cutely, making

Lu Jae-sung reddened while fixing his posture.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to flusture you. I just wanted to know what you were thinking about when you suddenly stopped while getting in the car." showing a wide smile.

"Why now, of all times?" he thought, wishing for privacy. She seemed to stop reading his mind since her expression didn't change from her cute smile.

"The reason I came to meet you is simple: I wanted to see if you are okay," she explained while examining his body for injuries. She slowly and cautiously swept her gaze, showing a lot of concern.

A small stream of red hair blocked her view as she focused. When she gently fixed the distracting stream, Lu Jae-sung thought this added even more charm to her.

She closed up the distance between them, still inspecting him thoroughly. He hesitated, not daring to move as a warm feeling surged in his chest.

Suddenly, the car was put into motion, causing Bu Hae-ryung to lose her balance. She fell straight to Lu Jae-sung's chest, forcing them to hug.

They didn't know how to react and didn't flinch for a whole minute before she moved away from him. She covered her red face, embarrassed by the turn of events.

Lu Jae-sung felt similarly like her, making him stare into nothingness, as he replayed this new memory of their closeness. He didn't mind being near her, but as inexperienced as he was, he didn't know where to draw a line with women, so he left everything to his imagination.

For another five minutes, silence filled the cabin, as they slowly recovered from the awkward encounter.

"I completely forgot to answer the other question in your mind," she said, clearing her throat as she prepared to speak again.

"This chauffeur disdains the whole family, except for me of course. I found out when I became an Awakener and read his mind. We discussed it during the drive to my previous school. This means we can speak freely near his presence,"

She explained in detail, ensuring their privacy is in good hands.

"Also, you don't have a phone yet, right?" without waiting for his answer, she pulled out a hand-sized box below her seat and presented it to Lu Jae-sung.

He didn't hesitate to take it. He knew being too polite would just make her mad, taking the box out of her hands.

When he opened it, a palm-sized mobile phone reflected a beautiful sunset light, casting a warm glow.

After two years of suffering, he had finally found someone he could trust, laugh with, and share mutual feelings. There might be even more they could build together.

He finally found a place, where he belonged, even if it was in secrecy. Glassy-eyed, he felt a small trail from the tear he accidentally let flow from one of his eyes.

Once again, he revealed his weak sight to the person, he currently trusted the most.

Going through a series of misfortunes left an empty hole in his heart that he longed to fill. He might have found the right person to do so.

A strange yet warm feeling surged inside him as he looked at the person beside him.

"Was this love, or was it just fondness and admiration?" he thought for a second before letting the question slip away. He couldn't possibly love someone he owed countless favors, could he?

Lu Jae-sung didn't notice that Bu Hae-ryung was watching him the whole time, while he was holding the phone in his hands and staring at a blank screen. What felt like an eternity for him had happened in just a few short breaths.

His deep thoughts left Bu Hae-ryung feeling a bit awkward. She didn't realize that this "small" gift would leave him speechless.

"Sorry for being so quiet," he finally said. "I just... I don't know how to express how

grateful I am. It's not just about the gift, but the bond we've made tighter each time we are together." 

Although some might see this as a show of weakness, it meant the exact opposite. It was a sign of maturity. Many individuals fail the test of adulthood, especially when they are eighteen like Lu Jae-sung. The stereotype that men don't cry is spread worldwide.

Every word he spoke resonated in Bu Hae-ryung's head, moving her deeply. She covered her face in disbelief while looking straight at his appearance.

He radiated with warmth, his black hair as dark as the night. His large teal eyes, which he inherited from his mother, showed genuine care for their new friendly relationship. Above them were two thin lines of black and long eyebrows. His slightly smaller, pointy nose looked adorable in her sight, showing confidence.

She couldn't stop staring at him. Earlier, when she examined his body, she noticed he was fit and took good care of his skin.

As they looked dazedly at each other, the limo seemed to stop in front of the apartment complex, disturbing their deep moment. The chauffeur opened the doors for both of them, leaving off with the car.

Since both Lu Jae-sung and Ju Hae-ryung had woken up from their inner thoughts, they laughed together.

"I still have some important matters to attend to around the corner. It might also seem suspicious that we rode the elevator together, don't you agree?" she said softly while cautiously looking around for the potential danger of being discovered.

He simply nodded in agreement, his voice lost after what had happened during the ride.

With a playful wink, she left him stunned at the front of the building, while she was on her way to do something important.

The ride felt endless as Lu Jae-sung stared at the darkening sky. He then shook his head to clear his mind before heading inside the apartment complex. Before he entered the elevator, he put the phone and the charger, that came with it, inside his pocket. He also threw away the ball of paper, that he had forgotten to throw away before leaving the apartment.

Once he drove the elevator, there seemed to be no one present, with the exception of the maids, who gave him a strange glance before returning to cleaning up the apartment.

He then went to his room to strategize in peace. The system wouldn't research itself after all.

As he prepared his interface to look more into it, he bumped into a small person. It was the maid he entrusted her with the cleaning inside his micro-apartment.

He had a small conversation with her to maintain a friendlier atmosphere among them, and then asked her about the WiFi password so he could access some furniture stores.

After speaking with her for a brief moment, he finally got inside his room with his interface ready to be examined.

He went to lie in his bed and looked at the top row, completely ignoring the "Inventory" tab, he proceeded to click the "Tasks" folder.